Reality: Already, but not yet

Introduction

This will be the last time we look at the topic of reality. In our look of reality this morning I want us to see a reality that is already, but not yet. We have touched on this before a little bit with other passages of Scripture but here it is prominent. This should not trip us up at all in any way for there are times where we experience this on Earth. For example, imagine that you have bought a vehicle and upon buying the vehicle it needed work done. You own this vehicle and you’ve paid for this vehicle yet you have not gotten to use it or experience it. This is the gist of Ephesians 2:6-7. The question is, why does this matter to you and to me this morning? Beyond just going through the book of Ephesians verse by verse what worth does this doctrine have? These two questions are what I hope to answer this morning and in so answering them we are going to be guided by two points, one from verse 6 and one from verse 7.

They are, 1. A reality partially experienced and, 2. A reality for the ages.

A reality partially experienced (v.6)

There are three points that Paul stresses in verse 6. Two of them are active tense that is being raised with Christ and seeded with Christ. He also helps us to understand these things in light of our existence beyond this world. Therefore, you could say that we are raised and seated with Christ at this very moment in the heavenlies. And yet, we have experienced this being raised to new life in Christ here on Earth.

Raised us up

We have already seen that we are made alive together with Christ in sharp contrast to the energized spiritual zombie. Paul makes a concentrated statement. He says that we are raised up with Christ. What does this mean? To understand the meaning of this we need to go back to the very premise of being raised up. This is further and more intricate than being made alive. This being raised up has everything to do with the reality that Christ has already been raised up or resurrected from the dead. One of the questions that is asked in apologetics regarding Christianity specifically is this, are there any other so called gods that have been raised from the dead? In the typical answer that is given is no they all died or no one has ever resurrected from the dead. What I want you to see from this text is that for us as believers in Christ the resurrection of Jesus is essential to everything else that we believe. Without the resurrection of Christ being true and having had occurred what is said in verse 6 that we are raised up with Christ as we follow in his footsteps, such a following would be impossible to do. It hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. Consider Romans 6:4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Do you see the progression in this verse? There is a connection between baptism into death and being raised. This is true of Christ He was baptized and He was raised. This is true of each one of us who have trusted in Christ we have been baptized as we follow Christ and we have been raised with Christ. We’ve talked a lot over the last few weeks about new life or new birth or being made brand new and here we see it again in Romans 6:4. Christ has been raised from the dead and has made all things new therefore being raised with Christ we have new life and we walk in we live in this new life. Romans 6:5 brings death and resurrection together in unison saying, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” If there is one thing that should mark the Christian from everyone else on this planet it is this, I ask, do you walk in newness of life? The text in Romans 6 shows this connection, our text in verse six implies this connection. For how can you be raised and seated with Christ and not walk as he walked? That is the call of Colossians 3:1 “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Christian, you have been raised up with Christ therefore, your marching orders are to seek Christ, to live a life in complete subjection to Christ, and to seek that which is better, a most wondrous dwelling place that we will one day see in full and not in part.

Seated us with

Not only are we raised up with Christ but we are also seeded with him as well. I will touch in a moment about the already not yet but I want us to see the significance of being seated with Christ. There is just as much significance being seated with Christ as there is being raised with Christ. Just as we did with looking at the resurrection so we must with being seated and we must ask this question, “What does this say about Christ?“ Because in the same way we are unable to be resurrected without Christ being resurrected, we are unable to be seated unless Christ has already sat down.

There is one text that proves the necessity that Jesus must first go and that we will follow later on. In other words, it is critical for Christ to proceed us in heaven to prepare such a wonderful place. John 14:1-3… is the text. These three verses follow the words of Christ telling His disciples that He is going to go to a place where they cannot go. This statement rocked their world. They had been with the Messiah for nearly three years and now he says I’m going to a place where you cannot go. Why such a dramatic change as this? This is where the first three verses of John 14 come into play. They answer this question. Jesus begins by comforting them in verse 1, He follows that with the declaration that there is a fixed eternal dwelling place for them, and He finishes it by saying that He is preparing such a place and you (the disciples) will know for sure where He is going. I want to ask a question. When Christ ascended where did he go ? Do you know where he went ? Acts 1:9-11 tells us where he went. Jesus didn’t weigh any surprises here . Listen to the clarity of Acts 1:9–11 “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.””

But what does this have to do with being seated? You will notice that in the John and Acts passages mentioned there is no reference specifically to being seated. The Greek word used for seated here is only found in one other place and that is when Peter goes into the courtyard to be warmed with the others during the mock trial that Jesus endures. The Greek emphasizes the word seated not as a mere sitting down alone but with a sense of togetherness. The literal meaning is this “to sit in company with” (Mounce). So in the same way that Christ has raised us together with Him, He has also seated us together with Him. In other words, we are never separated from Christ. We are always seated with Christ although we do not experience that fully on earth.

In the heavenly places

We come back to the phrase “in the heavenly places.” And if you remember from the first place we saw it in Ephesians 1:3 I said I wasn’t going to touch on it much in that verse because it is thematic throughout this epistle. I want to touch on that theme more in this context. Why touch on it here? Because the raising and the seating is directly attached to the heavenly places. Listen to Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now, I am not saying that the spiritual blessings of Ephesians 1 are not directly attached, but there is more connection here. Unlike how we saw every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, here being raised and seated with Christ is a direct parallel to our eternal abode. For example, it answers this question, “What is heaven going to be like?” No, heaven is not going to be sitting forever next to Jesus and we do nothing else. But heaven is going to be like this at the very foundation we will forever in perfect unity be with Christ. See, unlike the things here on Earth that are here for a moment and then fade away whether it be our health, our stuff, our family, or our home that we live in, but in heaven Christ never fades away, our place that is fixed in heaven never diminishes, we always have perfect health, we have the greatest family ever with no drama, and we have everything we could ever want because everything we could ever want is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is the question we must ask before we move to our second point. Is this where you are headed? Have you put your trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you haven’t, it is not too late to do so in the free gift of salvation the free gift of such a wonderful eternal dwelling place can be yours in Christ Jesus. He calls you this day to repent to turn from your sin and to trust in Christ. I implore you to do that at this very moment if you haven’t. Dear unbelieving sinner, Christ has been so merciful to you, that you still have the breath of life and still have the opportunity to come to Him, won’t you do that today?

A reality for the ages (v.7)

This reality is truly in the already but not yet stage. However, there is another truth that we must look at as it is seen in verse 7. Simply put, this reality is forever true, regardless of time, season, or age.

The time

The first thing we must notice is the time that is given in the beginning of verse 7. Paul mentions that in the ages to come (KJV/ASV) or in the coming ages (ESV/CSB), grace from the Lord will be given in great measure. Now this may be deceiving to the eye at first because we would tend to look at this verse as future tense. Especially the way that it is written in English further emphasizes this future outlook. However, Paul says this in the present tense. So it led me to ask this question, “Is the grace of God the kindness of God and the riches that are found in Christ for a future age alone?” For context’s sake, everything written in these first 10 verses are all past or present tense. None of it is written in the future.

I am convinced that what Paul says in verse 7 is a reality for the ages. Permit me to offer two scripture passages that implicitly parallel this. The first is Psalm 41:13 “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” What sticks out in this verse is the praise that Yahweh is due from everlasting to everlasting. From the beginning of time to its consummation and even afterwards into eternity, God is always due praise, glory, adoration, and worship. The second text is the benediction from last week, 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Similarly, the word eternal sticks out here. The exhortation of this benediction is centered on the reality that God is eternal and that he deserves the honor and glory for ever and ever. These two texts show that regardless of time or age, God is due honor, praise, and glory. Let me ask this personally. When you share the gospel to those in your family, friends that you know, and any one else the Lord brings in your way, do you tell them afterwards that you can only hear it but you cannot believe it because it is only for the ages of old or the age in the future? This is quite a ludicrous thought. Yet, when we look back at verse 7 and all that is promised in verse 7 it would be just as foolish to say that the grace and kindness of God and the riches of Christ were only for this age or an age in the future. In other words, because we are living now and we are not living in the future age we have missed out. This, of course, is a thought of nonsense because every Christian in this room could say that he or she has experienced the grace and kindness of God and the riches of Christ. But I don’t want us to miss that what is said of Christ in verse 7 does extend throughout all of history, both in the past and the future. Read through the Old Testament narrative, specifically Judges, and you will quickly see the kindness of God lovingly bestowed upon His slaves. Consider what is written in Judges 2:18 “Now when Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Yahweh was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and suppressed them.” God’s kindness is displayed throughout history.

These things are also true of days to come. The fact that we have an eternal abode with Christ fixed in heaven is a display of His kindness and His grace. Verse 7 promises that you and I, Christian, will persevere into eternity. The Bible is clear that our togetherness with Christ is for every age, available to every person, in every time.

The content

Just as important as the time period Paul mentions is the very content that is at the core. We touched lightly on these things generally speaking. The content is the riches of God, His grace, and His kindness towards his people. As we have gone through the timeline from our very beginning living in spiritual death, we have come through the part where God does the active work in making someone alive, and now we are headed in the direction of persistent and continual assurance. That is going to carry us through verse 10. In other words, God does not stop at being rich in mercy and showering His love upon us upon making us alive together with Christ. His mercy and his love continue onward and it is shown through His grace and kindness. Revelation 5:9–10 show the persevering grace of God saying, “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”” It is by God’s grace that His people continue to press on in the praise and worship of His great name!

Something to note is that God’s grace is surpassing. The Greek word that is used for ‘surpassing’ stems from what we would call hyperbole. The word surpassing is the same one we saw in 1:19. God’s greatness is surpassing, immeasurable, incalculable. The same is true for His grace. In the same way that it takes a great deal of love for God to love a wretch, it takes a great deal of grace to save, preserve, and sustain a Christian. Very often we will say that it took a great act or a great love of God to save a sinner. I would argue that it takes a great amount of grace as well to save a sinner. You don’t have to look far for the sorts of that argument. That’s the main thrust of verse 8. But that is, Lord willing, for next week. Now the kindness of God that is displayed to us is the proof that God’s grace abounds in, over, and around believers. Kindness and grace are not separated here. The kindness of God is the result of His grace. Think of it this way, you go into a store and you have a cart full of groceries, you scan everything and you get ready to pay and you realize that your wallet is at home. So what do you do? You ask a manager or an associate of some kind at the store and you ask if they would allow the food to remain so you could go get your wallet . At that moment, the manager is going to show forth grace whether he allows you to keep that food and not just put it all back on the shelf, for how does he know you are truly coming back? The act of kindness in setting your items to the side to wait for payment shows the grace given from that individual. But maybe you are not of age to be paying for things with your own debit card yet. Consider this, You have treated a sibling poorly whether you have used your fists or your words and your sibling is rightly upset with you. The dust settles and three days from now you come up to that sibling whom you would hurt and you ask that sibling to play with you. Same scenario applies. That sibling is going to do one of two things . Either ignore you and shut you down or display an act of grace seen through kindness in that even though you hurt your sibling with your words or your fists that sibling will come and play with you anyway. God displays His grace toward His people that when we sin or do wrong He still is kind to us. His grace is sufficient for you, Christian.

Conclusion

How can we take the topic of this reality being already in existence but not fully experienced and apply it. I offer you a few suggestions to meditate upon this day.

I. Although some of these doctrines can be difficult to wrap our heads around it doesn’t mean that they are any less true. You and I must always remember that God is far greater and more wonderful than we are. Having that perspective in mind day after day helps us when we come to texts like this or others that are difficult for us to understand. God’s ways and His thoughts are better than our ways and our thoughts.

II. Christian, your heavenly abode is fixed. Nothing that can be done that takes that away from you. Therefore, I ask you this question is your life model a life of grace and kindness and mercy? Is this how you are known? Yes, we must be known for teaching and believing sound doctrine and press on in that endeavor. But a life that is full of the grace of God and kindness and mercy is the outpouring of the doctrine that is held. Look at your life and ask this question, “does my doctrine and my way of life line up?”

III. Lastly, God shows His kindness to you Christian. I want to suggest that you take also take a look at your heart this morning. Does it reflect gratitude to God for all that He has done for you? Even now, His grace and His kindness is over you. You have everything you could ever want in Christ. Does your heart reflect this reality?

Benediction

1 Corinthians 16:23-24 (italics mine) “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. The love of our Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.”