Rediscover Your Identity

Introduction

For the past few weeks we have been addressing the idea that as children of God, we can kick our walk with Christ up a notch...

What do I mean… we can do better.

Its not that we were doing bad perhaps, but we could do better.

I guess I am asking you are you living up to your potential.

Here is what I think...

I think life is so busy, we are usually overwhelmed...

So much happens, family, work, friends, and the list goes on and on at times.

And because we are stretched in so many directions, we seldom can give everything our best...

So something suffers.

But ...

Our identity in Christ, when understood has a definite effect on life.

Our everyday life.

How....

Honestly, rediscovering, understanding who we are in Christ empowers us to live a much fuller, freer life....

That is where the rubber hits the road my friends…

We are empowered to life a good life not a poor, mediocre life...

Christ has done so much for us, how can we give Him anything less than our best?

We cannot not!

Let me share this passage with you, it will be our anchor today.

Ephesians 2:4–7 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

An awesome passage that we are blessed with as the Apostle Paul taught the believers at Ephesus.

He is helping them discover their identity as they lived in a real world.

So lets walk through this message and go forward!

Recipients of God’s Love

If there in one truth that I find hard to understand, it is this: God chose to love us! Humanity.

Do you ever find that to be amazing?

Now you might say....Preacher I don’t get it; what are you talking about?

Well look at it like this...

God made man and woman.

And we (mankind) have failed him, turned away from Him and sinned against Him.

And in spite of who we are....God loves us. Is that Phenomenal of what?

Look back at our text...

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Do you see what it says...

The first word there is “But” Now that is important.... why? It points us back to everything God has said… Like verse 1

Ephesians 2:1 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Now if you keep reading, verses 2 and 3 describe how terrible, just why we were dead in our trespasses and sin...

And in spite of those failures we come to verse 4.... But!

God who is rich in mercy....

Rich - speaks to the large or great abundance one has to give… And what does God give… Mercy.

The Greek word for “Mercy” here is e-leos and it means leniency or compassion toward others or for another.

Think about it...leniency/compassion these are wonderful words… I love it because the words tell us what we are blessed with - instead of the punishment we deserved because of our sin.

And God, Paul teaches us is rich, overflowing with abundance in mercy… His assets of mercy are abundant!

Now here is the true blessing...

Why does God has this why toward us? Because of His great love for us.

Ephesians 2:4 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

His great love for us, the word :love” is agapo in the Greek, it is a God type love, it is a demonstrative love. It is a love, is far different that anything we have ever seen or known before… but it is a love that forgives, heals and blesses based on who God is not us.

And we are the recipients of that love...

A great portion of our identity, is not who we are but His love that is extended to us.

We are clothed in love, because of Hi mercy!

We are recipients of God’s love.

Now lets move on to our second thought today..... We are a new Creation.

New Creation

Knowing that we are the recipients of God’s love encourages us to press on and strive to do out best for God.

But there is more than can encourage us… you know what it is?

It is understanding who we are in salvation. The Bible says we are a New Creation in Christ.

Look back to our passage in for a minute...

Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2:5 ESV

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Do you see the contrast Paul shares with us in this passage..

The old self, the old life was dead. That is man in their natural state, the way we entered this world. In the life defined by sin, unforgiven.

But Jesus changed us… He made us alive… by grace, that is His mercy we were saved.

What is the result??? Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians...

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Salvation is what changes us… Salvation does everything for us that we could not.... and because of Him, because of what He did for us..

We are never the same.

Salvation places us in Christ.

And what does Paul say...

If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation...

What does that mean exactly?

Lets start with the phrase “if anyone is in Christ.”

We were once lost in our trespasses and sins, and as such we were enemies with God.

Listen to these two verses...

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:10 ESV

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:10

Jesus Christ, his death has forever changed us… and we have gone from death unto life.

Jesus Christ, his death i

As such, we, (me and you), through the reconciliation of the cross have been changed, we are a new creation in Christ.

What does this mean?

The phrase “new creation speaks to the idea that the old ways, the way of death, they way we came into the world

So the ordinary if you will let me use this term… the ordinary has been changed by the divine

We wentdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd from the ordinary to became a masterpiece

We went from the ordinary to became a masterpiece of God. A New Creation of God the old has passed and the new has come...

Listen,

If you want to be empowered to walk as a child of God, you must remember that you were once dead but He brought you back to life, real life.

He brought about a transplant operation if you will.... a heart transplant, and he made you better than ever..

no longer the sickly sin harmed life … transformed now to walk in the new life He has given in Jesus Christ.

Rediscovering your identity begins with knowing God loves you and that love has changed you....

Wow, that is powerful!

and this moves me to our last thought....

Your New Identity as a New Future...

What is important about this thought?

Simply this… this place is not our home… we like Bunyan wrote about in Pilgrim’s Progress with His character Christian, are sojourners, we travel through this land looking for another.

In the passage we began with (), Paul reassures us with the fact that since we are saved through the blood of Jesus, a beautiful place awaits us one day.

Ephesians 2:4

Look back at our passage in Ephesians 2....

Ephesians 2:4–7 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Verse 6 is the key, because of God’s gracious gift that we have discussed already in verses 4-5, - Paul tells us we are raised up with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places.

But when we discuss the idea of “heavenly places in verse 6… there is a dual idea here that I want to point out to you.....

Verse 6 is the key, because of God’s gracious gift that we have discussed already in verses 4-5, - Paul tells us we are raised up with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places.

Spiritual realm So as the direct result of our salvation, there is an immediate action. We are in Christ, saved and sealed, also we are raised up and seated .... it says with Jesus… in heavenly places. This place is were our blessings are, our inheritance is, and this is were are affections should be...

1 Peter 1:4 ESV

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Physical realm. Soon, there will be time where we will be raised up. Our destination will change as well.

So consider verse 4…raised up. the root word itself means to “wake up.” We are saved now, we know this is; we are in Christ. And if Jesus delays his coming, we will taste a physical death. But that is not the end… Paul tells us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

I Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 ESV

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 ESV

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

I love verse 16.. the dead in Christ will rise up… literally “wake up...” The body will be changed the soul will re-unite with the glorified body and we will rise up!

We will fly up and meet Jesus and we will return to glory with Jesus, seated in heavenly places. Present with Him…

Friends our new identity means a new destination, and with it a new future.

Man, that makes me excited.

Conclusion

My friends,

Do you understand all that you are in Christ? You have a glorious identity

It is who you are in Christ.

A Living Hope? ;20

Our priorities, our