The Believers’ Position in Christ
The Riches of
God’s Grace in Christ Jesus
By I Gordon
Eph
1:3-8 ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with
every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious
grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he
lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.’
This study is about the believers’ position in Christ Jesus. I don’t
know of anything that is more crucial as a foundation to the
Christian life, than for the believer to see what has been completed
for him ‘in Christ Jesus’. From the Ephesians passage quoted above,
we could say that this entire study is embraced within that
wonderful phrase ‘the riches of God’s grace.’
So how do we define grace? A common definition is ‘God’s Riches
At Christ’s Expense’. Another definition is
‘the unmerited favour of God’. Both of these are true definitions,
but the one that I like the best is simply ‘God’s love set free’.
You see grace incorporates all that God desired to do for mankind
because of His love, which He is now free to perform, because His
justice has been met through the sacrificial death of His son. So,
in acting righteously in view of the cross, God’s love is now free
to act as He wills! And oh how He has acted for the believer if only
we could see it! Just as it says in the passage above, we have (past
tense – when we first believed in Jesus) been blessed with every
spiritual blessing in Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and
will – to the praise of His glorious grace!
So this study will explore the riches of God’s grace in regard to
the believers’ position in Christ. In most of Paul’s letters there
is a sharp distinction drawn between what God has done for us by
grace, and how we are to live in view of this fact. The divine order
that God has established through these letters is to first sit and
learn of your position in Christ, and then, in view of this
position, the exhortation is given to live a life consistent with
your position. In other words, the Christian life is becoming (in
your experience) what you already are (in your position in Christ).
This divine order is clearly seen in Ephesians, Colossians, and
Romans amongst others. For example, and as a study of your own,
please read the book of Ephesians and note down all that God has
done for you and that which you are called to do yourself. You
should see a sharp distinction between the first three chapters and
the last three. (With the connection between the two starting at
chapter 4, verse 1.) Commenting on Ephesians, Watchman Nee said
'Most
Christians make the mistake of trying to walk in order to be able to
sit, but that is a reversal of the true order. Our natural reason
says, If we do not walk, how can we ever reach the goal? What can we
attain without effort? How can we get anywhere if we do not move?
But Christianity is a queer business! If at the outset we try to do
anything, we miss everything. For Christianity begins not with a big
DO, but with a big DONE. Thus Ephesians opens with the statement
that God has ‘blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ’ and we are invited at the outset to
sit down and enjoy what God has done for us; not to set out to try
and attain it for ourselves.’
So the purpose of this study is to set forth that which is DONE, and
through faith, enable you to rest in the finished work of Christ and
your exalted position in Him! The framework for the following has
been taken (somewhat loosely!) from Lewis Sperry Chafer’s excellent
book ‘Salvation’. I recommend you read this book as it contains more
than I could add here. Before looking at that which God has done for
the believer in Christ, Chafer raises the following five points that
are very important to remember.
1. These
positions are not experienced, but are facts of the new life out of
which precious experiences may grow. For example justification is
not experienced but the joy and peace that occurs because of this
fact will be.
2. The
Christian positions are not progressive. They do not grow or develop
from a small beginning. They are as perfect and complete the instant
they are possessed as they ever will be in the ages to come. For
example, sonship does not grow, as an old man is no more a son of
his father at his death than he was at the day of his birth.
3. These
positions are in no way related to human merit. They are made to
stand on the unchanging Person and merit of the Son of God. The
Christian is ‘accepted (now and forever) in the beloved.’
4. Every
position is eternal by its very nature. The consciousness and
personal realisation of these positions may vary with the daily walk
of the believer, but the abiding facts of the new being are never
subject to change in time or eternity.
5. These
positions are known only through divine revelation. They defy human
imagination, and since they are not experienced, their reality can
be entered into only by believing the Word of God. These eternal
riches of grace are for the lowliest sinner who will only believe.
One more thought before you start racing through the list – Think!
Yes, think about them. Meditate on them and what it means for you.
You see, I’ve read lists like this before and I know the temptation
to race through it. But I believe that these are truths that God
would want to firmly establish within our hearts, for they glorify
His character and show the extent of His work on the cross for us.
So please, go slow, ask the Lord to reveal the truth in it, and
mediate upon these things. Further on in his book ‘Sit, Walk,
Stand’, Watchman Nee says
‘Our
Christian life begins with the discovery of what God has provided.
From this point onwards Christian experience proceeds as it began,
not on the basis of our own work but always on that of the finished
work of another. Every new spiritual experience begins with an
acceptance by faith of what God has done – with a new ‘sitting down’
if you like.’
As you read each point, remember also what has just been said in
that these truths are eternal and are as true of you today (if you
truly believe in Jesus) as they ever will be. They do not grow or
increase, but are free gifts of God’s amazing grace. That’s why we
say that the Christian life is becoming what you are. One more last
point – failure. Failure is almost a prerequisite for enjoying what
God has done. God has hidden these truths from the proud and
self-confident and as such they seldom seem interested, or care to
believe that these things be of great benefit. But to those who
truly see their need of God, the things of grace become the greatest
delight! May you enter in new experiences of God’s love as you
accept by faith that which God has done ‘in Christ’.
