Friday, August 10, 2007

A Deeper Meaning of Grace

“But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved. He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7 CSB)

These verses are a fabulous statement of God’s grace and mercy toward us, but they actually go deeper than is immediately apparent. We see this in the verb tenses, of all things. They are all past tense. In fact, in the Greek language in which they were written, the primary verb tenses indicate a one-time action that is fully and finally completed. When the text says that “He raised us up” and “seated us with Him in the heavens,” that means that this is already an accomplished fact. Obviously, in a physical sense we are still here on this earth, but in the spiritual sense we are already raised up and seated with Christ in “the heavenlies.” And the spiritual reality is superior to the physical. Our minds try to tell us otherwise, but the testimony of the Holy Spirit tells us of the superiority of the spiritual. This truth takes the grace of God to a far deeper significance than we could have imagine.

Lord, Your grace truly is beyond our imagination and comprehension. Challenge our minds and hearts today with the implications of what it means to already be raised up and seated with You. Amen.

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