A Better Life in Christ
Ephesians 1:1-6
Are you looking for a better life? You are not alone. People everywhere today are looking for a better life. Politicians know this, because in every presidential election, candidates declare how they will lead our country so we can all have a better life. Marketing advisors know this, for it seems that every commercial we see tries to convince us that if we just had this or that product we’d have a better life. Our colleges are filled with people looking for a better life.
However, the way to a better life is not found in politicians, money, success, or any other temporal thing. A better life has nothing to do with the homes in which we live or the cars we drive. The only way to a better life is found in Jesus Christ and in understanding whom we are, what we have in Him, and how to acquire it.
Jesus very clearly said, "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly." A man one time tried to convince me that this meant Jesus wants us to have all the stuff we want. Jesus clearly taught that the abundant life is not about things, but rather is about a quality of life found only in Him. It is not enough to know we are Christians. There is so much more. Our lives are a journey, and on our journey to a better life we must understand three basic facts about ourselves.
In Christ you are a saint. (1-3)
What is a saint? The dictionary defines a saint as one who is a very holy person; one who is pure in heart and upright in life. While the world around us freely uses this definition, we need to understand how misleading it is. The Bible writers chose a word that means "holy ones, righteous ones, those who have been separated from the rest."
A saint is any and every born again child of God. The moment you repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, you are set apart and are holy in the eyes of God. Though we have been born again we still have a sin nature, we still mess up, and we still fail. There are days and times when we don’t feel saved, we don’t feel like saints, but your being a saint has nothing to do with your feelings. It has everything to do with your eternal position in heaven.
You may say, "I don’t feel holy; I don’t feel worthy to be a saint." What you need to question is whether you really are. Are you sure of your salvation? Are you living like a saint? You may have these feelings because you are living in sin and need to do something about it. But you may have these feelings when there is nothing really the matter. None of us is worthy, but God has made us worthy. That’s why Paul wrote of us as being in Christ Jesus. The devil will try to tell you otherwise. "You’re so bad, you’re so unworthy, God can’t love you, and He can’t use you...Don’t believe it! They’re lies from the pits of hell!
God bought you with the precious blood of His only begotten Son; He saved you from the wrath to come. You are not your own, you’ve been bought with a price! When God looks at you now He doesn’t see your inadequacies, but rather He sees the righteousness of Christ that covers you.
Being in Christ is cause for celebration. Paul says in verse 2, "grace and peace be to you." This was a common greeting in those days, but what does it mean? To have grace is to be in favor with God, a favor you received but did not deserve. The peace Paul wrote of is a peace so many are searching for but can’t find. The believer should rejoice because of the peace he has in Christ.
Not only does the saint have grace and peace, but also he has been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. This is not the house, the car, the wife or kids. This is not money, success, popularity or power. It is spiritual blessings that you have in Christ that nothing can ever take away, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt. Where is your heart today? Is it here? If you want a better life then you must be in Christ, and you must set your affections on things above.
You have been chosen by God. (5)
Listen to the strong words of Paul. "He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world." He predestinated us unto the adoption of children. You didn’t choose God, He chose you. John said,
"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power (authority) to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
This is one of the greatest paradoxes in the Bible, how that God sovereignly chose you before He ever created the world, already knew who would and would not be saved, and yet He still gives you the freedom to chose. From eternity past God has done all that was necessary to bring you to Him. Now what will you do? Do you realize how special you are to God?
You have been chosen for a reason. (4 & 6)
Why did God choose you? He chose you to be holy - this is the exact same word as saint. It means to be set apart from the world, and set apart to God. Your life is now to be used for God’s service, like clay in the potter’s hands. He also chose you to be blameless, without blemish or sin.
Verse 6 lets us know that when we are living for the purpose God chose us there is praise to the glory of His grace. In other words, not only is He glorified, it brings Him great pleasure. Why did God choose you? He chose you because He loves you. Many times when I am playing with Jessica I’ll ask her, "Does daddy love you?" She says yes. When I ask her why she just looks at me and says, "Because you’re my daddy, you’re supposed to love me."
There is even a greater love that I want to illustrate with a personal example. My mother married the man I call my father when I was just a baby. I do not know my real father, nor have I seen him since I was a baby, though I know where he lives and all that. I am not my father’s natural born son, and he didn’t have to love me, but He chose to. When I was not one of his, he chose me and literally adopted me into his family, and now I belong to him. What an awesome expression of love – not a love of obligation, but rather one of choice.
Do you want a better, abundant life; a quality of life that this world offers but cannot give? It begins with salvation. You must realize that you are lost today and that if you were to die without Christ you would spend eternity in hell forever separated from God. But also realize that you do not have to stay that way. Jesus died for you – died to pay for your sins, and because of His death you can have life. You must repent of your sin, believing that Jesus died for you, and ask Him to save you, trusting Him to do so, and the good news is that He will.
If you are saved, remember that you are a saint, a holy one of God. You are a saint, not because of your goodness, but because of Christ’s goodness. You have been chosen by God, and chosen for a reason. Are you fulfilling your God given purpose? Are you living as He intends for you to live? How will you respond to Christ today?
