![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ministryofgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Banner-MOG-701.gif\" "\\"Ministery")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
and raised us<\/em><\/span> up together, and made us<\/em><\/span> sit together in the heavenly places<\/em><\/span> in Christ Jesus,<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n God\u2019s grace produces in us life, resurrection, and a seat.<\/p>\n The words \u201craised us<\/em><\/span> up together<\/span>\u201d are translated from a single Greek verb, sunegeir\u014d<\/em><\/span>. This is made up of sun<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201ctogether\u201d and egeir\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto rise up\u201d as one would rise from a sleeping position to a standing position. Thus, He has \u201craised us up together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMade us<\/em><\/span> sit together<\/span>\u201d is translated from a single word as well. It is the verb sugkathidz\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which is made up of sun<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201ctogether\u201d and kathidz\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto cause someone to sit.\u201d Thus, we have \u201csat us together\u201d or \u201cmade us sit together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeavenly places<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u201d is from epouranios<\/em><\/span>, which we saw back in Ephesians 1:3<\/span><\/strong>. It is composed of epi<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201con, above, or over\u201d and a form of ouranos<\/em><\/span> which refers to \u201cheaven.\u201d Epouranios<\/em><\/span> means \u201cthat which pertains to heaven\u201d or \u201cthe heavenly realm.\u201d<\/p>\n Once again, to get the full impact of this verse we need to combine it with the previous two verses. And, to make it a little more understandable, we will also remove the parenthetical expressions. Then we have:<\/p>\n But God, who is rich in mercy, \u2026 made us alive together with Christ \u2026 , and raised us<\/em> up together, and made us<\/em> sit together in the heavenly places<\/em> in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n We can see from this that God who is rich is mercy did three things for us. First of all, He made us alive. Next, He raised us up. And thirdly, He made us sit in the heavenly places. We pointed out in the first verse of this chapter that the writers of the Bible sometimes describe an action which will occur in the future as if it has already happened. The reason is that to God there is no distinction of time since He is everywhere (and everytime) present. So, even though these three things will happen in the future, to God they have already occurred. Let\u2019s look at these three things individually.<\/p>\n He made us alive. In other words, God gave us spiritual life. One day our life on this earth will end; we will die, then we will face God\u2019s judgment. Those who have rejected Christ will be cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death (Revelation 21:8<\/strong><\/span>). Christians, on the other hand, will live eternally.<\/p>\n He raised us up. It wouldn\u2019t do much good for us to have eternal life and be stuck in the grave. Therefore, God raised us up; that is, God will resurrect our frail, earthly bodies and will turn them into perfect, eternal, heavenly bodies.<\/p>\n He made us sit. We saw back in Ephesians 1:20<\/strong><\/span> that Jesus has been resurrected and seated at the right hand of the father. Only those with the highest honor are allowed to sit in the presence of Almighty God. Jesus has that honor, and because of God\u2019s great mercy, we will have that honor as well.<\/p>\n When was the last time you thanked God for His mercy by which He promised you eternal life, a perfect body, and the honor of sitting in His presence.<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ministryofgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Signature1.gif\" "\\"Will\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n