Step 4 Quickened - Six Steps to the Throne Series
SIX STEPS TO THE THRONE
Gary Garner
Lesson Four: QUICKENED
I Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.
Where the King James says by the Spirit, actually the Greek says “in” the Spirit. When it says “being put to death in the flesh,” that word “in” is the same Greek word that is translated “by” in “but quickened by the Spirit.” It has to be translated “but put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit.” That second one doesn’t make any sense at all. But “quickened in the Spirit” - Jesus was quickened. That word quickened is just an old English word that means “made alive.” Jesus was made alive; Jesus was “given life to.”
Why did Jesus have to have life given to Him? Because He identified with our death; He took our death, His spirit died. It wasn’t just a game; it wasn’t just “Let’s pretend that I died.” He took upon Himself our death. If He is going to come out of that grave, He’s going to have to have some kind of life given to Him. The Bible says He was quickened, or made alive, in the Spirit.
This again is the sequence: if you get the crucifixion down right, and you understand how you were crucified with Him, then the natural consequence of that is that you died. If you died, you were buried. If you were buried and He took you with Himself into the tomb, then did He come out with you when He came out of the tomb? NO, He took your old man into the tomb; He brought your new man out of the tomb, and your old man and your new man are not the same person.
Col. 2: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Verse 12 says “faith is in the operation of God; it is faith in what God did”. Real faith is in the operation of God, in the redemptive work that was wrought in Christ. We read in I Peter 3:18 that He was quickened. Well, you were quickened together with Him.
Most of the time we read Colossians 2:13, and it would be real easy for some people to skip over it and say, “That’s what happened when I was born again; that’s when I was forgiven.” No, you were forgiven of your sins when you were quickened together with Him. It says, “having forgiven.” Your sins were totally paid for, forgiven, before Jesus was ever “given life to”, because it says, “quickened together with Him, having forgiven you.”God says in Isaiah 53, “I saw the travail of his soul, and I was satisfied.” From that day forth God could never hold anything against any man, because the price had already been paid.
There is one sin that sends a man out of the presence of God, and that is the sin of not believing in Jesus.
John 16: 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Sin has been dealt with. John said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” Notice in verse 8, Jesus said, “Reprove the world of sin.” S - I - N. What sin?
Not believing on Jesus that died for him. That is one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs. It all revolves around the redemptive work of Jesus. He will reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Jesus said exactly when that happened; in John 12:31 He said, “Now is the prince of this world judged...” when He was crucified, the prince of this world was judged.
Acts 13: 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art Son, this day have I begotten thee.
In this scripture we want you to see the quickening of Christ. You are the children of the ancient fathers, the patriarchs of old. God hath fulfilled the same. What same? The promise made unto the fathers. Something in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead fulfilled all the promises of the Father. Jesus became our “promised land” when He was raised.
Jeremiah 1: 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
The almond tree was the very first tree to bud in the spring. It is called “the hastener.” It speaks of Jesus. Remember that the golden candlestick was a picture of an almond tree; it speaks of resurrection. Everything the Word declares about us happened, became true, when that almond plant came forth (Jesus as the almond branch). Everything that is true of us is in Him.
1 Peter 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“Us” would mean all of us reading this. “Begotten” means having had life given to you. You were fathered; God fathered us again unto a lively hope. How did He become our Father? How did God give life unto me from Himself? What does eternal life mean? Where did you get it?
God gave you life by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The life that you have is life that God gave you through raising Jesus from the dead. He was dead. You do not have anything but His life. It is His life. You can’t be in His body and have a different kind of life. God gave you your nature, your life, by raising Jesus from the dead. What God made Jesus to be is everything He wanted all of the body to be, because we are in Him.
