Union With Christ - Chosen With Him

This week’s message begins our Union with Christ series, exploring what it means to be chosen with Him and adopted into God’s family. We are reminded that our identity is not based on labels, past experiences or performance, but on what God has done for us through Jesus.

In Christ, we are chosen, accepted, redeemed and sealed with the Holy Spirit. This powerful truth reshapes how we see ourselves, giving us confidence, security and purpose as children of God. We are no longer defined by where we have been, but by who we belong to.

This message calls us to go deeper, to move beyond simply identifying as Christians and to truly live from our identity in Christ. As we understand who we are, we can begin to live boldly, following fully and becoming more like Jesus each day.

Transcript

How are we doing? Good, good, good. Well, let's share a word of prayer before we proceed. Jesus, be glorified in everything we do here this morning. We pray that we will have a transformative experience in your presence.

Oh, God. As we began this new series, God, let it not be just another series, but let it be a series where you will confirm your word with signs and with wonders. As a father, do everything that you want to do in this place. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. I'm really excited about this new series Union with Christ. And today my job here is to share with you chosen with him as it pertains to our identity and adoption.

When I was preparing this, I came across a story that I found very interesting, very intriguing. In fact, it inspired me. And this is the story of Simone Bowles, who happens to be one of the. In fact, she is the most decorated gymnast in history. 31 championship medals, 11 Olympic medals.

But her story didn't begin this way. She had a very tough life as a child. In fact, the story is that her mother struggled to look after her and her siblings. And so she had to be put into foster care for years. But thankfully, and God being so good, she was adopted by her maternal grandparents.

And this gave Simone and her younger sister a place to live, a sense of belonging, gave them an identity. They were adopted into that family. They were legally entitled to be part of that family, financially entitled to be part of that family. But most important, above all, it gave them a sense of belonging. And we can draw a link into what we're going to talk about today in terms of what God has done for us as far as our identity and adoption is concerned as believers.

When people ask you the question, who are you? You know, what church do you go to? Personally, I'd say, and most of us here, I go to Venture Church. They might ask, what church is it? Is it Pentecostal, is it charismatic, is it Orthodox, whatever.

You might say, well, it's a non denominational church. Some people might say, well, I go to a Baptist church. Some say, I go to a Methodist church. I go to a Catholic church. I mean, you're part of the body of Christ.

And then as you begin to zoom in, you say, well, I'm a Christian, and what does it really mean? Because we use the word Christian a lot. And there's nothing wrong with using the word Christian. But it's quite interesting that the word Christian is actually used three times in the Bible and the first one is in Acts 11:26. And it says when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.

So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians. First at Antioch, and then in Acts, chapter 26, verse 28, he said. Then Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? And then we see it.

In 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 16, he said, however, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear the name. So as I said, nothing wrong with the name, you know, being called a Christian. But beyond that, we got to discover who we really are in Christ because we can carry the tag, the name Christian, but to really dig deep and begin to walk in knowing that we have a union with Christ. The apostle Paul often used the expression in Christ because it was central to him. And we can see in 2nd Corinthians 12:2, it says, I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven.

Whether I was in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. And many theologians and scholars alike argue that Paul was making reference to himself. We look at Romans, chapter 16, verse 7. It says, Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been imprisoned with me.

They are outstanding among the apostles. They were in Christ before I was. So this begs the question, how did it all begin in terms of being in Christ? You know, that should be our starting point. And I'm going to take a cue.

From Ephesians, chapter one from verse one to 14, Ephesians chapter one from verse one to 14. And as I said in the previous services, damages came. Give you a warning. We are in Bible class today, so I hope you brought your notepads, you brought your, you know, your. Whatever gadget you use, at least take something with you before you leave this place.

Ephesians, chapter 1. From verse 1 to 14, it says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. By the will of God, he said to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. He said, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse three, it says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.

Every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. Not some spiritual blessing, not a spiritual blessing. Every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. For me, this is the Fulcrum, the backbone of Ephesians, chapter one from verse one to 14. And so let's journey together now that we got into the place where we know we've been blessed by God with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.

What are these blessings? What has God done for us?

First and foremost, we're chosen by God. What a joy to know that I am chosen by God. You are chosen by God. We are chosen by God. In Ephesians 1:4, it says, Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

So we have been called and chosen by God alone. And that makes you and I valuable. God places value on us, and this is the beauty. We are not just chosen from something, but we're chosen for transformation. So one, yes, we're chosen, but we also adopted.

