The above title may need some explanation! Surely the emphasis at Easter should be upon Jesus Christ who was crucified on that first Good Friday and rose from the dead on that first Easter morning! Of course it should be. He was the first to rise from the dead and was seen by many in His resurrection appearances. However what we fail to see, even as mature believers, is what God did for us in the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. Paul puts it plainly in Ephesians as he describes the resurrection of Jesus and then goes on to show that believers are to see themselves as risen and ascended with Him in His Resurrection and Ascension.
First of all he focusses on Jesus’s resurrection and ascension in Eph 1:19-21, These verses are packed with meaning. We can see that when we examine some of the words used in this passage. There are a large number of words describing God’s power at work in the resurrection of Jesus. If we place the original Greek New Testament word after each of these power words we get some idea as to the power of God involved. For example “what is the immeasurable (huperballō) greatness (megethos) of his power (dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of his great (kratos) might (ischus) 20 that he worked in (energeō) Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated (kathizō) him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule (archē) and authority (exousia) and power (dunamis) and dominion (kuriotēs), and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
We might recognise that many of these words are found in English words denoting power or greatness. For example huperballo and hyperbole; megethos and megathon power; dunamis and dynamite; kratos and democracy; energeo and energy; kathizo and cathedral; kuriotes and Kurios the name for the LORD Jesus. Thus Ephresians1 verses 19-21 spell out the immeasurable power of God He used in raising Jesus from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in heaven.
Well, where does the truth behind our title “JESUS HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. BELIEVERS HAVE TOO!” come in?
It actually comes in the next chapter. Eph 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–(6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
What incredible truths lie in these verses. Paul emphasises that in the words he chose to highlight those truths. He describes our unity or identification with Christ using three verbs in particular. The first is “made us alive together with. “ This translates the one Greek word (suzōopoiéō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with”, and (zōopoiéō) meaning “to make alive”. The reference is to the fact that when we believed in Christ we were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life through our faith union with Christ.
The second verb is no less spectacular. It is translated (6) “and raised us up with him” . It is the combined word (sunegeírō) which comes from (sún) meaning “together with”, and (egeírō) “to raise” . That is, “to raise together with.” God wants us to understand that our faith union with Christ is such that when He raised up Jesus from the dead, He also raised us up with Him.
The third verb is rather mind-blowing. It is translated as “seated us with him.” Again it is a single combined word (sugkathízō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with” and (kathízō) “to set or sit down.” God seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When God raised Christ to glory at His right hand, He seated us with Him in the heavenlies, through our faith-union with Christ.
So how are we to see ourselves as believers in the light of these verses? Well naturally, I am to see myself typing out this article in my home on the Eastern coast of Australia. A 500 metre walk eastwards could have me stepping into the Pacific Ocean and striking out to sea towards South America. The first part of the vision I have painted is true as I sit in my study. (I have no intention of swimming to South America.)
But God would have me see another vision of myself as a believer. That is sitting now with Christ at His right hand. I don’t feel as though I am sitting there in the heavenlies at the moment but that is what God wants me to believe and act upon.
What does it mean then that we are now “seated with Christ” in the Heavenly places? I think the following may be true.
1). We are in the place of acceptance with God. The Bible teaches that God accepts all those who accept His Son as their Saviour and submit to Him as their Lord. We are accepted in the Beloved. We can never be more accepted than we are now. More useful? Yes! More available? Yes! More committed? Yes! But never more acceptable. God sees us as clothed with the righteousness of Christ, not our own.
2). We are in the place of honour before God. God honours all those who honour His Son. There are few in the world who bother with Jesus at all. Most people ignore Him or reject Him or see Him as irrelevant. I believe the Lord loves those who embrace His Son in love. What higher honour could there possibly ever be than to be exalted to the right hand of God, as Jesus was. AND we are sitting there with Him as we are “in Him.”
3). We are in the place of authority. Our prayers can have power. Jesus has overcome the powers of darkness and we have the victory in Him. We can speak to the powers of darkness from the authority Jesus has delegated to us, to bind or dislodge evil powers. Not in our own strength or power, but only always from the delegated power we have in Him.
So we celebrate another Easter with its wonderful message that Jesus died to take away our sins on Good Friday and rose again from the dead on that first Easter Day, the victor over sin and death and evil. Then we observe His Ascension on Ascension Day [Thursday 9th May in 2024] to remind us of when He rose from the dead, ascended and returned to the Father.
But what joy, what blessing, what a privilege to know that God sees us, not just sitting at our desks in our places of abode but as abiding in Christ, sitting with Him now in the heavenly places. We don’t have to do spiritual or mental gymnastics or soar into the heights of hyper-imagination to make it become real to us. It is real! He has told us so! We should live in such a way by being enlightened and empowered by His Spirit to know His wisdom, to experience His strength and grace and to work out in our everyday lives what He is working within us, to His glory, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13)
JESUS HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. BELIEVERS HAVE TOO! IN HIM !
