IN HIM

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our inheritance in HIM

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Ephesians 1

Context

The book of Ephesians was written by Paul, an apostle of Jesus, while he was imprisoned in Rome. Not knowing with any certainty whether or not he would ever see the light of day again.

It is in this setting that Paul is reaching out to the Church of Ephesus. This is the underlying circumstances of why Paul is reaching out. He is hoping that, despite his absence from them physically, God might be able to still use him to build up the church through the words of this letter.

The point of this letter was to build up the church, and to edify the children of God.

It’s our job as followers of Christ, and good readers of His word, to figure out what Paul was really saying.

IN HIM

That being said, as I was reading this passage something stuck out to me.

And I don’t know if you guys noticed it or not, but there’s this phrase Paul keeps repeating over and over again in this passage.

In fact, he repeats it 9 different times.

It’s the phrase, IN HIM, or IN CHRIST

Paul uses this phrase 9 different times throughout our passage, and often times when people repeat themselves its for a reason.

Often it’s because what they’re repeating is tied to their overall message.

Think MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech, or any Justin Bieber song ever.

And so to get started I want to look at 5 of these different IN HIM statements Paul makes, to find out what he’s really trying to tell us here.

The “IN HIM”s

1. Chosen In Him vv1-4

Ephesians 1:1–4 CSB

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will: To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.

predestined

sons and daughters

2. Redeemed IN HIM vv5-7

Ephesians 1:5–7 CSB

He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

through His blood

for our wrongdoings

3. Together IN HIM vv8-10

Ephesians 1:8–10 CSB

that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

all things

of heaven and earth

His plan forever

Now, you might be asking yourself,

How can I be “IN HIM”?

And it’s at this point that Paul answers that very question.

And I want you to pay close attention here because, as usual, Paul doesn’t put it simply.

His response is two fold.

The Key

Continuing at verse 11,

4. Sealed IN HIM vv12-13

Ephesians 1:12–13 CSB

so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory. In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.

Having heard and believed v13

5. IN Knowledge of HIM vv15-17

Ephesians 1:15–19 CSB

This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.

It is in the knowledge of Him that…

He chose us

we are redeemed

we are unified

we receive our inheritance

we are sealed

we are fulfilled in all things through Him

6. Fulfilled IN HIM vv20-23

Ephesians 1:20–23 CSB

He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

The Father raised Jesus from the dead

He placed Him at His right hand

Far above all

authority

power

dominion

name

this age and the one to come

He put all things under His feet

Made Him head to the church

the church is His body

Ephesians 1:23 NASB 2020

which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Jesus fills all in all

What does that mean?

That means that all of you are lacking nothing.

Why?

Because He has been given all,

all rule and reign

all authority and power

all things of heaven and earth

Because He has filled all of you who are in Him

And this is further supported in 2 Peter 1:3,

where Peter writes,

2 Peter 1:3 CSB

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Seam:

Ron Swanson

There’s this tv show I love, probably the best TV show of all time, definitely better than the office, and its called Parks and Recreation, or Parks and Rec. for short.

I’d imagine many of you have watched the show or are at the very least familiar with one of the main characters of the show.

He’s a mans man

The most manly of men

Libertarian to the core (although working for the government)

He’s got a mustache so epic, it demands the respect of everyone in the room

The man, the myth, the legend,

Ron Swanson

At one point in the show Ron is explaining how the less he knows about other people and their problems the happier he is.

The Co-worker/Best Friend

And he tells us about a coworker of his.

The best friend he’s ever had, as he puts it.

They worked together for three years, and he never even learned his name.

He then grows a little grin on his face before saying, “we still don’t talk sometimes”

Now I think we can all agree, working with someone for three years and never learning their name, hardly qualifies as a friendship. Let alone, a best friend.

Working with someone for years, but never getting to know their name.

That’s not a relationship, that’s simply co-existing in the same place.

Human Connection

We can all acknowledge that relationships are about connection.

Intimacy.

Learning how the other talks, walks, eats, and shows love.

It’s about learning the others short comings, the things that irk you, and push your buttons, and loving them anyways.

You see, the very thing Ron was pushing away from, peoples problems, is the very thing that is needed for connection.

And it’s the same with God.

The closer we get to Him, the more we know what His voice sounds like, how He walks with us, how He feeds us, and shows us His love.

The closer we get to His perfect love, the more we realize just how flawed we are in our love, but He still loves us anyways.

Applications

So what are we going to do about it?

How are you going to respond to that love?

Listen and Believe

The Bible tells us that because you heard and you believed, you were sealed IN HIM

So I tell you having heard the good news of what God has done for you, believe it is true that you might be sealed IN HIM this very day for eternity.

Listen and believe.

Believe the word of God

Believe it’s true

Believe that Christ came to die for your sins

and that you can be found IN HIM if you just Listen and Believe IN HIM

Grow In Him

And finally, grow in Him.

