Followed By Mercy

Stop Auditioning For A Role You Already Have

• W. Austin Gardner • Season 3 • Episode 15

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Holiness in this episode isn’t a bar you climb over but a home you’ve already been brought into. It’s a life defined by belonging to God, not by keeping score. In this rich conversation with Robert Canfield, we look at Ephesians 1, where there are no commands, only declarations of what God has already done: chosen, sanctified, accepted, and sealed in Christ.


A new foundation for holiness

 We are promised Sanctification, not pressured to sanctify ourselves, as seen in Hebrews 10 and 1 Corinthians 6, which state that we are washed, sanctified, and justified. The work is finished in Jesus, not fueled by our anxiety. Stop reading Scripture as a performance checklist and start hearing it as good news, then guilt loses its grip and weary hearts find rest in mercy.

Identity before behavior

 Using the picture of marriage, we see that covenant establishes identity first, and then behavior slowly learns to match what love has already made true. As we look ahead to Ephesians 2, we discover what it means to be God’s workmanship, created for good works that are prepared for us, not demanded to earn favor or keep our place.

From masks to mercy

 We talk honestly about masks, church fatigue, and the quiet shame that makes people hide. Paul’s prayer for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1 becomes our prayer too, asking God to open our eyes to what He has already accomplished so we can move forward with assurance instead of fear.

If you’ve been living like you still have to audition for a place you already have, this conversation invites you to rest, receive, and walk in the freedom that is already yours in Christ. 

Subscribe, share it with a friend who’s tired of striving, and tell us which verse helped you see yourself differently this week.

Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Austin Gardner:

Today I'm joined by Robert Canfield again, and I'm excited because we are going to jump into Ephesians chapter two. We've been talking quite a bit about all that God has done for us. Robert, maybe you'd like to kind of give a review of some of the things we've seen that God did for us in chapter one. I don't know.

Robert Canfield:

Well, in chapter one, he talks a lot. He gives us a lot. So Paul's writing there to the church of Ephesus. And he's telling them all the things that he's made them. Being in Christ Jesus doesn't just come with fire insurance. It's not just getting out of hell. But rather, it's him making us into something glorious. And he is reminding the readers there of God and all the blessings that he's given us. He made us a chosen one. We're a holy people. We're without blame in love.

Austin Gardner:

Let's talk about holy just for a minute, because I think that's a word that very few people understand. So he's made us holy, and that that is who we are. He said he wrote the letter to the saints and the faithful. And he promised them grace and peace, or he wished them grace and peace. And he said that they had been chosen to be holy and without blame. The word holy is all it means in the original language is separate, set apart, dedicated. It is not necessarily what you might have been raised with as the idea of holy.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, I think when I think the word holy, I think somebody who doesn't do anything wrong.

Austin Gardner:

In other words, I chose Betty and I set her apart to be my wife. That's not about her behavior. And on the days that she's not doing right, she doesn't quit being my wife. And so when God called us and prepared us to be holy, he separated us from the world to himself to be his. It is not a it we will strive to be holy because a good wife would want to be a good wife, but it's not based on uh wifely behavior.

Robert Canfield:

So when God says that we should be holy, he's saying right here that we should be dedicated for service towards him.

Austin Gardner:

He has separated us to himself, he has dedicated us to him, and he says, Why why don't y'all be separated to me and be dedicated to me?

Robert Canfield:

Amen.

Austin Gardner:

I've given myself to you, give yourself to me. We turn that into a legalistic term too often. Well, we turn it into you have to.

Robert Canfield:

And in this passage, if you just read in the context, he's just telling us who we are.

Austin Gardner:

In chapter one, he's telling us who he makes us. That's right. Yeah. Who we are now in Christ. Because in chapter two, he's going to go back to what we were. Amen.

Robert Canfield:

So he in this passage, like in this verse, he says that we should be. That's a being verb, right?

