The Divine Exchange: From Identification to Exaltation
📖 Devotional Inspired by E. Stanley Jones, In Christ
📸 Photo Credit: Unsplash
The depth of Christ’s descent is staggering. He left the highest throne to take the lowest place, identifying fully with our humanity—not just in birth but in suffering, humiliation, and even sin’s consequence: death. The holy became sin-bearer, the exalted became despised, the Creator became the condemned. There was no lower He could go. He hit bottom.
But the story does not end there. Having gone to the depths, He was raised to the heights, highly exalted, given the name above every name, the name at which every knee will bow. His descent was for our sake, and His ascent is ours to share. This is the divine exchange—He identified with us so that we might be identified with Him.
Too often, we see salvation merely as a destination, a transfer from earth to heaven. But in reality, it is a transformation—an exchange of our identity. We are no longer in Adam, striving, failing, lost in weakness and separation. We are in Christ, alive in His resurrection power, seated with Him in the heavenlies. The Christian life is not about trying to lift ourselves up; it is about acknowledging that we have been lifted up in Him.
Imagine a beggar adopted by a king. The moment he steps into the palace, his identity is no longer that of a beggar. His rags are gone, his status is changed, and his place at the table is secure—not by effort, but by the king’s decree. To keep begging for what he already possesses would be absurd. So it is with us in Christ. We are not waiting to be exalted; we have been. We are not striving for a new identity; we have it.
Our call is not to climb but to abide. Not to reach, but to rest. Not to plead for what is already given, but to walk in the reality of it.
Reflection Questions:
How does Christ’s descent and exaltation shape your understanding of salvation?
In what ways have you struggled to accept your identity in Christ rather than striving to earn it?
How does knowing you are already seated with Him in heavenly places change the way you live today?
Prayer of Confidence in Christ
Father, I rejoice in the finished work of Christ. You have placed me in Him, not by my striving, but by Your grace. I am not abandoned in the depths, for You have lifted me to share in the life of the risen Lord. Today, I walk in the reality that I am no longer in Adam, no longer defined by my past, but fully alive in Christ. Thank You that I am seated with Him, identified with His victory, and included in His glory. My life is not my own—it is Yours, and I yield to Your presence in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Final Thought
We are not struggling to be raised—we are raised. We are not waiting to be in Christ—we are in Him. The descent was His; the exaltation is ours. The divine exchange is complete—let’s walk in it.