Over the next three Sundays I am going to put forth 33 passages of Scripture that define who a person is in Christ. There will be Scripture under each of the 33 but only 33 heading Scriptures. We will cover 11 each week.
Many times we fail to realize the firm foundation and high standing that we have been given as a believer and faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
Last week we looked at ho the three parts of a human work together. The Holy Spirit must be in charge of your person. If you have not yet died to self and given lordship of your life to Christ, you are not in Christ. If you are not in Christ these 33 passages are not for you. They are for those who are in Christ.
Far too often we lead people who are not truly Spirit born Christians into a false hope. We read the passage as though they apply to everyone.
I want to make sure that you know these passages are for those in Christ Jesus that have His Spirit living in them.
If you are not sure you need to search yourself to make sure you are in the faith. You need to make sure you are following the Holy Spirit and not your self spirit.
If you have any questions about this issue you might want to take it up with the Lord in prayer and if you would like to contact me to discuss your doubts feel free to call me during the week.
Let’s get started.
I have divided the 33 passages into sections of 11. This is to keep you from being overwhelmed and they also fit well under three separate headings.
Today we will look at your Acceptance in Christ, next week we will look at your Security in Christ and the final week we will look at your Significance in Christ.
So, here we go…
You are Accepted in Christ.
Today’s evangelism is always asking if you have accepted Christ. This is a great question that needs to be answered. But for those of you who have come to faith and placed your trust in Christ for your salvation from sin, you need to know that you are accepted in Christ Jesus.
Most of today’s Christians are weak because they do not understand the firm foundation that they are standing on. Christians waver about being tossed to and fro because they are unsure of their position in Christ.
If you knew for sure that you were accepted by Christ, wouldn’t you feel a sense of power over the world?
If you knew and understood the solid foundation that holds you up, I believe you would be able to walk boldly against the ways of this world.
John 1:12 (I am God’s Child)
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
Did you know that you were an adopted child of God’s? Let’s let Paul explain…
Ephesians 1:5, “ His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.”
Galatians 4:5-7, “God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.
Romans 8:15-16, “So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him “Father, dear Father.” 16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.”
Last Sunday we talked about the importance of having the Holy Spirit guiding and control the Christian’s life. As you can see the Holy Spirit tells us that we are accepted.
John 15:12 (I am Christ’s friend)
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
As friends of God through Christ we have a very privileged position. The Holy Spirit works in us to reveal to us that which God desires us to know.
Romans 5:11, “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.”
James 2:23-24, “And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.” He was even called “the friend of God.” 24 So you see, we are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.”
James 4:4, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God.”
We must come to belief in God through Christ for the Holy Spirit to allow us to see the things God desires to reveal to us. If we are still friends of the world we are not going to see properly. We must rely upon the Lord and sever our ties with the world. Once we settle our friendship issues the Lord will begin to take us deeper into our relationship with him.
Have you given up on the world yet? If not, this could be what’s holding your relationship back.
Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. We are still in the world but not of it. We are here on mission. Once we realize this God will open up a treasure chest of understanding to us.
Romans 5:1 (I am justified)
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
To be justified is to be right with God. It’s a legal term. When the judge declares you not guilty of a crime you have been justified right.
This is what the ultimate Judge has done for us in Christ Jesus. Once we believe we are justified by our faith.
Galatians 2:15-16, “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
As you can tell we are not justified by following the law but by believing in Jesus Christ. See, the law proves we are sinners. Since we are sinners there has to be another way of being made right aside from keeping an already broken law. That way is by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. Once we do this we are justified right in God’s sight. We are not made right by following the law but by believing in Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:17 (I am united with the Lord)
17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
As you can see we are building a very strong foundation upon the Scriptures that have been placed before us.
Galatians 3:26-29, “So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.”
Are you united with Christ? Have you placed your faith and trust in His work to make you right? Are you relying upon, clinging to, adhering to and believing in God through Christ for your salvation?
This is the test for your faith.
Far too many hold to their church work and attendance. They point to their ceremonies and involvement. They believe that they are basically good and should be accepted based upon their presupposed wonderfulness.
