Ephesians 2
Who Are You in Christ Jesus? Just take a moment to ponder that question....
Once again, our identity is presented by God to forge unity, and harmony
among believers in the same church. These are true confessions we can make to
God daily as believers in Jesus Christ. It is vital that we pay attention to
how these truths apply to anyone suffering from an over-inflated ego, delusions
of grandeur, false self-importance convictions, distorted perceptions of oneself,
or a superiority complex.
Caution: these concepts are true, humbling, chastening, corrective, and helpful.
Let’s look at each one.
1.
I am saved, quickened,
and made alive…or suddenly awaken to the reality of my sinfulness and life in
Christ (Eph. 2:1)
The sinner who trusts Christ has been raised and seated on the throne
(Eph. 2:1–10), and believing Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled and set
into the temple (Eph. 2:11–22). What a miracle of God’s grace! We are taken out
of the great graveyard of sin and placed into the throne room of glory.[1]
2.
I was loved by God even
when I was living for worldliness, by the devil’s influence, and for myself in
carnality like everyone else (Eph. 2:2-3)
3.
I am saved by God’s
merciful grace and made alive together with Christ because of God’s great love
(Eph. 2:4-5)
It comes as a shock to some people when they discover that we are not
saved “by God’s love,” but by God’s mercy and grace. In His mercy, He does not
give us what we do deserve; and in His grace He gives us what we do not
deserve. And all of this is made possible because of the death of Jesus Christ
on the cross. It was at Calvary that God displayed His hatred for sin and His
love for sinners (Rom. 5:8; John 3:16).[2]
4.
I am raised-exalted and
seated-enthroned with Christ in the heavenly realm so I may be an ageless
demonstration of His grace and kindness (Eph. 2:6-7)
5.
I am reconciled-a
recipient of God’s gracious salvation gift through a simple act of faith in His
matchless work and impeccable character (Eph. 2:8-9)
6.
I am free from all
bragging, personal determination, prideful efforts, and arrogance for this salvation
in Christ (Eph. 2:9)
One reason why salvation is a free gift of God and not earned by works,
is given us in the words; “lest any man should boast.” Grace glorifies God.
Works would glorify man.[3]
7.
I am re-created in
Christ for the good works that God ordained for me to fulfill and complete
with/during this incredible new life (Eph. 2:10)
8.
I am delivered by God
from alienation regarding heritage, estrangement to God’s promises, and hopeless
worldliness and brought into peace, promise, and harmony through the precious
blood of Christ (Eph. 2:11-13)
When they trusted the Savior, God placed them in Christ Jesus and accepted them in the beloved One. From then on
they were as near to God as Christ
is, because they were in Christ Jesus.
The cost of effecting this marvelous change was the blood of Christ. Before these Gentile sinners could enjoy the
privilege of nearness to God, they had to be cleansed from their sins. Only the blood of Christ shed at Calvary
could do this. When they received the Lord Jesus by a definite act of faith,
all the cleansing value of His precious blood was credited to their account.[4]
9.
I am no longer alienated,
but rendered near to God who is uniting all believer’s bringing peace, union, agreement,
and cultural connectivity (Eph. 2:13-14)
10. I am reconciled to God as a new individual regardless of my guiltiness, my
offensiveness, and national origins and united with other believers through the
cross (crucifixion) of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:15-17)
11.
I presently share a new
position—access to God the Father by the Spirit as a fellow-citizen with other
saints and belong to and included in God’s household of faith (Eph. 2:18-19)
12. I am built on the same foundation of Christ, the chief cornerstone, and we
share together in the work of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20)
Paul has shown that though the Gentiles were formerly outside God’s
household, they are now one “new man” with Jewish believers. This new entity is
like a temple that is structured on the apostles and prophets, with Christ
being the chief Cornerstone; it is indwelt by God through the agency of the
Holy Spirit.[5]
13. I am gifted and enabled by God to contribute to the ever-growing welfare of the Church as a part of the Lord’s living Temple—his Spirit-provided dwelling place (Eph. 2:21-22)
And so the chapter that began with a description of Gentiles who were
dead, depraved, diabolical, and disobedient, closes with those same Gentiles
cleansed from all guilt and defilement, and forming a dwelling place of God in the Spirit![6]
In conclusion, recite these God-centered statements to your Father and you
daily confessing your acknowledgement and agreement with his views of you as his
child. Try this for a solid month. Consciencely recognize this corrective
position for your own ‘freeing’ benefit and mental adjustment. Gradually let go
of any over-inflated ego observations…any erroneous delusions of grandeur…all untrue
self-importance persuasions… all distorted perception of oneself, and every
wrong superiority complex. Stop now any efforts to overcompensate for any
feelings of inadequacy or shortages from your entire life! Spiritually we are
all equal “in Christ” and this includes every believer without a single
exception. This is wonderful!
It is true that our heavenly Father regards all of us, His children, in
the same way. We are equals…special, but not individually unique. We are
privileged and exalted because of who God is, not in or of ourselves. We all
enjoy elevated gracious blessings and not mere individual earthly rights in God’s
eyes. The honors that we have do not favor one over the other but are evenly
distributed to all believers alike “in Christ.”
Go ahead and admit these ideas to our heavenly Father. Adopt this correct
perspective for yourself; embrace these God-given ideas fully. Personally witness
God's wonderful truth transforming your understanding of yourself and freeing
you from elevated arrogance, fault-finding comparisons, and paranoid fears. In
the name of Christ Jesus be free from hoax-laden cover ups, double-standard pretenses,
two-faced hypocrisies, national or cultural expectations, fraudulent lifestyles,
fakeness, and other delusional ideas rooted in distorted perceptions of reality.
God, your heavenly Father, wants you to be ‘free’ indeed!
[1]
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible
Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996),
17.
[2]
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible
Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996),
19.
[3]
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word
Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader,
vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 70.
[4]
William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible
Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1920.
[5]
Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures,
ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985),
628.
[6]
William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible
Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1924.
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