Welcome to our third talk in our series on Ephesians.
We are looking at the first 14 verses of chapter 1. So far we have seen that Paul is praising God for blessings in the heavenly realms (v3). These include:
- The will of God 1-4-5-9-11
- Election and Predestination 4-5-11
- In Christ (10 references)
- The gift of the Holy Spirit 13-14
Today our theme is what it means to be in Christ.
Let’s look at vv 1-14 again, this time noting the references to the phrase in Christ
Ephesians 1:1-14
1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
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.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.”
The expression ‘in Christ’ or ‘in the Lord’ occurs at least 80 times in the Epistles.
What does it mean?
Paul used the phrase in Christ to refer to anyone who was a Christian
(In fact the word Christian occurs only 3 times in the NT)
Colossians 1:2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse
Galatians 1:22 the churches of Judea that are in Christ
Philippians 4:21 Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus
1 Thessalonians 2:14 God’s churches in Judea which are in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard
the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed…
Our Position before we were in Christ
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –
9 not by works, so that no-one can boast.
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We’ll come back to this passage in a later talk, but for now please note:
We were dead (v1) and deserving of wrath (v4)
We are now alive (v5)
We were in sin (v1) and transgressions (v5)
We are now in Christ (v8)
When did this happen? When we were saved (v 5).
Cf 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed…
How? By grace, through faith (v 8).
The Effects of being in Christ
a) We become new creations
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come.
b) We are free from sin’s penalty – we are justified
Romans 3:23-24. …all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus
(NIV) – but the Greek says in Christ Jesus
This means that we are declared righteous in the sight of God and are free from sin’s penalty. As a result, we have been brought near to God
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away
have been brought near by the blood of Christ (2:13).
c) We are free from sin’s power
Romans 8:1-4
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
We are in Christ (v 1)
As a result are set free from the law (tendency) of sin (v 3)
so that we can now obey God’s law (v 4).
d) We are supreme in the spiritual conflict
Ephesians 2:6 God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
What are the ‘heavenly realms’? Not heaven 6:11
(More of this when we get to Chapter 6)
Where are we? In Christ. Where is Christ? Far above all… (1:21)
e) One day, we shall be free from sin’s presence
1 Corinthians 15:22 As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive
(NB the terms are not co-extensive)
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever!
Note the change from ‘in’ to ‘with’. To be with Christ is far better!
Are you in Christ?
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed …