God's Amazing Plan, 5 July 2026
06 07 26
God’s Amazing Plan
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
July 5, 2026
Ephesians 3:1-13
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: Paul wants his readers to understand the mystery of God’s amazing plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike.
There are two types of people in this world—those who plan and those who…don’t! Which are you?
I like the old adage if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! We’ve all made plans, whether it was a vacation, a business, or something as simple as an outfit.
God has a plan. It’s an amazing plan which includes you, and we’re going to look at it today as we continue our series on the book of Ephesians, a letter written about two thousand years ago which remains relevant to this day.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—(Ephesians 3:1)
Let’s stop right there! For this reason. For what reason? Last week Brent Sleasman looked at the end of chapter two, what Markus Barth called “The key and high point of the whole epistle.” Ephesians is an epistle, a short letter. Paul was talking about Jesus and Gentiles coming together to become God’s people. This was radical! Imagine someone tried to bring Republicans and Democrats together in our day. Incredible! Yet Jesus died for Jews and Gentiles alike. Last week’s text ends,
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)
Amazing!
Back to verse one of chapter three:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—(Ephesians 3:1)
One more thing—Paul’s writing from prison, but he doesn’t say he’s a prisoner of Rome, but rather the prisoner of Christ Jesus…for the sake of the Gentiles. He’s doesn’t see himself as a victim of Roman injustice, but rather imprisoned for a cause…for Christ. Jesus is everything to Paul, and he endured seemingly constant suffering to accomplish the mission of making disciples, making followers of Jesus. In fact, he also wrote Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from prison.
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (Ephesians 3:2-3)
We take it for granted today, but nobody in the ancient world imagined God’s grace was for all people. The Jews were God’s chosen people…and sometimes let it be known! As a Jew, here Paul is called to the Gentiles, non-Jewish people.
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 3:4-5)
What is the mystery of Christ?
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:6)
Paul sees God’s grace through the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles as God’s children. He says “together” three times in this verse! This was a very big deal because, again, many believed salvation was only for Israel, not the entire world. It’s an understatement to say the two groups didn’t always get along. But God revealed to Paul the mystery of together. All are invited to the party! All are welcome to follow Jesus!
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. (Ephesians 3:7)
Paul calls himself a servant, a diakonos in the Greek, the term we call “deacon.” People often like the idea of being a servant…until they are treated like one! Are you a servant? He’s not merely serving people, but a servant of this gospel, a minister of good news, a proclaimer of truth…of the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus the Messiah.
Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:8-9)
It seems hard to imagine the writer of much of the New Testament being less than the least of all the Lord’s people, but Paul had persecuted the Church before encountering the risen Jesus. God used him greatly, but he lived every day with the memory of his life before Christ. Can you imagine the guilt and shame…and forgiveness he experienced?
What does this tell us about God? His grace is amazing. His riches are boundless. He created all things.
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11)
Let’s unpack this.
God works through the church, the people of God, Jews and Gentiles revealing God’s plan of salvation together.
Rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms refer to spiritual beings over which the Church has power to declare, and God’s purposes are eternal. We have authority given to us by Christ and we need to use it for his glory. Also, Paul says Jesus’ work and mission have eternal consequences. When you give, serve, love, volunteer, promote, share, disciple, equip, it will pay dividends for eternity! Try that with your 401(k)!
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
I love that we can approach God…with freedom…and confidence. Our Father loves us and wants to hear from us, no matter what’s on our mind.
What’s on your mind today? What have you hesitated to tell God? What request seems selfish, insignificant, or simply too big for God to handle?
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. (Ephesians 3:13)
Pauls’ suffering in prison, yet it is an investment in their future, the age to come.
In a letter to a church in modern day Greece, he said,
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
In our culture, we will do just about anything to avoid suffering. Paul seems to almost like it! His eyes are not on today’s trouble, but eternity’s rewards. Instead of asking God, “Why?” he is asking, “What are you up to, LORD?” It’s all about perspective.
I was present for the birth of three babies. Standing around for hours and supporting my wife took a lot out of me! Ha! I detected she had a little discomfort during natural, drug-free childbirth! Yet during hours of labor, she kept thinking about the purpose…the why. She knew it would be worth it. The pain was temporary. The payoff would last a lifetime.
Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? We are blessed with many freedoms in this nation, but today many of our brothers and sisters are suffering deeply for the gospel, the good news we proclaim and embrace. According to the 2026 World Watch List from Open Doors and Global Christian Relief, approximately 388 million Christians today are experiencing persecution and discrimination for their faith, rising 8 million in one year. That means about 1 in 7 Christians today is suffering for their religious identity. There are now 15 countries experiencing extreme persecution, led by North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Eritrea.
So What?
Paul wants his readers to understand the mystery of God’s amazing plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. Here’s a simple summary of the story:
God created a perfect world (Genesis 1-2).
Adam and Eve sinned and messed up everything (Genesis 3).
God chose Abraham to be the recipient of a special covenant, leading to the formation of the nation of Israel, the Jews (Genesis 12).
Jesus came to die not only for the Jews but also Gentiles. “For God so loved the world!”
Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming back soon.
We are on a mission from God to make sure everyone has a chance to hear the good news—the gospel—that Jesus is LORD, that reconciliation with God was made possible by the cross and empty tomb. We do this through prayer, telling our story, sending missionaries, and the Internet. As an example of that last one, our Outreach & Missions Commission invested $500 earlier this year in an Easter outreach with Jesus Online Ministries. The $500 was matched by a generous donor in Pittsburgh and as a result, 52,632 people heard the gospel, 1599 rededicated their lives to Jesus, 1441 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and 914 new Jesus Online App users accessed spiritual growth resources. Praise the LORD!
Today, whether you’re in prison or a palace, God sees you, He knows you, He loves you, and He wants every person on this planet to know, love, and serve Him. Let’s go follow His plan to love, equip, and send, making disciples of all nations…for His glory!
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
July 5, 2026
Ephesians 3:1-13
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: Paul wants his readers to understand the mystery of God’s amazing plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike.
There are two types of people in this world—those who plan and those who…don’t! Which are you?
I like the old adage if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! We’ve all made plans, whether it was a vacation, a business, or something as simple as an outfit.
God has a plan. It’s an amazing plan which includes you, and we’re going to look at it today as we continue our series on the book of Ephesians, a letter written about two thousand years ago which remains relevant to this day.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—(Ephesians 3:1)
Let’s stop right there! For this reason. For what reason? Last week Brent Sleasman looked at the end of chapter two, what Markus Barth called “The key and high point of the whole epistle.” Ephesians is an epistle, a short letter. Paul was talking about Jesus and Gentiles coming together to become God’s people. This was radical! Imagine someone tried to bring Republicans and Democrats together in our day. Incredible! Yet Jesus died for Jews and Gentiles alike. Last week’s text ends,
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)
Amazing!
