And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6
The old farmer shook his bushy-bearded head and politely declined our invitation to attend the series of Gospel meetings in a nearby tent. He waved his brown and calloused hand off to the right, and pointed to the lovely maple and spruce trees on the forested hillside just beyond his hayfield. ‘There!’ he declared. ‘That’s where I go to worship. I can worship there better than in any church.’ Now, I have too much respect for greyhaired farmers to dismiss their wisdom outright, but this old gent had a few things badly mixed up. It is true that time spent amid the beauties of God’s creation must lead us to worship the Creator. It is also true that time spent alone with God is a critical element of our relationship with Him. Whether that old farmer was actually saved I don’t know; I suspect he was just looking for an excuse to reject our invitation. But God never saved us to be alone or to live our Christianity in solitude. Just look at our text; twice in this short verse we have the word ‘together’.
Salvation is an individual thing, we know that. Our repentance and our faith in Christ are the most personal things in our entire lives. And yet, the salvation that we are brought into also brings us into a relationship with others who are saved. To our wonder and surprise, we find ourselves in a brand new world peopled with folks who are as thankful as we are for our Saviour. We rejoice to hear the testimonies of others who are saved, and delight in sharing with them our own testimony. We appreciate this new relationship with not only our Lord but also His people. And we give thanks daily that God has not only raised us up, but has raised us up together.
But God has not merely called us into a relationship with other Christians; He has called us into a fellowship with them. The old farmer was ignoring Hebrews 10:25: ‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching’. Some will see in our text the seating of ourselves with the saints of God in the presence of Christ Jesus through eternity. And they are right. But if that is all they see, they are missing God’s great purpose for His people here in this world. Acts 2:41 tells us that those who were saved during the first great Gospel meeting after Pentecost were both baptized and added to the fellowship of the Jerusalem Christians. You find the same pattern throughout Acts. And you find the same teaching throughout the epistles. An Assembly of Christians gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ is truly seated together in heavenly places.
To be alone with our Lord is wonderful. To be together with our Lord is heavenly. –Jim MacIntosh