So if you'd like to follow along,
we're gonna be in the book of Ephesians, chapter two. Ephesians chapter two, let's
just start in verse 10. Four, we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore, remember
that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands. that at that time ye were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. Two great words. But now, but
now, in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes were afar off. are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. And I'm just gonna stop right
there, otherwise I'll just keep going. My title today is Without Christ,
In Christ. Without Christ and In Christ. These are opposites. This is one of those, I don't
know if you wanna call them dualities, sets of opposites, you understand? There's many ways the world,
people in the world can be divided. There's Jew or Gentile. That's what all Gentile means
is not a Jew. That's what it means. I'm not trying to be prejudicial,
but there are opposites. There's lost and saved. This is one, without Christ or
in Christ. This is an opposite. And here's
the thing. This letter is written to believers. Paul writes it. Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints which are
at Ephesus. And here's us, folks. And to
the faithful in Christ Jesus. This is written to believers.
Because I'm gonna tell you something. The believer is the only one
who knows what it's like to be without Christ and to be in Christ. They're the only ones. The lost
cannot understand the saved. However, this is also true, the
saved used to be lost. You can understand where they're
coming from. Believers can understand unbelievers, but unbelievers
cannot understand the believer. Oh my. I got a quote here from
John Flavel, I like this. Did Christ finish his work for
us? Yes. Then there can be no doubt,
but he will also finish his work in us, I like that, I like that. Verse 10 starts it off, for we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them. Like I said, this is written to the saints in Ephesus
and the faithful in Christ Jesus, this is written to believers. Those that are what? Created
in Christ Jesus. Oh, here's the thing. We are
his workmanship. Believers are the product of
the potter. The heavenly potter. God himself
We are the vessels unto honor, even when we don't feel like
it. Can I tell you a secret? Even when we don't act like it,
we are vessels unto honor. We are his workmanship. Understand,
Psalms 100 verse three puts it this way. Know ye that the Lord,
he is God. It is what? It is he that hath
made us and not we ourselves. Oh my, what? We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. I like that verse, I like that
verse. It's he that made us, not we
ourselves. We don't get any credit in salvation. It's a gift. It's a gift. Well, I have to. For by grace
are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. I'm gonna tell you something,
grace is the gift of God, faith is the gift of God, salvation
is the gift of God. Why? For we are his work. We're his work. We didn't do
it, he did it. We just get to enjoy it. We get
to rejoice in it. We are told to rejoice in it.
Oh, oh, and here he tells us, through the Apostle Paul, how
he made us. We are created in Christ Jesus. What does it say in another place?
A new creature, a new creature. Oh my. Well, verse four of chapter
one says, according as he hath chosen us in him, that's in Christ,
before the foundation of the world that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love. And the work of grace is just
that, creation. Created in Christ Jesus. To understand the difference
between an unbeliever and a believer is the work of God. He makes you something that you
were not. Ah, by grace are you saved. By grace, oh. The work of grace
is a creation, a manufacture. That's what this word workmanship
means, a fabrication. God takes you and makes you a
new creature in Christ Jesus. Not in yourself, in Christ. The people of God are the works
of his hands, not their own. And they are the work of God's
hands in the blessed son, the Lord Jesus Christ. chosen in
Jesus Christ, created in Jesus Christ. Folks, that's salvation. That's salvation. And I'm gonna
tell you something else. That's good news. It's not up to you,
it's not up to you, it's not up to me. God makes his children. Oh my. The work of almighty God
is to be created in Christ Jesus. Now, verse 11. Well, actually verse 12. Well, verse 11, gotta say part
of this. Wherefore, remember that ye being
in time past Gentile. Paul's going back now. Remember,
believers, you were in times past Gentiles. In the flesh,
you are called the uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. But here's the thing, that at
that time, Before, in times past, ye were without Christ. Remember. That's what he says. Remember. Don't forget where
you came from. Remember, remember. Understand,
here's the thing. Unbelievers have nothing to remember. They're still there. This makes
no sense to them. but it does to believers. Remember,
remember. What is it? Here it is, Isaiah
51 and verse one. Hearken to me, ye that follow
after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord, what? Look unto
the rock when she are hewn and to the hole of the pit when she
are digged. Remember where you came from.
Remember what God brought you out. You were in a pit. What did it say? One place, deep
and miry clay. Stuck there. There was no hope
of you climbing out. But he picked you up. And not
only that, he picked you up and he put you on the rock. And that's
the rock Christ Jesus. I don't know about the rest of
that song, but there's a chorus I really do like. I hold not the rock,
but the rock holds me. And that's the way it is. Praise
God for our foundation, sure. He puts your feet on the rock,
but he, you were in a pit. The unbelievers still in the
pit. They got nothing to remember. All they got is what they are,
but we do. And Paul says to remember it.
