THE ODD THING IS…

When we accept the hand of Jesus and are rescued from the evil hand and power of Satan, the odd thing is we share in Jesus’ waking up from the dead, in His going to heaven, in His sitting on His Father’s throne. We are co-exalted with Him.  Now how precious is that? But how is this possible?

In this series, we are studying the Book of Ephesians. Paul wrote Ephesians as a letter to the churches in Ephesus. At the time he wrote the letter, he was in prison in Rome. He wrote the letter to encourage the Christians not to lose hope despite their opposition and his imprisonment.

This week we look at Ephesians 2:1-10 in which Paul tells us about the biggest, most exciting rescue story of all time.

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Let Us Invite God’s Presence:  

Holy Father, thank you for you rescuing us from sin and Satan. Help us to show our appreciation for what you have done for us by living a life dedicated to obeying you!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How is it that we share in Jesus’ waking up from the dead, going to heaven, and sitting on His Father’s throne?

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (Eph. 2:4, NKJV). 

By two powerful words, “But God,” Paul pivots from his sad image of the past lives of his readers in Ephesians 2:1-3 in which he declares.

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Paul then, in Ephesians 2:4-10 switches to talking about a new hope that occurs in the lives of those who accept the hand of Jesus, who desires to rescue them from death.

How do we share in this? For the answer, we look at Ephesians 2:6, 7 (Split)

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. (Ephesians 2:6-7)

Paul explains that when we become Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we are resurrected from the dead with Jesus. Then as followers of Jesus, we go with Him to heaven. Christians also sit down with Him on His throne. Thus, we are exalted with him. We share in His glory.

In other words, as believers, we are (1) co-resurrected with Christ; (2) co-raised up with Christ; and (3) co-seated with Christ on his throne in heaven. We are thus co-exalted with Jesus.

For further understanding of this, go back and review Ephesians 1:19–23. In these verses, Paul tells us that Jesus won the battle against evil and every spiritual power when He died, woke up from the dead, went to heaven, and sat on the throne.

These evil powers are the same powers that controlled our lives in the past. But Jesus gained the victory over these evil powers when He woke up from the dead and went to heaven.

Yes, these evil powers are still a menace to our human existence. But Jesus is more powerful than Satan and any of his evil angels. Therefore, when we accept Jesus, everything changes for us. We are no longer mere spectators; we become personally and intimately involved. Therefore, we are co-resurrected, co-ascended, and co-exalted with Jesus.

This opens a selection of new possibilities for us. We now have the power and right through Jesus Christ to turn away from a demon-dominated existence to a life with a heart that is clean, spirit lead and rich in the power of Christ.

So, the Christians in Paul’s day didn’t just hear about Jesus’ victory. They played a living active part in it! That’s what Paul means when he says we are resurrected with Jesus, we go to heaven with Him and sit on the throne with Him. We are able to do this because He made these things possible for us.

It says in the Book In Heavenly Places Christ gave Himself for the redemption of the race, that all who believe in Him may have everlasting life. Those who appreciate this great sacrifice receive from the Saviour that most precious of all gifts—a clean heart. They gain an experience that is more valuable than gold or silver, or precious stones. They sit together in heavenly places in Christ, enjoying in communion with Him the joy and peace that He alone can give. They love Him with heart and mind and soul and strength, realizing that they are His blood-bought heritage. Their spiritual eyesight is not dimmed by worldly policy or worldly aims. They are one with Christ as He is one with the Father.—In Heavenly Places, p. 7.

Jesus made it possible for us to live a new life in him. We can now reject Satan and the life once dominated and controlled by Him. We can now have new lives filled with the mercy and strength that comes from the power of Jesus.

This is what exactly what Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7).

This power that we have been given is not limited to a certain time and space. How far-reaching is it? Keep watching. View, Part 5: Now Blessed Forever by Grace.

Ephesians

(Lesson 4)

How God Rescues Us

Part 5: Now Blessed Forever by Grace

Let it be clear that we always will need God’s Grace. We will never get to a point where we no longer need it.

Paul makes this point in Ephesians 2:7 when he talks about the coming ages.

7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)

In fact, in Ephesians 2:6, 7, in a timetable, Paul points out the amazing things God has done for us.

4 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, (Ephesians 2:4-6)

Paul makes the point that by acting in the past through Christ, God redeemed us. In redeeming us. He identified us with His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are in the present coparticipants in His resurrection, ascension, and exaltation.

