Title: So Think
Contents
Think therefore (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Dear all! Verse 11 begins with the words, “Think therefore.” In the Bible, there are many words to “think” or “think deeply.” “Think therefore” means to think therefore because you have received unspeakable spiritual blessings because you have been saved and received grace. This morning, I would like to share grace with you under the title of "Think Therefore".
What should believers who have been saved think about?
I. then
At that time, you should think about the time before you believed in Jesus. What time was it? “You were then Gentiles in the flesh” (verse 11). “Gentiles” One of the most wretched words in the Bible is that you are Gentiles. The chosen Jews had great contempt for the Gentiles. "God created Gentiles to use them as propitiation to hell. It is good to kill snakes, and it is good to kill Gentiles. It is against the law to help a Gentile mother when she is in labor. Why? Another Gentile Because it is what brings us into this world,” thought the Jews. I thought that God only loved Israel, the chosen people. Everyone! Since we are all physically Gentiles, if we were born in the Old Testament times, we should have suffered such contempt. "The uncircumcised crowd" and "the uncircumcised" are the most despised terms by the Israelites. It is a word that treats animals. "Out of Christ" The poorest person in the world is the one outside Christ. Because there is no salvation outside of Christ.
Who will be the happiest when they are judged by the flood in the days of Noah? The person who was in the ark. Those outside the ark cannot be happy even if they earn a lot of money, study a lot, gain fame and power. There is no true happiness outside of Christ. It is saying that God's people are not "outside the country of Israel". Those who are "alien to the covenants of promise" have nothing to do with God's blessings. Our God is a God of blessing. Many blessings are promised in the Bible. There are said to be as many as 32,500. What is the greatest curse of being “hopeless in this world”? There is no hope.
In Dante's Divine Comedy, it is said that the phrase "Give up all hope" is engraved in large letters at the entrance to Hell. That's right. Hell is a hopeless place. There is no real hope in this world either. “Those who do not have God” Those who have become God, money becomes God, and honor and power become God are truly pitiful people. In Ephesians 2:1 and below, “you who were dead in trespasses and sins” are said to be spiritually dead, while the body is alive, but the soul is dead. In verse 2, “I followed the prince of the power of the air” refers to the devil, Satan’s slaves, those who ridicule and lead as the devil leads them, and those who do what the devil tells them to do. In Ephesians 2:3, “children of wrath by nature” will receive God’s wrath in this world, and finally receive God’s wrath on the day this world ends. Everyone! How miserable are you? This is the state of the people of this world who do not believe, and this was our state before believing.
II. now
After believing in Jesus, we need to think about the blessings we have received today. ① You saved me. He raised us who were spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:4-5). The Holy Spirit saves the soul through the word of God. “He who believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24) ② He sat down with Christ in heaven. “He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, we become one with Jesus Christ and we are in Jesus Christ. Where is Jesus now? He is in heaven at the right hand of the throne of God. So where are we in Jesus Christ? We too are at the right hand of God with Christ. Now our bodies are on earth, but our spirits are in heaven at the right hand of God in Christ. Hallelujah!
③ I am a citizen of heaven. “Therefore, from now on you are no longer strangers, and you are no longer strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints” (verse 19). How hard is the life of a foreigner or a stranger? Now I am a proud citizen and a citizen of heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven. Roman citizenship at the time was great. Travel was free, and no one was treated badly. We are not even Roman citizenship. I have the citizenship of heaven, the citizenship of heaven. You will receive special protection from God on this earth, and on the day you complete all your journeys in this world, you will go to your hometown, Heaven.
④ It is the household of God. Family means family, family members. It means that you have become a member of God's family and that you have become a member of God's family. The God of love has become our Father and has become a part of God's family who dwells with God. How great is this blessing? Now we are part of God's household. ⑤ It is a temple. He said, “We are becoming a temple in the Lord” (verse 21), and now we become citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and not only have we become God’s household, but we are also becoming a temple. What is a temple? It is the dwelling place of God. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:15). Dear all! How short are we? How many faults and errors are there, and how wretched are our hearts? But the holy God says that He will dwell among us by making us a temple. You said you would do it, Emmanuel. Now that God is with me, what more could I ask for?
What fears, what worries? Heaven is the place where God is with us. Heaven, the place we will go to in the future, is where God Himself dwells. The world we live in today is an unstable place where we cannot predict difficult times, difficult times, and tomorrow, but we are safe with our God. No worries, no worries. It will be a heaven full of joy. Dear all! Now we are the temple where God Himself dwells. We bless you that you are confident that God is with us today.
Ⅲ. that grace
How did we come to enjoy this blessing? Gentiles, uncircumcised, those who were outside of Israel outside Christ, strangers to the promises of God, those who had no hope, those who had no God, who died spiritually, followed the devil, and were children of wrath by nature. How do we come to spiritually live to receive new life, to sit with Christ in heaven, to become citizens of heaven, to become God's household, to become a temple, and to dwell with God? This is purely by grace. It is only through the grace of Christ. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross in His own flesh to take on all our sins and transgressions.
Jesus Christ redeemed us with His blood. So, God's blessing was received. It was in that miserable place that I received that wonderful blessing. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8) Beloved! The salvation we have received and the blessings we have received are not obtained through our own efforts or hard work. It was given as a gift from God by the grace of God.
Dear all! Today is Machu Thanksgiving Day. What should you be thankful for? We should think deeply and give thanks for the grace that made us believe in Jesus and the grace that allowed us to receive spiritual blessings in Jesus Christ. I pray that you will think and give thanks for giving us new life, having us sit together with Christ in heaven, making us citizens of heaven, and becoming God's family and God's temple.