|
|
| Back to Main Page | PDF Version - Complete | Go to Christ's Power, Our Power |
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. – 1 Corinthians 15:51
y now, you will have learned that Jesus' body, like yours, is a sacred temple and that the resurrected Christ was a living prophesy of our heavenly body. And you have seen that it’s God’s plan to be seen in us, just as He was seen in Christ.
This study will be a shift from the seen to the unseen. It will investigate the supremacy of Christ's authority, and ask how this relates to our own authority as His disciples.
There is a spiritual world, no doubt about it. It is where God dwells (Isaiah 33:5a, John 4:24), and it is eternal, while the world we see will pass away (2 Peter 3:10). Our spiritual well-being is more important than our physical well-being (1 Timothy 4:8). In fact, our true self is our spirit, not our body. Our bodies are wasting away (2 Corinthians 4:16), but our spirit defines our true self. Currently, our bodies often hold sway over our spirits (Matthew 26:41), and we battle against the flesh (Romans 7:23). In heaven, as you know, this will be reversed and the spirit will triumph over matter.
But what do we really know about the spiritual world? For one thing, there are thrones, powers, rulers and authorities there (Colossians 1:16), which sounds surprisingly like earth. The NIV refers to the spiritual world as "the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 1:3; 1:20; 2:6 and many others). This does not refer only to heaven, because evil powers are there (Ephesians 6:12). So, the spiritual world has many "realms", and each of them is associated with a certain power or authority. There is probably a realm for angels, but as 1 Peter 3:22 implies, we would equate this with heaven (Matthew 18:10). And this makes sense, for there are many realms in heaven – Paul was caught up to the "third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2). There are most likely levels of angelic powers (Daniel 10:13). And then there is also the realm of Satan and his demons (Ephesians 6:12).
It's obvious where Jesus fits into this picture. He is high above every authority (Ephesians 1:21), and all realms are under his feet (1 Corinthians 15:27). God reigns in supremacy, He has no power struggles. Obviously Satan is a rebel prince (John 16:11), but he is no ultimate threat, because God's rule is absolute (Exodus 3:14). But, returning to the idea that Jesus is "far above" everything else, we have the concept of there being a vertical hierarchy of powers in the spiritual world (just as there is, ultimately, on earth). The 'higher' a being is, the more authority it exerts; the 'lower' it is, the weaker. While it is a metaphor to say that Jesus is the "head" over all, He truly does stand at the peak of the entire creation, for all things were made through Him (Colossians 1:15-20).
What about now? As Christians, our spiritual standing changes radically. In the heavenly realms, we are seated with Christ. Ephesians 2:6 says
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.
We have "the full rights of sons" (Galatians 4:5), and God has already liquidated a huge part of our inheritance for our benefit – by seating us with Him in the highest of the heavenly realms. And that is an incredible blessing.
That is why, if we resist Satan, he will flee (James 4:7). This passage is mistaught to say that Satan is a coward. I disagree: He has the nerve to set up a rebellious reign in opposition to God Himself. Satan is as bold as we could possibly imagine. But, as a being in the spiritual realms, he is bound by spiritual laws. Our authority is higher than his, because we are seated with Christ, and so Satan has no choice but to submit.
This is also why the angels are our ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). God has never called any angel His son (Hebrews 1:5), but He has called us His sons (Galatians 4:6). This is because the angels have a subordinate authority to God, but God has adopted us into His own family (Ephesians 1:5). In ancient times, as if often the case today, a son would inherit the business, title, wealth and standing of his father. And God has made us "a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." (Galatians 4:6).
It says that Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness" (v7, NRSV). Jesus emptied Himself of glory when He came to earth. That's why people were able to "see Him and live" (contra Exodus 33:20). We know that Jesus gave up His life so we could have life. We know that His temple was destroyed so we could be a temple of the God. But did you know that Jesus gave up divine authority so that we could share in it? In case you didn’t, let me restate it:
Jesus gave up heavenly glory so that we could be given heavenly glory here and now.
Jesus, whose home is heaven, came and walked an earthly path of suffering and death, so that we could escape the confines of this world and be exalted to the highest heavens. He gave up His life and now offers to us life eternal. He gave up His throne, and has now seated us there, forever. "As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him" (Psalm 103:11). Jesus is truly our redeemer – he exchanged comfort, life and heaven for earthly suffering and death. and it was all for you – all so you could have endless comfort, eternal life and heavenly bliss.
We are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6), but we are hoping to be with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). How are we to make sense of this? We need to remember that we are works in progress. We are not yet completed products – God still has a lot to do. An incredible amount has already been achieved, at Calvary, and in our baptismal waters (which connected us with what Jesus achieved at Calvary – Romans 6:3-4), and we should rejoice unendingly in what God has already done for us. But, we still have a long way to go – we are not yet perfected, the adoption papers have not been fully processed, and we need to persevere if we want to guarantee our inheritance (Hebrews 10:36).
We are there, but not yet. We've made it, but still have a long way to go.
God has much to reveal to us in this matter. Take the Kingdom. We disciples use the term too loosely to refer to the church, as if the church was the perfected city of God. In truth, the Kingdom will not be consummated until the final Day. Am I saying that it's not here yet? Yes and no... The Kingdom has begun, but it is not yet complete - like us, it is a work in progress, looking to the final Day for its true completion. So, yes, we should continue to pray "May your Kingdom come" – It is a false teaching to say that this is an "out of date" prayer. But that's another study in itself, so we need to move on.
I don't mean to undermine any of my earlier points about our authority. Far from it, I just want to make sure that you progress to a deeper and deeper understanding of our union with Christ, so I had no choice but to introduce you to the initially confusing, but ultimately enlightening concept of "now/ not yet" - a concept you will come across a lot if you read theology, and even more if you read the Bible with both eyes open.
When we were baptized, our spirits were lifted up by God from the lowest dregs into His very throne room. I have pointed out a couple of examples that illustrate our awesome spiritual authority, which truly does "show the incomparable riches of his grace" (Ephesians 2:7). Our authority can and will reach to the highest heavens – as with Christ, so it shall be with us. But we are still works in progress, and we look, strive and yearn constantly for our final consummation, when we "will be raised imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:52), and behold, with our own eyes, the very throne room where our spirits are already dwelling. As it is for Christ, so it is for you and me.
| Back to Main Page | Back to Top | Go to Christ's Power, Our Power |