Ephesians 2. In Ephesians 1 Paul prayed for the church, that the eyes of your hearts would be enlightened, that you may know that hope to which God has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance… for all who believe (1:18-19). Paul offers the church two incredible chapters of text that clarify the place of believers and the church. His deepest desire is that believers come to truly understand their new identity in Christ. This theme continues in Ephesians 2.

You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… (2:1). Watch the verb tenses in this passage! In the times past, the days prior to our relationship with God – we were dead, trapped in sin, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit of disobedience, we carried out the passions of our flesh (2:2-3). This is how we once were, along with the rest of humankind.

But God (2:4). Ah ha – the turning point – the cataclysmic shift when the creator of the universe stepped in and changed the course of history. “But God” is one of my favorite phrases in scripture. In fact, it’s a phrase that often appears in my own testimony and life story… But God intervened and everything changed!

But God… made us alive together with Christ (2:5). In Christ we are spiritually resurrected. More than that, we have been raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (2:6). We have been transferred to the kingdom of God and put in a place of spiritual authority because of Jesus. By grace we have been saved through faith, it is not our own doing, it is a gift of God (2:8). We’ve been saved, and it’s a gift to us from God that we cannot earn with our own good behavior.

Even more, we have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ (2:13). We have been reconciled to God (2:16). We have access to the Holy Spirit (2:18). We are no longer strangers or aliens, but members of the household of God (2:19).

That is one amazing statement of who we are in Christ and our new identity! Read Ephesians 1-2 over and over until it sinks deep into your heart, your identity in Christ is an exceedingly great inheritance.

One last note: Your new identity comes with a task. Did you notice it in the text?

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (2:10). We were created to do good works. God has good works already prepared for us to do.

What good works might God have prepared for you to do? How might you best live into the things God created you to be doing, for his glory and the good of the kingdom?