Paul the
apostle did not “cease to give thanks and pray” for the
Ephesian church members that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory” would “give” to them “the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”. He
also desired for “the eyes of” their “understanding”
to be “enlightened” so they would “know what is the
hope” of their “calling” and “what the riches
of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”. In chapter one
and verse twenty of his letter, Paul shared what happened when God
did this work “in Christ” and how He set “him at his
own right hand” where we read:
Which he
wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
The
verse begins, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from the dead,...” Paul
began with the word, “Which”
or “who, what and that” “he wrought”
which means “to be operative, at work, put forth power and effect”
“in Christ” which
refers to “the anointed One, the Messiah and Son of God”, “when
he raised him” which means
“aroused, cause to rise, awoke and recalled” “from
the dead” or “one that has
breathed his last, lifeless, deceased, departed, destitute of life
and inanimate”. The “calling” given
unto the Ephesians was “worked out” through God the Father
through Jesus Christ whom He “awoke and raised” from the dead.
The
verse continues, “...and set him
at his own right hand in the heavenly places,”
Paul added,
“and set him”
which means “made him to sit down, appointed, fixed at one's abode,
sojourned and settled” “at his own
right hand”
or “right side which is the place of honor or authority” “in
the heavenly places”
which means “existing in heaven or heavenly regions, origin or
nature”. When the resurrection of Jesus was complete, God the
Father took Him to “heaven”
and sat Him upon the “right side” or the “power position side”
of His throne.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we realize the price God paid
to provide our “calling” to be in a relationship with Him.
Not only did He allow His Son to be sacrificed for our sins, He also
“raised Him from the dead” and gave Him the position of
power at the “right hand of his throne” in heaven. This
was no weak effort, and we should never take for granted the process
that it took for us to be saved. God Almighty, the Creator of the
universe, decided that us “knowing” Him was worth all the
price He would pay through His Son, and now that He has provided, it
is our choice whether we value Him in His rightful position or not.
Next
time Paul shares how Jesus is “above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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