Ephe
2:4 (NKJV) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together,
and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that
in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus
I’ve
quoted the New King James version of this passage because it emphasizes the togetherness
of believers in Christ, and that is the focus of this meditation. As I
continued to think through the reality of the new birth and the new life in
Christ, God showed me the significance of the fact that He “made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The togetherness of believers
in the heavenly places is the excellence that is on display here! There are no
Lone Ranger Christians, either in the heavenly realms above or in the vale of
sorrows here below. The life we now live in the body, after we have been born
again, we live in community together with other believers.
Growth
is all about learning to love one another in a way that is not possible apart
from Christ. When Paul said, “the life
I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me,” he was saying that, not only are we saved through faith, our
life thereafter is also by faith. We are living spiritual beings, joined with
the Spirit of Christ who is our teacher.
As we yield to Him we produce fruit that will last because it’s the
fruit of the Eternal Holy Spirit.
“But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23a) These beautiful
virtues are all relational. They are characteristics of the believer
in his/her relationship with other believers as we live together with Christ
and He draws us toward our destiny, which is to be Holy. Whether our community is a Christian family,
small growth groups, meetings with co-workers in ministry, or whatever, God is
at work producing Christian character in all of us as He builds his kingdom
through us. To be continued…
