WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.179 Welcome to my study. I'm really sorry I'm not with you. We hoped Ellie's Covid test. The results will be back in time. 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:20.100 ! Turn if you will to Ephesians chapter one and we're going to look at verses one to fourteen. 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:26.400 And I wonder when it was read to you did you notice that a phrase kept coming up again and again and again. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:35.379 It's the phrase in Christ or in him or in Christ Jesus. It's a phrase of enormous importance. 00:00:35.839 --> 00:00:39.799 You can measure the importance by the amount of times that that little phrase comes up in the New Testament. 00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:47.500 It comes up over 200 times and so it's clearly central to the Christian gospel. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.299 It's at the heart of the Christian religion those two words. 00:00:52.299 --> 00:00:58.719 And so this morning I want us to look at this little phrase in Christ. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:05.819 Next Sunday morning I want to look at another little phrase. I want us to look at for Christ. 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.879 And then the Sunday morning after I want us to look at through Christ. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:15.140 Just a little series that we get our bearings as to our relationship with Jesus Christ as his people. 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:17.719 In Christ, for Christ, through Christ. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:25.079 And so I want to say something about the meaning of being in Christ and then the implications of being in Christ. 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:28.060 And then I want to answer the question if I can. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.099 How do I get united to Jesus Christ? 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.480 So first of all the meaning of being in Christ. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:38.880 Then at verse 3. 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:47.159 Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:57.980 He says to the Corinthians, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:00.900 What doesn't it mean? 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.560 It doesn't mean that we are somehow inside of Christ. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:08.340 I think that's often how this is taught and how we understand it. 00:02:08.420 --> 00:02:09.039 But it's not that. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.340 It's not as if Christ contains the believer. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:24.599 It rather means that to be united to Christ, to be in Christ, is to be in the closest possible kind of personal relationship. 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:28.219 And we know that that's what it means. 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:34.300 Because the New Testament gives us the best illustrations of what it means to be in Christ. 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:38.100 One is from the Lord Jesus and one is from the Apostle Paul. 00:02:38.420 --> 00:02:40.000 Jesus' illustration is in John 15. 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:47.560 And the illustration he gives is the vine which has branches joined to it by a living union. 00:02:48.760 --> 00:02:50.219 I am the vine, says Jesus. 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:51.100 You are the branches. 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:58.979 Jesus tells us the only way that you can bear fruit in the Christian life depends on being in me. 00:02:59.299 --> 00:03:00.740 Being in union with me. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:06.599 Illustration Paul uses is that of a body which has limbs joined to it by a living union. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.060 It joins us in Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:16.579 And if you put both of those pictures together, you get the Christian as limbs in the body and Christ is the head. 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:19.400 The controlling centre of the body. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:29.939 And so one of these two illustrations teach us about the meaning of this phrase that Paul uses again and again and again and again to describe what a Christian is. 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:33.120 One of these two illustrations teach us. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:43.099 They teach us, first of all, that the only way that the life of God flows through us is by us being united to Jesus. 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:45.560 As branches are united to a vine. 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:47.480 As limbs are united to a body. 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:52.800 And so that is what we mean when we say that someone is in Christ. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:57.620 They are united to him. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:00.560 And they have all their life from him. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:11.560 Second thing is that these two illustrations teach us that the very same life that is in the vine is in the branches. 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:15.100 And the very same life that is in the bodies and the limbs. 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:26.899 And so if you cut the trunk of a vine, you will see the sap, won't you, rising up. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:34.879 And if you cut a branch, a living branch that is united to the vine, you will see that same sap. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:38.180 Same sap that will be in the branch will be in the vine. 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:43.280 If you cut a limb, and it will bleed, won't it? 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:48.759 And it will bleed with exactly the same blood that courses through the head and the body. 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:53.019 The same life that is in every limb is in the body itself. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:54.319 Now you see what this means. 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:56.220 What is a Christian? 00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:58.500 It's mind-boggling. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:05.220 A Christian is somebody, the Apostle Paul is telling us in this little phrase, in Christ, 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:12.660 is somebody who has the very life of Jesus Christ flowing through her or him. 00:05:13.940 --> 00:05:15.940 Flowing out of every possible area of life. 00:05:17.080 --> 00:05:18.180 That's what a Christian is. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:23.100 In the 17th century, there was a remarkable little book published. 00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:24.000 It was a booklet, really. 