The book of Ephesians in the New Testament is full of life applications pertaining to living a Christian life. I like to refer to the scriptures found in this book as gold nuggets that have great value in our personal life, living a Christian life and church life. In other words…to show us how to live a victorious and abundant life that He made available to us by the shedding of His blood and sacrifice on the cross.
The main focus of this article is going to be on Chapter 1 of Ephesians. I will expound on certain scriptures in this chapter that speak of my identity in Christ, because I have struggled with identity issues most of my life. By writing about them and declaring them we who have identity issues will see ourselves in a different light, the way God sees us.
In chapter one the scriptures tell us about our redemption in Christ. Starting in vs. 1 Paul states “To the saints”. My wrong thought process when I heard the word “saint” is that you had to be holier than thou, you had to be perfect in everything you did. It only leads to self-righteousness and a pious attitude. The correct meaning is that the only way to become a saint is by believing in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ that sanctifies us. (Hebrews 10:10) Declare I am made holy through His Salvation!!!
Vs. 3 states we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. I declare that I am blessed!!!
Vs. 4 states that just as He chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in Love. To me being chosen and loved was a hard concept. I felt I was not worthy because of my sin. It was hard to see myself chosen by Him. I declare that He loves so much and I am chosen by Christ!!!
Vs. 5 God predestined us to be adopted sons and daughters by Jesus Christ to Himself.
Vs. 6 He made us accepted in the beloved, His son Jesus Christ. This was a hard concept to accept especially when I felt that I was not a son and felt like a burden. It is hard to see myself as a son when I was never introduced to someone as a son. I believe there is a yearning in every child’s heart to hear these word “you are my son” “you are my daughter.” These very words speak volumes of acceptance. I declare that I am an accepted son of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!
Vs. 7 In Him we have redemption (been saved) through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to His grace.
Vs. 8 …which He lavished on us. Because I felt that my sins were so great, I had a hard time accepting His grace and forgiveness. I felt that I had to work for His forgiveness and if I did not do it perfectly it would not be accepted. I declare that I have been for forgiven and His grace and mercy is new every morning!!!
I realize that there is so much more to receive from this chapter. I want to challenge those who struggle with identity to meditate on them and come up with your own declarations to create your new identity. Make a choice to become or son or daughter that He created you to be!!!!!
Alger Julson Altar/Prayer Team Leader NCWC