Raised with Christ: Presently Resurrected Spiritually

✝️ Raised with Christ: Presented Resurrected Spiritually

The concept of being “raised with Christ” is central to New Testament theology. It is not merely a future hope or a future resurrection of the body —it is a present reality that reshapes identity, purpose, and spiritual authority. Paul’s letters to the Colossians and Ephesians articulate this mystery with clarity and urgency: believers are not only forgiven through Christ’s death, but spiritually raised with Him into a new life.

1. 🔓 The Foundation: Raised with Christ

Paul begins Colossians 3 with a declaration of spiritual reality:

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
— Colossians 3:1, MOUNCE

This “if” is not conditional—it’s rhetorical. Paul assumes the truth of the believer’s resurrection with Christ. The Greek verb synegeirō (συνεγείρω) means “to raise together,” indicating a shared resurrection. This union is not metaphorical—it is mystical and real, rooted in the believer’s incorporation into Christ’s death and resurrection.

2. 🪞 Identity Reframed: Seated with Christ

Ephesians expands this truth:

“Even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.”
— Ephesians 2:5–6, MOUNCE

Here, synegeirō again appears, “to raise together,” paired with sykathizō (συκαθίζω), "to seat together." The believer is not only raised but seated together with him, enthroned. This is a radical redefinition of spiritual status: from death to life, from earth to heaven, from bondage to authority. From identity based in the world with its sinful nature to a new one based in the spiritual heavenly realm. This has profound implications on our identity in Christ.

This heavenly seating is not postponed until death—it is a present spiritual position. We do await the completion of our salvation; the redemption, glorification, and resurrection of the body. The believer lives on earth but is anchored in heaven, participating in Christ’s reign.

3. 🧭 A New Direction: Setting the Mind Above

Being raised with Christ demands a reorientation, a supernatural act of metamorphism, Paul writes, a renewal of the worldly carnal mind to be spiritual, the mind of Christ:

“Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth.”
— Colossians 3:2, MOUNCE

The Greek phroneō (φρονέω) implies intentional renewal to have a new mindset; to be minded in a certain way. Resurrection life is not passive—it is active, deliberate, and upward-facing. Transformation is a supernatural process of renewing the mind that we participate in. The believer’s affections, priorities, and decisions are shaped by heavenly realities, not earthly distractions.

4. 🧬 Hidden Yet Revealed: The Mystery of Life in Christ

Paul continues:

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
— Colossians 3:3, MOUNCE

This paradox—dead yet alive, hidden yet revealed—captures the essence of resurrection life. The believer’s true identity is veiled from the world but secure in God. This hiddenness is not obscurity—it is protection, intimacy, and anticipation.

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
— Colossians 3:4, MOUNCE

The resurrection began when we believed and were marked with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13-14,. When God takes possession of Huis own, we will be consummated in glory, while presently we are being transformed from glory to glory. The believer’s life reflected in Christ's image is a preview of the coming kingdom.

5. 🔥 Resurrection Ethics: Living the Raised Life

Paul does not leave this theology in abstraction. He immediately calls for ethical transformation:

“Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature…”
— Colossians 3:5, MOUNCE

Being raised with Christ means dying to sin. The resurrection is not just positional—it is practical. It empowers holiness, compassion, forgiveness, and love (Colossians 3:12–14). This is how grace is sufficient as it is God's power at work, so we do not boast. The believer lives out the resurrection inwardly by embodying Christ’s character outwardly.

🌅 Conclusion: Living the Already-Not-Yet

To be raised with Christ is to live in the tension of the “already” and the “not yet.” Already seated in heaven, yet walking on earth. Already alive in Christ, yet awaiting full glorification. This resurrection life is not escapism (diverting one's mind from unpleasant realities, stress, or boredom by engaging in activities that offer a temporary distraction) it is walking in line with God's Spirit. Calling believers to live boldly, love deeply, and think eternally.

Paul’s vision is clear: resurrection is not just a doctrine, not just something that will happen bodily in the future—it is a lifestyle brought about through knowing Jesus more and more. And it begins now.

"... making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of Glory, may give you a of wisdom and revelation in knowing him, to the extent the eyes of your heart are enlightened, so to know the hope of your calling that he called you to, and these; the riches of his glory, the inheritance among the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power available to us who believe..." (Ephesians 1:15-23)

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