What We Have In Christ

Intro: Three of the most beautiful books in the Bible are the prison epistles. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. We have some of the greatest teachings on the position of the church and the power of the believer found in these epistles. In the midst of prison, Paul is writing to these churches about the freedom, authority, power and liberty of the believer. In the first chapter we have a prayer for the Ephesians, and within this prayer we find four things Paul desires for all believers. Tonight, let’s look at his prayer, and see four possessions of the believer or four possessions of the church.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Possession One- spirit of wisdom, revelation, understanding

Possession Two—know the hope of His calling

Possession Three—the riches of his inheritance

Possession Four-the exceeding greatness of His Power

I. Spiritual Knowledge—the first part of Paul’s prayer is that every believer walk in spiritual revelation. That the saints of God wouldn’t walk in ignorance in any area.

a. Wisdom—spiritual wisdom is knowing how to operate in the spirit in any given situation. God wants to give us wisdom in every decision we make in our lives. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

b. Revelation—God wants the believers to walk in a dimension of the spirit where divine revelation can be poured into our lives. He wants to reveal mysteries, things hidden from this world. The Word of God will be spiritually discerned.

c. Enlightened—God wants our eyes opened to things that the natural man cannot see because he is blinded by this world. Spiritual enlightenment, seeing the things through the eyes of faith that others miss.

II. Hope of His Calling—v.18b Paul prays that every believer would understand our hope we have in Christ. From prison Paul is writing to people our hope is in Christ.

a. Blessed Hope—that Christ will return for us. Whether we are dead in Christ and are raised first, or we are alive and remain, and are caught up together with them in the air. We have this hope that sustains us.

b. Blessed Assurance- His Calling—our hope isn’t in ourselves but

It is in Christ. He has called us out of darkness, he has called us out of this world. We have this confidence—we are called by His Name.

III. The Riches of His Inheritance-v.18

Paul now moves into the next possession we have in Christ, a glorious inheritance.

a. an incorruptible inheritance—the possessions we have in Christ cannot be lost, cannot be stolen away. They are all non—perishable goods. We have been left a spiritual inheritance.

b. Glorious—the church as the body of Christ has been given everything needed for victory. He didn’t leave us here with nothing, but has left us everything needed to walk in victory.

c. Every good and perfect gift comes from above—we have blessings on our lives from above.

IV. Spiritual Power—v.19-23 exceeding greatness of his power

Paul wants every believer to know our position in this world is not of ourselves but in Christ. We walk in the same authority, dominion and power through Christ.

a. Far above all principality, power and might—we have been authorized to walk in dominion over all things. Everything has been placed under our feet.

b. We are the body of Christ, we walk in the same victory that he walked in as the Son of Man. Victory over sin, over satan, over sickness, over death. We have been made overcomers.

c. Everything in this world has been placed under his feet. Paul wants every believer to understand, no weapon formed against us shall prosper, if God is for us than what can be against us.

Close: many people are ignorant to who they are in Christ and what privileges they possess in Christ. Paul prayed that saints would come to full revelation of who they are in Christ. Tonight, may we all go higher, may we all take our rightful place in Christ.