1 00:00:04,364 --> 00:00:08,974 Well, a couple weeks ago, I, I started off by talking about sophomores, wise fools. 2 00:00:09,584 --> 00:00:12,644 But if you will, I want you to go back to, those of you who have been, 3 00:00:13,074 --> 00:00:15,504 uh, your senior year of high school. 4 00:00:15,513 --> 00:00:20,224 There's no higher m- point in, in life a- a- as a high school 5 00:00:20,234 --> 00:00:21,663 student than your senior year. 6 00:00:21,663 --> 00:00:25,383 You are, you are at the, the top of the heap, and you just think from 7 00:00:25,383 --> 00:00:29,543 then on, life is g- just gonna look like you being at the, at the top. 8 00:00:29,603 --> 00:00:31,933 Everybody else is, is beneath everybody else. 9 00:00:32,143 --> 00:00:34,133 Nobody else has the same status that you do. 10 00:00:34,293 --> 00:00:36,133 You walk with a little bit more pep in your step. 11 00:00:36,324 --> 00:00:38,393 You have a little bit more, more zip. 12 00:00:38,393 --> 00:00:41,363 You have a little bit more swagger, a- a- and rightly so. 13 00:00:41,363 --> 00:00:42,364 You, you're a senior. 14 00:00:42,364 --> 00:00:43,623 You've reached that point. 15 00:00:43,624 --> 00:00:46,894 You've achieved that status, and so you've put in your time. 16 00:00:46,894 --> 00:00:49,163 You've put in your freshman year, your sophomore year, your junior 17 00:00:49,163 --> 00:00:50,443 year, and now you're a senior. 18 00:00:50,444 --> 00:00:53,194 I remember a- at my school, being a senior meant we got to 19 00:00:53,194 --> 00:00:54,714 park in a paved parking lot. 20 00:00:54,714 --> 00:00:55,763 I did grow up here in Texas. 21 00:00:55,773 --> 00:01:00,853 So, uh, we, uh, we went from a dirt lot to a paved lot, which, uh, was a big deal. 22 00:01:01,253 --> 00:01:02,983 And then we got some, some other perks. 23 00:01:03,003 --> 00:01:06,033 Off-campus lunch was a perk that we got as seniors, so as seniors we could 24 00:01:06,033 --> 00:01:07,563 leave and go off campus for lunch. 25 00:01:07,564 --> 00:01:10,333 We got, uh, to, to leave during free periods, study halls. 26 00:01:10,334 --> 00:01:11,833 We didn't have to be on campus for that. 27 00:01:12,073 --> 00:01:14,554 A- and I went to a private school, so we had uniforms. 28 00:01:14,554 --> 00:01:18,013 Well, seniors got extra non-uniform days, so we were kind of a big deal. 29 00:01:18,014 --> 00:01:20,623 I don't wanna brag, but it was a big deal at the time. 30 00:01:21,533 --> 00:01:22,763 But that status, right? 31 00:01:23,084 --> 00:01:26,363 All of those perks and the way that I was living, the way that 32 00:01:26,363 --> 00:01:30,234 I was conducting myself, had to do with my status as a senior. 33 00:01:30,883 --> 00:01:32,774 Uh, juniors can't do the same thing. 34 00:01:32,804 --> 00:01:34,393 Freshmen can't do the same thing. 35 00:01:34,393 --> 00:01:35,883 Sophomores can't do the same thing. 36 00:01:36,374 --> 00:01:40,914 That was reserved for people that had been seniors, that had become 37 00:01:40,953 --> 00:01:46,722 seniors, that had achieved that status Your identity when you were a senior 38 00:01:46,732 --> 00:01:48,612 changed something about your life. 39 00:01:49,042 --> 00:01:50,072 It was a big deal. 40 00:01:50,482 --> 00:01:51,312 It was a big deal. 41 00:01:51,942 --> 00:01:54,482 And this morning, what I want you to do is I want you to think about a, a, 42 00:01:54,482 --> 00:01:59,191 an even more significant identity that you and I have that should also have 43 00:01:59,192 --> 00:02:05,271 an impact on our lives, and that is our identity as those who are now in Christ. 44 00:02:06,401 --> 00:02:07,612 In Christ. 45 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,062 The title of the sermon is What's the Big Deal About Being in Christ? 46 00:02:11,542 --> 00:02:13,522 And that's really the question that we wanna ask this morning. 47 00:02:14,311 --> 00:02:15,151 What is the big deal? 48 00:02:15,151 --> 00:02:16,561 What difference should it make? 49 00:02:17,572 --> 00:02:20,091 The most important thing about a senior is that he is a senior. 50 00:02:20,962 --> 00:02:22,431 He's gonna brag about that. 51 00:02:22,431 --> 00:02:23,621 He's gonna wear that proudly. 52 00:02:23,622 --> 00:02:26,641 He's gonna allow that to change the way that he's gonna live. 53 00:02:26,642 --> 00:02:29,481 He's not gonna do the same things that he did before because he's got 54 00:02:29,482 --> 00:02:32,182 a new status, and with that, the new privileges and the new blessings and 55 00:02:32,182 --> 00:02:33,441 the new perks that come along with that. 56 00:02:33,442 --> 00:02:36,631 Well, likewise, as Christians, the most important thing about a Christian 57 00:02:36,631 --> 00:02:41,021 is who we are in Christ, that we have a new status as those that have been 58 00:02:41,021 --> 00:02:43,862 brought from death to life, that we've been placed into Christ, and with 59 00:02:43,881 --> 00:02:48,201 that now comes perks and blessings and benefits that should indeed 60 00:02:48,512 --> 00:02:50,171 change the way that we live our lives. 61 00:02:50,892 --> 00:02:53,591 Your identity in Christ should make an impact on who you are. 62 00:02:54,191 --> 00:02:58,122 It should change who you conduct yourself as, who you put yourself 63 00:02:58,191 --> 00:03:02,251 out there as versus who you were before you came to Christ. 64 00:03:03,421 --> 00:03:05,751 That's true for Christians, but I would even go so far as to say the 65 00:03:05,752 --> 00:03:10,511 most important thing just in general about anyone is this question right 66 00:03:10,511 --> 00:03:12,962 here, whether or not you are in Christ 67 00:03:15,591 --> 00:03:19,102 Believer, unbeliever, this is the status that is going to 68 00:03:19,112 --> 00:03:20,612 ultimately decide eternity. 69 00:03:22,091 --> 00:03:23,402 Are you in Christ? 70 00:03:24,621 --> 00:03:26,382 It's the question I want us to ponder this morning. 71 00:03:26,772 --> 00:03:29,872 It's the question that I think our, our text is gonna address by helping 72 00:03:29,872 --> 00:03:32,451 us to understand, well, what's the big deal about being in Christ? 73 00:03:32,821 --> 00:03:34,281 Why should I wanna be in Christ? 74 00:03:34,792 --> 00:03:37,481 Seems like maybe some of you might be out there thinking, to be in Christ, 75 00:03:37,501 --> 00:03:39,622 uh, that seems to cost quite a bit. 76 00:03:39,922 --> 00:03:41,452 I have to change things about my life. 77 00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:45,101 People aren't gonna like me because the, the, the beliefs, the tenets, 78 00:03:45,101 --> 00:03:47,901 the doctrines that Christians hold to, the world doesn't really 79 00:03:47,902 --> 00:03:49,192 love a lot of those these days. 80 00:03:49,202 --> 00:03:51,231 So I don't know, I, I'm gonna have to give up friends, I'm 81 00:03:51,231 --> 00:03:52,271 gonna lose people in my life. 82 00:03:52,472 --> 00:03:53,111 What's the big… 83 00:03:53,121 --> 00:03:54,872 Why should I want to be in Christ? 84 00:03:55,722 --> 00:03:58,362 Or maybe you're out there and, and you've been in Christ for decades, 85 00:03:58,362 --> 00:04:02,221 and, and you, you, like me this week, you need that refresher. 86 00:04:02,542 --> 00:04:06,991 You need that reminder of why this matters so much, why it's such a 87 00:04:06,991 --> 00:04:10,241 significant thing to, to be in Christ. 88 00:04:11,221 --> 00:04:13,212 What's the big deal about being in Christ? 89 00:04:13,941 --> 00:04:17,591 It is the most important thing about you, whether you are or you aren't. 90 00:04:18,452 --> 00:04:20,841 That is what's going to define eternity. 91 00:04:21,821 --> 00:04:24,282 Our text is 1 Corinthians 1:30-31. 92 00:04:24,291 --> 00:04:25,322 We read it together earlier. 93 00:04:25,322 --> 00:04:29,041 It's our memory verses, and it says this, "And because of him you are 94 00:04:29,051 --> 00:04:32,701 in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and 95 00:04:32,702 --> 00:04:35,991 sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the 96 00:04:35,992 --> 00:04:38,901 one who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 97 00:04:39,181 --> 00:04:41,241 Uh, Paul begins here in verse 30. 98 00:04:41,251 --> 00:04:45,071 He says this, "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus." 99 00:04:45,581 --> 00:04:46,202 Because of him. 100 00:04:46,202 --> 00:04:47,881 The, the him there is God. 101 00:04:47,882 --> 00:04:49,231 We're gonna see that momentarily here. 102 00:04:49,242 --> 00:04:52,711 But this is Paul introducing the, the status change for the Corinthians. 103 00:04:52,731 --> 00:04:55,861 Remember, he's writing to a group here who were looking at a status 104 00:04:55,861 --> 00:04:58,051 of saying, "Well, I'm in Paul. 105 00:04:58,151 --> 00:04:59,411 I'm in Cephas. 106 00:04:59,651 --> 00:05:01,061 I'm in Apollos." 107 00:05:02,312 --> 00:05:05,131 And Paul's saying, "That's, that's not what matters. 108 00:05:06,681 --> 00:05:07,861 Don't brag about that. 109 00:05:08,151 --> 00:05:09,732 That's not what to, you should boast in. 110 00:05:10,572 --> 00:05:14,892 Th- your status that matters is whether or not you are in Christ." 111 00:05:15,281 --> 00:05:19,661 And again, in Christ, th- those two words are repeated even just in the 112 00:05:19,661 --> 00:05:24,342 New Testament so many times that I fear they may have lost their 113 00:05:24,342 --> 00:05:26,731 significance for us, their impact for us. 114 00:05:27,531 --> 00:05:29,731 Man, what does it mean that I am in Christ? 115 00:05:30,051 --> 00:05:30,591 What does it mean? 116 00:05:30,591 --> 00:05:31,841 Uh, uh, is, is that… 117 00:05:31,882 --> 00:05:35,041 Do I still feel like that is the, the good news that it once was for me? 118 00:05:35,292 --> 00:05:39,221 Or has this just become more of a theological tenet than it has one of the 119 00:05:39,221 --> 00:05:41,652 core pieces of my identity, of who I am? 120 00:05:42,682 --> 00:05:44,282 What does it mean to be in Christ? 121 00:05:44,292 --> 00:05:46,571 That's why I'm so thankful for a passage like this and a verse like 122 00:05:46,572 --> 00:05:49,982 this where Paul begins by calling our attention to this glorious reality 123 00:05:49,982 --> 00:05:54,111 that because of God, you are in Christ 124 00:05:56,226 --> 00:05:58,506 What I want us to start with this morning, and the first thing I want 125 00:05:58,506 --> 00:06:02,296 us to do as we begin to consider this passage, is to recapture some 126 00:06:02,296 --> 00:06:03,746 of the wonder of that reality. 