Dip Into The Book Of EphesiansSample

IDENTITY MARKER 1 - IN HIM YOU HAVE EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING

Paul delves straight into the concept of identity and the first thing he wants you to know is that you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Why? Because if you were reading this letter in the 1st Century in the cities Paul is writing to, you’d to need to know who your identity in Christ. It is the same for us today. 

Let’s take Ephesus as an example. With a massive Temple of Diana/Artemis towering over you as you walk to your house church, you might feel overwhelmed with the spiritual power of that god. The temple was one of the seven wonders of the world, it was the economic and social centre of the city. This massive structure could intimidate you, make your God feel small in comparison to the grandeur of this temple. But Paul reminds that you serve a powerful God and not only that, your God has already blessed you in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

As we read the Bible, notice on the tense – we have been blessed, meaning we already have it and not any blessing, but you are blessed with every spiritual blessing. When you pray, remind yourself that you are not begging God to spiritually bless you but  you are claiming what you have already been given. Roy Orbison said, “You got it! If you need peace, you got it! If you need joy – you got it! Already!”. Now remember this isn't about just claiming anything, but claiming what the Bible clearly says he gave us through the Cross. The things we can establish our identity on; we are loved, chosen, holy, blameless, forgiven. As you study Ephesians Paul is going to lead you through some of these, so get ready.  

Knowing this and establishing our identity on this changes the way we act, it changes the way we pray! We don’t pray begging God to give us what he already won for us on the cross, we pray in thanksgiving, grace and confidence that we already have the spiritual blessing we need, we are just waiting for it to manifest in the natural.