What God made Adam to be in the beginning was what He wanted everybody to be. But before Adam could reproduce what he was, he became something else and he produced what we are. So God had to make another Adam, the last Adam. When did He do that? After He had paid the total price for removing the first, then God imparted Life to Him, the second; the last Adam. Again, just like at the beginning, God said, “Let’s put wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, all the treasurers of wisdom and knowledge in him. Let’s just make him complete.” When God raised Jesus from the dead and you accepted what God did, you were engrafted into the last Adam.
Look at verse 4. His resurrection was our inheritance. “Reserved in heaven for you.” Not “from you,” but “for you.” So look up. “In the last time” is the day in which we are living today. It is ready to be revealed.
We always want to dwell in safe territory where others have trod. We want to stay on this side of the Jordan. After all, that other way is a way that no man has gone before. But in these last days that we are in, God is demanding that a people go further. It is ready to be revealed in the last days. What is? A salvation. Where? From the resurrection of Christ from the dead. That is your destiny, and it started with your quickening.
Jesus’ resurrection was a two-fold thing: He was quickened and then raised. He was made alive before He ever came out of that tomb physically raised.
Ephesians 2: 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, ( by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Did you think about the time you were born again when you read this scripture? That is what most Christians do. He has just told us here in Ephesians chapter 1 that we need the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, so he is talking about Jesus and His redemptive work. I do not believe that Paul is speaking here about the day that we were saved. He is speaking about the day that we had life imparted to us, when we were dead together with Christ in trespasses and sins.
In verse 4, “When we were dead in sins, hath quickened us”- I wonder if the “us” and the “we” could be the same in that verse. Yes. The we in Christ and the us in Christ. Now here is the thing: it says “quickened us together with Christ.” What does the word “quicken” mean? It means made alive. I was made alive in Christ. That means we were dead together. We could not have been made alive together unless we were both dead together. Since that is in the same passage as verse 1, I wonder if that oculd be talking about the same thing. I believe so.
Verse 6 says “and made us sit together” between those cherubims. He took you there. That is the reason that you are supposed to look at them. Commentaries say that the light lit up this and the light lit up that. But if you read it yourself, you will see that the light lit up the cherubims. You couldn’t see them without that light. Once you see it, you will always know that it is your destiny. He says, “I have taken you with me there. See those cherubims? That’s you.” It is the vision of who you are in Him. Raised and made to sit together with Him.
This is all one beautiful message about a loving heavenly Father who loves you so much. Somebody says, “Two thousand years ago Jesus died for us.” Well, He did; but the Bible says in Revelation 13:8, He was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. From before you ever even thought about messing up, God fixed the mess up. That’s the reason no one is ever going to say, “Lord, you know me. I’m the one who tried real hard and I made it. I had some problems, but I made it.” It was consummated before you were ever born.
God is raising up a Melchizedek priesthood in the last day to feed the body and the blood of Jesus to a people out there who have said, “Man, it ain’t working,” I see a desperate, despondent body of Christ out there that is just hanging on for “fire insurance.” They don’t want to go to hell. They’re willing to put up with this hell just so they don’t have to go to an eternal one. But there is something more than that available. Look up. Look up.
Now we want to picture it for you.
Isaiah 26: 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
The nation spoken of here is the people of God (1 Peter 2). In verse 17, the woman with child is the church, the bride. Near her time - that’s today. We have been with child - the nature of Jesus. We have been in pain; we have as it were brought forth wind; that’s the doctrines, every wind of doctrine. That is basically all that the church has produced, every wind of doctrine. That is basically all that the church has produced: doctrines. We hear a lot about what the church is doing but the world has not yet seen a manifestation of Christ in His fullness.
Verse 19 is the key. “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.” That is something that happened 2000 years ago. But here is what needs to happen; we need to wake up and quit dwelling in the flesh. “The earth shall cast out the dead”; this speaks of the resurrection. There is a direct connection between “thy dead men shall live” and, “together with my dead body”. We want to do it separately; we want to do it two thousand years later. But the news for today is, it’s together with Him.
Next: Step 5 - Raised
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