I just want to read verses 4-7. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved, and has raised us up together, and made us set
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus." I want to repeat something that
I said to you a couple of weeks ago. And I made the statement
to the effect that this epistle was probably written to illiterate people. And maybe
a greater percentage of illiterate people than educated people.
And I want to just read that to you. If you'd turn over here
in the latter portion of this epistle, and turn over here in
chapter 6, and you'll see where I got that statement. The Apostle Paul here was writing
in chapter 6 to the children. And he addresses them specifically. He doesn't tell the parents to
tell them, but he writes to the children as though the children
themselves would be reading this epistle, and there is no doubt
in my mind that they did. Lydia had a house. I don't know if she had a husband,
but the Scripture talks about her house, her household, members
of her household. And they heard the gospel and
were baptized. The jailer there in Philippi,
he had a family. His family heard the gospel and
they were baptized. So there seemed to be, in this
church, children. And Paul sends this epistle to
them. Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother,
which is the first commandment with promise. Now look down in
verse 5. Servants, this word is literally
slaves. It wasn't so much employees,
it was slaves. Be obedient to them that are
your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling
and singleness of your heart as unto Christ. So, when Paul
wrote this epistle, he wasn't writing this epistle to just
preachers. He wasn't writing it to educated
men. He was writing to all kinds of
men, even children and slaves. Now, why did I even emphasize
that the other day, and why am I bringing it out now? Well,
one of the reasons for this. We often complain. We often hear
people complain, I would read the Scriptures more, but I just
can't understand them. I'd read them more, but I just
can't understand them. And people use that as an excuse for not
reading the Scriptures. And lo and behold, Scriptures
aren't written to theologians. Scriptures are written to children.
Scriptures are written to illiterate slaves, poor people. The common
people is who the Scriptures are written to. Are there many
things we don't understand? There's much that we don't understand,
but I tell you, there's a lot we do understand. If you're here
this evening and you read the Bible and you don't understand
the gospel, then dear soul, there's something wrong. There is definitely
something wrong. As you read verses 1 through
verse 5 in our text, don't you understand what that says? You
don't explain it like I explain it. You don't go into detail
with it like I do. But you understand it, don't
you? You can relate to what it means to be dead in your sins
because you experience that. You know what it is to live to
yourself and live to your lust. You know what that is. No, we
don't understand everything, but I tell you this, when you
go to Ezekiel chapter 16, and you read about that little infant
that was cast out in the open field, and no eye pitied it,
nobody helped it, until the Lord passed by, and He said, Live,
and it lived. You understand that, don't you?
You understand that. You relate it. You say, well,
that sounds like Ephesians 2 to me. And that sounds like my experience
to me. When you go to Acts chapter 4
and verse 12, there's none other name given among men whereby
we must be saved. You understand that. Don't say
you don't understand that. We must be saved. You ladies
can take that and you can just divide that scripture up. And
you can say, well, it says right here, we must be saved. You understand that. It's essential
to be saved. You say, I believe that. I know
that. I understand that. Well, how can we be saved? Through
His name. His name shall be called Jesus.
Well, isn't there other ways that we can be saved? There's
no other name. And don't tell me, dear soul,
that you don't understand that. You do understand that. You do
understand that. So quit using that excuse, I
don't understand that. Don't go to the book of Revelations
and try to understand about the locus coming up out of the bottomless
pit and say, I can't understand that. I can't either. So I don't
go read that very often. But you can understand the Scriptures.
You can. But I said that also to say this. The heart is made up of more
than just the intellect. Thank God it does include the
intellect, knowledge. God would have all men to be
saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We live without
the knowledge of the truth. But He saved us by bringing us
to the knowledge of the truth. He's come and given us an understanding
that we may know Him. It does include the intellect.