Austin Gardner:

That's yeah, but notice, notice what he said. He said he chose us to make us separated, separated to him. And without blame. How do we how do we get without blame? It's not by our conduct, but it's by his sacrifice. How do you, how are you without blame?

Robert Canfield:

Well, I think he tells us at the beginning of the verse, he says, chosen us in him. So the only way I get a thing to be blameless is being in Christ Jesus.

Austin Gardner:

And all of this in verse 6 is the praise of the glory of his grace. See, it's all about what he's done and how he made us accepted. And that word accepted even is much more than what the English word is, because it comes across like, okay, you can be in the room, you can be tolerated, but we're not tolerated, we're welcomed. We are given a big old bear hug and we're in love. Before I leave off that word holy, what is a word that we use in our Bible to be when we when something's made holy? Sanctify, right? What does sanctify mean? I get I've always heard it as set apart for a purpose. Okay. Have we been sanctified biblically? Yes. What verse would say that?

Robert Canfield:

Being sanctified.

Austin Gardner:

What you think and meditate on. See, he sanctified us. Find me some verses. It says he sanctified, he made us holy. He set us apart. All right. It's never been about nothing in the Bible, it's about what we do. And Ephesians chapter 1 is all what God is doing.

Robert Canfield:

Well, Ephesians, he uses a word that he might sanctify it and cleanse it through the washing of the water of his word by the word. By the word. 1 Thessalonians 5.23 says, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. So the God of peace sanctifies us completely. 1 Timothy 4.5 says, For it is sanctified by the word. Well, I think he's talking about food right there. First 2 Timothy 2 21. If any man there purges himself of all these things, he shall be a vessel of honor, sanctified meat for the past. Yep. Yeah, there's sanctify the Lord in your heart. Oh, Hebrews 10.14. Hebrews 10 10, by which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once and for all. He says in 1014, a couple verses down below it. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. So we get sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once and once for all. And then we are being made perfect forever through that sanctification.

Austin Gardner:

Okay, while we're on it, why don't you look up real quick, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 2? 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. I'm gonna chapter 1, verse 2. I just want them to say, I want them to understand it's not about what you do.

Robert Canfield:

Unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Are what's that mean? It's a state of who we are, it's a state of being.

Austin Gardner:

I think the probably the most powerful verse is 1 Corinthians 6.11. Read that one and explain that a little bit. 6.11. 1 Corinthians 6.11.

Robert Canfield:

And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified. But yeah are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.

Austin Gardner:

So sanctified it means it happened to us. Yeah, sanctified. That's past tense. All right, did you read Hebrews 10, 10 a while ago?

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, I did.

Austin Gardner:

Read that again.

Robert Canfield:

Hebrews 10. I'll get back there. He said, By the which will we, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ, Jesus Christ, once for all.

Austin Gardner:

So how are we sanctified? By the body, by Jesus' offering. Okay, so see, back to Ephesians chapter one. We are receiving all of this. We're not making ourselves holy, we're not making ourselves chosen, we're not making ourselves have all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places. And if you're in Ephesians chapter one and you're you're reading that, you're gonna be like, man, God is good. In fact, it is in verse 7, it said, according to the riches of his grace, he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom. So, and he did all this just because he wanted to, he purposed it in himself, and so God wanted to do all these things in us.

Robert Canfield:

He made this plan before the foundation, before every set set the foundation of the earth.

Austin Gardner:

So we have lived with a two-man-centered approach to Christianity. It is about what I do, how good am I? How do I stand up next to you? If I holy is being a little bit better than you. That's what that's how we mean holy today.

Robert Canfield:

I guess there's there's a lot of room for us to glory in that. Isn't that what a man-based religion does, though? Yep.

Austin Gardner:

And so that this is not what's that's not what's going on in our lives. It's in fact is in verse 19 it says the exceeding greatness of his power to usward that believed. That's what we did. We believed. That's what we did. We believed. That's really all we've done is believe, because we we have heard the word of truth, and then we believed, and then he sealed us with the Holy Spirit. He sealed us. So he said, all you got to do is hear what I got to say and believe it, and I do everything else. What else? He does it all. He chose us before we'd ever done right or wrong, whether we were good or bad. He chose everyone and the means of salvation, he chose that, which is in Christ.