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.340 And it was written by a man who died at the age of 28. 00:05:29.320 --> 00:05:34.780 He died, he was already a professor of divinity in the University of Aberdeen. 00:05:35.820 --> 00:05:37.300 His name was Henry Scougal. 00:05:37.460 --> 00:05:41.920 And the title of the book was The Life of God in the Soul of Man. 00:05:43.380 --> 00:05:46.320 And what he was doing was answering real confusion in his age, 00:05:46.400 --> 00:05:48.360 where people thought that what it means to be a Christian, 00:05:49.080 --> 00:05:51.580 well, it was to be part of the institution of the church. 00:05:52.660 --> 00:05:57.280 Or it was having the ceremonies of the church in which they participated. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.799 Or it was doing acts of righteousness, which they performed. 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:04.000 And Henry Scougal says, no, to be a Christian is essentially this. 00:06:04.239 --> 00:06:06.599 It is to have the very life of God in you. 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:11.319 So that people see the life of God flowing out through you. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.679 The booklet had the most remarkable influence on the most remarkable people. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:23.579 John Newton, the slave trader who became a Christian and then became a minister and a great hymn writer. 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:25.840 And he greatly influenced William Wilberforce. 00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:33.720 He did a crucial influence on Thomas Chalmers, that brilliant theologian and pastor and churchman who did so much for Scotland. 00:06:34.840 --> 00:06:39.319 John and Charles Wesley, the fathers of Methodism, were highly influenced. 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:42.000 And Charles Wesley gave it to George Whitefield. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:47.300 George Whitefield was then a student and he was seeking God in Oxford. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:52.180 He was possibly the greatest preacher this country has ever known. 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:55.519 And he became a Christian through reading the life of God and the soul of man. 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:55.959 Why? 00:06:57.339 --> 00:07:06.180 As far as we can understand, what brought him to the Lord Jesus was that he suddenly realised that Christianity was not about going to an institutional church. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.720 It was not outward membership of any organisation. 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:14.440 It was not performing good acts of righteousness. 00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:16.800 It was not participating in the ceremonies. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:19.660 It was the life of God in your life. 00:07:20.940 --> 00:07:26.500 And George Whitefield was driven to Christ to seek what only Christ could give him. 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:27.820 Newness of life. 00:07:30.820 --> 00:07:33.820 None of us, I hope, think church is unimportant. 00:07:34.780 --> 00:07:37.940 None of us, I hope, think the sacraments are unimportant. 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:39.560 Jesus himself commanded them. 00:07:40.640 --> 00:07:49.120 None of us, I hope, think that personal righteousness and holiness and good works and social justice are unimportant. 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:59.340 But I want to say to you, they can be like an empty box from which the jewel has been taken. 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:02.099 The jewel is Jesus Christ. 00:08:02.099 --> 00:08:03.879 They can be like a cup. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:07.399 But no wine in the cup. 00:08:09.219 --> 00:08:10.819 The wine is Jesus Christ. 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:19.799 But Christian experience is being so united to the Lord Jesus that his life is found in us. 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:29.199 That's why when somebody becomes a Christian, there is a transformation that takes place. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.600 And what is it that you begin to see? 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.180 You see Jesus. 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:37.979 That's what people will sometimes say to me. 00:08:38.099 --> 00:08:41.059 They say I've been struggling to live up to this kind of standard. 00:08:41.839 --> 00:08:43.419 As far as I could, I kept failing. 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:46.120 But I've been given a new nature. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.099 And I've been given a new desire and new ambitions and a new interest. 00:08:51.439 --> 00:08:52.819 And what has happened? 00:08:53.099 --> 00:08:54.459 What has happened in you? 00:08:54.460 --> 00:09:00.540 You have the life of God in the soul of man. 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:01.259 That's what's happened. 00:09:02.400 --> 00:09:04.820 And that's why the phrase is so important. 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:11.100 I want you to see the indispensable necessity of it. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:12.680 Can you see that? 00:09:15.560 --> 00:09:22.200 That if you cannot receive the life of God any other way than by being united to him, 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:29.680 then the most important thing in all the worlds is that I should be united to Jesus Christ. 00:09:30.180 --> 00:09:31.320 That I should be in him. 00:09:32.900 --> 00:09:34.640 Like a branch is united to a vine. 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:36.100 Like a limb is united to a body. 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:42.980 And so the most important question is not whether I accept and agree with Jesus' teaching. 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:46.020 It's not do I try to follow his ways as best as I can. 00:09:46.280 --> 00:09:49.740 Or do I have an association with him through baptism and the Lord's Supper? 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:51.740 And with the church? 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:54.000 The question is, am I united to Jesus Christ? 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:58.820 So that the life of Jesus is seen in me. 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.659 And that's the indispensable necessity of it. 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:12.100 But can you also see the immeasurable and innumerable blessings of this union? 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.399 Can you see that? 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.220 Look at chapter 1 and verse 3 how Paul puts it. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:22.540 He says, blessed be, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:27.200 who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:37.540 What he's speaking about, in other words, is so great, so wonderful that he cries out in praise to God. 