And so when we look at Ephesians 1:5, he said, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, God, who knows all things, sees all things, is all powerful, is not bound by time, is eternal, chose us before time to be called sons and daughters of His. This puts us in a privileged position, as I said, by the grace of God, to be in God's family. What an absolute identity God, an awesome identity God has given to us to be in Christ, knowing that we are adopted.

In Romans 8:15, he said, for we do not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, abba, Father, my father. Abba, Father, Daddy, God, who loves, who cares for us, is our Father. And so when we come to him, we come to him as a father, a loving father. Why? Because He.

He calls us the beloved child of God. We are his beloved children. In Ephesians 1:6, it says, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the Beloved. We are accepted in the beloved. You know, the beauty is God's love is everlasting.

Jeremiah 31:3. The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Sometimes I have these wow moments where I think about where God took me from and the journey in Christ so far. And my mind is blown away by the mercy and the love of God.

I don't have time to tell you where God took me from.

But I know that had it not been the love of God, there is no way I would be standing here with, I mean, sharing the word of God with You. So the everlasting love of God that is timeless is what makes us his beloved. But not only the everlasting love of God, but the fact that the point that God loves what he's created, that's what the Scripture says. In Genesis chapter one, verse 31, he said, God saw all that he had made. It was very good.

And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:31. All that God made, including you and I, good.

So if ever you hear the voice of the enemy or any situation or anyone says to you, you are no good, remind yourself, God made you. And everything God made is good.

His love is everlasting. And he loves what he's created.

So we experience the love of God. But also the scripture in Ephesians 1 from 7 to 8 reminds us that we've been redeemed by God. In him we have redemption through his blood. We had communion today, redemption through his blood. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us from our sins.

The blood of Jesus has redeemed. In other words, he purchased and paid for all that. In fact, you owe God nothing because of the blood of Jesus. And so whenever as Christians, to understand that our walk in Christ, one of the pillars in that, is to see that we've been redeemed through his blood. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which he made to abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence.

And what really blesses my heart is that redemption is both freedom and forgiveness. And the Scripture says that he who the Son sets free is free indeed.

Where the Spirit of of the Lord is, there's liberty. And so you have been freed. You're no longer a slave to the past. You're no longer a slave to what held you bound. You have been forgiven.

As far as the east is from the west, it's blotted out your transgressions. We have been forgiven. That's how powerful the love of God, the forgiveness of God is.

Having been redeemed, having been forgiven, God moving us from a place of bondage to a place of freedom, he reveals his purpose to us. In Ephesians 1:9, he says, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purpose in himself. The Scripture says, eye has not seen, neither has ear heard, nor has he entered in the heart of man what God has prepared for those that love Him. He's the mystery of his will. This highlights both the revealing of who God is, who we are and his intentional plan, which is his purpose for you and I.

God has a plan. He has a purpose for you and I. We're not here by accident. We're not here by coincidence. And that's the reason why, being in Christ, there's no need for you and I to believe in luck.

God doesn't do luck because it's not a God. It's not by, you know, by chance. He said, the steps of a good man are ordered by God. Praise God. Luck is based on chance.

What God has purpose is what he would do. Nothing can change it. No man can shift it. Nothing can be added to it. It's what God has, purpose.

So he reveals to us his purpose. That's why we got to get into His Word to discover his purpose for our life. Because it's a mystery. It's a mystery. And then it brings us into the uniformity of his purpose.

In Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 10, he said that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he, he might gather together in all the things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which on earth in Him. One day there will be a gathering of God's people. One day, believers, we all in Christ will be aligned with the will of God. Everything will ultimately work with God's will and according to his plan. In the name of Jesus.

What a joy it is to know this.

There's a word that really stood out for me, and that word is inheritance. And we see that In Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 11, it says in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be, to the praise of his glory, our inheritance in God. There's nothing wrong with leaving an inheritance for the next generation. But most importantly, let's look forward to the inheritance, our inheritance in Christ Jesus, which is incorruptible. It cannot be destroyed.

Our inheritance in God. In first John, chapter three, from verse one to two, he said, we shall be like Christ. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Praise God. So our inheritance in God 1 we will see Christ and will reflect Christ. But also we will reign with Christ not only in heaven, but we reign with Christ on earth.

We? Why? Because Ephesians 2:6 it says that God raised Christ up with Christ, raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly places far above principalities powers. We reign with Christ. And so I want to encourage you, as you are in Christ, whatever has been troubling you, whatever has been giving you, you know, whatever has been boasting against your faith, rise up in that knowledge that you reign with Christ.

