I often do an exercise with my church. This is an exercise that a professor gave to a class that I attended many years ago. He had us to go through the first chapter of Ephesians and pick out all of the character traits that believers can claim, characteristics that we may claim as our identity in Christ. This exercise has so encouraged me and my church. In fact, when I find myself down and depressed I will still (literally) take out a piece of paper and re-read the chapter and write down all of the things that I am positionally in Christ.

“It’s not what we do that determines what we are, but who we are that determines what we do.” If I am how Paul describes believers in Ephesians 1 (and the rest of the Bible) then I truly am one of the richest men in the world. God is my Father, and literally all the power that heaven can do is now placed within me. As a matter of fact, Paul states that the same power that raised Christ from the dead, lives within me (Romans 8:11). Though I was once dead in my trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), I had nothing to offer God, and my destination was death and hell. He has come to my rescue, through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, I am now alive in Him.

When I was dead in sin, I was a slave to sin (Romans 6:20). I was unable to please God. My love was mixed with selfishness, and hopelessness and despair was my future. However, being alive in Christ brings a new direction in my life not only spiritually, but physically as well. It would be enough if God only helped me spiritually, but God also conquerors my appetite for sin physically as well. His living Spirit within me breaks chains in my life that were previously indestructible.

Thankfully, according to John 10, Jesus says that now I am in His hand, and His hand is in the hand of the Father and now no one will ever be able to pull from me the life that I now enjoy in Christ. I am now His forever. May my life now reflect in works on the outside what God’s life means to me on the inside.