Day 24 - A Position Not A Place by Pastor Philip Olubakin: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Ephesians: First Who You Are, Then What You Do

Ephesians is divided into two halves. The first three chapters tell you who you are in Christ. The last three chapters tell you what you should do because of who you are. This order is everything.

We do not do good to become sons of God. We do good because we are already sons of God. We do not become righteous by doing the right thing — we do the right thing because he has already made us righteous.

You are not righteous because you did right. You are righteous because he did right — and you are in him.

Just as all of us became sinners not by committing sin but simply by being born, all of us became righteous not by living right but simply by being born again. Born in Adam — sinner. Born in Christ — righteous.

But God

Ephesians 2:1-6

We were dead in trespasses and sins. We walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. But God — who is rich in mercy, for his great love — quickened us together with Christ.

The day Christ died was the day I died. The day he was buried was the day I was buried. The day Jesus rose from the dead was the day I rose. Verse 6 says he raised us up together with Christ and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Heavenly Places Is a Position, Not a Location

There is a story of a chairman who came late to his board meeting. Not wanting to disrupt, he sat at the nearest available seat by the door. An usher said, "Mr. Chairman, your seat is at the head of the table." He replied: wherever I sit is the head of the table.

As a believer, you are seated in heavenly places. Not because of where your body is — but because of who you are in Christ.

You may be sitting on your couch. You are still seated in heavenly places. Heavenly places is your position, not your location. And if Jesus is the head of the church, and the head is seated at the right hand of God — then where is the body? Right there with the head.

Equal Access for All

Ephesians 2:18-19

Through Christ, we all have access by one spirit to the Father. Equal access. Not more access for pastors than for laypeople. Not a closer line to heaven for bishops. The moment you give your life to Christ, the door is open.

You are no more a stranger or a foreigner. You are a fellow citizen with the saints and of the household of God. You are a citizen of the kingdom — deployed here as an ambassador. You came from heaven. Your citizenship is of heaven.