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:43.480 He doesn't simply sit down and he says, let me give you the first point on my PowerPoint. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:45.520 This is what union with Jesus Christ is. 00:10:46.060 --> 00:10:47.020 It means being in him. 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:48.939 And this is what it implies. 00:10:48.939 --> 00:10:50.500 And this is why it is important. 00:10:50.939 --> 00:10:52.220 Now, do you notice? 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:54.019 Can you get the tone of the passage? 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:58.340 He breaks out into doxology and worship and praise. 00:10:58.840 --> 00:10:59.819 He's overwhelmed. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:02.540 He's out of his depth. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.280 By the blessings that derive from union with Christ. 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:09.840 And so his praise flows out of him. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:15.800 And it flows out of him in such a way that in the Greek, in verses 3 to 14, 00:11:16.420 --> 00:11:18.420 it's actually all just one sentence. 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:19.740 He doesn't draw breath. 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:24.640 And the reason for that is why once Paul starts, he finds it impossible to stop. 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:25.480 You know that, don't you? 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:28.519 You know a child comes in and they've been somewhere. 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:30.539 They're really excited. 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:34.940 And they want to share it with the rest of the family. 00:11:35.180 --> 00:11:36.920 And they say there was this and there was that. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:38.259 And there was this other thing. 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:39.159 And this person said that. 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:40.279 And it was so funny. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:42.519 And they keep on going. 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:43.560 And they keep on going. 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:46.039 And we have to say, don't we, take a breath. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:46.800 Hang on a minute. 00:11:49.539 --> 00:11:52.320 But Paul, in this passage, he can't take a breath. 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:53.879 He's so overwhelmed. 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:57.420 By the wonder of what it means to be in Christ. 00:11:58.620 --> 00:12:02.180 That it just flows on out of him without pause. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.879 Now what he does is he clarifies to us what these blessings are. 00:12:07.980 --> 00:12:11.659 So secondly, let's see the implications of being in Christ. 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:14.060 And we'll see first general implications. 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:16.560 And then we'll kind of zone in particular implications. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.300 So generally, what are these spiritual blessings? 00:12:20.460 --> 00:12:21.379 That is it, actually. 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:22.580 They are spiritual blessings. 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:27.320 They're not primarily material blessings. 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:36.220 Now, there's no question, is it, that when we, when God comes to us in the Lord Jesus and he unites us to him, he blesses us. 00:12:36.680 --> 00:12:41.379 And he gives us multitudes of material blessings. 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:46.120 But the real blessing of the gospel are not material things. 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:47.840 But they are spiritual blessings. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:55.080 And he underlines that, really, in the phrase that comes at the end of verse 3. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:00.259 That he's blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:08.120 And if you go through Ephesians, you'll find that phrase again and again and again it comes up. 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:08.939 It's one of the big themes. 00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:11.319 And that phrase doesn't mean in the sky above us. 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:14.000 It doesn't mean in heaven at the end of time when we die. 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:19.840 It's really a way of speaking about the world of spiritual reality. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:23.460 The world for which we were created. 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:28.060 And for which God formed us and made us. 00:13:28.540 --> 00:13:34.720 And this is the realm in which God blesses his people in union with Jesus Christ. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:44.680 And it's very significant that we as Christian people, I think we've stopped thinking about this. 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:55.279 And so when we talk about how God has blessed us, you know, somebody says to another, the Lord has blessed us so wonderfully. 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.500 What do we normally mean when we say that? 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:15.019 If we talk about the blessings of God, we normally talk about them with health or possessions or freedom from difficulties or deliverance from something or family or a great holiday and so on. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:16.419 And we say God blessed us. 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:17.559 How good God has been. 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:18.539 Now is that right? 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:20.460 Of course it's right. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:26.759 It's really right to be grateful to God for those blessings. 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:33.460 But what I want to say to you this morning is that they are not the essential blessings of the gospel. 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:47.440 The essential blessings of the gospel are such that you are enriched and blessed even if you're dying of a deadly disease. 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:52.080 Even if you haven't got two pence in the world. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:57.759 Even if you're really, really struggling in work. 00:15:00.520 --> 00:15:04.000 Whether you're like Job and you've been in the midst of tragedy. 00:15:06.800 --> 00:15:10.360 Maybe your feelings this morning, you're unhappy. 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:17.680 And I need to say to you that the real blessings of the gospel are spiritual blessings. 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:19.379 They are in the spiritual realm. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:22.480 For which we were created. 