And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
18 sermons cite this verse
… for us to grasp all that God has done for us. Ephesians 2.6 says God will point us to the future ages and give us examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us as shown in all he has done for us. So when you get to heaven, you don't know everything. You're gonna learn new things in heaven. Heaven's gonna be amazing. It's gonna be an adventure. There'll be things to do. There'll be places to go. There'll be new things to learn. And so for all eternity, we'll learn more and more about the amazing things that God has done for each of us. What do I need to do? Have my eyes open, turn from darkness and light, from the power of Satan, the God. Then I receive the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance from God. What an amazing promise. One last thing I'll point out about Paul's message and then we'll wrap it up. Paul preached the crucifixion of Jesus. Look at verse 22, Acts 26. …
… what is heaven? Now, on your outline, Ephesians chapter two, verse five to seven says this. It is through grace that we have been saved. And God has given us a place with Christ in heaven. And why has God given us this place with Christ in heaven? Why is he saying that he wants us in his family and we're gonna live with him forever and ever and ever? Well, the rest of the sentence says, to show for all the ages to come God's goodness to us because of Christ. This is the ultimate expression of God's goodness to you. He didn't just say, I'm gonna help you when you're down. I'm gonna give you strength when you're weak. I'm gonna give you the provisions when you lack something. I'll help you when you're in need. When you're scared, I'll be with you. In addition to all those, he says, I want you to live with me after you die forever and ever and ever, and you're never gonna die after that. …
… one of the books is called sit walk stand and he talks about that this is the progression of Christian maturity he writes this based off of the book of Ephesians Ephesians chapter 2 verse 6 says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ there goes the chapter on sit then Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 says walk worthy of the calling wherewith you've been called to walk in and there goes the chapter on walk then he writes the last chapter on stand that's Ephesians 6 11 that says put on the whole armor of God so that you may stand against the wiles or the devices and schemes of the devil but what's ironic about the book is he doesn't start with you walking he doesn't start with you standing because you won't have the strength to walk you won't have the equilibrium to stand if you first don't embrace sitting he said the first call of every christian is to learn how to rest in what christ has already done for you he said you don't even have to sit down he said when you come to christ you've already been seated in heavenly places with christ because of what christ has already done for us some of y'all were confused a few minutes ago why y'all shouting about the blood because that's what he did for us living he loved me dying he saved me buried he carried my sins far away rising he justified me freed me forever …
… but it is all in Christ and through Christ listen to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 6 but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus we see similar passage in Colossians 2 verses 13 through 14 But catch this, even when we were dead in our sins, God being rich in mercy because of his great love for us made us alive together with Christ. for instance that great doctrine of the believers union with Christ that hangs all over these truths regarding our salvation we have been chosen in Christ and we have been raised to new life in Christ moreover Paul says in verse 6 that God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. …
… but because of this great love for us god who is rich in mercy made us alive with christ even when we were dead in our transgressions it is by grace that you have been saved and god raised us up with christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms of christ jesus in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in christ jesus for it is by grace that you have been saved through faith in this not from yourselves it is the gift of god not by works so that no one can boast for we are god's handiwork created in christ jesus to do good works which god prepared in advance for us to do okay let's go back to this list is a list like this helpful to you on how to be a christian the fuller youth institute thinks that about 50 percent of youth they grow up in the church once they graduate high school about 50 percent stay with the church and about 50 percent leave and a lot of it is because they have been given a gospel that looks like this when i was in high school there was this hardcore band in my in my high school that's like the heavy metal with the screaming, and they were just super devout Christians. Their name of their band was called Paid in Blood, and they were, they loved a checklist like this. In fact, one day, …
… in doing so. But that's not what he did. Instead, he heard our cry, and he responded with merciful deliverance. The book of Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 7 tell us, but God who was rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Yes, thank you Lord. While we were at our worst, Christ died for us. What a gospel this is. Our third point tonight, you can note it down, what we see in verses 10 through 12, is a divine dispatching. A divine dispatching. The text goes on to say in verse 10, Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. …
… Let's go on and keep reading. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved. There's our word, Jesus saves through faith. And this is not from yourselves. Remember the teacup. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork. This is next week's talk. I'm so excited about it. This is that sanctification word created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. It is by grace you have been saved. That's why we're calling this collection Jesus Saves. every faith, every religion has somebody in it. And that somebody is most likely a moral teacher. a divine prophet, possibly a culture shifter, culture thinker, potentially a miracle worker, someone who points to the way every religion. …
… God, whose rich in mercy made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our 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, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace. Remember last week. Can you say it with me? By grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not by works. You didn't do it. so that no one can boast for we're God's handiwork. created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You might have to build a boat, but God will protect it in the waters for 40 days and 40 nights. This threat of grace, it does not run through any other religious system on earth. …