127 00:06:04,866 --> 00:06:08,266 Point number one this morning along those lines is this, humbly, humbly wonder, 128 00:06:08,845 --> 00:06:11,436 humbly wonder at your position in Christ 129 00:06:13,492 --> 00:06:13,962 Wonder at it. 130 00:06:14,002 --> 00:06:16,422 We, we don't wonder at many things anymore. 131 00:06:17,352 --> 00:06:23,332 I remember last year going to the, the ice, uh, event over at the, 132 00:06:23,342 --> 00:06:25,332 the, uh, the big hotel over there. 133 00:06:25,342 --> 00:06:25,882 The Gaylord. 134 00:06:25,972 --> 00:06:27,451 Thank you, whoever that was. 135 00:06:27,481 --> 00:06:29,432 In your mind, you were thinking, "It's the Gaylord, Pastor PJ," 136 00:06:29,442 --> 00:06:30,401 and you and I were tracking. 137 00:06:30,461 --> 00:06:31,222 And so I got there. 138 00:06:31,981 --> 00:06:32,371 But I remember… 139 00:06:32,371 --> 00:06:34,051 And it, it was j- it was Elf-themed. 140 00:06:34,051 --> 00:06:36,512 And, and this year I think they're doing Harry Potter or something like that. 141 00:06:36,512 --> 00:06:36,812 I don't know. 142 00:06:37,442 --> 00:06:41,082 But it was Elf-themed, and I, I remember walking in there and, and I was in, 143 00:06:41,332 --> 00:06:44,361 I was in awe of these ice sculptures. 144 00:06:44,371 --> 00:06:48,412 It was phenomenal, and, and it caused me to wonder at everything 145 00:06:48,412 --> 00:06:49,761 that went into creating that. 146 00:06:50,392 --> 00:06:53,222 And then it, th- my favorite part was actually after the elf, they 147 00:06:53,222 --> 00:06:56,891 had this just clear, just plain ice. 148 00:06:56,891 --> 00:06:58,801 It wasn't painted or anything else, and it was the Nativity 149 00:06:58,801 --> 00:07:00,042 scene, and it was just beautiful. 150 00:07:00,451 --> 00:07:01,272 And I just sat there and I was… 151 00:07:01,492 --> 00:07:03,522 That was me wondering at that. 152 00:07:04,262 --> 00:07:07,571 Maybe for you, it, it, it's been going camping and looking up at the stars in 153 00:07:07,571 --> 00:07:11,481 the sky, and you're just wondering at the, the magnitude of God's creation. 154 00:07:11,492 --> 00:07:14,172 Or you go to the beach and you see the, the ocean and you hear the 155 00:07:14,172 --> 00:07:19,371 waves crashing, and y- y- you just are in wonder at the power of God. 156 00:07:20,531 --> 00:07:25,422 That's what this word is, and that's what I want us to capture again or refresh 157 00:07:26,092 --> 00:07:28,231 when it comes to our standing in Christ. 158 00:07:29,211 --> 00:07:31,541 There are standings that people think matter. 159 00:07:31,571 --> 00:07:35,351 I remember they just released the iPhone 18 and the iPhone Duo this week, and 160 00:07:36,012 --> 00:07:37,361 people are all excited about that. 161 00:07:37,361 --> 00:07:41,062 But, but I remember, uh, reading a story about the first iPhone to be released, I 162 00:07:41,071 --> 00:07:46,241 think it was back in 2005, if I remember correctly, and it was a massive thing. 163 00:07:46,241 --> 00:07:50,031 And so people were lining up in front of the stores for, for blocks, and 164 00:07:50,041 --> 00:07:54,481 there was a story about a lady who got there after people had already lined up. 165 00:07:54,491 --> 00:07:57,792 Well, her plan was she wanted to go in, and she wanted to be first in line, 166 00:07:57,792 --> 00:08:01,261 'cause she wanted to go buy out all of the iPhones and then sell them for a profit. 167 00:08:01,661 --> 00:08:04,422 And so she went up to this young man, it was this college student who 168 00:08:04,422 --> 00:08:08,491 was the first one in line to buy the first iPhone out of the gates, and she 169 00:08:08,491 --> 00:08:12,511 paid him, I don't know, 900 bucks or something like that for his spot in line. 170 00:08:13,031 --> 00:08:14,101 And the kid's like, "Sure." 171 00:08:14,391 --> 00:08:18,301 So he takes 900 bucks and, and he moves back, I don't know, 50 people maybe at 172 00:08:18,302 --> 00:08:20,591 that point, and she's first in line. 173 00:08:20,611 --> 00:08:22,611 And she's just beaming ear to ear. 174 00:08:22,611 --> 00:08:23,641 She's like, "I got it. 175 00:08:23,651 --> 00:08:25,412 This is the most important position in line. 176 00:08:25,651 --> 00:08:26,482 I'm number one. 177 00:08:26,691 --> 00:08:27,872 This is my place." 178 00:08:27,881 --> 00:08:30,251 So she's out 900 already to this kid. 179 00:08:30,711 --> 00:08:33,711 She gets in the store, she goes up to the counter, and she's like, 180 00:08:33,871 --> 00:08:36,171 "I, I'm here to buy 10 iPhones." 181 00:08:36,361 --> 00:08:39,510 And the lady behind the counter goes, "It's limit one per customer, ma'am." 182 00:08:40,922 --> 00:08:44,391 And so she got her iPhone, and so did that young man, but his was 183 00:08:44,391 --> 00:08:46,121 free because she bought it for him. 184 00:08:47,721 --> 00:08:51,371 She had a status that she thought was gonna be valuable, only to get 185 00:08:51,372 --> 00:08:54,071 in and realize that it really wasn't as valuable as she thought it was. 186 00:08:55,141 --> 00:08:57,211 Your standing in Christ is not that. 187 00:08:57,372 --> 00:09:00,471 Your standing in Christ, your position in Christ, is the most important 188 00:09:00,471 --> 00:09:05,101 status, the most important identity that you own as a follower of Jesus. 189 00:09:06,266 --> 00:09:09,356 Paul says, "Because of Him," that Him is God. 190 00:09:09,836 --> 00:09:14,165 This goes back to the context that we talked about last week in 27 through 29. 191 00:09:14,685 --> 00:09:16,906 From Him is literally what it is in the Greek. 192 00:09:16,906 --> 00:09:19,136 From God you are in Christ. 193 00:09:19,356 --> 00:09:24,506 Remember last week, he said over and over again, "God chose, God chose, God chose." 194 00:09:24,825 --> 00:09:26,345 He chose the foolish. 195 00:09:26,396 --> 00:09:27,655 He chose the weak. 196 00:09:27,696 --> 00:09:29,925 He chose the things that are low and despised. 197 00:09:30,175 --> 00:09:35,286 Because God chose, in other words, because of an act of God's grace in your life and 198 00:09:35,286 --> 00:09:42,326 in my life, we are now in Christ, that He has placed us into this relationship 199 00:09:42,326 --> 00:09:44,105 with Jesus, and that's what this is. 200 00:09:44,326 --> 00:09:48,295 To be in Christ, it's in, it's a, a grammatical term there called a 201 00:09:48,295 --> 00:09:50,975 dative, and it's about a, a sphere of location, that you have been placed 202 00:09:50,975 --> 00:09:51,035 into the location being in Christ. 203 00:09:51,035 --> 00:09:51,085 Now, that doesn't mean literally. 204 00:09:51,085 --> 00:09:51,145 You are not inside of Jesus. 205 00:09:51,145 --> 00:09:52,385 But you are in Christ in the sense that you've been placed into the 206 00:10:03,805 --> 00:10:07,415 sphere of a relationship with Him and all of the benefits that come with that. 207 00:10:08,245 --> 00:10:09,755 And God has done that for you. 208 00:10:10,015 --> 00:10:13,165 God has taken you from dead and made you alive. 209 00:10:13,175 --> 00:10:15,646 He's taken you from lost and made you found. 210 00:10:15,655 --> 00:10:18,135 He's taken you from far off and brought you near. 211 00:10:18,136 --> 00:10:21,625 He's taken you from an alien and a stranger away from Jesus, 212 00:10:21,626 --> 00:10:26,085 and now He has put you into relationship with Him, in Christ. 213 00:10:27,725 --> 00:10:29,605 This is not a position that can be earned. 214 00:10:30,615 --> 00:10:33,425 It's not a relationship that can be manufactured. 215 00:10:33,925 --> 00:10:37,025 It's not something that we can work hard enough and gain 216 00:10:37,026 --> 00:10:38,845 access to of our own accord. 217 00:10:38,846 --> 00:10:43,046 It's something that God has to do for us, and that's why Paul says, "Because of 218 00:10:43,085 --> 00:10:46,805 Him," because of God, "you are in Christ." 219 00:10:47,515 --> 00:10:48,355 You are in Christ. 220 00:10:49,475 --> 00:10:51,605 But again, okay, I'm wondering at that. 221 00:10:51,605 --> 00:10:54,606 I'm, I'm beginning to get there a little bit, but, but what 222 00:10:54,606 --> 00:10:56,075 are, what's the big deal still? 223 00:10:56,865 --> 00:10:58,915 Again, what's the big deal about being in Christ? 224 00:11:00,385 --> 00:11:02,716 Last week, I mentioned that exclusive club in, in New York 225 00:11:02,716 --> 00:11:04,215 City, the Knickerbocker Club. 226 00:11:05,795 --> 00:11:10,005 Uh, uh, the benefits of that club basically amount to you get to be 227 00:11:10,005 --> 00:11:12,175 a part of that club, your status. 228 00:11:13,045 --> 00:11:16,475 You get to, to pay, to, to have an entry fee, and you get to pay monthly dues. 229 00:11:16,755 --> 00:11:19,345 And yeah, they've got a clubhouse, and you get access to some other 230 00:11:19,346 --> 00:11:22,366 clubs, uh, uh, around the country and even around the world. 231 00:11:22,646 --> 00:11:25,545 And they've got nice things, like they've got expensive chairs for 232 00:11:25,545 --> 00:11:29,445 you to sit on, and you can eat, eat food off of really expensive plates 233 00:11:29,445 --> 00:11:30,795 and with expensive silverware. 234 00:11:31,505 --> 00:11:35,905 But the greatest benefit to those in that club are, are just simply that you belong. 235 00:11:36,415 --> 00:11:37,346 You have a status 236 00:11:39,982 --> 00:11:42,482 Being in Christ is more than just a status. 237 00:11:43,362 --> 00:11:44,031 It's more than that. 238 00:11:44,790 --> 00:11:47,502 There are so many blessings and benefits that come to you because you are in 239 00:11:47,502 --> 00:11:50,971 Christ that should again leave us with this sense of wonder, this sense of awe. 240 00:11:51,262 --> 00:11:55,661 Uh, benefits like 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is," notice 241 00:11:55,692 --> 00:12:00,871 Paul's language here, "in Christ, then, then he is a, a new creation. 242 00:12:00,882 --> 00:12:01,962 She is a new creation. 243 00:12:02,151 --> 00:12:04,572 The old has passed away and the new has come." 244 00:12:05,641 --> 00:12:07,561 He, he's talking about regeneration. 