Back to verse one of chapter three:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—(Ephesians 3:1)
One more thing—Paul’s writing from prison, but he doesn’t say he’s a prisoner of Rome, but rather the prisoner of Christ Jesus…for the sake of the Gentiles. He’s doesn’t see himself as a victim of Roman injustice, but rather imprisoned for a cause…for Christ. Jesus is everything to Paul, and he endured seemingly constant suffering to accomplish the mission of making disciples, making followers of Jesus. In fact, he also wrote Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from prison.
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (Ephesians 3:2-3)
We take it for granted today, but nobody in the ancient world imagined God’s grace was for all people. The Jews were God’s chosen people…and sometimes let it be known! As a Jew, here Paul is called to the Gentiles, non-Jewish people.
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 3:4-5)
What is the mystery of Christ?
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:6)
Paul sees God’s grace through the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles as God’s children. He says “together” three times in this verse! This was a very big deal because, again, many believed salvation was only for Israel, not the entire world. It’s an understatement to say the two groups didn’t always get along. But God revealed to Paul the mystery of together. All are invited to the party! All are welcome to follow Jesus!
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. (Ephesians 3:7)
Paul calls himself a servant, a diakonos in the Greek, the term we call “deacon.” People often like the idea of being a servant…until they are treated like one! Are you a servant? He’s not merely serving people, but a servant of this gospel, a minister of good news, a proclaimer of truth…of the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus the Messiah.
Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:8-9)
It seems hard to imagine the writer of much of the New Testament being less than the least of all the Lord’s people, but Paul had persecuted the Church before encountering the risen Jesus. God used him greatly, but he lived every day with the memory of his life before Christ. Can you imagine the guilt and shame…and forgiveness he experienced?
What does this tell us about God? His grace is amazing. His riches are boundless. He created all things.
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11)
Let’s unpack this.
God works through the church, the people of God, Jews and Gentiles revealing God’s plan of salvation together.
Rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms refer to spiritual beings over which the Church has power to declare, and God’s purposes are eternal. We have authority given to us by Christ and we need to use it for his glory. Also, Paul says Jesus’ work and mission have eternal consequences. When you give, serve, love, volunteer, promote, share, disciple, equip, it will pay dividends for eternity! Try that with your 401(k)!
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
I love that we can approach God…with freedom…and confidence. Our Father loves us and wants to hear from us, no matter what’s on our mind.
What’s on your mind today? What have you hesitated to tell God? What request seems selfish, insignificant, or simply too big for God to handle?
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. (Ephesians 3:13)
Pauls’ suffering in prison, yet it is an investment in their future, the age to come.
In a letter to a church in modern day Greece, he said,
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
In our culture, we will do just about anything to avoid suffering. Paul seems to almost like it! His eyes are not on today’s trouble, but eternity’s rewards. Instead of asking God, “Why?” he is asking, “What are you up to, LORD?” It’s all about perspective.
I was present for the birth of three babies. Standing around for hours and supporting my wife took a lot out of me! Ha! I detected she had a little discomfort during natural, drug-free childbirth! Yet during hours of labor, she kept thinking about the purpose…the why. She knew it would be worth it. The pain was temporary. The payoff would last a lifetime.
Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? We are blessed with many freedoms in this nation, but today many of our brothers and sisters are suffering deeply for the gospel, the good news we proclaim and embrace. According to the 2026 World Watch List from Open Doors and Global Christian Relief, approximately 388 million Christians today are experiencing persecution and discrimination for their faith, rising 8 million in one year. That means about 1 in 7 Christians today is suffering for their religious identity. There are now 15 countries experiencing extreme persecution, led by North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Eritrea.
So What?
Paul wants his readers to understand the mystery of God’s amazing plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. Here’s a simple summary of the story:
God created a perfect world (Genesis 1-2).
Adam and Eve sinned and messed up everything (Genesis 3).
God chose Abraham to be the recipient of a special covenant, leading to the formation of the nation of Israel, the Jews (Genesis 12).
Jesus came to die not only for the Jews but also Gentiles. “For God so loved the world!”
Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming back soon.
We are on a mission from God to make sure everyone has a chance to hear the good news—the gospel—that Jesus is LORD, that reconciliation with God was made possible by the cross and empty tomb. We do this through prayer, telling our story, sending missionaries, and the Internet. As an example of that last one, our Outreach & Missions Commission invested $500 earlier this year in an Easter outreach with Jesus Online Ministries. The $500 was matched by a generous donor in Pittsburgh and as a result, 52,632 people heard the gospel, 1599 rededicated their lives to Jesus, 1441 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and 914 new Jesus Online App users accessed spiritual growth resources. Praise the LORD!
Today, whether you’re in prison or a palace, God sees you, He knows you, He loves you, and He wants every person on this planet to know, love, and serve Him. Let’s go follow His plan to love, equip, and send, making disciples of all nations…for His glory!
Alive in Christ, 21 June 2026
22 06 26 Filed in: Sermons | Ephesians: Our True Identity
Alive in Christ
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 21, 2026
Ephesians 2:1-10
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: People can change, but first they must die…to be made alive in Jesus.
One of the radical foundations of our faith is the belief that dead things can come alive. We are reminded of this each Easter Sunday when I say…He is risen! He is risen indeed! Don’t ever forget that!
Our text from today addresses our journey from death to life. It’s not describing a physical resurrection, but a resurrection, nonetheless.
As we continue or identity series on the book of Ephesians, Paul the Jew is writing to Gentile believers, reminding them of their past…which is just like ours. Like the last two weeks, this text—at least the first seven verses—was originally one, long sentence in Greek! He begins chapter two…
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
That’s a picture of every human before they encounter Jesus. Dead! This is obviously not a physical state, but spiritually dead…until God gives them life. It is not true that God helps those who help themselves. He helps the helpless! He helps the dead! Amazingly, He helps His enemies—sinners, the disobedient, rebels.
The Greek word for sin, hamarita, means to miss the mark. We often compare ourselves to others, which is dangerous. “Well, I’m not a murderer” someone might say, but God doesn’t grade on a curve. If you miss the target by a little or a lot, it’s still a miss.
I love how Paul speaks in the past tense: you used to live. This is our story, too. We followed the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the space between heaven and earth where it was believed the evil spirits lived.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3)
Us may refer to Paul and Judean people. That was us. Today, that describes most people on the planet. In a sense, our world is a spiritual graveyard. People are not sick, but dead. Not ready for a remodel but a resurrection!
There are three reasons people are dead: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world says, “Keep up with the Jones’ and conform.” The flesh doesn’t mean our bodies are evil, but rather our natural, fallen nature wants our mind and body to disobey God. The devil refers not to satan proper, but demonic forces who lie. They are real. If you believe in angels, you better believe in demons!
News flash: Sinners sin! It’s their nature. They can never earn their salvation. They are hopeless on their own goodness.
As a result of our sin, we are deserving of God’s wrath. The only thing I deserve is eternal separation from God. Without Christ, we have no purpose. We are filled with sin, selfishness, pride, and deception.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
This is a wonderful “but!” It has been called this the most vital moment in world history. “But God!” The Roman world at the time of this writing was filled with gods—Zeus, Mercury, Poseidon, Artemis—but they had no imagination for being loved by them.
But because of his great love for us. John says God is love (1 John 4:8). His love is expressed to sinners as mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting the punishment deserved. Grace is unmerited favor, God’s undeserved generosity toward us. It’s not transactional. It’s an invitation.
We were dead, but God made us alive with Christ! We used to be enemies of God (Colossians 1:21), but now we are His adopted children, His friends.
Imagine it’s Judgment Day and you’re standing before God. He asks, “Why should I let you into heaven and the new earth?” How would you respond?
If you begin in the first-person by saying, “I,” you’ve got it all wrong. Religion is spelled D-O, what we do, but our faith is spelled D-O-N-E. It’s about what Jesus has done for us. In a word, it’s grace. You can’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. You simply say, “Yes” and receive it.
One of the best stories in the Bible illustrates this wonderfully. It’s about two criminals crucified beside Jesus. We don’t know what they did, but it took more than a speeding ticket to receive the death penalty!
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40-41)
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The man said “yes” to Jesus. He didn’t go to seminary, take a mission trip, give money, or even attend Sunday School! That’s grace…unmerited favor. We are saved by grace. It’s amazing!
While the thief on the cross is an individual example, Paul is writing to a community of people. We’ve been made alive with Christ.
Now back to Paul’s letter:
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6-7)
We were dead. We were made alive. There’s more to come. Much more. Incomparable riches of his grace! We are given new life now, known as regeneration. We will be given new bodies later, known as resurrection. But today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and if we are in Christ, we are there with him. Amazing!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
There it is again…grace! A Gift. Not by works. You’re not good enough. Saved from what? God’s wrath for our sins. Notice it is in the past tense. It is done. As I said earlier, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life. We all need help. We all need Jesus. It begins on our knees. Surrender. “Jesus, I give you my life.” All of it. Our salvation is not the result of our works…but works are the result of our salvation and relationship with God that is the result of faith, belief, trust, loyalty (Greek word pistis).
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Works are the result of God’s grace penetrating our hearts. We don’t strive to be good. We simply know Jesus and the good works come naturally. Good fruit comes when our branches are connected to his vine. Gratitude follows an encounter with God. Obeying God is the natural result of experiencing His love. We are not saved by good works but for good works. What are those good works? They’re representing the love, grace, kindness, mercy, creativity, beauty, peace, and justice of Jesus to the world.
This was illustrated recently when Oxford professor and Christian apologist John Lennox was interviewed on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. After a conversation on historical proofs for the Christian faith, agnostic host Steven Bartlett said,
“One of the most compelling arguments for God that you’ve presented…is not actually necessarily anything you’ve written in your books, or not necessarily anything you’ve said…it is actually you. And you have a certain peace and contentment that I rarely see in people that I interview but I often see, and I’ve almost always seen, in the Christians that I’ve interviewed, and this is a interesting phenomenon for me.”
This is an interesting phenomenon for me.” That is an example of shining the light of Jesus in our dark world.
But I don’t want you to miss one important word. Here it is handiwork. I prefer the New Living Translation of this verse:
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
You are a masterpiece! God knew you before the creation of the universe (Ephesians 1:4)! He knew you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
That word “masterpiece” in the original Greek is “poiema,” like poem. You are a one-of-a-kind work of art, created to do good works, created to worship, created to love.
So What?
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
Jesus is alive, and if we are in Christ, we are alive, too! We have been born again to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves for His glory! Amen!
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 21, 2026
Ephesians 2:1-10
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: People can change, but first they must die…to be made alive in Jesus.
One of the radical foundations of our faith is the belief that dead things can come alive. We are reminded of this each Easter Sunday when I say…He is risen! He is risen indeed! Don’t ever forget that!
Our text from today addresses our journey from death to life. It’s not describing a physical resurrection, but a resurrection, nonetheless.
As we continue or identity series on the book of Ephesians, Paul the Jew is writing to Gentile believers, reminding them of their past…which is just like ours. Like the last two weeks, this text—at least the first seven verses—was originally one, long sentence in Greek! He begins chapter two…
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
That’s a picture of every human before they encounter Jesus. Dead! This is obviously not a physical state, but spiritually dead…until God gives them life. It is not true that God helps those who help themselves. He helps the helpless! He helps the dead! Amazingly, He helps His enemies—sinners, the disobedient, rebels.
The Greek word for sin, hamarita, means to miss the mark. We often compare ourselves to others, which is dangerous. “Well, I’m not a murderer” someone might say, but God doesn’t grade on a curve. If you miss the target by a little or a lot, it’s still a miss.
I love how Paul speaks in the past tense: you used to live. This is our story, too. We followed the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the space between heaven and earth where it was believed the evil spirits lived.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3)
Us may refer to Paul and Judean people. That was us. Today, that describes most people on the planet. In a sense, our world is a spiritual graveyard. People are not sick, but dead. Not ready for a remodel but a resurrection!
There are three reasons people are dead: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world says, “Keep up with the Jones’ and conform.” The flesh doesn’t mean our bodies are evil, but rather our natural, fallen nature wants our mind and body to disobey God. The devil refers not to satan proper, but demonic forces who lie. They are real. If you believe in angels, you better believe in demons!
News flash: Sinners sin! It’s their nature. They can never earn their salvation. They are hopeless on their own goodness.
As a result of our sin, we are deserving of God’s wrath. The only thing I deserve is eternal separation from God. Without Christ, we have no purpose. We are filled with sin, selfishness, pride, and deception.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
This is a wonderful “but!” It has been called this the most vital moment in world history. “But God!” The Roman world at the time of this writing was filled with gods—Zeus, Mercury, Poseidon, Artemis—but they had no imagination for being loved by them.
But because of his great love for us. John says God is love (1 John 4:8). His love is expressed to sinners as mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting the punishment deserved. Grace is unmerited favor, God’s undeserved generosity toward us. It’s not transactional. It’s an invitation.
We were dead, but God made us alive with Christ! We used to be enemies of God (Colossians 1:21), but now we are His adopted children, His friends.
Imagine it’s Judgment Day and you’re standing before God. He asks, “Why should I let you into heaven and the new earth?” How would you respond?
If you begin in the first-person by saying, “I,” you’ve got it all wrong. Religion is spelled D-O, what we do, but our faith is spelled D-O-N-E. It’s about what Jesus has done for us. In a word, it’s grace. You can’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. You simply say, “Yes” and receive it.
One of the best stories in the Bible illustrates this wonderfully. It’s about two criminals crucified beside Jesus. We don’t know what they did, but it took more than a speeding ticket to receive the death penalty!
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40-41)
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The man said “yes” to Jesus. He didn’t go to seminary, take a mission trip, give money, or even attend Sunday School! That’s grace…unmerited favor. We are saved by grace. It’s amazing!
While the thief on the cross is an individual example, Paul is writing to a community of people. We’ve been made alive with Christ.
Now back to Paul’s letter:
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6-7)
We were dead. We were made alive. There’s more to come. Much more. Incomparable riches of his grace! We are given new life now, known as regeneration. We will be given new bodies later, known as resurrection. But today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and if we are in Christ, we are there with him. Amazing!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
There it is again…grace! A Gift. Not by works. You’re not good enough. Saved from what? God’s wrath for our sins. Notice it is in the past tense. It is done. As I said earlier, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life. We all need help. We all need Jesus. It begins on our knees. Surrender. “Jesus, I give you my life.” All of it. Our salvation is not the result of our works…but works are the result of our salvation and relationship with God that is the result of faith, belief, trust, loyalty (Greek word pistis).
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Works are the result of God’s grace penetrating our hearts. We don’t strive to be good. We simply know Jesus and the good works come naturally. Good fruit comes when our branches are connected to his vine. Gratitude follows an encounter with God. Obeying God is the natural result of experiencing His love. We are not saved by good works but for good works. What are those good works? They’re representing the love, grace, kindness, mercy, creativity, beauty, peace, and justice of Jesus to the world.
This was illustrated recently when Oxford professor and Christian apologist John Lennox was interviewed on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. After a conversation on historical proofs for the Christian faith, agnostic host Steven Bartlett said,
“One of the most compelling arguments for God that you’ve presented…is not actually necessarily anything you’ve written in your books, or not necessarily anything you’ve said…it is actually you. And you have a certain peace and contentment that I rarely see in people that I interview but I often see, and I’ve almost always seen, in the Christians that I’ve interviewed, and this is a interesting phenomenon for me.”
This is an interesting phenomenon for me.” That is an example of shining the light of Jesus in our dark world.
But I don’t want you to miss one important word. Here it is handiwork. I prefer the New Living Translation of this verse:
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
You are a masterpiece! God knew you before the creation of the universe (Ephesians 1:4)! He knew you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
That word “masterpiece” in the original Greek is “poiema,” like poem. You are a one-of-a-kind work of art, created to do good works, created to worship, created to love.
So What?
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
Jesus is alive, and if we are in Christ, we are alive, too! We have been born again to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves for His glory! Amen!
Thanksgiving and Prayer, 14 June 2026
14 06 26 Filed in: Sermons | Ephesians: Our True Identity
Thanksgiving and Prayer
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 14, 2026
Ephesians 1:15-23
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.
Summary: Paul loves his audience and thanks God for them. Their faith and love are encouraging and inspiring. He wants them to know their calling, their inheritance, and their powerful LORD.
If we can have Christmas in July, I want to propose today we have Thanksgiving in June! Gratitude is powerful. In fact, at a time when so many are feeling anxious, did you know gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist at the same time in the brain? If you want to change your mood, your mind, your focus, pause and develop an attitude of gratitude. You can begin with this truth: God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.
Today we’re in week three of a long series on the book of Ephesians, a letter written by an early Church leader named Paul sometime around A.D. 55. Many believe it was written to a church in modern day Turkey, but it’s possible the intended audience was different or broader. Regardless, let’s imagine it was written to us! We could rename the book “Findlay!”
Last week set the context, encouraging words about God’s blessings and our identity in Christ as followers of Jesus. Last Sunday’s scripture was one long verse in the original Greek. We ended with this text:
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-14)
This week’s text was also one, long verse! Context is necessary to understand the first three words of today’s passage:
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)
The faith and love of these believers are inspiring to Paul. They have faith toward God and love toward people. I want to say you can’t have one without the other, though many claim to do so. They love to sing on Sunday…but can’t stand their co-workers on Monday! Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others as yourself, and Paul praises these people for doing both. They love God and all His people. Do you?
Paul thanks God for his audience and prays for them. He doesn’t stop giving thanks!
Thanksgiving and prayer are two of the greatest gifts we can offer God…and others.
College First family, I thank God for you. I love you. I love hearing stories about what God is doing in and through you. I love your generosity, gratitude, volunteering, and caring. I love meeting people new around here who have said they have been warmly welcomed. I love seeing small groups serve together, Next Gen leaders love and equip our future leaders, and our spiritual sponsors praying for kids at camp, mission trips, and Bible quizzing finals.
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.
(Ephesians 1:17)
I can relate to this, too. I have five prayers for College First: direction, protection, passion, unity, and good fruit. I pray for wisdom for myself and our leaders, and I long for all of us to know Christ better, not just know about, but actually know Jesus. I want the world to know the LORD, but especially you. The word “better” implies growth, maturity…sanctification is the fancy word for becoming like Jesus, which occurs as we spend time with him and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul prays to the glorious Father, seen in Jesus, for the gift of the Spirit.
I pray 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 his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19a)
There was a popular song in the 90s called “Open the Eyes of my Heart.” I didn’t know my heart had eyes! This refers to the inner being—which includes the emotions, mind, and will. Warren Wiersbe notes,
The inner man, the heart, has spiritual faculties that parallel the physical senses. The inner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3), hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11), taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3), smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14), and touch (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people, “They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not” (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.
Hope is not a wish, like hoping it doesn’t rain on your BBQ. Our hope is in the promised. Return of Christ for us, the Church. Without him, we have no hope, but in Jesus we have a living hope.
The word called is an important word for Christians. The word church combines two Greek words that mean “called out.” Elsewhere, Paul says we are “called by his grace,” we have a “holy calling,” we’ve been “called out of darkness into his marvelous light” and “called to glory.” This is who we are, church!
I had to read this next part again. When I saw glorious inheritance, I thought it referred to our inheritance in Christ, but actually it’s His inheritance in us, his holy people! God sees value in us. We are his wealth, his investment. He’s looking at our future, not our past. Christ will be glorified in us and we in him.
Then Paul mentions God’s incomparably great power…for him to use for his own selfish pleasure? No! It’s for us, for us who believe. This is dynamic, divine, eternal energy available to us! How big is your God?
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:19b-21)
Did you catch that? His incomparably great power for us who believe is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! That’s more power than all of the AI data centers in the world! It’s the greatest power in the universe!
Where is Jesus now? He is at the right hand of the Father, above all. His reign is eternal. King Jesus is on the throne and for a season allowing people to be tempted by evil. I don’t understand why he doesn’t eliminate the enemy now, but the day is coming.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:22-23)
All things are under Jesus’ feet, including all demons and spiritual forces.
Jesus is over the Church, his bride, his body on earth…us! He is the head and we are the body. We must always be connected! Decapitation harms the head and the body! What is your part? Are you hands that help? Hearts that care? Lungs that sing? Feet that go? Backs that carry the loads of others? Arms that hug? Tongues that teach? Minds that discern? We are the body of Christ, and each of us is a vital part.
As we spend time with Jesus, know Jesus, and become like Jesus, we will be a signpost pointing others to him as we go and make disciples of all nations. It’s all about Jesus! God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.
So What?
The song “Holy Forever” contains these lyrics taken from our text:
Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all
The name of Jesus is the greatest. Jesus is the greatest. There’s no one like our God!
When you get stressed, don’t look down at your problems. Look up at His power.
Don’t worry about the future. Wonder about His faithfulness.
Don’t get depressed about your situation. Dial into His solutions.
In summary, Paul prays that they might know
God (17b)
God’s calling (18a)
God’s riches (18b)
God’s power (19-23)
I pray that for you…for all of us. If we truly grasp these realities, we will be transformed. We will become like Jesus…and his Kingdom will come and his will will be done here on earth as it is in heaven for His glory. Amen!