… Praise God that the greatest thing that happens to a human being happens by grace. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace. In other words, this is not a one-time story. When I was 11, I put my faith in Jesus and by grace I was saved. That's what happened. No, he said there is an unfolding story of grace that is going to be seen into the coming ages that we're going to understand in heaven more of the grace of God than we understand right now. We're going to see more of his kindness in grace than we understand right now. We're just scratching the surface of grace and it's pretty fantastic, but we haven't seen anything yet expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is, here it comes again. Can you say it with me one more time? It is, you with us Trillith Cumberland? I'm not doing super loud here at 515. Hopefully you all are coming through. Can we just try it with a little more, a little more oomph, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. …
… saying around Passion City Church, we went from death to life. 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. In order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. In the revelation, we see the throne of thrones and the one seated on it. And Paul is saying, when you went from death to life by putting your faith in Jesus, he raised you up right then and there spiritually and seated you. with him. Where? In the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. So spiritually, where he is, you are. What he has, you have. And so when he says all authority has been given to me in heaven and earth, now I'm sending you. He's saying, I'm sending you with all the authority that's been given to me. And if there's any one thing that should happen to you and me, reading something as profound as this, we ought to start taking authority over our lives, over our minds, over our thoughts, over our bodies, over our families, over our neighborhood, over our cities, communities, and nation. We ought to be carriers of the position where we now sit with Christ in heaven. We live so far lower than our standing in Christ. …
… Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." This is a description of our salvation and its security. Look at it. God, out of His mercy, out of His love, made us alive with Christ by grace. We have been raised up with Christ. We are seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ, which means we have a place in heaven. That's what Peter meant when he said, we have an inheritance waiting there. That's all said and done. And in the ages to come, the Lord will pour out surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ." So that's the reality of our eternal salvation. "'For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves as a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. …
… we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ten verses that describe the dramatic, permanent, eternal, comprehensive transformation that salvation makes in a person's life. Over in the fifth chapter, we have another section that looks at this transformation. Chapter 5, verse 5, For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …
… us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is the transformation of salvation. As a result of it, go down to verse 10, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. change from all those connotations and directly identified categories of sinfulness in verses 1 to 3. We pass into the section on salvation, and out of it we arrive at verse 10, and we have a new creation. This is God's masterpiece. That's what the word workmanship indicates. Created in Christ Jesus, the result is good works. This is a dramatic change. This is a miraculous change. And I told you last week, and I'll point at least to one text from the Old Testament, that this is the way salvation has always been described. Go back to Ezekiel 36. You can turn to it or you can just listen. …
He just took the dead people and made them alive. By grace we were saved, and not only did He make us alive, but He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In other words, we are elevated to the very throne of heaven with Christ, so that in the ages to come we might show the surpassing riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that you may boast, but look at verse 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for what? For good works. Now look at this. Which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. You talk about the sovereignty of God in your salvation, that's the sovereignty of God in your sanctification. Do you know He has foreordained your good works? …
… which is a chapter we've been looking at for a while. And I'm going to read to you the latter section of this section of chapter 2. Ephesians 2, verse 4 to 10, it's printed in your bullet. 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, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. This is God's word. We've said that chapter two is actually a before and after picture of the Christian. It shows us what our lives are like before we encounter the living Christ and after. …
… been seeing. So if you don't mind, I'm going to do a little bit of that as well as push forward our progress a bit. Ephesians 2, verses 1 through 10, is a before and after picture of a Christian. Ephesians 2, 1 to 10, is trying to show us the momentous change that Jesus makes when you have an encounter with him as a living person. I'm glad how many people are surprised and stunned and changed and helped by looking at this passage. Many of you see Christianity as being a kind of round of duties or a process, and you don't realize, until you look at this, that Paul expects that meeting Christ makes this momentous change, a watershed, a continental divide. Becoming a Christian, meeting Christ is sort of like Pike's Peak, because one inch to the west of Pike's Peak, little raindrop goes all the way to the Pacific Ocean. That's what they tell me when I go there. And one inch on the other side, that little drop of water goes all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. …
… 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, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. that's God's Word. Well, let's see what we can do. We said Ephesians chapter 2 is actually a before and after picture. It's a before and after an encounter of an individual with Christ. In verses 1, 2, and 3, which we didn't read tonight, but which we've looked at for a couple of weeks, you have the before picture. In verses 4 to 10, you have the after picture. …
… 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 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast, for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. A treasure chest? Let's take a look. I'd like to just look at the first three verses. For you who were dead in transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air and the spirit who is now at work and those who are disobedient, all of us lived also among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. My, what a downer. That's the way Paul starts talking about salvation. …