245 00:12:07,562 --> 00:12:11,512 He's talking about going from, again, dead in our sins and alien, hostile, 246 00:12:11,722 --> 00:12:15,012 uh, uh, an opponent of God to being reconciled, to being made alive, to 247 00:12:15,022 --> 00:12:17,961 being forgiven, to being, uh, made new. 248 00:12:19,072 --> 00:12:22,252 That is a benefit that's reserved for those that are in Christ 249 00:12:24,302 --> 00:12:27,852 It, the transformation that takes place in the life of a believer, in other words. 250 00:12:29,272 --> 00:12:33,802 You have people in the world that may not like themselves, and they may, may want 251 00:12:33,802 --> 00:12:36,842 to change everything about themselves, and they, they may try, and they may be 252 00:12:36,842 --> 00:12:38,762 to, uh, successful to a certain extent. 253 00:12:39,061 --> 00:12:43,972 But the total transformation of a human being to go from a lost 254 00:12:43,982 --> 00:12:49,841 sinner to a found saint, th- that's about a work of God that He does by 255 00:12:49,841 --> 00:12:52,491 placing you into this relationship with Jesus through the gospel. 256 00:12:53,142 --> 00:12:55,961 So in Christ, one of the benefits is that you are a new creation in Christ. 257 00:12:56,721 --> 00:12:57,742 The old is gone, the new is here 258 00:12:59,758 --> 00:13:03,078 But perhaps the, the text where we get the most clear explanation 259 00:13:03,078 --> 00:13:06,978 of the benefits that come with being in Christ is Ephesians. 260 00:13:07,228 --> 00:13:11,327 Ephesians 1:3 and following, and, and it'll be up on the 261 00:13:11,328 --> 00:13:12,638 screen here, but, but here it is. 262 00:13:12,638 --> 00:13:16,678 Paul says this, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 263 00:13:16,678 --> 00:13:22,387 has blessed us," notice the language, "in Christ with every spiritual 264 00:13:22,387 --> 00:13:28,127 blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in Him before the 265 00:13:28,127 --> 00:13:32,778 foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. 266 00:13:32,997 --> 00:13:39,007 In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, 267 00:13:39,008 --> 00:13:43,227 according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with 268 00:13:43,247 --> 00:13:45,338 which He has blessed us in the Beloved. 269 00:13:45,648 --> 00:13:50,818 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our 270 00:13:51,087 --> 00:13:54,758 trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us. 271 00:13:54,967 --> 00:13:59,597 In all wisdom, in all insight, making known to us the mystery of 272 00:13:59,598 --> 00:14:04,098 His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a 273 00:14:04,098 --> 00:14:08,757 plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things 274 00:14:08,768 --> 00:14:11,748 in heaven and things on earth in Him. 275 00:14:11,917 --> 00:14:16,708 In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according 276 00:14:16,708 --> 00:14:19,747 to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel 277 00:14:19,758 --> 00:14:23,308 of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might 278 00:14:23,308 --> 00:14:25,917 be to the praise of His glory. 279 00:14:26,078 --> 00:14:30,387 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of 280 00:14:30,387 --> 00:14:34,128 your salvation, and believed Him, were sealed with the promised Holy 281 00:14:34,128 --> 00:14:38,398 Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession 282 00:14:38,427 --> 00:14:41,017 of it, to the praise of His glory." 283 00:14:42,667 --> 00:14:45,078 What's the big deal about being in Christ? 284 00:14:46,487 --> 00:14:47,148 All of that. 285 00:14:48,267 --> 00:14:52,447 That you are in Him according to the divine wisdom and love of God, that He 286 00:14:52,447 --> 00:14:56,607 has chosen you, that He has placed you into Christ, that you have a inheritance 287 00:14:56,607 --> 00:14:59,547 that's waiting for you, that you have been blessed with all of the spiritual 288 00:14:59,548 --> 00:15:03,167 blessings in the heavenly places, that you have been sealed with the promised Holy 289 00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:06,577 Spirit as a guarantee of your salvation, so that you know that you're not gonna 290 00:15:06,578 --> 00:15:09,367 wake up tomorrow and just decide, "Well, I don't believe any of it anymore." 291 00:15:10,937 --> 00:15:14,438 The blessings that are ours by being in Christ. 292 00:15:14,918 --> 00:15:17,977 These are some of the things that should cause us to say, "Lord, why? 293 00:15:19,037 --> 00:15:20,628 Why me? 294 00:15:21,918 --> 00:15:22,677 Why me?" 295 00:15:23,937 --> 00:15:27,400 Again, it's so much more than a status It's more than 296 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:28,840 simply a positional reality. 297 00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:32,450 It's a reality that should encompass our entire lives. 298 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:38,070 We exist in Christ, so now we, we can walk in newness of life like 299 00:15:38,070 --> 00:15:41,920 Paul talks about in Romans chapter 6 because we've been united to Christ. 300 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,670 We can walk as new creations like we read about in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 301 00:15:46,939 --> 00:15:49,580 We are sons and daughters of God. 302 00:15:49,590 --> 00:15:53,029 Galatians chapter 3 says that that's a product of our status as those 303 00:15:53,389 --> 00:15:55,229 in Christ, as we have been adopted. 304 00:15:55,230 --> 00:15:56,929 We are His sons, we are His daughters. 305 00:15:57,170 --> 00:15:59,539 We can draw near to the God of creation and the Lord of the 306 00:15:59,539 --> 00:16:02,399 universe as Abba Father now. 307 00:16:02,589 --> 00:16:06,429 We now, in Christ, share the blessings of salvation and the certainty of 308 00:16:06,429 --> 00:16:09,169 our future inheritance like we just read about in Ephesians chapter 1. 309 00:16:10,589 --> 00:16:12,509 These are the big deals of being in Christ. 310 00:16:12,510 --> 00:16:14,889 This is why we should humbly wonder at our position in Christ. 311 00:16:14,889 --> 00:16:17,089 Humbly, because none of us earned it. 312 00:16:18,339 --> 00:16:19,769 None of us merited it. 313 00:16:20,619 --> 00:16:22,099 None of us worked our way into. 314 00:16:23,690 --> 00:16:26,509 And these blessings are, are more than just the doctrinal 315 00:16:27,100 --> 00:16:29,069 sub-points to Christianity 316 00:16:31,246 --> 00:16:35,126 They're blessings that are ours and tangibly ours because we are in Christ. 317 00:16:35,716 --> 00:16:40,356 Newness of life, being a new creation, being part of God's family, the blessing 318 00:16:40,356 --> 00:16:42,846 of, of salvation and eternal security 319 00:16:45,006 --> 00:16:48,516 To find out that you are in Christ or, or just to pause and consider 320 00:16:48,935 --> 00:16:52,736 all of these things about being in Christ, th-this is the greatest place 321 00:16:52,736 --> 00:16:57,866 you could ever help-- hope to found-- find yourself, is to be in Christ. 322 00:16:58,795 --> 00:17:03,254 There's no better place in this world Than to be in Christ, 323 00:17:04,022 --> 00:17:05,144 regardless of where you are. 324 00:17:06,522 --> 00:17:10,344 If your life is great right now, the greatest thing about your 325 00:17:10,344 --> 00:17:11,613 life is that you're in Christ. 326 00:17:13,154 --> 00:17:16,334 If your life is hard, you're walking through a trial, you're going through 327 00:17:16,492 --> 00:17:22,433 grief, you've lost a loved one, you're in stress, you've got strain, your health is 328 00:17:22,444 --> 00:17:27,614 not good, still, the, the, the greatest news that hasn't changed at all if you're 329 00:17:27,674 --> 00:17:30,183 a believer is that you are in Christ. 330 00:17:31,194 --> 00:17:35,873 It's the best news for any of us in this room because of who we are or 331 00:17:35,873 --> 00:17:38,943 who we were before we were in Christ. 332 00:17:40,254 --> 00:17:43,673 Ephesians chapter 2 says this, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 333 00:17:43,673 --> 00:17:46,603 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following 334 00:17:46,614 --> 00:17:50,463 the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons 335 00:17:50,463 --> 00:17:54,403 of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, 336 00:17:54,754 --> 00:17:59,264 carrying out the desires of the flesh in the mind, and we were by nature children 337 00:17:59,264 --> 00:18:01,323 of wrath, like the rest of mankind." 338 00:18:02,763 --> 00:18:06,413 But now you have been made in Christ. 339 00:18:07,034 --> 00:18:12,374 God has caused you to be in Christ through the gospel, through the 340 00:18:12,374 --> 00:18:15,744 gospel, through responding in faith and repentance to the good news that 341 00:18:15,744 --> 00:18:19,133 Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, and He gave you His righteousness 342 00:18:19,143 --> 00:18:22,313 so that you can be acceptable before God, and He rose again from the dead 343 00:18:22,314 --> 00:18:23,634 so that you can live with Him forever. 344 00:18:23,634 --> 00:18:27,683 If you believe that message, you have been placed in Christ. 345 00:18:28,844 --> 00:18:31,523 No longer a child of wrath, but a child of God. 346 00:18:32,503 --> 00:18:33,793 No longer dead, but alive. 347 00:18:33,793 --> 00:18:35,343 No longer enslaved, but freed. 348 00:18:35,344 --> 00:18:39,614 No longer condemned, but justified because of the grace of God. 349 00:18:40,653 --> 00:18:43,023 So I want us to humbly wonder at that, but then I want us to think 350 00:18:43,033 --> 00:18:45,443 about the difference that that reality should now make in our lives. 351 00:18:45,454 --> 00:18:48,003 It's like being that senior. 352 00:18:48,844 --> 00:18:52,983 You step on campus first day as a senior, y-you now can live differently 353 00:18:53,303 --> 00:18:54,794 because of, of that reality. 