Our Riches In Christ (6): Raised and Seated With Christ

A High School student won first prize at a Science Fair in April 1997. The title of his prize winning project was, “How Gullible Are We?” In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.” He gave a number of reasons for this demand such as:

1. The chemical can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.

2. The chemical is a major component in acid rain.

3. The chemical can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.

4. Accidental inhalation of the chemical can kill you.

5. The chemical decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.

6. The chemical has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew that the chemical was H2O (water).

Many believers are pretty much the 50 respondents in that student’s project. We are yet to come to grips with realities of the new life we have in Christ and so we fall prey to the devil’s tricks. For some of us, it’s almost as though we have been brainwashed and there is a desperate need for the light of the truth of God’s word to pierce through to our hearts. I encourage you to fill your heart with the knowledge of God’s revelation of our resources in Christ.

Raised and Seated With Christ.

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…”

Ephesians 2:4-6 NIV

Not only did God make us alive in Christ as we saw last week, He also raised us up and seated us with Christ. This is not a suggestion or a proposition. It is a spiritual reality! The miracle of our redemption in Christ is so great. Jesus Christ identified with us and became so closely connected to us that when He died, we died with Him and when He rose, we rose with Him. This is the sort of spiritual union that exists between Christ and His people.

“For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection”

Romans 6:5 HCSB

“Since you have been raised to a new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven…”

Colossians 3:1 NLT

Just as Christ’s state post resurrection was a new, powerful and unique state, so too now, believers in Christ have a new, powerful and unique position. This new life in fact demands a new mind set, new values and new expressions as we read in the rest of Colossians 3. And though we are still here on earth physically, in a positional sense spiritually, we are already in a place of honour and glory.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

1^st John 3:1-2 NIV

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, he Lord Jesus Christ…”

Philippians 3:20

This week remember oh Child of the Most High: You are no longer an ordinary earthling; you have been raised with Christ into a new life and a new position. You are seated with Him, already a citizen of heaven. Don’t allow anyone or anything rob you of these realities.