But I tell you, the heart includes more than the intellect. It includes
the affections. Love, joy, peace, contentment. Peter, do you love me? Lord,
you know all things. You know I love you. Don't it
include the desires? You say, well, I don't understand
much about the Scripture. Do you desire it? I fear sometimes,
and you'll have to answer this question for yourself, Would
you be guilty of using an excuse that you don't understand the
Scriptures to cover up your lack of a desire to read the Scripture? Do you have a desire to read
the Scripture? Do you love Christ? Well, you
love what you know about Him, don't you? Well, I wish I know
more, but do you love what you know about Him? See, the heart
is not just intellect, it's this affection, it's desire, it's
joy, it's peace. You may truly not understand
much about the Scripture, but do you desire the Scripture?
You may not understand much about the Lord Jesus, but do you want
to be like Him? Do you have a desire to follow
Him? And the heart is made up not only of the intellect and
the affection, but it's made up of the will. The will. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Do you have a will to drink this
water of life? If you be willing, you shall
eat the fat of the land. Is it your will to come to Christ?
Is it your will to follow Christ wherever He leads you? Is it
your will to serve Him? Is it your will to worship Him?
Is it your will to please Him? I tell you, brother and sister,
this is so critical for us to have a will. I think sometimes
we just look at our hearts and we concentrate, I just don't
understand. Precious sister, we love her
dearly, but that's all she's said for years, I just can't
understand. Well, there's more than that,
isn't there? A will. Oh, it's so important. That old saying, where there's
a will, there's a way. Ain't that important? And you
know that Ethiopian eunuch? He didn't understand much at
all, did he? But did you ever notice what a desire he had?
What a desire for the Scriptures? He was reading Isaiah chapter
53. He said, who's this talking about? I can't understand this.
But he had a desire for it. And I tell you, his desire was
satisfied, wasn't it? And he had a will. He left Ethiopia
and rode in that old chariot all the way up to Jerusalem,
seeking the Lord. A will. So there's more than
just an intellect. There's a will and there's affection. So I ask this question in the
light of all that, and I've found great comfort in this, what is
it, after all, to be a Christian? What is it to be a Christian?
We talk about the intellect. We talk about the affections.
We talk about the will. We talk about doing. We talk
about praying. We talk about reading. But what
is it? When you come down to the nitty-gritty
of it, what is it to be a Christian? And it's this. And I find so
much comfort in this. You know what it is to be a Christian?
It's to be in Christ. That's it. Don't that take the
weight off? It just frees you up. That's
what it is. If I am in Christ, I am a Christian. No matter what else. No matter
what I see lacking in my intellect, or my affections, or my will,
if I'm in Christ, I'm a Christian. That's what it means. You notice
this chapter 1, and I made mention of it as we went through there,
all through this chapter. Chapter 1, time and time again,
Paul kept using this little phrase, in Christ. Chosen in Christ. In whom? In whom we have redemption. Accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have forgiveness of
sin. In whom we've obtained man's
inheritance. That's one of his favorite phrases. 105 times he uses that little
word, in, in this book alone. That's amazing. In Christ. And he comes here in chapter
2, in verse 6, and he says, "...and he hath raised us up together,
and made us set together in heavenly places in Christ." And what does
that speak to? When you think of being in someone,
or someone being in you, that speaks of unity, doesn't it?
That speaks of our oneness. We are one with the Lord Jesus
Christ, and it goes right back up there to what He said in the
last verses of chapter 1, that Christ is the head, His church
is His body. Our Lord was praying that high
priestly prayer there in John chapter 17, and He speaks of
this very thing. And here is what He says about
it. He was praying, and He said, My Father, I pray for them which
shall believe on Me through their word. That's us, ain't it? Can you imagine? Isn't it a wonderful
thing that the Son of God came to this earth, and while He was
here, He prayed for us? Two thousand years ago, the Son
of God prayed for every person that ever would believe upon
Him. And here's what He said about that, that they all may
be one, As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be one in us." What is it to be in Christ? It means
we have such vital union with Him that we're one with Him. We're His fingers, we're His
hands, we're His arms, we're His legs, we're His ears. where
his body were one with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the vine and
you are the branches. Abide in me as the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself. This union with Christ includes
who? Well, it includes those preachers. It includes those apostles. Yes,
it does. It includes those that are well
advanced in the Christian life. Yes, it does. But who else does
it include? Who else is in union with Christ?
