The Christian's Position In Christ

Before beginning to study this lesson, you should read through the first three chapters in Ephesians. As you read these chapters, take note as to how many times the words "hath", " have", and "having" appear. These usages tell you what God has done for you through Christ. In the title, we use the phrase 'In Christ' to represent the believer's renewed mind which is your key to power.

Romans 12: 1, 2 -- I Beseech [beggingly implore] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [rational/logical] service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is

that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

You in Christ must be distinguished from Christ in you. The latter is in reference to being born again of God's Spirit.

Romans 10: 9, 10 -- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The Christian can only recognize his position if he or she is renewing their mind to God's Word. Despite what some people erroneously teach, the mind DOES NOT change after a person is born again of God's Spirit. By studying this teaching, you are renewing your mind and are putting on the mind of Christ.

So often, a Christian will live far below par because he simply does not believe what God has given him as a result of being born again -- which is made available by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Ephesians is the apex of doctrinal revelation given to the Church of the Body of Christ. Let's take a look at the first verse of chapter one which tells us to whom Ephesians is written.

Ephesians 1: 1 -- Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians is one of the Church epistles that is written directly to you -- the faithful in Christ Jesus. Now let's take a look at some of the things that God has done for us through Christ.

Ephesians 1: 3 -- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

God is telling you that he has blessed you. At times you may not feel blessed, but the Word of God says you are blessed. So often, our senses will register the opposite of what the Word of God says. We have to learn to align our confessions with what the Word says. We need to confess what the Word of God says we have, not what the world says we have. The world is full of negatives while the Word of God is full of blessings and positives. WHAT WE CONFESS IS WHAT WE POSSESS. Of course, to confess the Word, we must know the Word of God.

Ephesians 1: 4 -- According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame. [In the text, the verse stops here and "In love" begins verse 5].

God has made us holy and without blame. God also knew before the world was even formed that we would believe His Word. God has foreknowledge.

Romans 8: 1 -- There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. [The verse stops here. The scribe’s eyes went to the end of verse 4.]

When we sin, we are to tell God that we are sorry from our heart and get back in fellowship and harmony with Him as soon as possible. God never wants us to blame or to condemn ourselves after we are born again. We must, by our own free will, submit ourselves to God, and resist the devil and then he will flee from us as is clearly stated in the Scriptures.

James 4: 7 -- Submit [addict] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

So remember from Ephesians 1: 4, we are to be holy and without blame. We may not feel that way but we are to confess that we are. Remember that the five senses -- the flesh, is very deceptive.

Romans 8: 6 -- For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Ephesians 1: 5 -- In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption [sonship] of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

The word 'adoption' is the Greek word which means "Sonship". In the Old Testament, the believers were adopted by God as sons. It was not available to be born again until the New Testament. Think of how much God did for the Old Testament believers who remained faithful to God. They were sons by adoption. We are sons of God, not by adoption, BUT BY BIRTH. We need to realize this magnificent truth, believe it, and act upon it. In order to stand approved before God, we must rightly divide His magnificent Word. You are now able to draw a clear distinction between the Old Testament believers who were sons of God by adoption in contrast to the New Testament believers who are sons of God by birth -- that is by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord in their lives and believing that God hath raised him from the dead.

I John 3: 1 -- Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

We are to be witnesses of God's Word, not defense attorneys. Truth needs no defense -- you can only witness to it. If anyone wants to argue with you about what God's Word says, tell them to argue with God. Tell them that you did not write the book. If your personal adversary can get you to argue with the goats, you will have fallen into a common trap. Remember, God says that His people will hear His voice.

Ephesians 1: 7 -- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness [Greek - remission] of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

We do not have redemption because we earned it; it is according to the riches of His grace. When you were born again of God's Spirit, you received the gift of holy spirit within. Emanating from that gift are 9 MANIFESTATIONS that the believer operates by his believing. We must never confuse the manifestations by calling them gifts. The word 'gifts' in Corinthians is in italics which tells us that it was added by the translators and is not a part of the original Word of God. Even though this truth is readily available, many Christians still refer to the gifts of Holy Spirit. This is erroneous doctrine and will result in a powerless walk for the Christian who believes and practices error. The purpose of this website is to counteract most of this erroneous doctrine and provide you with the simple truths from the rightly divided Word of God.

Redemption is one of our five Sonship Rights that we receive by believing in the work that Christ did for us. We were redeemed from the curse of the Law.

Galatians 3: 13a -- Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being [having been] made a curse for us: . . . .