354 00:18:56,333 --> 00:18:57,763 Look at verse 30, where Paul goes next. 355 00:18:57,763 --> 00:18:58,443 He says this. 356 00:18:58,753 --> 00:19:01,993 Paul says, "And because of Him," again, because of Him, what 357 00:19:01,993 --> 00:19:04,524 we just read, "Because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus," okay? 358 00:19:04,803 --> 00:19:09,883 Status, in Christ Jesus, all the blessings that come with that, "who became to 359 00:19:09,884 --> 00:19:15,143 us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 360 00:19:15,803 --> 00:19:18,523 Okay, so because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus. 361 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:24,433 Now, the means of how God took us and put us in Christ is now explained with 362 00:19:24,483 --> 00:19:27,924 these four terms that Paul is going to give us here, and that is that 363 00:19:27,934 --> 00:19:30,853 Jesus became the wisdom of God for us. 364 00:19:30,854 --> 00:19:32,573 We've been talking a lot about wisdom. 365 00:19:32,574 --> 00:19:35,954 We've talk-talked about the wisdom of the world versus the wisdom of God. 366 00:19:36,203 --> 00:19:38,183 The wisdom of God is Christ crucified. 367 00:19:38,184 --> 00:19:41,544 The wisdom of God is what the world considers to be foolish, but 368 00:19:41,544 --> 00:19:44,873 to us who are being saved, it's the power of God for salvation. 369 00:19:45,123 --> 00:19:49,813 So Christ, in order for us to be put in Christ, well, Jesus had to become 370 00:19:49,824 --> 00:19:54,144 the wisdom of God, and then He's gonna explain that wisdom even further in 371 00:19:54,144 --> 00:19:58,997 the three additional terms that we find here in verse 30 But these aren't 372 00:19:59,007 --> 00:20:02,687 just about our standing with the Lord, but as we're gonna find out here, 373 00:20:02,967 --> 00:20:06,957 that these have something to say about the way that we should respond to our 374 00:20:06,957 --> 00:20:09,087 identity as those who are in Christ. 375 00:20:10,007 --> 00:20:14,798 Our second point this morning is this, I want you to live like you are in Christ. 376 00:20:15,987 --> 00:20:17,638 I want it to show up in your life. 377 00:20:19,068 --> 00:20:22,678 For a senior to go to school and to live like a freshman doesn't 378 00:20:22,678 --> 00:20:23,877 make any sense in the world. 379 00:20:24,927 --> 00:20:27,118 Why aren't you living like who you are? 380 00:20:27,467 --> 00:20:30,417 Why aren't you taking advantage of the status that you have a- have 381 00:20:30,417 --> 00:20:32,098 achieved, for the, the senior, that is? 382 00:20:32,377 --> 00:20:34,477 Why, why aren't you using the benefits and the blessings that 383 00:20:34,477 --> 00:20:35,457 have been entrusted to you? 384 00:20:36,608 --> 00:20:38,017 We'd look at them and say, "What are you doing? 385 00:20:39,547 --> 00:20:43,127 There's … Other than you're a little bit taller, I can't tell the difference 386 00:20:43,127 --> 00:20:44,477 between you and the freshman anymore." 387 00:20:46,134 --> 00:20:51,144 As Christians, we need to live in light of our identity in Christ, in all of 388 00:20:51,144 --> 00:20:52,364 the blessings that we have received. 389 00:20:52,644 --> 00:20:56,214 And, and this is gonna describe how we were placed into Christ 390 00:20:56,214 --> 00:20:57,044 through these three terms. 391 00:20:57,233 --> 00:21:00,564 But also, each of these three terms, uh, further explaining the wisdom 392 00:21:00,564 --> 00:21:04,043 of God, is gonna have an implication for today, what that should mean 393 00:21:04,043 --> 00:21:05,514 for how we're living our lives. 394 00:21:06,483 --> 00:21:11,624 And so he became to us, even that idea there, Christ became for us. 395 00:21:11,824 --> 00:21:15,224 Uh, back in the beginning of the verse, because of God we are 396 00:21:15,224 --> 00:21:17,333 in Christ, and Christ became. 397 00:21:17,344 --> 00:21:20,553 Now, that's an interesting word there, isn't it? 398 00:21:21,143 --> 00:21:23,794 There's a doctrine about God, and, and it applies to Jesus, too. 399 00:21:23,794 --> 00:21:25,953 It's called the immutability of God. 400 00:21:25,963 --> 00:21:29,474 That is, that God does not change, that God is the same 401 00:21:29,513 --> 00:21:31,323 yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 402 00:21:31,844 --> 00:21:33,323 He is unchanging. 403 00:21:33,324 --> 00:21:33,424 Okay? 404 00:21:33,723 --> 00:21:38,624 So in what sense should we understand that Christ became the wisdom of God? 405 00:21:39,373 --> 00:21:43,064 Well, it's not that he lacked something in eternity past, and now all of a 406 00:21:43,064 --> 00:21:48,733 sudden he possesses it, but rather, through the incarnation, he was 407 00:21:48,893 --> 00:21:51,613 revealed to be the, the wisdom of God. 408 00:21:51,613 --> 00:21:57,323 A- and so God sent Jesus in the Son, Jesus the Son submitted t- perfectly in 409 00:21:57,323 --> 00:22:01,174 perfect obedience to the Father's will to come to Earth, to live a perfect life, 410 00:22:01,183 --> 00:22:05,114 to die on the cross for our sins, to give us his full righteousness so that we can 411 00:22:05,114 --> 00:22:08,854 be acceptable to God, and to rise again so that we can live with him forever. 412 00:22:09,003 --> 00:22:13,213 He did all of that, that he might become the wisdom of God. 413 00:22:13,323 --> 00:22:17,684 He wasn't yet the wisdom of God, not because he lacked something, but because 414 00:22:17,684 --> 00:22:20,744 that had not yet been accomplished for us. 415 00:22:21,033 --> 00:22:25,533 But now that it has, Christ became the wisdom of God for 416 00:22:25,533 --> 00:22:27,674 us, that wisdom that saves us. 417 00:22:27,884 --> 00:22:31,253 And that wisdom of God is not the same as the wisdom of the world, 418 00:22:31,454 --> 00:22:35,683 but rather it's a wisdom that has come to us through the cross. 419 00:22:36,914 --> 00:22:41,033 In fact, if you look just back up the page, 1 Corinthians 1:23 through 420 00:22:41,064 --> 00:22:48,473 24, Paul said there, he said, "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling 421 00:22:48,473 --> 00:22:52,843 block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, 422 00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:58,623 both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 423 00:22:59,732 --> 00:23:06,522 And so to put us in Christ, God sent Jesus, and Jesus, through the incarnation 424 00:23:06,522 --> 00:23:09,291 and through His death on the cross and through His subsequent resurrection, 425 00:23:09,551 --> 00:23:13,552 He became the wisdom of God for us. 426 00:23:13,761 --> 00:23:15,461 Now, what about that wisdom? 427 00:23:15,461 --> 00:23:17,692 Let's unpack that a little bit more, and that's what Paul does 428 00:23:17,692 --> 00:23:18,861 with these next three terms there. 429 00:23:18,861 --> 00:23:21,902 The first thing he wants us to understand about this wisdom is that th- this wisdom 430 00:23:21,902 --> 00:23:24,852 was the righteousness that we needed. 431 00:23:25,582 --> 00:23:29,702 This is the, the term that takes us into the courtroom before the judge. 432 00:23:30,541 --> 00:23:34,841 To be declared righteous is a, a legal standing before God. 433 00:23:34,862 --> 00:23:37,972 This is where justification takes place. 434 00:23:38,301 --> 00:23:41,771 And the righteousness that we possess, as I've been talking about, it's 435 00:23:41,781 --> 00:23:44,692 not just that He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. 436 00:23:44,862 --> 00:23:48,812 He didn't just bring us back to square one with God and say, "Well, don't mess up 437 00:23:48,812 --> 00:23:50,941 anymore 'cause I got you out of that mess. 438 00:23:51,002 --> 00:23:52,361 Don't get any more debt." 439 00:23:52,912 --> 00:23:56,331 Rather, He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and 440 00:23:56,331 --> 00:24:01,471 then He gave us this righteousness, and this righteousness is the 441 00:24:01,491 --> 00:24:03,211 full righteousness before God. 442 00:24:03,221 --> 00:24:08,812 This righteousness is our standing before God as those that obeyed the law 443 00:24:08,952 --> 00:24:11,962 perfectly, as those who never sinned. 444 00:24:12,681 --> 00:24:17,851 Jesus gave that to you and I when we put our trust in Jesus 445 00:24:18,041 --> 00:24:19,841 as our Lord and our Savior. 446 00:24:20,581 --> 00:24:23,582 And so His wisdom from God is this righteousness. 447 00:24:23,601 --> 00:24:26,521 It's this imputed righteousness is the concept there. 448 00:24:26,732 --> 00:24:33,622 Uh, 2 Corinthians 5:21, "He made him who knew no sin to be sin so that we 449 00:24:33,622 --> 00:24:36,202 might become the righteousness of God." 450 00:24:37,312 --> 00:24:38,971 And so we get this righteousness. 451 00:24:38,971 --> 00:24:40,481 We, we lacked the righteousness. 452 00:24:40,741 --> 00:24:44,251 The wisdom of God saw fit to provide the righteousness for us in the 453 00:24:44,281 --> 00:24:45,772 only way that it possibly could. 454 00:24:45,931 --> 00:24:49,761 And, and this is why, y'all, that it matters that Jesus didn't just 455 00:24:49,761 --> 00:24:53,751 show up as a 33-year-old man and immediately go to the cross day one 456 00:24:53,751 --> 00:24:55,211 and die on the cross for our sins. 457 00:24:55,702 --> 00:24:58,091 This is why His earthly life matters. 458 00:24:58,101 --> 00:25:00,192 This is why His upbringing matters. 459 00:25:00,192 --> 00:25:02,511 This is why His adolescence mattered. 460 00:25:02,522 --> 00:25:05,161 This is why His identity as a young man mattered. 461 00:25:05,162 --> 00:25:07,451 This is why His three years of public ministry mattered. 462 00:25:07,701 --> 00:25:11,041 Because the righteousness that you and I possess as Christians 463 00:25:11,432 --> 00:25:13,731 is an earned righteousness. 464 00:25:13,781 --> 00:25:16,142 It's merited, just not by us. 465 00:25:16,932 --> 00:25:17,772 It's His. 466 00:25:18,341 --> 00:25:22,362 Jesus earned it for us, and that's why the 33 years, give or take, of 467 00:25:22,362 --> 00:25:27,151 His earthly life were necessary, because Jesus had to come and fulfill 468 00:25:27,212 --> 00:25:29,611 the law which you and I can't do. 469 00:25:29,921 --> 00:25:34,571 And so He did that, and He was righteous, and then He died on the cross and took 470 00:25:34,602 --> 00:25:39,401 our sin and gave us that righteousness so that God looks at you and me now 471 00:25:39,581 --> 00:25:44,641 and He sees us and says, "They're not just not guilty, but they're innocent 472 00:25:46,081 --> 00:25:47,581 with the righteousness of Christ." 473 00:25:49,522 --> 00:25:52,531 That's a, that's a pretty good perk of being in Christ 474 00:25:54,542 --> 00:25:56,401 But what about today, right? 475 00:25:56,401 --> 00:25:59,151 I said all this should impact our lives today, right? 476 00:25:59,532 --> 00:26:02,972 And, and Paul anticipates some of the thought to that because we might 477 00:26:02,972 --> 00:26:04,841 think, "Well, that's fantastic news. 478 00:26:05,982 --> 00:26:12,191 Then I'm gonna go sin up, sin up a, a storm because after all, if He paid for it 479 00:26:12,192 --> 00:26:16,512 all and I've got His righteousness, then why does it matter how I live my life?" 480 00:26:17,311 --> 00:26:20,241 Well, Paul anticipated that in Romans chapter 6. 481 00:26:21,491 --> 00:26:23,281 He said this, he said, "What shall we say then?" 482 00:26:24,361 --> 00:26:26,801 'Cause he's just ta- been talking about how awesome grace is. 483 00:26:27,832 --> 00:26:29,991 "Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. 484 00:26:30,011 --> 00:26:31,021 What shall we say then? 485 00:26:31,042 --> 00:26:33,171 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 486 00:26:33,452 --> 00:26:37,861 S- s- he's addressing the extreme of the response of the, the perversion to think, 487 00:26:37,861 --> 00:26:42,231 "Well, if my sin results in God's grace and God is glorified by grace, then really 488 00:26:42,272 --> 00:26:45,431 I'm glorifying God by sinning because He gets to be more gracious to me." 489 00:26:46,722 --> 00:26:48,022 Paul says, "Should we do that? 490 00:26:48,711 --> 00:26:50,011 By no means." 491 00:26:50,461 --> 00:26:52,471 Knuckleheads, that's not in the original. 492 00:26:53,801 --> 00:26:54,971 "But by no means. 493 00:26:55,431 --> 00:26:58,611 How can we who died to sin still live in it?" 494 00:26:59,512 --> 00:26:59,782 Right? 495 00:26:59,832 --> 00:27:03,421 How can we who've been united to His death still continue 496 00:27:03,421 --> 00:27:05,352 to live as though we weren't? 497 00:27:05,891 --> 00:27:09,261 How can we who have been declared righteous by His death, how can we 498 00:27:09,261 --> 00:27:13,041 who have been given His righteousness now go out and live as though we were 499 00:27:13,051 --> 00:27:14,861 anything but those who are righteous? 500 00:27:16,731 --> 00:27:19,782 And so part of our identity today as those who are in Christ is that it 501 00:27:19,792 --> 00:27:24,081 should show up in the fact that we are living lives of righteousness before Him. 502 00:27:24,481 --> 00:27:25,241 Not to earn it. 503 00:27:25,501 --> 00:27:26,121 No, no, no. 504 00:27:26,121 --> 00:27:26,881 That's been done. 505 00:27:28,201 --> 00:27:33,572 But to live in keeping with who we are, who, what our identity 506 00:27:33,591 --> 00:27:35,961 is as those who are in Christ. 507 00:27:37,231 --> 00:27:39,981 To live a life of rampant sin- 508 00:27:42,230 --> 00:27:46,870 and to be in Christ is completely incompatible. 509 00:27:48,250 --> 00:27:52,770 It's like a freshman or like a-- Rather, it's like a senior, instead of taking 510 00:27:52,770 --> 00:27:55,809 advantage of being a senior and living as a senior, choosing instead to say, "No, 511 00:27:55,810 --> 00:27:57,080 I'm just gonna live as a freshman again." 512 00:27:59,310 --> 00:28:00,620 It doesn't make sense. 513 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:06,659 And so for us as those who are in Christ, His wisdom means that we have 514 00:28:06,659 --> 00:28:10,669 a righteousness that is ours, that has, has amounted to the fact that we've been 515 00:28:10,669 --> 00:28:13,879 declared not, not just not guilty, but innocent with the righteousness of Christ. 516 00:28:13,879 --> 00:28:17,060 That's done, and so now what should that do in my life today? 517 00:28:17,060 --> 00:28:19,639 How do I live like I'm in Christ? 518 00:28:19,669 --> 00:28:22,909 Well, I wanna live a righteous life because I am righteous in Christ 519 00:28:26,446 --> 00:28:28,216 But he didn't just become righteousness for us, he also 520 00:28:28,216 --> 00:28:29,686 became sanctification for us. 521 00:28:30,315 --> 00:28:31,035 Sanctification. 522 00:28:31,045 --> 00:28:33,336 This is now not the courtroom, but now the temple. 523 00:28:34,255 --> 00:28:35,655 I want you to picture the temple, and I want you to 524 00:28:35,656 --> 00:28:36,726 picture all of the instruments. 525 00:28:36,726 --> 00:28:39,015 We talked about this in the first message of our 1 Corinthians 526 00:28:39,025 --> 00:28:40,616 series seven weeks ago. 527 00:28:41,035 --> 00:28:44,505 We talked about the, the fact that Paul wrote to those who are sanctified 528 00:28:44,515 --> 00:28:46,396 in Christ Jesus there in verse two. 529 00:28:46,905 --> 00:28:48,206 It's the same concept. 530 00:28:48,405 --> 00:28:53,415 You have been set apart for the use of, of holiness, the 531 00:28:53,415 --> 00:28:55,235 use of, of, of God, use by God. 532 00:28:55,585 --> 00:28:57,745 And so that's why I want you to go to the temple because I want 533 00:28:57,745 --> 00:28:58,985 you to think about the utensils. 534 00:28:58,986 --> 00:29:01,975 I want you to think about the, the, the, the altar. 535 00:29:02,005 --> 00:29:04,576 I want you to think about the, the cups that were used in the drink 536 00:29:04,576 --> 00:29:05,765 offering and all of those things. 537 00:29:06,005 --> 00:29:07,385 They were sanctified. 538 00:29:07,396 --> 00:29:08,245 They were consecrated. 539 00:29:08,245 --> 00:29:10,915 They were set apart to be used by God 540 00:29:13,134 --> 00:29:16,134 In our state as those who were unredeemed, as those who were not in 541 00:29:16,134 --> 00:29:18,844 Christ, we couldn't be useful to the Lord 542 00:29:21,134 --> 00:29:23,934 But in the wisdom of God, He has made Christ both our righteousness 543 00:29:23,934 --> 00:29:25,374 and now also our sanctification. 544 00:29:25,384 --> 00:29:29,373 In other words, that what Jesus has done, because we are now in Christ, we now 545 00:29:29,374 --> 00:29:31,634 have a new positional use to the Father. 546 00:29:33,034 --> 00:29:33,924 We have been set apart. 547 00:29:33,924 --> 00:29:34,864 We have been consecrated. 548 00:29:35,353 --> 00:29:38,653 We have been sanctified, positionally set apart for Him. 549 00:29:39,253 --> 00:29:42,384 Later on in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Paul's gonna say, uh, "Such 550 00:29:42,384 --> 00:29:46,104 were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified." 551 00:29:46,114 --> 00:29:47,813 That term is gonna come back up again there. 552 00:29:48,323 --> 00:29:52,123 So he opens with it in verse two, we get it here in our verse, in verse 30. 553 00:29:52,204 --> 00:29:54,323 He's gonna come back to it in Chapter 6 verse 11. 554 00:29:54,514 --> 00:29:56,083 So, so you have been sanctified. 555 00:29:56,253 --> 00:29:59,374 That, that's part of the wisdom of God that saves us is it sets 556 00:29:59,374 --> 00:30:00,953 us apart to be useful to Him. 557 00:30:01,084 --> 00:30:03,844 Now, let's come to today and say, what does it look like then for 558 00:30:03,844 --> 00:30:06,074 me to live like I'm in Christ? 559 00:30:06,074 --> 00:30:09,513 Well, if I'm in Christ, and being in Christ means that I've been sanctified, 560 00:30:10,204 --> 00:30:14,534 I've been positionally set apart as holy for God, well then what I need to say is, 561 00:30:14,724 --> 00:30:17,803 "A- am I living a life that reveals that? 562 00:30:19,154 --> 00:30:20,753 Am I being useful to the Lord? 563 00:30:22,154 --> 00:30:27,183 If He has set me apart in Christ to be useful to Him, then it should 564 00:30:27,183 --> 00:30:29,953 follow that I'm living a life that is indeed useful to the Lord. 565 00:30:31,843 --> 00:30:33,184 I'm thinking about Him. 566 00:30:33,184 --> 00:30:34,653 I'm, I'm, I'm serving Him. 567 00:30:34,653 --> 00:30:36,443 I'm, I'm pursuing Him. 568 00:30:36,443 --> 00:30:37,774 I'm pursuing a relationship with Him. 569 00:30:37,774 --> 00:30:40,174 I'm, I'm thinking about my whole life and what I give myself to. 570 00:30:40,513 --> 00:30:44,793 I, I need to think that what I'm doing, I'm doing in Christ, and so is what 571 00:30:44,793 --> 00:30:48,853 I'm doing furthering my service to the Lord, or is this about my flesh? 572 00:30:50,023 --> 00:30:51,693 What am I doing here? 573 00:30:53,223 --> 00:30:56,223 Am I stepping into this identity as one who's in Christ, set 574 00:30:56,223 --> 00:30:57,533 apart to be useful to the Lord?" 575 00:30:59,854 --> 00:31:03,024 A-a-and that's really a good conduit into this third term that he talks 576 00:31:03,024 --> 00:31:04,814 about, which is the term redemption. 577 00:31:05,854 --> 00:31:09,754 That the wisdom of God meant that Jesus became our righteousness, declared 578 00:31:09,774 --> 00:31:12,214 not just not guilty, but innocent with the righteousness of Christ, 579 00:31:12,214 --> 00:31:13,383 and so I wanna live a righteous life. 580 00:31:13,394 --> 00:31:15,144 He became our sanctification. 581 00:31:15,153 --> 00:31:18,924 That is, that we have been positionally set apart as useful, as holy to the Lord. 582 00:31:18,924 --> 00:31:21,974 So I wanna live a life that is useful and holy to the Lord. 583 00:31:22,123 --> 00:31:25,863 And then finally here, He has become our redemption, our redemption. 584 00:31:26,123 --> 00:31:30,913 This is now not the, the courtroom or the, the temple, but this is the slave market. 585 00:31:30,913 --> 00:31:36,713 A-a-and so back in the, Paul's day, slaves were, were bought and sold 586 00:31:36,734 --> 00:31:38,743 on the, the m- the market there. 587 00:31:39,493 --> 00:31:43,734 And so what Paul is doing here is he's using language that would have r-referred 588 00:31:43,734 --> 00:31:48,393 to a slave being purchased from one master and transferred into the ownership 589 00:31:48,393 --> 00:31:51,634 of another master, and he's saying that that was part of the wisdom of God. 590 00:31:51,634 --> 00:31:56,134 That's part of what took place with you being placed into Christ. 591 00:31:56,944 --> 00:31:59,164 The word in the Greek means to be released from something. 592 00:32:00,203 --> 00:32:03,193 But the way it worked was you were released from servitude to one to 593 00:32:03,194 --> 00:32:07,163 be placed into servitude to another, and that's how the gospel works, too. 594 00:32:08,023 --> 00:32:09,553 That's what it means to be put into Christ. 595 00:32:10,053 --> 00:32:11,483 It, it, it works like this. 596 00:32:11,493 --> 00:32:16,643 You, you are freed from your slavery to sin through the cost that was 597 00:32:16,644 --> 00:32:18,634 paid by the one doing the redeeming. 