MONDAY July 19, 2021

Awake, Sleeper!

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
Ephesians 5:14

Interestingly, it was believed that in the early church, this verse was written in a poetical form and used during Christian baptisms––amazing!

What did the Apostle Paul mean by this one verse? Literally, Paul used the symbolism of baptism because it showed that when a believer in Christ went under the water, the old man was then dead; and when they came up out of the water, they had become a brand new person in Christ. Paul used this symbolism to further say that Christians are to be dead to darkness, as the light of Jesus Christ has been turned on.

Listen to what else Paul proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

We used to be like the unrighteous people who were committing the sins mentioned in these verses, but now we have been washed and sanctified ––set apart. We are justified before God––just as if we have not sinned. It is because of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross for our sins that we no longer fear death. True believers in Christ will inherit the kingdom of God––heaven.

Those who follow Christ, “shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). God’s light has shined in their hearts.

...the Bible illumines the dark corners of heart and mind. It exposes sin but reveals the way of cleansing and forgiveness. It confronts us with eternal reality but comforts and encourages. May that precious treasure be open before us rather than gathering dust on a distant bookshelf.
~A.W. Tozer~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!