Grow With Pastor Joe

Second, let’s look at who we are. Eph. 4:20-21 says, “²⁰ But ye have not so learned Christ;²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:” Many Christians are unsettled and do not grow in maturity, unity, or walk worthy of their salvation because they don’t know who they are. We are in a world today that is going through an identity crisis. If you don’t know who you are in Christ, then you’ll never truly walk worthy in maturity and unity in Christ. Paul spent the first few chapters of Ephesians dealing with who we are in Christ. Who we are and what we have in Christ is our wealth that enables our walk in Christ to become who we became in Jesus. In Christ we have been redeemed, adopted, reconciled, justified, delivered, chosen, accepted, and a host of other incredible benefits of grace. Our walk is now to match and correspond to our wealth in Christ. Because of the truth of who I am in Jesus, my life should be entirely counterculture. We have been saved to be different. When we were without Christ we learned in darkness. Now, the light of the gospel has delivered us, and we have now learned of Christ. Jesus lived and walked in holiness. He knew no sin. The idea that we have learned Christ, we have heard Christ and we have been taught by Him is to remind us of our response of faith to His work of grace in our life. We have responded to the gospel in faith as it has been learned, heard, and taught by grace. All truth is ultimately found in Christ or else it really isn’t all that true. The truth about who we once were is seen in the person and work of Christ. The truth about who we are now is seen in the person and work of Christ. The truth about who we must be is seen in the person and work of Christ. Jesus is the lesson for living the Christian life because He Himself is the life of the Christian. We have been totally transformed in Christ. We have a new life, new look, and new love. Being in Christ, we now have a new mind leading to new morals. Our acceptance in Jesus becomes the motivation to become who we became in Christ. Simply, who we are now is in Christ. Therefore, all that we are and do is done in Him. All of life is about Christ and comes from Him. We are new creatures who are created in Christ to be like Christ as Paul has dealt with in this same chapter and in 2 Cor. 5:16-17. Because we are in Christ and Christ is in us, who we are now should display Christ in us. We now should have Christ shine through our walk as a light to the distorted, darkened, and distant world around us. We should have the mind of Christ, morals of Christ, and motivation of Christ (Phil. 2:1-11). Who we are now are Christians. Our identity is completely in Him. Saved people live like it. Be who you are. If who you are is still in darkness, come in repentance and faith in Christ and be delivered from darkness. Come to Christ and be transformed by the light of the gospel. If you are saved and in Christ, then be who you are in Him and make sure that every part of your life is consumed with Jesus.

            The last thing we must see is who we must be based on the present reality of our present position in Christ. Our walk must match our wealth in Him. We will see that we must daily (I say even moment-by-moment) put off the old man (associated with unrighteousness of Eph. 4:17-19) and put on the new man (associated with who we now are in Christ). Eph. 4:22-24 says, “²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” This putting off and putting on is both positional and practical. The moment we were saved, we positionally had the old man crucified and now we practically live because of Christ in us. We have been positionally changed into a new man but now must continually and practically put on the new man. You have been given a new life to live in the newness of that life. Our everlasting life is not just about a quantity of time but of the quality of life. Everlasting life in Christ is for our daily living. It is not enough to know that you are positionally in Christ. Now, you must daily put on the new man made after the image of Christ. This is a choice that you must make either through the flesh or faith. The flesh will always want to feed itself and live in the old manner of life. However, the new man always hungers and thirst for the righteousness of Christ. Before we put on the new man, we must first put off the old man and everything associated with who we once were. The old man was positionally put off when we were reborn in Christ (Gal. 2:20). Now, the old man is practically put off through faith and repentance. We will only grow in maturity and unity as we learn to repent. Repentance is a change of mind. Salvation without repentance is not salvation. Therefore, sanctification without repentance is just behavior modification without any real lasting change. What is the old man? The old man is the summation of all that we were and did before Christ. It is who we were in Adam, not who we are in Christ. This old man of flesh was crucified with Christ. His death and life now have become our death and life. This flesh still needs putting off and one day when we are delivered from this flesh we will be glorified (delivered from sin’s presence and power over us). There are several key passages that help us to understand the identity and implications of the old man that we must put off. Romans 6&7 are critical in understanding the need to put off this old man who is dead and stop carrying him around with us. We’ve been given life. We are no longer sin filled corpses. Paul expresses the need to be delivered from “this body of death” in Romans 7. The idea was that in his day, those who had committed murder were often tied to the person that they murdered. They would have to walk around with the rotting corpse. This is why the old man must be put off and as Paul says in Rom. 7:25, the only way to put off the body of death is “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We must put off the dirty garment of the decaying and deceived flesh that we still battle.

Putting off the old man will do us no good if we remain naked on our own. We have been given something greater than the old man to put on. The new man is our new position, possessions, and practice in Christ. This is where our wealth in Christ becomes our walk in Christ. As we put on the new man by faith, we will have our minds renewed (as seen in Eph. 3:16-19 & Rom. 12:1-2). Through faith and repentance, the old man is put off like a dirty garment and the new man is put on renewing us from the inside out so that we no longer must live according to the old way of life that we have been delivered from (Rom. 6). The new man is “created in righteousness and true holiness. The righteousness that is referred to here points to all that God approves, commands and demands. The new man seeks to please God with a renewed mind, morals, and motivation. Holiness is not just obedience to God’s commands, but it is the attitude behind it. Our attitudes and actions should be filled with righteousness and holiness. We should be pure in our thoughts and motivations. Righteousness and holiness describe our position in Christ, but they should also describe the conduct of our daily walk. 1 Pet. 1:13-16 also demonstrates that our character and conduct should match our converted position. We are new; therefore, we should live like it. Our walk must match our wealth. Who we must be is not who we used to be but rather who we are now in Christ. We must become who we became and live in the life that we have been given in Christ.

            The maturity and unity that we have been exhorted to live in will only happen as we learn to putt off who we were and put on who we are in Christ. The Lord wants our walk to be worthy of our salvation. Because we have been imputed the righteous robes of Christ, we should walk accordingly. Right now, you are clothed spiritually in Adam or in Christ. You are either enrobed in darkness or light. You are either delivered from death to life or you are still a dead man walking. If you are in Christ, you have been delivered. Put off that old body of flesh and death. Put on the new man. Be renewed by the work of Christ in and through you. Repent of things that don’t match your position in Christ. Is who you are today who you must be? Or should be? Has there been a transformation? If not, repent and believe the gospel. If there has been a transformation, then now, by grace through faith let God renew you from the inside out so that your walk will match your wealth in Christ. It is for your good. It is for the good of the Body of Christ. It is for the glory of God. Walk worthy. Wear the new man. Put off the old dirty garments of death and walk in newness of life.

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

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.