In Christ Part two
The last time I spoke we looked at the short phrase in Ephesians chapter 1, “in
Christ,” today I want to return to where we left the chapter starting at verse seven. To
see what these verses mean to us as Christians, I want to continue to explore what
being “in Christ,” means to us and what are the implication on our everyday live? So
we are returning to look at Ephesians 1:1-13.
To put this letter in context, because Ephesians was originally a letter, written to the
Christians by Paul, you may remember he wrote this letter around AD 60, whilst in
prison in Rome. Ephesus was a busy city because it was a major trade route in
Western Asia Minor, which we call nowadays, Turkey. Paul uses the expression, “in
Christ,” 146 times in the New Testament and Ephesians 1:1-13 is an remarkable
example of the constant use of the phrase, either as, in Christ, in Him or in Christ
Jesus or in the one he loves, the Authorised or King James Bible uses the phrase “in
the beloved.” The Greek (which was the language that the New Testament was
written in) has been translated into English use various similar phrases for “in Christ,”
sometimes these have been translated as “by” or “with.” In these 13 verses of the
first Chapter of this letter to the Ephesians Paul uses the various terms for “in Christ,”
11 times. Which does beg the question why use “in Christ,” so often, the answer is
that Paul is underlining an important teaching that we all need to take hold of, like
our brethren in Ephesus? We need to be reminded again and again of, “the Spiritual
Blessing in Christ,” we need to stop to look and see what we have as Christians, we
are in Christ.
Now I have no intention of going over everything we looked at in the first six verses,
the last time I spoke, but it would a good to have a quick look at the subject headings
and remind both myself and those who heard me speak last time of what, being “in
Christ,” means, Well we are chosen by God, a Christian is ”predestined for adoption
to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will,” We
looked at how God is Sovereign, this is a Truth that we cannot comprehend, it is
beyond us. Adoption means to the Christian, once, saved always saved, the
outcome of becoming a child of God, of being “in Christ.” Why? Because no-where
in our Bibles are we told we will no longer be adopted, by God. Our heavenly
Father’s promises are to be totally trusted, because He never makes mistakes,
because He is all knowing. But within the Sovereignty of God there is our
responsibility, we are warned in 1 Corinthians 3:17 onwards (our) work will be shown
for what it is,18 because the Day will bring it to light.” We will all be judged (and this
judgement is based on our works, which can never contribute to our salvation,
because salvation is a gift from God, which we cannot earn,) so, we will all be
judged and rewarded accordingly. And these rewards are the outcome of our lives,
what is our attitude when tested through trials, do we dignify them or do we moan
and complain? Our rewards will be based on our approach and response to
temptations and the control of our tongues, everything we say will be recalled at the
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judgment seat (read it yourself in Matthew 12:36-37.) We looked at C.H. Spurgeon’s
response to these two certainties, the Sovereignty of God and our responsibility, he
said, “that truths like these are parallel here on earth but meet in eternity,” in other
words, these are truths too great to try and fit into our finite understanding, it is
simply beyond us.
And because it is beyond our understanding God is gracious, He understands us
better than we know ourselves. He solves our problem of knowing about Him by
giving us His word to show us His splendour, His Almighty power that our finite
minds cannot grasp. So, when we want to know who God is, read His book, and if
you want to know what He wants you to do, read His book. Which is why the Bible is
so vital for us, it is the compass for us to navigate through the journey of our lives. In
the good old days we had maps and compasses to help us find our way from where
we were to where we wanted to go. Nowadays we have little electronic devices in
our cars (sat nav for short) that are hooked up to Satellites orbiting the planet these
allow us to Navigate from where we are and where we want to go. But this illustration
is flawed, human programming or just plain human errors occur and drivers have
been left stranded, literally up a dead end or in the wrong place altogether. But the
Bible has no such fault, why is this? Well we read in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness.” You see, our Bibles are inspired of God, who never makes a
mistake, why because He is all knowing. He is the One who gives us this Library of
books, which we have in one volume for us to be trained to do what is right in His
sight and to correct us, the only way to know about God, is to ask Him to show us, to
teach us who He is in His inspired Word. So, when we navigate our lives with the
guidance of God’s Word, we will never be in the wrong place or end up in a dead
end. Which is why, as Christians we place such an emphasis on this book, this book
continues to prove to us, as...” Francis Foulkes explained in the Tyndale
commentaries, that the teachings of the Bible regulate our lives, our thoughts and
our actions, so we “…will not try to be self-sufficient or to move beyond the limits of
the purpose and control and love of Christ. This library of God’s Word is key to our
daily dialogue, our relationship, with the living God; it focuses our Prayers, our
preaching and our worship, which will prompt us (like the course corrections on
maps or sat navs) to go the way He wants us to go.
So let us look at verse seven of chapter one of Ephesians, “ In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches
of God’s grace.” You see God is Holy, He is so different from us, He is wholly
different from us, to see what I mean let us look at Isaiah chapter six, we have the
account of Isaiah the prophet of God who is about to experience the presence of the
living God. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted,
seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were
seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two
they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one
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another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his
glory.”4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the
temple was filled with smoke.5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of
unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the
King, the LORD Almighty.” There is no darkness with God, He is depicted, because
He is, wholly light, He never lies, and He is never economical with the truth. Can I
comprehend this, yes, because we read this in the Bible, but only as a fact in my
understanding, so did Isaiah. But see the major difference between comprehending
this Truth as a fact and experiencing it, like Isaiah the fact and experience are poles
apart Isaiah was faced with the reality of the Holy God, which was too much for him
to bear, which is why his response is abject terror 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. I am a man
of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen
the King, the LORD Almighty.” This is the God of our Bible; He cannot abide sin, our
wrong doing He hates. And we will all face the Holy God one day, what will we do?
When we can see, here even the best, Isaiah, the man of God is unable to stand in
the presence of the Living God; what possibility do we have, when it is our turn? .
This is the bad news, but there is Good News as we look at verse seven of
Ephesians chapter one, “In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Someone has to
pay the price for the wrong things we do, by rights, it should be us. Consider how,
when someone does us a wrong, we automatically, expect or want justice. Imagine
you are caught for a crime, say stealing, for arguments sake, your there in court, the
evidence has been presented, you are found guilty and rightfully so, you did steal.
The judge is ready to send you to prison, if you cannot pay the fine that is about to
be enforced. Then something totally unexpected happens, it has never happen
before, ever, the judge comes down from his judgment seat and lets you go, but
what about the need for justice, it cannot be ignored? Well the judge takes your
place he pays the fine, he serves your sentence, it is he that takes your punishment.
Which is the meaning of Redemption, because, In him (Jesus) we have redemption,
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace.” The word redemption is a picture of the court drama, it means, both in the
Old Testament and the New Testament, “deliverance by the payment of a ransom.”
The payment for stealing, in the scenario of the court case is a sentence that has to
be served or paid. But what is extraordinary is that it is the Judge who redeems, us,
the guilty one. In the drama of the court, the one who was innocent, the only one
who had the power to change the sentence, is able to do so because He had not
broken the law, he is the one who implemented the rule of the law. So he is the only
one who has the real power in the environment of the law. Which is the reason why
Jesus died on a cross because, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:22, “God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God.” Jesus took our punishment; no one else could, why? The Old Testament
(Leviticus 22:21) points to the fact that for a sacrifice to be accepted it had to be
without a blemish or defect, which is reinforce in 1 Peter 1:19 that we are redeemed
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with the precious blood of Christ, He is the Lamb of God, as John the Baptist
proclaimed, who takes way the sins of the world. So the Old Testament truths are a
shadow that points us to the New Testament truths that we need a sinless sacrifice,
it is the only acceptable way to remove our sins.
Because we need someone who is perfect, who is without sin, we read further on, in
1 Peter 2:22, how Jesus “... committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
Whilst in (Matthew 5:17) Jesus came to the world He had created to do what we can
never do, because He tells us, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” The life of Jesus
demonstrated He is God, He is holiness, never breaking God’s laws, but
implementation them every moment of His life. Those who wanted Him dead could
never bring a charge against Him. In the accounts of the trail of Jesus before His
death on the cross those who hated Jesus could only bring false accusers, with lies
and twisted claims.