00:15:25.680 --> 00:15:31.820 The great sickness of the world around us is that men and women have been made by God. 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:35.960 Genesis 2.7. 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:41.280 God breathed into the nostrils of Adam and made him into a living being. 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:42.520 A living soul. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:48.540 And the great sickness of human beings is that we imagine that we're just like the animals. 00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:53.299 And so we therefore think it's the material things. 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:55.719 It's the things of this world that will satisfy us. 00:15:56.319 --> 00:16:03.299 And so we create endless wreckage in our society by living in that way. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:06.219 And Jesus is so emphatic. 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:09.939 He says to you and I, he says, lay up treasures. 00:16:10.199 --> 00:16:10.519 Where? 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:11.919 In heaven. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:20.419 What he's really meaning there is not some kind of otherworldly, give all your money away, live like paupers. 00:16:20.459 --> 00:16:21.259 He's not saying that. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.159 What he's saying to you there is enjoy this world, but prize spiritual blessings above everything else. 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:33.819 And I need to say that to my own soul. 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:43.720 Well, as I read God's word that in Jesus Christ, God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with spiritual blessings. 00:16:44.420 --> 00:16:45.660 Prize spiritual blessings. 00:16:45.780 --> 00:16:46.900 Set your heart on them. 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:52.100 Not on things that moth and rust corrupt or thieves can break in and steal. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.360 Things which decay over time and suddenly leave you desperately poor. 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:58.460 Prize spiritual blessings. 00:17:01.560 --> 00:17:02.920 Thanks, general thing that Paul says. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:08.819 Not only are these blessings spiritual blessings, but all these blessings are in Christ. 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.740 And that's the importance of the phrase in the next place. 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:18.659 It's that there are no spiritual blessings outside of Jesus. 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:21.599 He is our wisdom. 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:23.579 He is our righteousness. 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:25.279 He is our sanctification. 00:17:25.879 --> 00:17:26.920 He is our redemption. 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:33.300 All the riches of God are found in Jesus Christ. 00:17:33.860 --> 00:17:34.980 And it's in him. 00:17:35.360 --> 00:17:35.980 In him. 00:17:36.820 --> 00:17:40.580 That we find all the spiritual blessings that God has for us. 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:44.259 And so we dare not spend our time and our energies. 00:17:46.820 --> 00:17:51.600 Or some kind of looking for blessing in other places. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.259 There is no way to seek Christ. 00:17:56.500 --> 00:18:00.059 That's why in Philippians chapter 3, Paul's burning ambition. 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:00.879 Do you remember what it is? 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:02.199 That I may know him. 00:18:04.199 --> 00:18:06.419 Because every spiritual blessing is in him. 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:09.779 So the vital thing, isn't it? 00:18:09.820 --> 00:18:10.940 Is to be united to him. 00:18:12.320 --> 00:18:13.960 And to set your heart. 00:18:14.060 --> 00:18:19.000 To set our hearts as a congregation on knowing him more and more and more. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.640 But then Paul kind of zones in. 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:26.680 He particularizes these blessings. 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:27.119 There are several. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:29.079 We're just going to summarize them. 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:29.960 It's an amazing passage. 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.339 So look at the central blessing of the Christian gospel. 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.799 The central blessing of the Christian gospel is free grace. 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:39.559 Notice that in verse 6. 00:18:39.559 --> 00:19:07.240 Free grace is the central blessing of the gospel. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:07.839 Why? 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:16.059 Well it's because we're unable to get any of the blessings that God has for us in Christ on our own. 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:22.539 You've got no means of purchasing the blessings of God. 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:26.220 You've got no means of earning them. 00:19:26.419 --> 00:19:27.379 No matter how hard you work. 00:19:27.439 --> 00:19:28.359 No matter how rich you are. 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:30.399 You can never deserve them. 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:36.199 You and I are utterly dependent on God giving them to us. 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:41.039 And that is why the central blessing of the Christian gospel is free grace. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:42.500 So the reformers said. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:43.420 Didn't they? 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:48.759 They taught us that all the blessings of the gospel come to us in Christ alone. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.599 By grace alone. 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:52.140 Through faith alone. 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:57.299 So Paul says we praise his glorious grace. 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:00.660 Which he's freely given us in the beloved. 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:01.779 That is in Christ. 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:07.879 The blessing of free grace is the first particular blessing of being in Christ. 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:11.800 The second is the blessing of sonship. 00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:13.500 Verses 4 and 5. 00:20:13.600 --> 00:20:15.980 He chose us in him before the foundation of the world. 00:20:16.060 --> 00:20:16.680 The creation of the world. 00:20:17.020 --> 00:20:20.600 To be holy and blameless in his sight before him. 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:24.360 In love he predestined us for adoption to himself. 00:20:24.860 --> 00:20:26.540 As sons through Jesus Christ. 