His Heart, My Home

NOTE: This week we will continue to study the subject of our spiritual union with Christ. Please see the previous posts in this series.

Ephesians 2:4-6
⁴ “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Verse 5 in the Amplified Classic Bible, says, “He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him…”

That’s resurrection life! That’s overcoming life! That’s heaven’s life! That’s God’s life! That’s divine life! That’s healing life! That’s blessing life! That’s victorious life. That’s the same life that is in you right now!

In the mind of God, we were there with Christ, and in Christ, every step of the way!

He gave us exactly the same new life that He gave to Christ. We were made alive together, raised up together. conquered together, seated together, and blessed together with all the authority, resources, and power of heaven

Everyone (as you read this) proclaim these words out loud right now:

I have been crucified with Christ. My old sin- nature died with Him.

The person I used to be was buried with Christ. That burial was a permanent separation from the sinful world in which I once lived.

I was made alive with Christ. The same mighty power that raised Him up raised me up together with Him.

His resurrection life is now in me. My spirit is full of His life. I am one spirit with Him.

When Jesus conquered satan, death, and hell, I also conquered with Him. I share His victory over every enemy!

Now I am seated together with Him, enthroned with Him in the heavenly realm, blessed with every blessing that heaven has to offer.

What God did for us in Christ is far above and beyond all that we can ask, think, or imagine.
He demonstrated the infinite dimensions of His love for us through the immense power which He exerted to save us.

Ephesians 1:19-23
“… ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. ²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²² which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

There are four Greek words in the New Covenant translated as power.

● The first is the Greek word “dunamis“. This word is the source of our English words dynamo and dynamite.

Dunamis means “inherent power” or “power that is stored up within something”.

● The second word translated as power is the Greek word “energeia“. It means “outward power” or “demonstrated power”.

We get our English word energy from this word. “Energeia” is the display of “dunamis”.

● The third Greek word is “kratos:, which means “ruling power”.

We get the English word democracy from this word. “Demos” (people) + “kratos” (power).

● The fourth word Greek word translated as power is the word “ischus“.

It means “endowed power” or “delegated power”. When a king is coronated and takes the throne a certain amount of endowed power is given to him. It belongs to him simply because he is the king.

“Hey, Brother Joe, thanks for the Greek lesson, but what does it mean to me? I don’t really plan on ever going to Greece, so I don’t know that this has any practical application in my life.”

Got it! But just for the fun of it let’s look at verse 19 again:

“… and what is the exceeding greatness of his power (dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of His mighty (kratos) power (ischus)…”

All four of these power-words are found in verse 19!

Now here comes the revelation:

There was a time in the universe when all of God’s endowed power, all of God’s ruling power, and all of God’s inherent power, was put into the form of energy.

And that was the day that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead! More power was displayed on that day than had ever been displayed before!

The creation of the universe Is described as the work of God’s fingers. (Psalm 8:3)

Isaiah 53 describes God’s work in redeeming us from sickness and sin (verses 4-5). But the chapter begins with these words, ” Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

We could rephrase those two questions into a declarative statement. Verse 1 would then read: “The arm of the Lord is revealed to those who believe the report.”

What is the report? The report is the gospel! And the gospel is ” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31)

We are those who have believed God’s report. Therefore, God is revealing the strength of His mighty arm to us.

Remember, God used His fingers to create the entire universe. But He has revealed to us that He used the incredible strength of his entire arm to raise Jesus from the dead!

Why was so much power required? After all the universe is unimaginably large and complex. Wouldn’t its construction require more power, not less?

Did it really require that much strength to roll the stone away from Jesus’ tomb? No, but there was so much more happening in the spirit-realm than what was occurring at the Garden tomb.

Here’s the key to understanding: When God created the universe He had no opposition. But when He raised Jesus (and us!) from the dead all the forces of hell were aligned against Him.

God thrust His mighty arm into the stronghold
of hell, wielding His exceedingly great, unlimited, immeasurable, explosive power. He used His inherent power, His endowed power, His ruling power, and His demonstrated power simultaneously.

He flung away satan and his minions, and delivered Jesus, (and us!) from death to life; from the lowest pit of hell, to the highest place of honor in eternity…the throne of victory at His own right hand!

The greatest display of power in the history of the universe is the resurrection of Christ! Far far greater, and brighter than any galactic supernova…

Jesus the Christ, firstborn of a new creation!

We were raised together with Him! And we were seated together with Him in the highest place of honor, authority, and power in all creation!

The resurrection is the power source for our entire lives. It banishes every sin, heals every disease, calms every fear, and mends every heart, filling our eternity with the loving presence of our God.

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you.”
(Ephesians 3:20, Passion Translation)