PAUL’S METAPHORS:
AS BELIEVERS, WE ENTERED SALVATION
AS WE DIED WITH CHRIST
PAUL’S METAPHORS:
AS BELIEVERS, WE ENTERED SALVATION AS WE DIED WITH CHRIST!
JAN LILLEBY
Paul used a massive metaphoric-rhetorical language in his epistles.
Reading his two church epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, proves this clearly.
Paul, as he went on describing a believer’s spiritual standing with God, as a saved saint – he starts at the ‘bottom’ – he starts with Christ as He died on the cross. And we died with Him.
To spell this out as a contrast to the earthly ministry of Jesus, we are not portrayed by Paul as such ones who was together with Christ in His earthly ministry (earthly life), healing sick and working great wonders. No, Paul starts with us being with Christ in His death on the cross!
Col. 3:3, NASB,
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
This death happened to you the very instance you came to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul used it as a metaphor of you, the believer, being made into one IN Christ, or made equal with Christ in His death. Paul’s method of telling us believers how immensely great our salvation is; we are saved by being identified by God as such ones who are in total unity and fellowship with His Son. It is not us, our selves, who accomplishes such a divine unity in Christ, - no, it is a work done by the Almighty God, the Father of Christ.
Notice: We are not made equal with Christ – like – as in His earthly ministry, enabled to work great miracles and healings. No, it happened by ‘dying-with-Christ’ on the cross, and thus we are considered also as dead to this world and its carnal lifestyle and lust and sin. But Paul did not stop at us believers having died, for he swiftly goes on showing that we are thus RISEN with Christ, we are raised up with Him through FAITH,
Col. 2:12, NASB,
“having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” (Editor’s remark: Baptism here is that which is the baptism into the death, with Christ; it is not a water rite)
Paul opened his two church epistles by pointing to our heavenly salvation.
But as he went on describing the ‘system of salvation’ seen from God’s side of it, we find that we start at the DEATH on the cross, then we are RAISED from the dead, and finally we are SEATED IN HEAVEN, thus having received ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN HEAVEN IN CHRIST.
Thus far, we are told this by Paul’s metaphoric language. He used spiritual ‘imagery’ to tell us of a physical and ‘real life’ salvation. We shall be, one day in the future, be taken up into the high heavens, in Greek it is epiouranos, the ‘Heaven up above the heavens’.
Eph. 4:30, NASB, is sealing this teaching of Paul for the church, pointing to the very day that we are being transferred super-naturally over into this heaven up above,
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
The day of redemption: This is not the day when we die, eventually. No, it is clearly the day when God concludes the church dispensation, as He right after shall turn to the prophetic program for a new Israel.
God cannot have any parallel operations, with on the one hand – the church and its Grace Gospel, and on the other hand it will be the judgement upon Israel through the Great Tribulation. Grace and harsh judgements does not go together.
Col. 3:1-4, NASB, has the message of the church being taken away into the high heavens, - and this must not be confused with the ‘Rapture Theology’ in 1 Thes. 4 – which only concerned the Acts-Body and not us, the ‘One new Man’, the church,
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.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Editor’s emphasize)
You can put these two verses together – since it speaks of our day leaving this earth for good. Ephesians 4:30 and Col. 3:4.
We started our salvation-experience by ‘Dying with Christ’, then we were ‘Raised with Christ’ and finally and gloriously we shall be ‘Revealed with Him in glory’.
Let’s have this heavenly hope clear and constantly in our minds. That day of redemption may not be so far away now.
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