RAISED UP AND SEATED!

Ephesians 2:6-7

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 

In my last post, we talked about how Paul points out 3 things that God did for us in Christ in these verses (5-7).  The first one is that He "made us alive with Christ."  The second thing He did for us is "raised us up" and the third thing is He "seated us with him in the heavenly realms."  When reading these few verses, it's easy to feel a little disoriented and bewildered by the picture we're given and by the words used to convey this message.  I mean, seriously . . . I don't feel raised up from anything today and I don't think I'm sitting in the heavenly realms right now.  With all that life has put on my plate today, I'm pretty sure I feel like I'm right here, right now, on earth in this mortal body.  You with me on this one?  But, let's just break it down a bit and find the literal parts of the symbolic.  Understanding these verses are key to understanding the reality of our salvation.

"The Redeemed Walked There" by Marcia Hinds

The actual part of this story is that Jesus actually left the tomb where he was laid as a dead man and appeared to His disciples, alive.  Forty days later He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.  That's the literal part of this story.  Our part in this story is that we participate with Him in this.  Here's how:

• We literally anticipate resurrection and glorification with Him in the coming age.  When we die and leave our mortal bodies behind, we live on in a new body (whatever that may look like!).  Death did not keep Jesus in the tomb, and it will not keep us lying in a grave, non-existent, with no life to live. 
• We can face each day knowing how temporal this mortal life is.  Yes, we have problems to deal with, car repairs to be paid for, health issues niggling at us, (insert your own here) . . . but, Friends, it IS temporary.   

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV

And, know this: I AM NOT making light of the problems you face today.  I have my own and I know that they are small by comparison to some who face much greater tragedies than I.  I am not blind to what's going on this world.  Life -- this life! -- is full of problems that must be solved, decisions that must be made.  The apostle just wants us to understand that there is something greater in this life with Christ that transcends every problem we face today.  And, that "something greater" is eternal life!

• Because we have been seated with Him in the heavenly realms, we participate with Him in His action in this world -- in this life. 

Our problems are opportunities for His glory and our decisions make a difference in the lives of people around us.  Here's the good news: every problem, every decision is weighed at the throne of God and weaved into the story of humankind.  Now, how I handle my problem of paying for my car repair today may not seem consequential to humankind or history, but how I face problems like this IS consequential to those around me -- my family and friends.  Will I give them a picture of faith and of a God who loves me enough to be involved in my life?  Or, will I give them a picture of a small life with eyes that can't see past the nose on my face? 

http://www.sonoitacrossroads.org/sv/character.html

God wants to show off and demonstrate His great love for us in the lives around us . . . in the lives to come . . . and in the lives of the past.  By raising us up and seating us in the heavenly realms, He shows off His greatness and love to those who will believe and to those who already believe.  We certainly do not deserve this participation with Him and He didn't have to make this part of the deal of our salvation in Jesus Christ.  But He did!  You could call this act of grace His "publicity program" for the whole of history and beyond.  He planned a continual exhibition of His favor towards humankind to cover all of history, all of the future and into eternity.  His great riches toward us are "incomparable!"  His kindness to us in life is shown in His act of love to us through Jesus Christ.

Life moves on and you cannot stop it.  Problems come and go -- there is always something to be stressed about.  But you are part of a bigger, grander picture, one that includes life eternal.  God planned for you and had you in mind at the creation of the world, so you have always been a part of this grand story of life. This life is a stop along the way and you will go on from here because of His great love!

Exhibiting His favor,
Kerry

NOTORIETY AND RENOWN - THAT'S YOU AND ME

Ephesians 2:4-5

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 

"New Thing" by Gwen Meharg  www.drawneartogod.com

Human beings are renowned for rejecting God.  We are notorious for this behavior.  Throughout all of history, human beings have rejected their Creator and instead given their hearts to created things. 

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. . . They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1:21-23, 25, NIV 

I am no exception.  I remember well when I was one of the walking dead.  But in spite of this churlish behavior, Paul says that God loves me -- loves us.  He loves us in spite of it all!  Meditate on that for a minute.  Swallow it and internalize it.  In spite of it ALL . . . He LOVES us!  He didn't let our constant rejection of Him stand in the way of the great love He has for us!  Can you say the same?  Most of us have faced rejection of some kind and we always feel like it is unwarranted.  And rejection always hurts.  And, most of the time, when we face rejection from someone, we reject them back.  But not our God.  His love for us led to mercy.  We reject Him and He showers love on us.  It is difficult to fathom.  Instead of loving us even more, He could have destroyed such a rebellious and unlovely creation such as human beings.  And He would be justified.  Instead, He sees our weaknesses and flaws and unholy behavior and is moved to mercy.  He does not approve of our rebellion and unholy behavior, but He does approve of His creation -- you and me.  He made a way for you and me to find our way back to Him and to change our "walking dead" ways.  That way is Jesus Christ.  It works like this: when we were the most unlovable, Jesus stood in the way and God looked through Him and saw us . . . cleaned up, standing firm, living right, giving back, loving Him!  Because of Jesus, we are alive and well!

He is Risen by Paula Maybery

In verse 5, Paul points out one of 3 things that God did for us in Christ.  The first one is He "made us alive with Christ."  (The other 2 we will discuss in my next post.)  God gave us new life together "with Christ."  It's like a partnership (although we can take no credit for this partnership).  We were dead in transgressions . . . Jesus died on a cross.  When Jesus beat death by overcoming the grave, we too were given new life.  Death and the grave could not hold Jesus and it cannot hold us now, either.  We no longer have to live this life as a dead person.  We live because HE lives!  It was an act of God's power that Jesus was literally raised from the dead . . . it's an act of God's grace that we are literally given new life with Him.  Because of God's grace we share this life with Christ.  Mercy overflowed from God's heart at the cross right to you and me.  We deserve death but we got life = mercy.  We do not deserve life, but we got it anyway = grace.

Here's the good news, friends: you are no longer dead . . . you are ALIVE because God LOVES you!  God's loving heart holds a treasury of mercy and it cannot be exhausted.

"Yet this I call to mind
   and therefore I have hope: 

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness." 

Lamentations 3:21-23, NIV

"It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah."

Ephesians 2:4-5, The Message

May grace rain down on you today!
Kerry