Your Identity In Christ

what we would refer to as a boss?
d. So from our frame of reference, this is more like a employee/employer relationship than a slave/master relationship.
4. So how does Paul tell us we should treat our boss? First, he tells us to "Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."
a. What Paul tells us is that we should be genuine toward them, as if we were working for Jesus himself.
b. Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
c. So you should treat your boss the same way you would treat Jesus.
5. Look what else Paul tells us to do. He says, "Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart."
a. We should try to please them all the time, and not just when they are standing there watching us.
b. It shouldn’t matter if they are there or not, we should work just as hard and do just as good a job when they are not there as we do when they are there.
c. We have slang terms for when people work hard when the boss is around then they do when he’s not, and they are all derogatory terms.
d. So if they are terms that are not appropriate to talk about, don’t you think the actions they represent just as bad?
e. God is calling His people to be genuine, honest and trustworthy people.
f. We are to represent our Lord and Savior in all we do, and we are to set an example for other to follow.
g. As Christians, we are to serve God with all our hearts, and that includes on the job.
6. In reality, on our jobs we are to "Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."
a. We have talked a lot about the fact that everything we have in this life was given to us by God.
b. Well don’t you think that includes our jobs?
c. If we look upon our jobs as given by God, then shouldn’t we work not as though we are working for an earthly boss but for the Lord Jesus?
d. Whenever a Christian is submissive to the Holy Spirit his accomplishments are as to Christ, because Christ is both the origin and the goal of his obedience.
e. He does everything out of love for Christ, by the power of Christ, and to the glory of Christ (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
f. Therefore, we are to do it with all of the enthusiasm, effort, and skill that we are able.

B. Christian Work Ethic
1. Illustration: A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God is in our everyday tasks. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote, "The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays -- not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship."
2. We are to look upon our jobs as a gift from God.
a. If God had not given us healthy bodies, we could not hold a job.
b. If God had not given us the skill, we could not perform our job.
c. If God had not given us a brain, we could not perform a job.
3. We are to look upon our jobs as ministries from God.
a. We show the character of God by our integrity on the job.
b. We show the faithfulness of God by our reliability on the job.
c. We