The Riches
of Grace in Christ Jesus
All
of the following is true of every genuine believer in Jesus Christ.
It is God’s gift to all through the ‘riches of His grace in Christ
Jesus.’ These things are the result of His ‘love set free!’
In the Eternal Plan of God
Before the world had even been created, God knew and chose those who
would be saved, and in the course of time He called them to Himself.
Do we fully understand it? No way! Not until He explains it all in
heaven. Do we still believe it? Yes, both through the word of God
and the experience of God’s call upon our own lives.
Foreknown: Rom
8:29 ‘For
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the
image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many
brethren.’ Also 1 Pet 1:2
Elect: 1
Thes 1:4 ‘knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.’ Also Rom
8:33, Col 3:12, Tit 1:1
Predestined: Eph
1:11 ‘In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to
the counsel of His will.’
Chosen: 1 Pet 2:4 ‘Coming
to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by
God and precious.’ Also Matt 22:14
Called: Rom 9:11 ‘…that
the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works
but of Him who calls.’ Also 1
Thes 5:24
Brought Near to God
How near to God has Jesus brought the
believer? In our position, just as near as Christ is himself! – In
our experience, just as near as we wish to go! His blood has been
poured out for the sins of the world and the temple curtain has been
torn in two!
Reconciled:By
God: 2 Cor 5:18 ‘Now
all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through
Jesus Christ.’ Also Col 1:20
To God: Rom 5:10 ‘…when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.’ Also 2 Cor
5:20
Redeemed: Col 1:14 ‘we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.’ Also 1 Pet 1:18, Rom
3:24
Brought Near: Eph 2:13 ‘But
now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.’
Given Access: Eph
2:18 ‘For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the
Father.’ Also Eph 3:12, Rom 5:2, Heb 4:14-16, 10:19-20.
Children of God
Can someone born, then become be unborn? Can a son in a family
somehow cease from being a son? Or can someone who has been adopted,
be un-adopted? No, no, and finally, no! If you have been born into a
family then you may change your name, but you cannot change your
D.N.A and you are forever a son of your father. The same applies for
our spiritual birth! The believer is a son of God Himself, born
again of incorruptible seed and because of this we cry ‘Abba
Father!’ – literally ‘daddy’.
Born again: 1 Pet 1:23 ‘…having been
born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible.’ Also John
1:12, 3:7
Sons of God: 1 John 3:2 ‘Beloved,
now we are sons of God.’ Also 2 Cor 6:18, Gal 3:26
New Creation: 2
Cor 5:17 ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.’
Also Gal 6:15, Eph 2:10
Adopted: Rom
8:15 ‘you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,
Father.”’ Also Gal 4:5
Heirs: Gal
4:7 ‘Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son,
then an heir of God through Christ.’
Totally Acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ!
A good question is ‘Do
you have to be perfect to go to Heaven?’ Most say no, as no one is
perfect. Yet could a perfectly holy God allow anything less than
perfection into His presence? Obviously not! The answer is therefore
yes, you do have to be perfect, but how could this ever be achieved
by a sinful creation? In Christ, righteousness and perfection is a
gift! His declaration is that believers are forever justified – a
position that not only means ‘just as if I had never sinned’, but
also, ‘just as if I had done everything right!’ Wow!
Justified:
Rom 5:1
‘Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.’
Also Rom 3:24, 8:30, 1 Cor 6:11, Tit 3:7
Righteous: Phil 3:8,9 ‘…that I may gain
Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness
of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith
in Christ.’ Also Rom 3:22, 5:17, 10:3-4, 1 Cor 1:30, 2 Cor 5:21
Sanctified: 1
Cor 1:30 ‘Christ Jesus, who became for us… sanctification.’ Also 1
Cor 6:11, Heb 10:10
Made Perfect: Heb
10:14 ‘by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are
being made holy.’ Also see Heb 10:1-2 for the results of being ‘made
perfect’.
Accepted:
Eph 1:6 ‘to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has
made us accepted in the Beloved.’ Also 1 Pet 2:5
Forgiven: Col
2:13 ‘God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.’
Also Col 1:14, 3:13, Eph 1:7, 4:32
Complete:
Col 2:10 ‘And you are
complete in Him.’
Forever United and Joined With
Christ
Watchman Nee once said ‘If I place a
piece of paper in a book and burn the book, where is the piece of
paper?’ No prize for saying that it has gone, as it has been burned
as well. In like manner, believers have been placed ‘in Christ’, so
that whatever has happened to Christ has also happened them. When
Jesus died and rose again, so did we spiritually, and never again
will God see a believer as anything other than a new creation ‘in
Christ Jesus’. We are forever united and joined to Christ and His
history is our history!
Crucified: Rom 6:6 ‘For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of
sin might be done away with.’ Also Gal 2:20
Dead:
Rom 6:8 ‘Now
if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.’
Also Col 3:3
Buried:
Rom 6:4 ‘We were
therefore buried with him through baptism.’
Also Col 2:12
Raised:
Col 3:1
‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on
things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.’ Also
Rom 6:4
Ascended: Eph 2:6 ‘And God raised us up
with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ
Jesus.’
