Hope Woman 18/2/26
Alive In Christ Part 2
The book of Ephesians is so encouraging for us all as BELIEVERS as last month we learned about what it meant to be Alive in Christ!!!!
To recap briefly,
I asked you all (BELOW)
Are you living for Christ?
Are you moving/working for Christ?
Are you existing in Christ or trying to exist in your own strength outside of Christ?
Some of us are carrying that old wretched body…….when we are ALIVE in CHRIST!
Walking as though you are DEAD….. when you are indeed ALIVE, so it’s time to start living IT.
Do you think you have lived in that TRUTH? If not, why not, and what do you need to put in place to ensure that you do live that TRUTH?
So I said last month that we would focus more on verse 10 says 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Last month we looked at I Peter 2v9-11
9 But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
If we are raised by Christ and seated with Him in the Heavenly places, that is our true possession, our true position, WE HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE ALIVE AS TO WHEN WE WERE SAVED, JUSTIFIED BY CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION, WHERE HE TOOK ALL OUR SIN, SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
I loved what John McArthur says of our chosen-ness “Divine Summons not for judgement or for punishment but so you can be declared righteous”. End Quote.
So here we are, we have been declared righteous, chosen before the foundation of the world by God as his elect, as a gift from God the Father to Jesus, so that we would glorify him and worship Him for all eternity!!!! What a hope, what a calling, what a saviour!
On those truths lets look more deeply at verse 10:- 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
I will discuss this scripture in 3 parts.
- His Workmanship
We are His, first and foremost, not our own, (we have been bought with a price), we are not another’s property, we are His!!!! Chosen by Him, created by Him, for Him.
The bible dictionary today says:-
Divine artistry – you are a product of God’s divine artistry (but God, I want straight hair!, taller, thinner……), we don’t realise that God made us exactly as he wanted us to be…. I saw a reel on Instagram and it was maybe the Oscars or something highlighting, how ‘normal’ people looked back in the 90s, no fillers, filters, just who they were in their ‘divine artistry’, and it really stood out, because so many people, stars (if you want to call them that), no longer look like themselves….. I find it really sad, and the more you see it, the more you see how unnatural some people look….
You could argue that its vanity that makes people go for all these procedures, for some it might be pressure, that they are not ‘young’ or ‘good’ looking enough.
You could argue that our culture values younger women (over older women), yet many young women are changing their appearance. I believe a big drive for this is the desire to fit in, to look a certain way, for apparent success, for attention, to fulfil another person’s expectations (usually a man), although women mostly compete with other women! But when you really consider it, at its core, it is a lack of identity, of worth that can only come from knowing the God who chose you before the foundation of the world, even if no one ever chooses you, or accepts you, you know that God has and does.
Now, I also know of ‘believers’ who subject themselves to the same treatments who say that they know who they are in Christ and that may well be the case, however, even they are subject to the vanities of this world, so if its not an identity issue, its chasing after the world’s definition of beauty as opposed to God’s.
Now there is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself, that is not what I am saying….. I Corinthians 10:31 “So whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”.
So its not about not taking care of what God has given you either! We have to be good stewards of our bodies as well as our lives.
Not only have we been chosen by God for salvation, been brought to life from death, are now seated with Christ in the heavenly places and ALIVE IN CHRIST. We are also God’s WORKMANSHIP.
Genesis 1v27 LSB “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.”
If only, the many people lost in identity crisis knew how God had created them in His likeness and image, they wouldn’t believe that they had been born in the wrong body! There are truly many young people and children being lied to about who they are and its devastating for them, I can only imagine the wrath that awaits those who are putting a ‘mill’ around those little ones’ necks, Wo to them as Jesus said “when they give an account to God on the judgement day!”
They like us are fearfully and wonderfully made…. This is what it means to be HIS workmanship.
“Psalm 139:13-18 LSB),
13 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very
well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And intricately woven in
the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unshaped substance; And in Your book all of them were writtenThe days that were formed for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
What a picture of God’s love in which he created us, we are indeed His divine Workmanship.
- CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS
Remember last month I mentioned the scripture in John’s gospel verse 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
Our life in Christ is a life of Good Works, we are the light that is in Him, and it is His light in us that shines in the darkness with the promise that the darkness can never overtake it, His light will shine forever, just like we will live forever with Christ in eternity.
So what are the good works that God created us for? Well, we have been learning about this in our study of Mark and in particular the lives of the Apostles!! Who we are learning of being mastered in Christ.
“Just to explain, when we get saved we are Justified (saved immediately from sin’s penalty). In being mastered by Christ, we are being Sanctified (which means saved progressively from sin’s power) and we will be mastered completely when we are Glorified (saved ultimately from sin’s presence).” John MacArthur (study bible)….. What a joy that will be…to live without sin and its effects……
We know, or should know, that good works in and of themselves cannot grant us ‘salvation’ as is believed in most other religions (Catholicism), it is by faith alone in Christ alone that we are saved, by grace and not works, so that no one may boast……
An unsaved person, can display good works, like the parable of the Samaritan who helped a man beaten and left for dead, whilst the priests walked by and did nothing! Many people will give of their lives to save others, however if they do not have a relationship with Christ, even extreme works that can cause people to lose their lives in saving others, won’t get them into heaven.
I have learnt that there are many people, more morally superior than me, braver than me, more generous than me, who are not in Christ. Yet, without the work of God in salvation to save you, in God’s economy, it is not enough, as the works you do, still fall so short of God’s holiness, you cannot work your way into God’s forgiveness, only faith in Christ with His righteousness can grant you access to that.
So that is not the type of Good Works that we are talking about!!! We are talking about the works that bring Glory to God as in John 15v8 “My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples”.
We know about the fruit of the Spirit as we studied it 3 years ago! Galatians 5v22-23 which states “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law”.
You might remember that our whole teaching was grounded in 3 fundamental truths:-
The 1st Fundamental:
EVERY believer has the FRUIT of the SPIRIT
That means we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control already within us!
The second fundamental is that EVERY BELIEVER ALSO HAS THE FLESH John MacAruthur describes the differences BETWEEN the flesh and spirit is: “contrasted with the deeds of the flesh is the fruit of the spirit. Deeds of the flesh are done by a person’s own efforts, whether he is saved or unsaved. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand is produced by God’s own Spirit and only in the life of those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.”
The Flesh is what we do and the Fruit of the Spirit is what GOD does. VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT.
So what is the FLESH, A REMINDER OF Galatians 5v19-21 it states “Now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissension, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”.
The above is NOT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. John MacArthur says as believers we can at times have some of these traits operating on our lives, but we would not have them all!!!
The 3rd FUNDAMENTAL IS – WE NEED TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THE FLESH AND WALK IN THE SPIRIT
John MacArthur also said: “The spiritual behaviour of walking by the Spirit…. Causes the believer to put away the HABITUAL, ongoing evil deeds of the flesh and positively causes him to bear the good fruit produced by The Spirit.”
I won’t go into all the message, but you might find it helpful to listen to the introduction to the teaching as I go into more detail on these….
So we know that the fruit of the Spirit is part of God’s plan for us at salvation to produce good works through His power that is operating in us. RC Sproul said “good works are the necessary evidence of a transformed life (sanctification), following regeneration”.
Good works also looks like BELOW
Philippians 2 v 12-13 LSB “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Note, in this scripture, good works equals OBEDIENCE, not just in the presence of others (am talking at church) which is easy, but when in environments where you could be challenged (work) and on your own (where no-one knows what you are doing), except God of course.
Good works calls us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling! Are we being mastered by Christ?, are we obeying His word?, are we lining up our lives against God’s to see that we are indeed in the faith? Do we fear man more than we fear God?
These we should be doing, we are so fortunate that God is at work in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure!!!! Every time you obey God, He is working in you, every time you pray, He is working in you, every time you love your enemies, He is working in you, every time you refrain from gossip, slander, anger, rage, He is at work in you…….
Remember, we are IN CHRIST, there is no Good except in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, is Christ’s character, don’t you see, everything that we have learned so far, is all about Christ….. if we truly lived from who we are in Christ, we would not do half of what we do!!!! And we would live poured out as a drink offering to the Lord as described by the Apostle Paul…..
