Our primary identity is not our roles or the labels we carry but that our Lord bought us to be his own.
Sermon Title: IDENTITY MATTERS
Sermon Text: EPHESIANS 1:1-8 (NIV)
Sermon Series: EPHESIANS: GOD’S PLAN FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
EPHESIANS 1:1-8 NIV
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Three things that Paul points out when it comes to our identity in Christ:
I. I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM (1:1-2).
Every believer is a saint and every saint is a believer.
We’re not saints because of our performance; we’re saints because of our position.
II. I HAVE WHAT GOD SAYS I HAVE (1:3).
The greatest blessings in life are spiritual because you can never lose them.
No man is poor who has discovered that Jesus is all he needs.
III. I BELONG WHERE GOD SAYS I BELONG (1:4-7).
Two word pictures Paul uses:
1. Adoption (v.5)
Our most defining moment in our lives is not who threw us out but who brought us in.
2. Redemption (v.7)
Our primary identity is not our roles or the labels we carry but that our Lord bought us to be his own.