This is not what saves a person.
Have you been submersed into Christ. Have you fallen into His person and said, “I can’t do it on my own, I need You”?
Are you united with Christ?
1 Corinthians 6:20 (I am valuable to God)
20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Last week I put the following passage before you three or four times. It needs to be placed before you again here.
Galatians 5:19-23, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.”
Are you honoring God with your body?
If you have been purchased, bought back or redeemed from your sin, you no longer belong to the sinful lifestyle. Since you have been purchased unto freedom by the blood of Jesus Christ should you not live like it? Unless, of course, you have not yet been redeemed from sin.
If you are still living in sin I must ask, are you sure you have been purchased?
Many want heaven but they don’t want to leave their life of sin. They want a better afterlife but they don’t realize that their eternal life has already begun. If you are friends with this world and still enjoying and chasing after your sin, you are not a part of the Kingdom of God.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not here to force you into God’s Kingdom. This is a voluntary decision that you have to make. Your afterlife destination comes with your present decision to accept Christ and His ways. The decision is yours.
1 Corinthians 12:27 (I am a part of Christ’s body)
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
The body of Christ is the true church. The true church are those who have been spiritually reborn. The have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and are following the Lord Jesus Christ in every part of their lives.
Now don’t be fooled, not everyone who attends a church is truly a part of the body of Christ.
Many people come into the church in search of answers. Many are following a soulish religion or a mental acceptance of the way. If they do not have the Spirit of Christ in them they are not truly Christians and they are not a part of Christ’s body.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, “ The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.”
Ephesians 4:11-16, “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13 until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Now that we understand that the spiritually reborn make up the body and are growing together becoming more like Christ let’s check out our next position.
Ephesians 1:1b (I am a saint)
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
I know it’s hard to believe that you are a saint, but, you didn’t make yourself a saint and it’s only God’s declaration that qualifies you for being a saint.
Let’s look deeper,
Romans 1:7, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:”
Romans 8:27, “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”
2 Corinthians 1:1, “To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:”
2 Corinthians 13:13, “All the saints send their greetings.”
Ephesians 6:18b, “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Jude 1:3, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
Colossians 1:26, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.”
This may be hard for some of you to wrap your mind around but our faith and new spirit is what makes us saints.
These passages came from the NIV. The passages in the NLT use the word Christian. See a true Christian, one who has been born of the Spirit and is following Christ by faith is declared to be a saint by the Lord. You may not think you are a saint but God does so you had best start living up to your high title.
Ephesians 1:5 (I am adopted as God’s child)
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
God has adopted us as His very own children. He has given us His name. He has set aside an inheritance for us. He allows us to come to Him at any time addressing Him as our very own Father. This is a privileged position.
Galatians 4:3-7 “And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.”
Romans 8:15-16 “So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his family—calling him ‘Father, dear Father.’ 16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.”
For those of us who are in Christ we have a family reputation to uphold.
Ephesians 2:18 (I am accepted before God)
18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Everything we have been given is a gift due to what Christ has done for us. This is why we acknowledge, worship, praise, thank him with a life lived differently than those who have not come to Christ for their salvation and adoption.
Colossians 1:4 (I am redeemed and forgiven)
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
To stand before God redeemed and forgiven will be a very wonderful experience. This is made possible by God through His Son and the impartation of the Holy Spirit.
We have become new creations or new creatures in Christ. We have an incredible standing with God due to Christ’s work and our faith and trust in it.
Are you living accordingly?
Colossians 2:10 (I am complete in Christ)
10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
This is our eleventh passage for today.
Due to your union with Christ you have been made complete in Him.
Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.”
I pray these passages have shown you that you are accepted by God if you are in Christ Jesus.
If you have not yet accepted Christ as Lord and Master of your life and destiny I would like you urge you to seek and search out the Lord with all your heart.
Your position before God will change, your life in this world will change and your understanding of God’s Word will come full circle and all He is calling you to will become your desire.
Next week we will look at our security in Christ but for today I hope you really grasp your acceptance in Christ.
