Ephesians: Finding our Identity in Christ
Ephesians 1:11-14
Redeemed!
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
2-08–2026
Redeemed
Have you ever met someone who just can’t shut up about what Jesus has done for them?
The Apostle Paul couldn’t keep quiet about all the blessings God had poured out on his life. He begins the letter to the church in Ephesus with an explosion of praise that runs on for 202 straight words. (Your high school English teacher’s red pen would explode)
He just can’t contain the joy and thankfulness for all the blessings that God has lavished on us in Christ.
Those who have been forgiven much, love much.
At the age 14, Jason Bradley Deford was baptized in the little church he attended. Several weeks later, he was arrested for the first time. Over the next ten years, he would be arrested multiple times for distribution of drugs and assault.
At the age of 39, his 14 year old daughter asked to be baptized. As he watched her and her friends and their joy, he was overwhelmed with the love and compassion of Jesus for sinners who need a Savior. That was enough for Jason to recommit his life to following Jesus.
Now the guy can’t stop talking about Him! Everywhere he goes, from sold-out arenas, to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the chair as a judge on the newly rebooted Star Search, to the podium at the Grammys, Jason tells people about how Jesus saved his life.
Oh that’s right, you may not know him by Jason. You see, when he was young, he loved jelly donuts so his mom nicknamed him “JellyRoll.”
This week, JellyRoll stood on the stage at the Grammys, accepting the first of three awards that night for the album, “Beautifully Broken.” Again he took the opportunity to tell people about Jesus.
[You Tube - Grammy]
JellyRoll knows what it is like to be helpless, hopeless, and bound for hell. He knows there is nothing he could do to save himself. He knows it only by God’s amazing grace that God redeemed him, bought him back from the kingdom of darkness by the blood shed on the cross.
As one pastor put it, “God will either punish the sinner (you) or the Substitute (Jesus).” It’s your choice.
People who have been redeemed don’t worry about people making fun of them for not being able to shut up about Jesus.
The real worry for them is taking such amazing grace for granted.
Counting our Blessings
We all have different natural outlooks on life. Some people see the glass half-full, some see it as half empty. I often see the glass as on fire with scorpions crawling out of it.
What do we do when we are naturally bent toward pessimism and negativity? We count our blessings…name them one by one.
Over these past few weeks, we have been counting our blessings that are found in Ephesians 1.
So far, we have learned that in Christ, we have been
blessed with every spiritual blessing
Chosen
Predestined to adoption as children and heirs of God
Loved extravagantly and unconditionally
Redeemed by his blood
Forgiven of our sins
Lavished with amazing grace
Given wisdom and insight to understand God’s plans
Professor and pastor Jason DeRoucie puts it this way:
“One evidence that you are redeemed is that you have personally experienced God’s curse-overcoming, universe-reconciling work in Jesus. You’ve seen that Christ is King; you’ve embraced that he is the only Savior; you’ve repented of your sins, have surrendered to him as Lord, and have joyfully affirmed that you are now part of his mission of reconciling the world to God.”
Is this you? Do you understand that you were hopeless, helpless and hell bound but God, in His amazing grace, saved you rescued you, chose you, adopted you, and redeemed you?
I picture the pastor at the Ephesus reading this letter to the congregation. Can you imagine the tears? The loud amens?
Maybe he even had to stop reading to wipe tears away. Or maybe they just broke into spontaneous praises and worship for what God had done for them?
We are going to discover two more amazing blessings this morning. If you are in Christ, you have been given
* an inheritance
the ability to hear and understand the Gospel
Next week we will finish by looking at one of the most amazing blessings of them all:
The Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee of our inheritance
Please turn with me to Ephesians 1.
Prayer
Blessing # 9: Inheritance
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…
The ninth blessing looks back to verse 5:
“In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace…” (v. 5)
In Christ, we have become children of the Most High God. When a child was adopted in that culture, he/she became an heir of their father.
What is an inheritance? Webster’s defines it as “property passing at the owner's death to the heir or those entitled to succeed.”
My father worked hard his whole life and saved his money. He met with me about ten years before he died, and went through all the assets he had.
He was so proud that a “country boy” like himself would be able to pass down a substantial inheritance to his two boys. He said that he hoped it would help pay for his grandchildren’s college.
Many of you know the story. In the last five years of dad and Rose’s life, when they were both in dementia, they gave it all away to a scammer named Peter. All of it. Nearly $250,000.
Does that mean I didn’t get an inheritance? There is another definition of the word inheritance in Websters - legacy.
My dad gave me a legacy of faithfulness, loyalty, and hard work. He left me a good name. Solomon wrote to his sons:
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)
Leaving money to your children is nice but, more importantly, are you leaving them a legacy of faith and a good name?
Peter makes clear what this inheritance is a sure thing:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (I Peter 1:3-5)
The inheritance is God Himself. God chose you. It was His initiative. He didn’t chose you because of anything you had done. He chose you before the beginning of time.
Ray Stedman gives us some points to ponder:
“The question dear reader then is are you enjoying your inheritance? Do you wake up in the morning and remind yourself at the beginning of the day, "I'm a child of the Father." "I've been chosen by him to be a member of his family." "He imparts to me all the richness of his life." "His peace, his joy, his love are my legacy, my inheritance from which I can draw every moment of life. And have them no matter what my circumstances may be."