Remember. Oh my. Remember where you came
from. Remember who you were. And that
is the key word here. Were. Were. In time past you
were. Oh. What were you? And here's where he starts. Without
Christ. Without Christ. Understand, nothing
else matters than that one item without Christ. Here he was talking
in verse 10 about being created in Christ Jesus, but then he's
talking about where you were. You were without Christ. Without Christ, oh my. Understand,
we still know now that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. but where we were without Christ
was nothing but the flesh. That's all we had. That's all
we had. Oh my. What do you call us? Aliens and strangers. Aliens and strangers. And that's
just not because they were Gentiles. That's because they were without
Christ. You understand, he's writing this letter to Ephesians,
he's writing this letter to Gentiles, he's writing this letter to us.
But I'm gonna tell you something, any Jew that doesn't have Christ
is without Christ. There's no difference. That's
not the difference. You understand, and here's the
one thing I do want you to remember, because he's talking about we
and us and all this, but when he gets to this point in verse,
Verse 12, that at that time ye, ye, ye were without Christ. He's talking to individuals.
Now it's true of all of us. It's true of all believers that
at one time we were without Christ. But here it is, he's saying remember. You remember where you were.
Understand, I can't remember where you were. I wasn't there. And I don't know what was going
on in here. And you can't remember where I was, but I can remember. Oh, it's personal, personal. Without Christ, I was an alien
and a stranger. What? It says what? Aliens from the Commonwealth
of Israel, from the people of God. and strangers from the covenants
of promise. I didn't know a thing about them,
Mac. I didn't know anything about them. The farthest thing from
my mind. Didn't care anything about God,
didn't know anything about God. I was ignorant. I was ignorant
of the things of God, the true things of God. And here's the
thing. Don't worry about anybody else,
worry about yourself. Oh my. What was it? I read a quote, I meant to write
it down, and I don't know that I did. It says, a believer who
is, no. I don't know exactly how he put
it, but it was really good. Darn it, I hate that. Basically
the gist of it is this. If you're believing in Christ,
you're harder on yourself than you are on others. If you not
believe in Christ, you're harder on others than you are on yourselves. And that's the way it is. A believer
is supposed to be harder on himself than on others. Oh my, and I'm gonna tell you
something, this is true of every single saint. every single one
of the faithful in Christ Jesus. We were at one time aliens and
strangers. Without Christ, we didn't know
Christ or God, and here, we were in the world, but without Christ. We were in the world, but without
Christ. Without God in the world, having
no hope. That's what it says. That's what
it means to be without Christ. And Paul says, remember this.
Remember this. Oh my. Actually, it's the way he starts
out, chapter two. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and in sins. Wherein in times past ye
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience. They're still the way you used
to be. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. We were just like everyone else
in this world. That's what it means to be without
Christ. To be without Christ. In times past, we walked and
we talked just like the world. And we were okay with that. We
were okay with that. We might or might not have been
happy with it. But it's all we knew. It's all
we knew at the time. Understand, we didn't even know
there was a different way, much less a better way. Because we didn't know the way. He is the way. Oh my. And I can't go into this without
picking at this word. You know, we do that sort of
stuff around here. Understand, this says, what does he say? At that time, ye were without
Christ. Without Christ. Understand, this
is the opposite. Without Christ and in Christ.
That's the opposite. Now, some people, you might think,
in Christ and out of Christ. But that's not what it says.
It says without him. There's a real sense, you will
never see, well let's put it this way, you'll never see in
the scripture anybody being said to be outside of God or outside
of Christ. Because I'm gonna tell you something,
there's a real sense nothing and no one is outside of Jesus
Christ. They are without Christ or they
are in Christ. That's the opposite because you
understand, Outside, it's only used eight or nine times. I looked
in the scriptures, the word's only used eight or nine times,
and it means the exterior. There's nothing exterior to God.
There is no outside of God. But there is, oh my, without
Christ. We've been there. We've been
there. And Paul says, remember it. Remember
it. Because I'm gonna tell you something.
That will help keep you humble. you realize that you didn't dig
yourself out of the pit. You look at the hole you used
to be in, and you realize you didn't get yourself out of it.
God got you out of it. He lifts the beggar off of the
dunghill, and sits him with princes. He lifted us out of the miry
clay, out of the deep pit, and set our feet upon the rock, and
then what? says he ordered our steps. Oh my, remember where
you come from. What this word without means,
if you look it up, it means separate, apart from Christ. What it means is not being in
Christ. not being in Christ. Because
you understand, he's the potter over the whole lump. And he's
able of that same lump to make those vessels under honor and
those vessels under dishonor. They come out of the same lump.
