Recently, I wrote that in order to be filled (in spirit) you must first be killed (in spirit). This great but mysterious spiritual principle is confirmed by the Spirit guided ordering of the books of the Bible. Galatians is a killing cross book which mentions cross, crucified, baptism (spirit not water), hung, the offense of the cross, the brand marks of Jesus, and Christ’s death over and over and over. Resurrection is mentioned in the first verse but never again in the book. Martin Luther correctly referred to Galatians as the Epistle of the Cross. It is a book about the KILLING. It is a book about the depths to which we must go before we can rise.
Springing from the killing (Galatians), you have the next book by Paul which is on the FILLING (Ephesians). See Ephesians 3:19 (“filled with all the fulness of God.” Ephesians 3:19); and Ephesians 5:18b (command to be “filled with the Spirit”). It is clearly a resurrection book mentioning our present blessings in Heaven where we are seated after having been raised with Christ (2:6) as His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all; that we are built up in Christ, etc. All this is about the blessings of resurrection. Ephesians only sparingly mentions the cross and then only briefly as a doorway into the main topic, resurrection.
Paul’s next book, Philippians, takes us back to the cross with its centerpiece, the “master story of the cross,” in 2:5-11 and Paul’s weeping over those who are “enemies of the cross” in chapter three.
Now what’s next? You guessed it – another resurrection book, Colossians. Colossians almost mirrors the high and heavenly truths of Ephesians including the fullness, the living of Christ within the believer, raising of the believer with Christ, the setting of the mind on things above, etc. There you have it – life springs out of death and height flows from the depth even in the very ordering of the books of the Bible! It’s so great to experience the life and power of our resurrection with and heavenly position in Christ Jesus! But this is only made possible by our continually going back to and participating with our Lord in the cross.
Ephesians flows from Galatians and Colossians springs from Philippians. Praise the Lord! The remnant that is escaped . . . shall yet again TAKE ROOT DOWNWARD, and BEAR FRUIT UPWARD. See and learn 2 Kings 19:30; Isaiah 37:31.
And isn’t it great to know that all those who continue in Him will end on a high note – totally killed, filled, changed, raised, and seated with Him forever (Philippians 3:20-21). Thank You, Jesus!
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