His choice isn’t random or haphazardly. It is according to the “purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
God’s plans are wise and intentional. He is working out His purposes for His glory and our good. He is, the Biblical word is, sovereign. He is in charge over everything.
As R.C.Sproul used to say, “There are no maverick molecules.”
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
In this section, Paul is speaking of Jewish Christians. How do we know that? Look what he says next:
“…so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
The “we” are Jewish Christians in the church at Ephesus. They were the first to hope in Christ. As the disciples, and then Paul and his associates, spread out all over the map, they went to the synagogues first and share the good news of the gospel with them first.
Many believed. But others couldn’t understand the mystery which Paul made clear - that the Gentiles were included in God’s plan of salvation:
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6)
The Gentiles share in this inheritance. That’s us!!! The Jewish believers were the first to hope in Christ. But the Gentiles were also coming to faith in Jesus. How? That’s the next blessing.
Blessings #10: The Gospel
How did you come to faith in Christ? How did you hear the Gospel? Through a pastor and sermon? Through your parents? Through a friend? Who shared the Gospel with you in a way that you could hear it, understand it and respond to it?
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,
Paul switches pronouns to “you also.” Now he is addressing Gentile believers. How did they come to hope in Christ?
They heard the word of truth. Actually in the Greek, it reads “the word of the truth.”
Jesus proclaimed that He is “the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.” (John 14:6)
Noticed that they heard?
Paul writes to Romans believers:
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15)
For me, it was a pastor named Rich McGee who taught the story of the prodigal son at a retreat I attended on New Year’s Eve weekend in 1990.
That night, I was convicted of my sins. I understood that I had not just broken God’s rules but I had broken His heart.
God gave me the ability to hear the word of truth, (antennae), and the faith to respond in repentance. I confessed my sins, agreed with God that I was helpless to save myself, and placed my full faith and trust in His death on the cross in my place to pay the penalty for my sins.
What is the Gospel of our salvation? Let me tell you what isn’t the Gospel:
if you become a Christian you will be happy, healthy, and rich
If your parents were Christians, you are a Christian
If you go to church, you are a Christian
If you are a good person, you can earn heaven.
Also, the Gospel is not “accepting Jesus in your heart.” We have an entire generation that thinks they are Christians because they raised a hand and repeated someone else’s prayer asking Jesus in the heart.
I’ve heard people say that they found Jesus. I always respond, “I didn’t know He was lost.”
We don’t ask Jesus in our heart like He is powerless and we need to do Him a favor. We don’t accept Him because, according to Paul in Ephesians 2, we are dead in our sins. Dead men don’t chose.
God saves us. It is God who even gives us the faith to believe:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
When I would speak at junior high and high school camps, I would share the Gospel at the end and call for a response. The front of the auditorium would be flooded with students.
Then I would ask the youth leaders to come get their kids and ask why they come forward. One time we had 36 students at the front of the room. After the youth leaders talked to them, only two remained. Two. Two that were responding in faith and understood the Gospel.
Some went forward because their friends did. One student said she went forward because her grandma died.
How easy it would have been to tweet out later that night that 36 students became Christians that night. That’s why we have a entire generation who thinks they are Christians because they raised their hand at a camp or Sunday school.
One of our high school students came to me in tears. The children’s ministry was booming at our church and she was a helper with the kindergarten and first grade students. Each week, the church applauded as the workers proclaimed that another student had prayed to receive Christ.
The sad truth was a teacher was telling the students “if you pray this prayer, you get a cookie.” Many of the little ones prayed the prayer multiple times.
My job as your spiritual shepherd is to make sure that you understand the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation.
Here’s an easy way to remember and share with others:
The Greek word means “good news.”
God created us to be with Him
Our sins separate us from God
Sins can not be undone by good deeds
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone has eternal life
Life eternal starts now and lasts forever.
[The Gospel in Four Minutes video YouTube]
Another way of explaining the Gospel is called “The Romans Road,” which uses five verses out of the book of Romans:
A We’ve all made a wrong turn
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
B. It’s the road to death.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
c. Jesus paid the toll.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
d. God allows U-turns.
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Rom 3:22)
e. Make the right turn and surrender to Jesus as Lord.
”“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Roman 10:9-13)
One more word picture. There is a gulf too wide to jump across. Where are you in this picture?
How Far?
13 year old Austin Appelbee and his family were enjoying a vacation at the beach in Australia when their inflatable paddle boards and kayaks were pushed far out to sea by strong winds.
As conditions deteriorated, Austin knew he had to get help. He started trying to paddle back to shore but his kayak started taking on water. He abandoned it and started to swim.
He had no lifejacket and the waves were 20 feet high at times. He was repeatedly stung by jellyfish fought through despair, hunger, and cold.
He swam over three miles back to shore, the whole time reminding himself that he had to do this to save his family.
When he got to the beach, he collapsed but then realized that there was no one there. He then ran a mile before he found a phone to call for help.
The coast guard was able to rescue his mom and two siblings and all will make a full recovery.
This is what Jesus did for us. We were in the ocean of our sin and could never get back to shore on our own. He left the comfort of heaven and became a human. He lived a perfect life in our place. He died the perfect death in our place. And he didn’t stay dead, proving the check cleared.
Third Day’s song “Just to be with you” makes this clear:
Just to be with you, I'd do anything
There's not price I would not pay
Just to be with you, I'd give anything
I would give my life away
