Alive in Him E-Book

Gloria Furman

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 275

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Discover the Immeasurable Love of Christ God's grand plan for the redemption of his creation has been in motion since before time began. The book of Ephesians lays out this glorious vision, revealing what Christ's redemptive work means for the people of God and showing us how we should live in light of that reality. Alive in Him draws us into the main themes in the book of Ephesians, showing us how the blessings we have received in Christ empower our obedience and love for God. Designed to be read alongside an open Bible, Alive in Him helps us apply Paul's letter to our daily lives, reminding us of our purpose on earth and directing our gaze to the love of Jesus Christ—a love that has the power to transform how we live.

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“Paul’s definitive declaration on church life is found in the book of Ephesians—life through, from, in, with, for, and under the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of sinners, the Redeemer, risen, reigning, and returning, now and henceforth forever, by the Father’s appointment, Lord of all. The whole of this comes into focus in Gloria Furman’s applicatory overview of Ephesians, which I enthusiastically commend as vitamin-packed nourishment for Christians everywhere.”

J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

“Some expositions are careful, line-by-line, evenhanded explanations of the biblical text. This exposition is exuberant, irrepressible, and intoxicating. Its strength is that its author, Gloria Furman, has tasted for herself the bliss of being loved by God, and she wants her readers to drink deeply from the same fountain.”

D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Cofounder, The Gospel Coalition

“Alive in Him brings together the rich reality of both the transcendence and immanence of life in Christ. The truths found within its pages remind us that relationship must always precede response. But when that relationship is rooted in the ‘riches of his grace,’ that treasure transforms every other relationship.”

Karen Hodge, Coordinator for Women’s Ministry, Presbyterian Church in America; author, Transformed: Life-taker to Life-giver

“This is a wonderfully heartwarming overview of Ephesians that will encourage and inspire even the most weary of saints. Gloria has worked hard to show how Paul’s letter fits into the bigger picture of God’s revelation and writes in a way that makes these foundational truths both accessible and digestible. Each chapter helps us to join the dots of God’s great plan of salvation that is bringing all things together under the lordship of Christ. With well-worked illustrations and realistic applications, this book challenged me again and again to delight in the love of God and its transforming power so that I might become more like Christ and bring him greater glory.”

Carrie Sandom, Director of Women’s Ministry, Proclamation Trust; Associate Minister for Women, St. John’s, Tunbridge Wells; author, Different by Design: God’s Blueprint for Men and Women

“Reading Alive in Him was like sitting down to a beautiful, soul-nourishing meal, hosted by a good friend. Gloria packs each chapter full of rich truths from Ephesians, and you can’t help but be swept up into her enthusiasm for God’s Word and the gospel story. Gloria is especially skilled at lifting our eyes up from out of the weeds to see the bigger picture: the glorious reality of being ‘alive in Christ’ and what that means to our every day. Accessible, faithful, full of contagious exuberance and joy, and rich with nourishment for your soul, I highly recommend this book.”

Caroline Cobb, singer-songwriter

“Alive in Him is engaging, refreshing, and marvelously surefooted. A delightful read!”

J. Gary Millar, author, Now Choose Life: Theology and Ethics in Deuteronomy and Calling on the Name of the Lord

“In the best possible way, Alive in Him is an unusual book. It is not a commentary, atomizing and analyzing each word and verse. It is not asking the reader to pick a side in a contentious current debate. It is not a greeting card–type devotional that reduces the biblical text to pious platitudes. Rather, it is an in-depth reflection on Ephesians that, in style and content, captures Paul’s bounding enthusiasm in that letter for the majesty of Christ and his gospel and asks us to respond in wonder and praise to God.”

Claire Smith, Bible teacher; author, God’s Good Design: What the Bible Really Says about Men and Women

“Ephesians 4 tells us, ‘He gave some as teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.’ I am deeply grateful that God gave Gloria Furman to the church. Because geography separates us, I can count on one hand the number of times I have gotten to sit under her teaching in person. Each time I was mesmerized, thoughts whirling, unable to write fast enough. Each time I was challenged, edified, and humbled. This book yielded the same result. Alive in Him is a precious chance to sit at Gloria’s feet and hear Ephesians expounded with grace and clarity. Get your pen ready.”

