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|  | Who We Are in Christ
« Thread Started on Oct 23, 2006, 12:40pm » | |
Who We Are in Christ By Jeff Simms
Who We Are in Christ
Ephesians 1:7-12
It was in the spring of 1844 when the young German scholar made a most remarkable discovery. His name was Konstanin Von Tischendorf and he had been traveling through the Middle East. He came one night to an old Greek Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. Knocking upon the door, he was invited in by the Russian monks who lived there and invited to spend the night.
It was bitterly cold in the desert and the monks has baskets of old dry cordwood and vellum to throw into the fire place. Tischendorf was warming his hands at the fire when his eyes caught sight of one of the pieces of vellum and he did a double take. This particular piece of vellum had writing on it. Tischendorf had benefited from a classical education and he recognized the writing as a part of the Greek Bible. He began digging through the baskets of refuse and came up with 129 pages of what was to be the oldest manuscript of the Bible to be discovered up to that time.
The monks could see that he was excited and they became cautious. When he asked if he could take the manuscript with him, they allowed him to take only 43 of the 129 pages. The rest of the manuscript was sent to mother Russia where it remained until after the Communist Revolution. It was not until 1933 that the Russian Communists, having no use for old copies of the Bible, agreed to sell the Codex Sinaiticus to Great Britain for a price of 100,000 pounds - one of the most expensive books in the world. (Sermon called “Prized Possessions, by Rev. John Stevenson)
The monks had a treasured possession and yet they didn’t know it. God also has a treasured possession which he loves. That treasured possession is You. Having begun in verse 1-6 telling us who we are in Christ, now Paul is gong to emphasize not only what we have as believers, but why we have it. You’ll notice again the repeated emphasis on being “in Christ” in verses 7,9 and twice in verse 10 and in verse 12. You’ll notice also that the emphasis is on what God did out of his “good pleasure” vs.5,9 and according to His will vs.4,5,9,11.
Paul mentions that we have “in Him” redemption and forgiveness. The shame that sin brings is washed away. In God’s eyes it is forgiven and his wrath is appeased. Notice how it says God gives us this redemption. The idea of redemption carries with it the idea of a slave set free or released. In our case, it means to be set free or released from sin and the guilt of sin.
It uses words to denote that he gives to us richly. For example, the word “freely” in verse 6 is Charitoo (Khar-ee-to’-o) which means to make graceful, to peruse with grace, to honour with blessings. He doesn’t do this because he is compelled to by someone or something. His giving is given freely and it is his desire to give. Then, in verse 8 it says that He lavished his grace upon us. The word lavished is Perisseuo which means to abound, to overflow, to excel more than. God doesn’t give just what we need and no more, but he gives of his grace more than we need. Notice also about what we have received. He calls it our “inheritance” in verse 11. Notice the tense in that verse. It is not something that we will receive one day, but the words used are “we have obtained”, it is in the past tense. In God’s eyes, it is a done deal and can be spoken about as if it has already happened.
God did this after the counsel of his own will. So, what is the final objective in all this. What is the plan of God. In verse 10 it says that God is going to in the fullness of time to sum up all things in Christ. All things, means things in heaven and on earth. In Christ here can mean that all things will be under Christ’s authority and under His power. He is going to establish a kingdom upon which he will be the head and king. This is only right since all things have been made by Him and for Him anyway. We are held together by his power and He does have the right to have first place in everything.
God gives to us out of his grace in great abundance. Let’s be thankful that his grace is so lavished upon us. He desires to forgive us of our sin and guilt. God will one day place all things under Him and all of creation and will worship Him and God of God and King of Kings. Those of us who know Him will also know our inheritance and these spiritual blessings that he has mentioned in His word.
Jeff Simms is an ordained deacon and minister who is currently serving as a chaplain in Raleigh, North Carolina
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com
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