Knowing Your Identity in Christ: I am Made Alive (Ephesians 2:5)

What if the life you’re looking for has already been given to you?

On this episode of 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents, host Christen Clark invites you to pause from your busy family life and rediscover the life-changing truth of Ephesians 2:1-5. With relatable stories and practical encouragement, Christen explores how the Gospel’s resurrection power affects Christian parenting, offering advice and concrete steps for raising Christian kids and modeling grace in everyday family time and discipleship.

• [00:01:19] The powerful identity statement: “I am made alive”
• [00:03:19] Discipling kids beyond striving and rule-following

Resources:

• Instagram: @7minutedevotions, @christenclark
• Family Podcast: @collidekidspodcast

Transcript

Christen Clark [00:00:01]:

Hello and welcome back to 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents. I'm Christen Clark, and I am your host. I'm a very busy parent. I have lots of things going on. I have lots of to-do lists that are still open. And I don't know about you guys, but I have a lot of tabs open on my computer. Is this an issue with busy people? We just always have things open. I probably need to shut that down and clean that up.

Christen Clark [00:00:22]:

Anyway, I'm so glad that you're here today. If you listened to the last episode, I encouraged you to finish reading chapter 1 of Ephesians. And I don't know if you noticed, at the end of that chapter, Paul reminds us that the ultimate display of God's power was the resurrection of Jesus. And now we are in chapter 2. Paul is showing us what that resurrection power means for us personally. So today's identity statement is simple but life-changing: I am made alive. Let's look at Ephesians 2:1-5. It says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.

Christen Clark [00:01:14]:

We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath. —as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace. So right off the bat, it says you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Before Jesus, we weren't just spiritually weak. We weren't spiritually struggling. We were spiritually dead.

Christen Clark [00:01:50]:

Now, this isn't a physical death., but it is a real death. It's separation from God because of sin. It's the state of being unsaved. Scripture describes this condition in other places as being blind or enslaved to sin or lovers of darkness or sick, lost. That's our starting point apart from Christ. And here's what's so humbling: God didn't rescue us because we were lovable. He didn't save us because we were worthy, Paul even says we were children of wrath in those verses. In other words, we belonged to a family that was not a part of God's family.

Christen Clark [00:02:27]:

We were living under another authority, and we gave God no reason to love us. But then comes one of the most beautiful phrases in all of Scripture: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ." Because of his great love and his rich mercy, not because of us. One scholar says it this way: Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God and simply receive his great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. That is so freeing. Christ shared in our death so that we could share in his resurrection life. That same power that raised Jesus from the grave is the power that brings our spirit to life. We were dead, And now we are alive, and it is all because of grace.

Christen Clark [00:03:19]:

Now, if you're a parent listening, this is so important for you to remember. It's not just for ourselves, but how we disciple our kids. Sometimes we subtly communicate that Christianity is about trying harder and being really good and following all the rules and being better. Clean yourself up, make yourself right. But the gospel starts with this truth: you cannot make yourself alive. Dead people cannot revive themselves. God is the one that does the work. When you talk to your kids about salvation, be sure not to rush past this part of the before, but the before picture of their lives.

Christen Clark [00:03:55]:

Help them understand what it means to be separated from God. Help them to see the beauty and the richness of God's mercy. And just as important, let's stop trying to make ourselves more lovable to God in front of our children. We need to model receiving grace too. When you mess up, it's okay to say that. When you repent, when you turn away from sin, tell your kids about that. When you talk about Jesus, talk about what he's rescued you from. It is powerful for your children to know that mom and dad were dead, and now they have been made alive too.

Christen Clark [00:04:35]:

Well, before we pray, we're going to practice our identity rhythm. This is something we're going to do in every episode of this season, and I like to keep repeating that because I want you to hear that this is something that's going to keep coming up. And I want you to go to our social media pages and check out the information so you can read back and listen again to these identity statements. This is about who we are in Christ, why it's true, and how we live from it. So let's say this identity statement together: I am made alive. I am made alive. Though I was spiritually dead in sin, God made me alive with Christ by his mercy and grace, not by my effort. Because I am made alive, I stop striving for God's approval.

Christen Clark [00:05:21]:

I live from grace and model that grace to my children. Let's say this identity statement one more time: I am made alive. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for loving us when we were dead in our sin. Thank you for your mercy that is rich. It's richer than anything that we deserve. And God, I just thank you that you loved us so much you would send your Son to die on the cross for us. That is a love greater than anything I can comprehend.

Christen Clark [00:05:50]:

God, I just pray right now that you would help us to stop trying to earn what you have already freely given through Jesus. Help us to live our lives as someone who has been made alive, and help us to be grace givers and rich in mercy, just like you are. Help us to model that for our children, and help us to live in that love and that grace that you've given us. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, friend, I hope this encouraged you today. Remember, you are not spiritually striving your way toward life. If you are in Christ, You are already alive, and that resurrection power is at work in you. If this encouraged you today, would you just take a minute to leave a rating and a review on whatever podcast app you're using? I know I say that a lot, but it really is so helpful for other families and people to find out about this show, and they might need this encouragement today too.

Christen Clark [00:06:41]:

So I'm so grateful for your support. Until next time, remember who you are and who you belong to. Thanks for listening.