4 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:4-6)
The Apostle Paul has set forth the truth that solely on the basis of God’s rich mercy and great love with which He loved rebellious sinners like you and me, God initiated an action on the sinner’s behalf, even as sinners were was dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3).
What action has God done? He has made the spiritually dead sinner alive in Christ. The sinner has been spiritually resurrected and brought to new life in Christ. God imparted unto us new life. This necessitated a new birth by the Holy Spirit called regeneration (John 3:1-8; Titus 3:1-5). Regeneration always precedes conversion (John 3:3).
Secondly, God has raised us up with Him. To be raised (συνεγείρω; synegeiren) literally means to be raised together. In other words, the Lord has resurrected us into new life and living. It is a spiritual resurrection which foreshadows the believer’s bodily resurrection in Christ (I Corinthians 15:35-49).
Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “What once happened to Jesus will one day happen to believers as well (2 Corinthians 4:16). They will be resurrected to glory at His return (Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 15). For the present, there is a new mind (Ephesians 4:23-24; Romans 12:1-2), a new identity as God’s children (Romans 8:14-17), and a new ability to life free from the control of Satan (Romans 8:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17). These realities are all part of what it means that the believer is united to Jesus Christ in the resurrection.”
May we all give thanks today for His great grace in raising us up into new life in Christ
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 