Who am I in Christ? KAC 20/10/03
EPH 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
EPH 1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
EPH 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory.
EPH 1:15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come
COL 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Proverbs 23:7 “for as a person thinks within himself- so is he’
Who am I in Christ?
- this is such an important issue, question to us
- most of us don’t know who we are because of
o ignorance. Lack of truth
o we somehow are not able to hear/believe the truth when we ‘hear’ it
We are like:
WW2- Japanese POW’s. 5 of them were so traumatised they had complete amnesia, and nothing to identify themselves. They did not know where they belonged, and there was no one to claim them. They put their faces on newspaper fronts, and paraded them in the Paris Opera House. Hundreds turned up. One man, as he came out into the light(s) cried out "does anyone out there know who I am"
But it’s very important to God that you know who you are. Was important to Paul
- because it’s your thoughts that affect how you act
- as a person THINKS, so is he
But I want to start with the issue- not ‘who am I’ but ‘where am I’
- because that’s the truth that will set you free
WHERE AM I?
These passages tell you where you ARE.
- yes, you are on earth
- so- none of this means ‘so heavenly minded of no earthly good’
- doesn’t mean you won’t have earthly issues
o beware of the lie ‘you’ll never have a problem or have to work through anything as a Xian
o CS Lewis- ‘becoming a Xian is not the end to your probs, it’s the beginning of facing up to them!’
But you are also… ultimately… SEATED in heavenly places with Christ
- that’s where you are in the spiritual realm
- wow!
a) Seated- implies work finished. Stature (teachers sat). Security. Finality
b) With the king- you sit next to the Father and the Son!
“You wouldn’t mess with me if you knew who my Father is!
c) Blessed with EVERY blessing
Does that mean I’ve ‘arrived’? (at UKC used as argument against openness to HS)
No- it means it’s ALL there in potential for you.
Awaiting claiming
(heaven is full of blessings not claimed)
predestined- ie you ARE SET to make it
d) Chosen! Yes- HE chose you- to bear fruit that will last
I remember this feeling of being chosen
= very humbling, actually!
e) Adopted as sons
a. Sons- inherited from the Father
b. Adopted- Roman adoption = same as sonship
f) Redeemed by the blood (v7)
So much there! Already spoken of forgiveness
Here= set free by blood of lamb> Passover. Sacrifice.
Redeemed from slavery
g) Sealed with HS (v13)
So much here!
GOD lives in YOU!
Guarantee/deposit = engagement ring (Cf David/Anna)
= surety. Certainty
YOU are GOD’s… & you’re gonna live with Him
I could go on! It’s just so exciting.
Who am I?
Well- where I am tells you who I am
So- where’s the problem? Why are we SO often like these cows:
Two cows were grazing alongside a highway when a tank-truck of milk on its way to the distributor happened to pass. On one side of the truck in big red letters was a sign that read:
"Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, Vitamin A added."
One cow turned to the other and remarked,
"Makes you feel sort of inadequate, doesn’t it?"
Why do we so often feel like this when we should be this sort of cow for Jesus
- “Moo! Forgiven, redeemed, filled, chosen, loved, secure. Out of my way, puppy, because here comes a calf of the King!”
It’s because we have yet to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our thought processes are wrong
- we believe (and therefore live) a lie. Cf:
o It is only well with me when I have a chisel in my hand. – Michelangelo
o What a laugh! What a lie!
As Selwyn Hughes says "I’m not what I am. I’m not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am"
WE limit ourselves, and God…. By how we feel about ourselves
- when, in fact, God has not changed towards us ONE IOTA!
Do you remember the four-minute mile? They’d been trying to do it since the days of the ancient Greeks. Someone found the old records of how the Greeks tried to accomplish this. They had wild animals chase the runners, hoping that would make them run faster. They tried tiger’s milk: not the stuff you get down at the supermarket, I’m talking about the real thing. Nothing worked, so they decided it was physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in four minutes. Our bone structure was all wrong, the wind resistance was too great, our lung power was inadequate. There were a million reasons. Then one day one human being proved that the doctors, the trainers, and the athletes themselves were all wrong. And, miracle of miracles, the year after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. And the year after that three hundred runners broke the four-minute mile!
Harvey Mackay, U.S. Entrepreneur and author in Speechwriter’s Newsletter, quoted in Bits & Pieces, July 20, 1995, pp. 20-22.
Christians can change. ARE the most loved, accepted, empowered being in this world… universe
- With God ALL things are possible. I can scale a wall. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”
- SHOULD be the humblest and boldest
Walt Disney - was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. Walt also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, flunked out of college. He was described as “both unable and unwilling to learn.”
Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, did not make his high school basketball team his sophomore year.
Beethoven’s teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. He did not become Prime Minister until he was 62. His greatest contributions came when he was a “senior citizen.”
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded.
If these things apply to these people- how much more so to us?!
- the humblest, boldest, and most determined people on earth
- those who are going to Judge angels and RULE with Him!
So- what am I to do? I don’t want to get into denial. Make out I’m something I’m not. That’s not Xian
- were in book of James. He’s so blunt! So into us facing up to the truth about ourselves.
o I can’t go for this denial or guilt over us not being who we should be, yet
That’s part of being human! That’s not Xian
But I CAN face it- and work at TRANSFORMING MY MIND, renewing my thought processes
HOW CAN I CHANGE?
a) get into the word
This is God’s vocabulary. It is truth. Saturate yourself in it
- it is not MAGIC. This is not magic!
- It has power as the truth dawns on you
o But if you don’t know it- you’re not going to know the truth… and hence be set free
b) know that God is on your side- and over your lifetime he will work with you to bring you to the experience of this
c) know that you ARE accepted. Let the peace come
d) Know that the cross was/is sufficient
e) Start transforming your mind.
- act as fact. Act as though these things are true (M Scott Peck)
o because they are!
- Watch your thoughts
PHP 4:8 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
o This is serious! Don’t fill your mind with negative and horrible things. Watch what you watch, listen to
Without being paranoid (Jesus wasn’t!)
o Illustr: Winston on the mind- set moods by what twins listened to and most of all READ. Words they repeated
- > watch your words
o words have such power! With them we curse others, and curse ourselves
repeat an untruth about ourselves and it becomes a millstone… self-fulfilling prophecy… about ourselves
o don’t speak untruths! Neither to yourselves or others
they become ruts to your thinking, and re-enforce your unconscious mind
• cf even ‘I’m so tired! Oh I’m really peed off with having to do that’
• Transform your mind!.....
….. into the truth of WHO… WHERE you are
- God WILL get you through (so less of this repeating that He won’t!)
But note: behind this is not mere psychology, positive thought, making yourself live something you are not
- behind this are the truths of the Bible, or certainty, surety, in Christ and the principles GOD has shown us
- you ARE these things- now LIVE it
That’s why Paul prays that they will KNOW these things.
- read Eph 1:15 to them
