Who Are You? (Part 2)

Who are you? How you “describe” yourself tells a lot about what’s genuinely important, in your own mind! I hope the word at the “top” of your list is Christian!

In Ephesians 2:19 Paul describes Christians as “…no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God….” Last week we focused here on word saints. If we pursue this idea a little farther we learn that being a “saint” means LIVING in submission to God’s instructions, without objections or complaints (Philippians 2:14); and part of living this way includes learning to look forward – learning to be excited about! – the riches of the inheritance He has prepared for us, Ephesians 1:18 (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5). We get to live as the citizens of a HEAVENLY kingdom (Philippians 3:20) instead of living as if our only concerns are the things we have here, Ephesians 2:19 (we’re “members of the household of God,” cf. Luke 12:15 & Matthew 16:26).

Being saints means we TRY – make a conscious effort – to grow and improve spiritually so we can build up our Lord’s kingdom, as Ephesians 4:11-16 describes (“And [Christ] gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,…”). The other side of living this way is that saints REFUSE to copy and live in the sins and filth of our society, Ephesians 5:1-5 (“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”)

Being saints means we REJOICE in understanding and fulfilling the “mystery” of God that is no longer hidden from humanity, Colossians 1:25-27 (how He has made salvation possible for every person), and it means we recognize that God has provided EVERYTHING we need for salvation, 2 Peter 1:3 (“…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us…”). It even means realizing that our PRAYERS are like sweet incense in our Father’s presence (Revelation 5:8), so that we learn to be eager to talk to Him every day (1 Thessalonians 5:17)!

Who are you, as a Christian? The new testament shows that Christians are “the saints,” the holy, consecrated, dedicated people of God! Is this how you “see” yourself? Let’s learn to be CONFIDENT about “who” we are, in Christ!