We have looked at the present positional truth of a new believer in Christ. What about the future position?
Drawing on the context of the 1st two chapters in Ephesians, we see that Christ loved us in spite of our sinful nature, and he came to rescue us from the grave which consisted of these 4 aspects:
1. Being physically, mentally, and emotionally alive, but spiritually dead.
2. Being controlled by the spirit of Satan.
3. Being controlled by the desires of the flesh and the world.
4. Being children of disobedience, subject to God's wrath
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ came to this earth, he died, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day. This death, burial, and resurrection has profound implications for the new Christian's life here on earth, as well as the future life when Jesus comes again.
We already saw that spiritually, this is what has taken place in the life of new Christians
1. Jesus died on the cross, and by his blood, we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.
2. Jesus was buried, and thus our sins were carried away as far as the east is from the west.
3. Jesus rose from the grave, and thus we have been resurrected spiritually from the past grave, and he breathed life into us through the Holy Spirit to all believers who are born again.
The resurrection also have future implications for when all believers will one day be resurrected with a resurrection body like Jesus, and will live eternally. Actually, eternal life begins right now here on earth in the spiritual sense. With the Holy Spirit as a seal, we have that promised hope that one day we will be resurrected like Christ.
When will this happen? At the rapture of the church, or the "last trump". There are three places in the Bible that talk about this, so I'm not just making this stuff up. The Bible doesn't use the word "rapture" directly which means to be "caught up", and such a word has somehow gotten its way into the church. However, the concept of the rapture is Biblical, and it makes sense to use that word which I will do.
The Bible describes such an event in three distinct places, that is a time when all believers will be changed to receive resurrection bodies, and it will happen in a twinkling of an eye. Aside from these direct references, there are multiple other passages that talk about the doctrine of imminency, where Christ could come back at any time at a day or an hour we don't know of.
Acts 1:11 "Why do you stand there looking at the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
The key here is in Acts 1:9 where after Jesus ascended into heaven, a cloud hid him from the disciples' sight.
Then in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Paul writes, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ shall be raised first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever."
Also in 1 Corinthians 15:51, Paul writes about this same event after describing the promised future resurrection body.
"We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
More posts on this blog will elaborate on this topic in greater detail and the implications for how the rapture of the church motivates us to live our lives for Christ right now, here on earth, in these last days. But I just wanted to whet your appetite. For now, let's focus on the present positional truth of believers together, in the body of Christ as it exists right now on earth in its not-yet-raptured state.
Drawing on the context of the 1st two chapters in Ephesians, we see that Christ loved us in spite of our sinful nature, and he came to rescue us from the grave which consisted of these 4 aspects:
1. Being physically, mentally, and emotionally alive, but spiritually dead.
2. Being controlled by the spirit of Satan.
3. Being controlled by the desires of the flesh and the world.
4. Being children of disobedience, subject to God's wrath
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ came to this earth, he died, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day. This death, burial, and resurrection has profound implications for the new Christian's life here on earth, as well as the future life when Jesus comes again.
We already saw that spiritually, this is what has taken place in the life of new Christians
1. Jesus died on the cross, and by his blood, we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.
2. Jesus was buried, and thus our sins were carried away as far as the east is from the west.
3. Jesus rose from the grave, and thus we have been resurrected spiritually from the past grave, and he breathed life into us through the Holy Spirit to all believers who are born again.
The resurrection also have future implications for when all believers will one day be resurrected with a resurrection body like Jesus, and will live eternally. Actually, eternal life begins right now here on earth in the spiritual sense. With the Holy Spirit as a seal, we have that promised hope that one day we will be resurrected like Christ.
When will this happen? At the rapture of the church, or the "last trump". There are three places in the Bible that talk about this, so I'm not just making this stuff up. The Bible doesn't use the word "rapture" directly which means to be "caught up", and such a word has somehow gotten its way into the church. However, the concept of the rapture is Biblical, and it makes sense to use that word which I will do.
The Bible describes such an event in three distinct places, that is a time when all believers will be changed to receive resurrection bodies, and it will happen in a twinkling of an eye. Aside from these direct references, there are multiple other passages that talk about the doctrine of imminency, where Christ could come back at any time at a day or an hour we don't know of.
Acts 1:11 "Why do you stand there looking at the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
The key here is in Acts 1:9 where after Jesus ascended into heaven, a cloud hid him from the disciples' sight.
Then in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Paul writes, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ shall be raised first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever."
Also in 1 Corinthians 15:51, Paul writes about this same event after describing the promised future resurrection body.
"We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
More posts on this blog will elaborate on this topic in greater detail and the implications for how the rapture of the church motivates us to live our lives for Christ right now, here on earth, in these last days. But I just wanted to whet your appetite. For now, let's focus on the present positional truth of believers together, in the body of Christ as it exists right now on earth in its not-yet-raptured state.
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