In Christ

Many Christians today are benefactors of the work of Christ on the cross but sadly many do not take the time to appreciate what Christ did and many do not really understand the positive consequence of what he did on the cross for us. We either fall on the side of numbness because we have heard about it often or we fall on the side of ignorance. I believe in any case; it is important to be reminded of what Christ has done on the cross and what that means for you and me irrespective of how much we think we know. As a matter of fact, the bible is filled with repeating similar ideas over and over again. Therefore, we can safely assume it is a good practice to do so. In today’s post, I would like to focus on the privileges we obtain once we are a new creatures in Christ as laid out in the book of Ephesians. Moreover, I would like to encourage you to not become too familiar with Christ that you miss his grandeur, deity and might. Familiarity can often make us miss the “prophet” in our midst so hopefully, with this post, you can marvel again at the great work of God in your life.

The book of Ephesians starts with Paul’s greeting to the church in Ephesus. In his greeting, Paul states something odd. That sentence is common in many of his epistles, and it is simply this: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (Ephesians 1:1). It is by the will of God that Paul became an apostle of Christ. This is important to note because through this statement, Paul is stating his authority in whatever topic he is discussing and also Paul is letting everyone know that who he is now is a product of God’s doing. Continuing in chapter 1 of Ephesians, that phrase “will of God” or “his will” is also repeated and it denotes the predisposition that God has in making or doing certain things. Still in chapter 1 of Ephesians, we see that God has a will and nothing He does is done outside of it; all He does is in accordance with His will. We also see that God has revealed the mystery of His will to us who believe. It is because of the will of God that we have been predestined to be adopted as His sons through Christ (Ephesians 1:5). I believe it is important to stress this fact because it points us back to the idea that God started everything (think Genesis 1:1). It reminds us that God is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). We are in Christ today simply because of His will. That alone should already humble us. A simple statement like the one Paul made should focus us on giving back the honour to the Father because we are what we are today by His will. It is not anything we have done but it is all about Him. Before I get into what God has blessed us in Christ with, I would like to look briefly at what Christ has done for us and why that changes everything.

If there is ever a message in the bible that does not get old and wearisome it is the message of God’s salvation to His people. In the Old Testament, we see God constantly saving and rescuing His rebellious people Israel from their enemies, from the consequences of their wrongdoings and from His wrath. There is a constant cycle of sin-repentance-rescue that we see in the Old Testament. The law of Moses had to be followed and failure to obey it meant you had to be punished because it was an offense to God. The law of Moses revealed that our hearts had to be changed, it revealed that there was a deeper law at work, the law of “sin and death” as Paul calls it (Romans 8:2). This law of “sin and death” is what God in His infinite mercy sought to settle for us. In the New Testament, we see God coming with a lasting solution to that sin-repentance-rescue cycle. God sent Jesus Christ, His one and only son to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). As descendants of Adam, we all had the seed of sin in us, we all sinned before God, and we could not just stop sinning. This means, we were in constant rebellion to God which caused us death. In fact, Paul states that clearly in the second chapter of Ephesians saying: “as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…”. Being dead was the natural consequence of sin as it says in Romans “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). In His mercy and love, God sent Jesus who was sinless, blameless in His sight to become the sin offering for us. Jesus died on the cross on our behalf, taking the punishment that we deserved and nailing our sins and offenses to the cross. Not only that, Jesus cancelled any debt and accusations that stood against us (Colossians 2:14-15). By being the sacrificial lamb that had no blemish, Jesus secured a righteousness for us that could not be attained simply by obeying the law or by administering the daily sacrifices. Indeed, Jesus died once and for all. The cycle of sin-repentance-rescue was ended in Christ. We no longer have to offer several sacrifices for the sins we commit, we can turn to Jesus who has made the ultimate sacrifice of dying on our behalf. The good news is therefore that in Christ, we are reconciled to God, and we can stand in His presence because our sins have been forgiven the moment we believed in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. This marvelous work of Jesus on the cross, apart from bringing us reconciliation to God also brought about many spiritual blessings as Paul mentions.

Indeed, some of the spiritual blessings we get because of Jesus’ sacrifice include having the Holy spirit in us as a seal guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14), being chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless, being adopted as sons, having redemption, knowing the mystery of God’s will, being lavished with the riches of God’s grace, having a new citizenship, being privy to know God and to know how wide, long, high, and deep is His love. In Christ, we are also now seated in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and dominion. We have been given power over sin, the ability to have self-control and restrain ourselves, the victory over every battle we might face as it says “we are more than conquerors” in Christ (Romans 8:37). Moreover, we have received eternal life, our names are now written in the book of life. We get to spend eternity with our One true love. The list can go on and I believe you can ponder on each one of them during your personal time with God. These blessings we get for being in Christ do not finish, we get them forever. God is good like that, there is no expiration date to what He gives us in Christ. Praise God for His love and mercy! However, our position in Christ demands something from us and that is total surrender. We are no longer meant to be living for ourselves because that old self was dead in our trespasses and sins. We now live our new life in Christ, following Him and His ways. We now become spirit led creatures rather than fleshly led creatures. We let go of our personal agendas and submit to the will of God. Indeed, this new life in Christ demands “our soul, our life, our all” as the hymn says. My encouragement to you is this: do not become familiar with Christ to the point that you miss him in your mundane life. Take time to think deeper about what this new life in Christ means for you and if you do not see your affections for Christ growing, I encourage you to press in prayer and in rejoicing through praise. One of the blessings we get in Christ is joy. It is now available to us as a fruit of the spirit. So, rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1)! You might not rejoice in your situation but rejoice in the Lord for He has done marvelous things for you. I pray the God of our salvation teaches you to remember Him and what He has done in your life so that you can elevate Him in the midst of your difficulties and rejoice. Amen.