The following article comes from our newest series, The World's
Half-Truth's for Teens. Scott Douglass' article combats the message, "If
I Am Better, I Will Be Loved" continuing an exposition of Ephesians 1:3-14. Click here for Pt.1
As we walk through what Ephesians 1, in particular v.
3-14, says to us, let’s remember first and foremost that our identity, our
value, and our acceptance is based on Christ and our being found in Him.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to
the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom
and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his
purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to
unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In
him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the
purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so
that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his
glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the
praise of his glory.
Redeemed/Forgiven
(v. 7) - If you are in Christ, you’re
forgiven for everything you’ve done, and everything you’re going to do!
Remember, this isn’t freedom to do whatever you want and take advantage of
God’s grace. That’s like slacking off and banking on the smart kid to do all
the work for your group project. The beauty of this is that God knows
everything about you - your heart, your faults, your sin, and your shame - and
in Christ He takes all of those things and erases them. Josh Harris has a great demonstration of this.
In Christ, you are forgiven. The Bible uses this idea of redeemed to talk about
who we are in Christ. Redeemed basically means that you have been set free by
someone paying a ransom for you. A movie I loved in college was Proof of Life with Russell Crowe. In it
he plays a kidnapping expert who works with a lady whose husband is being held
captive. If they pay up the money, he’ll be set free. The cost is steep, and so
it is with our sin. Romans tells us that the wages (what we have earned) of our
sin is death. Hebrews reminds us that without blood there is no forgiveness.
The problem is that the only way to pay for our sin is by blood shed. Jesus
satisfies this because He dies for us, and with His blood our redemption is
purchased.
Lavished (v. 8) - The
description of God’s grace given to us isn’t one of a dripping faucet or even a
glass of water. The idea Paul gives for us to understand God’s grace in our
life is a fire house from Niagara Falls! God gives us so much grace in Christ
that it covers us and swamps us and overwhelms us. John Mark McMillan describes
it like this “if grace is an ocean, we’re
all sinking.” We cannot fully
understand God’s grace in our lives because of how overwhelming it is. And this
is grace that God gives to you. Yes,
you. You who were once an alien, stranger, and enemy of God. You who struggles
with unknown sins to anyone else. You who has doubts, who struggles with
performance expectations, and who wishes to just disappear at times. God gives
you grace. Grace to live daily. Grace to persevere when things get hard. Grace
to love and trust Jesus more. Grace to depend on Him for everything.
Purpose
(v. 9) - Nothing happens by accident.
One of the biggest lies that we’re told is that “stuff happens.” It’s simply
not true. God is sovereign. Part of God’s sovereignty means that everything
that happens is part of a purpose, a plan. History, your life, your friend’s
life, your unborn children’s life, is going somewhere. There is a point to
everything that happens in your life. You are part of God’s redemptive story,
the unfolding drama of God’s activity here on earth. We entertain ourselves to
death, living through social media which has redefined ‘friend’ to make it a
verb, as in when you friend someone. We entertain ourselves to death by
observing everything that happens around us rather than participating. God
invites us to be a part of His work, not tweet about it. You were created for a
purpose, for a task, for a reason. Three books that speak highly to this are Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung, and Radical by David Platt. Read them, be
challenged by them, and do something.
Inheritance
(v. 11) - When my grandfather died he
had a provision in his will for my sisters and me to receive a sum of money. It
was a great blessing because that money helped us buy our first home and
provided the finances for me to begin my PhD. But in the grand scheme of
things, it really wasn’t that much money. Another relative died and I got to
pick out a sweater of theirs I liked. At times like that I wish my last name
was Gates, but oh well. Can you imagine what kind of inheritance the God of the
Universe is able to give? Do you think there’s any way to get your head around
the amount? But that is what you are
promised by God in Christ. We stand to receive an inheritance from the King -
and Heaven, with all its promised beauty and splendor, is only a glimpse of that.
Hope
(v. 12) - I can’t tell you how many
times I’ve watched people chase after a hope that fails them. Whether it’s a
scholarship, a leadership position, a spot on the roster, or even their
driver’s license, so many times those hopes fail us. The reality is, everything
we place our hope in apart from Christ will at some point let us down. But the
good news is that Jesus is the hope that never disappoints, always delivers,
and gives us far more than a scholarship or roster spot ever could. Hope gives
us the motivation to go on. People who get lost in the wilderness cling to the
hope of rescue. There are stories from disasters like wars that talk about how
those with hope are able to endure the hardship and make it out - while those
without hope often fulfill their own doom and gloom. You don’t have to worry or
freak out over the scholarships, the performance, the need to be perfect on the
field, or the need to be someone you’re not. Jesus has done all that for you.
Your hope is in Him.
Sealed
(v. 13) - Lastly, this passage talks
about how we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. There’s a hymn with the line “no power of Hell, no scheme of man, can
ever pluck me from His hand,” and that demonstrates the power of God to
keep us. We buy into the performance lie whenever we tell ourselves that we
must do something in order to keep someone or be accepted. That’s why so many
teens become sexually active, because they’ve bought into the lie that sex =
love. That’s why so many become addicted to drugs like Xanax or Adderol,
because they’ve bought into the lie that performance or happiness = success.
When we replace God with some other substitute, we realize how slippery a grip
we have on that substitute. Do you remember the rope climb in gym class? I
hated it. I never could get a good grip on the rope and so I could never make
it very high. My hands would keep slipping. So many of us are in the same boat
when it comes to our life. But the promise of God is this: in Christ, there is
no way to break the bond between us and God (want proof? Read Romans 8:31-39).
The Holy Spirit seals us with a stronger grip than we can ever break.
Child of God, my prayer for you is
this: that you would find your satisfaction, your hope, your joy, your peace,
your fulfillment, your acceptance, and your value in Christ alone. My prayer is
that you would ignore the voices around you that tell you to substitute Jesus
for something else that over-promises and under-delivers. My prayer for you,
dear Christian, is to not base your life on a lie of performance but to take
deep roots in the grace of Christ. My prayer, beloved, is to live a holy life
but to recognize that there is nothing you can do to cause God to no longer
love you. My prayer, brother and sister, is to see who you are through the lens
of Christ, not the person next to you.
Scott
Douglas serves as the Minister to Youth at Westside Baptist Church in
Murray, KY. Scott has a Masters in Divinity and is presently pursuing a
Doctorate degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville, KY.
No comments:
Post a Comment