But you may say, “I’m not that bad, I’ve never been to court, I’ve never murdered or
stolen, I try to be kind, to be caring, I do my best.” But Isaiah shows us that our
“best,” is never going to be good enough, we need to wake up to the fact that we
should not compare ourselves to those around us (and we do!) We need to wake up,
to realize that God warns us,(Romans 3:11 and 12) “There is no one righteous, not
even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.12 All
have turned away, they have together become worthless there is no one who does
good, not even one.” How can God say this? Well consider the response of Jesus
in Matthew 22:35-40, 35” One of the expert in the law, tested Jesus asking Him:
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“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.” And if we are really honest we know we cannot keep these laws
of God, why because if we could keep the laws of God then “God (would not have)
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.” We would have been able to earn our salvation ourselves.
You see often we resort to a defensive position, when faced with the truth that
“There is no one righteous, not even one,” We excuse, by downgrading or reducing
the seriousness of sin, we reason our behaviour when we do not love the Lord our
God with all our hearts, or really love our neighbour as ourselves, I am busy, I am
tired, you don’t know what my life is like!!!. Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones quantifies sin in
verse seven of Ephesians chapter one, “Sin is so terrible so foul and so vile that
nothing could deal with it but the blood of Christ. And that is what happened on the
Cross. It is not a patching over, a covering over of sin; it is not God saying, “Do not
worry all will be well.” It is God showing us sin as it is, really bringing it out to the
light and then dealing with it.” Sin is not an inconsequential thing, why because it
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cost the life blood of Jesus. I live in a culture, which, on the one hand is offended by
the idea of the need of the sacrifice of Jesus, but that is because sin is seen as
trivial as excusable. While on the other hand we have the contradictory, strong
sense, that the punishment should fit the crime. If you don’t believe me, just listen to
the outcry, just look at the response when a lenient sentences is publicised on the
media, we have an inbuilt sense of justice, flawed though this is we cannot help but
reflect the fact that we are made in the image of God. I remember the parents of a
young man who was killed due to other drivers using the road as a race track, they
where appalled when the prison sentence passed down to the offenders was seen
by them as lenient; they saw the law as inferring that their son’s life was of little
value. So, why are we so inconsistent? It is because of our human problem, we all
become comfortable with our sin because our sense of justice, our reference to the
real price and consequence of sin is flawed, due to our sin. Our minds, our thoughts,
have a bias which means we do not seek God. Which is why we need an unbiased
perspective, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness.” It requires God’s Word to prompt us like
the course corrections on a map or a sat nav, to realize afresh how “Sin is so terrible
so foul and so vile that nothing could deal with it but the blood of Christ.” Otherwise
we will make light of sin, we will fail to see the true cost and therefore devalue this
cost that was paid for our redemption. We need to realize afresh that we are in
Christ, we are In him we have redemption through his blood, the Son of God, died
so that we can become God’s children the price paid really is “in accordance with
the riches of God’s grace.”
And this is the where we return to the court drama, to place ourselves back in the
dock, look at ourselves, we are the guilty one. But as we know the extraordinary
has happened, the judge has redeemed us. He stands in our place, facing the
judgment and sentence that should be ours. This is an inadequate illustration that
has never happened in any earthly court, to my knowledge. But consider the most
extraordinary has happened for all Christians on a hill outside of Jerusalem,
when“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God,” that was in accordance with the riches of God’s
undeserved kindness (Grace), Jesus took our punishment, so that we would have
riches so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We have an
eternal inheritance; we are of the royal family of God that is what being “in Christ”
means. We certainly don’t deserve it, it is God who began and completed the work of
our redemption, even before the foundations of the earth. It is God who chose us,
not we who decided to follow Him, and this pops our religious, self righteous bubble.
And key to us understanding to appreciating the undeserved kindness, grace of God
is not our feelings, our understanding our knowledge, but this book, which, “…is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness.”
