Saturday, 15th July, 2023
By Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)“ (Ephesians 2:4-5 KJV).
What a profound portion of scripture we just read! The Apostle Paul explains a spiritual truth that emphasizes our union with the Lord in His crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection when he said,“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:5).
When Jesus was on the cross, we were the ones on the cross; He was our substitute. When He died, we were in Him. When He was buried, in the mind of justice, we were all buried. When He went to hell and defeated Satan and the demons of darkness as Paul detailed in Colossians 2:15, in the mind of God, we were in Him. We defeated Satan in Christ.
Then the Bible shows that God raised Jesus from the dead; when that happened, we were raised together with Him. Ephesians 2:6 says, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is how God sees us now. Everything that Jesus did was for us—the whole world; we were in Him.
Think about it: Jesus rose from the dead with a new life—the resurrection life; that’s the life we have in us today, because as He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). When you received Christ, you didn’t receive the life with which Jesus went to hell; you received the life of the righteous Jesus without sin.
He went to hell with our sins, defeated the devil, paid the full penalty for sin, and came back to life as the righteousness of God. Hallelujah! Now, by virtue of the New Birth, we also have become the righteousness of God in Him: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
PRAYER/CONFESSION
"Dear Father, thank you for the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus that ushered me into a newness of life. I’m seated together with Christ in dominion and great glory, far above all principalities, powers, might, and every name that is named. Hallelujah!"
FURTHER STUDY
Romans 6:4 (AMPC); Romans 4:25 (AMPC); Ephesians 4:24 (AMPC)
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Acts 23:12-35 & Job 40-42
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Luke 9:1-9 & Joshua 11