Jen Wilkin, author, Women of the Word; Bible study teacher

Alive in Him

Alive in Him

How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything

Gloria Furman

Foreword by J. I. Packer

Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything

Copyright © 2017 by Gloria C. Furman

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Cover design: Josh Dennis

Cover image: Lettering by Four Hats Press

First printing 2017

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All emphases in scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-4977-9ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-4980-9PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-4978-6Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-4979-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Furman, Gloria, 1980– author.

Title: Alive in him : how being embraced by the love of Christ changes everything / Gloria Furman ; foreword by J. I. Packer.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016026236 (print) | LCCN 2016034395 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433549779 (tp) | ISBN 9781433549809 (ePub) | ISBN 9781433549786 (PDF) | ISBN 9781433549786 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433549793 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433549809 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Ephesians—Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Classification: LCC BS2695.52 .F86 2017 (print) | LCC BS2695.52 (ebook) | DDC 227/.507—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016026236

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-03-03 01:45:19 PM

For the saints who dwell in these desert lands and are faithful in Christ Jesus

Contents

Foreword by J. I. Packer

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: What Ephesians Is—and Isn’t

 1  Blessed in Christ: The Recipients of God’s Rich Grace (Ephesians 1:1–14)

 2  Called to Hope: A Prayer to Know Christ’s Power and Supremacy (Ephesians 1:15–23)

 3  Zombies Raised to Life: God Resurrects a New Humanity (Ephesians 2:1–22)

 4  Mystery Revealed: We Are Members of the Same Body (Ephesians 3:1–21)

 5  Walk This Way: Growing Up into Christ (Ephesians 4:1–16)

 6  Getting Real: Wake Up and Put On the New Self (Ephesians 4:17–5:14)

 7  Sacrificial Love: The Mark of God’s Family (Ephesians 5:15–6:9)

 8  Cruciform Armor: The Church’s Subversive Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:10–24)

Selected Bibliography

Notes

General Index

Scripture Index

Foreword

Out of the blue, by FedEx, came this manuscript, with cover letters from author and publisher, asking me to provide a foreword. The author’s name was new to me, but I turned some pages and quickly found myself back in the days when, at the ripe old age of twenty-two, I stood before a class of war veterans, all older and no doubt wiser than me, to prepare them for a denominational exam on Ephesians in Greek, which they had to pass in order to proceed to the pastorate. (Full disclosure: they all made it, I am thankful to say.)

Whence this jolting of memory? Not from any similarity of teaching style. My job was textual, exegetical, and academic, and my way of doing it, as I recall, was phlegmatic and plodding, whereas Gloria Furman is exuberant, flamboyant, and topical, darting to and fro at high speed to make her points. Nor does any matching of resources come into it; I drew, I remember, mainly on Thomas Goodwin the Puritan and a High Church Anglican named Armitage Robinson, but there are no Puritans in Furman’s reading list, and the Anglicans there are far from Robinson’s type.

What then made my memory bell ring so loudly? It was the perception that digging into Ephesians had thrilled Mrs. Furman’s socks off, just as deep down it had done mine two generations ago (and, for the record, still does). Shared enthusiasm was the trigger factor. Paul’s concentrated layout in Ephesians of the glory of God’s grace—the life-giving, price-paying love of the Father, the life-reshaping mediation of the Son, and the life-transforming ministry of the Holy Spirit—is breathtaking; Gloria Furman feels it, as do I, and evidently we agree that every healthy Christian will feel the same, now and to all eternity.

There is a link of some kind between Ephesians and Colossians. Colossians is often viewed as Ephesians shrunk, but the more natural guess is that Ephesians is Colossians enlarged and generalized into a circular letter that Paul’s aide-de-camp Tychicus would take to a group of churches (see Eph. 6:21), leaving a copy with each. Of this group Ephesus was the church that Paul knew best, so it would not be strange if, when Paul’s letters were collected, this one would be tagged “To the Ephesians” simply. But be that as it may be, what is certain is that Paul’s definitive declaration on church life is found here, just as his definitive declaration on gospel life is found in Romans, with the two together yielding his definitive teaching on Christian life as such—life, that is, through, from, in, with, for, and under the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of sinners, the really real Redeemer, risen, reigning, and returning, now and henceforth forever, by the Father’s appointment, Lord of all.

