Bible Studies
Raised & Seated
In the past, IÕve raised the hairs on the back of my fatherÕs neck, raised hell at college, raised a barn, raised rabbits, and helped to raise my children. And though IÕve been accused of waking the dead with loud music, IÕve never actually raised anyone from the dead. That power, which belongs solely to God, was used to raise Christ from the dead for our justification. It is the same power that God used to raise us from spiritual death.
Because Adam and Eve failed to obey God in the Garden of Eden, spiritual death occurred. God told them not to eat from a certain tree. They did not listen, and because of AdamÕs act of rebellion, sin entered the world. Since then, every single human inherits that nature from Adam. We are born sinners; dead to God - a basic truth found throughout Scripture.
Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, wrote that our sins separate us from God. Ezekiel, another Old Testament prophet, wrote that the soul who sins is the one who will die. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, asked if any man could say his heart was pure and clean from sin. Isaiah, again, wrote that we are all like sheep that have gone astray. As sinners, it sounds bleak. But Isaiah continued by saying that the Lord laid our sins on Him. That Him is Jesus Christ! And the Scriptures plainly teach that Jesus is God.
Because of His great love for each one of us, and because God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, Father God sent His One, sinless Son to earth to pay a price for all of our sin. Jesus laid down His life for us at Calvary, and His blood, shed for us, is the only payment God will accept. Jesus went to the cross, spread out His arms as a gesture of love, then died. He was buried, but three days later He rose from the dead to secure eternal life for us. If we believe those historical facts, known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we begin a relationship with God. By His power alone, we believe and are moved from death to life.
The Apostle Peter wrote that ÒChrist suffered for sins once, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.Ó Paul told Timothy that Jesus was the Òonly mediator between God and man.Ó Jesus said, ÒI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.Ó Paul, in Romans, said that if we die with Christ, we will live with Him.
Once we are joined in union with Christ, we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms. He is seated because He has finished His work on earth. Yet, He lives to ever intercede for you and me. We, too, can stop any work that we were doing in an effort to reach God, for we are seated ÂÐ at this present time Ð in Christ in Heaven. Our work on earth, though, as witnesses to the awesome power of God, must move forward by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since He lives within us, we can be perfectly certain of our own salvation. Then, since we know and believe the truth, we can truly spread out our arms to those around us and share the love of Christ, which constrains us. And since our seat belts are fastened eternally in Christ, we canÕt fall off the chair. Rejoice you heavenly spuds! YouÕre on a glorious couch.
Mountain Time Moment
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
Ephesians 1:20 NIV
Entire article with verse links in blue at:
http://home.comcast.net/~philemon25/Ephesians120.pdf
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