Those slaves who believed. Those little children who were
believers. Every last believer is in Christ. That's what it means to be a
Christian. And being in Christ, he has union with Christ. That's wonderful to think about.
Here in verses 5 through 7, I want to consider just three things
about this right quickly, and I won't keep you too long. Three
aspects of this, and first of all is concerning this union,
the believer's union with Christ in the past. And secondly, what the believer
has experienced in the present. And thirdly, his hope for the
future. Now, first of all, the believer's
union with Christ is a great mystery. Paul said this himself,
that it's a great mystery. It's like the husband and the
wife. They're one with one another. They can't be separated. God
has joined them together as one. And Paul said, I speak concerning
Christ and the church, didn't he? In chapter 5. He said, this
is a great mystery that a man and his wife is one, but he said,
I speak concerning Christ and the church. We're bone of His
bone and flesh of His flesh. Now what does that mean? In all
reality, this is what it means, and this is the wonderful thing
about the union. Whatever Christ has did, those
that are in Him did. Whatever happened to Him, those
that are in Him, that happened to them. Wherever He is, so are
they. Not they shall be, we know that's
true, but they are now. Ye are dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. How could that be so? You and
I are here upon this earth. Physically we are, but in this
matter of union, Paul said we're with Christ. in heaven, there
with God, in heaven. Now I want you to turn to Romans
chapter 6. I guess one of the best commentaries on union with
Christ is found here in Romans chapter 6. Turn over here with
me right quickly to that. I want to read the first 11 verses
to you. But what I want you to notice
here in Romans chapter 6, Paul had just got finished in chapter
8 telling us of this union. And Luke says it in chapter 5,
verse 18, Therefore, as by the offense of one, that is, Adam,
judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the
righteousness of one, The free gift came upon all men unto justification
of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous." Now what do we see there? Just what I
told you. And here's the great importance
about union. We were in union with Adam. And what happened? When he sinned, he was condemned. And what happened to us? We were
condemned. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He
obeyed and He brought in this righteousness, what happened
to us? We were made righteous. But we never sinned. We sinned
through our representative. We never did anything righteous.
Yes, we did. Perfectly obeyed God in our representative. So that's what it means when
we say union. We mean we have somebody else
that's did something either to harm us or to do us good. And by virtue of that union to
them, whatever they did, we did. Whether it's of sin unto death,
or of righteousness unto everlasting life. That's what Paul had been
discussing here in chapter 5. And now he goes on in chapter
6. And here's what I want you to
see in chapter 6. I like our version. You know I read nothing
but the King James. I like that. I study out of others,
but when I come here, that's what I use, the King James. But
what I don't like, and it's not about the King James, but it's
sometimes when we read the King James, we don't completely understand
why our translator, what they were saying when they translated
something. Here you'll see this, for instance, this. Let me read
it to you, verse 1 and 2. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall
we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? See that
word, we are dead? That's present tense. You know
what the original says? You know what the Greek says?
You that died. You that died. Now, our version
is right. We are dead. But when we read
you are dead, it concentrates on the present, doesn't it? We
are dead right now. The main lesson that Paul intended
to teach, when did we die? If we're dead now to sin, when
did we die? So, I've got the little Greek
book there. I've got one that Brother Larry
gave me and one I've had for years. And this is the way verse
2 reads, God forbid, how shall we that died to sin live any
longer in our hands? We died. We died to sin. What does it mean to be dead
to sin? You don't have power over you anymore. It don't condemn
you anymore. It won't bring you into condemnation
anymore. It won't damn you. You're dead
to it. When did we die? Look in verse 3. Know ye not
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into His death? 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 unison of life. Now here in verse 4 we have this
present tense again. See it there? We are buried.
That's present tense. The Greek says we were buried. We were buried. That puts it
in a better light, doesn't it? Baptism is a beautiful picture
of this union with Christ. But that's all baptism is, is
a picture. That's all baptism is, is a picture. There's no
merit in it. It can't wash sins away. It's
just a picture. But it's a picture of that which
is real and vital. Union with Christ is not a picture. It's not a type. It's real. And
that's what Paul is meaning to teach us here. He said when Christ
was buried, you were buried with Him. Boy, that puts a stress
upon union, doesn't it? Not that you are, you were. Past tense, you were. Let's read
on. Verse 5. For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also
in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man,
see that word is? You know what the original says?
