You Were Born Rich

Transcripts for Dr. Wiersbe's sermons are forthcoming. Below is an outline of his message.

The theme of Ephesians is “be rich,” and the key verse is Ephesians 1:3.

It’s good to have the things money can buy as long as you don’t lose the things money can’t buy.

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are rich.

We have many blessings in Christ.

The blessings we have as Christians are in contrast to the blessings God promised His people under the Old Covenant.

Four contrasts that help us understand how rich we are in Jesus Christ:

-      The blessings God has given us are spiritual, not material.

• Spiritual blessings come through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• The Spirit unites us with Jesus, applying all His blessings as the perfect Son of God to us.
• You can’t judge a person’s spirituality by material things.
• Spiritual blessings go deeper than the material.
• Success in the Christian life does not mean material things.
• Our blessings can never lose their value.

-      The blessings God has given us are heavenly, not earthly.

• The heavenlies represent the whole sphere of authority and blessing and victory that Jesus purchased through His death, burial, and resurrection.
• You don’t judge God’s goodness by material things because He has made us rich in His kingdom.
• If God has given you earthly riches, use them for His glory.

-      The blessings God has given us are permanent, not temporary.

• God made us rich with His blessings as soon as we were saved.
• God has already given us every spiritual blessing we will ever need.
• We can always draw upon the blessings God has given.

-      The blessings God has given us are given by grace, not law.

• We are not saved by our good works, so we cannot be lost by our bad works.
• When believers know how rich they are in Christ it does not make them want to go and sin.
• We don’t need substitutes because we have the real blessings.

We find all that we need in Christ Jesus.