IN CHRIST (part two)
Recap: In part one of In Christ, I talked about how being in Christ means we live a new life. We pattern our lives after the example set forth by Jesus and the other men and women of faith. Paul said ,'follow my example as I follow Christ'. In this new life we think, talk and behave differently. We live for Jesus-not ourselves. We seek to do his will and bring glory and honor to his name.
And in Christ there is now no condemnation. Through faith in Christ we have been given eternal life; we have been set free from sin's penalty of eternal separation from God and we are also set free from sin's power over our lives. We are now free to be like Jesus. However, we need to keep the faith and persevere to the end. But we don't have to be afraid of that because we are given everything we need through the Holy Spirit to be able to persevere.
Today, I conclude with the fact that in Christ means we are blessed and we are all one body.
1) To be in Christ means we are blessed.
Eph. 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."
"In the heavenly realms". Does this mean that all of our blessings are in heaven? No, though the greatest blessing is in heaven! However, we're blessed in the here and now also. God blesses everyone in some ways. We can think of how we were blessed before we became Christians. But only by being in Christ are we able to have every spiritual blessing. So what are the spiritual blessings?
There is worldly love and then there is godly love. Worldly love is shallow and fickle; God's love is unconditional and everlasting. There's happiness and there's joy. Happiness is dependent on circumstances; joy is a state of being. There's worldly peace and then there's heavenly peace. Worldly peace is contingent on everything being in a state of calm. Heavenly peace can be present even in the midst of chaos.
In John 14:27, Jesus told his disciples, "my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives". Jesus differentiated between the blessings he gives vs. worldly "blessings".
Phil. 4:4-8, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
In chapter one, Paul talked about having joy in Christ. Things like joy, peace and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit are found in Christ. Do you want to experience the blessings of knowing and understanding God's love, peace, joy, mercy and forgiveness? You need to be in Christ.
Do you want to operate your life according to kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control? You need to be in Christ. In order to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy we need to know what fits into these categories. Being in Christ enables me to know these things so I can meditate on them.
Later, in vs. 19, Paul said, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
"My God". Not that he wasn't their God too but I like how Paul personalized it. We need to do that too. "My God will meet all of my needs."
"All my needs". There is never a need we have that God cannot and will not meet. How he does it and when he does it are left to his control but we never have to worry about God taking care of us. These are the blessings we have in Christ. And because we're blessed to be in Christ, we need to be thankful. Paul said we are to present our requests to God with thanksgiving.
1 Thess. 5:18, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
We are to be in a continual mode of gratitude. We might not be thankful for all of our circumstances, but if we understand that we are still blessed despite our circumstances then we can find something to be thankful for even in the midst of trying circumstances. And it's a blessing to be able to do that. It counters our misery and frustration. It helps us to be hopeful and at peace.
When Paul wrote his letter to Philemon, he said something interesting. Phm. 1:6, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." How would sharing our faith enable us to have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ?
When we share our faith we will typically share our testimony. In doing so we give our before and after story. When we're sharing our faith we are telling people how our lives have been blessed by knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord. We tell of all the great things God has done because we want the people we're speaking with to know how great God is and how beneficial it is to be saved and live the fullness of life that is only found in him.
And when we tell our story we benefit because we're being reminded of God's blessing in our lives. We're reminded of the ways in which he has watched over us and how he has worked in the situations we have faced. So if we're not sharing our faith we are depriving ourselves of being able to have a full understanding of all the good things we have through Christ.
Col. 2:9-10, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."
Jesus was fully man and fully God. Jesus was fully divine and had the full power of God. And we who are in Christ have been given divine power also. Not that we're equal with Christ, he is the head over every power and authority. However, as Jesus operated in the fullness of the Spirit, we have that privilege too.
Every Christian doesn't have every spiritual gift, but in Christ we are full, we are whole. Now we have the ability to know God and live a righteous life. We have all the spiritual blessings of the fruit of the Spirit. And we have the ability to do more than we could ever imagine doing without him.
Eph. 3:20-21, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Without Jesus there is a void in our life. Without Jesus we can't accomplish anything of spiritual value. We thought we knew what love was, we thought we were good people. But then we were born again and we saw things through a different lens-the lens of purity.
And we began to see what we were missing in life and we came to see how impure we really were. We saw how badly we needed what only God could give us. In John 10:10 Jesus said Satan's MO is to steal, kill and destroy; but his purpose was to give us life and life to the full. Eternal life is found only through Christ and the fullness of life is found only in Christ.
2) To be in Christ means we are all one.
Gal. 3:26-28, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
We become children of God through Jesus. We are all God's creation, but only in Christ do we become a child of God and brother and sister to Jesus; making us all one, big, happy family. Although God blesses all people, his children are going to receive special blessings that those who don't follow Jesus will not be able to enjoy.
In the world we separate and segregate and judge according to race, status, looks, etc. In the days of slavery, slaves were not even viewed as humans, just property. There was a time and still is in some cultures today, where women are viewed as insignificant. But God does not show favoritism; he loves us all equally.
However, God has established certain roles in the home and in church for men and women. But just because the man is the head of the house, and just because God has given men the leadership roles in the church, that doesn't mean he considers women to be less important. God values all his people and his word confirms the significance of everyone in the kingdom. We are all one body of believers who are called to work together as one unit.
Rom. 12:4-5, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
In 1 Cor. 12, Paul illustrates how vital all the parts are. No one should think they're unimportant; no one should think their role is insignificant. It doesn't matter how "small" your job is-every part of the body matters. All you need to do is take that one part away and see how it affects the whole. If you remove a hand it causes the other hand to have to work harder to make up for the loss.
And everyone can't do the same thing; there needs to be diversity in order for the body to function properly. We're not all supposed to be a Minister or teacher or on the worship team or running the sound board. The idea is to find out what God has you here for; what does God want you to do to benefit both this church and the kingdom as a whole. And if you don't know the answer to that, talk to the ones who know you to see how they think you're gifted.
Sometimes it's just about showing up and being available. Not every need requires giftedness; it simply requires having a desire to help. Sometimes you find out where you're best suited through trial and error; you get involved in a specific ministry and determine if that's where you belong.
The important thing is that we recognize that we are one in Christ and that means we are family and that means we are to love one another. We are there for each other; we care about what happens to each other. 1st Cor. 12:26-27, "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
We rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. And this principle of oneness isn't just in regards to the specific church you're in; it applies to the world-wide church as a whole. We are one with our brothers and sisters in Christ from other nations, like the Ukraine. Different languages, cultures and races but one Lord, one faith, one body; in Christ.
