As I write this, the world is shocked and grieving at the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. The loss of life is beyond devastating. But news stories about disasters in our world are far too common, aren’t they? And whenever we hear of them, they bring to mind all sorts of questions. One of them is the question of security. As we grieve for the victims, we also think a little about ourselves. We wonder whether some day we too might be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a seemingly random disaster happens. It’s deeply unsettling.
And it’s not just news stories about other people that make us think about our security. In our own daily lives, there are often tangible threats to our security. Maybe for you there’s an issue of job security: Will I find a job? Will I keep my job? Is this job going to last much longer? Am I going to be stuck in a job I hate? Maybe there’s a question of financial security: Will I have enough for the rent or the repayments? Will I have enough to feed myself and my family? Will I have enough money to retire? And yet even if we have wealth and possessions, they bring their own insecurities. The more possessions you have, the more insecure you can become. You can become so insecure you have to buy “security systems” to help you feel secure, with cameras on your driveway and your doorbell linked to your phone so you can spend all day being reminded how insecure your possessions are. Or there’s insecurity about relationships: Do my friends really care? Do my colleagues really respect me? Will I find someone to love me? Does the one I’ve found really love me? Will my kids be OK? Will they grow up to look after me? There’s insecurity about our health: We get injured. We get sick. We weaken and we die. Security threats are everywhere. I wonder how many hours in your day are taken up by the quest for security?
This passage from Paul, in Ephesians 2:6–7 is all about security:
And God raised us together with Christ, and seated us together with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he could demonstrate the outstanding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:6–7
Paul is talking here about a security that belongs to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. It’s not a guarantee of perfect national security or job security or financial security or security in relationships and health, or security from natural disasters. Nor is it a guarantee that we will always feel perfectly secure. But it is still a real security, more unshakeable and deep-rooted than any other kind of security could be. So what is this security, and where does it come from?
Present security
Up to this point in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul has been describing our “salvation”. We were spiritually “dead” because our offences against God had brought God’s “wrath” on us (verses 1–3). But God has loved us despite all of this, and has “made us alive” together with Christ (verses 4–5). God has transformed our identity; he has made us new people, with our hope and our lives set on Christ and the new creation that will come. And all of this is God’s gift to us: “it is by grace that you are saved” (verse 5). This is amazing, isn’t it? In fact, Paul could have stopped at this point and he would have already given us some mind-blowing things to reflect on and praise God for. But Paul doesn’t stop. He goes on to say something else. And what he says is even more profound.
It’s not only that God has brought us from death to life. God has also “raised us together with Christ and seated us together with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. This is a description of victory, power and security. Back in chapter 1 (verses 19–21), Paul had used these words to talk about Christ himself. God raised Christ from the dead, and exalted him to heaven. Christ is seated in the heavenly places, sharing the throne of his Father in heaven. That means Christ is greater than everyone and everything in this universe—greater than the spiritual powers, and greater than anything that could ever threaten us. Now, Paul says that those who believe in Christ share that place with him. We’ve been raised with him and we’ve been seated with him. That means we have a security that nothing can take away. If we have Christ, we have everything. If we’ve staked our lives on Christ, then what God has already done for Christ is as good as done for us. This is all underwritten by the fact that Jesus himself is risen from the dead.
Future security
Paul then goes even further. It’s not just about present security; it’s about future security. There is a reason that God has now raised and seated us with Christ: “so that in the coming ages he could demonstrate the outstanding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” This is a glimpse of what eternal life will look like for those who believe in Christ. It tells us what we have to look forward to when our bodies are raised in that new creation. Paul here doesn’t say everything about our future, but he does tell us some very significant things. Our future is not about playing an eternal game of golf. Our future is not about floating around on clouds quietly strumming harps in freshly laundered nightwear. Our future resurrection life is about enjoying the incredible kindness of God in all its depth and richness. It’s about praising God as he shows us “the outstanding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”. Our future involves incredible, extravagant blessings from God, being showered on us, to his glory. This is something to stop and wonder at, isn’t it? This is something to lift our eyes to, and remember. It means that our future is secure in Christ Jesus.
A question of security
Those who believe in Jesus Christ have great security: now and forever. Even now, we are “raised with him” and share in his victory. In the future, when our bodies are raised, we will enjoy the incredible depth and richness of God’s kindness towards us. This is our security.
So what about all those other security questions? What about those questions about safety and jobs and finances and relationships and health? Of course, God often gives us these things, and we can thank God whenever he does. But none of them is ultimately secure, is it? It’s the security that we have in Christ Jesus that puts all those things into perspective. In fact, it’s often when those things are taken away that we see the deeper security we have in Christ shining through even more clearly. I’ve certainly felt the need to rely on the security I have in Christ when I’ve had other sources of security taken away. Time after time, I’ve seen it happen to my brothers and sisters in Christ—as they have lost jobs, houses, children, spouses, physical health, mental health, and more.
For those who believe in Christ, our deepest, most fundamental security is in him. We don’t always feel it, of course. We are indeed weak, and broken, and feeble. That’s why we need to keep being reminded where our real security lies. This is a question of security that we need to ask ourselves, isn’t it? In good times and bad, where will we look for our security?
This is a slightly edited version of the article which was originally published on Lionel’s website Forget the Channel as part of his series in the book of Ephesians, ‘Lift Your Eyes’. You can subscribe to the whole series and podcast here.