Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. welcome to our program today
now if you'd like to follow along in your bibles i'll be preaching
from the book of ephesians the new testament uh... book of ephesians
this is what god the holy spirit inspired the apostle paul to
write to the church at ephesus and i'll be preaching from chapter
two and uh... title of the message is together
with christ together with Christ and that title was taken from
Ephesians chapter 2 and beginning with verse 4 and going on through
just a few verses where it talks about how those who believe the
gospel those who have been given the gift of faith by God and
he says it down through here that faith is the gift of God
that they were quickened together with Christ that's in verse five
and that's an amazing statement then it goes on to talk about
how they were raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus now we'll look at those verses together
with Christ but what this is talking about is a true child
of God and a believer a sinner saved by grace is in union with
christ that's what it's talking about the union of christ and
all of his people now the book of ephesians uh... has started
out this way uh... when it talks about in chapter
one and we've gone over these verses and how many times if
you read when you read chapter one that when it talks about
the grace of God and the blessings of grace that everything that
a believer has everything that a sinner saved by grace has possesses
in salvation by way of the blessings of salvation and all the benefits
of salvation belong to him or her because it is all in and
by the Lord Jesus Christ chosen before the foundation of the
world by God in Christ. It's all in Christ. It's all
by virtue of His glorious person. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He is God manifest in the flesh. And you can get no better than
that. He's the God-man. The scripture says His name shall
be called Emmanuel. which being interpreted as God
with us. So salvation for sinners is all
by the grace of God in Christ. Not in you, not in me. In other
words, now there are things that happen in me and in you if we're
saved, that's the work of the Holy Spirit in us. But that all
comes from Christ. Everyone who is born again by
the Spirit, everyone who believes the gospel, everyone who is saved
by grace it's because of their union with Christ and all of
their salvation was conditioned on Christ and Christ came into
the world God in human flesh God with us the Word made flesh
dwelling among us and he walked on this earth in strict perfect
obedience to the law of God and he did that not as a private
person and not for himself but for his people to whom he was
united before the foundation of the world he walked in obedience
to the law of god perfection and he was obedient even unto
death even the death of the cross and that speaks of the union
with christ now if you look back here in uh... uh... ephesians chapter two It
talks about, it starts out in verses one through three, and
I've already dealt with those verses in the last message. The sin and depravity of men,
even true children of God, before they are brought into union with
Christ, which is a spiritual union by faith. And he talks
about they were dead in trespasses and sins. They walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air. Children of disobedience all had their conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. We're by nature children of wrath
even as others. In other words, a person who
is saved by the grace of God By nature, that means as we are
naturally born, is no better off than one who goes through
this life condemned and dies in a state of condemnation. By
nature, we're no better. And the point that Paul is making
there as he's inspired by the Spirit is this. God did not save
me because I was better than anybody else. Now, should we
try to be better than we can be, the best we can be? Yes.
But God does not save people because they're better than other
people. You might look at a certain class
of people who are criminals, who are perverts, whatever, and
you say, well, I'm better than them. Well, I hope you are. But
here's the point. God does not save you or me or
anybody else because you're better than them. Because you see, our
better is never good enough. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. There's none righteous, no not
one. You see, in order for us to be saved, we must have a perfect
righteousness that answers and equals the demands of God's justice. and that's why salvation is the
revelation the gospel is the revelation of the righteousness
of God Romans 1 16 and 70 not the righteousness of man salvation
was and is conditioned on Christ and he is my righteousness you
understand that now so it says here in verse 4 of Ephesians
2. Now look at verse 4. After having
shown that even the children of God by nature had nothing
in us to recommend us unto God, it says in verse 4, but God who
is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. Now
there it talks about the unconditional love and mercy of God. And that unconditional love and
mercy of God is to his elect. That's who he's talking about
here. How do you know? We'll go back to verse one. And
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.
He's talking about those who have been quickened. That means
those who have been born again by the Spirit, who have been
given life. That's what quickened means.
It means to give life, spiritual life. They were dead in trespasses
and sins. I was dead in trespasses and
sins, but now I've been quickened. And that quickening, that salvation,
is due to the rich mercy and love of God wherewith He loved
us. Now, that love of God is the
assurance of the salvation of the objects of that love. This
is love that can only be found in Christ. Now, how do you know?
