PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Romans 6:4–8
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
CONSIDER THIS
United.
It’s a powerful word. To be united with others speaks of being connected to those people. We may share values, dreams, hopes, and actions—moving in one accord with another. We may share ideas, aspirations, intentions, and goals—moving as one toward their fulfillment.
When the term “united” is applied to states, it means those states are connected by shared resources, government structure, a flag, a vision of a preferred future, and national aspirations for the health and well-being of citizens. When the term “united” is applied to soccer teams, it means that people are connected by shared mascots, logos, chants, uniforms, love for the game, thrilling victories, agonizing defeats, and aspirations for a championship season.
But when “united” is applied between two people who love one another, unity takes on a deeper layer of meaning. We move as one with that person. We are connected, joined, bonded, often in unspoken ways. In more intimate relationships, we may begin to feel inseparable from that person, even joined at the heart. In close friendships, we may feel seen and known by the other, laughing at the same jokes or finishing one another’s sentences.
In Romans 6:4–8, a true Easter passage, Paul tells us we are united with Christ.
The Greek word used here for “united,” symphytos, speaks of two things that have been planted and have grown together. In other words, they are intertwined.
According to Paul, our lives are intertwined with Jesus. We move as one with him. We are bonded in unspoken ways. We are inseparable from him. We are joined at the heart. I personally aspire to laugh at the same jokes and finish his sentences!
Paul goes even further than this. United with Jesus, we identify with him in his death, and we participate with him in his resurrection life. Intertwined with him, our old self of sin died with him and was buried. Intertwined with him, our new creation self was raised with him and participates in the fullness of his life at every moment.
The sacramental image of baptism—a profound Easter image that expresses the heart of Romans 6:4—says more than words can say. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, a sacred enactment of us dying in union with the suffering Christ (going under) and rising in union with the resurrected Christ (coming up).
And this participation in Christ’s death and resurrection is real, made possible by the Holy Spirit. You are no longer dead in your sin! You are alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:11)! Baptism is more than a symbol—it is a sacramental sign of a new reality unfolding in the life of the believer.
With our lives united with the resurrected Jesus, we are invited to be full participants in the timeless love story between God and his people.
We are united with Christ.
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am in you and you are in me. To know that my old self no longer rules over me is cause for worship. I died with you, never to be enslaved by sin again. I am raised with you, alive to righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). I choose to live, united with you, my Lord. In Christ Jesus, I pray, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
What does it mean to you to be united with Jesus in his death and resurrection? What is the story of your baptism? Do you have stories highlighting how you were raised to new life in Christ?
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
P.S. It’s SOWING SEASON at Seedbed
J. D. Walt here. It’s that time of year when we invite investment in the sowing work of the Wake-Up Call. Will you pray about sponsoring a day or part of a day this year? Friends, this seed is really prospering. Since last sowing season, we have gained 10,000 new sowers in the Wake-Up Call community. The buy-in for sponsoring a day is $300. Half a day is $150. A quarter day is $75. Any gift of any size is welcomed and appreciated. I’ll be back with Season 2 of Acts beginning May 20. Grab your Acts Wake-Up Call Companion Journal while supplies last. And now for those who are listening, how about we start warming up for Acts by singing a hymn together?
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Does anyone remember the song, Love Potion No. 9? (A hint of my age.)
Here’s its history:
“Love Potion No. 9” is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by the Clovers, who took it to No.23 on the US as well as R&B charts that year. The Searchers recorded it in 1964 and reached No.3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No.2 on Cash Box during the winter of 1965.
This morning, I wondered what God’s love potion consists of to allow rebellious, born-sinners to be united as one with His Son.
Human love is like a sailboat; it skims the surface. As long as the waters are calm, we sail smoothly. But once the waves and wind are too strong, we head to shore and walk away, never considering we, ourselves, could be the cause of the waves.
(Ironically or not, the waves and wind make better sailors, yet we are called to calm the storms, not cause them.)
Is life any different?
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
God’s love goes deeper. His love is like a submarine. He sees the muck and mud, the undercurrent of uncertainty, the fear of the prey, and the determination of the predators. He knows the troubled heart tainted by sin. And He loves us anyway because He also sees the beauty of His creation, the potential of life as He designed it.
God’s love potion?
Mercy, grace, salvation and availability.
When mixed, we are united with all that He is: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
What else do we need?
Staying 💪’n Christ
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong IN the Lord and IN His mighty power
I do remember Love Potion No. 9. At first God’s love potion can seem like “India ink and turpentine” and while you don’t have to “start kissing every thing in sight” (especially “the cop on 34th & Vine”), you will begin to show God’s love to everyone. That’s the real love potion.
This morning’s Wake-Up call text proclaims the key to understanding how we sinful humans, born that way due to original sin, can now participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4), aka Theosis or Entire Sanctification. It also reveals why baptism itself is more about what God does in us, rather than what we’ve done to make known our obedience to Christ’s command to be baptized in the name of the Trinity. In other words, baptism is much more a sacrament than an ordinance. I personally believe that the biggest challenge for us is that this understanding must be accepted by grace through faith, because many times the benefits of Christian baptism are not always experienced immediately. Sanctification, the progressive process of being transformed into the image of Christ happens at a different rate for all of us. Somewhat like Wesley, although Baptized as an infant, and raised in church, my intentional participation in this process happened at a later stage in my life. It’s a big mistake to try to project one’s own faith experience onto others.