"Seated in the Heavenly Realms"

[TK]

Eph 2:6-7:

NIV: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

NKJV: and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

NLT: For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

MSG: He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.

I must confess that I have difficulty understanding "esoteric" passages like this. In what sense are we "seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus?" Is it merely "positional?" Is our spirit somehow actually there (while our bodies are here)?

I suspect a person of a more charismatic leaning might interpret this differently than a more traditional person. My question is, what did Paul mean? Did he expect the Ephesian readers to understand what he was saying?

And what does it mean as a practical matter to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms?

TK

[Douglas]

This is an awesome passage.

I believe it is letting the readers know (the orig. readers as well as us) that when we are "reborn" in Christ, we rule with Christ in the spiritual realm, right here and now, as well as in the ages to come. The practical application of this is amazing when we realize that Satan and his demons no longer have authority in the spiritual realm, and that we who are in Christ have power over them at this very time. Prayer and the Word of God are our weapons against Satan and his demons, the battle has been won, we just need to go forward in faith and claim what is already been accomplished by Jesus Christ.

Douglas

[TK]

Good reply- thanks Douglas.

I heard someone say recently that because we are "seated with Christ in the heavenly realms" then our prayers should take on a different emphasis. Rather than simply asking God to intervene in a situation- we should be asking more along the lines of "how are we going to get this done together?" in other words, it is more of a "partnering" approach than a hiearchal approach.

Of course, I have no idea if this is a legitimate observation or not. It may be, but I am not sure. If it is, it's a pretty exciting way to look at things.

TK

[steve7150]

I heard someone say recently that because we are "seated with Christ in the heavenly realms" then our prayers should take on a different emphasis. Rather than simply asking God to intervene in a situation- we should be asking more along the lines of "how are we going to get this done together?" in other words, it is more of a "partnering" approach than a hiearchal approach.

Of course, I have no idea if this is a legitimate observation or not. It may be, but I am not sure. If it is, it's a pretty exciting way to look at things.





I don't think it's all that esoteric, i think it means what it sounds like it means, just like Jesus statements in Mark 11.23-27 means what it sounds like. We have been given authority back that Adam lost because we are in Christ. We are his body and Satan is under our feet and we can speak to our mountain and cast it into the sea if we have faith in God and doubt not and keep believing until the harvest comes. (Mark 4.11).

[IsaacJ]

Interesting to note it doesn't say sit in heavenly places WITH Jesus, But IN Jesus. We're so intimately attached to Him that we share the benefits of all that He is since we are in Him.

[mattrose]

Good reply- thanks Douglas.

I heard someone say recently that because we are "seated with Christ in the heavenly realms" then our prayers should take on a different emphasis. Rather than simply asking God to intervene in a situation- we should be asking more along the lines of "how are we going to get this done together?" in other words, it is more of a "partnering" approach than a hiearchal approach.

Of course, I have no idea if this is a legitimate observation or not. It may be, but I am not sure. If it is, it's a pretty exciting way to look at things.

TK

Thanks for sharing this insight