We'll look at verse five. Even when we were dead in sins,
and that death, that spiritual death has been described in the
first three verses there now. So, in other words, this love
and this mercy that God has shown towards His people, His sheep,
His church, His elect, had nothing to do with what they deserved
or what they earned because it was given to them even when they
were dead in trespasses and sins now flip over to 2nd Timothy
chapter 1 just for a moment and this shows this union with Christ
Paul in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 in verse 8 listen to these verses
he says he's writing to Timothy and Paul is in prison when he
writes this He says, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God. Now listen to verse
9. God who hath saved us and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, But according
to His own purpose and grace, now here's the phrase I want
you to see, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. So it was given, this grace was
given to His people in Christ Jesus before the world began. So go back to Ephesians 2 now.
Verse four, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even, verse five, even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ. And then you see the
parenthesis there, by grace you're saved. Now what is this quickening? This union with Christ that we're
talking about? Well, The first thing that we
need to see is that there is a covenant union. And that covenant
union, we've already read about it here in 2 Timothy 1, when
he speaks of a salvation that was given to God's people, God's
chosen people now, in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But that covenant union has already been Described in Ephesians chapter
1 look back at Ephesians 1 in verse 3 He says blessed be the
God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ? Now that that's
the blessings of salvation That have been given to God's people
from the very foundation of the world look at verse 4 according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Now, I wasn't born before the foundation of the world, you
weren't born, but we who are saved now, the elect of God,
were in His mind and heart before the foundation of the world as
they would stand in Christ, given to Him before the foundation
of the, remember Christ said in John 6, 37, he said, all that
the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to
me, I will in no wise cast out. Well, when did the father give
him to him? Before the foundation of the world in a covenant, the
covenant of grace, where God chose a people determined to
save them from their sins through Jesus Christ. And He placed all
of the responsibility of their salvation upon Christ. And that's
what it says in verse 5 of Ephesians 1. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, verse 6, to the praise of the
glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. So there's a covenant relationship.
And that covenant is before the foundation of the world. But
there's also what we call a legal relationship, a legal union with
Christ. And if you look at Ephesians
chapter two, our text, now listen to it again. He says in verse
five, talking about the unconditional mercy and love of God to his
people, Verse five, even when we were dead in sins, now look
what it says, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. And verse
six, and hath raised us up together, together now with Christ, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, what Paul is talking about
there is that legal union with Christ. Think about this. He
talks about something that happened to God's people together with
Christ. Now, a lot of people, they go
to this verse and they talk about the new birth. Well, God's people
in time will be born again, but not all at the same time. I was
born again over 30 years ago. Others were born again today,
maybe, or yesterday. We weren't born again together.
We weren't quickened in the new birth together. That happens
in each successive generation as God the Holy Spirit brings
those whom God chose and for whom Christ died under the preaching
of the gospel and gives them life. So in what sense were we
quickened together, believers, quickened together with Christ,
raised up together with Christ, and made to sit together in heavenly
places? Well that's the legal union that
Paul describes back here in Romans chapter 6. Now turn to Romans
chapter 6 and listen to this. He says in verse 3, and again
he's talking about union with Christ he says in verse 3, know
you not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death now let me say a little bit about
baptized obviously when we hear the word
baptized or baptism we think about the believer's confession
of faith in the ordinance of water baptism. And that is a
commandment of Christ to his people as a public confession
of their faith. If you want to talk about how
do you confess Christ before men, it's not by walking down
an aisle at the end of a service and shaking the preacher's hand
and repeating a prayer. If you hear the gospel and come
by God-given faith to believe it, then you're commanded to
confess Christ before men publicly in believer's baptism. And that
baptism is immersion in water. It's not baptizing babies. Now,
listen, I'm not here just to offend people, but I'm telling
you, you who baptize infants, you're just going through some
traditional human work. It's not in the Bible. It's believer's
baptism. It's by immersion in water because
it is a confession of a believer's spiritual union with Christ in
his death, his burial, and his resurrection. Now, water baptism
does not save you. Water baptism does not wash away
your sins. Water baptism does not even apply
the blood of Christ to you. You see, water baptism is merely
a public form of confession that Christ saved me, that His blood
washes away my sins, that the Holy Spirit sprinkled my heart
already. You see, baptism doesn't save,
it's a confession that you've already been saved by the grace
of God in Christ. But now that's water baptism.
Now here in Romans chapter 6 and verse 3, Paul, when he uses the
word baptized, he's not talking about the ordinance of water
baptism. He's talking about a believer's
union with Christ. The word baptized literally means
placed into. That's why we say it's by immersion.
You've got to be placed into the water when we talk about
water baptism. But here what he's saying, look
at verse 3 again, read it this way. Know ye not that so many
of us as were placed into Christ, into Jesus Christ, were placed
into His death? You could even say immersed.
