Who We Are In Christ

There was a man in Michigan who purchased a farm in 1998. When he purchased the farm, the former owner included a rock that he had been using as a door stop for over 30 years. It was very heavy and had a unique look. The new owner though that it might be a meteorite, so when he purchased the farm he took the rock to a geology professor at Central Michigan University to discover that it was indeed a meteorite. The 22 pound rock was valued at $100,000 and was the most valuable rock that the geology professor had ever examined.

Sometimes we can miss how valuable something is. The long time farm owner used a $100,000 rock as a door stop for 30 years.

Just like him, You and I have a tendency to loose sight of how valuable Christ is.

Paul reminding Ephesians what they have IN CHRIST (Over 10 times in this chapter )

My Goal: for those who do not have relationship with Jesus to proclaim what they can have in Christ, to remind those who know Christ how valuable he is!

READ 3-14

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. -- (CSB)

In Him we have been Chosen (4-6)

Paul says that those in Christ have been blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavens.

We are not blessed with some, the best, EVERY.

God has blessed you completely in Christ. Sometimes we act like we need God to bless us more when we fail to recognize the insurmountable blessing found in Christ.

In Him we have been Chosen (4-6)

What are these Heavenly Spiritual Blessings found in Christ?

In Him we have been Chosen (4-6)

At the core of the identity of every believer is the the fact that you did not make your way to God. You did not do enough for God to save you or welcome you into his family. Your identity as someone who has been redeemed and reconciled to God was not caused by your proactive action, but God’s.

God has chosen us in Christ!

The combination of both God’s choice and man’s choice is one of the most challenging concepts to understand. We are going to do our best to focus on what the text says this morning.

When?

Paul is clear to say that God has chosen us before the foundation of the world. Paul wants to make sure the Ephesians understand the timing of God’s choice.

God chose us before the earth was formed — aka before time began! God chose us before we could ever chose him.

The fact of God’s intentional action to choose you in Christ should radically change your life. This has major implications for your identity!

Just like we could not do anything to make our way to God, nothing can change the fact that God has chosen us!

How?

How?

God accomplished this by adoption.

Important Truths

Paul communicates that God predestined us to be in his family.

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. God did not make a rash decision. He knew that he was going to chose you as his

When Paul communicated this to the Ephesians, they would have experienced many emotions.

In Him we have Redemption (7-10)

The ritual of adoption must have been very impressive. It was carried out by a symbolic sale in which copper and scales were used. Twice the biological father sold his son, and twice he symbolically bought him back; finally he sold him a third time, and at the third sale he did not buy him back. After this, the adopting father had to go to the praetor, one of the principal Roman magistrates, and plead the case for the adoption. Only after all this had been gone through was the adoption complete.

When the process had been completed, the adoption was indeed complete. The person who had been adopted had all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family and lost absolutely all rights in his old family. In the eyes of the law, he was a new person. So new was he that even all debts and obligations connected with his previous family were abolished as if they had never existed.

William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 91–92.

God chose us by adopting us in Christ.

Those In Christ have a new family, we have been welcomed into the family of God.

We have new rights and privileges. We are no longer bound by the debts of our former family.

The reality is that we have all sinned, creating a debt that we could not pay. BUT Christ....

In Him we have Redemption (7-10)

Redemption refers to the payment of a ransom.

Jesus payed the ransom of our sin by the shedding of his blood.

The payment of his blood redeemed us from the penalty of our sin.

, “he has died as a random to set them free from the sins committed.”

There is no other price that would have satisfied the ransom. Jesus paid it all.

The reality of our redemption shows the wealth of God’s grace.

God’s grace account is immeasurable. God’s grace checks never bounce, and he never ‘over drafts’ — We have experienced the wealth of God’s grace in Christ!

God generously poured out this grace on us.

In Him we have an Inheritance (11-12)

We receive the inheritance of eternal life in heaven. But Paul’s thought includes more than our eternal destination, it involved the reality of a new family status and provision.

We do not receive the inheritance we deserved, sin. Instead, we receive the inheritance God provided in Christ.

The adopted son’s receive the same inheritance of the biological sons.

, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by Grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says that this should lead to praise! What else could we ask for? We have all the spiritual blessings in Christ.

In Him we have been Sealed by the Holy Spirit (13-14)

Paul uses a word that describes a seal used to enclose a letter which communicates permanence and authenticity. We have God’s seal, and it is not able to be removed.

The Holy Spirit is the sign that you are in Christ!

Believing in Christ results in receiving the Holy Spirit. Once you believe in Christ, God gives you the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance — it is the guarantee.

God prepaid for our inheritance by giving us the Holy Spirit.

It is as if God says, let me go ahead and pay for their inheritance, giving us the Holy Spirit.

That does not diminish the importance and divinity of the Holy Spirit — God in us; But it does affirm the seal of the Holy Spirit.

If you have the Holy Spirit

Application

- Take inventory of your life – have you been changed by the life of Christ?

Maybe you have never placed your faith in Christ and repented of your sins...

Is Christ a $100,000 gem, or is he your door stop?

Does he get you in the door of eternal life or is he your life?

- Recognize what God has given you in Christ.

o You have been chosen by God

o You have been redeemed by God

o You have an inheritance

o You have been sealed

- Praise God for what he has given you in Christ.