Are you looking for a better life? You are not alone. People everywhere today are looking for a better life. Politicians know this, because in every presidential election, candidates declare how they will lead our country so we can all have a better life. Marketing advisors know this, for it seems that every commercial we see tries to convince us that if we just had this or that product we’d have a better life. Our colleges are filled with people looking for a better life.
However, the way to a better life is not found in politicians, money, success, or any other temporal thing. A better life has nothing to do with the homes in which we live or the cars we drive. The only way to a better life is found in Jesus Christ and in understanding whom we are, what we have in Him, and how to acquire it.
Jesus very clearly said, "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly." A man one time tried to convince me that this meant Jesus wants us to have all the stuff we want. Jesus clearly taught that the abundant life is not about things, but rather is about a quality of life found only in Him. It is not enough to know we are Christians. There is so much more. Our lives are a journey, and on our journey to a better life we must understand three basic facts about ourselves.
In Christ you are a saint. (1-3)
What is a saint? The dictionary defines a saint as one who is a very holy person; one who is pure in heart and upright in life. While the world around us freely uses this definition, we need to understand how misleading it is. The Bible writers chose a word that means "holy ones, righteous ones, those who have been separated from the rest."
A saint is any and every born again child of God. The moment you repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, you are set apart and are holy in the eyes of God. Though we have been born again we still have a sin nature, we still mess up, and we still fail. There are days and times when we don’t feel saved, we don’t feel like saints, but your being a saint has nothing to do with your feelings. It has everything to do with your eternal position in heaven.
You may say, "I don’t feel holy; I don’t feel worthy to be a saint." What you need to question is whether you really are. Are you sure of your salvation? Are you living like a saint? You may have these feelings because you are living in sin and need to do something about it. But you may have these feelings when there is nothing really the matter. None of us is worthy, but God has made us worthy. That’s why Paul wrote of us as being in Christ Jesus. The devil will try to tell you otherwise. "You’re so bad, you’re so unworthy, God can’t love you, and He can’t use you...Don’t believe it! They’re lies from the pits of hell!
God bought you with the precious blood of His only begotten Son; He saved you from the wrath to come. You are not your own, you’ve been bought with a price! When God looks at you now He doesn’t see your inadequacies, but rather He sees the righteousness of Christ that covers you.
Being in Christ is cause for celebration. Paul says in verse 2, "grace and peace be to you." This was a common greeting in those days, but what does it mean? To have grace is to be in favor with God, a favor you received but did not deserve. The peace Paul wrote of is a peace so many are searching for but can’t find. The believer should rejoice because of the peace he has in Christ.
Not only does the saint have grace and peace, but also he has been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. This is not the house, the car, the wife or kids. This is not money, success, popularity or power. It is spiritual blessings that you have in Christ that nothing can ever take away, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt. Where is your heart today? Is it here? If you want a better life then you must be in Christ, and you must set your affections on things above.
You have been chosen by God. (5)
Listen to the strong words of Paul. "He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world." He predestinated us unto the adoption of children. You didn’t choose God, He chose you. John said,
"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power (authority) to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
This is one of the greatest paradoxes in the Bible, how that God sovereignly chose you before He ever created the world, already knew who would and would not be saved, and yet He still gives you the freedom to chose. From eternity past God has done all that was necessary to bring you to Him. Now what will you do? Do you realize how special you are to God?
You have been chosen for a reason. (4 & 6)
Why did God choose you? He chose you to be holy - this is the exact same word as saint. It means to be set apart from the world, and set apart to God. Your life is now to be used for God’s service, like clay in the potter’s hands. He also chose you to be blameless, without blemish or sin.
Verse 6 lets us know that when we are living for the purpose God chose us there is praise to the glory of His grace. In other words, not only is He glorified, it brings Him great pleasure. Why did God choose you? He chose you because He loves you. Many times when I am playing with Jessica I’ll ask her, "Does daddy love you?" She says yes. When I ask her why she just looks at me and says, "Because you’re my daddy, you’re supposed to love me."
There is even a greater love that I want to illustrate with a personal example. My mother married the man I call my father when I was just a baby. I do not know my real father, nor have I seen him since I was a baby, though I know where he lives and all that. I am not my father’s natural born son, and he didn’t have to love me, but He chose to. When I was not one of his, he chose me and literally adopted me into his family, and now I belong to him. What an awesome expression of love – not a love of obligation, but rather one of choice.
Do you want a better, abundant life; a quality of life that this world offers but cannot give? It begins with salvation. You must realize that you are lost today and that if you were to die without Christ you would spend eternity in hell forever separated from God. But also realize that you do not have to stay that way. Jesus died for you – died to pay for your sins, and because of His death you can have life. You must repent of your sin, believing that Jesus died for you, and ask Him to save you, trusting Him to do so, and the good news is that He will.
If you are saved, remember that you are a saint, a holy one of God. You are a saint, not because of your goodness, but because of Christ’s goodness. You have been chosen by God, and chosen for a reason. Are you fulfilling your God given purpose? Are you living as He intends for you to live? How will you respond to Christ today?
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