AP

The Life-Giving Christ

“But God… made us alive together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:5)

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:4-5

Paul tells us that God, out of his great mercy and love, makes those dead in sin “alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). We need to explore further what he meant when he said, “together with Christ.”

The blessing of being “in Christ” has been the apostle’s theme since the third verse of this letter. In Ephesians 1:3 he spoke of how God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. It is a distinctive feature of the new covenant that all of God’s blessings are conveyed to us through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through belonging to him and being united to him by his Spirit that these blessings become ours.

This is what Jesus alluded to so often during his time on earth. He declared to the woman of Samaria that he was the one who possessed “living water” which, if a person drank of it, they would never thirst again (John 4:13, 14). He spoke of himself as the “bread of life” which, if a person ate, they would live forever (6:35, 50, 51). Again, he said that he was the “resurrection and the life” (11:25), “the way, the truth and the life” (14:6) and that he had come that people “might have life and have it abundantly” (10:10). 

There are other verses in John’s Gospel and letters that help us understand the way in which Jesus is the life-giver. In John 6:57 he says, “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.” Then, in his first letter, John writes, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11, 12).

Time and again, Jesus made it clear that just as the Father had life in himself, so too he had been granted by the Father to have life in himself to convey to others (John 5:26). This he does as people come to him and believe in him.  When we exercise faith in Jesus, he comes to live in us and we in him (John 6:56).

That is how God makes us alive together with Christ – by drawing us to him and uniting us with him. We come to share in his very own life and are made alive to God through him.

This is not just a “one-off” event that takes place when we become Christians. We experience fresh life from Christ as we exercise faith in him moment by moment each day. His Spirit conveys to us the love, joy, peace, patience and kindness that belong to the life of God himself.

We know this in small droplets now, but one day will enjoy the great oceans of that life in Jesus’ immediate presence.

Closing Thoughts:

• Do you rejoice daily that you are one with the risen Lord Jesus?
• Do you look to him for life each moment, drawing from his endless supply of gift and grace?

– Andrew Young