The Riches of God’s Grace
The Riches of God’s Grace • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Outline
Introduction
I. Who We Are in Christ
II. What We Have in Christ
III. How to Use What We Have in Christ
Conclusion
Several years ago an elderly couple was found dead in their apartment. Their autopsies revealed that they had both died of severe malnutrition. When authorities searched their home, they found several paper bags filled with cash; some $40,000.00 in all. How foolish is it to die of starvation when you have plenty of money to buy food?
In 1916 a woman named Hettie Green died. When she did, it was discovered that she had left an estate valued at 100 million dollars. That is an enormous amount of money today; it was an astronomical amount in those days. Hettie Green may have been wealthy, but she was known as America’s greatest miser. She would often eat cold oatmeal because it was too costly to heat the water to cook it. Once, when her son suffered a severe leg injury, she spent so much time looking for a free clinic that the leg had to be amputated. She even hastened her own death by allowing herself to get worked up into a fit of rage in an argument over skim milk, because it was cheaper than whole milk. Hettie Green was a woman who possessed great wealth, but she did not have the ability to tap into it.
The book of Ephesians was written to people just like that.
This letter was written sometime around 61–63 AD when Paul was imprisoned in Rome.
The city of Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia.
It was a wealthy city known as a political, commercial and educational center.
It was called “The Queen City of Asia”. A massive temple to Diana was located in Ephesus. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
In Paul’s day, the city boasted a population of around 300,000 people. Yet, it was a city steeped in deep paganism, immorality and wickedness.
In Acts 16:6, as Paul was about to commence his second missionary journey, he thought about going to Asia (Ephesus), but the Holy Spirit did not allow him to go there.
Sometime later, the Gospel made its way to Ephesus, probably taken there by Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 18:18–19.
Near the end of his second missionary journey, Paul finally made it to Ephesus, spending some three years there preaching the Gospel and helping the fledgling church get on its feet.
Timothy followed Paul as the preaching elder in the church at Ephesus.
Under Timothy, the church was plagued by the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Alexander, 1 Tim. 1:20.
The church also has problems with legalism, false doctrine and foolish arguments among the members.
So, here is a young church, with big problems.
They are like the elderly couple I mentioned earlier. They are like Hettie Green.
They are rich in the things of God, but they do not know.
This letter came to them to let them know just what they had in Jesus; who they were in Jesus; and how to spend what they possessed in Jesus!
Today is not much different, many believers in Jesus do not understand who they really are in Christ, what they have and how to possess what is already theirs.
In order for you to live the life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10) you need to understand what God says about you.
You need to know who you are, what you have in Christ and how to use what you have.
That's what we're going to talk about this first Sunday of the year.
I. Who We Are in Christ
I. Who We Are in Christ
Now, the key to living a victorious Christian life is to discover who you are in Christ.
Many Christians have never discovered the truth about their new identity in Christ.
Now, Jesus said it like this: John 8:32 “32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
Now, it is the truth that sets us free.
And by the way, what is the truth? The truth is what God says in His Word; that is the truth. Whatever God says, it is true.
This truth is embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”)
Now, the Bible says, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
But see, the truth doesn't set you free until you know it. “[You] will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
Understand one important thing, no matter how true the truth is, and no matter how many wonderful truths there are in this Bible - they will not give you deliverance, they will not set you free, until you know these truths.
You need to know the truth so that it can come true in your life.
Remember that the truth is what God says, not what you think about the matter.
What God says is true no matter how you feel about it. If God speaks it is spoken.
But that will never set you free until you know the truth.
Now I want to tell you something, the devil knows this truth and he doesn't want you to know it because he doesn't want you to be free!
Jesus wants to set us free! “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - … …I am the way, the truth, and the life;
So Today I want to present you with a truth about our identity in Christ. What God says about you. Let's read the text:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
In this text the Bible says that…
A. You are a Saint - 1:1
A. You are a Saint - 1:1
“to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus ”
The question is this: if you are in Christ Jesus; that is, if you have received Christ as your personal Savior;
if you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ;
If you have repented of your sin, trusted in Christ and been saved – you are a saint.
When people hear this word, they think of dead religious people who were exalted by the church.
If you have some religious background, perhaps think of statues that you pray to in times of need.
These ideas don't even come close to what the Bible means when it calls believers "saints."
The word "saints" means "a most holy thing."
It speaks of something that has been sanctified and set apart for God's exclusive use.
Talk about how God sees us! God is Holy and Every child of God is a saint.
Every person who is saved by the grace of God and washed by the blood of Jesus is "a holy thing," set apart for the glory of God and for his exclusive use in this world.
The word "saint" describes our standing before the Lord.
When we turn to the Lord Jesus by faith, God forgives our sins, saves our souls, and counts the righteousness of Christ to our account.
See the following passages:
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
There is no distinction to be justified, forgiven, saved. The only requirement is that the sinner believes on Jesus and nothing else.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Our righteousness, holiness and redemption is in Christ Jesus our personal Redeemer, not in our works, or ordinances or doctrines...
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
We need to be justified in the way God says we need to be.
We need the righteousness that comes from God, and that righteousness is based on faith in Christ.
In other words: the name “saint” describes what God did for us in Jesus.
Because we have been saved, we have been justified, we are being sanctified and we will ultimately be glorified by God!
Salvation made us new creatures in Jesus, 2 Corinthians 5:17.
As a result, we live lives that are distinct and different from the world around us.
In other words, those who know the Lord are his saints, who live faithful lives in a world that does not know the Lord.
Some Christians have never been able to live in victory because they do not want to understand, they do not receive into their hearts what God says about their identity, after they have been saved.
Some Christians simply resist the idea. They do not gain victory because they cannot accept the fact that they are saints.
