Ephesians 1:1-2
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Your relationship with God is the foundation for everything in life. God is the source of your identity and purpose. He created you. He defines you. You are not defined by your circumstances. You are not defined by your job. You are not defined by your possessions or position in society. You are defined by who you are in Christ.
It is essential that you understand who you are; that you know your identity. And it is essential that you protect yourself against identity theft. Today’s commercial world certainly understands the importance of protection against identity theft. Due to the pervasiveness of credit cards, the internet, and electronic transmission of personal information, identity theft has become a big problem in today’s commercial world. Identity protection and recovery has become big business.
Your Identity in Christ
Knowing and protecting your identity in Christ is of singular importance. Mankind has been duped. The Enemy has stolen our identity. He has lied to us about who we are; deceived us about what is important; tempted and tricked us into believing a lie about who God is and who we are in relationship to God.
Modern culture is obsessed with identity. The identity politics movement has built its influence and power by claiming that personal identity is not given by God; rather, it is created by self. In the contemporary view of self, no longer does a person understand himself as made in God’s image, but rather as someone whose identity is endlessly pliable according to his own desires and felt needs.
The ultimate expression of this distorted worldview is the sexual revolution, which ties human dignity and personhood to one’s ability to live unencumbered from any tradition or moral restraint that would limit the fulfillment of desire or will.
This modern-day formulation of identity and self has yielded a paradigm of personhood that is often weaponized for political purpose. Any claim, then, that would threaten a person’s self-chosen sense of self-conception, sexual freedom, and therapeutic needs is not only improper, but possibly criminal.
But, when we have a distorted belief about our identity, we behave and act in ways contrary to God’s design for us. Distorted belief about our identity leads to distorted behavior. People in our world suffer terribly from bad behavior driven by wrong beliefs.
The book of Ephesians provides a clear picture of our identity in Christ. Both the structure and content of Ephesians give us deep insight regarding the life to which God calls us.
The first half of Ephesians focuses on our purpose and position in Christ. It teaches who we are. The last half of Ephesians focuses on our practice. It teaches what we should do. Ephesians makes it crystal clear that what we do as Christians comes from who we are in Christ. Note what the structure of Ephesians teaches us:
Chapters 1-3
- Verbs in the indicative mood: truth to be understood
- Doctrinal focus
- Doctrine = belief system
- Our character…who we are
- Our purpose & position in Christ. Our blessings.
Chapters 4-6
- Verbs in the imperative mood: truth to be obeyed.
- Practical focus
- Discipline = behavior system
- Our conduct…what we do
- Our practice as Christians. Our behavior.
More tomorrow …
