A New Person in Christ

Geography and Identity: becoming a new person in Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10.

1. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2. in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5. made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7. in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9. not by works, so that no one can boast. 10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Introduction:

This passage is one of the clearest, most expressive and most loved descriptions of salvation in the NT. It contains the first of 5 explicit “formerly – now” contrasts, which distinguish a life of sin and alienation before Christ, to a life of faith in Christ.

The number of oppositions in this passage is striking;

	Formerly	Now
V1	Dead in sin	Alive in Christ
V3-4	Objects of wrath	Objects of love
V5	Sinful nature	Union with Christ
V6	This world	Heavenly realms
V8	By nature	By grace
V8-9	By works	Through faith

· dead in our sin versus alive in Christ

· objects of wrath verses objects of love

· sinful nature verses being ‘in Christ”. Having a Christ-like nature, united with him, in him.

· this world versus the heavenly realms,

· by nature versus by grace,

· by works versus through faith.

In fact most of the major themes of Paul’s salvation theology are here in these few verses Eph 2:1-10.

This passage contrasts two ways of living; the former life in sin and the present life in Christ, and by implication it asks us… where will you live?

It provides us with a description of reality, as if to say; this is what life in the world is really like and this is what life with God is really like.

The focus is identity… who are we and who God is. You see when we really know who we really are… we know how to really live. And so this passage [V1-10] reveals the identity of people without God, the identity of people in Christ and the identity of God himself, and it calls for a response.

Geography determines Identity: our former life…[V:1-3]

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2. in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

You see our geography determines our identity. Looking back from the perspective of life in Christ, in V1 Paul views the former life as death; spiritual death, he understood that a life without God was a meaningless, waste of space, kind of existence.

It’s pretty straight forward really, Paul is pretty blunt, he wouldn’t do very well in a culture as politically correct as ours. I’m sure he’d tread on a few toes… but this is how it is.

You see without Christ, we are dead, death has the upper hand, death controls life itself, it is non relational, destructive, and corrupting. You see as a consequence of sin, death has its way, and as a result people have no relation to God and distorted relations with each other. They are powerless to change and they are pulled down to destruction.

Now according to Paul, people basically live in one of these two spheres or environments, you are either in Christ or in sin, choosing life or death.

Now, to live in sin or to live in Christ, they’re both lifestyle choices; and they both describe a path which people walk, they describe certain boundaries that shape our lives, philosophes that dictate our thoughts, shape our attitudes and mold our behaviour.

You see our geography; in other words, the place, the sphere, the environment we inhabit, reside in, dwell in… determines our identity, our geography sets the boundaries, the perimeters for our lives, it determines the path we walk, shapes the people we become.

Who determines your identity, who shapes your thinking, determines your world view, challenges your lifestyle, determines your being?

Which environment are you in? Have you moved from death to life, from a former life in sin to a new life in Christ… have you taken that step?

You see we live in a world that leaves God out of the picture. A while ago now, we went to the museum there were many displays about life in NZ over the years. Education, health, fashion, battles won and lost.

As a nation you would never have known that the majority of people in NZ have been brought up in the Christian faith, or at least in a Christianised society. There were no photos, no records, no mention of the impact that church, Christianity or God had made in shaping us as a people. History had been re-written and God had been left out.

Well history is still being written today and God as we know him, is still being left out and this is the world we live in. And its easy to conform, easy to be content with this.

But the former way of life, that Paul speaks of involves conformity to this world, a world that either leaves God out of the picture, or if it does include him, does a great job of making him in our own image instead of the other way around.

All of us live in this world, a world that is shaped by a system that does not consider God worthy of a mention. And all of us at one time were conformed to it, determined by it, and even now as Christians we have to constantly struggle against it, working to ensure we don’t get overwhelmed by it.

Our geography determines our identity… being in Christ is the only place where you can be sure you are not in sin. To some degree or another our culture will always shape us, but Jesus must be our primary culture.

Not only this, this passage points to the universality of sin, all of us are addressed here, all of us are guilty of living without God, all of us are deluded from time to time into thinking we determine ourselves… we don’t.

