We Are Saints, 12 January 2014
Big Idea: We are saints, God’s people set apart for His purposes, blessed with grace and peace.
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Good morning, saints! Good morning, sinners!
Today we continue our new series, Who Do You Think You Are? It is a series about identity, and identity is one of the most important aspects of life. I believe theology and anthropology—understanding God and humans—are the two most important fields of study, for the more we understand God and ourselves, the more we will flourish.
Who are you? Who are we? These are the primary questions we will seek to answer throughout our study of the book of Ephesians.
As a review for those who braved the snow last week and a summary for those who didn’t, we noted that Ephesians…
I want to note a few additional things about this book.
Ephesians 1 begins…
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
This is a letter written by Paul from a Roman prison. Paul was once a religious zealot named Saul.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:2-3)
His conversion may be the most remarkable in history, an encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9). Later he goes by the name of Paul (Acts 13:9).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
The word “apostle” is interesting. The Greek word means “messenger” or “envoy.” I like to say there are two types—Apostle and apostle. An Apostle is the highest office of the Church. They received their commission directly from Jesus. Even though Paul did not know Jesus during His earthly ministry, the glorified Jesus commissioned Paul. They also saw Jesus after His resurrection, often wrote scripture, and performed signs, wonders, and miracles (2 Cor. 12:112). They also started churches.
Today there are people that are called apostles. I consider myself an apostle. I have been involved in starting or planting churches. I’m a spiritual entrepreneur.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
As we said last week, the core message of Ephesians is that our identity is in Christ. Paul is a messenger of Jesus. He has no personal agenda. The messenger only delivers—they don’t create—the message. As he was repeatedly arrested and beaten, he must’ve thought, “Don’t shoot the messenger!”
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
It was clearly God’s will that Paul become an apostle. He was called for a very special purpose, specifically to write much of the New Testament and be the most prominent figure in it after Christ.
Note that God does the calling. He still calls people today. He calls people to start churches, to travel to foreign countries, and to become pastors. He calls people to be beacons of light amidst the darkness at factories, schools, offices, and homes across our county. Be ready for His call. Be ready to respond. Be ready to obey.
Jonah received a calling, did not obey, spent three nights in a fish, and eventually got on board with God’s will!
You may be waiting—patiently or impatiently—for His call. I had a friend who spent years asking God to show him what to do. Silence meant to continue to be faithful to his current assignment until the time was right for something new, something that eventually came. He now leads a church God called him to plant in Chicagoland.
You might not like your calling. Take it up with God!
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
I began with the greeting, “Good morning saints.” When you think of saints, perhaps you think of a New Orleans football team or a bunch of dead guys that have churches named after them!
A saint is a holy person.
The word “sinner” is used about 300 times in the Bible, often in conjunction with the 600 references to God’s wrath. It occurs no more than three times in reference to believers. God sees us as saints. Why don’t we? When we begin following Jesus as Lord, we become genuinely new creations, though not totally new. We are given a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ when we identify with Him. That’s incredible!
Paul writes to the church…
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
…in Ephesus and to those in the region and calls them “God’s holy people” or saints.
A saint is not a perfect person. Saints (haggais) means separated or set aside for the sole use of God, holy vessels like those in the tabernacle.
J. Vernon McGee used to say there are two types of people today: saints and ain’ts!
We have been set apart for God’s use. Isn’t that incredible?!
We are saints and sinners. Notice what is next…
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
We are not saints because of how we act but because we are “in Christ.” Last week we briefly looked at nine uses of this phrase “in Christ” in the first thirteen verses of Ephesians. We are saints or God’s holy people “in Christ.” We are the faithful “in Christ.” We are full of faith.
You might be thinking, “I’m not always faithful.” True. This is where the faithfulness of Jesus kicks in. Paul wrote to Timothy an incredible truth.
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
Because we are in Christ, we are faithful. It’s not about what we do, but what He has done.
Imagine that your name was chosen in a radio contest and you’ve been given a backstage pass to a rock concert. You go backstage, someone asks your name and then asks you to leave. When you flash them your backstage pass, everything changes. You’re “with the band!” You are on their team. You didn’t sing or play an instrument or even setup the stage, but you’re with them. You have special privileges not because of who you are or what you’ve done but who you know.
Being in Christ is so much more. It’s having a backstage pass to heaven, not because of anything you’ve done, but because you’re with Jesus.
It’s actually much more.
The bird is in the air and the air is in the bird.
The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish.
The believer is in Christ and Christ is in the believer.
That’s radical!!!
Paul continues this idea when he says…
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace. These are two of my favorite words.
What is grace?
It is unmerited favor.
Grace was the Gentile form of greeting.
Grace is the means by which God saves us. You must know God’s grace in order to have peace. The world can never know true peace until it knows God’s grace.
Outside the church we see “love” and “peace” but rarely “grace.” It is that amazing!
Peace was the religious word, shalom in Hebrew.
