Living with Christ is the result of having died with Christ
(Romans 6:3-5), therefore, to deny the saint life is to deny that He died to sin
and is now alive unto God (Romans 6:8-10)
Only those who are not ashamed of the testimony of Paul
as the Lord's prisoner (II Timothy 1:8 cf. Ephesians 3:1-3) and know the "power of God (resurrection power)" through
the "fellowship of His sufferings" (II Timothy 1:8 cf. Philippians 3:8-10) will with Paul receive the "prize of the high (upward) calling"
(Philippians 3:13-14) - the "crown of righteousness" at the Lord's appearing (II Timothy 4:6-8)
Those whom God has chosen in Christ before the foundation
(overthrowing) of the world have been predestinated (pre-determined) by Him to receive the adoption of sons by
Christ, THE Son (Ephesians 1:4-5)
Adoption means the placing of children as full-grown sons
with all rights and priviledges associated
with the inheritance (Galatians 4:1-7)
God has predestinated (pre-determined) that each member
of the Body of Christ will be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29)
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and were
given dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28)
After the Fall, Adam lost that dominion and begat Seth
in "his own image" (Genesis 5:3) - the glory of that dominion will be restored by Christ (Hebrews 2:5-10)
After the Flood, God gave man authority over his fellow
man and cited man's creation in the image of God as the reason for that delegated authority (Genesis 9:6)
The Body of Christ has been chosen by God to share with
its Head (Christ) - the authority over ALL
things (Ephesians 1:22-23)
God has given the fullness of Headship over all things
to be exercised by Christ in concert with His Body, the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23)
The members of His Body, which are called by His Name
(I Corinthians 12:12,27) are co-heirs to the inheritance of His Headship over ALL things (Ephesians 1:11)
Together with Him that is set "far above ALL"
in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20-21), they are seated with Him there as the eternally displayed trophies
of the "exceeding wealth of His grace" (Ephesians 2:6-7)
However, Christ alone as the Head of the Body, has the
preeminent Headship (Colossians 1:18-19), since it is His Cross that has reconciled ALL heavenly and earthly
governmental positions of rank and authority (Colossians 1:20)
Each sphere of the New Creation will bear the Father's
Name (Ephesians 3:14-15) - the Sovereign One Who purposed the reconciliation of ALL heavenly
and earthly governmental positions of rank and authority with a redeemed creation purchased by the Cross of His
Son (Colossians 1:20cf. Hebrews 2:5-10)