The whole of this comes into focus in Gloria Furman’s applicatory overview of Ephesians, and of fellowship with Christ according to Ephesians, which I enthusiastically commend as vitamin-packed nourishment for Christians everywhere.

J. I. Packer

Preface

Do you read other people’s mail? If you opened a letter that began, “To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus,” you might not think the contents of that letter were for you. Unless, of course, you were a Turkish Christian reading the Bible on your balcony in Ephesus on a warm spring afternoon while you boiled finely ground coffee beans in a cezve!

Think of the book you are holding in your hands like one of those Lonely Planet guides that you can buy to prepare for travel abroad. The guidebook itself isn’t the experience but something you read to whet your appetite for the real thing. It would be a sad state of affairs to only read about the views from the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa and leave it at that, thinking that you’ve felt the exhilarating dizziness of standing on the 126th floor of the world’s tallest building, with the hot desert air blowing in your face. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is the real deal; my book is a mere bookmark.

Because Ephesians is God’s Word, all of it is to be treasured, obeyed, shared, and meditated upon. God’s Word is eternal. My little book on the themes of Ephesians is not eternal. If you want to know more about Ephesians but settle for just reading this book, then you will lose out. What you and I both need is to feed on God’s Word; it’s not a mere part of life, but it is our very life (Deut. 32:47). My goal is to lead you deeper into the text of the Bible so that you can see for yourself just how wide and long and high and deep is the mind-boggling love of Christ (Eph. 3:18–19). I really hope you’ll read Alive in Him in the context of community. Because it’s based on the text of the Bible, it is best to read, discuss, and apply what you’re learning with other people. Plus all of the you’s in Ephesians are really plural y’alls or youz guyz!

These themes—the new humanity; Christ the head of all things; seated in heavenly places with Christ; a reordered cosmos; spiritual armor—all have the potential of sounding to rational ears like spiritual delusion or fantasy. To those who are tired of their sin and sick of the revolting evil in the world, what Paul has written sounds too good to be true. Is Jesus just our personal Peter Pan who takes us to Neverland, where we never have to face the facts of life? Is Ephesians describing an imaginary playground where Christians go on a farcical spiritual holiday while real wars rage back in the real world? Or is the picture of reality that we’re given in Ephesians the true reality? And is it really as awe-full and terrifyingly beautiful as the letter says it is? Let’s pray that God would give us eyes to see.

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the men and women who have taught and are teaching me how to read the Bible. These saints spur me on to know what is the hope to which he has called us and have specially shaped the way I approach Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: John Piper, Greg Beale, Kevin Vanhoozer, Tony Reinke, Graeme Goldsworthy, Michael Reeves, Elisabeth Elliot, and Timothy Gombis. Their influence is all over the pages of this book.

Ephesians reminds me to praise God for the faithful witness of two young women who winsomely pointed out to a fellow college student the fact of her spiritual deadness. I had no idea that I was dead in the trespasses and sins I was walking in, and when Tiffany James and Tiffany Sumlin shared the gospel with me in a freshman girls’ Bible study, I was floored. I’m eternally grateful for these sisters in Christ who patiently explained to me that God is rich in mercy, and because of the great love with which he loved us (even when we were dead in our trespasses!) he made us alive together with Christ. Thank you, God, for the cross. By grace we have been saved!

I consider it one of the greatest privileges of my life to be a member of my local church, Redeemer Church of Dubai. Thank you for reveling in the mystery together with me—that we are members of the same body and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel. Every time we gather, it is a profound joy to display the manifold wisdom of God to the world and beyond and to catch a glimpse of the new creation, where people from every tribe and nation worship Jesus together.