In other words, God sent Jesus to save us from sin. Thus, in God’s view, we are in partnership with Jesus. When we accept Jesus as our savior. When we allow him to rescue us from sin and Satan, we are in partnership with Jesus when He wakes up from the dead when He goes to heaven, and when He sits on His throne. Our partnership with Jesus is part of God’s eternal plan. Ephesians 1:4 tells us God made His plan to save us before the earth was created.

So, God’s plan started in the past, and it continues into the future. His plan will last forever. This is what Paul meant when he said in Ephesians 2:7 God’s plan continues “for all time to come.”

God’s plan for the eternal future is founded on the same principle as what he has done in the past and present. His plan for the past, present and eternal future is based on the principle of grace. Everything God did in the past and does now shows us His grace.

Look at Ephesians 1:7 and Ephesians 3:8. It tells us that Paul views God’s grace as a treasure.

Ephesians 1:7

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)

Ephesians 3:8

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, (Ephesians 3:8)

As believers in Christ Jesus, we look to this “treasure” to help us in time of need. This treasure of grace and mercy shows us just how very giving God is. His love for us and His unselfishness toward us show us His amazing grace.

Regarding this treasure that God gives us, the Book Desire of Ages says the following:

“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. . . . But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 19, 20.

Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10 highlights a special point about our salvation. Go back and read Ephesians 2:1-10. Pay particular attention to what He concludes in Ephesians 2:8-10. Then continue in the Video to Part 6: Now Saved by God. 

Ephesians

(Lesson 4)

How God Rescues Us

Part 6: Now Saved by God

In Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul’s message is that God saves us because He loves us.

In Ephesians 2:1–3, we find that salvation does not happen because of our good behavior or special qualities. Recall when Paul begins his letter in Ephesians 1. He tells the Ephesians; they were spiritually dead. There was not a spark of life or worth in them. They had been completely controlled by sin. In Ephesians 2:2, 3. Paul expresses that The Ephesians showed no personal initiative but were led by Satan himself and by their own lower passions and mental delusions.

As a matter of fact, in Ephesians 2:3, unknown to them, they are in a far worse position than simply being without spiritual life or morality. Like all humanity, they were enemies of the true God and were moving toward a day of destiny and divine judgment. They were “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3, ESV). 

After helping them see their real conditions, Paul then offers a gleamer of hope in Ephesians 12:4. He points out that God doesn’t rescue us because of our own good behavior. Instead of being based on any great qualities in us, our salvation is rooted in God’s deep love. His love is unexplainable. His rescuing us from sin and destruction is not based on any merits or favor in us. His rescue is based on His mercy and His love. God’s acts of love and mercy are on behalf of Christ Jesus and what he has done for us. Because of Jesus, we are resurrected from spiritual death.

God rescues us by His Son, Jesus.

This is what Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:5-7 because of God’s mercy and grace; we are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer “dead.” We have been raised from the dead. We have been rescued from the dead and transported to the “heavenly places,” and seated with Christ on the throne of God.

Put another way, in Ephesians 2:5, 6, after God wakes us up from spiritual death, He shows us His love and mercy. Now, in His eyes, His children go with Jesus to heaven and sit with Jesus on the throne in heaven. In Ephesians 2:7, Paul points out that this blessing is not just for a moment or instant. This blessing of being with Jesus continues forever. God will continue to show His mercy to his children, those who accept His son, now and forever.

At the end of Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul goes back and reviews what he has already said. Why does he do this? Because Paul wants to make sure we get it. He wants us to clearly understand what God has done through Jesus to rescue us. Paul concluding his letter, in Ephesians 2:8, 9 again points out that God saves us because of His rich love, mercy, and grace, not because of our good behavior. His point is that our salvation is a divine work, not a human work. Hence, God’s grace is a gift. We can’t earn it. We can’t save ourselves. We can come to God only because Jesus made it possible. We have no reason to boast when we accept Jesus and give our lives to God. Our rescue shows God’s grace, not our own good behavior. This is why Paul in Ephesians 2:10 says 

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Standing in the grace of God, we believers are displays of His grace and only of His grace. We are His masterpieces, created by God “in Christ Jesus.” And saved by his amazing grace.

Now is this not the greatest rescue story ever told?  If have not been rescued from sin and Satan, then today, make the right choice, accept the hand of Jesus, and be saved.

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 Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church

 7902 Wheatly Street

Houston, TX 77088

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