598 00:32:18,644 --> 00:32:20,013 That's why this is a redemption. 599 00:32:20,013 --> 00:32:23,684 A cost is being paid to free you, and that's the cross. 600 00:32:23,714 --> 00:32:28,224 That's Jesus dying for us, giving us His righteousness, and rising again. 601 00:32:28,453 --> 00:32:32,033 That now has freed you from slavery to sin through the cost that was paid so that 602 00:32:32,034 --> 00:32:34,603 you would now be enslaved to the Lord. 603 00:32:36,424 --> 00:32:41,793 Paul talks about that in Romans chapter six, that we've been f- set free from sin. 604 00:32:41,793 --> 00:32:43,344 How can we who die to sin still live in it? 605 00:32:43,553 --> 00:32:45,974 But now we have become a slave of, of righteousness. 606 00:32:47,303 --> 00:32:48,853 We have become a servant of the Lord 607 00:32:51,276 --> 00:32:56,196 And so God in his wisdom, in making Christ the wisdom for us, he saw fit 608 00:32:56,196 --> 00:33:00,206 to make Christ our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. 609 00:33:00,226 --> 00:33:03,896 And so as I think about my redemption today, it's not just that I'm free 610 00:33:03,896 --> 00:33:06,146 from sin to just live autonomously now 611 00:33:08,194 --> 00:33:09,884 Christians still have a master. 612 00:33:11,074 --> 00:33:13,244 As Christians, we are still slaves. 613 00:33:14,894 --> 00:33:20,843 It's just that our master is the Lord and not sin, and He is such a better master 614 00:33:23,182 --> 00:33:27,022 But the question that I wanna ask myself is, okay, am I living like I'm in Christ? 615 00:33:27,042 --> 00:33:27,902 Is Christ my Lord? 616 00:33:30,104 --> 00:33:35,304 I mean, there, there's kind of a, a, a popular, and not, it's not new, it's been 617 00:33:35,304 --> 00:33:37,854 around for a long time unfortunately, but there's a movement that would say, 618 00:33:37,854 --> 00:33:41,254 "Well, I want Jesus to be my savior, but I don't want him to be my Lord." 619 00:33:44,292 --> 00:33:47,562 A- and I, I just don't see where that measures up anywhere in scripture 620 00:33:50,230 --> 00:33:53,790 I want Jesus to be my savior, but I wanna go ahead and just live the rampant life 621 00:33:53,790 --> 00:33:55,080 of sin that I've always been living. 622 00:33:55,100 --> 00:33:58,430 I don't want a savior that's gonna get in my kitchen. 623 00:33:58,460 --> 00:34:00,039 I don't want him meddling in my life. 624 00:34:00,780 --> 00:34:04,030 I don't want anybody telling me that what I'm doing is wrong. 625 00:34:04,110 --> 00:34:04,799 How dare you? 626 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,180 Jesus died on the cross for my sins. 627 00:34:06,180 --> 00:34:07,500 Who are you to tell me that I'm in sin? 628 00:34:07,870 --> 00:34:09,670 Uh, this, man, this pressed home this morning. 629 00:34:09,889 --> 00:34:14,679 I, I, I was on, on Twitter or X or whatever it's called, and there was a, 630 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:19,188 a young man who's a quarterback for a team who yesterday his team won a game. 631 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:22,860 And so in the post-game interview, he began the interview by giving glory to 632 00:34:22,860 --> 00:34:25,949 the Lord and ended the interview with a pr- a statement of, of profanity 633 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,559 and a big one, a big, big profane word at the end of this interview. 634 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,889 And somebody posted about it on X this morning and said, "Hey, uh, you know what? 635 00:34:34,359 --> 00:34:37,668 It's, it's not great when you're giving Christ the glory at the beginning of 636 00:34:37,670 --> 00:34:40,880 your interview and then dropping that m- that word at the end of your interview. 637 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:41,779 That's not a great look." 638 00:34:41,780 --> 00:34:45,139 So I did what any masochist does, and I went to the comments 'cause 639 00:34:45,139 --> 00:34:47,110 I was like, "Okay, what are people gonna think about this?" 640 00:34:47,998 --> 00:34:51,299 And it was fascinating how many people claiming the name of Christ were saying, 641 00:34:51,929 --> 00:34:53,918 "S- quit being such a legalist about this. 642 00:34:53,940 --> 00:34:54,800 Grown-ups cuss. 643 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:55,759 It's no big deal." 644 00:34:56,949 --> 00:34:57,640 Or, "You know what? 645 00:34:57,679 --> 00:34:59,730 People are doing way worse stuff than, than that. 646 00:34:59,730 --> 00:35:02,389 Why don't you go worry about what other people are doing and 647 00:35:02,389 --> 00:35:04,940 not giving this young man such a hard time about using that word?" 648 00:35:07,512 --> 00:35:10,782 Y'all, that's, that's not following Christ 649 00:35:13,326 --> 00:35:16,046 That's not what it looks like to be somebody who's been redeemed 650 00:35:18,190 --> 00:35:21,050 To be redeemed is to say, "Well, I haven't just been set free from sin 651 00:35:21,050 --> 00:35:22,730 to live however I wanna live now. 652 00:35:23,870 --> 00:35:27,449 I've been set free from sin and transferred to a new owner, and that 653 00:35:27,450 --> 00:35:31,989 owner is Jesus, and I wanna live a life that's gonna be glorifying to Him 654 00:35:34,286 --> 00:35:38,216 And so the wisdom of God that has saved us, has saved us by Jesus 655 00:35:38,216 --> 00:35:41,526 becoming our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. 656 00:35:42,925 --> 00:35:44,236 And so that should change the way we live. 657 00:35:44,236 --> 00:35:45,966 Again, am I a senior living like a freshman? 658 00:35:47,095 --> 00:35:50,176 Or am I really stepping into the full benefits of what I have in Christ? 659 00:35:50,176 --> 00:35:54,705 Is my life showing that I've been put in Christ, that Jesus has become my wisdom, 660 00:35:54,876 --> 00:35:59,756 that He is my righteousness, that He is my sanctification, that He is my redemption? 661 00:36:00,126 --> 00:36:04,256 If, if He is, th- then the next thing that Paul's gonna say here in our final 662 00:36:04,266 --> 00:36:08,235 verse, it, it makes all the sense in the world, that another component of how 663 00:36:08,236 --> 00:36:11,425 I live my life is that now my life is gonna become a platform for His glory. 664 00:36:11,425 --> 00:36:12,176 Look down at verse 31. 665 00:36:12,815 --> 00:36:14,216 Paul says this, "So that…" 666 00:36:15,165 --> 00:36:15,995 All this has happened. 667 00:36:15,995 --> 00:36:19,656 Jesus became this for us, "So that, as it is written, 'Let the one 668 00:36:19,656 --> 00:36:22,695 who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 669 00:36:23,345 --> 00:36:24,815 Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 670 00:36:24,815 --> 00:36:27,935 This may remind you of last week, verse 29, "So that no human being 671 00:36:27,935 --> 00:36:29,365 might boast in the presence of God." 672 00:36:29,495 --> 00:36:32,455 Okay, but if we are gonna boast, we're gonna boast in the Lord. 673 00:36:32,915 --> 00:36:34,505 He's gonna be the one that we're gonna platform. 674 00:36:34,505 --> 00:36:35,815 It's gonna be His glory. 675 00:36:35,815 --> 00:36:39,636 We're not gonna boast in these other things that people identify themselves 676 00:36:39,646 --> 00:36:44,805 with, family, possessions, title, uh, you know, uh, uh, w- we're the, 677 00:36:44,835 --> 00:36:48,106 the Instagram culture, and so our Instagram feeds, they show us in 678 00:36:48,106 --> 00:36:50,125 the best light possible, you know? 679 00:36:50,365 --> 00:36:54,306 Th- they don't show the, the, the, the floordrobe in the corner of the r- the 680 00:36:54,306 --> 00:36:57,745 room, you know, that the husband and wife are, are, are having tension about. 681 00:36:57,756 --> 00:37:02,276 They, they don't show when, you know, your, your kid comes home from school 682 00:37:02,475 --> 00:37:04,385 and you're like, "Can you do the dishes?" 683 00:37:04,385 --> 00:37:06,265 And the kid's like, "Yeah, I'll get to it eventually." 684 00:37:06,265 --> 00:37:07,925 And you're like, "Uh, I'm, I'm sorry, what? 685 00:37:09,076 --> 00:37:10,986 When did this become a, a, a democracy?" 686 00:37:11,315 --> 00:37:12,266 Um, it's not. 687 00:37:12,455 --> 00:37:16,065 They, they don't show the, the things about our li- they show us in the best 688 00:37:16,065 --> 00:37:19,646 light possible 'cause we want people to look at us and, and be impressed with us. 689 00:37:21,256 --> 00:37:23,865 Th- this is, this is not what it is to live in Christ. 690 00:37:24,655 --> 00:37:25,905 I'm not saying delete Instagram. 691 00:37:25,945 --> 00:37:27,075 Or maybe, maybe you should. 692 00:37:27,435 --> 00:37:27,725 Maybe. 693 00:37:28,256 --> 00:37:32,660 That's between you and Jesus I, I, I'm just saying if, if we're gonna boast, 694 00:37:32,660 --> 00:37:35,870 y'all, i- if we want anybody to know anything about us, the thing that should 695 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,480 be at the top of the list for us is that we are in Christ and all that that means. 696 00:37:41,410 --> 00:37:42,690 And so our final point this morning is this. 697 00:37:42,690 --> 00:37:46,729 I want you to put your full confidence in your standing with Christ, not 698 00:37:46,730 --> 00:37:51,770 in who you are as a mom or a dad, or as an employee or an, an employer. 699 00:37:53,199 --> 00:37:55,239 I don't want you to put your full confidence in your bank account. 700 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:57,740 I don't want you to put your, put your full confidence in, in your home. 701 00:37:58,209 --> 00:38:00,419 I don't want you to put your full confidence in, in those things. 702 00:38:00,549 --> 00:38:02,319 It's not that you have to despise those things. 703 00:38:02,319 --> 00:38:03,190 They're gifts from God. 704 00:38:03,190 --> 00:38:04,009 Be thankful for them. 705 00:38:04,229 --> 00:38:07,549 But put your full confidence in Christ. 706 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:09,480 Paul says, "So that…" 707 00:38:10,229 --> 00:38:15,049 God made Him to be these things for us, wisdom from God, righteousness, 708 00:38:15,170 --> 00:38:16,670 sanctification, and redemption. 