A Christian is one who has accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. As such, he has a wonderful relationship with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many people are religious, but they don’t have a relationship with the Father.
A. The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:1, 4b tells us that in Christ, we have a new kind of life. “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and many sins. But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sin, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved.) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” We are spiritually alive because we are united with Christ by faith.
B. Here is another amazing truth. We are brought near to God and to others through the blood of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 2:11-13 we read, Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
C. Through our relationship with Christ, we experience the peace of God and peace with God. In Ephesians 2:14-15 Paul wrote, For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When we receive Him we experience peace with God and peace with others. What a privilege this is!
D. Through Christ, we now have access to the very presence of God by the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 2:18 we read “Now all of us can come to the Father, through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” Take time to really reflect on this truth. We can come into the very presence of God. He wants us to come and He will welcome us.
E. Folks, this is huge – through Christ, we become citizens of the kingdom of God. I was born in Canada, so that makes me a citizen of Canada. When I came to the States, I took out American citizenship. That makes me an American. When I received Christ, I became a citizen of God’s kingdom. In Ephesians 2:19 Paul wrote —
“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Before I came to know Christ, I was an outsider to all the blessings of being a part of God’s family. Now I am an insider and have access to God himself and all that He wants to give me. What joy that gives me and you too, if you know Jesus.
F. Lastly, through Christ, we become temples of the living God. In Ephesians 2:22 we read, “Through Him (Christ) you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” Through this wonderful, personal relationship we have through Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to literally come to dwell in us individually and the church collectively.
We are one in the bonds of love. I hope this meditation of knowing Christ blesses you as much as it did me as I was preparing for it.
In Christ alone, Pastor Leonard