Posted on Sunday 12 May 2024.
holbeck 
552 JESUS HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. BELIEVERS HAVE TOO! EPHESIANS 1 AND 2
The above title may need some explanation! Surely the emphasis at Easter should be upon Jesus Christ who was crucified on that first Good Friday and rose from the dead on that first Easter morning! Of course it should be. He was the first to rise from the dead and was seen by many in His resurrection appearances. However what we fail to see, even as mature believers, is what God did for us in the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. Paul puts it plainly in Ephesians as he describes the resurrection of Jesus and then goes on to show that believers are to see themselves as risen and ascended with Him in His Resurrection and Ascension.
First of all he focusses on Jesus’s resurrection and ascension in Eph 1:19-21, These verses are packed with meaning. We can see that when we examine some of the words used in this passage. There are a large number of words describing God’s power at work in the resurrection of Jesus. If we place the original Greek New Testament word after each of these power words we get some idea as to the power of God involved. For example “what is the immeasurable (huperballō) greatness (megethos) of his power (dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of his great (kratos) might (ischus) 20 that he worked in (energeō) Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated (kathizō) him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule (archē) and authority (exousia) and power (dunamis) and dominion (kuriotēs), and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
We might recognise that many of these words are found in English words denoting power or greatness. For example huperballo and hyperbole; megethos and megathon power; dunamis and dynamite; kratos and democracy; energeo and energy; kathizo and cathedral; kuriotes and Kurios the name for the LORD Jesus. Thus Ephresians1 verses 19-21 spell out the immeasurable power of God He used in raising Jesus from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in heaven.
Well, where does the truth behind our title “JESUS HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. BELIEVERS HAVE TOO!” come in?
It actually comes in the next chapter. Eph 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–(6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
What incredible truths lie in these verses. Paul emphasises that in the words he chose to highlight those truths. He describes our unity or identification with Christ using three verbs in particular. The first is “made us alive together with. “ This translates the one Greek word (suzōopoiéō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with”, and (zōopoiéō) meaning “to make alive”. The reference is to the fact that when we believed in Christ we were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life through our faith union with Christ.
The second verb is no less spectacular. It is translated (6) “and raised us up with him” . It is the combined word (sunegeírō) which comes from (sún) meaning “together with”, and (egeírō) “to raise” . That is, “to raise together with.” God wants us to understand that our faith union with Christ is such that when He raised up Jesus from the dead, He also raised us up with Him.
The third verb is rather mind-blowing. It is translated as “seated us with him.” Again it is a single combined word (sugkathízō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with” and (kathízō) “to set or sit down.” God seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When God raised Christ to glory at His right hand, He seated us with Him in the heavenlies, through our faith-union with Christ.
So how are we to see ourselves as believers in the light of these verses? Well naturally, I am to see myself typing out this article in my home on the Eastern coast of Australia. A 500 metre walk eastwards could have me stepping into the Pacific Ocean and striking out to sea towards South America. The first part of the vision I have painted is true as I sit in my study. (I have no intention of swimming to South America.)
But God would have me see another vision of myself as a believer. That is sitting now with Christ at His right hand. I don’t feel as though I am sitting there in the heavenlies at the moment but that is what God wants me to believe and act upon.
What does it mean then that we are now “seated with Christ” in the Heavenly places? I think the following may be true.
1). We are in the place of acceptance with God. The Bible teaches that God accepts all those who accept His Son as their Saviour and submit to Him as their Lord. We are accepted in the Beloved. We can never be more accepted than we are now. More useful? Yes! More available? Yes! More committed? Yes! But never more acceptable. God sees us as clothed with the righteousness of Christ, not our own.
2). We are in the place of honour before God. God honours all those who honour His Son. There are few in the world who bother with Jesus at all. Most people ignore Him or reject Him or see Him as irrelevant. I believe the Lord loves those who embrace His Son in love. What higher honour could there possibly ever be than to be exalted to the right hand of God, as Jesus was. AND we are sitting there with Him as we are “in Him.”
3). We are in the place of authority. Our prayers can have power. Jesus has overcome the powers of darkness and we have the victory in Him. We can speak to the powers of darkness from the authority Jesus has delegated to us, to bind or dislodge evil powers. Not in our own strength or power, but only always from the delegated power we have in Him.
So we celebrate another Easter with its wonderful message that Jesus died to take away our sins on Good Friday and rose again from the dead on that first Easter Day, the victor over sin and death and evil. Then we observe His Ascension on Ascension Day [Thursday 9th May in 2024] to remind us of when He rose from the dead, ascended and returned to the Father.
But what joy, what blessing, what a privilege to know that God sees us, not just sitting at our desks in our places of abode but as abiding in Christ, sitting with Him now in the heavenly places. We don’t have to do spiritual or mental gymnastics or soar into the heights of hyper-imagination to make it become real to us. It is real! He has told us so! We should live in such a way by being enlightened and empowered by His Spirit to know His wisdom, to experience His strength and grace and to work out in our everyday lives what He is working within us, to His glory, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13)
JESUS HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN. BELIEVERS HAVE TOO! IN HIM !
Posted on Sunday 12 May 2024.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.