Special thanks go to Robert Peterson, Andrew Wolgemuth, and Katlyn Griffin for using their various gifts to equip me to write this book. Thank you to Crossway for leveraging all their resources to spread God’s Word to every corner of the globe. I’m so thankful for J. I. Packer’s faithful ministry and books and for the generous foreword he contributed for Alive in Him. My life has been forever marked by Dr. Packer, particularly through his compelling book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, which taught me with no lack of enthusiasm that “we are all under orders to devote ourselves to spreading the good news, and to use all our ingenuity and enterprise to bring it to the notice of the whole world.”1

A scholar has said that if you understand eschatology, you will undoubtedly enjoy your spouse all the more. (I think he could have been paraphrasing Ephesians.) To my dear husband, Dave, thank you for modeling the Christlike love described and commanded in Ephesians. Your determination to love me in the way that Christ loves his church points me to my Savior.

Thank you to the families and churches who enable us to serve. God uses your support and encouragement to help us put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace as shoes for our feet. We couldn’t run with the gospel without you. 

And to the sovereign God who made me alive together with Christ and saved me by grace, forever thanks and praise belong to you.

Introduction

What Ephesians Is—and Isn’t

Often when we read Ephesians we think of its content in lists: lists of the blessings we have in Christ; lists of who submits to whom in the household; lists of the pieces of our spiritual armor. The lists are there, but there are no bullet points in Ephesians. Instead of reading Ephesians to make lists, we should approach it expecting to see what is there in the context in which it is presented. In its most basic interpretation, the first half of Ephesians describes a narrative picture of what Jesus has accomplished through his cross; the second half of the letter describes how we can walk in the light of that reality.

Our expectations for our study of this letter should be high, and no doubt Ephesians will not disappoint. I haven’t read a more effusive description of the letter than this one by pastor and theologian Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

There are statements and passages in this Epistle which really baffle description. The great Apostle piles epithet upon epithet, adjective upon adjective, and still he cannot express himself adequately. There are passages in [the] first chapter, and others in the third chapter, especially towards its end, where the Apostle is carried out above and beyond himself and loses and abandons himself in a great outburst of worship and praise and thanksgiving. I repeat, therefore, that there is nothing more sublime in the whole range of Scripture than this Epistle to the Ephesians.1

Nothing more sublime! Ephesians presents the sweeping panorama of history—from before the world began to after God re-creates all things at the end of this age. The stage was set in the mind of God since before time began, and the scenes move quickly. They even jump back and forth in time. Always, though, always running along is the almost slow-motion feeling of being swept up into the starry host to see the new heavens and the new earth being born. By grace we were chosen to participate in the drama. Could there be a greater privilege in all the universe?

Paul is describing the reordering of the cosmos in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Included in the macroscopic vision we see in Ephesians are detailed descriptions of Jesus’s renewing and redeeming work. Essentially, we are given a picture of how he has reordered everything so that his will is done on earth as it is in heaven; we see what makes sense in this age now that he is the crucified, risen, ascended, and reigning cosmic Lord. Though we tarry, yet in this fallen world, his kingdom has come, is yet coming, and will imminently arrive in full. This age has been described in the timing of history as the “already but not yet” of Christ’s kingdom, which is burgeoning full on the horizon. With faith-eyes enlightened by the Spirit, this is what should hold our heart’s gaze when we read Ephesians.

Alive in Him is about what Ephesians is about. It is not a line-by-line commentary but a thematic treatment of the sublime truths in the letter. We have no need to “make Scripture come alive” when we read Ephesians, because Scripture is already alive (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Ephesians is not a dusty, doctrinal catalogue but a glorious vision pulsating with images of redeemed reality.

The riches of God’s mercy to us in Christ Jesus are headline-making facts in the church. “You were predestined for adoption!” “You are the body of Christ!” “You were saved by grace through faith!” When we understand the implications of these realities, we experience the deepest peace and highest affections for God even though we remain in the body waiting for the Lord’s return. There is a public-witness dimension to our new identity as well. The way we walk either personifies to the watching world what Christ is like (as we are Christians), or it shows a distortion of his image in us. Therefore, studying Ephesians and its content is not about making people aware of their blessings for the sake of self-esteem; it’s about the glory of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians describes in broad strokes and detailed lines how being embraced by the love of Christ changes everything. Because of Jesus there is a “new creation order” in effect from the highest echelon of the angelic order in heaven to the lowliest invertebrate growing in the deepest part of the deepest ocean. It is fitting that the Creator who made all things would redeem his creation. But what of the rebels, God’s enemies who are loyal to the Devil and the world that is passing away? How can they be redeemed? God’s glory is the answer. It is in beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ that we are changed.

