I believe that perspective is absolutely key in the spiritual life for us men. Guys, perspective changes everything. And on this journey of becoming the man that God wants us to be -there’s a cavernous difference sometimes between how we view ourselves, and how God views us. And part of our spiritual journey is actually about becoming the men that God wants us to be, not the men that we think we are. So today, we’re going to be taking a look at this.
CS Lewis says this. He says, “For what you see and hear, depends a good deal on where you’re standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” Do you sense the power behind that statement? Yes, perspective has something to do about where we’re currently standing, and how we view a certain situation. But it also depends on how we think about who we are, and the lens through which we view life. Because perspective changes everything.
I remember a year or so back, I took a trip to Israel, and I was standing on the top of Mount Carmel. In place where Elijah did war with hundreds of Prophets of Baal. And as he was going to battle with them with his sacrifice and making fun of them for their sacrifice before their Gods – we look down upon the Valley of Armageddon.
And in this place, while we’re standing there – we had a guy who possesses one of the largest single contracts in history with the CIA. He’s a former CIA agent, who holds this massive contract with the CIA currently worth millions and hundreds of millions of dollars. He looks down upon the scene and comments on it that it is probably one of the most strategic locations of all time on the face of planet earth for a battle. Because of the surrounding mountain tops and peaks. And because the vast land between these mountains is incredibly flat. And it’s in that location that the battle of Armageddon will happen.
I mean, at that moment when this guy spoke and shared with us this, it changed my perspective on how I viewed that land. And I’ve got to tell you, I bet you you’ve had some perspective-changing moments in your own life. Moments where you look down upon something that you used to view one way but look at it completely differently.
Maybe it’s the moment that you became a Christian? Perspective change. Maybe it’s the moment you had your first child – perspective change. Maybe it’s the moment you did – had a confrontation with your sin. A vast sin in your life. Perspective change, right? Maybe it was the moment of your wedding – perspective change. We have all these perspective changing moments. And I believe that God is trying to get us to take a look at who he wants us to be in this spiritual life.
Today we’re going to be looking at Ephesians Chapter 1, verses 1 through 14. And I want to challenge us to view life through the lens that God has been painting for us. I want to read these words from you, the words from Paul to the Ephesian Church. And I – but I want you to hear them personally on how Paul wants to get you to view your spiritual life with some perspective. Here are the words.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God of our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places..”
“Even as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. According to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.”
“According to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us all in wisdom and insight. Making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose. Which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him – things in heaven and on earth. In him, we have obtained an inheritance.”
“Having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the council of his will. So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him, you also – when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him – were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.”
These words in Ephesians are absolutely astounding and beautiful. They really should honestly take our breath away, because of what God is trying to teach us here. He’s trying to show us the men that he designed us to be. Now I have a number of observations from this text that jump out to me immediately.
First, I see the convergence of the Holy Trinity here. We see God, we see Father, and we see the Spirit coming together. This is an obvious observation. Next, we see the word “in” I-N, repeated over and over again. At least to 12 times in this text, maybe more if you continue to read on. We see the word “his,” repeated over and over again. And we see that it’s his will and his purpose and his glory.
And then He has given us all these incredible, rich blessings we see here. He’s given us every spiritual blessing. He’s adopted us as sons. He has redeemed us through his blood. He has forgiven us of our sins. He has showered us with rich grace. He has given us an inheritance. And we see all these profound, very strong images that are very familiar in meaning. Very powerful in relational terms. Where he sees us as sons that he’s buying and forgiving and adopting – who are getting an inheritance as if we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I love these words here in Ephesians 1 because they give me the strength to understand the man that God has called me to be. Unfortunately, I don’t think we walk around with this powerful understanding or perspective that God has of us. Unfortunately, I think that we sometimes think about ourselves and look at ourselves as broken – as depleted, as imperfect, as damaged goods. And yes, God does look out at all humanity as broken and as sinful and as unrighteous.
But through the lens of the Holy Spirit. Through the life and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the spirit, God views us very differently – from a different vantage point with a different perspective. Let me tell you about the 5 men that I think that I am. Alright, just different vantage points that I’ve had of my own life. And I want you to reflect on this personally.
One vantage point by which I can view my own life, is through the lens of the man that I think I am, right? There’s the man that I think that I am. Vantage point 2, is the man that others think that I am. And we’ve been influenced by this in our life. It’s the man that others think that I am. Vantage point 3, perhaps the trickiest and the most subversive of them all, the man that I think others think that I am. Inside of the private confines of my mind, there is the man that I think that others think that I am. Vantage point 4 is the men that we actually are.
And if you want to see the man that you actually are, all you’ve got to do is turn to Romans 3. And that’s the man unfortunately that you think you are. Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one.”
And then vantage point 5, is the man that God views me to be. And you know what this is? This is Ephesians 1. And I’ve got to tell you, gentlemen – I – on a daily basis, complete with all these other perspectives in my life about who I am other than Ephesians 1. The man that God views me to be.
But I know that these thoughts that I think about God are so critical. I know that the way that I view my life is so critical. Yet, I rarely see my life through Ephesians 1, which is exactly the way that God views me. And he wants me to view myself in the same way as someone who’s redeemed. As someone with an inheritance, someone whose showered with grace. Someone who’s forgiven, someone who’s adopted. Someone who is loved by God.
And yet, I have a self-depreciating, self-depleting mindset in my own mind. There’s the man that I think that I am. The man that others think that I am. The man that I think that others think that I am. The man that I think that I am, based on Romans 3. And then the man that God views me to be.
The choice is this. Is to become the man that God views me to be. And I’ve got to tell you, that’s what the spiritual life is all about. This is not the power of positive thinking, this is the power of accepting God’s truth to me about who he says that I am. That’s it. And that daily and hourly and minute by minute, I have thoughts about myself that are not true. That the world – may be my wife, maybe my friends, maybe my employer is trying to convince me of – that is not true about who I am.
And that I can read God’s Word, and I can be reliant upon the sufficiency of scripture and trust in the truth of God, that Ephesians 1 is right about me. That I’m adopted. That I’m redeemed. That I’m forgiven. And I have a rich inheritance, that will bless me beyond my own understanding. And when we walk throughout our day with this perspective, we begin to understand the beauty and the maturity of Paul here in Ephesians 1.
Well, gentlemen, that’s the show. Thanks for listening. Guys, I want to encourage you to find a couple of other men to join in with you, who you know need to grow in the relationship with Christ. Listening on your own is great. But finding a couple of other men to join with you, is even better.
Guys, get off the bench and get into the game. See life through the lens of God. See it through his vantage point, from his perspective. From the top of Mount Carmel looking down on the valley of Armageddon. Take it with perspective, trust me his word is true. Renew the way that you’re thinking about your own life and the man that you are. And guys, become the men that God intends you to be. And stop being the man that you believe.
