Are You In Christ Jesus?

(Ephesians 1:1-14) By Don McClain Paul s epistle to the church in Ephesus is of extreme importance to anyone desir ing to understand the true nature and revealed intricacies of the redemption of man as preplanned by God and executed through the sacrificial offering of His So n Jesus Christ. The epistle focuses upon the unmerited favor exhibited by God in the sending of His Son Jesus, and the establishment of His church in which both Jew and Gentile are reconciled in one body unto Himself. This grand epistle stresses the importance of the church of Christ, and descri bes its nature and singularity. (1:3,10,22,23; 4:4). It exalts this holy blood b ought institution, which the religious world in general today disdains and has v igorously strived to destroy and divide into parties and sects of differing bodi es of faith and practice, (2:16; 4:4-6; Acts 20:28). The expression In Christ Jesus, or its equivalent is used some twelve times in t he first fourteen verses of the first chapter. The apostle Paul undoubtedly esta blishes and emphasizes a fundamental and essential principal, which must be reco gnized in order to understand and to achieve the desired goal and effect of the epistle. The letter to the Ephesians was written to explain and define the relat ionship that exists between the Savior and the saved. If one is to be saved, he must be IN CHRIST! To be in Christ is to be in His body, or church, (1:22,23; 2: 16; 5:23-32). When one is In Christ he isA saint and faithful (1,2) In Christ we are separated from the world to the serv ice of God, and that service is carried out in the spirit of loyalty to the inst ructions given by the one whom we serve, and dependability in fulfilling our obl igations unto Him. If we are truly separated from the world, and faithful unto H im to whom we belong, truly grace and peace will be ours. Partaker of Every spiritual blessing (3) Many of these spiritual blessings are d iscussed in the following passages, but the principle is clearly set forth that UNLESS one is IN CHRIST, he cannot partake of ANY of them. One may lead a good m oral, honest, and charitable life, and thus receive the physical blessings assoc iated with such a lifestyle but those things are not the cause or source of our spiritual blessings. (Acts 10:1-6,22, 11:14) Chosen by God, He chose us (4,5) Those in Christ are Gods elect God has chosen t o save those that enter into this relationship of adoption found only In Christ. T he term election does not preclude conditions that must be met. To illustrate if I were a businessman looking to hire a salesman, I would pre-select the kind of person that I was looking for, his character, personality, knowledge, experienc e, etc. When a person having the qualifications that I was looking for immerged, then I would hire him. He was pre-selected in a general way. If I pre-chose him personally despite his qualifications and rejected others despite their qualifi cations, I would be a respecter of persons something that God is not. (Acts 10:3 4,35; Romans 2:11). God has chosen to save those who are reconciled to Him IN CHR IST! Made to be accepted (6) Bestowed grace upon us (ASV) when God adopted us as chil dren IN CHRIST we became recipients of his grace. The unmerited favor bestowed upo n mankind can ONLY be realized IN CHRIST. The grace of God has been extended to al l men, (Titus 2:11), but most will reject it, (Matthew 7:13,14) Redeemed (7-9) - In Jesus Christ we have the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) we ha ve been bought back, purchased by the blood of Christ, saved from the destructio n that will be experienced by all that die in their sins. Sin brings forth death , and because of God s mercy and grace, He has provided a place of reconciliation and forgiveness IN CHRIST, and He has provided the information we need to enter in to this relationship. All outside this relationship will be lost! Gathered Together (10) When the time was right God set His plan in motion to reco ncile man to Himself IN His Son Jesus Christ. Those on earth IN CHRIST are united in ONE body, or the church belonging to Christ whether Jew or Gentile, (2:16), t hus being brought under the authority of Jesus Christ, (5:23). ALL things are br ought together that they may submit to one King whether in heaven or on earth. O

nly those who submit to the authority of Christ will be in this gathering. (Matt hew 28:28-20) An Inheritance (11,12) As adopted sons, In Christ we have become the heritage of God, His possession, set aside as His special people. When this earth is no mor e, when all the elements are melted with fervent heat, and the present things ar e passed away, what will be left? Of all of God s creation, only those of us in Ch rist will remain as the blessed of God (remember the blood of Christ flowed back ward, removing the sins of those who were faithful under the Old Covenant as wel l as flowing forward cleansing our sins). Those IN CHRIST will bring glory to God and receive the everlasting reward, which God purposed from the beginning. Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (13) We can share in the wonderful blessi ngs IN CHRIST experienced by Paul through believing the gospel which he preached , of which he states as being The power of God unto salvation, (Romans 1:16), and in this passage, The word of truth, (John 17:17), the gospel (Romans 10:14-17), o f your salvation. The gospel provides one with the facts to be believed, commands , which must be obeyed, and promises in which we are to hope. Our acceptance of the facts related to us in the gospel by faith, and our submission to the demand s of the gospel by faith, assures us, and authenticates us as being recipients o f the wonderful blessings God has promised to those IN CHRIST JESUS. God will keep His word to us!! Are you in Christ? Are you in His church? The church doesn t save, nor is it the savior. The church simply IS THE SAVED! (Ephesians 5:23; Acts 2:47). This relatio nship is made available by God IN Christ because of His grace, (unmerited favor), and is ultimately received through, or by, faith, (our acceptance and compliance with the gospels demands, Hebrews 11). One act in particular is mentioned in th e New Testament that places one into this relationship. Faith moves us down the hallway to repentance, and brings us to confess Christ Jesus as being the Son of God, but only when by faith one opens the door and enters through being baptize d INTO CHRIST can he say I am in Christ! (Galatians 3:26,27; Romans 6:3-6; 2 Corinth ians 12:13; Acts 2:38). Have you by faith been baptized into Him? If not, then y ou are not in Christ and the spiritual blessings above are currently NOT yours b ut they can be! Please weigh what you have to gain with what you have to lose? Why not become a child of God today? <PIXTEL_MMI_EBOOK_2005>4</PIXTEL_MMI_EBOOK_2005>