Now we who believe, we were placed into Christ before the foundation
of the world in that covenant union. God chose us and gave
us to Christ, put all the responsibility of our salvation upon Him. Christ
was made our surety. My sins were imputed to Him and
His righteousness imputed to me. And in time, He had to come
and do the work of paying the debt by His bloody death. Now
that's what Paul's talking about here. Look at verse 4. This proves
what I'm telling you is true. How was I baptized into Jesus
Christ here? How was I placed into His death?
Verse four. Therefore we are buried with
Him by baptism into death. By being placed into His death.
What does that mean? That means when Christ died,
He died for me. I died in Him. He was my representative. He is my surety. Again, my sins
were imputed, charged, accounted to him. And he suffered in my
place as my substitute, suffering unto death under the wrath of
God as a guilty person. Christ was made guilty. He was not a sinner and he was
not made a sinner. But the debt of my sins were
placed upon him, laid to his account, and he died for my sins. And that's how I was placed into
his death, together with Christ. Now, verse 4. Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life." Now Christ died, he
was buried, but he didn't stay dead. He was raised from the
dead because he satisfied the justice of God. He paid the debt
in full and he was quickened raised, that is, he was raised
from the dead, he was given life, and that's to be attributed to
his humanity, and he did that as a substitute, a surety, a
representative, not as a private person, so that when he died,
all his people died in him, when he was buried, they were buried
with him, and when he was raised again, they were raised with
him. That's what Ephesians chapter
two and verse five here is talking about. Verse five, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace
you're saved. Verse six, and hath raised us
up together, that is together with Christ, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And so, if you
know the grace of God, If you're a believer in God's grace, Christ
died for you. You see, that's who Christ died
for. He didn't die for all without exception. He died for His people,
and His people evidence this as God brings them to saving
faith. Now, they were quickened legally
by Christ on the cross when He died, was buried, and raised
again the third day. Again, when he died, I died.
When he was buried, I was buried. When he was raised again, I was
raised again. And he is seated now at the right
hand of the Father, that's what he's talking about here, made
us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now I
personally right now am not sitting in heavenly places in heaven,
but I am in Christ. That's my, legally, God, and
what that means is this, if I'm a child of God, if I'm a sinner
saved by grace, God cannot and will not impute, charge, account
sin to my account. I'm a sinner. And if God ever
gave me what I deserved or what I earned, it would be condemnation.
But God does not impute, charge sin to his people because Christ
had their sins imputed to him and he died for them. God imputes
righteousness to me, the righteousness of Christ, evidenced by His being
raised from the dead. He got the job done. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died, yea rather is risen again and is seated at the right
hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for us.
That's what John means when he talks about Christ is our advocate. Jesus Christ the righteous is
our advocate. And so this is together with
Christ. Now look at verse 7 of Ephesians
2. Now all this happened, all this is happening, and all this
will be finally culminated and fulfilled Verse 7, that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ, through Christ
Jesus. Now what that means is that all for whom God chose in
that covenant union, all for whom Christ died in that legal
union, they will be raised again in a spiritual union with Christ
in the new birth to the praise of the glory of His grace. Look
at verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith. They'll be brought to faith in
Christ. And that not of yourselves, even
that faith is the gift of God. It's the gift of God, verse 9,
not of works, lest any man should boast. So here is a sinner saved
by grace, verse 10 says, for we are his workmanship. You see, if you're a believer,
you're not the product of your own works or your own will. You're
the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus, together with
Christ. created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, not because of good works, not based on good works,
but unto good works. That's the fruit, you see. You
see, the work of the Holy Spirit in a sinner, in the new birth,
and following Christ and the obedience of faith is not the
ground of salvation. It's not the cause of salvation.
It's not the source of spiritual life. It's the fruit. Christ
said, I'm the vine, you're the branches. You'll bear fruit.
We don't produce the fruit. The fruit is produced by God
through the life of Christ in us. We're not fruit producers
and we're not fruit inspectors. We're just fruit bearers. And
that fruit is faith in Christ and repentance of dead works
and the obedience of faith. and so he says were created in
Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them together with Christ let me read you one
more verse here Galatians chapter 3 verse 26 this speaks of the
believers spiritual union there's the covenant union there's the
legal union And here's the spiritual union for verse 26, For you are
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ, placed into Christ,
have put on Christ. Now to put on Christ is a way
of describing faith in Christ. You believed in Him. You rest
in His righteousness imputed as your only ground of salvation.
And he says in verse 20, there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's
neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female, for
you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, if you
belong to him, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. together with Christ, that covenant
union before the foundation of the world, that legal union at
the cross where he died for the sins of his people, was buried
and raised again the third day, and ascended unto the Father,
and then the spiritual union of the new birth, bringing us
to faith in Him. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
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today and may the Lord be with you.