709 00:38:16,709 --> 00:38:18,879 He has caused us to be in Christ. 710 00:38:18,929 --> 00:38:21,850 Now, so that, with the result that, what? 711 00:38:22,039 --> 00:38:27,779 That we would boast in Him, that the fulfillment of all of Jesus' work for us 712 00:38:27,779 --> 00:38:30,709 would be that we would boast in Jesus. 713 00:38:30,709 --> 00:38:33,619 Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 714 00:38:34,249 --> 00:38:38,600 This is going back to Jeremiah 9:23-24. 715 00:38:38,620 --> 00:38:42,040 There, the prophet says this: "Thus says the Lord, 'Let not 716 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:43,830 the wise man boast in his wisdom. 717 00:38:44,379 --> 00:38:46,399 Let not the mighty man boast in his might. 718 00:38:46,709 --> 00:38:48,819 Let not the rich man boast in his riches. 719 00:38:48,989 --> 00:38:55,199 But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I 720 00:38:55,199 --> 00:39:00,580 am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. 721 00:39:00,730 --> 00:39:04,130 For these things I delight in,' declares the Lord." 722 00:39:05,976 --> 00:39:08,196 God has not changed, in other words. 723 00:39:09,366 --> 00:39:11,856 His message to Israel is His message to us today. 724 00:39:12,516 --> 00:39:16,716 Hey, if you wanna boast in something, boast in the fact that you know me. 725 00:39:17,806 --> 00:39:20,066 Boast in the fact that you are in Christ. 726 00:39:20,265 --> 00:39:23,286 Boast in what I've done for you, not in what you're doing for me. 727 00:39:24,575 --> 00:39:26,796 Boast in the Lord. 728 00:39:26,806 --> 00:39:31,665 Y- you may remember from last week, i- if you jump back up to verse 28, 729 00:39:31,675 --> 00:39:35,085 it says, "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things 730 00:39:35,085 --> 00:39:37,086 that are not," in order to what? 731 00:39:37,095 --> 00:39:39,536 To bring to nothing the things that are. 732 00:39:39,536 --> 00:39:43,555 I- in other words, to bring to nothing those things that we are tempted to 733 00:39:43,556 --> 00:39:47,495 put our confidence in, the things that we are tempted to identify 734 00:39:47,495 --> 00:39:50,846 with more than others, the things that we are tempted to boast in. 735 00:39:51,196 --> 00:39:55,065 God said, "Hey, I'm gonna take those things out of the equation, because none 736 00:39:55,065 --> 00:39:58,055 of those things are gonna factor into how you're gonna be placed in Christ. 737 00:39:58,076 --> 00:39:59,216 That's gonna be all me. 738 00:39:59,806 --> 00:40:02,806 None of those things are gonna have anything to do with how you get from 739 00:40:03,036 --> 00:40:04,536 dead in sin to being made alive. 740 00:40:04,545 --> 00:40:05,856 That's gonna be all me. 741 00:40:05,955 --> 00:40:07,705 None of those things are gonna be able to save you. 742 00:40:07,855 --> 00:40:09,216 That's gonna be all me. 743 00:40:09,265 --> 00:40:11,505 So I'm gonna take those things off the table." 744 00:40:13,375 --> 00:40:15,485 And so God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the 745 00:40:15,495 --> 00:40:19,395 things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, to 746 00:40:19,395 --> 00:40:20,835 bring to nothing the things that are. 747 00:40:20,955 --> 00:40:24,265 And, and again, this should show up then in how we live. 748 00:40:24,436 --> 00:40:28,926 If our confidence is fully in Christ, it should show up in how we live. 749 00:40:30,245 --> 00:40:33,035 We should be different from the world around us. 750 00:40:33,265 --> 00:40:36,675 Your Instagram feed should be different from the world around us 751 00:40:40,182 --> 00:40:41,892 Let me just give you a couple of examples here. 752 00:40:43,122 --> 00:40:45,562 Maybe your company is massively successful. 753 00:40:45,732 --> 00:40:47,971 You're an entrepreneur and, and you're just… 754 00:40:48,192 --> 00:40:48,772 You're killing it. 755 00:40:49,261 --> 00:40:51,131 You're just pulling in money hand over fist. 756 00:40:52,091 --> 00:40:57,921 Well, you could conceivably make a post on social media somewhere about 757 00:40:57,921 --> 00:40:59,781 that as a way to boast in the Lord. 758 00:41:00,331 --> 00:41:01,402 Say, "Look what God has done." 759 00:41:02,971 --> 00:41:07,772 Or you could put up a post about that somewhere, and it would 760 00:41:07,781 --> 00:41:09,292 be, "Look how successful I am." 761 00:41:12,128 --> 00:41:16,898 Or m- m- m- shifting gears here, maybe your kids are just excelling. 762 00:41:17,198 --> 00:41:18,128 They're doing so well. 763 00:41:18,948 --> 00:41:22,158 And, and you've got-- God has blessed you with, with kids that are smart 764 00:41:23,297 --> 00:41:27,617 and that are progressing i- in school and their education and in, you know, 765 00:41:27,917 --> 00:41:32,637 you've made a, a particular choice for, for schooling, and you just feel 766 00:41:32,648 --> 00:41:35,828 like, man, that, that is the best thing that anyone could do in the world. 767 00:41:36,937 --> 00:41:41,557 You could talk to other people and just say, "Man, I, I'm gonna boast in the 768 00:41:41,558 --> 00:41:45,088 Lord for what the Lord has done through my family with the schooling choices 769 00:41:45,088 --> 00:41:45,877 that we made and things like that. 770 00:41:46,078 --> 00:41:46,997 I'm just so thankful to Him. 771 00:41:47,148 --> 00:41:48,187 He's been kind to us 772 00:41:50,188 --> 00:41:55,897 Or you could boast in, in yourselves in that and, and say, "You know what? 773 00:41:56,258 --> 00:41:57,107 We made this choice. 774 00:41:57,107 --> 00:41:59,897 We would never decide to, to put our kids in that situation." 775 00:42:04,312 --> 00:42:05,372 I'll pick on my family. 776 00:42:05,392 --> 00:42:06,592 We send our kids to public school. 777 00:42:06,592 --> 00:42:08,922 We would never send … No, I'm not gonna 778 00:42:11,822 --> 00:42:16,842 In, in, in other words, our temptation to boast is, is so insidious and subtle, 779 00:42:17,242 --> 00:42:18,422 and we have to be on guard against it. 780 00:42:20,032 --> 00:42:23,072 We have to make sure that we are boasting in the Lord, that He has our 781 00:42:23,072 --> 00:42:27,162 full confidence in life, and that, that is evidence to those around us 782 00:42:29,946 --> 00:42:32,976 It's not just that Christianity gives us better things to boast in. 783 00:42:33,876 --> 00:42:37,436 Rather, in Christianity, it gives you someone infinitely better 784 00:42:37,436 --> 00:42:40,565 to boast in, and that's Jesus 785 00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:47,399 I don't know any better way to further explain this th- than to 786 00:42:47,399 --> 00:42:48,759 go to Philippians chapter three. 787 00:42:48,759 --> 00:42:50,640 It was read this morning, but I just wanna go back here. 788 00:42:51,020 --> 00:42:53,870 Um, i-i-if you've got your Bibles, you can flip over to Philippians. 789 00:42:53,870 --> 00:42:56,189 It's to the right a few books in your Bible. 790 00:42:56,529 --> 00:43:00,890 Um, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, God's electric power company. 791 00:43:01,279 --> 00:43:01,729 Um 792 00:43:04,888 --> 00:43:08,278 Philippians chapter 3, I, uh, the, Paul lived this out, in other 793 00:43:08,278 --> 00:43:09,648 words, is, is what I'm saying here 794 00:43:12,512 --> 00:43:13,232 His full confidence. 795 00:43:13,292 --> 00:43:14,142 Pick up in verse three. 796 00:43:14,542 --> 00:43:18,212 Paul says, "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory 797 00:43:18,212 --> 00:43:23,322 in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have 798 00:43:23,322 --> 00:43:25,352 reason for confidence in the flesh also. 799 00:43:25,352 --> 00:43:29,202 If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more." 800 00:43:29,741 --> 00:43:33,052 So Paul's gonna look like he's boasting here, but he's setting it up, right? 801 00:43:33,331 --> 00:43:36,572 He's saying, "I was circumcised on the eighth day of the people of 802 00:43:36,581 --> 00:43:38,572 Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. 803 00:43:38,761 --> 00:43:40,191 I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews. 804 00:43:40,491 --> 00:43:42,341 As to the law, I was a Pharisee. 805 00:43:42,341 --> 00:43:43,682 I was an expert in the law. 806 00:43:44,052 --> 00:43:46,361 As to zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. 807 00:43:46,581 --> 00:43:49,612 As to righteousness under the law, blameless." 808 00:43:49,701 --> 00:43:49,971 Okay? 809 00:43:50,122 --> 00:43:53,522 So Paul's stacking the deck saying, "You want to boast? 810 00:43:53,662 --> 00:43:54,551 Let's go." 811 00:43:55,611 --> 00:43:57,871 And Paul says, "I could've gone toe-to-toe with the best of them." 812 00:43:58,532 --> 00:44:01,191 Even when you read Persecuting the Church, you might be tempted to think 813 00:44:01,192 --> 00:44:02,692 to yourself, "Well, that's a bad thing." 814 00:44:02,962 --> 00:44:07,231 And yes, it was a bad thing, but in Paul's eyes what he's saying is, "My zeal 815 00:44:07,232 --> 00:44:09,311 and passion was unrivaled for the Lord. 816 00:44:10,201 --> 00:44:11,241 I was his soldier. 817 00:44:11,901 --> 00:44:16,312 I saw the church at that time as a threat, so I was out on the front lines. 818 00:44:16,321 --> 00:44:19,421 I was putting my life at risk to try to shut down the church and 819 00:44:19,421 --> 00:44:22,302 imprison Christians, 'cause I thought I was serving the Lord in that." 820 00:44:22,981 --> 00:44:24,422 So Paul's like, "You wanna boast? 821 00:44:24,771 --> 00:44:25,511 Step up. 822 00:44:26,671 --> 00:44:27,291 Let's see. 823 00:44:27,331 --> 00:44:28,631 Let's compare resumes here." 824 00:44:29,292 --> 00:44:32,921 And so he lists all these things, and then he says this in verse seven, 825 00:44:33,191 --> 00:44:39,191 "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 826 00:44:40,381 --> 00:44:42,192 I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. 827 00:44:42,371 --> 00:44:46,902 Indeed," he says, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing 828 00:44:46,902 --> 00:44:49,862 worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. 