You know you can have faith, but be disobedient! Have faith and BE lazy, have faith and BE selfish…… if we do not crucify our flesh, we can always justify not doing good works:-
Mark said “When we live from God’s life – we can ONLY do good work – AND – if we live from our man made life – we only do DESTRUCTIVE work”
How true is that……..
If Paul had to write to the Corinthians who went off track, how much more do we also need to focus on who Christ is!!!
James 2 v14-17 LSB “What use is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself”.
I’ve touched on it already, many people will say that they have faith and works, however the only Faith for salvation is Faith in Christ not your own merit achieved through works.
What James is talking about is, if you are saved of God, then your life will exhibit good works, you will see someone in need and be there for them, you will help your brother and sister in Christ. Jesus never took a day off when he started his ministry, not that I’ve read anywhere in scripture…. In fact, he would go up the mountain and pray all night to the father, his faith was seen by His works and that of the disciples as their faith in Christ grew….alongside their obedience and courage, unto their own deaths…..
John Macarthur says “people substitute words for deeds, you are not what you say, but what you do”, true faith will always be seen in works”. “Both right doctrine and right living are absolutely essential and totally inseparable for the true child of God.” End Quote. That is the consistent teaching of Christ Himself. “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine. And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”. (John 8:31–32).
We CANNOT and SHOULD NOT substitute words for deeds…… its true, its not what you say you are, but what you do that will determine your works if indeed you are in the faith.
LASTLY
- WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND SO THAT WE WOULD WALK IN THEM
Faith is something you can see….. it is alive…. Why, because Jesus is alive and he lives in us…. If we are truly his, his light will be seen in us and our works/lives…..
We can see in scripture God’s predestined works in peoples’ lives, if you are reading the Bible in a year, you are seeing Moses and Joshua being prepared so the people can live in what God determined they would have….. I read this on Monday Exodus 36v1 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded”. These people were predestined for good works unto the Lord.
Just like the Apostle Paul who was called to establish and help mature churches whilst preserving the truth of God given to him by Christ. John MacArthur said of him
“Remember, the apostle Paul called the church “the pillar and support of the truth”). We have a duty to uphold the truth and to wield the sword of God’s Word against every human speculation and every worldly hypothesis raised up against the knowledge of God. The struggle will continue until every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The church must pursue that fight, and if church leaders are not setting the example, they are not being faithful to their calling.”
Thankfully our church pastor and elders are!!!!!
To close:
We touched on some good works earlier and what they would look like!
Repentance – how wonderful a gift from God is it to have Godly sorrow THAT LEADS TO REPENTANCE… Good works would look like, not letting the sun go down on your wrath…. Genuine repentance, means a complete 360 degree turnaround!!!! You know the old hymn, ‘I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back”….when we repent to God, we should NOT turn back TO our SIN..… We should be walking daily in repentance to God and others where necessary…
Submission – we should be subject to God’s Word with a submissive heart and spirit (a gentle & QUIET spirit God loves (1 Peter 3)….. ….. We learn that from the life of Queen Esther, married to the King (not her choice), was submissive to his ways, and her uncle Mordecai to whom she was obedient and saved a generation of Jews!!!!
Obedience – consider the Extraordinary Women we studied last year!
Mary, (mother of Jesus), her obedience!,
Elderly Anna who was widowed young – she was: Devout – Set apart to God - Consistent…….. (always at the Temple), Persevered IN HER FAITH…..Regardless of her Circumstances
Pure – her purity is mentioned in scripture which tells us she was a woman of good morals that reflected holiness.
Bold – Evangelised……… She was a faithful witness of the Gospel….. AND
SHE GOT TO SEE JESUS – HERS AND OUR SALVATION…….
And lastly, love towards Jesus/God. Jesus said in John 15v15 LSB “if you love me you will keep my commandments”. What is the greatest commandment? To love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and mind”….and the second to Love your neighbour as yourself.
That ladies is what God has predestined us to be - empowered by him to live like, so that we would walk in His ways, His truths, His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, so that we too, can lead people to Jesus, just as we heard of Philip on Sunday when he said “come and see”.
Amen
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