Robert Canfield:

All right, but it just doesn't stop because some people think there's a salvation part, and then there's a sanctification part where all the salvation part is done by God, but now the sanctification part is done by us. And so it requires our effort.

Austin Gardner:

The sanctification part, we are sanctified. Such were some of you. You are sanctified. You are sanctified. So he sanctified us, he separated us, he made us holy. Like in the Old Testament, when they when something was dedicated to the temple, they could sprinkle it with the water and the blood, and it was made holy. We've been sprinkled with the water and the blood, we've been made holy. We belong to him. It's like what happens when you get married and your wife, you are you make her your wife. It's not about did she fulfill wifely duties before you married her? Does she fulfill wifely duties after you marry her? She doesn't get married to you because you're good and then have to live up to being your wife. It's not about that, it's about what he made us. And he said, You're mine, I separate you to myself.

Robert Canfield:

It's a good good analogy. It's a good illustration of that two now have become one, they're one thing now. And so he has made us one with him. We are in him, and everything, the all the the riches, all the blessings that he has now rest and resides in us.

Austin Gardner:

And the verse 19 said, the exceeding greatness of his power to usward. See, it's his great power on us who believe. It's the working of his mighty power. You're gonna have a hard job to find in chapter one of Ephesians what you're supposed to do besides believe.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, all he's telling us is just he's informing us. There is no there is no commands here. He's just informing us what he's done for us, what God has done for us.

Austin Gardner:

In verse 6, he says, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Three times in Ephesians 1, he says, the praise of uh and the glory of his grace, or something similar to verse 12, he said, to the praise of his glory. That we should be to the praise of his glory. And in verse 14, unto the praise of his glory. He really wanted it to be like, y'all catch on, I'm the savior. I'm the savior. It's not about, you know, the lifeguard jumps in to save you swimming, and when he's you were drowning and he pulls you out of the lake, and and and you're sitting there going, yeah, but I was helping you get me to the shore. He's the one, he's the workman that's making the the masterpiece. Fact is, uh, when we get to Ephesians chapter two, and and we can discuss that a little bit here in a minute, but you'll notice we are his workmanship, verse 10. It's like he's like, Do you understand it's me doing the work? We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in him. So it is all about Jesus and what he's done.

Robert Canfield:

And the verse before it, he talks about not of works, it's not something that we have done, lest we should boast. Because if it's something that that we had a hand in, then we would actually have an opportunity to get glory from. We would have the work the ability to get the reward, or not the reward, we'd be able to get the praise, the pat on the back, like good job. And that's what he said.

Austin Gardner:

He said, I don't want anybody getting any of that. Well, if he's the one that's done it all, then he's doing we don't realize that. And that's where they legalistically put us on bondage because they keep reminding us you're not measuring up. And and Jesus is saying, No, you never did measure up. I made you measure up. See, he saved us while we were yet sinners. He saved us while we were weak, he saved us while we were ungodly. He knows exactly who we are, but we are never good enough. So, so it's honestly like your wife walking around the house saying, I'm just not good enough to be his wife, I'm not good enough to be his wife, I'm not, I'm not working hard enough to be his wife. No one thinks that ought to be the way a wife lives. But that almost all preachers seem to think that's the way Christians ought to live. I'm not worthy to be his wife. I'm not worthy to be his wife, I'm not worthy to be saved, I'm not worthy. Of course you're not worthy. That's not that ought not even that's not part of the discussion. The discussion would be He's made me worthy. He called me worthy, he said I was worthy, and he is making me into what I ought to be. It ought to be all about Jesus and what he's doing. Amen. All right. Well, I think we've got a good start on this. I'd like to continue the discussion and go into Ephesians chapter 2. I'd like to challenge everybody listening to go read Ephesians 1. Because at the end of it, the whole thing, you ought to be saying, boy, he's a good God. Yeah. You ought to be saying, God is good, God is kind, God is gracious, God is done a wonderful thing. Wouldn't you agree? Amen.

