Ephesians 2:4-7 (NKJV) 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
This week we have been studying the relationship of our location to our understanding of what is possible. In the natural location has a great deal to do with the possibilities of life. This is also true where God’s possibilities are concerned.
In our study we have primarily looked at Jesus current location. Ephesians 1:20 says that when Jesus was raised from the dead, he was seated at the right hand of the father. That is what we see happening in the ascension described in Acts 1. Jesus, the glorified resurrected man, is sitting at God’s right hand in heaven.
We looked at what God’s power did to get him there. It raised him from the dead conquering the greatest impossibility facing mankind. It seated him or put him at permanent rest in God’s presence. He is not threatened by anything the devil can do. He is not just seated above all power and authority but faaaaaaaaar above. All things were placed under his feet meaning they are under his authority. He is seated at the right hand of the greatest power that exists. All of this is that he might be the head of all things to the church. He is all those things to us. That is powerful.
Today’s scripture takes all of that to a new place. Not only did he do these things for us. Not only does he exercise all these things on our behalf but we have been seated with him. We are faaaaaaaaar above all things that could defeat us. We are at the right hand of God’s authority. Anything that could threaten us is under our feet. It does not say we will be seated with him. It says very clearly that we are seated with him!
I do not understand this. It is impossible for my natural mind to comprehend that this could really be true but it is what the bible says! Look at this verse in the Amplified Bible.
Ephesians 2:6 (AMP) 6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Somehow we have joint seating with Jesus in heavenly places. All that God did in him; he has also done in me. In the spirit and by virtue of my covenant oneness with Jesus I am in two places at once. I am really here. There is no question about that. We cannot simply deny that this world is real. It is very real. We cannot say the problems of this world are not real. They are very real. They are so real that according to John 10:10 the devil wants to use them to kill you, steal you from the family of God and destroy you if possible.
However, Ephesians 2 is telling us is that there is another reality that we access in Christ Jesus. Our salvation caused us to be raised up to another place in the spirit. I am here in the flesh. I will be here until I die. I am also there. My location at God’s right hand is just as real and just as valid as my location in this world. I do not understand that. I do not have to understand it. I simply have to believe it. When I do, I begin to see and access the possibilities of my spiritual location not just the possibilities of my natural location.
There is a bible truth called “substitution and identification.” Jesus identified with our humanity (Hebrews 2:14-16.) He took upon himself our sin and suffered our death and when he was raised it was for our justification (Romans 4:25.) He became our substitute so we could be identified with all he did. This is what our confession should be.
· I was crucified with Christ.
· I died with Christ.
· I was buried with Christ.
· I was raised with Christ.
· I was seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father.
This is a doctrinal truth. However, it is much more than that. It is our legal position in Christ. When the devil brings accusation we can use this doctrinal truth to remind him of our legal status in the spirit
Romans 8:31-34 (NKJV) 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
It is not only a legal standing. It is a spiritual reality. The more we meditate on this truth the more we can see God’s possibilities. The more those possibilities become real in our hearts and minds. That is called faith. When we look at life from our real location it takes on a completely different potential.
I have been walking in this most of my life. Sometimes I do not feel the power of it. Sometimes my natural location wants to overwhelm me. I see all the impossibilities that face me. I am reminded of all my limitations and all my weakness. I have a hard time seeing how God could ever meet my need. In those times I focus on my true location.
As I meditate on Ephesians 1 and 2, I begin to “take off” as it were in my spiritual airplane. The impossibilities of the world get smaller and smaller until they disappear. I begin to see another world. It is a world that is just as real as the natural world. It is the world that created the natural world. It is full of possibilities that I could not consider when I was “on the ground.” The ground was dominating my vision. As I rise above to where Jesus is seated, I see them clearly.
It is important to remember that seeing possibilities does not mean we know how God is going to bring them to pass. In my experience, God rarely does anything in the way, or in the time frame, I expect. What I can tell you by testimony is this. God’s possibilities have never failed me. I have lost count of the impossible things I have seen and done in my life.
Access the reality of your true spiritual location. Let your faith rise above the limitations of the earth. Soar above life in your identification with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. I am not saying you will never have any turbulence. You most certainly will. I guarantee you that the devil will try to get you to come down from the heights of your identification with Jesus. Just remember his only weapon against you is fear. He cannot “bring down” your plane of identification.
In the end you will get to your destination safely. Just do not let fear cause you to bail out. Rise above life. Have dominion in Jesus Christ. See the possibilities above and you will have victory.
Colossians 3:1-3 (NKJV) 1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
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