Our Position In Christ

The Book of Ephesians speaks of three topics:

Our position in Christ ( Ephesians 1:1 - 3:21) - Sit

Our life in the world ( Ephesians 4:1 - 6:9) - Walk

Our attitude to the enemy ( Ephesians 6:10 - 24) - Stand

.....In our position in Christ, we note the word "Sit", which is the key and secret of the beginning of our spiritual life. The second part of Ephesians speaks of our "Walk", and the third section speaks of us "Standing". To be a useful instrument in God's Hand, a man must be balanced in his Position, his Life, and his Warfare.

.....Christianity does not begin with walking, it begins with sitting. Most Christians make the mistake of trying to walk in order to be able to sit, but that is the opposite of the true order God designed for us. In our own intellect, we reason that if we do not walk this out first, how will we ever reach our goal? Or, what can we attain without effort? But again, God's ways are always opposite man's ways. If we try to do anything in our own strength and thinking, we get nothing. If we seek to attain something, we will miss everything. Christianity does not start with the word "Do", it starts with the word "Done". That is why it is called a Finished Work. To "Walk" implies effort, where as God says in Ephesians 2: 8-9, that we are saved, not by works, but by grace through faith. So we need to really see that we began our Christian life by depending not upon our own doing, but on what He, Christ, has done. Ephesians 2: 5-6 says, "We were made alive, raised with, and seated with Christ together in the heavens." We must "Rest" in the Finished Work of the Cross.

.....Sitting is an attitude of "Rest", and we can only advance in our Christian Life as we learn first of all, to "Sit" down. So what does it mean to "Sit" down? When we walk or stand, we bear on our legs all the weight of our own body, but when we sit down, our entire weight rests upon what we are sitting on. Walking and standing use and require a lot more energy, but when we are seated, we can relax, because there is no longer a strain on us. So in a spiritual realm, to "Sit" down is to simply "Rest", ourselves, our future, our everything upon the Lord. We are to let Him bear the responsibility and cease to carry it ourselves. God shows this over and over again throughout Scripture.

Example 1. In creation, God worked six days and then He rested. On the seventh day, after He completed His work, and the task was over, He ceased to work. The seventh day became the Sabbath of God. But what of Adam? Where did he stand in relation to the "Rest" of God? He was created on the sixth day, and had no part in those first six days of work. God's seventh day was in fact Adam's first. Adam began his life with the Sabbath, from the position of "Rest". You see, God works before He rests, while man must enter into God's "Rest" before he can work or do the Will of God.

Example 2. In Mark 6: 30-44, Jesus feeding the 5ooo. (Verse 39) - Jesus commanded the Disciples to get in groups of proper order and "Sit" down before they could receive what He had for them to feed on.

Example 3. In Exodus, before they left Egypt, they had to "Sit" and partake of the lamb which was going to enable them to "Walk" out and sustain them through the wilderness, to finally "Stand" in their inheritance or victory that God had for them, which was the Promise Land.

Example 4. In Luke 10: 38-42, The story of Martha and Mary. Martha was distracted with much serving, while Mary "Sat" at Jesus' feet. All of Martha's "Walking" without first "Sitting" left her worried and troubled, while Mary made the right decision, which could not be taken away from her, to receive the Word of Jesus.

.....The bottom line of all this is that if we spend time "Seated" with Him, we will see our true position in Him. How long do we have to "Sit" there? As long as it takes.

.....God has done everything in Christ, and we need to see ourselves "Seated" in Christ. In Luke 14: 17, there is an invitation to the Great Banquet, "Come, for all things are now ready." Our life begins with the discovery of what God has provided. Every spiritual experience begins with an acceptance by faith, of what God has done. His experience has now become my spiritual history. God can speak of you and me as already having everything "With Him". All we now have, we have in Christ.
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