Credits: Some ideas from Warren Wiersbe and Jerry Murray.
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 14, 2026
Ephesians 1:15-23
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.
Summary: Paul loves his audience and thanks God for them. Their faith and love are encouraging and inspiring. He wants them to know their calling, their inheritance, and their powerful LORD.
If we can have Christmas in July, I want to propose today we have Thanksgiving in June! Gratitude is powerful. In fact, at a time when so many are feeling anxious, did you know gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist at the same time in the brain? If you want to change your mood, your mind, your focus, pause and develop an attitude of gratitude. You can begin with this truth: God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.
Today we’re in week three of a long series on the book of Ephesians, a letter written by an early Church leader named Paul sometime around A.D. 55. Many believe it was written to a church in modern day Turkey, but it’s possible the intended audience was different or broader. Regardless, let’s imagine it was written to us! We could rename the book “Findlay!”
Last week set the context, encouraging words about God’s blessings and our identity in Christ as followers of Jesus. Last Sunday’s scripture was one long verse in the original Greek. We ended with this text:
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-14)
This week’s text was also one, long verse! Context is necessary to understand the first three words of today’s passage:
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)
The faith and love of these believers are inspiring to Paul. They have faith toward God and love toward people. I want to say you can’t have one without the other, though many claim to do so. They love to sing on Sunday…but can’t stand their co-workers on Monday! Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others as yourself, and Paul praises these people for doing both. They love God and all His people. Do you?
Paul thanks God for his audience and prays for them. He doesn’t stop giving thanks!
Thanksgiving and prayer are two of the greatest gifts we can offer God…and others.
College First family, I thank God for you. I love you. I love hearing stories about what God is doing in and through you. I love your generosity, gratitude, volunteering, and caring. I love meeting people new around here who have said they have been warmly welcomed. I love seeing small groups serve together, Next Gen leaders love and equip our future leaders, and our spiritual sponsors praying for kids at camp, mission trips, and Bible quizzing finals.
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.
(Ephesians 1:17)
I can relate to this, too. I have five prayers for College First: direction, protection, passion, unity, and good fruit. I pray for wisdom for myself and our leaders, and I long for all of us to know Christ better, not just know about, but actually know Jesus. I want the world to know the LORD, but especially you. The word “better” implies growth, maturity…sanctification is the fancy word for becoming like Jesus, which occurs as we spend time with him and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul prays to the glorious Father, seen in Jesus, for the gift of the Spirit.
I pray 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 his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19a)
There was a popular song in the 90s called “Open the Eyes of my Heart.” I didn’t know my heart had eyes! This refers to the inner being—which includes the emotions, mind, and will. Warren Wiersbe notes,
The inner man, the heart, has spiritual faculties that parallel the physical senses. The inner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3), hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11), taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3), smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14), and touch (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people, “They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not” (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.
Hope is not a wish, like hoping it doesn’t rain on your BBQ. Our hope is in the promised. Return of Christ for us, the Church. Without him, we have no hope, but in Jesus we have a living hope.
The word called is an important word for Christians. The word church combines two Greek words that mean “called out.” Elsewhere, Paul says we are “called by his grace,” we have a “holy calling,” we’ve been “called out of darkness into his marvelous light” and “called to glory.” This is who we are, church!
I had to read this next part again. When I saw glorious inheritance, I thought it referred to our inheritance in Christ, but actually it’s His inheritance in us, his holy people! God sees value in us. We are his wealth, his investment. He’s looking at our future, not our past. Christ will be glorified in us and we in him.
Then Paul mentions God’s incomparably great power…for him to use for his own selfish pleasure? No! It’s for us, for us who believe. This is dynamic, divine, eternal energy available to us! How big is your God?
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:19b-21)
Did you catch that? His incomparably great power for us who believe is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! That’s more power than all of the AI data centers in the world! It’s the greatest power in the universe!
Where is Jesus now? He is at the right hand of the Father, above all. His reign is eternal. King Jesus is on the throne and for a season allowing people to be tempted by evil. I don’t understand why he doesn’t eliminate the enemy now, but the day is coming.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:22-23)
All things are under Jesus’ feet, including all demons and spiritual forces.
Jesus is over the Church, his bride, his body on earth…us! He is the head and we are the body. We must always be connected! Decapitation harms the head and the body! What is your part? Are you hands that help? Hearts that care? Lungs that sing? Feet that go? Backs that carry the loads of others? Arms that hug? Tongues that teach? Minds that discern? We are the body of Christ, and each of us is a vital part.
As we spend time with Jesus, know Jesus, and become like Jesus, we will be a signpost pointing others to him as we go and make disciples of all nations. It’s all about Jesus! God is awesome and worthy of our thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.
So What?
The song “Holy Forever” contains these lyrics taken from our text:
Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all
The name of Jesus is the greatest. Jesus is the greatest. There’s no one like our God!
When you get stressed, don’t look down at your problems. Look up at His power.
Don’t worry about the future. Wonder about His faithfulness.
Don’t get depressed about your situation. Dial into His solutions.
In summary, Paul prays that they might know
God (17b)
God’s calling (18a)
God’s riches (18b)
God’s power (19-23)
I pray that for you…for all of us. If we truly grasp these realities, we will be transformed. We will become like Jesus…and his Kingdom will come and his will will be done here on earth as it is in heaven for His glory. Amen!
Credits: Some ideas from Warren Wiersbe and Jerry Murray.
Blessings, 7 June 2026
10 06 26 Filed in: Sermons | Ephesians: Our True Identity
Blessings
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 7, 2026
Ephesians 1:3-14
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: We have been blessed by God because we are in Christ.
In 2011, more than 500 churches in Metro Detroit participated in an outreach campaign called EACH: everyone a chance to hear. The idea was for people to create a personal two-word story to generate conversations. Examples included:
Peace? Peace
Significant? Significant
Loved? Loved
People were then directed to a website filled with stories of people encountering Jesus.
The big question at the time was, “What’s your word?” After thought and prayer, I realized my word was blessed.
After last week’s intro by Dr. David Odegard, today we dive into our series Ephesians: Finding our True Identity. Today’s text focuses on this word blessings.
What are blessings?
The Greek word in our scripture reading is “eulogeo” which means “to thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper, praise.” We can bless the LORD, praise the LORD. We can bless others, thanking them, praising them, seeking their prosperity.
When someone sneezes, people often say, “Bless you” or the German “Gesundheit” which means “health.” In Spanish, the word “salud” is used.
Most of my e-mails end with the closing, “Blessings, Kirk.” It’s not an auto-generated signature…on purpose. I manually type “blessings.” I have been blessed to be a blessing.
In the first book of the Bible, God said to Abram,
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
Thousands of years later, it’s appropriate to say we’ve been blessed to be a blessing.
Today’s scripture reading was quite long. In the original Greek, it was one, run-on sentence! English teachers today would tell Paul, “Use a period!” Fortunately, Bible translators did. Let’s go!
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. (Ephesians 1:3)
The first word “praise” in Hebrew means blessing. Here we see two members of the Trinity, Father and Son (and later the Holy Spirit). This Father/Son relationship is not biological, but theological. They are both eternal and equal, both God.
Followers of Jesus are blessed. Perhaps our greatest blessing is reconciliation with God through the cross. This includes eternal salvation, but we don’t have to wait around until death to experience the blessings. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing which includes the power of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, and the constant presence of the Spirit.
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. (Ephesians 1:3)
If you are a follower of Jesus, your primary identity is “in Christ.” We’ll see this expression dozens of times throughout this series. It means essentially whatever God the Father says about Jesus, he says about you. Whatever is true about Jesus is true of you, because you are in Christ. You are on his team.
Think of it this way: the Dodgers won the World Series last year.
Shohei Ohtani, .333 batting average, 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, 9 hits
Alex Call, .143 batting average, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 1 hit
Justin Dean, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 at bats!
They all received the same championship ring!
When we join Team Jesus, we get to wear his ring, put on his uniform, and we’re united with him. His blessings, people, future, status, and life become ours. This is living in union with Christ. It’s more than just a mental belief. It’s an existential reality!
Jesus taught this in John 15 when we said he is the vine and we are the branches. We share the life of the vine. The branches only produce fruit when connected to the vine, and we only produce good fruit when we’re connected to Jesus.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
This introduces one of the great debates in the Christian faith. Do we choose God or does God choose us? The answer is…yes!
Am I married because I asked Heather to marry me, or because she said, “Yes?”
Here Paul says followers of Jesus were chosen…before the world was created! Similarly, God chose the people of Israel as His treasure. It can be said if you are a Christian God adopted us into His family.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a)
Redemption refers to the idea of paying to set a slave free, to redeem, to exchange. That happens for us through the cross, the blood of Jesus we will remember today through communion. It also grants us the forgiveness of our sins. God’s grace is lavished on us, unmerited favor, we deserve nothing, we did nothing, it’s a free gift that simply needs to be received.
Have you said “yes” to Jesus? Are you responding to his simple invitation to follow him? He did the heavy lifting, suffering and dying. He wants to lead us, shepherd us, guide us, but like any sheep, we can choose to follow or stray. Where are you today?
This is not a one-time decision, but a daily choice to obey or disobey, to let Jesus take the wheel or put him in the trunk, so to speak.
With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:8b-10)
From the beginning of time, God had a plan for humanity, but it was a mystery until Jesus the Messiah accomplished his assignment. This is not to say it’s mysterious, but rather it has been kept secret and is now revealed. God’s Kingdom is now open to Jews and Gentiles who repent.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
The “we” here likely refers to Paul’s ethnicity, the Jews. It’s impossible for us to fully understand the tensions and distinctions between Jew and Gentile, but here here’s highlighting Jews who follow Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Fortunately, Gentiles are included.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ve heard the gospel, the good news, the message of truth, the message that Jesus is LORD and we are invited to follow him and experience salvation, abundant life, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.
We’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit. We talked about this two weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. Back in the day, a seal meant protection and ownership. The Holy Spirit seals us. We belong to God. Our salvation is secure, a guarantee that we are God’s and we will spend now and forever with Him. We are able to experience glimpses of the Kingdom of God in this life, but the next will be the fulfillment of life with God. I can’t wait!
So What?
If you’ve never said “yes” to Jesus, what are you waiting for? The benefits are endless. The blessings are eternal. The forgiveness lasts forever. The peace and joy are indescribable. The freedom is incredible. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I give you my life.” Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to activate the benefits of the cross and empty tomb. Today is the day to begin your journey. Mark this as your spiritual birthday, and if that’s you, please tell me. I’d love to meet you in the lobby or send me a simple e-mail.
If you’ve said yes to Jesus, today is a reminder of how you’ve been
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
• Chosen by God before the foundation of the world.
• Adopted into His family with full rights and inheritance.
• Redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
• Sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing your future.
After you sneeze and someone says, “Bless you,” what do you say? Thank you.
Today, your next step may be to simply say to God, “Thank you.” We can do that through words, songs, giving, volunteering, praying, being still, paying attention, sharing our faith, and speaking God’s love language of obedience. We are blessed. Hallelujah!
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 7, 2026
Ephesians 1:3-14
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: We have been blessed by God because we are in Christ.
In 2011, more than 500 churches in Metro Detroit participated in an outreach campaign called EACH: everyone a chance to hear. The idea was for people to create a personal two-word story to generate conversations. Examples included:
Peace? Peace
Significant? Significant
Loved? Loved
People were then directed to a website filled with stories of people encountering Jesus.
The big question at the time was, “What’s your word?” After thought and prayer, I realized my word was blessed.
After last week’s intro by Dr. David Odegard, today we dive into our series Ephesians: Finding our True Identity. Today’s text focuses on this word blessings.
What are blessings?
The Greek word in our scripture reading is “eulogeo” which means “to thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper, praise.” We can bless the LORD, praise the LORD. We can bless others, thanking them, praising them, seeking their prosperity.
When someone sneezes, people often say, “Bless you” or the German “Gesundheit” which means “health.” In Spanish, the word “salud” is used.
Most of my e-mails end with the closing, “Blessings, Kirk.” It’s not an auto-generated signature…on purpose. I manually type “blessings.” I have been blessed to be a blessing.
In the first book of the Bible, God said to Abram,
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
Thousands of years later, it’s appropriate to say we’ve been blessed to be a blessing.
Today’s scripture reading was quite long. In the original Greek, it was one, run-on sentence! English teachers today would tell Paul, “Use a period!” Fortunately, Bible translators did. Let’s go!
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. (Ephesians 1:3)
The first word “praise” in Hebrew means blessing. Here we see two members of the Trinity, Father and Son (and later the Holy Spirit). This Father/Son relationship is not biological, but theological. They are both eternal and equal, both God.
Followers of Jesus are blessed. Perhaps our greatest blessing is reconciliation with God through the cross. This includes eternal salvation, but we don’t have to wait around until death to experience the blessings. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing which includes the power of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, and the constant presence of the Spirit.
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. (Ephesians 1:3)
If you are a follower of Jesus, your primary identity is “in Christ.” We’ll see this expression dozens of times throughout this series. It means essentially whatever God the Father says about Jesus, he says about you. Whatever is true about Jesus is true of you, because you are in Christ. You are on his team.
Think of it this way: the Dodgers won the World Series last year.
Shohei Ohtani, .333 batting average, 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, 9 hits
Alex Call, .143 batting average, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 1 hit
Justin Dean, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 at bats!
They all received the same championship ring!
When we join Team Jesus, we get to wear his ring, put on his uniform, and we’re united with him. His blessings, people, future, status, and life become ours. This is living in union with Christ. It’s more than just a mental belief. It’s an existential reality!
Jesus taught this in John 15 when we said he is the vine and we are the branches. We share the life of the vine. The branches only produce fruit when connected to the vine, and we only produce good fruit when we’re connected to Jesus.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
This introduces one of the great debates in the Christian faith. Do we choose God or does God choose us? The answer is…yes!