Peace means peace with God, to have our sins forgiven. It is more than the absence of war. Shalom means “to complete, to make sound.” It was used to describe the temple when it was finished (1 Kings 7:51). It is used to describe tranquility. The word was also used as a greeting, as it is here.
Last year our daughter, Kailey, talked about how she was going to focus on a word in 2013. I decided to follow her lead and have declared “peace” as my word for 2014. I have far more self-inflicted anxiety and fear and I’m choosing to embrace peace. Jesus is the Prince of peace. Paul blessed us with peace. I’m declaring peace on my life and I want to do the same for yours.
Grace and peace are two things you can have regardless of life’s circumstances. They’re yours if you accept them, much like salvation and God’s love.
Paul is greeting his friends and blessing them with grace and peace, not from Himself, but…
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit was already present in Ephesus. Now Paul ensures that the Father and Son are recognized.
Notice how often Christ Jesus is mentioned in this short section.
Christ is the title. Jesus was His human name. That’s why they’re used interchangeably. You can call me Pastor Kirk or Kirk the pastor. You can call Him Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. Paul goes a step further and acknowledges Jesus as LORD. All glory and honor and praise is due Him for He is God, He deserves our praise, He is worthy of our worship.
Conclusion
We’ve spent a great deal of time on two short verses, just the greeting. If you’re reading through Ephesians with us, perhaps you blew past this passage, anxious to get to “the good stuff.” It’s here! In Christ we are saints. In Christ we are declared faithful. In Christ we are blessed with grace and peace.
This week I had this thought of Jesus talking to me. I didn’t have a vision or hear an audible voice, but I simply had the realization that Jesus truly loves me. He knows me. He is my friend. He’s God, but I’m on His team. He has given me His identity. I am in Christ and Christ is in me. Wow!
Every day we have a choice—to be saints or aints! We can choose to be lord of our lives or surrender to the LORD Jesus Christ. We can we His badge or risk it going alone, doing it our way. I urge you to embrace Jesus and the identity that is offered to you in Christ. It is truly a joy to say “Your will, Your way!”
Credits:
Some ideas from
J.I. Packer, Ephesians (sermon series audio)
Mark Driscoll, Who Do You Think You Are (book and podcast series)
GLO Bible
J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, http://thruthebible.ca
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Good morning, saints! Good morning, sinners!
Today we continue our new series, Who Do You Think You Are? It is a series about identity, and identity is one of the most important aspects of life. I believe theology and anthropology—understanding God and humans—are the two most important fields of study, for the more we understand God and ourselves, the more we will flourish.
Who are you? Who are we? These are the primary questions we will seek to answer throughout our study of the book of Ephesians.
As a review for those who braved the snow last week and a summary for those who didn’t, we noted that Ephesians…
- - was written by Paul in prison in Rome
- - to the church in the city of Ephesus, a cosmopolitan city not unlike Ann Arbor
- - it was written not only to the church at Ephesus but to all in the region
- - it is, therefore, one of the most universal books of the Bible, filled with timeless truths
- - frequently speaks of what it means to be “in Christ,” our primary, true identity
I want to note a few additional things about this book.
- - It is about “the Church which is His body,” of which Christ is the head
- - Paul founded the church in Ephesus during his second missionary journey
- - Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years during his third missionary journey (Acts 19:8-10; 20:31)
- - This may be the epistle referred to in Colossians 4:16
- - Like many New Testament books, Ephesians has an Old Testament parallel—Joshua
- - The church in Ephesus had many great preachers including Paul, Apollos, John and Timothy; what a legacy!
Ephesians 1 begins…
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
This is a letter written by Paul from a Roman prison. Paul was once a religious zealot named Saul.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:2-3)
His conversion may be the most remarkable in history, an encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9). Later he goes by the name of Paul (Acts 13:9).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
The word “apostle” is interesting. The Greek word means “messenger” or “envoy.” I like to say there are two types—Apostle and apostle. An Apostle is the highest office of the Church. They received their commission directly from Jesus. Even though Paul did not know Jesus during His earthly ministry, the glorified Jesus commissioned Paul. They also saw Jesus after His resurrection, often wrote scripture, and performed signs, wonders, and miracles (2 Cor. 12:112). They also started churches.
Today there are people that are called apostles. I consider myself an apostle. I have been involved in starting or planting churches. I’m a spiritual entrepreneur.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
As we said last week, the core message of Ephesians is that our identity is in Christ. Paul is a messenger of Jesus. He has no personal agenda. The messenger only delivers—they don’t create—the message. As he was repeatedly arrested and beaten, he must’ve thought, “Don’t shoot the messenger!”
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
It was clearly God’s will that Paul become an apostle. He was called for a very special purpose, specifically to write much of the New Testament and be the most prominent figure in it after Christ.
Note that God does the calling. He still calls people today. He calls people to start churches, to travel to foreign countries, and to become pastors. He calls people to be beacons of light amidst the darkness at factories, schools, offices, and homes across our county. Be ready for His call. Be ready to respond. Be ready to obey.
Jonah received a calling, did not obey, spent three nights in a fish, and eventually got on board with God’s will!