That is a message we need to hear over and over again, especially in a world filled with counterfeit gospels that lead to our temporal disappointment and our eternal destruction. Since the Creator has created us with a capacity for hearing his Word, and he has spoken to us, our entire lives must be consumed with knowing and living his Word. While we tend to treat individual Bible verses like Band-Aids, Scripture testifies of itself that it is actually our very life (Deut. 32:47). The headlining banner over the individual Christian’s life and the life of the church is that there is something more satisfying and more enduring than knowing that we are blessed. It is in knowing and being known by the triune God who is blessed forever. We learn about this God in his Word. Ephesians is a call to live according to that reality—walking in the knowledge of God in our daily lives with one another. As we run the race God has marked out before us, we look behind us to see that great cloud of witnesses of those who have finished their race. We also look to the ends of the earth to see our brothers and sisters who are also headed toward that Celestial City. We understand that our life is a vapor, and in understanding the frailty of our lives and the enduring truth of God, we pass down God’s Word to the generations who will come after us. The path we trod is narrow, but it is not lonely! Ephesians calls us to walk faithfully with our eyes on eternity as it expands on the horizon and in our hearts.

Ephesians teaches us how to interpret the world around us according to eternal realities. Ephesians also takes us a step further into concrete application. We’re shown how to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel we love as our doctrine is embodied in everyday life. I deeply appreciate how Kevin Vanhoozer summarizes the concept of Christian integrity:

It’s one thing to have a high view of Scripture; quite another to do its truth. It’s not enough to admire the Bible; we have to embody it. Being biblical is not simply a matter of believing its propositions but of responding to the many things God is saying to us in Scripture. Because God does do more than convey information to us through the Bible, so those of us who read the Bible have to be more than information processors. A robust view of biblical authority requires us to obey its commands, trust promises, sing its songs, heed its wisdom, and hope for its ending.2

In the course of Ephesians we are given a distinctly Christian worldview that addresses the age-old problem of evil: why do God’s children suffer pain and loss if Christ is on the throne? We are comforted regarding the reality of the unseen realm around us: should we be frightened of the powers and authorities if Christ is exalted far above them? The narrow vision we have for our lives is shown on the canvas of eternity. What are we to make of the mundane moments of our days? Do they matter in God’s grand scheme of things? Ephesians reminds us how we have “learned Christ,” and how his gospel utterly transforms literally everything. No realm is untouched—the life of the mind, our emotions, our families, our jobs, our prayers, our worries—everything is subject to the rule and sway of the will of Jesus. We cannot escape or outrun the future grace we have been given in Christ, and our daily lives are profusely marked by God’s love and mercy.

A holy invasion to fill the void in our hearts has been inaugurated through the Spirit, who descends on believers and remains in them. Jesus has bound the strong man and plundered his house, and we are the captives he has released and leads in his train. Jesus is fearlessly and perfectly accomplishing the mission of God to rescue and redeem his children in every corner of the globe. As C. S. Lewis would say, in his world-renowned Chronicles of Narnia, “Aslan is on the move.”

1

Blessed in Christ

The Recipients of God’s Rich Grace

Ephesians 1:1–14

In the cult classic film Back to the Future, teenager Marty McFly travels back in time and interacts with people in the 1950s. When Marty begins to understand the potential repercussions of his time travel exploits, he says that it’s “heavy.” His friend Doc, confused by the colloquial phrase from the future, asks, “Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth’s gravitational pull?” Doc is awestruck by the idea that something as fundamental to life as gravity could be an entirely different experience for people in the future. The irony in the script, of course, is that Doc is also thinking about something that is “heavy.”