Praise God. Because Christ reigns above every situation, all powers, all dominion. He reigns. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He reigns.

He is all powerful. And scripture says that you are seated with him in heavenly realms. Praise God. You reign because of Christ.

And what a joy to know. According to John 14:3, he said, when everything is ready, I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am. We will have a heavenly home with Christ.

It's a joy. So we got to take time to think through to dig more and more. What does it mean to have a union with Christ? What does it mean to that? God has given us a new name, we have a new identity.

We have been adopted into the family of God.

And the joy to even top it up is knowing that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We sealed with the Spirit of God in Ephesians chapter 1 from verse 13 to 14. It says in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory. We belong to God. And one, the evidence that you and I belong to God is that we carry his presence.

We.

Become conduits of his presence in our workplaces, in our community, amongst our friends, amongst you know, wherever we go, we carry his presence. His presence brings peace. His presence, the kingdom of God works in us by virtue of his presence. When we carry his presence means that we also represent God. We are as the Word will be ambassadors or plenipotentiaries of God.

We carry God with us. We represent Him. Think about the ambassadorial rights that you know. Recently I had opportunity to meet the the Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. My God.

When she came in the entourage the authority the my God because she representing the president of Ghana. But beyond that we represent the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.

So I want to encourage you to walk in that confidence, that you are an ambassador of Christ and know that his presence is with you. The presence of God is proof that we are children of God. So we looked at what God has done for us. Let's look at who we are as believers in Christ, our union with Christ. Ephesians 2:10.

It says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Beforehand that we should walk in them. In other words, we are accepted in Christ. We are secure in Christ. You are significant in Christ.

And to top it up, you are God's masterpiece. You are God's masterpiece. Think about it for a moment. God took time to make you. In the beginning, I said, Genesis 1:31, Everything God made was good.

It took time. He put all that, all that makes you you, in you. That's correct.

Everything you need to live as you is given to you.

Not only that, you have the backing of heaven because you're a child of God.

So you got to remember.

That God has a plan, a purpose. He's made you his masterpiece. You are in union with Christ, and you should live as such.

When we look at all this, what God has done, who we are in Christ, it's important that we know the next steps to take. Walking. I call it walking in the mystery of our union with Christ. In Second Corinthians, chapter five, from verse 16 to 17, he said, from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is yet. He said, therefore, in other words, the conclusion of the matter, it doesn't matter what has happened before. He said, therefore, whoever is in Christ, I believe we are in Christ. And because we are in Christ, he said, everything. The old has passed away.

The old is gone. The new is here. Not tomorrow. It is here. The new is here.

And every day, you got to walk in the new. Every day, morning by morning, new mercies. You see, Great is his faithfulness. You got to walk in the new. So what do we do to walk in the new?

Number one, I encourage you prayerfully study the word of God this week and learn what it means to be in Christ. Not only this week, but continue. Because if you don't dig into it, you'll never find out. You never find out. Spend time in worship and thanksgiving.

Because God inhabits the praises of his people in the place of thanksgiving. The place of reflection. God brings you into a place of revelation, but also acknowledge and receive the love of God. You got to know that God is for you, not against you. God loves you.

I remember that as a child of God, you have been redeemed. You are no longer a slave to sin. And then finally, you ask God to teach you to be like Jesus more and more.

Because as we place our eyes on God, on His word, on the glory of God, we are being transformed from glory to glory because we behold the face or we look into the mirror, which is the word of God. The Word is transforming us. So you might be here today and you're saying, you know, Pastor, I don't know what you're talking about because I don't have a relationship with Jesus. I want to give you the opportunity that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross. And today I've reminded you that God loves you.

God is not against you. I want to encourage you to make that decision, to follow Jesus Christ. And if you're here as well, if you want to make that decision, that there will be people to my left and to my right, they'll be here more than willing to pray with you. I would encourage you to do that. If you're here as well and you've been working with, you know, you've been coming to church, you're ticking the boxes, you serve or you do things, you know you are here.

You call yourself a Christian, but there's no real connection. You're going through a place of dryness, what a scripture will say. You have a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. The grace of God is available for you to step into Christ and be who God has called you to be. Let me pray with you as we close.

Heavenly Father, we thank youk for your faithfulness. We thank youk that you've given us opportunity to hear your word, your transformative word, oh God. Your words that give life. I pray that everyone here, oh God, will come back testifying of your faithfulness as we've discovered and we continue to discover who we are in Christ, as per our union with Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father.

In Jesus name, amen. God bless you.