00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:28.300 According to the purpose of his will. 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:30.059 In Christ. 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:33.159 In Christ. 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:34.619 God has chosen a family. 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:35.419 That's what he's saying. 00:20:36.539 --> 00:20:37.460 In Christ. 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:40.299 God has come and he's given us a new status. 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:43.899 But before. 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:46.139 We were outcasts. 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:48.019 From God's presence. 00:20:48.379 --> 00:20:51.099 We were rebels against his law. 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:55.119 But now he's made us his children. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:59.259 And he's given us the status of being sons and daughters of the living God. 00:21:00.939 --> 00:21:03.679 And to Paul that's one of the most wonderful things in all the world. 00:21:06.899 --> 00:21:11.459 We live don't we in a society that is obsessed with self-worth. 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:18.219 And does all sorts of things to give itself self-worth and status. 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:22.140 And the world is craving self-worth. 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:25.200 But I want to say to you this morning. 00:21:25.299 --> 00:21:26.620 And I need to say to you this morning. 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:28.019 That the one thing. 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:32.559 That will do something for your self-worth. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.860 Is when you begin to understand. 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:37.860 What it means to be a child of God. 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.160 That you've been chosen by God to belong to him. 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:47.960 And you have all the privileges of access to him. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.380 Of being joined with the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:53.400 And you are a co-inheritor. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.319 Of the glorious riches of God with him. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:57.819 And in him. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:01.500 And to Paul there's no status in the world like that. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.799 And the third particular blessing is the blessing of salvation. 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:07.920 Look at verse 7. 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:10.759 In him we have redemption through his blood. 00:22:10.860 --> 00:22:12.019 The forgiveness of our trespass. 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:13.579 According to the riches of his grace. 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:15.079 So how do we receive. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.019 How do you receive liberation. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:19.599 And deliverance from the bondage of sin. 00:22:19.659 --> 00:22:23.159 How do you be freed from the guilt that you struggle with. 00:22:23.399 --> 00:22:25.879 And the answer is by being united to Jesus Christ. 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.540 And so they are. 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:30.960 Too briefly. 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:32.800 The innumerable blessings. 00:22:33.100 --> 00:22:34.200 Of being in Christ. 00:22:34.320 --> 00:22:36.660 And of course there's multitudes of them beyond all telling. 00:22:37.780 --> 00:22:39.200 But the most important question. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:40.640 For some of you this morning. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:41.440 Is the last one. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.740 And that is how do you become. 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:45.680 How do you come to be united to Christ. 00:22:46.820 --> 00:22:48.720 How do you get to be in Christ. 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:52.019 What's the beginning. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:52.600 And Paul. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:55.559 Speaks to this group of people. 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:57.299 And he addresses. 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.019 Them as those who are in Ephesus. 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:02.059 And in Christ. 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:03.279 And in Corinthians. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.600 He speaks of those in Corinth. 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:05.400 And in Christ. 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:08.120 He's not speaking about all the people of the Corinthians. 00:23:08.259 --> 00:23:09.079 And all the Ephesians. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.240 He's speaking about the community of God's people. 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:14.900 Speaking about the church. 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:18.600 And so how do you become members of that community. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:21.240 How do you. 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:23.420 Be united to Christ. 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.160 Well Paul speaks about that in verse 13. 00:23:26.620 --> 00:23:28.079 And he writes to the Ephesians. 00:23:28.220 --> 00:23:28.660 And then he says. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:29.960 In him you also. 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:32.100 When you heard the word of truth. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.380 The gospel of your salvation. 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:38.460 And believed in him. 00:23:38.539 --> 00:23:39.319 You were sealed. 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:40.420 With the promised. 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:41.740 Holy Spirit. 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:48.180 You heard the word of truth. 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:51.279 You believed the good news. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:52.019 Of salvation. 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:53.319 And you were marked. 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:55.740 In him with a seal. 00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:56.680 The promised Holy Spirit. 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:00.180 How then did it happen. 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:02.380 For those of us who are united with Christ. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.500 Well there's a number of answers to that question. 00:24:04.600 --> 00:24:04.759 Isn't it. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:05.500 One answer is. 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.339 That we become united to Christ. 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:09.420 By God's sovereign purpose. 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:10.859 Before the foundation of the world. 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:14.119 But what he speaks about. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:15.599 Particularly in verse 13 here. 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:15.920 Is that. 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:18.839 The union that brings us. 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:21.279 To be into Christ. 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:23.079 Is a faith union. 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:26.319 That is. 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:28.500 You were included in Christ. 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.879 When you shared the word of truth. 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:33.319 You believed the gospel of your salvation. 00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:34.539 And having believed in him. 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:35.460 You were marked with. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.720 The seal of the promised Holy Spirit. 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:38.879 And so. 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:40.939 Whenever the apostles were preaching the gospel. 00:24:41.419 --> 00:24:43.019 They were asked by people like the Philippian jailer. 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:44.539 What must I do to be saved? 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:46.460 And the answer was. 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:47.960 Believe into. 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.200 The Lord Jesus Christ. 00:24:50.399 --> 00:24:51.359 And you will be saved. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:54.759 And the union between. 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:56.599 Christ and the believer. 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:58.059 Is a faith union. 00:24:59.399 --> 00:25:01.000 And we believe. 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:03.180 Into the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:05.299 --> 00:25:07.319 And we put our faith. 00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:08.599 In Christ. 00:25:09.639 --> 00:25:11.119 And unless we put our. 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:12.379 Faith in Christ. 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.839 Unless we believe in him. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:14.959 And trust in him. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:16.879 He is of no benefit to us. 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:21.019 But when we believe. 00:25:21.459 --> 00:25:22.879 Into the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:24.519 And God unites us. 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:25.339 To Jesus Christ. 00:25:25.459 --> 00:25:25.980 Through faith. 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:29.559 Then I have every spiritual blessing. 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:29.839 In him. 00:25:33.659 --> 00:25:34.619 And so I take. 00:25:35.659 --> 00:25:36.639 All my needs. 00:25:37.459 --> 00:25:39.079 And I cast myself. 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:41.019 Utterly upon God's riches. 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:41.899 And mercy. 00:25:42.139 --> 00:25:42.659 And grace. 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:44.080 In Jesus Christ. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:46.600 And I throw myself on him. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:51.540 That's why it's so. 00:25:51.580 --> 00:25:52.080 So crucial. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.559 And so. 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:56.619 The great question. 00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:57.740 As we close. 00:25:58.179 --> 00:25:58.859 Is this. 00:26:00.179 --> 00:26:02.439 Are you in Christ this morning? 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:05.980 Are you united to him? 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:07.799 As a branch is to a vine. 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:09.980 And as a limb is to a body. 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:13.259 Are you in Christ? 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:14.960 Are you trusting him? 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:18.960 Are you trusting him? 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:23.079 Have you put your faith. 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:24.220 In him? 00:26:27.220 --> 00:26:28.180 Because there is. 00:26:28.440 --> 00:26:29.240 No other question. 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:30.379 In the whole wide world. 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.079 That could possibly be half as important as this. 00:26:34.180 --> 00:26:34.379 Is there? 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:37.300 And so you need to be clear on it. 00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:39.700 Let's pray together. 00:26:39.700 --> 00:26:39.780 Amen. 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:44.079 Thank you. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:44.920 Gracious Father. 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:46.839 For the endless. 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:47.779 And unsearchable. 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:50.220 And innumerable blessings. 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:52.399 That are ours in Christ Jesus. 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:54.660 And we marvel that you unite us through him. 00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:57.720 And we pray that in our need. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:59.500 You will bring us afresh to the Lord Jesus. 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:03.700 Those of us who believed on him. 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:05.839 That you would give us a hanger after him. 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:07.079 To seek him with all our heart. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:12.660 Those who have never been united to Christ by faith. 00:27:12.859 --> 00:27:15.359 We pray that you would lead them to pray to you. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:18.500 And grant that they may be given your grace. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:22.599 And that wonderful reality of being united to Jesus. 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:25.519 And so help us Lord. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:29.119 We ask to cast ourselves upon your grace and your kindness. 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:32.500 And we ask it for the glory of Jesus name. 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:34.539 Amen.