December 7 – Where You Are (Ephesians 2:1-10)

“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.”(Ephesians 2:6)

IN WORD:
Paul is eloquent in Ephesians 1 about the power of God in raising Jesus from the dead. This strong God, high above every authority and every name in every realm — spiritual, physical, or otherwise — has demonstrated His glory in the fullness of the risen, exalted Jesus. The splendor of such descriptions is unimaginable. Words cannot do it justice.
But Paul writes of Jesus’ exaltation not only for us to admire it, but also for us to understand our role in it. We aren’t just passive observers of the divine drama. We’ve been drawn into the drama itself. Not only is Jesus seated in the heavenly places above all rule and dominion, so are we!
Think of that. The first verses of Ephesians 2 are almost insulting in their description of our natural condition. We were dead. Disobedient. Objects of wrath. There is no lower place to be in the created order of beings than our fallen, sinful state. And yet, the rest of the passage is mind-boggling in its promise: God, who is rich in mercy, raised us and seated us where He is — high above all other powers. Why? For a divine demonstration of grace. For any observers of this drama, there can be no more astounding demonstration. The ultimate in mercy has already been done.

IN DEED:
Self-perception deceives us. We get discouraged, think negatively, become pessimists, and wonder if our faith is worth the trouble. The darkness of the world, the distortions of our flesh, and the schemes of the evil one combine to create illusions of despair. Resist them all. God’s truth is remarkably contrary to what our souls perceive.
Remember that principle in your days of discouragement. We don’t fully understand the implications of being seated with Christ, but we know this: It’s an amazing place to be. We are organically united with the ultimate authority in all the universe. We’re not just His friends and not just His servants. We’re grafted into HIM!

“A Christian has a union with Christ more noble, intimate, and perfect than the members of a human body have with their head.” -John Eudes-