There are some Christians who if you ask him if he is a saint, he will say, “Well, I wouldn't call myself a saint. I'm saved, but..."
Why don't you consider yourself a saint? He says, "Well, I am, a miserable sinner." Who said you are a miserable sinner?
Jesus died for you. If you are one of his saints, what right have you to say you are a miserable sinner?
There are people who say, “Well, I wouldn't call myself a saint because I know I'm not what I should be.”
Now, that sounds like humility. But he is not humble. You know what it is? This is rebellion.
I mean, let me ask you a question:
If you know you’re not what you should be, why is it? Why aren't you what you should be? …That's a lame excuse!
If you know what you should be, then be it!
Friend, The moment I trust in Christ, the moment I give my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, that moment I become a saint; I am justified.
“Well,” you say, “what if I sin?” …… "what if"? Is there anyone here who is without sin? Any pastor? deacon/minister of praise? … …
Read with me Rom.4:7-8
Romans 4:7–8 (NIV84)
7 “Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
But now, let's read here verse 7 saying that, Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered – you say, “Yes, past sins are forgiven, but what about recent sins?
Look at verse 8:
Romans 4:8 “8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.””
God will never, ever, never impute sin to one of His children!
How does God deal with the sin of his children?
God deals with compassion and patience
God is love
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Psalm 103:8–14 “8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and leads us to repentance.
Proverbs 28:13 “13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
God also disciplines his children
Hebrews 12:1–6 “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.””
1 Corinthians 11:27–32 “27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”
Don't think that God is “his children's budy” - the type who lets his children do whatever they want - God is an exemplary Father, he loves, respects the individuality of his children, but corrects his children when necessary.
You know, some people ask, “What if you sin after being saved? Don’t you lose your salvation?”
Friend, do you believe that there is someone who has not sinned after being saved?
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
I wouldn't trust the best 5 minutes of my entire life to get me to heaven.
Dear friend, when you understand what the Bible's definition of sin is, you give up trusting yourself for your salvation.
Let me show you just 2 passages so you can understand the Bible’s definition of sin.
17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Each of us, if we are honest, needs to confess that every day: “we fail in some way”.
Sin weakens our relationship with God, sin opens gaps for the devil. Our sin will give legality for the enemy to attack us, steal from us, devour our finances, silence our testimony... and the worst of all: it breaks our intimacy with the Lord, cools our love, extinguishes our flame of the Spirit, takes away our appetite for things of God… Sin has horrible consequences…
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Therefore, we must walk in righteousness, obedience and confessing our sin to walk in communion with the Lord and with our brothers.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
But put this in your heart:
If you have repented of your sin and trusted Jesus Christ to save you, you are righteous in God's eyes and are a saint of God.
You better understand this so that you can start behaving as you should.
You see, your behavior comes from the conception you have of who you are, and when you believe that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, then you will begin to behave that way.
That's what the Bible says we are. That's not bragging. The Bible says in Romans 12, verse 3:
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
“to think of yourself with sober judgment” is to Have a balanced concept, is to have a correct concept of who you are in the eyes of God. nothing more, nothing less.
And so, the first thing I want you to see, if you want to take possession of the fullness of the riches of God in Christ, if you want to live the abundant life in Christ, if you want to have a victorious life, a full, balanced life, you must recognize your true identity in Christ.
Saint and faithful in Christ Jesus.
Listen to one important thing: Your righteousness and holiness have no relationship with your works; it is related to your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm not saying you shouldn't do good works.
Good works bring us rewards, blessings in this life and treasures in eternity. Heaven will not be the same for everyone, “and each one will be rewarded according to his own work” (1 Cor 3:8) - We will deal with this later.
But what I want to make very clear, dear friend, is that our righteousness and holiness are imputed blessings.
God places it on our account, and it comes to you and me through what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross.
It is God's grace from beginning to end.
Now, I'm telling you the truth, dear friend, God calls you a saint.
…
Continue next week… …
Conclusion
Now listen, the key to everything we're going to talk about from now on is this little phrase "in Christ."
Let's read it again. I want you to pay attention:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints 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.
And I could go on reading the epistle to the Ephesians, and over and over again the Bible says we are "in Christ."
How do you enter in Christ? By repentance and faith. This places us in the Body of Christ.
- Let me try to illustrate what it means to be in Christ?
Illustration:
If you got into the basket of a hot air balloon, you would be in a basket, right?
Then if this balloon rises to 3K feet in the air. Where would you be? You'd be in a basket 3,000 feet up, right?
Now listen, I want you to understand. Spiritually speaking You are in Christ, right? Where is Christ now? ??? This is no secret, the Bible tells us where he is at this exact moment...
Ephesians 1:20–21 (NIV84)
20 …… when he (God the Father) raised him (Jesus Christ) from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Listen to this: What is true about Jesus Christ is true about you.
If Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly realms, and you are in Christ, where are you? “sitting with Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father, in the heavenly realms”!
That is why the Bible invites us:
Hebrews 4:14–16 (NIV84)
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess….…16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The devil doesn't want you to know this, he doesn't want you to believe the truth about who you are in Christ, and where you are -
The devil does not want you to know the riches you have in Christ. The devil doesn't want you to be free!
The truth of God's Word is:
“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms in Christ.”
Let's pray...v (eyes closed...)
Are you in Christ? Have you ever made the decision to trust Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, to give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ?
Perhaps you want, need to make a decision today to trust Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, to give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 28:13 “13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
If you do this, the Bible says you will be a new creature,...
Romans 10:9–10 “9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Pray for Salvation…
…
If you have been a believer for some time then give thanks, praise the Lord…
(Ephesians 1:17–19 “17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,”