THE AGES TO COME

"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 hath raised us up together, and made us sit 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. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of
works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Devotion 3 of 17

JESUS SUSTAINS ALL THINGS

As the "Captain of our salvation," Jesus is the Sustainer of all things (Heb 1:3). As it is written, "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express Image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb 1:3). It is true, Christ sustains the individual, but His ministry is much larger than that. Having been "delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son" (Col 1:13), you occupy the realm of "all things."

You are in a world destined for destruction. You are also in a moral universe, in which good and evil are locked in mortal combat. The god of this world is aligned against you, together with his diabolical hosts, including "principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places, and the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph 6:11). These are some of the things that are "present." Beside this, there are "things to come," and the larger context of "life and death" (1 Cor 3:20-21).

In addition to these things, we are a miniature cosmos within ourselves. We have "another law," or principle, within our members, warring against the law of our renewed mind (Rom 7:23). Our natural "members" must be mortified through the power of the Spirit, because they are not subject to the Lord (Rom 8:11-13; Gal 5:24; Col 3:5). The Spirit and the flesh wage relentless war within us. As it is written, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Gal 5:17, NKJV).

Throw into this scenario that we "are come" to a society of staggering proportions. Included are all the redeemed currently "in the body" 2 Cor 5:6; Heb 13:3), the "spirits of just men made perfect," an "innumerable company of angels," "God the Judge," and "Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant" (Heb 12:22-24). We do well to stretch our minds and hearts to be more aware of these surroundings than those monitored by our fleshly senses. This aggregation of personalities are all alive, acutely aware of things transpiring in the earth. We are told of the martyrs, who laid down their life for Christ Jesus. They are portrayed in association with the heavenly "altar" aware that their blood has not yet been avenged. "I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'" (Rev 6:9-10, NASB).

Blot from your mind the notion that, in Christ, you have merely adopted a new pattern of living. You have been made to "sit together" with Christ "in heavenly places," surrounded by a moral cosmos in which intense activity is taking place. There is a sense in which we, like the Apostles, are "exhibited . . . as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men" (1 Cor 4:9, NASB). The battlefield into which faith ushers us is seen by both men and angels--the "world" into which regeneration has inducted us.

How is it that this complex spiritual environment has not been our undoing? Why has faith been able to survive the onslaughts of the evil one? It is because Jesus is holding everything together, sustaining it by the Word of His power. But this means more than merely keeping things from spinning wildly out of control. These things are all being upheld for the good of His people. To put it another way, the Lord is working "all things together for our good" (Rom 8:28). He is marshaling all divine resources and power for your good, to ensure you remain a part of His eternal purpose. All of these "things" are being sustained in the interest of your salvation.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank and praise You for equipping me to fight the good fight of faith. I know without Christ I can do nothing, and through Him I can do all things. Receive thanks in Jesus' name.

-- TOMORROW: LOOKING BEYOND OUR GENERATION --