Am I married because I asked Heather to marry me, or because she said, “Yes?”
Here Paul says followers of Jesus were chosen…before the world was created! Similarly, God chose the people of Israel as His treasure. It can be said if you are a Christian God adopted us into His family.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a)
Redemption refers to the idea of paying to set a slave free, to redeem, to exchange. That happens for us through the cross, the blood of Jesus we will remember today through communion. It also grants us the forgiveness of our sins. God’s grace is lavished on us, unmerited favor, we deserve nothing, we did nothing, it’s a free gift that simply needs to be received.
Have you said “yes” to Jesus? Are you responding to his simple invitation to follow him? He did the heavy lifting, suffering and dying. He wants to lead us, shepherd us, guide us, but like any sheep, we can choose to follow or stray. Where are you today?
This is not a one-time decision, but a daily choice to obey or disobey, to let Jesus take the wheel or put him in the trunk, so to speak.
With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:8b-10)
From the beginning of time, God had a plan for humanity, but it was a mystery until Jesus the Messiah accomplished his assignment. This is not to say it’s mysterious, but rather it has been kept secret and is now revealed. God’s Kingdom is now open to Jews and Gentiles who repent.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
The “we” here likely refers to Paul’s ethnicity, the Jews. It’s impossible for us to fully understand the tensions and distinctions between Jew and Gentile, but here here’s highlighting Jews who follow Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Fortunately, Gentiles are included.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ve heard the gospel, the good news, the message of truth, the message that Jesus is LORD and we are invited to follow him and experience salvation, abundant life, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.
We’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit. We talked about this two weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. Back in the day, a seal meant protection and ownership. The Holy Spirit seals us. We belong to God. Our salvation is secure, a guarantee that we are God’s and we will spend now and forever with Him. We are able to experience glimpses of the Kingdom of God in this life, but the next will be the fulfillment of life with God. I can’t wait!
So What?
If you’ve never said “yes” to Jesus, what are you waiting for? The benefits are endless. The blessings are eternal. The forgiveness lasts forever. The peace and joy are indescribable. The freedom is incredible. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I give you my life.” Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to activate the benefits of the cross and empty tomb. Today is the day to begin your journey. Mark this as your spiritual birthday, and if that’s you, please tell me. I’d love to meet you in the lobby or send me a simple e-mail.
If you’ve said yes to Jesus, today is a reminder of how you’ve been
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
• Chosen by God before the foundation of the world.
• Adopted into His family with full rights and inheritance.
• Redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
• Sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing your future.
After you sneeze and someone says, “Bless you,” what do you say? Thank you.
Today, your next step may be to simply say to God, “Thank you.” We can do that through words, songs, giving, volunteering, praying, being still, paying attention, sharing our faith, and speaking God’s love language of obedience. We are blessed. Hallelujah!
Holy Spirit, Acts 2, 24 May 2026
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
May 24, 2026
Acts 2
Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church.
What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever received, an expression of love? What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever given, an expression of love?
I think it’s safe to say the greatest gift in history was…Jesus. The most famous verse in the Bible says,
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
God loved. God gave. We are blessed, reconciled, saved, forgiven. But Jesus is not the only gift. Another one arrived on the day we celebrate today—Pentecost Sunday.
Jesus came to earth as a baby, a day we celebrate called…CHRISTmas. He grew, taught, healed, show us the perfect example of what it means to be human, and then was scandalously arrested and ultimately crucified…for us…in our place. On Easter, we celebrated that He is risen (He is risen indeed!).
Just as the disciples are getting used to Jesus being alive, he tells them leaving once more. I can just imagine the objections. “You just came back!” “You accomplished your mission.” “Where are you going?” “Stay here!” His reply?
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
The Advocate. The Greek word is parakletos. An intercessor, consoler, comforter. We refer to this person as the Holy Spirit.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
Jesus is introducing the Holy Spirit.
God is a divine mystery, one God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has a unique role in the relationship known as the Trinity.
Jesus had a clear assignment that involved about 33 years on earth, teachings, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension. He will return, but in the meantime, He sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit did not appear for the first time on Pentecost. The Spirit is visible in the first verses of the Bible.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
The original Hebrew word for Spirit is ruach, meaning breath, wind, spirit.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Spirit shows up at particular times and places. What made Pentecost special was the distribution of God’s presence upon every follower of Jesus.
As Acts chapter two begins, thousands of people from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem. Imagine a World Cup match this summer. They came not for sport, though, but rather Shavuot, the great harvest festival (Expdus 23:16).
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
The ruach, the Spirit, shows up like a wind and also fire. The Greek word is pneuma. This was a supernatural moment where heaven invaded earth. It was a reversal of the Tower of Babel story from Genesis 11. There, the people tried to build a tower to heaven in hopes of both reaching and controlling God, making a name for themselves.
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Genesis 11:5-7)
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)
Going back to the second chapter of Acts, we see this reversed.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:5-12)
When people talk about speaking in tongues here, they were known languages including probably Greek, Latin, Egyptian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Median, Parthian, and others. This was not babbling or a “heavenly” language, but people from around the known world heard in their own tongues. This was truly miraculous!
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:13)
"Whatever we might've heard, Pentecost is not the story of devout believers lost in prayer, hidden away in an upper room, caught up in mystical rapture," says Dr Chris Green, Professor of Public Theology at Southeastern University, Florida. "Pentecost is the story of bewildered not-sure-what-to-believe believers swept out of prayer into the streets, into the public eye. Pentecost is the end of spirituality because the Spirit presses the church into the public square, into public responsibility. Following the Spirit always leads down from the upper room and out to the outer courts."
Peter addresses the crowd and this incredible chapter ends with this summary.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
Again, this has been called the birthday of the Church as God’s new temple, the earthly place where He dwells. The Church is the Body of Christ, the movement of Jesus, the people of God empowered by and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Tragically, many today are unaware of the Holy Spirit or are even afraid of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church.
Spiritual gifts are mentioned in several passages including 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. They include things such as prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, leadership, and mercy. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are vital, not to glorify the user, but to serve the Church. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray and understand God’s Word, empowers us to share our faith, and unifies Christians.
The Holy Spirit also produces fruit in the lives of Christ-followers who are humble, prayerful, and surrendered to the LORD.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
If you want an indicator of your spiritual maturity, it can be found here. Are you more loving and self-controlled than you were a year ago? Are you growing in joy, peace, and gentleness? This is what it means to become like Jesus. Would those closest to you say you are increasing in patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness?
I reflect upon this is often, tempted to try harder and manufacture human fruit before reminding myself the pathway to fruit is not striving, but submission, solitude, silence, and slowing down to be fully present with God. We don’t achieve fruit. We naturally produce it when we are connected to God. It doesn’t come by straining, but surrender.
So What?
All of this was prophesied by Jesus in the first chapter of Acts when asked about restoring the kingdom to Israel.