All of us are children of our time, and the truth is that our time is determined to do without God. As we head towards genetically engineered people, cloning and the like I believe we tamper with something only God has the right to, as we endeavour to stay eternally young, aiming for perfection, what is it that we are striving for. As we drive harder and harder for more and more money, bigger houses, better cars, more control, more security, what is it that we are looking for.

Is it a world where we are in control, a world that does just fine without God, a world that has no need for anything outside of ourselves, a world that is so focused on the physical and the material and the immanent, that there’s no room for the spiritual and the transcendent and the eternal.

Evil is a force that determines us, wether it be the evil in our own self seeking souls, the evil that grips our self seeking society, or the evil that the “ruler” seeks to accomplish.

Yet despite the fact that all of us are sinners this passage point out the incredible value of humanity to God. It points to a kind of pervasive depravity rather than a total depravity, all humans whether believers or not, are created in the image of God and have enormous value and potential, despite this depravity God finds something worth loving to death.

Nevertheless this picture is pretty bleak isn’t it? Because of sin humans are living dead, living in keeping with a world order that ignores God, they follow a path that leads only to God’s wrath.

For some people they have a problem with God being wrathful; but when you think about it, wrath and judgement are the pre-supposition of salvation, if God doesn’t have wrath; salvation isn’t needed.

I believe that if God could look at the sin and injustice, the oppression and the idolatry in this world and not get angry, then he’s not much of a God at all.

The God of the bible is not some immoveable, unfeeling force, but a God who cares. Yes God gets angry, he gets angry because he cares so deeply.

You see the main point of all this doom and gloom is to say that God will not stay out of the picture. He refuses to give us up. The good news is that God knows how bad it is, and still he loves us, still he came for us, was willing to live and die for us, and has conquered sin and death for us…

Geography determines Identity… our life in Christ [V4-7]

4. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5. made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7. in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

As I said the picture looked pretty grim BUT; as it says in V4; God acted because of his love and mercy. God was and is not an onlooker in the salvation process, or in an angry huff waiting to be appeased. He is the primary actor, the star of the show, the one who by his love deals with his own wrath and shows incredible mercy to his people.

Where wrath should have come mercy flows instead.

If you look at V4-10 you’ll see an abundance of words like… mercy, love, grace, kindness, gift, these are words that Paul stacks together to try and describe the reality of the gospel, the grandeur of God’s care and commitment to us, in Christ. He will not let us go.

Gods rich-ness, God’s wealth, describes the inexhaustible and incomprehensible supply of his gift to us… the richness of Gods mercy V4, the richness of Gods grace V7, the richness of his glory V18.

Gods wealth, God’s richness, are his abundant resources for caring and providing for his people and for revealing his nature, supremely expressed in the gift of his son, in the richness of his actions for us in Jesus.

So the situation was grim until God stepped in, without God we are dead, without God life is distorted, without God we remain in sin… BUT and it’s a big BUT with him things change, our geography changes, our identity changes, we are alive because we are in Christ.

But wait there’s more! Not only this but life in Christ says that as Christians we are included in the redemptive events of Christs death and resurrection. This is incredible really.

Three times the word WITH is repeated, in V5-6, emphasising our participation with Christ, to enjoy salvation requires being joined to the saviour, the gift can’t be separated from the giver. Salvation exists because God created life in the midst of death, without the resurrection there would be no salvation.

If humanities plight is a spiritual death, then the solution is a spiritual resurrection. Life must be infused. The point is that when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him, he raised and exalted Christians with him as well.

You see the cross and resurrection are not merely historical events, they are eschatological and inclusive events. They work in the past, the present and in the future. In other words they were more than just events from which we benefit they are events in which we participate. Christianity is not just a religion of ideas; it’s a religion of participation, of involvement, of fellowship with God in Christ.

In Paul’s mind Christ’s death and resurrection are not merely events that produce great rewards for us, they are events in which we are included.

We are crucified with Christ, baptised into his death, and having put off the old self we put on Christ and are untied with him in resurrection.

It’s a kind of solidarity thing.

In conversion and baptism we identify with Christs death and resurrection and we live out that pattern of death and resurrection in our lives every day. But not only have we been raised with Christ we have been seated with him in the heavenly realms as well. What is true of him is true of us. If he is exalted to Gods right hand then so are we; we are joined to him so that we are where he is.