Whoa—This Is Heavy

There are many passages in the Bible that we tend to think of as too heavy to comprehend. And we would be right! The letter of Paul to the Ephesians is six short chapters, yet its content is loaded down with a weight of glory that boggles the mind and overwhelms the senses. Some people might pick up this heavy passage in the first chapter, skim over it, and walk away unfazed. I’ve done this myself on occasion, my eyes glossing over the mega-sentence as my mind drifts to wondering what’s for supper. But despite our mortal minds and the distractions that surround us on every side, we have every reason to be encouraged as we labor to press into these truths. This is because the heaviness of this massive paragraph is really a weight of glory that we are meant to bear.

Ephesians is heavy, glorious truth—a burden that can be borne only on the back of humility. So it is with prayerful, humble hearts that we open this book together.

Are We Reading Other People’s Mail?

Paul opens his letter with a customary, customized introduction. He says that he is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” If his authority was initially ambiguous to any readers, let all doubts be washed away in this tsunami of commissioning. God himself, the creator and sustainer of the universe, the one who calls himself “I am,” decreed that Paul is an apostle of his one and only Son, who has been given authority over all things. The words in this letter carry with them the authority of the one who sends the message. The sender is God. The words are God’s Word. God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Can he be instructed? God says and does what he pleases; who can question him (Job 36:22–23; Rom. 11:34)?

God invented our human minds by which we peer into the words that have their origin in his mind. When we hold the Bible in our hands, we are holding a book of unfathomable significance and authority because it is God’s Word. Our ability to acknowledge this fact is evidence of God’s mercy in our lives. Our Creator does not owe us anything; it is benevolence of infinite kindness that God would speak to us and to do so in such a way that we might understand. Living wholeheartedly according to his Word, as we are well aware, requires a powerful work of grace that comes from the almighty God himself.

The phrase in 1:1 that describes the Ephesian Christians as “faithful in Christ Jesus” is startling. Is Paul using flattery to win over his readers by calling them “faithful”? Admittedly, I do this as a mother sometimes, but I like to think of it as something more positive such as vision casting. “Would my helpful children please come set the table for dinner?” I want to summon my youngsters to rise to the occasion and prove their helpfulness. Is Paul trying to cast a vision for the Ephesians to prove they are faithful? No, this is neither empty flattery nor inspiring vision casting. Paul is calling it like it is. If you are “in Christ Jesus,” then by definition you are faithful. That’s why this introduction is startling. If you looked back on the last day of your inner dialogue, spoken (or typed) words to others, emotional leanings, et cetera, you would have a hard time coming to the conclusion that you are the embodiment of godly faithfulness. So we must be reading someone else’s mail, right? How does Paul get away with saying that we are faithful? Because we are “in Christ.” This little term—in Christ—is actually the subject of a host of weighty ideas and expressions that are developed throughout the New Testament. Paul calls Christians those who are “in Christ.” This in-ness is a one-ness: because Christ is alive forevermore, so we are alive in him. As you read Ephesians, keep an eye out for phrases such as “in Christ” and “in the Lord.” Paul will spend the rest of his letter describing what life looks like as a result of being one with Christ—in Christ.

Becoming a Christian is a result of being in Christ. It is not merely our countenance, manners, religious habits, or other externalities that have changed since we were made alive in him. At the moment of our conversion we were altered at the very core of our being. The life of Christ is now in us. Anglican theologian Richard Sibbes put it like this:

Before those opposed to each other can be friends, there must be an alteration; and this alteration must be either on God’s part, or on ours. . . . On a musical instrument, those strings that are out of tune are adjusted to those that are in tune. In the same way, it is we who must alter, and not God.1

Once we were God’s enemies; we are now reconciled to him through his Son. And it is in his Son where we will remain forever. Paul doesn’t call us “saints” because we are holy people in and of ourselves. He doesn’t call us saints because a religious organization has conferred on us the title. He calls us saints because God has set us apart and placed us in his Son. Our “saintliness” is because of what Christ has done on our behalf. We belong to God as his holy people by his own initiative and Christ’s work on the cross. Ours is to respond in faith to this gospel. Paul’s introductory blessing is apropos, a statement of fact that we mustn’t allow our hearts to miss the thrill of pondering. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:2).

The Fulfillment of the Sanguine Psalm 103