Raised to Heavenly Glory

Not only did God make a tremendous change in us, He also brings us into a tremendously different life.

Of this Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:6 : "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." He had already in verses one through five stated that God quickened us, that is, made us alive with Christ. He made us to be as righteous and holy as Christ is. He will now lift us up to the glory that Christ earned for us.

Not only are all our sins blotted out completely, but our bodies and souls are going to have a most wonderful, everlasting life of heavenly joy. We shall be with Christ, and will be above the highest angels, and enjoy the covenant fellowship with God that Christ earned for us.

We are not going back to the garden of Eden. That is not going to be restored. We are going into the new Jerusalem, the glory of which is far above what man enjoyed in Eden. Christ, having blotted out our guilt by His cross, went to God's right hand; and we are going to be with Him in glory.

We are going to be raised, that is, lifted up higher than Adam and Eve were before they fell into sin. We are going to be closer to God than Adam and Eve were before Satan deceived them, and closer than the holy angels ever were to our covenant God.

Here is the Gospel, that is, the Good News! Never mind, then, what the world promises you. Never mind what it is striving to bring forth: peace, prosperity, and pleasure of the flesh. Our calling is to seek the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. And we will reach that high glory, not because we climbed up to it, but, as Paul by the Spirit of Christ pointed out, because we are raised, raised by God in His love. Therefore we are sure that we will reach it and enjoy it forever.

Read: Isaiah 65:17-25 .

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
I Chronicles 1 
I Chronicles 2:1-17 
Acts 23:11-35 
Psalm 3:1-8 
Proverbs 18:14-15 
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Quote for Reflection:

"...........preaching is heavenly. And because it nevertheless takes place in the world, preaching is an intrusion into this world, an invasion of this world by forces and powers that belong only to heaven. .......this is why some will die to hear it, and others will murder to stop it." ~ H. Hanko, The Standard Bearer