HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE? (3 OF 17)
by Tim Badal
Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
This content is part of a series.
How Then Shall We Live? (3 of 17)
WHO AM I?
Tim Badal
Ephesians 1:15-23
Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 1. We're in a series we started two weeks ago titled "Who Am I?" We're answering this fundamental question about our identity and how we define ourselves. Ephesians is a book that defines who we are very, very clearly. It answers the question of who we are by saying 25 different times, "I am in Christ" or "I am in Him." By saying this over and over again, it emphasizes the significance of who we are because we have bowed the knee and trusted Christ as our Savior. In this way, Paul is telling us that our relationship with Christ is far more expansive than we give it credit for.
If someone were to ask you this morning, "What does it mean to be in Christ, a follower of Jesus Christ?", you might simply say, "It's my insurance policy that keeps me from hell." If that's the totality of what you understand about your relationship with Jesus Christ, you're missing a whole lot. There's way more to that relationship than simply a liability insurance to keep you from the flames of hell. Paul will address this more as we go through Ephesians.
The second thing we need to understand is that when Paul speaks 25 times about our being in Christ, he's referring to a present reality. It involves everything you do in the present reality: how you spend your time, how you invest your money, how you engage with the people around you, how you parent, how you live out your married life, your work or school, your leisure. Everything in your life should be funneled through being in Christ. If everything in your life is not funneled through your relationship with Christ, you're not experiencing what it means to be "in Christ." Being in Christ means you wake up every morning and ask, "How do I live life in Christ today?"
In Ephesians 1:14 we saw that there is a future promise incorporated in the idea of being in Christ. Paul speaks of an inheritance that is waiting. Three ...
WHO AM I?
Tim Badal
Ephesians 1:15-23
Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 1. We're in a series we started two weeks ago titled "Who Am I?" We're answering this fundamental question about our identity and how we define ourselves. Ephesians is a book that defines who we are very, very clearly. It answers the question of who we are by saying 25 different times, "I am in Christ" or "I am in Him." By saying this over and over again, it emphasizes the significance of who we are because we have bowed the knee and trusted Christ as our Savior. In this way, Paul is telling us that our relationship with Christ is far more expansive than we give it credit for.
If someone were to ask you this morning, "What does it mean to be in Christ, a follower of Jesus Christ?", you might simply say, "It's my insurance policy that keeps me from hell." If that's the totality of what you understand about your relationship with Jesus Christ, you're missing a whole lot. There's way more to that relationship than simply a liability insurance to keep you from the flames of hell. Paul will address this more as we go through Ephesians.
The second thing we need to understand is that when Paul speaks 25 times about our being in Christ, he's referring to a present reality. It involves everything you do in the present reality: how you spend your time, how you invest your money, how you engage with the people around you, how you parent, how you live out your married life, your work or school, your leisure. Everything in your life should be funneled through being in Christ. If everything in your life is not funneled through your relationship with Christ, you're not experiencing what it means to be "in Christ." Being in Christ means you wake up every morning and ask, "How do I live life in Christ today?"
In Ephesians 1:14 we saw that there is a future promise incorporated in the idea of being in Christ. Paul speaks of an inheritance that is waiting. Three ...
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