Grow in your knowledge of Him

in your love of Him

in your desire of Him

in the pursuit of Him

Now I can hear you saying, I want to grow in Him but I don’t know how.

How can I grow in Him?

And the answer is simple.

It’s the same as you would any other relationship.

Spend Time with Him.

Set aside all distractions

put your phone away

get alone

get away

focus on being in His presence

2. Open up His word

read the message He wrote for you

The Bible may have not been written to you, but it was written for you

Read it

3. Be Consistent

dedicated time of the day

dedicated space

accountability partner

4. Growth over perfection

our goal is to grow in HIM

to be perfected over time

through our sanctification

none of us will be perfect this side of eternity

thats why His grace is so important, necessary even, in our walk with God

Without His grace for when we fail, there would be no hope for any of us

Seam:

IN HIM

Progressive Revelation

Now there’s a concept you can find throughout scripture, both Old and New Testaments know as progressive revelation.

Put simply it’s the idea that God reveals Himself more and more over time.

And we have to be careful here because theres a difference between progressive revelation and new revelation.

What it’s not

The Bible is very clear that no one is permitted to add or take away a single word of God’s revelation given to us through the scriptures.

So if something contradicts what has previously been stated in scripture we cannot take that as truth.

What it is

This is why Paul encourages the Jewish counsel in Acts to confirm the gospel of Jesus he brought them with their own scriptures,

what we know today as the Old Testament,

and they affirmed that this gospel is in fact in alignment with their scriptures. Permitting them to receive the gospel message and in turn receive Jesus as their Lord and savior.

Sanctification

Now this can also happen at a personal level. We call this sanctification.

Basically just a fancy word for spiritual growth, or the process of being shaped in a saint by God throughout our lives.

It comes from the idea that upon our confession of faith, and our spiritual rebirth, God expects us to now be perfect as new creations. He’s wiped away the strain of sin in our lives, paid the debt, justified us by His blood.

But He knows that we will still fall short of the standard He set before us. That’s why Jesus tells the disciples when He’s washing their feet that they will need to wash themselves, their whole selves, continually, as they walk with Him after He is gone.

Already, but not yet

It’s something theologians refer to as the “already but not yet”.

We have already been spiritually reborn, our sins have already been washed away, we have already been justified by His blood.

But, we have not yet been perfected in our glorified bodies, we still live in our sinful flesh and that battle between our flesh and our spirit is where our attention must lie.

Jesus tells the disciples when He praying in the garden right before He was betrayed by Judas that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Whats the point?

Now you might be asking yourself what does this have to do with knowing Christ?

And the answer is everything.

You see, as we grow in our maturity in Christ, He is broadening our shoulders so that we can handle more. Just as Jesus said in the parable of the talents, because you have been faithful with little, I will trust you with much.”

Jesus does that same thing for us. As He tests us, prepares us, sends us through trials, He does it SO THAT we might grow in our spiritual maturity, and SO THAT He can give us even more than we ever asked for.

Paul writes in Romans 5 that,

Romans 5:3–5 CSB

And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I say all this to ask you one question.

The True Cost

If God were to have shown you the person He was calling you to be, the amount of disciple, and self-control, and self-denial,

If He let you feel the weight of every cross you’d have to pick up throughout your life, and every struggle, and every hardship,

If He let you see the amount of flesh He’d have to cut out of you in order for you to become the person He made you, He called you, He desires for you to be,

If He were to show you all suffering you’d have to endure IN HIM before you chose to live your life IN HIM,

If He did all that, would you have still chosen to be with Him?

If I’m being honest with you, I don’t know that I would have.

I don’t know if any of us would have.

But I praise God that I did, not because I knew what it would cost, but because He blessed me in the knowledge of Him

Him who lived a life full of disciple, and self-control, and denied Himself His divine privileges

Him who took on my cross and of each and everyone of us, and took the struggles, and the hardships of each of us on that cross

Him who’s flesh was cut out, who’s side was pierced for our transgressions, in order to fulfill the calling God the Father placed on His life, SO THAT we could be reconciled back to Him as His chosen people.

Him who knew the entirety of the suffering He’d have to endure before He even stepping foot into our world, and yet still chose obedience to the will of His Father. Obedience to the point of death, death on a cross.

Becoming the curse, so that we might be blessed through Him.

Extras

If you aren’t in Him

And if you find yourself listening to this today, and you aren’t “IN HIM”

If you haven’t given yourself, submitted to the Lordship of Christ over your life, then I pray that after hearing this gospel of your salvation, this message of truth, here today, that you would lay yourself down at the feet of the cross in surrender to our loving God who fills all in all, because He loves you.

But this raises an important question for you then today.

How can you be IN HIM?

How can you be IN CHRIST?

and even if you’ve been a born again believer for quite some time you may be asking yourself the same thing. Wanting to go deeper in your faith, you ask yourself,

How can I be IN HIM?

Holy Spirit Inheritance