Was. The little Greek says was. The
old man was crucified with him. Why? That the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Our old man, what is that? That's
Adam. We were in Adam and therefore
condemned. That old man was crucified. He's
dead. But when did he die? Back there
on the cross. He died. When Christ died, he
died. Verse 7, That's not what it says, is it?
That's really what it says, if we go on and realize what it
means. For he that died is freed from
sin. Now, if we died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with Him. knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead, he dieth no more. Death hath no
more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once. But in that he liveth, he liveth
unto God." Now look what Paul said, likewise. Likewise. Here's our union with Christ.
Everything that He did, everything that happened to Him, His crucifixion,
His death, His burial, and His resurrection, Likewise, reckon
ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but just as Christ
is, alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Oh, brothers
and sisters, this is one of the most blessed truths, but you
can't get your understanding around it. You're just going
to have to believe it. Believe it. This is a mysterious
thing. God calls those things which
be not. as though they were. I wasn't
back there. And you weren't back there. But
if you're a believer this evening, you were back there. In Christ
you were back there. And you're in Christ in heaven.
You're in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody said,
well, that's the way God sees it. Old Brother Fortner has always
said, well, the way God sees it, that's the way it is. And if you and I would just see
this and believe it, just live by faith upon it, what a blessed
thing it is. Look here in chapter 7 of Romans.
He goes ahead and says the same thing in it. Let me just read it to you. And
reading it in the past tense really, really blesses my heart
because it stresses. Chapter 7, verse 1. Know ye not,
brethren, I speak to them that know the law, how the law hath
dominion over a man as long as he liveth. For if the woman which
has not a husband is bound by the law, for the woman which
has not a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long
as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she
is loose from the law of her husband. So then, if while her
husband liveth she be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she
is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though
she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
died to the law. That's what the Greeks said.
You died to the law by the dead body of Christ. that ye should
be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Why isn't the believer
under the law? Why doesn't the law condemn him?
He's dead. What could the law do to him?
He's dead. How do you know he's dead? Is
Christ dead? Did He die? Did he die under the curse of
the law? Yes. Then no believer can be under
his curse. He died. He died. Another passage is, and I'll
just quote it to you, in 2 Corinthians 5.14, a very familiar passage.
That's where the Apostle Paul said, The love of Christ constrains
us, for we thus judge that if one died for all, then all died. But the Greek says it like this,
The love of Christ constrains us, for we thus judge that if
one died for all, then all died. All died. All the elected God died in Christ
when He died. And Paul tells us here in our
text in verse 5, God has quickened us together with Christ. With Christ. Christ's obedience
is the believer's obedience. His death is their death. His
resurrection is their resurrection. He is being seated in heaven.
They're seated there with Him because of this blessed union.
Christ is the head, His church is the body. She's one with Him. She's one with Christ. Union. We're not in Adam any longer.
Ain't that wonderful? We're in a new humanity. Our
old Adam, he's gone, he's dead. He died in Christ, the second
Adam. And now we're in Christ, a new humanity. A new humanity. And the second point is this,
the believer's experience of grace. This not only speaks of
experience, only speaks rather of union, but this speaks of
experience. Paul tells us here in our text
that God quickened us together with Christ and He hath raised
us up together. He hath raised us up together. That's something we've experienced
also, isn't it? See, if I just stopped and said,
this is union with Christ, I may deceive somebody. This not only
teaches union with Christ, this is what we've experienced. Union
with Christ, and this is reality. He's given us life from the dead. And Paul said here, it's the
same life. It's the same life and the same power with which
He raised Christ. Ain't that what He tells us in
chapter 1 and verse 19? Look at that again. What is the
exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe, according
to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right
hand? The same power that raised Christ
raised us. The same life that was given
to Him was given to us. They took Him down from the cross,
and He was dead. He laid there in the tomb for
three days and three nights. His body was limp. There was
no life in it. It never began to decay, but
it has no life in it. But the third morning, sometime
early that morning, that body revived. Life came back into
that body. And he had a rose cast off those
grave clothes and came out of that tomb and they handled him,
they saw him, they ate with him. He was a living Christ and he
said, I'll never die again. And here Paul comes and says,
that's the same power, that's the same life that came to you
when you were dead spiritually and quickened you. The same power
quickens you that quickened Him. And the believer can say just
as Christ said, I'll never die. I'll never die. I have the same
life that He had. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never die. And I love how the Apostle puts
this here in verse 6. He even says we have the same
posture that Christ had. when God raised Him and set Him
there in heaven. He sat down on the right hand
of God, and Paul says here, He raised us up together and set
us together. We're set in Him, just like He
is. He gives you life, and what kind
of life is it? It's a life of rest, ain't it?
