99 - Through God's Resurrecting Power

Ephesians 1:18-20 NASB

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places"

Ephesians 2:4-7 NASB

"God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

The love and kindness God continues to show us in Christ Jesus is in direct proportion to the power He exerted in raising Christ from the dead and subsequently raising us up with Him and seating us with Him in the heavenly places. What I mean is that the measure of kindness shown to us—in raising Christ, who bore the sins of all mankind from the beginning of time until the end, and in raising us as well, though we were dead because of our sin—is the same measure now being shown to us in Christ: the greatness of all He has blessed us with and all that is still to come. The hope of His calling; being transformed into the likeness of His Son; eternal salvation; the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints; being co-heirs with Christ; how He now sees us; being blessed with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places; and His surpassingly great power now living in us and for us—these, ushered in by His love and power, are our guarantee: a confidence and assurance that are ours.

It is not just an intellectual knowing, but an understanding that moves within us—enlightening our hearts and fundamentally changing us: how we view ourselves, the world, and how we live our lives. It is in grasping hold of and deeply believing what God tells us is true—and that these truths are ours—that they begin to manifest in our lives, a filling of the Spirit. God has made our new position before Him very clear through His great power in the resurrection of His Son. We search for so much in this world, yet we have already been given so much through Christ. We wish to be so much more, yet we are already so much more—raised from the dead by His power, seated with Him in the heavenly places. Our lives are a testament to His grace, day by day, as we walk in the newness of life. Each moment is a declaration that He has made us new and is continually transforming us.

Our God is an awesome God. He is the one who has done these things. We accept Him by accepting what He has done for us to bring about His glory and His purpose, revealing what that means for you and me and our lives. He has raised us to a position it was impossible for us to obtain. He did this when we were lost in our sin—how much more, now that we have been saved by Him, will He continue to work in us?

We walk with Him through His daily resurrecting power. He has made us alive with Christ, canceling our debt and loosening the grip of our guilt and shame by setting us free from sin. He has cleared our conscience before Him so that we may serve Him from a pure heart. We rest in His greatness, quieting our anxious hearts and trusting in Him. He has already proven Himself faithful, and that faithfulness goes ever before us, no matter what we may experience. What He has done, He has done for all time—the battle is won.