Our exaltation with Christ in the heavenly realms is an extension of all this. This too is a reality, although it’s not a literal thing. Its Pauls way of saying Jesus is victorious and that his victory, not our human plight, our human circumstances, determines who we really are.

In Christ we have the victory, despite the world, despite our struggles, despite the circumstances. Like I said before you either live in sin and under its influence or in Christ and under his influence, it’s a question of serving the tyrant - sin or serving the Lord - Jesus Christ.

Conversion is simply a transfer from one sphere to another, it’s a change of Lordships, we move from the realm of death to the realm of life.

Perhaps today is the day you need to change Lordships, change teams, perhaps today you need to really look at what or who determines your being and wake up to the fact that God wants to give YOU life.

Geography Determines Identity… saved by grace V 8-10

8. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9. not by works, so that no one can boast. 10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This transformation is amazing… that God should save people from this living death! For some reason unknown to us, but nevertheless rooted in his nature God gives himself to us, attaches himself to us, and acts to rescue us. Though wrath should have come saving grace comes instead.

Although Christians are saved by God’s grace, faith is the means by which this grace is received, our faith doesn’t save us, but God’s grace does.

Its interesting though; if you look at V8.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and THIS is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.

The question is what does the “THIS” relate to. What exactly is NOT our own doing; the grace or the faith? Although other texts may refer to faith as a gift from God, I don’t believe that’s what Paul’s saying here.

The word THIS is neuter in gender, and the word FAITH is feminine and so the THIS probably refers to the whole process of God’s saving people by grace. Paul’s point is that salvation is a gift from a trustworthy God, whom we believe.

You see people who believe don’t merely hold certain ideas, they are bound to God and live in response to him. Paul’s frequent use of phrases like ‘with Christ’ and ‘in Christ’ show his conviction that faith joins us to Jesus so strongly that we are in him, and that what is true for him is also true for us.

Christ’s past is our past, and he determines our present and our future.

Faith has an adhesive quality to it, it binds the believer to the one who is believed. You see salvation doesn’t come from just believing ideas or making an emotional decision, it comes from being bound to Christ.

So Paul’s understanding of faith includes attachment, union, and solidarity with Jesus. In the church it seems that for many faith has been watered down to simply mean assent, decision, or a set of teachings you affirm… for Paul faith is life changing and produces good deeds.

Unfortunately we’ve been sucked into thinking that change is desirable with faith but not absolutely necessary, in other words, a decision, the right prayer, is enough to go to heaven and that this is all God ever really asks of us or expects.

How did faith in Christ ever get so perverted to merely become thought about Christ!! How did all the focus get placed on getting into heaven, how did anyone read the NT and conclude we do not have to do anything!!! It’s simply not so.

Martin Luther and the reformers reacted against the excesses of indulgences and the thought that people could gain access to God by what they did. That people could buy forgiveness, people could earn their place in heaven somehow.

But we distort the idea of faith when we fail to see that it joins us to Christ and affects the whole reality of our lives. The faith that many people possess is nothing more than a groundless hope of escaping judgement.

Get this… we do nothing to gain our salvation and life with God, but such a joining to God does everything to us! It makes us a new creation, a new person, and propels us to do the good things God expects of us. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a life of do–goodism but a life reflecting God’s love… there’s a difference.

But the truth is, faithfulness in Christian living is not an optional part of faith.

These few verses are Paul’s way of saying… hey you GET A LIFE!

A life filled with Christ or shaped by death,

A life lived in sin or a life lived in Christ.

A life shaped by this world, this culture or a life saved by grace.

A life determined by evil or a life determined by the author of all things good.

Over and over again in Ephesians Paul reveals to us a God who is for us; showering his people with grace. He is not a deist God who sits far off and waits. He is an active God, who will not stay out of the picture; he is Immanuel… God with us.

Such a God is worthy of faith, such a God is worthy of our praises.

A New Life in Christ - Ephesians 1:1-14

The Book of Ephesians.

A New Life… Eph chp 1: 1-14.

Pound for pound Ephesians may well be the most influential document ever written. The explanation of the gospel and of life with Christ is powerful and direct, it’s a bombshell the kind of book that should really be marked… danger; contents are life changing.

