Do You Know Who You Are?

Do you know who and what you are when you are deeply rooted in Jesus, with Him as the center of all things and the foundation you build your life upon? Do you understand all the wonderful things He has promised and given you? Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3 give us an incredible glimpse.

According to Ephesians, you are a saint (1:2), blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (1:3), chosen (1:4), adopted as sons and daughters of God through Jesus (1:5), favored (1:6), redeemed and forgiven (1:7), you have obtained an inheritance through Christ (1:11), you are sealed (1:13), God’s possession (1:14), part of Christ’s body (1:23), no longer dead in your sins and offenses (2:1), alive with Christ (2:5), raised with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places (2:6), saved by grace through faith (2:8), God’s workmanship created in Christ for good works (2:10), brought near to God (2:13), you have access to the Father through the Holy Spirit (2:18), you are a fellow citizen of the saints and of God’s household (2:19), built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as the cornerstone that holds it all together (2:20), growing into a holy temple of the Lord (2:21), being made a dwelling of the Holy Spirit (2:22), fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel (3:6), enlightened (3:9), revealing the wisdom of God through the church to rulers and heavenly authorities (3:10), you have boldness and confident access to God through Christ (3:12), you are inwardly strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit (3:16), Christ dwells in your heart (3:17), you are rooted and grounded in love (3:17), know the love of Christ (3:19), and filled with the fullness of God. Additionally, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17, if anyone is in Christ, they have become a completely new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says that we are ambassadors of Christ.

Ephesians chapter 2, verses 20-23 state that Jesus is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, and that the Father has put all things in subjection under Jesus, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body. And in chapter 2, verse 6, Paul wrote that we as believers are positionally seated in heavenly places in Christ. While this concept can be extremely difficult to understand, it is an amazing and encouraging promise.

Why is it important to understand this? When we understand who we are and what God has given us, we are strong, rooted in Christ, living in and with purpose, filled with unexplainable peace, unable to be moved, and confident to stand in the spiritual warfare that we endure, which is against spiritual forces that we cannot see.

2 Timothy 2:3 also likens us as soldiers of Christ, and Ephesians 6:10-17 gives us the key to how to arm ourselves and fight the spiritual battle through the armor of God.

The armor of God consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

The belt of truth holds everything together. It is the truth of God and His word, and staying with it and adhering to it. If we don't live in the truth, our armor is completely ineffective.

The breastplate of righteousness is Jesus' righteousness that has been credited to us through our faith. In order to keep it on, we need to continue to live righteously, applying God's word and instruction in our lives, and continuing to pursue God's righteousness.

The shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace is knowing and understanding of the gospel and being able to share it. More importantly, it is also having the peace with God that Jesus brought by bearing our chastisement for our sins on the cross. It comes from forgiveness from our sins and being reconciled to God, no longer enemies with Him.

Faith in God is our shield! It's trusting in God and His word. In order to wield it effectively, you have to continue to stay in God's word in order to know His promises and to give you strength in Him. This keeps the enemy's fiery arrows away.

The helmet of salvation is the assurance of salvation. One of satan's favorite tactics is to get people to doubt their salvation and their standing with God. If you're constantly assured of your salvation, then he isn't going to be able to cause you to feel doubt and fear.

The sword of the Spirit is God's word. More specifically, it's specific scripture that is used both offensively AND defensively in order to disarm the enemy's lies. The best example is when satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness after His 40 day fast when He was weak and hungry, and Jesus countered his attempts to tempt him with scripture.

Remember that prayer is our offensive spiritual weapon. It can be used to bind and loose the things of the enemy and the kingdom of heaven. To pray in the Spirit, we ask God to lead us in our prayers and show us what to pray for. And we need to pray as God instructs us to in scripture; for world leaders, nations, families, revival, the peace and protection of Jerusalem, for other saints, etc.

Don’t forget Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

This scripture helps us to take every thought captive to Christ, and helps us to withstand the enemy’s attacks on our minds.

So stand firm. Stay rooted in Christ and don’t stray from the truth of who you are. We may not win every battle, but we do not need to be afraid or retreat. Jesus won the victory and we are standing in it with Him.