Ephesians; What God has done for us in Christ

Believers need to know what God has done for us in Christ. That is why Paul asks that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (that is, of Christ, Ephesians ch1 v17).

The eyes of our hearts need to be enlightened, so that we may know;
1 The hope to which he has called us. There is nothing tentative or uncertain about Biblical “hope”. It is faith, directed towards the future.
2 The riches of the inheritance which he is giving to the saints as a whole, and therefore to us who belong to the saints.
3 The immeasurable greatness of his power “in us who believe”, which matches the power with which he worked through Christ and accomplished great things (vv18-19).

Paul spells out what God accomplished “in Christ”.
He raised him from the dead.
He made him sit at God’s right hand “in the heavenly places”. This is a place of authority, far above any other kind of authority, human or spiritual., either in this age (AION) or in the age to come in the future.
Consequently, God “put all things under his feet”. He has made Christ “head” over all things.

This is for the benefit of the church.
The church is to be understood as his body ( a later chapter develops the connection between “head” and “body”).
This body is “the fullness of him who fills all things in all things” (v23).

That last phrase is a concise way of combining what Paul has just said about the two relationships of Christ. On the one hand, he “fills” the church. He is present wherever the church is present. It is an extension of himself. On the other hand, he “fills” the entire universe with his authority. How much do this acts of “filling” coincide? Surely in the New Jerusalem, when the world has been cleansed of everything that is unclean (Revelation ch21) they will amount to the same thing.

But we’ve already been told, as above, that “the immeasurable greatness of his power in us” matches up to the level of “his great might which he accomplished in Christ.” Whatever he did for Christ, he has also done for us.

In the first place, we were dead through our sins (ch2 vv1-3), so Christ died on the cross and shared in our condition.
But just as he raised Christ from the dead, so he raised us from the dead “together with him.”
Again, just as he made Christ sit in the heavenly places, so he made us sit “together with him” in the heavenly places “in Christ Jesus”.
These are not events of the future. We HAVE BEEN raised from the dead, and we ARE sitting in the heavenly places.

We need to appreciate that point in order to understand other New Testament passages. For example, Jesus says of the “little ones” who believe in him “Their angels always behold the face of my father who is in heaven” (Matthew ch18 v10). This would hardly be news if he was talking about “guardian angels” being sent to the believers, but in fact he is talking about their representatives, the “angels” which have been sent by the believers themselves. The point is that there is already something of ourselves permanently in God’s presence. We are seated in the heavenly places.

Again, there is a grand “sealing” of a crowd of God’s people in Revelation ch7, and immediately there is to be seen a great multitude standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation ch7 v9). The coincidence of timing is an important clue that these are not two separate groups of people. Rather the first group have been “sealed with the promised Spirit” (Ephesians ch1 v13), and are then immediately raised up to take their seat in the heavenly places (Ephesians ch2 v6), even while they live on earth.

Indeed that is how the Lord may be reigning “with the saints” even while normal life continues upon the earth, in a lordship which already exists but has not yet been “revealed”.

Then there is the reminder which we might expect from Paul, that we have been saved through God’s grace and by our faith, not by our works. There is a place for our good works, but they follow on from our faith, as even James teaches (“I by my works will show you my faith”, James ch2 v18). God has “prepared them beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ch2 vv9-10).

a reply to: DISRAELI2

How can we become as little children, to get into Heaven?

What thinking about the spirit of Christ has done for me is help find some peace, wisdom and thinking about the larger implications of my actions. When struggling with some internal conflicts, it helps provide a direction I like.

a reply to: IgorMartinez
I believe he's talking about the trust that children have towards their parents.

We are called to have a similar trust towards God. The essence of faith is trust.

a reply to: DISRAELI2

Is there anything we can do, or not do, to show that we have trust in the promise of God?

a reply to: IgorMartinez
"Not feeling anxiety" would do it.

Are you fishing again?

a reply to: DISRAELI2

I’m trying to find out what the answer is to God’s promise. Can you help me out?

“Not feeling anxiety” about what? Why did you put those words in quotations?

a reply to: IgorMartinez
I don't believe you. That is the trouble. I have no confidence that you are asking faux-naif questions in good faith. I have been writing in this forum for more than ten years (under my original account), I have met trouble-makers before, and your previous posts have given me the impression that you might be one of them.

a reply to: IgorMartinez

The answer exists in your avatar. Observe time instead of existing in time. Observe the apple instead of tasting the apple. That is what children do best. They observe instead of knowing. They exist free from the constraints of mind. When we associate ourselves with mind we see ourselves as mind. We trap ourselves within the memories and desires of the mind. Existing in the dreams of that mind.

God exists in our pure consciousness. Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God".

a reply to: DISRAELI2

I don’t know the answers to the questions I’m asking. I have a bias as to what the answers are, but I’m not wanting to reveal my bias at the moment.

Do you have the answers or not?

a reply to: watcheroo

What should I observe over time?

Apples? I observe they rot over time. What is that supposed to tell me?

I don’t remember existing free from my mind when I was a child. I had plenty of memories and desires when I was a child. I don’t have any idea what you mean by your advice, exist free from mind.

a reply to: IgorMartinez

You observe everything. You believe nothing. In time, God's will replaces your minds will. The distinction between observer and the observed unites. You will see God in all things.

Existing free of mind is existing free of its thoughts. The mind remains silent until its needed to undertake activities. Thus your mind is your servant. Not your master.

“What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God… for the language he best hears is silent love.” -- St. John of the Cross

a reply to: watcheroo

Can you provide an example of how observing everything and believing nothing has lead you to conclude a hypothesis?

a reply to: IgorMartinez

Doesn't it say so in scripture .... 1 Kings 19:11-13 "The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The whisper is so subtle that is is concealed under the roar of our thoughts. When we conquer the mind. We will realize, what Saint Francis of Assisi said is true... "What we are looking for is what is looking". Or is you prefer Rumi ... "Look for the one looking for God".

a reply to: IgorMartinez

Is there anything we can do, or not do, to show that we have trust in the promise of God?

As for God, somehow life in the Universe made it here and got us this far. Must be doing something right?

The promise I see in Jesus is in the kind of society it creates when people are respectful and look after each other. By having better standards in team work we become a much more stronger and capable community.

Otherwise, keep living by the law of the jungle where only the strongest, toughest and nastiest survive until they become weak.