Alive Together with Christ

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…