The Source of our Authority !

THE SOURCE OF OUR AUTHORITY: (Romans 6: 3-6) "no you not that, as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the. By the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that his fourth we should not serve sin." The source of our authority is found in this resurrection and exalting of Christ by God. Notice in the 18th verse that the Holy Spirit through Paul prays that the eyes of the Ephesians understanding--- their spirits--- might be open to these truths. He wanted all churches----all believers----to be enlightened. The truth of the authority of the believer, however, is overlooked by many Christians. In fact, most churches don't even know the believer has any authority ! And if they do they are not advocating the truth. You never will understand the authority of the believer only with your intellect; you must get the spiritual revelation of it you must believe it by faith. (Ephesians 2:1--7) "And you had he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past you walk 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: among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of life] in times past and the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved); And had raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." In the first verse we read, "and you had he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Here the holy spirit is saying through Paul, "according to the working of the strength of His might win He raised Him from the dead and you when you were dead." You see, the same verb in (Ephesians 1:20) that expresses the reviving of Christ from the dead expresses the reviving of His people in (Ephesians 2:1). In other words, the act of God that raised Christ from the dead also raised his Body. In the mind of God, when Jesus was raised from the dead, we were raised from the dead ! Further into the second chapter we read, "even when we were did and sins, [He] hath quickened us together with Christ, . . And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (vv. 5-6). This passage deals with the conferring of this authority. Notice that the Head (Christ) and the Body (the Church) were raised together. Furthermore, this authority was conferred not only open the Head (Christ Jesus), but also upon the Body, because the Head and the Body are one. (When you think of a person, you think of his head and body as one.) As far as I know, churches believe that we were raise up together with Christ. Why don't they believe that we've been made to sit together with Him ? If part of this verse is so, the whole verse is so.