heavenlies? The same mighty power that raised up Christ their Head, and placed Him far

above all, had called them into life and had raised them together with Him.

We have purposely omitted one term from our reference to Eph. 2: 5, 6 in order the

better to give it prominence. We have so often heard the citation of the blessed facts that

we who were dead, have been raised and seated, with the equally important fact that we

have been QUICKENED omitted, that we cannot but feel that the truth that believers

have been "made alive together with Christ" is not grasped with the fulness of conviction

and faith that it should be. True, our life is hid with Christ in God, nevertheless we have

been made alive; to such, and to such only, can resurrection power be of service. Before

the dead are raised, they must be quickened. For those who had been made alive the

apostle prayed; he desired that they might know the exceeding greatness of the power that

was toward them. That selfsame mighty power that was wrought in Christ, when He was

raised from the dead, is the power for the believer's whole course of life and witness.

The scope of that power is seen in its extremes, it descends into death, it ascends into the

highest heavens "far above all". Can we who have believed the word of truth, the gospel

of our salvation, can we say that this mighty power is our constant experience? Do we,

like the apostle, "seek to know Him and the power of His resurrection"?  It is a

knowledge that cannot be attained upon any other ground than that which speaks of death

to the flesh. If the cross of Christ has not been brought to bear upon our energies, our

life, our hopes, our desires, then this mighty power must remain to a large extent

unknown. To those who know the "weakness" of II Cor. 12: 9, the knowledge of this

mighty "power" is given; the believer in Christ has "no confidence in the flesh"; he has

no patron, power, provision or privilege in the world; death has settled down upon it all,

and he has but one source of strength, one arm of power, one provision for all his needs,

and that is found at the right hand of God.  The apostle enlarges the view of the

"exceeding greatness" of this power by giving a detailed statement of the height to which

the Lord, by it, was raised; this is necessary to complete our conception of its magnitude,

and we hope to deal with this aspect in our next article.

To duly appreciate the "exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe", we

must realize in some measure the height to which the Lord was raised. The same Lord,

raised by the same power, is set before the reader of the Word--in different positions

according as the writer's is ministering the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God for

faith--obedience to all nations, or the gospel of the mystery. Acts 2: 30 speaks of the

resurrection of Christ with the purpose in view of sitting on David's throne, which is

vastly different to being raised to sit at the right hand of God in the super-heavenlies far

above all. Acts 5: 30, 31 says:--