In a way it’s the most contemporary book of the bible as well, it’s about us, it describes human beings and their predicament… but much more than this, it describes God reaching out to people to recreate and transform them into a new society.

This book promises community in a world marked by disunity, reconciliation in a place of alienation, and peace instead of war and so it’s as relevant today as it was all those years ago. Its sooooo exciting!

This extraordinary letter was John Calvins favourite letter, Samuel Coleridge calls it, “the Queen of the epistles, the distilled essence of the Christian message; truth that sings, doctrine set to music.” He’s excited and so should we be!

Most of the letter is about 2 things… power and identity. It describes the power God’s spirit gives for living, and it shows us who we really are. Who we are without Christ and who we become with Christ. This little letter is dynamite, its all about God and his work, Christ and the gospel, and life with the spirit.

Ephesians challenges and redefines any superficial understanding of the gospel, this gospel requires people to act, this faith works. Believers have a responsibility to make choices and to change the pattern of their lives. An easy believe-ism or a passive faith can’t survive this message, but with the grace of God the choices and the changes can be made, bringing new life.

So let’s set the scene a little…

Born in Jerusalem the church grew rapidly. Fanned by persecution, the gospel flame spread to other cities and nations. On 3 courageous journeys Paul and his associates established local churches in scores of gentile cities, and one of the most prominent of these was Ephesus.

Ephesus was a strategic city, the most important port on the main route from Rome to the east. The church was established in AD53 on Paul’s homeward journey to Jerusalem, he returned a year later and stayed with them for 3 years. [Acts 19:1 – 20]

A few years later Paul was sent to prison in Rome, and it was from here that he wrote the letter to the Ephesians probably about AD60 (about 7 years after he had visited them and established the church there). It wasn’t written to counter any heresy or even to confront a nasty problem, it was in fact a letter of encouragement, and it was probably intended to be a circular letter read by all the churches in the area.

So that’s a little bit about the background; have your bibles open and follow with me.

1. A New Life in Christ: incredibly blessed…

The opening section of Ephesians describes the new life God gives us in Christ. And I have to say it’s pretty incredible…

In V3 God the father is the source or origin of every blessing we enjoy. It’s His initiative; God himself is the subject of almost every main verb in these verses. Have a look with me…

It’s God that blesses us V3, God who choses us V4, God who destined us to be his sons and daughters V 5, God who freely bestows his grace V 6 & 8, and God who makes his will and purposes known to us V9 & 10…

Now the sphere within which these blessings are bestowed and received is the Lord Jesus Christ, in other words; those who are “in Christ” receive all these wonderful blessings. The term “in Christ” occurs 164 times in Paul’s writings while the term “in the spirit” occurs only 22 times and “in God” even less; only 3 times.

In the first 14 verses of Ephesians Jesus Christ is referred to, no fewer than 15 times, and the phrase “in Christ” occurs 11 times. Paul is trying to say something here! But so what… what does this mean… this new life “in Christ”? Follow with me…

1. V 3 & 4, 9 & 11 God’s purpose and election take place in Christ

Formerly we were “in Adam”, belonging to the old fallen humanity, now we are in Christ, belonging to the new redeemed humanity.

2. V5 God blessed us in time and chose us in eternity, adopting us as sons and daughters in Christ.

3. V 6 & 7 God’s grace and redemption are found in Christ.

4. V 10 All things in heaven and on earth are summed up in Christ.

5. V 12 & 13 Our hope is founded in Christ, people hear the word in Christ, and by faith are sealed in Christ. We are marked by the Holy Spirit and as such we belong to God in Christ.

6. In Christ we have new life.

This entire section V1-14 is an outpouring of worship to God for his wonderful blessings in Christ. God is being praised and the focus of that praise is what God has done in Christ and what is available to us in Christ. Have a look at what the rest of the NT reveals to us about our identity in Christ.