Oh my. To be separate or apart from
Christ is to be dead in trespasses and in sins. And let me tell you something,
folks. I understand how there are a lot of things, a lot of
circumstances. There's nothing worse in this world than to be
without Christ. Nothing worse, because you have
no hope. That's what he said. You got no hope, you're without
God, and you're in the world. And we know what a horrible thing
that is. The world doesn't know. The unbeliever
doesn't know. but the believer knows and the
believer is to remember because he says it in verse 13, I love
this, but now, but now, but now, in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus,
what? Here's the thing, you were far
off. You who were a far off, you're
not a far off anymore. You've been made nigh. What's
that mean? Made near. You know why? He's bringing his children. Bringing
in what? Many sons into glory. In glory. Oh, I like that. He's bringing his people in.
He is gathering his people what? Where? To himself. To himself. Oh my. But now in Christ Jesus
ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh, how? By the blood of Christ. By the
blood of Christ. There's some work involved in
salvation, it's just not your work. There's blood involved
in salvation, but it's not your blood. It's his precious blood. Understand Holy God had been
offended by us Individually by us And you know what happened Holy
God came down Manifest in the flesh took upon themselves the
form of a servant Lived a perfect life The father
said, in him I am well pleased. He never said that about any
of you. He never said that about me either. You know why? Because
it wouldn't be true if he said it about us. But what's true
about his son, Jesus Christ? And he came and God laid on him
the iniquity of us all. And he bore it on the tree. in
his body on the tree. He paid the debt for our sin
that we could never pay, though we gave all we had, and even
shed our own blood. It wouldn't reconcile us to God,
but Jesus Christ did. And I said did because it's in
the past tense. He has reconciled us to God.
He has redeemed us to God. He has, in God's sight, I love
this part, perfected forever those that he set apart, that
he sanctified. And he sanctified us by the one
offering, and he perfected us by the one offering. And that
offering was made to God 2,000 years ago or thereabouts. And that's what it means when
you're created in Christ Jesus. You are in Christ Jesus. You are in him. He's seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high. You're in him. You're
in him. And he is in you. Oh, I like that, I like that.
But now, all believers are in Christ. That's what being a believer
means. You, I, we're all without Christ
at one time, but now. But now, what? In Christ Jesus,
you are made nigh. You are made nigh. You didn't
get nigh, you were made nigh. Oh, I like that. Mm. I didn't get created, I was created
in Christ Jesus. Oh my, this is who we are, brothers
and sisters. We are in Christ Jesus. Now we are to remember what it
was like to be without Christ Jesus. But we are to rejoice
now that we are in Christ Jesus. Oh my, this is who we are, and
by God's grace, this is where we are, in Christ Jesus. I like that, I like that. God in heaven, the father in
heaven can look upon us who believe and see his son, and see his
son. And you know what? He can look
at us and say, I'm not gonna destroy you off the face of the
earth. I'm not gonna send you to hell.
I'm gonna bring you to myself. Why? Not because of you, but
because of your son. Because you're in Christ Jesus. You're in the beloved one. Chosen in him, created in him,
you're in him. And that's a wonderful, wonderful
thing. William, I'm gonna leave you
with this. William Augustus Clark wrote this. And as far as I can
tell, this is the only song he ever wrote. but it's good. Space and duration God does fill
and orders all things by his will, respecting all the holy
seed chosen in Christ, their blessed head. God's jewels of
election love were sanctified in Christ above. In oneness with
his nature pure, join heirs with him forevermore. I like that. I do. Well, you know, somebody calls
you God's jewels of electing love, it kind of gets your head
big, but this is the thing. He chose us in Christ. He created
us in Christ. We were without Christ, and now
we are in Christ. And here's the thing, folks.
Believers, we get to know this. What God has done for us. You
know where you came from. What you were. What you used
to do. Now granted, I'm still not doing
what I should sometimes. I'm not perfect. But it doesn't
matter, nevertheless, I am created in Christ Jesus. I am not without
Christ anymore. I've been there, I know what
that's like. You've been there, you know what that's like. And
you know what it's like to be in Christ Jesus. So what'd I
say? Rejoice. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time, this place. And Lord, thank you so much for
your son, who gave himself for us, a ransom for many, who is
bringing in, bringing in his, he calls us his brethren, bringing
in many sons to glory. Thank you, Lord, for all you've
done. Be with Paul and Walter as they
come to preach your word. Be with others who are standing
in other places preaching your gospel on this day. And every
day, be with us as we go forth. Thank you, Lord, in Christ's
name.