"An Identity, a Family and an Inheritance"

 

From verses 11-14: "In him we were also chosenÉ in order that we might be for the praise of his glory.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth.

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritanceÉ"

 

            We remember with thanks those we knew who showed us Christ, and we give thanks for all those who have gone before us in faith, all the way back to the New Testament, to the Ephesian Christians Paul writes to in this letter. What do they give to us? They call to us, encouraging us to live in such a way that those who come after will find us faithful. And how did they remain faithful? It is not just that they were strong people or especially spiritual. It is that they were chosen to be in Christ by the plan of God; they were included in Christ when they heard the Word, they received the Holy Spirit as a seal and deposit. So they had an identity – they were chosen in Christ; they had a family – they were included in Christ; and they had an inheritance – they were sealed by the Holy Spirit for the Kingdom.

            Today I lift up a saint who was very much involved in my spiritual formation as a child and teen. I have mentioned him before: my friend, Paul Hovig. Paul had a very high fever in infancy that did some brain damage. That left him with some struggles in life. He was always included in church, and still is. He is a few years older than I am but was placed in the Sunday school class along with Gordy Hedeen and me. Paul went to a different type of school than we did. He did not have the same growing up experiences that we did. His jobs over the years have been in sheltered workshops. He lives in a group home in Seattle. But, he was in Sunday School every week, he came to youth group, sang in the youth choir, went to camp in the summer with us, and stood around on the sidewalk after church with us every week.

Paul was very much part of our Christian formation. Everything we were taught, every inspiring or challenging speaker we heard, every activity we did was always in some way in the context of Paul. People of other age groups could deal with him from a distance, could greet him and then go off to their own group. Gordy and I were always with Paul. He was certainly our friend, but it was not always easy. We could get tired of explaining things over and over, we sometimes had to slow down, and we missed out on a few adventures because we were with Paul. But Paul was real, he was real life, he was always in the mix. Sometimes we got angry with him. Sometimes we got frustrated. But we never made fun of him; we never played jokes on him or left him out. Paul was part of our Christian formation. We learned to read the Bible with him in the room; his experience had to fit into what we were taught.

So there was never a doubt that he was chosen, he had an identity in Christ and in the church. He had family; he was included in Christ, even when that was inconvenient. He has an inheritance, a place in heaven with the saints. I don't know if I can tell you just exactly what he taught me in those years, but I know that everything I learned was influenced by him. So I give thanks for Paul today.

            Paul helps me think about what it means to be chosen, to be included and to have an inheritance. Sometimes I get too focused on issues of competence or my lack of competence in what I am trying to do for the Lord, and then I get nervous about those things. Am I really chosen in Christ? It doesn't feel like it. Am I really included in this gathering of saints? It seems I must fall short. What this scripture and this day helps me to understand and believe is that it is God who chooses us in Christ, it is Christ who forms the family by his cross and resurrection, and it is the Holy Spirit who guarantees the inheritance. The things in life that we can so easily lose do not qualify us for the Kingdom of God: competence, strength, wealth, and social standing. These are the things that we might compete for, and they become our sources of anxiety. These are not the basis of our belonging or our identity or our future.

            Paul writes that in Christ we were chosen, predestined according to the plan of God. Klyne Snodgrass writes, "the existence of the people of God can be explained only on the basis of God's character, plan and action, not on some quality in the people who are chosen. The initiative is always God's based on his grace. His purpose always is to draw humanity to himself." Then he goes on to say that God's choosing always takes place in and through Christ. "Individuals are not chosen and then put into Christ. They are in Christ and therefore chosen." To be chosen then is never a cause for feeling superior. It is always a matter of responsibility. We are chosen to do something.

            The sense of inclusion in the family of God comes by faith. We identify with Christ. We share in his death and resurrection. We take the bread and cup today. We are in Christ. That puts us in his family. That is where the inclusion comes. Not by trying to be just like everyone else in the church. It is not a matter of cultural values or background. It is not a matter of how much we can produce for the cause, of how important we can make ourselves. It is by identifying ourselves with Christ that we are truly included in his family. Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." These are the boundaries of inclusion in his family, not any man made categories of who is considered powerful or important or worthy.

            To have an identity in Christ and to be included in Christ's people is also to be sealed by the Holy Spirit in conversion. When we trust Christ with our lives, confessing our sins and committing our lives to him, there is a mark given for eternity. We bear the Holy Spirit. In the ancient world, seals were put on letters and packages and the seal conveyed both authenticity and ownership. The Holy Spirit in your life says you belong to God.

            In the ancient world in business, a deposit could be given, a kind of down payment that guaranteed the complete payment to come later. So Snodgrass writes, "The Spirit is the guarantee that the full future inheritance will be delivered."

            All of this is to say that we live as faithful people not out of a sense of competence, not in a prideful way because of our family or culture or learning, but we live as faithful people out of the assurance and confidence of being in Christ. It is by being In Christ by faith that we find freedom and boldness to be faithful, to do His will. May all who come behind us find us faithful.

            Amen.