We are told in Romans that we are no longer under the Law. We have been bought back from the clutches of the world by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's what it means to be redeemed -- to be bought back. The world has no legal rights over a born again Christian. Many Christians do not know this simple truth and therefore do not claim it in the face of the god of this world. God wants us to claim our Sonship Rights. How can a Christian claim what he doesn't even know he has? That is why it is so important to study God's Word and to renew your mind. Remember, without a renewed mind, we simply have no power at all in our spiritual walk. We will be defeated on every hand by the principalities and powers that exist in this present world. God needs faithful believers who will stand on His Word no matter what the world throws at us. God needs children who have the boldness to stand up and say: "Thus saith the Lord".

Ephesians 1: 18, 19 -- [That] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance [is] in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

That's quite a bit of power, isn't it? That's the power that's available to those who believe His Word, confess to it, and act upon it. Notice the direction of His power. It is to usward who do one thing -- BELIEVE. God's power is not available to unbelievers since it says that it is given only to those who believe. It's quite the blessing to realize that the exceeding greatness of God's power is directed towards people who believe and apply His principles in their lives. Do you see how tremendous this Word of God is? We simply must dare to believe it. We are walking around with a million dollars in the lining of our clothes. Up until this point, you cannot utilize that gift because you never knew it was there. Now, it's been pointed out to you that we have such great treasures in God's Word that are simply there for the asking. And how do we receive it all? We simply believe. That's it. It's so simple we can miss it if we are not spiritually sharp. God doesn't want us to miss out on the exceeding greatness of His power and the exceeding greatness of His precious promises that are so clearly set forth in God's Will, which is His Word. Let us study more about the Christian's Position from Ephesians Chapter 2.

Ephesians 2: 6 -- And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Many people will say to you that you should "keep looking up". In actuality, the born again Christian who knows his position in Christ Jesus can say "keep looking down". This is because we are seated in heavenly places and we cannot look any higher. What a difference it makes when you could look down on things and see them from God's point of view! A mountain looks very huge when viewed from the ground up. However, if you have ever flown over a mountain in an airplane, that mountain looks like a small bump. Since the Word of God says that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, we can always look down on any adverse situation that may arise, knowing that you have His unlimited power at your disposal, which is adequate for any situation.

Romans 8: 37 -- Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that [who] loved us.

Isn't that absolutely tremendous? Do you believe it? If you do, then you will manifest the great power of God Almighty in your life. These are a few of the great doctrinal truths stated in the Book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 2: 8, 9 -- For by grace are ye saved through faith [of Jesus Christ]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of [from] God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

These two verses emphasize a very important fact. We are saved as a result of the faith of Jesus Christ when we are born again. This is a gift from God and is not a result of works. That is why we cannot boast about it. Who saved you? God did. You cannot earn a gift and salvation is a gift. You receive it by believing. If it were possible to work for it, then you can boast about it. It would be a product of your own workmanship. However, in the next verse, God's Word clearly states otherwise.

Ephesians 2: 10 -- For we are his workmanship [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Man cannot boast about salvation because we are His workmanship. To make the greatest understatement that a person can ever make, I can say that man is an amateur compared to the Master and an amateur cannot possibly compare with the masterpiece of God's workmanship. We are God's workmanship and it is not available to work for salvation. It's as simple as that. Some people in this day and age still believe that we can work for salvation when the Word of God clearly states that salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast. Just remember the next time someone gives you a gift. Did you work for that gift? You received that gift because you were favored by the giver of that gift. In Ephesians 2: 8 above, the Word states: "For by grace are ye saved..........." The word ‘grace’ means DIVINE FAVOR.

Ephesians 2: 19 -- Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Because we are His workmanship, we are no longer strangers and foreigners. We are fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of God. A citizen of a country has many more rights and privileges as compared to a foreigner. We are citizens of heaven which means we have many rights and privileges, only a few which are mentioned in this teaching on ‘The Christian's Position In Christ’. We will now take a look at just a few more.

Hebrews 13: 5b -- . . . . . for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

We may, at times, lose faith in God due to a lack of our renewed mind, but God will never ever abandon us or leave us or forsake us. What a comfort it is to know this. It brings us peace, comfort, and confidence in the midst of this perverse world.

Philippians 4: 19 -- But [So] my God shall supply all your need [material things] according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Our Heavenly Father promises to supply your every need. We have a Father who is so wealthy that His chief delight is to give.

In concluding this study, we must take note of a most inspiring verse of Scripture in Ephesians Chapter 3.

Ephesians 3: 20 -- Now unto him [God] that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

This verse of Scripture will light your heart on fire by illustrating God's great love for His children. God can and does do above what we can ask or even think!! He doesn't do what is abundant for us -- He will do what is exceedingly abundant for us -- His children. This is all dependent on "the power that worketh in us". That power is the GIFT of God, Christ in you, the Holy Spirit that we receive when we are born again. We regulate this power by our BELIEVING. God has made available all that we need, and His supply is unlimited!

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