Ephesians Series: Ephesians 2:6c-The Implications of the Church Age Believer Being Seated with Christ

Ephesians 2:1 Now, correspondingly, even though, each and every one of you as a corporate unit were spiritually dead ones because of your transgressions, in other words, because of your sins. 2 Each and every one of you formerly lived by means of these in agreement with the standard of the unregenerate people of this age, which is the production of the cosmic world system, in agreement with the standard of the sovereign ruler, namely the sovereign governmental authority ruling over the evil spirits residing in the earth’s atmosphere. Specifically the spirit who is presently working in the lives of those members of the human race who are characterized by disobedience. 3 Among whom, each and every one of us also formerly for our own selfish benefit conducted our lives by means of those lusts, which are produced by our flesh. Specifically, by indulging those inclinations which are produced by our flesh, in other words, those impulses, which are the product of our flesh. Consequently, each and every one of us caused ourselves to be children who are objects of wrath because of our natural condition from physical birth. Just as the rest correspondingly caused themselves to be children who are objects of wrath because of their natural condition from physical birth. 4 But because God is rich with regards to mercy, because of the exercise of His great love with which He loved each and every one of us, 5 even though each and every one of us as a corporate unit were spiritually dead ones because of our transgressions, He caused each and every one of us to be made alive together with the one and only Christ. Each and every one of you as a corporate unit are saved because of grace! 6 Specifically, He caused each and every one of us as a corporate unit to be raised with Him. Correspondingly, He caused each and every one of us as a corporate unit to be seated in the heavenlies because of our faith in and union and identification with the one and only Christ. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 2:6 is composed of two elliptical declarative statements, which serve to explain the previous concessive clause in Ephesians 2:5.

The latter asserts that the Father caused the church age believer to be made alive together with Christ even though they were spiritually dead because of their transgressions.

The first elliptical statement in Ephesians 2:6 asserts that the Father raised the church age believer with His Son in the heavenlies, because of their faith in Christ Jesus at justification and their union and identification with Him.

The second asserts that the Father caused the church age believer to be seated with His Son in the heavenlies because of their faith in Him at justification as well and because of their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.

These assertions mean that the church age believer was identified with Christ in His resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father through the baptism of the Spirit.

This took place when the Father declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Simultaneously, the Father identified the church age believer with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand through the baptism of the Spirit.

Therefore, these elliptical declarative statements here in Ephesians 2:6 indicate that when Paul asserts that the Father made the church age believer alive with Christ, he means that they were identified with Christ in His resurrection and session through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.

The second elliptical declarative statement in Ephesians 2:6 corresponds to the first and asserts that the Father caused the church age believer to be seated with Christ in the heavenlies because of their faith in Him at justification and because of their union and identification with Him through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.

The previous assertion we noted states that the Father caused the church age believer to be raised with His Son at the moment of justification through the baptism of the Spirit.

The correspondence between the two assertions is that both took place through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of justification.

Together, they explain what Paul means when he asserts in verse 5 that the Father caused the church age believer to be made alive with Christ.

Therefore, in Ephesians 2:6, Paul is applying what he has already asserted about Christ in Ephesians 1:20.

Not only does Paul speak of the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His session in Ephesians 2:6 and but also in Colossians 3:1.

The church age believer’s union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand is extremely important because it is related to the Father’s purpose in restoring the human race to rulership over the earth.

By seating His Son, Jesus Christ and His bride the church at His right hand and placing every animate and inanimate object under their authority, the Father restored humanity to its original position, namely rulership over the earth.

This restoration of humanity to rulership over the earth is prophesied about in Daniel 7:14.

Also, the title deed to the earth that is mentioned in Revelation 5 is related to the rulership of the earth.

In this chapter, this title deed to the earth was sealed with seven seals, which no one moral rational creature in creation was able to open except Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:26-30, Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2:7-8 teach that mankind was designed to rule over the works of God’s creation.

Adam was created and designed in the image and likeness of God in order that he might exercise sovereign authority over all creation.

Genesis 1:26 Next, God decreed let Us model man in Our image, according to Our likeness. Consequently, they will rule over the fish in the various bodies of water and over the birds in the earth’s atmosphere and over the animal kingdom and over the entire earth and over each and every creeper-crawler, those which crawl upon the earth. (Lecturer’s translation)

So Adam was created and designed in the image and likeness of God in order that he might exercise sovereign authority over all creation (Psalm 8).

However, the rulership of the creation was lost by Adam and the Woman in the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed the Lord’s prohibition to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3).

Satan usurped the rulership of the first Adam over the earth when he deceived the woman into disobeying the Lord’s prohibition to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and getting Adam to do so as well.

However, the Last Adam, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ has regained that rulership over the earth with His obedience to the Father’s will in going to the cross in order to suffer the wrath of God as a substitute for all of sinful humanity (Rom. 5:12-21; Hebrews 2:6-9).

That Satan is the temporary authority over the earth is indicated in that 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that he is the “god of this world.”

The Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross gained the rulership of the earth back for mankind according to Philippians 2:5-11 and Hebrews 2:9.

In Hebrews 2:6-8a, we have the record of God’s purpose for mankind decreed whereas in Hebrews 2:8, we have this purpose delayed due to the Fall and in Hebrews 2:9, 14 and 17 we have this purpose accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? 7 You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. 9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (NASB95)

Verse 8 teaches that all things are not in subjection to mankind.

However, verse 9 does asserts that Jesus was crowned with glory and honor as a result of His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.

Now, the church is the bride of Christ according to Ephesians 5:32.

So therefore, a comparison of Ephesians 5:32 with Ephesians 2:6, and Colossians 3:1-4 implies that the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride, the church will restore humanity to its rightful place as rulers of the earth.

In other words, the mystery of the Father’s will is tied to the millennial reign of Christ because it reveals that the church will be the bride of His Son and together the two will restore humanity to rulership over the earth.

The church’s union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand is the means by which the Father is providing a bride for His Son and restoring the human race to rulership over the earth.

Therefore, Paul is communicating to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle, who we noted were Gentile Christians, that they and Jewish Christians like himself have victory over Satan and his armies because Jesus Christ and His bride, the church will dispossess Satan and his armies at His Second Advent, which will establish the millennial reign of Christ.

During which time, the church will reign with Him.