Robert Canfield:

And I think as you read it, just know this. Every time we come to the scripture, we always take with us our own thoughts and our own teachings that's we've heard all of our life. And sometimes we take our taught, our thoughts and our teachings and we bring it to God's word and say, okay, I'm going to figure out what that means from my teachings, rather than just like letting the word explain itself. So if you're going through that, right? I mean, you just some people might be looking at, well, see, we should do this, we should do that. But like, there is no command in that. Just look and see what God's word actually says.

Austin Gardner:

In Ephesians chapter one, it's amazing. There are no imperatives, there are no commands. There's simply this is what God has done. Fact is, I think it gets a little, it's not good preaching. Because we think good preaching is is is ripping their face off and pouring salt in. Yeah. We think good preaching, stepping on toes. Tell me what I need to do. Yeah. You you need to you need to beat me up in Ephesians chapter one. There's no beating up. It's like, God is good, God is good, God is good, God is good. This is who you are. This is who you are, this is who you are. So it's like one of the most exciting chapters, but we don't ever read it that way. Well, God give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Even in Ephesians 1, Paul says, My prayer is that he'll open your eyes and you can understand all this. That's what he actually says in Ephesians chapter 1, that he's asking God. Let me see if I can read that to you. That he says, I cease not to make mention of you in my prayers, verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of the calling, and the riches of the glory of the inheritance of the saints.

Robert Canfield:

So I guess God open your eyes. So I guess that's the thing that we should be really asking for. God, please, if you want to take anything out of this this chapter, something that we need to do, application thing, is say, God, please reveal.

Austin Gardner:

Open my eyes, help me see and understand, help me get a glimpse of how great you are and the riches that you've given me and the exceeding greatness of your power.

Robert Canfield:

When you get, I guess, when you come away with understanding all that God's done for you, and you're seeing that He's still working and He's made you something great, and He's done all these wonderful things, that should generate inside of us a hope and not a defeatist attitude, an idea that, man, we can face anything, and there is nothing that we couldn't conquer through him. Sometimes when I get to the scriptures or I hear some people speak, like you said, I feel defeated because I know I'm a loser. I know I fail.

Austin Gardner:

I know I trust. The father doesn't look at you as a loser, he looks at you as a son. The father doesn't look at you as a sinner, he looks at you as a saint. The father doesn't put all that judgment you're putting on yourself. That's religion putting that on you, that's Satan putting that on you, and that's you putting that on you. Well, and I've done it all my life. So when I say that to you, I know exactly how you feel. But we were wrong. We were wrong. Honestly, if if if you if your wife walked in and said these same things to you, or your daughters walked in and said, What would how would you feel?

Robert Canfield:

I feel like I I feel frustrated in one part. I'd feel like, what did I do? Don't you understand me? What did what did I do to try to make you feel that way?

Austin Gardner:

Why would you feel that way? Yeah. But who would make you feel that way? Be the devil, the the separator, the liar, the slanderer who wants to slander God. Hey, you know what he says? He says to Adam and Eve, he says, Well, he don't want you to because he knows that in the day you do, you'll be like him. He's really withholding from you. And that's that's how he's making you and I feel. It turns us into robots of work.

Robert Canfield:

Well, it tends to whenever we whenever there's guilt and there's shame, it always leads to people hiding. That's right.

Austin Gardner:

And he doesn't and putting on masks. Yeah. And that's what happens at church. People come to church and act the part they don't live. Oh, and that's what I'm saying. I think that's another another podcast. That's why people quit going to church, by the way, because one day they wake up and say, I'm just tired of the games. Well, that is good for another one. So thank y'all for being with us today. And I hope and pray this has been a blessing to you. Let me know. We'll be eager to hear from you.

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Austin Gardner

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