EXALT GOD - PART 4

TUESDAY 05 EPTEMBER 2023

Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation..." That sure foundation is Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, you have a sure foundation because of the gift of God's righteousness. If you are standing on His righteousness, rather than yours, you are standing on a solid rock, meaning that God is your rock. Let's go further as I expound the last statement, in accordance with the versified sequence below!

Reference: Psalm 18:46 New International Version (NIV) "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!"

The Lord lives! May my rock be praised! The God of my salvation is exalted!

Today's focus is on "Exalted is God my Saviour!" Who is God my Saviour? JESUS CHRIST. The Bible says, Jesus is "the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone." Then the next versified statement reads, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12 NIV).

Christ is the God of my salvation, and according to referenced verse, it equally shows that the Lord has been exalted, The Pauline epistolary expression enlightened us about His exalted state in Philippians 2:9-11 which reads, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (NIV). Got it? God didn't just exalt Christ our Saviour and Lord to the highest place, He also granted Him the name that is above every name in heaven and on earth.

In addition, His position in the heavenly realms is the seat of the highest spiritual force and supreme authority. To that effect, Ephesians 1:19-21 says, "These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (BSB). The working power of God's might did not just raise Christ from the dead, but also seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, whether angelic or human, and far above every name that is named, above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and world but also in the one to come. By assimilating this truth, you can easily grasp the superior level of His exalted state, which is the utmost supremacy. Hallelujah!

Christ's exalted state gives me goosebumps whenever I'm deluged or engulfed in its depth of contemplation. Sometimes, I'm lost in the arena of the wonderful heavenly scenes emanating from such realm of contemplation. Zero wonder apostle Paul exhorted us to set our minds and sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand (Colossians 3:1 NIV). Of course, he knew the essential advantage of engaging in such spiritual practice. In a nutshell, setting our minds and hearts on things above is not a metaphorical expression, it is a true spiritual practice intended by the Spirit of God to keep us firm on a more attentive consideration of the exalted state of Christ and His empowering influence in every aspect of our Christian life.

Beloved, this timeless notification: "The God of my salvation is exalted", is summed up in the announcement that God exerted the Spirit of might when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion. It was not the Spirit of wisdom or counsel that did the job. Out of the seven Spirits of God listed in Isaiah 11:2 (NIV), it was the Spirit of might that exalted Christ to the highest place. Beloved, don't joke with the Spirit of might, because it trumps all the forces of darkness and prevails over all rule, authority, power and dominion, while exalting its candidate. Are you with me? Stay tuned for more on the exalted state of Christ, our Saviour, in part 5. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Mark 16:19; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:23; Ephesians 4:10; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 3:22.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I'm thankful of the unconditional love I received from you which qualified me to be raised with the exalted Christ and to be seated with Him in the heavenly realms, far above all rule, authority, power and dominion. This reality lays great emphasis on your amazing grace, which has given me my lot by enabling me to become an avid partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the light of your glorious Kingdom, in Jesus' Name, Amen!