829 00:44:50,161 --> 00:44:54,421 For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as rubbish 830 00:44:54,721 --> 00:45:00,171 in order that I might gain Christ and be found," notice our words here, "in 831 00:45:00,401 --> 00:45:05,551 Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that 832 00:45:05,551 --> 00:45:08,982 which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends 833 00:45:08,991 --> 00:45:13,711 on faith, that I might know Him and the power of His rec- resurrection, 834 00:45:13,881 --> 00:45:20,541 and that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." 835 00:45:21,321 --> 00:45:25,112 Y- y- you see, that's what we're talking about here with this third point. 836 00:45:26,641 --> 00:45:32,581 Can, can we come up with our own list that Paul has here and say, "What, what 837 00:45:32,591 --> 00:45:34,771 would I boast in if I were to boast today? 838 00:45:35,372 --> 00:45:37,262 W- w- what is my blind spot? 839 00:45:37,262 --> 00:45:38,091 What's my weak spot? 840 00:45:38,091 --> 00:45:41,532 What would I say, 'Hey, I'm gonna boast in this,' like the Texas Rangers being 841 00:45:41,532 --> 00:45:44,711 one game up on the Houston Astros right now with seven games left to play. 842 00:45:44,712 --> 00:45:45,602 Let's go, Rangers. 843 00:45:45,902 --> 00:45:47,151 What would I boast in? 844 00:45:48,601 --> 00:45:49,371 What would it be?" 845 00:45:50,292 --> 00:45:51,051 Would it be your family? 846 00:45:51,051 --> 00:45:51,781 Would it be your wealth? 847 00:45:51,801 --> 00:45:54,011 Would it be your, your position at work? 848 00:45:55,751 --> 00:45:56,891 Would it be your intellect? 849 00:45:58,682 --> 00:46:00,511 Would it be your, your, your, your pedigree? 850 00:46:03,214 --> 00:46:03,894 The car you drive 851 00:46:06,094 --> 00:46:09,524 Your retirement funds, the trips that you get to go take 852 00:46:12,462 --> 00:46:15,892 W- what are the things that you would boast in that you could line up with Paul? 853 00:46:16,012 --> 00:46:20,182 And then I would ask you the question, can you say with Paul, "I count 854 00:46:20,182 --> 00:46:22,761 it all as loss compared to Jesus"? 855 00:46:25,294 --> 00:46:28,824 Take it all away and give me Jesus. 856 00:46:29,854 --> 00:46:30,533 That's all I need. 857 00:46:32,163 --> 00:46:33,904 Oh man, that's easy to preach, that's hard to live. 858 00:46:35,864 --> 00:46:39,574 But by the Spirit of God within us, that is the life that we should live in Christ. 859 00:46:41,423 --> 00:46:43,273 That is how we should live in Christ. 860 00:46:44,864 --> 00:46:46,253 Paul's saying, "I'm not gonna boast in my resume. 861 00:46:46,253 --> 00:46:51,123 I wanna be found in Christ and I want His righteousness," Philippians 3. 862 00:46:51,123 --> 00:46:52,433 1 Corinthians 1, "You are in Christ. 863 00:46:52,513 --> 00:46:55,143 He is your righteousness, so boast in Jesus 864 00:46:58,670 --> 00:47:00,450 Put your full confidence in Christ. 865 00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:02,790 Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 866 00:47:04,730 --> 00:47:07,039 A diagnostic question that might be a little painful for us. 867 00:47:07,630 --> 00:47:11,580 When somebody meets you for the first time, how long do they have to know you 868 00:47:11,580 --> 00:47:12,900 before they know that you're in Christ? 869 00:47:15,758 --> 00:47:22,118 Instead of what you do for a living or how big your family is or where 870 00:47:22,118 --> 00:47:23,747 you came from, where you moved from 871 00:47:26,510 --> 00:47:29,890 Is our identity in Christ evident because we're boasting in Him, in Him alone? 872 00:47:30,670 --> 00:47:32,320 People know that's where my confidence is. 873 00:47:32,330 --> 00:47:33,940 It's, it's fully in Christ. 874 00:47:34,810 --> 00:47:37,250 The most important thing about you is whether or not you're in Christ. 875 00:47:38,180 --> 00:47:40,240 And if you are in Christ, then it should be known 876 00:47:43,224 --> 00:47:45,964 We're prone to anchor our identities to so many other things. 877 00:47:47,054 --> 00:47:49,554 I want you to picture a ship for a moment going out to sea. 878 00:47:50,344 --> 00:47:53,104 When a ship's at the dock, it uses its mooring ropes to tie itself 879 00:47:53,104 --> 00:47:54,274 off, and that's what keeps it there. 880 00:47:54,744 --> 00:47:58,183 But when a ship goes out to sea, not that I would know because I don't go on ships, 881 00:47:59,063 --> 00:48:03,233 but those of you who do, when the ship wants to stop somewhere, it drops what? 882 00:48:04,273 --> 00:48:04,783 Anchor. 883 00:48:05,194 --> 00:48:06,543 It drops anchor. 884 00:48:07,203 --> 00:48:09,243 And so when the captain wants to stay the ship in the middle 885 00:48:09,243 --> 00:48:12,303 of the ocean, he's gonna put his full confidence and trust in what? 886 00:48:13,304 --> 00:48:13,963 The anchor. 887 00:48:15,423 --> 00:48:16,994 Your anchor is Christ. 888 00:48:18,133 --> 00:48:21,633 Your identity, being in Christ, that's the anchor of your life. 889 00:48:22,063 --> 00:48:25,734 That is the anchor that keeps your life static and stable no matter what happens 890 00:48:28,078 --> 00:48:31,438 But we're prone to throw out so many other anchors that can't bear the 891 00:48:31,438 --> 00:48:32,738 weight of the ship of our identity. 892 00:48:34,418 --> 00:48:37,827 We throw out the anchor of our job, our income, our education, our 893 00:48:37,828 --> 00:48:41,088 marriage, our family, our political party, our house, our possessions. 894 00:48:41,757 --> 00:48:44,727 A- and, and not that any of those are bad things, they're not, but they're 895 00:48:44,728 --> 00:48:47,687 not the anchor that stays your identity. 896 00:48:49,357 --> 00:48:52,917 The anchor that stays your identity, even when all of those anchors 897 00:48:52,937 --> 00:48:57,248 fail, is Jesus Christ, Christ alone 898 00:48:59,470 --> 00:49:04,060 Because God has put you in Christ, who became to you wisdom, righteousness, 899 00:49:04,410 --> 00:49:08,209 sanctification, and redemption, so that as it is written, "Let the 900 00:49:08,209 --> 00:49:10,419 one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 901 00:49:11,850 --> 00:49:14,169 Most important thing about a Christian is their identity in Christ. 902 00:49:14,189 --> 00:49:17,500 The most important about any, uh, uh, any person, important thing about any 903 00:49:17,500 --> 00:49:19,730 person is the question, are you in Christ? 904 00:49:23,310 --> 00:49:25,940 Uh, the good news this morning, if you're not, is you can be. 905 00:49:27,650 --> 00:49:30,120 Again, Jesus died on the cross for your sins so that you can be 906 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:32,670 forgiven, and He's offering you His full righteousness so that you 907 00:49:32,670 --> 00:49:35,279 can be accepted by a righteous God. 908 00:49:35,279 --> 00:49:38,980 And He rose again from the dead so that you will one day live with Him forever. 909 00:49:39,919 --> 00:49:43,640 That's the gospel, and the call is repent and believe. 910 00:49:45,290 --> 00:49:49,049 If you're somebody who's responded to that, it is amazing for us to think that, 911 00:49:49,089 --> 00:49:55,959 that God has put us in Christ, who did become those things for us, not because of 912 00:49:56,190 --> 00:49:57,949 the fact that we were lovable or lovely. 913 00:49:58,819 --> 00:49:59,369 Quite the opposite 914 00:50:02,668 --> 00:50:05,708 He did that as an act of grace, as an act of unmerited favor, as an act 915 00:50:05,708 --> 00:50:09,078 of mercy so that we wouldn't boast in ourselves, but that we would boast in 916 00:50:09,078 --> 00:50:10,368 Him, that He would get all the glory 917 00:50:13,814 --> 00:50:15,953 Senior year is pretty great in its own right. 918 00:50:16,203 --> 00:50:19,354 Lots of benefits, lots of perks, lots of fun to be had. 919 00:50:20,754 --> 00:50:24,113 But the status that comes with salvation and the difference that it should 920 00:50:24,114 --> 00:50:26,413 make in our lives is even better. 921 00:50:27,493 --> 00:50:27,884 Let's pray 922 00:50:30,744 --> 00:50:33,524 God, I pray that you would help those of us that are in this room that know 923 00:50:33,524 --> 00:50:37,994 Christ as our Lord and Savior to live lives that are truly evidence, evidencing 924 00:50:38,014 --> 00:50:40,004 that reality that we are in Christ. 925 00:50:40,944 --> 00:50:44,044 God, I pray that we would not have these other anchors that we are putting 926 00:50:44,044 --> 00:50:48,093 our confidence in and our hope in, but that we would have our hope and our 927 00:50:48,113 --> 00:50:51,264 ultimate confidence truly in the anchor of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, 928 00:50:51,264 --> 00:50:52,984 and His accomplished work on our behalf. 929 00:50:53,473 --> 00:50:55,864 That He died on the cross for our sins so that we could be forgiven. 930 00:50:55,864 --> 00:50:59,103 He gave us His full righteousness to make us acceptable in your sight, 931 00:50:59,433 --> 00:51:02,123 and He rose again from the dead so that we can live with Him forever. 932 00:51:02,144 --> 00:51:04,044 Lord, that is, that is our hope. 933 00:51:04,464 --> 00:51:06,793 No matter what comes, nothing can change that message. 934 00:51:06,804 --> 00:51:08,213 Nothing can change that reality. 935 00:51:08,214 --> 00:51:12,233 Nothing can change our status of being in Christ if you have placed us 936 00:51:12,243 --> 00:51:15,694 into Him through faith in the gospel. 937 00:51:16,173 --> 00:51:20,354 And so, God, we pray that you would help us to live as those that truly 938 00:51:20,354 --> 00:51:22,863 are in Christ, that the world would see a difference in us, that we would be 939 00:51:22,863 --> 00:51:27,023 faithful ambassadors to those around us that need the hope that comes 940 00:51:27,023 --> 00:51:28,143 with the good news of the gospel. 941 00:51:29,153 --> 00:51:30,703 And so, God, we are so thankful. 942 00:51:30,714 --> 00:51:31,964 We're thankful for Christ. 943 00:51:31,964 --> 00:51:32,844 We're thankful for this church. 944 00:51:32,844 --> 00:51:33,893 We're thankful for this place. 945 00:51:34,193 --> 00:51:37,504 We pray that you would help us to live this next week in front of us, this 946 00:51:37,504 --> 00:51:43,173 next day, this next afternoon in front of us, just extra aware of the greatest 947 00:51:43,173 --> 00:51:47,823 identity, identity that any of us has, and that is that we are in Christ. 948 00:51:48,333 --> 00:51:49,784 We pray this all in Jesus' name. 949 00:51:50,024 --> 00:51:50,444 Amen.