CHRIST'S BURIAL
"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and THAT HE WAS BURIED, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" - 1 Cor 15:1-4

Devotion 14 of 14

FAITH IN DIVINE WORKING
      Our burial with Christ resulted in our resurrection with Him. We thus experience participation in the total Gospel. The same God that brought Jesus back from the dead--from burial--also raises us together with Him. Not only that, He does so through the same power that brought Jesus back from the region of the curse. "For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you
have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in  Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 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" (Col 2:9-12, NASB).

      God raised us, but He did so through our faith. Thus, one that is "dipped" in water without faith is NOT risen with Christ. I fear this is the condition with many who wear the name of Christ. The thrust of the Gospel message is not to get people baptized, but to get them to believe. Those who believe WILL be baptized! it is just as true today as it was on the day of Pentecost, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized . . . " (Acts 2:47). 

      Notice, our faith is "in the working of God, Who raised Him [Jesus] from the dead." The NIV states, "through your faith in the power of God." The word translated "operation" or "power" is a strong word. It is not the word translated "power" in Romans 1:16 ("The Gospel is the power of God . . . "). It is not the word mentioned in Matthew 6:13 ("Thine is . . . the power"). Nor, indeed, is it the word used in Romans 1:4 ("Declared to be the Son of God with power"), or 1  Corinthians 1:18 ("the preaching of the cross . . . is the power of God"), or 1 Corinthians 1:24 ("Christ the power of God"). These verses employ the word 
dun-a-mis, which emphasizes ability or capacity--like a dynamo. 

      The word used in Colossians 2:12 is  n-erg'-I-as, and means efficiency
("energy"): i.e., operation, strong, (effectual) working (Strong's). Just as energy and ability differ in meaning, so this word differs from the one mentioned previously. It  speaks of objective power, devoted to a specific purpose. In the case of our  baptism, the same power that was devoted to raising Jesus from the dead, is  devoted to raising us up to sit together with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6). Our faith in that focused power enabled us to rise to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4). We knew we had no more ability to rise from a watery grave than from a  tomb. Thus, our identity with Christ's burial brought us into the realm of Divine power. Thanks be unto God! 

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You, in Jesus' name, that faith in Your working is not vain, nor are those who dare to do so brought to disgrace. I praise Your name for raising me from death in trespasses and sins to sit with Jesus in heavenly laces!

-- TOMORROW: THE GLORIOUS CONCLUSION --
-- THURSDAY: New Series, THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS --