We looked yesterday at the wonderful truth that God has raised us with Christ to be seated with Him in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:4-6. We were thanking the Lord for the confidence we can have in the knowledge that we are completely accepted by the Father, and that He now sees us ‘in Christ’.
A second reason to be thankful to God for raising us up and seating us with Christ in the ‘heavenly realm’ is that it tells us that we now share in Christs’ victory. We can see what this victory looks like if we look back a few verses to the end of the previous chapter, (it is worth remembering that this was a letter and had no chapters and verses).
These verses tell us that Jesus Himself was ‘raised from the dead and seated at the Fathers right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule authority, power and dominion…… and God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:20-23.
The fact that Jesus is described as seated in this way indicates that His work is complete. This resonates with His cry from the cross, ‘It is finished’ John 19:30. He won a total victory at Calvary and now, although there is a mopping up operation to do until that victory is finally manifested at the end of the ages, God has said to Him ‘sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstall for your feet’. Hebrews 1:13, Acts 2:34.
Jesus is seated, and we are being seated with Him!! His work to defeat satan is complete, and He is now ‘at the right hand of God interceding for us’. Romans 8:34, He prays for us that we will be ‘transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory’, 2 Corinthians 3:18. His work of intercession, is to bring His bride into all the benefits of His victory.
He is praying for His body, for you and me, to be filled with everything that He is. He has already paid the price for everything on the cross, and ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness’, 2 Peter 1:3 This is very good news and something to remember daily with a thankful heart.
Since we are raised and seated with Him, we are also in place to share that victory with Him. We are His body on earth, and His plan is to fill us with all that He is, so that we can now fight our battles from a place of victory. No wonder Paul could declare, despite all the hardships he went through, ‘we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us’ Romans 8:37.
As we grasp these truths we will see ourselves no longer as victims of our circumstance, but we can begin to fully avail ourselves, by faith, of all the riches that are in Christ for us, while we are here on earth. We are joint heirs with Christ and we are seated with Him in the spirit. We are being transformed from above as we live our lives here on earth. So today raised us up in Christ to that place of victory. As we give thanks for all He has done for us, it will affirms us in our faith, as we learn how to appropriate His victory into our lives.
