Col 2:13 ¶ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
What a great subject! Let that roll around in your mind for a while. Are you quickened (made alive) dear reader? Are you risen with Christ? If you're saved then you are. I know I am. My life is hid in Him, which means my salvation is pretty secure. I was once dead in trespasses and sins but I have been quickened! I love saying that! Maybe you don't fully understand these statement of being quickened and risen with Christ and like some people might even try to turn these passages into some sort of spiritual philosophy. Some people put a weird eastern philosophical spin behind everything and do not understand what it means to be "in Christ", and believe that this is a "subjective position" that we have entered into. The bible is full of these phrases like "ye are dead, ye have been quickened, ye are risen, ye are translated," all in the past tense. These are wonderful passages that Paul wrote to us, that he got straight from God, and are literal promises that all believers ought to live by about what God did to us in His Son. I take all God's promises objectively even though I have not received them, but have seen them from afar, and take great strength knowing that I am quickened, risen, my old man is dead and I am alive unto God. I am a new creature in Christ and because of the promises of God I am also a partaker of the divine nature.
So how did God do all this? It is the biggest hurdle God ever faced. It was the problem of justifying ungodly people like us and still being just. Only He, was able to accomplish this feat. He had to become one of us. He had to humble himself and become a man. He had to live as a man, be tempted in every way as a man and yet be without sin, obeying the law completely. Then He had to become a sacrifice for all, at the hand of sinful man and shed His blood to satisfy His own justice, because we know without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, and in order to justify us, God had to raise His Son up again in victory. Then He takes all those who are saved and have faith in the blood, and baptizes them all into one new man, Christ Jesus. You then see the parallel here? When Jesus was crucified, we who believed were crucified, when He arose, we arose, when He ascended, we ascended, where He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, so also are we. Jesus is our life and when He will appear the second time, we also will appear with Him in glory. I hope this is sinking in. JESUS IS OUR LIFE! Literally! Dwell on that point. Meditate on it. I cannot stress this enough, that objectively, He is our life. Man, this is good stuff!
Therefore in light of this I do not worry or fear about the sinking economy or global warming or how big my pension is, or even if Iran will launch a nuclear missile at us because the bible says that I am already dead.
Ro 8:10 ¶ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Ro 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Again, Christ IS OUR LIFE and I know that He cannot die again, so I would confidently, almost arrogantly say that our eternal salvation (those who are born again) is so completely secure that no one can remove us from Him! Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Who shall lay any charge to God's elect? Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who sits on the right hand of God who makes intercessions for me.
My hope is when you are reading this it will cause you to take great joy in God's word that WE ARE DEAD, QUICKENED, AND RISEN WITH CHRIST!
Col 3:1 ¶ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
So in light of the fact that we are risen with Christ, we should seek those things that are above, where Christ is, who is also our life. That is an important command because when I put my affections or attention on myself or the things of this world, I get depressed pretty soon, but if I look to Jesus I feel only gratitude and joy. I hope you too will place your attention and affection on Jesus and quit looking at yourself. If you then are quickened and risen with Him may you grow also in the knowledge of Him, in full assurance, moving on to perfection.
Romans 4:5 To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jesus died for the UNGODLY! Friend, that is you and me!
It's a FREE GIFT. Dwell on that, FREE GIFT! You cannot do anything to earn it and and the only people the gift is offered to, is THE UNGODLY! This means YOU! This is wonderful news and you don't have to DO ANYTHING, just believe. It's not what you do my friend, it's what He has done... Tetelesti. It is finished.
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