Our Identity in Christ: Our Benefits

Before we move on, we must stop and consider the benefits of being rooted in Christ.




Psalm 103:2

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

For those who are in Christ, God's benefits are unlimited.     However, there are five which quickly come to mind!      I call them the five P's!!!


1.   Purpose:    God has good works prepared for us.


      Ephesians 2:10

      For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared    
      beforehand, that we should walk in them.

2.   Provision:    He will supply every need.

      Philippians 4:19

      My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.



3.   Peace:     His peace is available at all times.

      Philippians 4:7

      The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
      Christ Jesus.



4.  Promises:    His promises are our inheritance.

      2 Corinthians 1:20

      All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ.



5.   Protection:    Nothing will touch us apart from the sovereign hand of God.

Isaiah 27:2-6

In that day,

“A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!

3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;

every moment I water it.

Lest anyone punish it,

I keep it night and day;

4 I have no wrath.

Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!

I would march against them,

I would burn them up together.

5 Or let them lay hold of my protection,

let them make peace with me,

let them make peace with me.”

6In days to come Jacob shall take root,

Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots

and fill the whole world with fruit.

Below is Matthew Henry's commentary on this powerful passage.   It is deep stuff.   Continue reading it and you will understand it more and more in time to come.

The church, in God’s eye, is like a vineyard of red wine. The world is as a fruitless worthless wilderness; but the church is enclosed as a vineyard, a peculiar place, and of value, that has great care taken of it, and from which precious fruits are gathered, which honor God and man. It is a vineyard of red wine, yielding the best and choicest grapes, intimating the reformation of the church, that it now brings forth good fruit unto God.

God takes care of the safety of this vineyard.   Those that bring forth fruit to God are and shall be always under his protection. 

God’s vineyard in this world lies much exposed to injury; there are many that would hurt it, would tread it down and lay it waste (Ps. 80:13 ); but God will suffer no real hurt or damage to be done it, but what he will bring good out of. 

He will keep it constantly, night and day, for the enemies are restless in their attempts against it, and seek an opportunity to do it a mischief. God will keep it in the night of affliction and persecution, and in the day of peace and prosperity, the temptations of which are no less dangerous. God’s people shall be preserved, not only from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, but from the destruction that wasteth at noon-day, Ps. 91:6 . This vineyard shall be well fenced.

Of the fruitfulness of this vineyard: I will water it every moment,and yet it shall not be overwatered. The still and silent dews of God’s grace and blessing shall continually descend upon it, that it may bring forth much fruit.  God waters his vineyard by the ministry of the word by his servants the prophets, whose doctrine shall drop as the dew. Paul plants, and Apollos waters, but God gives the increase; for without him the watchman wakes and the husbandman waters in vain.

That, though sometimes he contends with his people, yet, upon their submission, he will be reconciled to them, v. 4, v. 5.Fury is not in him towards his vineyard; though he meets with many things in it that are offensive to him, yet he does not seek advantages against it, nor is extreme to mark what is amiss in it. It is true if he find in it briers and thorns instead of vines, and they be set in battle against him , he will tread them down and burn them; but otherwise, "If I am angry with my people, they know what course to take; let them humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and so take hold of my strength with a sincere desire to make their peace with me, and I will soon be reconciled to them, and all shall be well.’’ God sees the sins of his people and is displeased with them; but, upon their repentance, he turns away his wrath. 


 "Let him that is desirous to be at peace with God take hold of his strength, of his strong arm, which is lifted up against the sinner to strike him dead; and let him by supplication keep back the stroke. Let him wrestle with me, as Jacob did, resolving not to let me go without a blessing; and he shall be Israel—a prince with God.


The preaching of the gospel brought forth fruit in all the world (Col. 1:6 ), fruit that remains, Jn. 15:16 .