Don't you have rest in your soul? You're seated. The work's finished.
You're not working to be saved. You're not working to stay saved.
You're resting. You're resting. Arise and sit
down. That's one of the strangest verses
I've ever read in the Bible. Arise and sit down. Arise and
sit down. Only a believer understands that.
And that's what happens. Here you were so full of turmoil.
You look back on your past life as an unbeliever. Was your life
like mine? This full of uncertainty and
torment and fears and doubts. Your conscience so afflicted
with guilt. What kind of life do you have
now? Aren't you resting? Oh, I know, I know we still go
through all these things because we get our mind on the world
and all these issues that's going on. We burden ourselves with
it. But in your soul, aren't you rested? And the more you
know Christ and His finished work, you rest that much more.
You're set in. You're set in. You're worshiping,
but you're set in. You're serving, but you're set
in. You're set in. This is your experience. And
then lastly, in verse 7, it has to do with our future. The Lord doesn't just save a
person from sin and from hell and death and all of that, but
He saves us to something. Look what He says in verse 7,
that in the ages to come. And that world there means in
the eternity, in the world. Our Master often used that, in
the world. In the world to come, life eternal. In the world to
come, life everlasting. He will show the exceeding riches
of His grace towards us through Christ Jesus in the world to
come. Now, we were in the course of
this world. Paul said, no more. That course
ended for you. That was a course of sin and
lust and shame and death. But now, now, you're waiting
on the coming of another world, another age. And what's that? Life everlasting. Life. Life. Well, a believer's life
has changed, hasn't it? His walk has changed. His world
has changed. Thank God this world is not the
end. This world is not the end. The Christian has just begun
to live, and that's the truth. We've just begun to live. Our
trials that we suffer now, the temptations, the sorrows that
we have, the tears, That's soon going to end. And we're going
to enter a world that knows no sorrow, that knows no heartaches,
that knows no trials and temptations and struggles. Life everlasting. In the world to come, our Master
said. In the world to come. Everlasting
holiness, everlasting happiness, everlasting rest. And He said
here that He will show you. He will show you. The Lord's
got a way when He's intent on showing us something to show
us. But our whole problem is this
unbelief in this old flesh. He showed the disciples His hands
and His feet. And you know what the Scripture
said? Some of them still didn't believe. That's how depraved
we are. That's how our hearts sometimes
get full of unbelief. But there in that world that's
to come, in the ages to come, We won't have this old man. We
won't have this flesh. There'll be no doubts. There'll
be no faith. It'll be sight. And He will show
us. We'll see the kindness of Christ.
We'll see the love of Christ. We'll see the goodness of Christ.
We'll see the wounds in His hand and the hole in His side. We'll
know Him in that day as we've never been able to know Him in
this life. He will show us. Throughout all eternity, He will
show us. The exceeding riches. One of
my dear brethren said one time, and he realized he made a mistake,
I think, when he said this, but he said, you know, in that world
to come, we won't remember this life. Well, we won't remember
the sorrows. We won't look back upon this
life with regret and all of that. There'll be none of that there.
But we will remember where He brought us from. We'll see that
as clearly in that day as we've ever seen it in this life. And
that will be the way His grace is magnified. Can you imagine
yourself in heaven? Can you imagine yourself in the
physical presence of Jesus Christ without any sin, without any
dimness of eyes? What a future. What a future
that Christian has. What a hope he has. There ain't
no sense in you and I looking for anything satisfying, folks,
in this life. How in the world could you and
I come here and read verses 1 through 3, and then turn right around
and be surprised when a war gets started? Or be surprised when
somebody kills somebody, or somebody rapes somebody, or somebody robs
a bank? Our children go bad, and oh,
we're so shocked. How in the world could this happen?
And we come here and profess to believe this Scripture that
teaches us of man's total depravity. Our economy might fail. I'll
be surprised if it don't. We may lose our country in the
next ten years. I'll be shocked if we don't. Expect the worst. I told you that last Sunday.
Get up out of bed and think, this could be the worst day of
my life. We're living in a society that's
ruined by sin. He's totally depraved. Somebody
says, how pessimistic can you get? How real can you get? Our
hope is not in this world. Our hope is not men being educated
and cultured and becoming better in a world of utopia. No, it's
going to get worse and worse and worse. And just settle your
heart there. But oh, what a bright hope. We're
looking to a world to come where there is no trouble. And you
know something? It's a sheer hope too. We're
going to get there. We don't go through this world
gritting our teeth and saying, well, it's coming, so we've got
to take it. I can take it. I can just buck up and take it. No, we're not like that. We have
a power working in us. Let the world go to hell. We're
not going there. And it can't take us there. Greater
is He that's in you than He that's in the world. Do you have that
kind of assurance? You're allowed to have that kind
of assurance? Was Paul saying here, this eternal
home? Was he saying, now don't get
too assured about this. You may not make it there. Oh,
if you do, that will be wonderful. You may be in Christ today, but
be out of Christ tomorrow. Would he ever teach us such a
thing? That would strip everything that he said and make it meaningless. No, He talks here in charity.
In the ages to come, in the ages to come, God don't deal with us like we
often deal with one another. He's faithful. And He don't look
at temporal things. He looks at things from the eternal
aspect. And He says, I've chosen you,
and My Son has redeemed you, and I've called you, I've put
you in My Son. I've raised you from the dead.
You'll have a new life. And here's what's waiting for
you in eternity. I'm going to teach you. You think
I've taught you now, just wait until you're here with Me. I'll
open your heart. I'll open your eyes. And you'll
know Me as you've never known Me. And you'll rejoice and you'll
love Me for all eternity. Is that true? I said a few days
ago to you, if you want to see what's not real, look around
you. Open your wallet and look at
that $100 bill you got in there. That's what's not real. Go home
and look at your house. That's what's not real. That
car you're riding in, that's not real. These things are born
for one brief day. They're fleeing. They're gone.
What's real is that eternal home and Christ on the right hand
of God. That's real. We received a kingdom which cannot
be moved. Everything else is going to be
shaken. My son was telling me yesterday
he'd been watching a history channel and they were talking
about the past generations and how they advanced in their technology.
But the reason we can't find out their advancements and what
they invented is because time has destroyed it all. It's rusted. Moths eaten it up. They find little tidbits about
it. And can't you imagine those people thought, man, what have
we invented? They said in the 1800s, I read a quote from one
of the great inventors. I don't know if he was Edison or somebody.
And he said, we've invented everything that can possibly be invented. Ain't that amazing? And where
is it? It's all gone. It's all gone. Where's that huge hanging gardens
of Nebuchadnezzar? Where's the Tower of Babel that
they said we're going to build up into heaven and make a great
name for themselves? Where's all of man's inventions?
It's gone. It's gone. Where's heaven? Where is that eternal inheritance?
Where is Christ our Lord? He's there. He's there. That's what's real. Set your
affections, set your heart upon things that's real. Let this
world go. You're a Christian. You're a
child of God. He's come to you to give you
life. Don't ever forget that. Live in the faith of that, brothers
and sisters. Heaven is your home. As sure
as Christ is there. And you notice how Paul said
that. He made this statement three times. He's raised us up
together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
Together. Together. We're not only with Christ, but
the Jews and the Gentiles and the males and the females and
the young and the old. All believers, they have been
quickened together. Together. There's no big I's
and there's no little U's in the Kingdom of Christ. We sit
together. Together. God bless this message.