Jesus’ Very
Own Possession
In a parable about the
kingdom of God, Jesus likened Himself to a man who found a treasure
in a field. And because of His immense joy, He sold all that He had
so that He could purchase that field. The treasure within the field
stands for those in the world who believe in His name. For them, He
was willing to give up all that He had (His life) and ‘for the joy
set before Him, He endured the cross!’ We are the Fathers gift to
the Son, His bride, His inheritance and His joy! Amazing.
His Gift -
John 6:37 ‘All that the
Father gives Me, will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me, I
will certainly not cast out.’ Also 10:29, 17:6,11,12,20
His Bride -
2 Cor 11:2 ‘I promised
you to one husband, to Christ.’ Also Eph 5:25-32, Rev 19:7,
John 3:29
His Inheritance -
Eph 1:18 ‘that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.’
His Possession
-
Eph 1:14 ‘…who is a
deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those
who are God’s possession.’
Blessed With
the Holy Spirit
Each believer is also
given the Holy Spirit, not only as our means of living the Christian
life in this age, but also as a guarantee that as God’s possession
we will participate in the glory of the age to come! There is no
true Christian alive that has not been given the Holy Spirit.
Born: John
3:6 ‘Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to
spirit.’
Baptized:1
Cor 12:13 ‘For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.’
Indwelt:1
Cor 6:19 ‘Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is
in you?’ Also 2:12, John 7:39, Rom 5:5, 8:9, 2 Cor 1:21, Gal 4:6
Sealed: Eph 1:13-14 ‘having believed,
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance.’
Within the ‘Much More’ Care of God
(Rom 5:10)
Think of it – when we
were sinners and enemies of God, He fully justified us from every
charge because our faith in the work of His precious son Jesus. How
much more now, as His treasured possession, will believers find
themselves the object of His care!
Objects of His love:
Eph 2:4 ‘But God,
who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us…’ Also 5:2, 1 John 3:1
Objects of His grace: Rom 5:2 ‘through
whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand.’ Also Eph 2:7,8 Tit 2:12,13
Objects
of His power:
Eph 1:19 ‘and his
incomparably great power for us who believe.’ Also Phil 2:13, 1 Pet
1:5
Objects of His faithfulness: Heb 13:5
‘For He has said ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ Also Phil
1:6, 1 Thes 5:23,24, 1 Cor 1:8-9, Jude 24
Objects of His peace: Phil 4:9 ‘the God
of peace will be with you.’ Also 4:7
Objects of His encouragement:1
Thes 2:16 ‘by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good
hope.’ Also Rom 15:4-5
Objects if His intercession: Heb
7:25 ‘Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God
through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.’ Also
Rom 8:34, Heb 9:24
A
Heavenly Home Assured
Last, but most important of all, He has given us a heavenly
citizenship – where we will be fellow heirs with the King of Kings!
We live as strangers and exiles on this earth, far from our true
home to come. We are ambassadors of God in a country not our own.
But our heavenly home is assured and our inheritance is waiting,
kept safe by God himself!
Heavenly Citizens: Phil 3:20 ‘For
our citizenship is in heaven.’ Also Eph 2:19, Heb 12:22
God’s Household: Eph 2:19 ‘…but
fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.’
Also 3:15, Gal 6:10
Heavenly Inheritance: 1
Pet 1:4-5 ‘…and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or
fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by
God’s power.’ Also Eph 1:14, Col 3:24, Heb 9:15
One
last thought… from the simplicity of a flower to complexity of
space, the more mankind explores the work of God. the more we stand
in awe of its perfection. We can now examine the properties of God’s
creation right down into the cellular level, and this only confirms
the thought that God has intelligently created everything and His
work is perfect and complete. With such a creative and all-powerful
God, do you think He would complete anything less than perfection in
His most important work – our salvation? The riches of His grace
detailed above are just part of the fact that confirm that He has
indeed completed His most perfect work in those that believe! The
new creation is the most wondrous of all His creations!
Ok,
so there is still one more thought…but it is something awesome to
consider. Commenting on the entire list of the work done for the
believer, Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote the following:
‘These marvels of grace constitute that ‘good work’ which He has but
begun in those who trust Him. To this much more is yet to be
added according to Phil 1.6 “He that began a good work in you
will carry it on until the day of Christ Jesus.” The ‘riches of
grace’ are the beginning; the final presentation in glory in the
likeness of Christ will be the completion. Such a final
perfection and such an eternal being is the greatest divine
undertaking for the one who has been lost in sin. Nothing less
than this would satisfy His boundless love.’
The
“riches of God’s grace”, that is, His love set free, is incredible!
I hope you have seen something more of His amazing work for everyone
who has been born again. But like Chafer says, it’s only the
beginning! One day, when He comes again, the process shall be
complete and we shall be changed into His very likeness. And then,
for the ages that are to come, His bride shall be a visible witness
to the incredible kindness and grace of God. (Eph 2:7) Let me end
with a quote which seems appropriate and will one day be reality…
"Grace is but Glory begun, and Glory is but
Grace perfected" Jonathon
Edwards
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