You may be waiting—patiently or impatiently—for His call. I had a friend who spent years asking God to show him what to do. Silence meant to continue to be faithful to his current assignment until the time was right for something new, something that eventually came. He now leads a church God called him to plant in Chicagoland.
You might not like your calling. Take it up with God!
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
I began with the greeting, “Good morning saints.” When you think of saints, perhaps you think of a New Orleans football team or a bunch of dead guys that have churches named after them!
A saint is a holy person.
The word “sinner” is used about 300 times in the Bible, often in conjunction with the 600 references to God’s wrath. It occurs no more than three times in reference to believers. God sees us as saints. Why don’t we? When we begin following Jesus as Lord, we become genuinely new creations, though not totally new. We are given a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ when we identify with Him. That’s incredible!
Paul writes to the church…
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
…in Ephesus and to those in the region and calls them “God’s holy people” or saints.
A saint is not a perfect person. Saints (haggais) means separated or set aside for the sole use of God, holy vessels like those in the tabernacle.
J. Vernon McGee used to say there are two types of people today: saints and ain’ts!
We have been set apart for God’s use. Isn’t that incredible?!
We are saints and sinners. Notice what is next…
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
We are not saints because of how we act but because we are “in Christ.” Last week we briefly looked at nine uses of this phrase “in Christ” in the first thirteen verses of Ephesians. We are saints or God’s holy people “in Christ.” We are the faithful “in Christ.” We are full of faith.
You might be thinking, “I’m not always faithful.” True. This is where the faithfulness of Jesus kicks in. Paul wrote to Timothy an incredible truth.
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
Because we are in Christ, we are faithful. It’s not about what we do, but what He has done.
Imagine that your name was chosen in a radio contest and you’ve been given a backstage pass to a rock concert. You go backstage, someone asks your name and then asks you to leave. When you flash them your backstage pass, everything changes. You’re “with the band!” You are on their team. You didn’t sing or play an instrument or even setup the stage, but you’re with them. You have special privileges not because of who you are or what you’ve done but who you know.
Being in Christ is so much more. It’s having a backstage pass to heaven, not because of anything you’ve done, but because you’re with Jesus.
It’s actually much more.
The bird is in the air and the air is in the bird.
The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish.
The believer is in Christ and Christ is in the believer.
That’s radical!!!
Paul continues this idea when he says…
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace. These are two of my favorite words.
What is grace?
It is unmerited favor.
Grace was the Gentile form of greeting.
Grace is the means by which God saves us. You must know God’s grace in order to have peace. The world can never know true peace until it knows God’s grace.
Outside the church we see “love” and “peace” but rarely “grace.” It is that amazing!
Peace was the religious word, shalom in Hebrew.
Peace means peace with God, to have our sins forgiven. It is more than the absence of war. Shalom means “to complete, to make sound.” It was used to describe the temple when it was finished (1 Kings 7:51). It is used to describe tranquility. The word was also used as a greeting, as it is here.
Last year our daughter, Kailey, talked about how she was going to focus on a word in 2013. I decided to follow her lead and have declared “peace” as my word for 2014. I have far more self-inflicted anxiety and fear and I’m choosing to embrace peace. Jesus is the Prince of peace. Paul blessed us with peace. I’m declaring peace on my life and I want to do the same for yours.
Grace and peace are two things you can have regardless of life’s circumstances. They’re yours if you accept them, much like salvation and God’s love.
Paul is greeting his friends and blessing them with grace and peace, not from Himself, but…
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit was already present in Ephesus. Now Paul ensures that the Father and Son are recognized.
Notice how often Christ Jesus is mentioned in this short section.
Christ is the title. Jesus was His human name. That’s why they’re used interchangeably. You can call me Pastor Kirk or Kirk the pastor. You can call Him Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. Paul goes a step further and acknowledges Jesus as LORD. All glory and honor and praise is due Him for He is God, He deserves our praise, He is worthy of our worship.
Conclusion
We’ve spent a great deal of time on two short verses, just the greeting. If you’re reading through Ephesians with us, perhaps you blew past this passage, anxious to get to “the good stuff.” It’s here! In Christ we are saints. In Christ we are declared faithful. In Christ we are blessed with grace and peace.
This week I had this thought of Jesus talking to me. I didn’t have a vision or hear an audible voice, but I simply had the realization that Jesus truly loves me. He knows me. He is my friend. He’s God, but I’m on His team. He has given me His identity. I am in Christ and Christ is in me. Wow!
Every day we have a choice—to be saints or aints! We can choose to be lord of our lives or surrender to the LORD Jesus Christ. We can we His badge or risk it going alone, doing it our way. I urge you to embrace Jesus and the identity that is offered to you in Christ. It is truly a joy to say “Your will, Your way!”
Credits:
Some ideas from
J.I. Packer, Ephesians (sermon series audio)
Mark Driscoll, Who Do You Think You Are (book and podcast series)
GLO Bible
J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, http://thruthebible.ca
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.