Grow With Pastor Joe

As I am writing this post, I am working on a new sermon series going through the book of Ephesians. I believe in preaching. I believe in biblical, expositional, grace filled, gospel centered, God honoring preaching. Through my time as a pastor there have been many things that I have learned and continue to learn. Every believer, especially those in vocational ministry, are constantly learning how little they know and how much more there is to learn. One observation that the Lord has shown me is that most average Christians don’t know who they are in Christ. We are living in a day where culturally in the church and out of the church people don’t know who they are. Our identity is everything. Who we are will be the foundation for what we do, say, go, and think. If we never learn who we are then we will never live as who we are. Learning our identity in Christ is perhaps the most impactful lesson for what it means in our street level living out our faith. Our Christian life becomes one of living as an imposter when we don’t learn to live in light of who we have become in Jesus Christ. The identity crisis in the church today has led us to not know the true identity of Jesus Christ or what the true identity of the believer is. If we don’t know who He is or who we are then we will become whatever our culture (either secular or sacred) says. Christians need to learn to be who Christ says we are, have become, and ought to be.

This identity crisis is at the forefront of my heart and mind as I am studying to preach Ephesians 1:1-6 to begin this new sermon series. As Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, begins his letter to this local church, he says in Eph. 1:1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:” The last four words of verse one reveals to us not only the identity of the audience but the identity of every believer. Every believer by grace through faith has been placed in Christ. Jesus Christ is the very source of the believer’s physical and spiritual life. He is the very substance of our life, as Colossians 3:4 expresses, “Christ, who is our life.” The Christian life is only found in Christ. This is the believer’s identity. Being in Christ is the sum of what it means to be a Christian. Unfortunately, many believers attempt to live the Christian life without Jesus. For many, Christian living has become less about being identified with Jesus Christ completely and more about having Him there when we think we can’t do it on our own. Far too often we think we can do it on our own. The Christian life is impossible without Christ because there is no life in the Christian outside of Christ.

So, how does a deep study of the book of Ephesians help the average struggling believer who doesn’t even know they have an identity crisis let alone an identity in Christ? The phrases “in Christ” or “in Him” are used repeatedly throughout Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. This pattern establishes how we are to view the Christian life and what it means to live as a follower of Christ. Ephesians shows us two aspects of our identity in Christ and what it means for our everyday life. The two major themes in identity of the believer in Christ that this study will address are the believer’s wealth and walk. Our identity is who we are and then what we do. Many commentators divide Ephesians into a doctrinal section (Eph. 1-3) and a practical section (Eph. 4-6). We must learn that biblical doctrine is practical. We won’t know how we are to practically walk day-by-day with Jesus if we don’t know the doctrinal wealth that is laid out before us. Our identity as being found in Christ is seen that we have an infinite wealth in Him. All that we are, have, and need are found in Christ. Because of this eternal wealth we should therefore walk accordingly. As we begin to explore the depths of the rest of the book of Ephesians, we will see the incredible and infinite wealth of the believer who is totally identified with and in Christ. By learning the eternal wealth of being in Christ we will learn to walk in Christ. Only when we understand who we are can we rightly understand why we do what we do.

Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.