Paul delightfully announced this majestic oneness with the Lord Jesus Christ, writing of our Lord's accomplishment. 'When we were dead in trespasses , made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you shall be saved); and raised us up together with Him; and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.' (2:5, 6)

How breath-taking that each believer in the Lord participates. I first discovered this truth during my WWII hospital visit in Papua New Guinea, when 3 'togethers' leapt out of this passage. We shall explore the marvellous implications of being alive, raised up and seated with Him, our treasured Lord.

Paul dramatically told how "I have been crucified with Christ'(Galatians 2:20). When our beloved Lord died on the cross, bearing our sins, Paul claimed that he
(and by implication you, ), were crucified with the dear Lord. This staggers us: for the whole redeemed people of God were included when the lone figure of God's treasured Son hung on the cross. Paul claimed to be there, too: you, and I were 'crucified with Christ.' We were in the Lord's spiritual DNA, inheriting all the blessings that flowed from His victorious sin-bearing.

That's why Paul continued, 'It is no more I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Paul showed how our life is concealed in the Lord, crucified with Him, and miraculously indwelt by Him. We spiritually exist only in our Lord.

Later Paul wrote, 'Awake, you who sleep. Arise from the dead; and Christ shall give you light' (5:14). Only our heavenly Lord can flood-light our being. Our Lord taught that 'The Father raises the dead and gives life to them; even so the Son gives life to whom He will; (John 5:21). When he raised us up together with Him, our Lord gave us eternal life. Let us, so privileged, devote our lives to His glory.

Lazarus was bewildered being with His Lord, Who had raised him from the dead.
(John 11) He heard the Lord calling him "come forth, Lazarus) after 4 days absent from dear ones in this life. When Christ later sat with him and joined the family in a meal, he wondered at being raised together and seated together with Christ.
Our dear Lord shared every facet of redemptive work with His beloved. So today!

God promised he would give life to our physical bodies, for 'If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus (our Saviour) from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ (the Messiah) from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you,' (Romans 8:11) God's overflowing, generous heart invests in His precious, redeemed children.

We jointly shared with Christ in His Jordan baptism , as well as in our own baptism: for Paul writes,' You were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him, through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.' (Colossians 2:12) While you were emotionally and spiritually stirred during your baptism; a more marvellous Presence of your Lord enriched you. You participated in His burial and through your operative faith, in His bodily resurrection. Excited believers should magnify his Name for unspeakable favours.

Christ had paid our debt fully, pardoned us, and legally published it with His cross. He added, ' He has made you alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. '(Colossians 2:13) He included us when he marvellously rose from the dead. We are 'Alive in company with Him.' We are deeply privileged.

'If we were raised together with Christ,' we are incalculably responsible, 'We are to seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.' (Colossians 3:1) We are commanded to seek heavenly things, instead of being grounded in our pursuits of corrupt temporal pleasures of a decadent lifestyle. Paul expanded on this writing, 'Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.'
So we possess an undisclosed, spiritual life, founded in our beloved Redeemer.

I have clung to this beautiful truth of 'Being hidden in our Lord. When our plane leaves the tarmac, ( I time the span from the roaring of the jets until the plane lifts off ), I realise afresh that the powerful jets have overcome the gravitational force, propelling us onwards, upwards. While we are perfectly secure in the plane, so are we locked into the heavenly environment which the Lord opened to us. As believers, we should treasure our unique status as hidden in our beloved Lord.

John's Revelation comments on our amazing association with the dear Lord. 'I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them.' He speaks of those martyred for their faith in Jesus and the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or the image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands,' 'They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.' (20:4)
We Christians should excitedly anticipate a 1000 years living in His immediate, visible, glorious Presence, having His love showered upon us, and enjoying His righteous reign? Living and reigning together with Him is the pinnacle of delight.

Great athletes coach children, honoured to be with their heroes. In University life, we treasure close association with our tutors; Dr Sidlow Baxter, the distinguished Scottish teacher poured an hour of wisdom into my life during a walk in the park; our children relished the hour when we gave ourselves completely to them.

How much more when the mighty LORD JESUS CHRIST identifies with us in His baptism, crucifixion, death, resurrection and reign?