Our true identity is revealed in Christ…

· We are declared not guilty. Rom 3:24

· There is no condemnation. Rom 8:1

· We’re freed from the circle of sin. Rom 8:2

· We’re made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1Cor1:2

· We are pure and holy. 1Cor1:30

· We will rise again. 1Cor15:22

· We are freed from trying to be good enough to be saved. 2Cor3:17

· We are brand new people inside. 2Cor5:17

· We are full of God’s goodness. 2Cor5:21

· We are one in Christ with all believers. Gal3:28

· We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven. Eph 1:3

· We are holy, blameless. Eph 1:4

· We belong to Christ. Eph 1:5-6

· Our sins are taken away, we are forgiven. Eph 1:7

· We will live with Christ forever. Eph 1:10-11

· We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit. Eph 1:13

· We will sit with Christ in glory. Eph 2:6

· We have been given new lives. Eph 2:10

· We have been brought near to God. Eph 2:13

· We will receive great blessings. Eph 3:6

· We can come fearlessly into God’s presence. Eph 3:12

· We are part of Christ’s body, the church. Eph 5:29

· We have everything because we have Christ, we are filled with God. Col 2:10

· We are set free from evil desires. Col 2:11

· We will have eternal glory. 2Tim 2:10

Once we were separated from God, hopeless and godless, but now we are in Christ and that makes a difference, in Christ we are overwhelmed by blessing. I don’t know about you but I need to be reminded of that!

Every blessing of the Holy Spirit has been given to us by the father if we are in the son, no blessing is withheld from us, and that’s got to be good for you!

This is an amazing concept; you see in Christ we are incorporated into him, that is; Christ is the place where we as believers reside, the source in which we find God’s salvation and blessings, and the framework in which we live and work.

This is the real point of all this… transformation, first of all spiritually and internally, but worked out externally impacting us relationally and effecting us ethically.

Awareness of the presence of God and of living in Christ are the keys to life. Don’t forget where you are… you are in Christ. You live in his house and you are part of his family.

And that means that our lives are determined by the character of Christ and God; you see Christian ethics are grounded in our being in Christ. Rule keeping is not the issue, conforming to some external standard is not the issue, if you live in Christ, then Christ is our environment.

As such we live out of this environment, there’s a kind of inner definition that comes from being in Christ, and as we are empowered by his spirit our lives are transformed; we become holy and blameless… that’s the call, that’s the challenge.

Life from God results in a transformed life with God, being in Christ has to make a difference, doesn’t it?

Now this is not some eastern religious thought of absorption into the deity, but nevertheless being in Christ means we are united with Christ and as such he sets the perimeters of life and then makes available God’s provisions for life.

What we need for life is found in Christ, as Colossians says; Christ is all and all we need.

But without ignoring the importance of Christ being in us, the neglected idea of our being in Christ is much more significant. If we only emphasise that Christ is in us, that Jesus is in my heart, we define reality, and Christ is about one inch tall. If we realise we are in Christ, then he determines reality and encompasses all we are.

For Paul, faith is incorporation into Christ, a fellowship with him that determines the whole of life. You see Christianity is far more than believing certain facts, fellowship with Christ can not be reduced to belief in certain doctrines about Christ.

We need to be people who live like we know our geography; we are part of Christ.

As such we should always act in accord with who he is, everything we do and say, everything we think and feel; the good and bad… involves Christ.

We are Christ bearers, being in Christ is another way of saying; he determines our being… does that ring a bell; who or what determines your being? Is it Jesus… or is it someone else?

2. New Life in Christ: chosen and elected…

So; being in Christ means that we are incredibly blessed and being in Christ means that we are chosen and elected too… but what does that mean for us?

In V 4 – 6… Election means that the existence of the people of God can be explained only on the basis of God’s character, plan, and action, not on some quality in the people who are chosen. The initiative is always God’s, and it’s based on grace.

Let me explain… God’s character is best described as “God for us”, he is the one who has chosen us. God has and always will be this kind of God.

He is the God of the past, present and future, working in all three areas “for us”.

Our security rests on what HE did before the foundation of the world , on what HE did and what HE continues to do in Christ and in the spirit, and on what HE has promised to do in the future. God has intentionally chosen and planned to go to great lengths to achieve salvation for his chosen people.

This is not an afterthought, but the very essence of who he is. God is a gregarious God who created people for relation with him.

God values his people and draws them to himself in Christ, the focus is on his grace and has nothing to do with any arbitrary decisions from God about wether to chose some and ignore others.

We’ve got it all wrong if we assume that God’s election of us has anything to do with our own merit or accomplishment. Of course we have difficulty thinking that God might chose some and not others; this is not a God of love and compassion. This is cruel and calculating and pretty hard to stomach.

But this isn’t the focus here, the focus is on God at work, planning and drawing a people to himself through Christ. It’s a corporate thing. And if the focus is corporate and not individual and if people are elect only in and through Christ, then this text has nothing to do with our fear that God chooses some individuals and ignores others.

That is a nonbiblical conclusion about the result of election and the question; who is elect. The focus of the biblical text is on the cause of election… that Christians, live holy and blameless lives before God.

That God has chosen us is a privilege, but with this privilege comes responsibility… namely to live holy and blameless lives before him, to the praise and glory of his name. That’s a challenge and that’s the goal.

You know; people often pay too much for ideas like election and have nothing left to pay for other necessities like human freedom and responsibility.

Biblical ideas must always be held in tension with other biblical ideas.

Paul’s discussion here about God choosing has nothing to do with fatalism or determinism that diminishes human action and responsibility.

The temptation is to ask how much of salvation is God’s doing and how much is ours, but this I believe is misguided. It assumes that human beings and God stand in isolation for a start.

The truth is that salvation is entirely a work of God in which humans are totally involved. God is the one who works in and through us even as we choose him. What a glorious, gracious and wonderful God we have.

Consider this…

· Election is God’s grace in action.

· God chose Abraham and then Israel for a task; to bless all the nations of the earth.

· Jesus took on the task of Israel as God’s Elect One.

· People are elect in Christ for relation with God.

· While God chooses, people still have choice and are responsible for their decisions.

· Election demonstrates God’s favour, but it’s not a sign of superiority.

· Election always implies responsibility and demands action.

· The ultimate goal of election is the revelation of God’s character to the praise and glory of his name.

3. A New Life in Christ: adopted and changed…

So what’s the purpose of all this, well; if you have a look at V5 you’ll see that the emphasis on adoption shows that the purpose of election is relational.

God for no other reason than that he’s a loving God chose to adopt people into his family through Jesus Christ. As adopted sons and daughters of God we have many privileges and some demanding responsibilities.

Redemption, forgiveness and abundant grace are only the beginning.

These are privileges that we enjoy right now but it doesn’t stop here there are responsibilities too.

We were pre-destined to be his sons and daughters, for what purpose… to live holy lives that glorify God. It’s inconceivable that we should enjoy a relationship with God as his children without accepting the obligation to imitate our father and cultivate the family likeness.

As adopted children we experience immeasurable privilege, abundant blessings, wonderful grace and constant challenge as well. It’s all part of the package. Having heard all this I’ve got a few questions for you to think about…

• What does being in Christ mean for evangelism?
• What does being chosen say about us?
• What does it say about God?
• Are there people that are not chosen?
• What do you think about that?
• If we are in Christ how does that effect who we are and what we do?

4. A New Life in Christ: bringing glory to God…

Paul was writing all this as a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest and handcuffed to a roman solider. Even though his wrist was chained and his body confined, his heart and mind inhabited eternity.

He peered back before the foundation of the world V4 and on into the fullness of time V10, and grasped hold of what we have now V7, and what we ought to be now V4.

We too need to see time in the light of eternity, and our present privileges and obligations in the light of our past election and future perfection. And then like Paul life would lead to worship and we would bless God constantly for having blessed us so richly in Christ.

Life with God is not some minimalist approach to life; God’s spirit has brought us every privilege and every blessing. The fact that we are in Christ should bring us to our knees in worship and wonder.

You see there’s no doubt in my mind that we become what we worship because devotion shapes us. What do you worship and what are you becoming as a result?

What is it that you are devoted to and what is shaping you as a result?

You see everything we have and everything we are in Christ comes from God and therefore must return to God. It all begins with his will and ends with his glory.

Ask yourself this question in the quietness of your heart…

• Does your life begin with his will and end with his glory.
• Do your relationships begin with his will and end with his glory.
• Do your ethics begin with his will and end with his glory.

Lets just sit in silence for a moment or two and consider where we are at in Christ and come before the one who can offer us redemption and forgiveness and grace, the one who is for us not against us.

To the glory of God and in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.