The Exchanged Life Is:
Of Grace, Therefore Received Not Achieved

Years ago I was given a one year old car. I never realized just how hard it could be to receive such a gift. I wanted to do something, anything. To just receive the car and say thanks didn't seem like it was enough. The experience was very humbling. I was faced with the question 'Did I deserve this car?' Of course, I didn't deserve the car but there the car was in my driveway. While we may understand that the exchanged life is received and not achieved, most still feel they have to do something, anything to deserve such a gift. Of course we didn't deserve such a fantastic gift as new life in Christ. In Ephesians 2:4-6 we read, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." According to Scripture when was this life received? When were we made alive together in Christ? Just as we received physical life from our parents and not by our own works, we receive His life at salvation (conception). We are made alive together with Christ at the point of salvation just as we received physical life from our parents at the point of conception. The mystery is that this new life was given in the spiritual realm (not limited to time and space) nearly 2,000 years ago when we were dead in our transgressions and made alive together with Christ.
How can it be that this life was given 2,000 year ago? When was Christ made alive? It was at His resurrection three days after His crucifixion. When He was made alive, spiritually we were also made alive. Just as Jesus defeated physical death and was physically resurrected; Jesus defeated spiritual death and was spiritually resurrected. Everyone who are in Christ were resurrected as well. He did not leave any "body parts" (future believers) in the tomb. His entire spiritual "body" (every person in all time who will be saved) received resurrection at that point. Can you see that spiritually Jesus finished the entire work just as He said when He declared from the Cross, "It is finished." Obviously, the gift of resurrection life had to be of grace if God gave it to us 2,000 years ago. Why of grace? Because there is no way the present day believer could have earned resurrection life 2,000 years ago.
Another reason this new life is of grace is found within Ephesians 2:4-6. The phrase "we were dead in trespasses" reveals something concerning the condition of the believer ­ we were dead. How many good or bad works can a dead person accomplish? None ­ because they are dead. Dead people don't do anything. It is Christ's life and His life alone that enables the believer to live! (Colossians 3:4)
What are some benefits of Christ defeating physical and spiritual death? Since we have been united with Him in His death and resurrection, our defeat in and by sin has been changed into victory. The verse says that we have been raised and have been seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Since we are not physically or psychologically seated in heavenly places, it must be that we have been seated spiritually. Therefore we have complete victory. What on earth could possibly defeat us?

The root of the believer's new life in Christ is the resurrection life received at salvation. Webster's New World Dictionary defines a root as "the source, origin, or cause of an action, quality, or condition." Resurrection life is the origin of life (root) and victory. Resurrection life causes the believer to walk in victory. We see this foretold in Ezekiel 36:26-27 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances."
What would it mean if we didn't believe that new life was of grace and not achieved? The most obvious result would be that we would work hard to achieve that which was given freely ­ His life. Many today are looking for life ­ something, anything that assures them that they are alive. The problem is that His life is never found in self-sufficient self-effort, but in receiving the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.


The next truth we will be dealing with is that the exchanged life is:

The Appropriation of the Victory of Christ.