Monday September 1, 2008

Together in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-2

“1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NASB)

Over the next 12 weeks, we at First Baptist Church of Diana will be seeking the Lord through a study of Ephesians in our LIFE Group ministry. On this blog you will find devotionals that can be considered daily to assist in study and meditation on the great truths God has given us through this blessed book of the New Testament. If you are not a member of FBC but have stumbled onto this website, we welcome you to take this journey with us and believe that God will bless your study in the ministries of the church where you faithfully serve.

My intentions in these devotions are to address one particular theme each day from the section of Ephesians under study in a particular week. We will also have a memory verse each week to serve as a reminder of what God is teaching us through His Word. I invite and encourage you to join in this study as we discover what God wants to do in our lives during these days.

The first two verses of Ephesians clearly identify this literary work as a letter from Paul to believers in the city of Ephesus. Although we are not in Ephesus, I believe we can receive the teachings and admonitions as though he were writing them to us this very day. Upon that foundational understanding of the New Testament, let us consider the title he gives to believers here, “saints.” Paul calls them saints and gives a further description as “faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul liked to identify Christians as in Christ and spoke about walking “in the spirit.” John preferred to use the term “abiding in Christ” as is found in John 15. Paul was certainly speaking to men and women who had placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you also qualify for the title saint. A saint by definition is “one who has been set apart.” When a person is saved by Jesus Christ, he is literally set apart from the world. The implication is that this person set apart is more than he was before. There is something special about this person labeled as saint. Some would have you believe a saint is one that has lived some supernatural life and earned the title of saint. The New Testament teaches it is a title bestowed because of the supernatural work Jesus has done in salvation. No one earns the title saint through good living but receives the title through an action of the Living God.

Rejoice in your blessing of sainthood given through the grace and mercy of Almighty God. Rejoice today in the blessing of being set apart through the love of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the supernatural work that God has done in your life to bring salvation and the freedom that follows.