The Painted Door Church - Chicago

Members of Jesus / Ephesians 4:17-25

September 23, 2018 Pastor Mark Bergin
The Painted Door Church - Chicago
Members of Jesus / Ephesians 4:17-25
Show Notes
Who am I? This is the defining question of the human experience. Without an identity, our lives lack meaning, direction, even coherence. We must know who we are. Yet careful examination of our own personhood--our passions, abilities, fears, hopes, etc.--can provide a disconcerting answer. In and of myself, I have many deviant passions, many lacking abilities, many crippling fears, many misplaced hopes. On my own, my identity is in shambles. But what if who I am was never meant to be determined independently? What if I was always meant to be defined in relation to others--and most importantly, in relation to God? The message of the Christian gospel is that my independent and broken self, the shambles that is me, is not my true identity. All of my crumbling personhood has been sutured into the very body of Jesus Christ. And attached to him, all of that inadequacy is overwhelmed by his more than adequate body. Every passion in him is pure, every ability present, every fear overcome, every hope sure. All that Jesus is defines me, because I am united to him.