Identity

Identity

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.   Ephesians 1:1 - 2 (NLT)

Who am I?  

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.   Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

You were chosen in advance.

The actions we are responsible for are to…

Listen

Receive

Believe

Hope

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.   2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.   Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

You may have given up on God, but God has not given up on you. 

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.   Ephesians 1:13b - 14a (NLT)

Ephesians chapter 1 is based on your identity in Christ.

When we are truly in Christ, we can live from our identity not for our identity.