“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4, NKJV). Here, with two powerful words, “But God,” Paul pivots from his doleful portrait of the past lives of his audience (Ephesians 2:1-3) to the new, hope-filled realities that mark their lives as believers (Ephesians 2:4-10).
What sense do believers participate in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and exaltation? When does this participation occur? Ephesians 2:6-7.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
We have noted that Ephesians is a Christ-drenched letter highlighting the solidarity of believers with Christ. In Ephesians 2:5 and Ephesians 2:6, Paul extends this theme by deploying three compound verbs to unleash the stunning truth that, through God’s initiatives, believers themselves participate in important salvation history events that center on the Messiah, Jesus.
Believers are: (1) co-resurrected with Christ; (2) co-raised up with Christ (which Paul probably uses to indicate the participation of believers in Christ’s ascension to heaven); (3) co-seated with Christ “in the heavenly places,” meaning that believers participate in Christ’s “seating” on the throne of the cosmos. They are co-exalted with Jesus.
To appreciate the power of Paul’s argument, we must look back to Ephesians 1:19-23 and recall that in His death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, Christ gains the victory over all evil and spiritual powers, the very ones who once dominated the lives of believers. In the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus, these powers — though still active and threatening to human existence — have been thoroughly superseded. The cosmos has shifted. Reality has changed. Believers are not mere spectators to these events but are personally and intimately involved in them. That we are co-resurrected, co-ascended, and co-exalted with Jesus opens up a whole new array of possibilities for us. We have the right to turn from a demon-dominated existence to a life of spiritual abundance and power in Christ (2 Timothy 1:7).
| “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). How do the verses we looked at today help us understand what Paul writes here? |
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