Ephesians 3:6 says, 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.
What this verse tells me is that Because of Christ, I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise. Allow me to explain what I mean. Some of the zealous Jews in these early days of the church were caught by surprise that Gentiles would be considered to be full members of the Family of God and full heirs of all that Jesus promised. It’s not that they couldn’t consider that Gentiles could join the Family of God, but as they considered it, they felt strongly that in order to join the Family of God they had to become Jews in their practice, otherwise, they would be viewed as “less than”. The expectation was that these Gentile converts would have to adopt the Mosaic Law. They would need to subscribe to circumcision. They would have to begin to observe the Jewish feast days and much, much more. The emphasis wasn’t on becoming like Jesus, but it was on becoming like the Jews of the day and to those who didn’t want to sign up, there was a second class status given.
What Paul wanted folks to understand is that our status in the church has nothing to do with our ethnicity or traditional religious practices as they would be evaluated by some earthly standard, but our status in the church has everything to do with the fact that we are welcomed into God’s family in and through the blood of Christ.
Let’s look at a broader application. Maybe you have struggled to feel “worthy” or “good enough” to be a member of God’s family. Maybe you don’t think you have the religious pedigree to qualify because you didn’t grow up in the church or because you don’t know much about the Bible. You just feel like you are too far behind. You think you should be able to have a certain number of Scriptures memorized or that you should be able to teach a Bible lesson to someone else before you could actually feel part of the church. Maybe you have been oppressed by religious people who have told you that you had to jump through certain hoops to gain God’s approval or that you have to follow some man-made traditions in order to be accepted in the Body of Christ. Listen to me, you only have to live to please an audience of One! He has extended Himself in a covenant relationship with you, and if you have accepted Jesus as Savior, you’re in. You’re in. You aren’t part of the way in. You aren’t almost in. You aren’t working your way in. You’re in.
The second thing I would highlight comes from Ephesians 3. It is this:
Because of Christ, I have bold and confident access to the throne of God.
This is the truth of Ephesians 3:12 which says, “In Him (Christ) and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Eph. 3:12
I like these words, “freedom” and “confidence.” You have freedom to come to God with any need, with any hurt and with any question. You can tell Him anything. You can ask Him anything, and you don’t have to fear His reaction. Guilt and shame have been removed from the equation through the blood of Jesus. The way that Christ has opened for us to God the Father will always be open. We will always gain the grace and help we need. God will always be waiting for us. There won’t be a sticky note on His throne that says, “Out to lunch. Will return at 1:30.” When you go sincerely and boldly to God for help, you can have confidence that you are going to get it.
The third thing I would like to highlight comes from Ephesians 4:22-24. It is this:
Because of Christ, my new self is righteous and holy, and I am learning a better way to live.
Ephesians 4:22-24 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Would you agree that if you are a Christian, you are a work in progress? God is working on you, right? You are being taught some things. You are learning to re-think some things, to re-prioritize some things, to pursue some different things and to pursue some things differently. Most people would say if they are working on something that it isn’t finished, it isn’t ready to be seen, that more time would have to pass in order for it to be usable. but hear me, WHILE YOU ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS, God looks at you and says, “What a masterpiece! Isn’t he awesome? Isn’t she amazing? Look how spotless they are. Look how righteous and holy they are.” It’s not because we are all finished, but it is because we are all washed in the blood of the righteous Lamb of God! While we are in progress, while we are learning what pleases God, while we are being made new in the attitude of our minds, we are wearing the righteousness and holiness of Jesus.
Do you know how it happened that you were able to become righteous? Maybe you get that Jesus was involved somehow, that it is a gift in some regard, but let’s just talk about exactly HOW it is even possible that you and I get to stand in the righteousness and holiness of Jesus.
I told you that the righteousness of Christ is gifted to us, it is imputed to us through our faith in Jesus. II Corinthians 5:21 tells us God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We love the part about becoming righteous. It is great to think about. It makes us feel good. What isn’t always at the forefront of our minds is the fact that in order for the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to us, our sin had to be imputed to Christ. Take that in for a moment. Though He was faultless, Jesus took on our sin. That is how Christ paid our sin debt to God. He had no sin in Himself, but our sin was imputed to Him so, as He suffered on the cross, He was suffering the just penalty that our sin deserves.
Shouldn’t that motivate us to want to do what Ephesians 4:22 talks about? Shouldn’t we want to to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires? Shouldn’t we want to be made new in the attitude of our minds? Shouldn’t we want to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, so that our attitudes and lifestyle actually match our righteous status? Shouldn’t we want to live to honor the One who purchased our righteousness by taking on our filthiness?
Because of Christ I am righteous, and because God loves me and can empower me to live for Him, I am thankful for the opportunity to be transformed by His Spirit and to live a holy life.
And that awareness leads perfectly to the last point. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
This verse tells me:
Because of Christ, I can live truly as I am in Him.
Notice the before and after transformation in Ephesians 5:8. Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
You were darkness. Not just you walked in darkness. Not just you had some darkness in you. No, you were darkness. Total darkness. You were the absence of light. You were evil. You were unholy. You were filthy before God. Before Jesus, You. Were. Darkness.
But now, because of Jesus you are light. Not just you have seen the light. Not just you are walking towards the light. Not just you are a mixture of dark and light, but you are light. There has been a complete change from darkness to light. It has been a total transformation.
Paul says, because of these realities, we can be who we are. We can live as children of light.
Because of Christ, I am a member of Christ’s body and a partaker of His promise.
Because of Christ, I have bold and confident access to the throne of God.
Because of Christ, my new self is righteous and holy, and I am learning a better way to live.
Because of Christ, I can live truly as I am in Him.
Allow these realities to inform your everyday lives as you seek to to possess and become all God has for you!
