Ephesians 1:3 tells us that all spiritual blessings are found in Christ. If we choose to simply skim over that verse and go right along, I fear we are missing something so valuable. So today, we’re going to use that text to give us a list. Short and sweet, quick and easy, this list will help you understand why being a Christian is the best, and why being outside of Christ is the scariest.
Being in Christ means:
- I have redemption and forgiveness of all of my sins (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:13)
- I have been brought near to God (Ephesians 1:13)
- I have been given grace (2 Timothy 2:1)
- I have become a brand new person (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- I have no condemnation at all (Romans 8:1)
Sadly, though, those things are only available in Christ. Praise be to God, though, that we can be baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27)!!
On the flip side, though, let’s examine what it means to be outside of Christ:
- You are a stranger (Ephesians 1:12)
- You have no hope (Ephesians 1:12)
- You are far away from God (Ephesians 1:13)
Not to mention, if we look back at the ‘in Christ’ list, we can infer that we don’t have forgiveness, redemption or grace, and instead we have condemnation. That is why being outside of Christ is so scary!
Jesus made it simple. In your place, He chose to go to the cross. He chose to die for your sins, even though He was perfect and had never committed any sin of His own(Is. 53). We are so blessed to have been the gift of salvation! However, to be a partaker of all of the spiritual blessings (including eternal life), you must abide by the conditions Jesus gave: which is to be baptized into His death, raised as a new person who has put off the old man and all of the sins he was involved in.
If you are outside of Christ, please consider the first list. Don’t you want those things? You can have them if you will turn away from your sins and be baptized! And, if you are in Christ, praise God! He is SO good, and has given us SO much!! Today, I’m thankful to be a child of God! Aren’t you?
