Five Fantastic Facts
Devotions for Growing Christians
Five Fantastic Facts
Ephesians 1:23 - The church is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 2:6 - God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:22 - You are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:10 - The manifold wisdom of God is now being made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 5:32 - This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Some Christians have the idea that when you’re born again, you get a ticket to Heaven and "fire insurance" - and that's about it. That’s an unbelievable bargain - but there is even more to our salvation. Much more!
The book of Ephesians is loaded with facts about the amazing "package" that God gave us when we became Christians. These facts are fantastic in their magnitude. If the Bible didn’t say so, they’d be almost unbelievable. They boggle the mind! Let’s look at five of these fantastic facts - and praise God for His infinite generosity and love for us.
All true Christians everywhere constitute the universal Church. Whenever the Church is mentioned in Ephesians, the universal Church is in view - not the local church, and not a particular organization or denomination. Four of the fantastic facts deal with Christians collectively. Our exalted position in Christ (2:6) seems to be individual, but the other four facts have to do with the Church as a whole.
Position in Christ
Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we are “seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” What does that mean? Let's break this fact down by phrases. "Heavenly places" is not some place in the universe. It is the new realm of spiritual experience and activity into which we are brought when we trust in Jesus as our Savior.
"In Christ Jesus" describes our status before God. Because of our identification and association with the risen Christ by faith, God now sees us in Christ. This is our status or standing or legal position before God. We no longer stand as guilty or condemned sinners before a holy and righteous Judge - the Creator of the universe. The Judge now sees us as righteous because we are "in Christ Jesus.” This is not our own righteousness (obviously!), but rather Christ's righteousness that has been imputed to all who are "in Christ Jesus.”
"Seated with Him" further defines our status or position in Christ. The main idea of Christ being seated (enthroned) is His exaltation and supremacy and authority (Ephesians 1:20-22). The fact that we are "seated with Him" means that positionally we are now associated with Christ in His exaltation. Now that is a fantastic fact! What a position we have in Christ - and what far-reaching implications. Can there be any question as to our secure and permanent salvation if we are already enthroned with Christ in glory as far as God is concerned? No wonder we are urged to have confidence and boldness to enter into God's presence, for that is our present position in Christ. (Ephesians 3:12 and Hebrews 10:19.) Let’s walk in the light of this fantastic fact.
Body of Christ
Another fantastic fact is given to us in Ephesians 1:23: the church is the body of Christ - “the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.” The Church (universal) is the body of Christ, and is the “fullness” of Christ. As a physical body is the full complement of its head, so the Church is the full complement and expression of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is Head over the church, not only because He is sovereign over all (1:22), but also because we are His body.
As the body of Christ, we are the means by which our Head currently expresses Himself in this world. What a fantastic fact - but what a responsibility! We are inseparably linked to the One who "fills all in all.” Christ is not only the Source and Sustainer of His body - but of the universe as well! (See Ephesians 4:10 and Colossians 1:17.) As individual members of the body of Christ, let us relate to one another and to this needy world in ways that fully reflect the thoughts and interests of our Head.
Living Stones
A third fantastic fact is found in Ephesians 2:20-22. Here the Church is likened to a building that’s under construction. The foundation has already been laid, and individual Christians are now being "fitted together," like building bricks, according to God's blueprint. The blueprint is of a "holy temple.”
The temple is not complete yet, but the building is "growing" towards that goal. It’s significant that the word used here for "growing" is more of an agricultural term than an architectural term. The church is a living building, composed of "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5). Membership in a local church is not what makes a person a part of the building - it’s life in Christ that is essential for living stones. Organic union is necessary. The Church is not an organization - it’s a living organism.
The most fantastic aspect of this unfinished organic building is that God dwells in it - now! Even now, the Church, with all her faults and failings, is the dwelling place of God in the Person of the Holy Spirit. We are not yet the glorious temple that God intends us to be forever, but already we are the home of the Spirit of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 we see that our individual bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but here in Ephesians we further see that together we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (See also 1 Corinthians 3:16.)
This tremendous spiritual truth should be worked out in practical ways in how we live our lives. We should not think of a man-made building as the residence of God. God is in the midst of His people wherever they meet. Furthermore, as the home of the Holy Spirit, we should give Him the right to move around as He desires. Let’s not limit His freedom of expression to only a few "official" stones. 1 Peter 4:10 says that He has given special gifts to every living stone. (See also Ephesians 4:16 and the word "every.”) Finally, since we are being built into a "holy temple" of the Holy Spirit, let us be a holy people.
Portraying God’s Wisdom
In Ephesians 3:10 we have a fourth fantastic fact. The universal Church is said to be God's object lesson to unseen powers! What does that mean? The Bible indicates that angels have access to the spiritual realm called "heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 indicates that even certain of the fallen angels currently have access to this realm. At first this seems hard to grasp, but when you think of the spiritual struggles and battles we face, we begin to understand a little of what the Bible is talking about.
The fantastic fact is that God is now making His wisdom known to all these powers - through the Church! Angels are not omniscient. They eagerly observe and learn the wonders of God's infinite wisdom (1 Peter 1:12). Angels saw the power of God displayed at creation (Job 38:7). They have seen many aspects of God's wisdom throughout history as God has dealt with mankind. But the full wisdom of God is now seen through the Church! We are the highest channel of God's wisdom - higher than any other created thing in our vast universe.
How do angels learn about the love of God, for example? They can’t experience it as we can, for they are not redeemed. Angels observe and learn the love of God through us, His people. What a lesson in love they learned, when they saw the eternal Son of God leave Heaven and become Man - for the purpose of giving His life to save sinners like you and me.
No wonder the angels are joyful when a sinner repents and is added to the Church (Luke 15:10)! And no wonder the angels are interested in how we respond to the structures that God has set up in creation and in the Church. (See 1 Corinthians 11:10.) The Church was ordained from eternity (3:11) to be God's masterpiece for the universe. How dare we distort God's Master Plan?
Bride of Christ
A final fantastic fact comes from Ephesians 5:32. This verse is the climax of a heavy exhortation on the relationships of husbands and wives. The loving relationship between husbands and wives portrays the loving relationship between Christ and the Church.
The fact that this relationship is a mystery doesn’t mean that it’s mysterious. Whenever the Old Testament uses the term mystery it is referring to truth that was unknown in Old Testament times, but is now revealed. (See Ephesians 3:4-5 for the scriptural definition of "mystery.”) The fact that the church is the bride of Christ is a fantastic thought. We have the life of Christ as His body - and we have the love of Christ as His bride. As the beloved bride of Christ we have His care, protection, concern, intimate fellowship and unending love. What more could we ask? And what a model on which to pattern our own marriages!
We've looked at just five fantastic facts from Ephesians - and there are others! Read the entire book, and see how the facts build on one another. Growing Christians will receive a spurt in growth when they digest the fantastic facts of Ephesians!
- Dave Reid