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I have slowed down, I have taken today to look back at verses one to six, and then
to appreciate, to look closely at verse seven? Why? Sometimes it is good to stop, to
take stock of our surroundings, to see what we can miss so easily if we hurry on.
And the same can be said for the Word of God, to stop and look primarily at this one
verse to see that being in Christ is to have the riches of God’s grace should thrill us.
Dr Lloyd Jones uses a simile to describe the riches of the love and grace of God he
said it is like “a never ebbing sea,” got the image in your mind? You can see the
horizon, but then you have a boat, and sail to the horizon, and discover that there is
another horizon, then another, and so on, and on, you cannot get to the end. This is
the riches of His Grace, it is immeasurable, truly vast, we need to sail that sea
together with other Christians to experience the vast never ebbing flow of the riches
of God’s Grace.
Or consider a favourite walk you have, you know the route well, but it is never the
same, the light is different as the seasons change, you see wild flowers, bird or
animal you have never seen before. Yet it is the same old track you have walked on
for many a year, but there is something new to see, to experience. This should be
our experience of God’s mercy and Grace. Dr Lloyd Jones remarked that we are in
an unhealthy condition “If your heart is not made to beat faster every time you hear
about the blood of Christ.” I have heard the Good News, the Gospel that has not
changed from age to age; I hope to always have the joy of discovering something
new as I walk along the gospel path. But better still to have company, to walk the
way with others who are likely to see riches, the truth in God’s word that I miss or fail
to notice, what a wealthier, more exciting, inspiring journey I, we will have.
Let me give you an example, there was a prayer meeting here, not so long ago, the
text chosen to open the meeting was Ephesians 1:1-14. During the meeting, the
Pastor asked for a reason for thanksgiving, it was pointed out that, “In love he
predestined us for adoption to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his
pleasure and will.” We are chosen by God, God is Sovereign, an amazing truth but,
the reason given for thanksgiving was that it gave pleasure to the heart of God to
reveal His adoption to those He had and will choose. Is this not a reason to be
thankful? He takes pleasure in revealing Himself to those he loves. When I heard
this it made my journey through Ephesians richer, the horizon of the never ebbing
sea had just moved. Why? Because the Sovereign of God had another aspect that I
had seen but not really appreciated, until then, the fragrance of His pleasure as
God completes His Sovereign will. God delights in revealing His Salvation plan to
His adopted children, truly a reason for all our thanksgiving, and truly a reason to
attend every meeting possible, why, to not miss the riches of God’s grace.
Remember the old spiritual song, “count your blessings, name them one by one,”
that is what we need to do as Christians, do we seek the Spiritual Blessing or do we
grumble and bemoan? In our day by day lives what encourages us? Is it the reality
that we are In Christ? Does that truth have any impact on us? In him (Jesus) we
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have redemption, through his blood, this is the cost for everyone, who has, or will be
adopted into the family of God. “God made him (the perfect lamb) who had no sin to
be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So we can
have the forgiveness of sins,” we cannot earn being right with God, we need to
accept this undeserved kindness. What we need to do, to respond to the riches of
God’s grace is to seek God through His Word through prayer, to meet together,
encourage each other. To put into practice His word, to paraphrase the words of
Jesus on an personal level, to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all
our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Then when
we stand on the last day, and we all will, then the works prepared for us will be
shown for what they really are, the gold the precious jewels are the true riches of
God’s grace,” for when we were tested through trials, we have dignified them, we
did not moaned or complained. Our rewards will shine as we have resisted
temptations and controlled our tongues. But always remember that when we will
eventually stand before the Lord of Hosts, as a Christians, like Isaiah we fall short of
the mark, we have sinned, so our plea for His mercy is based on the riches of God’s
Grace, His promises in His Word, 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to
Sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the
praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
And if what I have said has made you think, or consider what the Bible has to say
about God, about our human nature about why we live in such a world. Please don’t
hesitate to ask anyone here, we just want to point you to Jesus. Which is what has
happened to everyone here today who is a Christian; they were pointed to the only
one who can reveal to you the riches of God’s grace.
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