November 24, 2024

Are You Alive?

 

The Apostle Paul speaking to the Ephesian Church had just prayed his first Apostolic prayer over the people.  He prayed that the church would be enlightened in spiritual understanding and in the spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may know what the hope of their calling was in Christ. Paul wanted them to understand that they had a rich inheritance that they have received with other saints who believe.

 

In chapter 2, as he continues speaking to the Church, and begins by telling the Church that they have been made alive.  He prayed that the people would be enlightened or have knowledge of who they were in Christ and now he tells them because of their faith, Christ has moved them really from death to life.

 

¹ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.⁴

 

(And I love this part) But God, (Yes, But God….  Our Father in Heaven who loves and cherishes His children, and the Apostle Paul continues), 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, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10

 

We were in prayer here I believe on a Tuesday when I ran across this section of Scripture because we pray Apostolic Prayers over the Church, but as we pray for the church and look at the church I thought, “Are we actually a church who is Alive?”  “Am I alive?”  When people come across my path, what spirit comes across?  Good question for all of us.

 

If I have been raised up with others because a Just God had mercy on sinful lost me, am I living the life as the Apostle Paul states here in an actual living state as God intended after my profession of faith to follow Christ the rest of my life.

 

And if I am not alive, why?

 

Definition of the word Alive: Not Dead, Alert, Active, and a Force. Is this you?  It should be. Biblically speaking, upon confession, we were filled with God’s Presence. 

 

The Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 1:22-23, “²² And He (God) put all things under His (Jesus) feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

 

Yes, Jesus has filled us all who believed.  Fullness means copious amounts, filled to completion.  Filling All in All means Christ has filled us who believe to completeness.  We have received the redemption power that Christ offered to all who believe when He died on the Cross, God activating the power of His Blood upon His resurrection.    We as sons and daughters of God should unequivocally be living in a state of life that we did not have before salvation.  Our Father in Heaven does not only walk with us as He did with Adam, but He through the Holy Spirit is within us. His loving Presence is always with us.  That is the life.  We should live the life with the understanding that the Great Living God of God’s has chosen us.

 

P Brad