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)
Earlier, you heard the Lord’s Prayer in several languages. Christianity was the first multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual language in the history of the world. Today, the vision of Jesus’ words is becoming a reality, ultimately leading to worship from every nation, tribe, people and language (Revelation 7:9). Our is not an English faith, a white faith, or a USAmerican faith. It is a global movement filled with people created in the image of God from every corner of the globe.
The mission of College First is to love, equip, and…send. We’re not a country club for members only. We’re a hospital for the sick, preparing wounded healers to offer faith, hope, and love to a broken world. We want to serve Findlay, Ohio, the USA, and the world. We are his witnesses, and the original Greek world implies the possibility of martyrdom. Are you willing to give your life for Jesus? Are you willing to live for the LORD? Are you willing to die for Christ? He was willing to die for you.
Pete Greig writes, “Today we celebrate the birth of this 2000 year-old, 2 billion strong, messed-up, blessed-up, revolutionary movement of justice and love we call The Church. She is not perfect. Many grave sins have been committed. Our hearts must often grieve. But still the Church of Jesus Christ remains the greatest agency of human blessing the world has ever known: starting schools and hospitals, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, inspiring the greatest art the world has ever known, healing broken families, redeeming cultures and reconciling warring tribes, establishing the foundations for scientific innovation and human flourishing, shaping entire civilizations, and above all, proclaiming today on this Pentecost Sunday the same, stunning good news of salvation for the nations in every generation through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Come Holy Spirit. All of our ministry efforts are pointless without the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church…to love and serve the world. May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit and become more like Jesus every day for his glory. Amen!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
May 24, 2026
Acts 2
Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church.
What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever received, an expression of love? What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever given, an expression of love?
I think it’s safe to say the greatest gift in history was…Jesus. The most famous verse in the Bible says,
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
God loved. God gave. We are blessed, reconciled, saved, forgiven. But Jesus is not the only gift. Another one arrived on the day we celebrate today—Pentecost Sunday.
Jesus came to earth as a baby, a day we celebrate called…CHRISTmas. He grew, taught, healed, show us the perfect example of what it means to be human, and then was scandalously arrested and ultimately crucified…for us…in our place. On Easter, we celebrated that He is risen (He is risen indeed!).
Just as the disciples are getting used to Jesus being alive, he tells them leaving once more. I can just imagine the objections. “You just came back!” “You accomplished your mission.” “Where are you going?” “Stay here!” His reply?
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
The Advocate. The Greek word is parakletos. An intercessor, consoler, comforter. We refer to this person as the Holy Spirit.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
Jesus is introducing the Holy Spirit.
God is a divine mystery, one God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has a unique role in the relationship known as the Trinity.
Jesus had a clear assignment that involved about 33 years on earth, teachings, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension. He will return, but in the meantime, He sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit did not appear for the first time on Pentecost. The Spirit is visible in the first verses of the Bible.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
The original Hebrew word for Spirit is ruach, meaning breath, wind, spirit.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Spirit shows up at particular times and places. What made Pentecost special was the distribution of God’s presence upon every follower of Jesus.
As Acts chapter two begins, thousands of people from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem. Imagine a World Cup match this summer. They came not for sport, though, but rather Shavuot, the great harvest festival (Expdus 23:16).
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
The ruach, the Spirit, shows up like a wind and also fire. The Greek word is pneuma. This was a supernatural moment where heaven invaded earth. It was a reversal of the Tower of Babel story from Genesis 11. There, the people tried to build a tower to heaven in hopes of both reaching and controlling God, making a name for themselves.
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Genesis 11:5-7)
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)
Going back to the second chapter of Acts, we see this reversed.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:5-12)
When people talk about speaking in tongues here, they were known languages including probably Greek, Latin, Egyptian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Median, Parthian, and others. This was not babbling or a “heavenly” language, but people from around the known world heard in their own tongues. This was truly miraculous!
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:13)
"Whatever we might've heard, Pentecost is not the story of devout believers lost in prayer, hidden away in an upper room, caught up in mystical rapture," says Dr Chris Green, Professor of Public Theology at Southeastern University, Florida. "Pentecost is the story of bewildered not-sure-what-to-believe believers swept out of prayer into the streets, into the public eye. Pentecost is the end of spirituality because the Spirit presses the church into the public square, into public responsibility. Following the Spirit always leads down from the upper room and out to the outer courts."
Peter addresses the crowd and this incredible chapter ends with this summary.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
Again, this has been called the birthday of the Church as God’s new temple, the earthly place where He dwells. The Church is the Body of Christ, the movement of Jesus, the people of God empowered by and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Tragically, many today are unaware of the Holy Spirit or are even afraid of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church.
Spiritual gifts are mentioned in several passages including 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. They include things such as prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, leadership, and mercy. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are vital, not to glorify the user, but to serve the Church. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray and understand God’s Word, empowers us to share our faith, and unifies Christians.
The Holy Spirit also produces fruit in the lives of Christ-followers who are humble, prayerful, and surrendered to the LORD.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
If you want an indicator of your spiritual maturity, it can be found here. Are you more loving and self-controlled than you were a year ago? Are you growing in joy, peace, and gentleness? This is what it means to become like Jesus. Would those closest to you say you are increasing in patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness?
I reflect upon this is often, tempted to try harder and manufacture human fruit before reminding myself the pathway to fruit is not striving, but submission, solitude, silence, and slowing down to be fully present with God. We don’t achieve fruit. We naturally produce it when we are connected to God. It doesn’t come by straining, but surrender.
So What?
All of this was prophesied by Jesus in the first chapter of Acts when asked about restoring the kingdom to Israel.
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)
Earlier, you heard the Lord’s Prayer in several languages. Christianity was the first multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual language in the history of the world. Today, the vision of Jesus’ words is becoming a reality, ultimately leading to worship from every nation, tribe, people and language (Revelation 7:9). Our is not an English faith, a white faith, or a USAmerican faith. It is a global movement filled with people created in the image of God from every corner of the globe.
The mission of College First is to love, equip, and…send. We’re not a country club for members only. We’re a hospital for the sick, preparing wounded healers to offer faith, hope, and love to a broken world. We want to serve Findlay, Ohio, the USA, and the world. We are his witnesses, and the original Greek world implies the possibility of martyrdom. Are you willing to give your life for Jesus? Are you willing to live for the LORD? Are you willing to die for Christ? He was willing to die for you.
Pete Greig writes, “Today we celebrate the birth of this 2000 year-old, 2 billion strong, messed-up, blessed-up, revolutionary movement of justice and love we call The Church. She is not perfect. Many grave sins have been committed. Our hearts must often grieve. But still the Church of Jesus Christ remains the greatest agency of human blessing the world has ever known: starting schools and hospitals, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, inspiring the greatest art the world has ever known, healing broken families, redeeming cultures and reconciling warring tribes, establishing the foundations for scientific innovation and human flourishing, shaping entire civilizations, and above all, proclaiming today on this Pentecost Sunday the same, stunning good news of salvation for the nations in every generation through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Come Holy Spirit. All of our ministry efforts are pointless without the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift who gives gifts and fruit for the Church…to love and serve the world. May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit and become more like Jesus every day for his glory. Amen!