… and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms …
Summary: Old expressions often convey old truths. Being someone’s “right hand man” is akin to being seated at the right hand of the king.
Did you know that ninety percent of the world’s population is right-handed? It’s caused by an odd anomaly in the makeup of human DNA. (Well, God caused it. He is the one who designed our DNA! 🙂
If you have ever lost the use of your hand for a while, you know what I mean. Once, I burned my right hand so badly it was bandaged for weeks. I had to do everything left-handed. I felt like a two-year-old trying to use a fork for the first time. Being right-handed means that the right hand is very important.
That’s why we have the expression, “right-hand man.” It is easy to figure out where it came from. A right-hand man is someone so important to you that couldn’t get along without them even if you’re left-handed! So it makes sense that being seated at God’s right hand would symbolize being important.
While this isn’t important in the circles I run in, it is important if you are hanging out with the king. If you were having dinner with the king, where you sit would matter.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks that her sons be seated at his right and his left in his kingdom. This is the equivalent of asking that her sons be given the highest positions in heaven and on earth. Jesus asks the men if they can “drink the cup I am going to drink?” to which they reply, “Yep.” (Matthew 20:22 – Partial paraphrase.) Then Jesus says basically, “Okay, fine. I can give you that, but the seating arrangements are up to Dad.”
Ouch!
Jesus is placed at God’s right hand because he is the most important person in all of Creation. He is more important than all of us combined, and yet he submitted to sacrificing himself for our sins.
As Peter stated early in his ministry,
“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)
You and I will have to wait along with James and John to see who ends up sitting at Jesus’ right hand in his kingdom, but somehow, I don’t think it will matter all that much. Having Jesus as my king is all that matters.
Application: Obey the king!
Food for Thought: What does Paul mean by “heavenly realms?”
I believe Paul is talking about the spiritual realm. In the spiritual realm resides the Kingdom of God. I think he is talking not only about heaven, but what is behind our physical world altogether.
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Spoiler alert: if you are a follower of Christ, you will be with Him in the heavenly [spiritual] realm, and He with you.
Thanks Chris!
Well done! 🙂
I know it seems like a simple question, but I was intrigued by the use of the plural.
03-17-2023, What does Paul mean by “heavenly realms?”
Ephesians 6:12
For OUR STRUGGLE IS NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the POWERS of this DARK WORLD and against the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the HEAVENLY REALMS.
The phrase “HEAVENLY PLACES” or “HEAVENLY RELMS” is used several times in the book of Ephesians (1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). This phrase is translated from Greek, meaning “THE SPHERE OF SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES.” “HEAVENLY REALMS” and can refer to both angelic and demonic activity.
Eph 1:3 – our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Eph 1:20 – which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms
Eph 2:6 – And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Eph 3:10 – His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms
Eph 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
It is the “place” where all spiritual battles occur. and does not mean heaven itself which is discussed elsewhere such as Heb 8:5, 9:23, 11:16 and 12:22. The safest way to understand, “heavenly realms” is simply the “place” where spiritual battles occur.
Ron,
Very interesting! “Heavenly” certainly means a spiritual place. “Realms” seems to indicate multiple places. (I’m a little fuzzy on the translation here, but I’m happy to go with this one.)
It makes total sense to me that there are realms where we have our spiritual battles.
Thank you!
It’s an interesting question, had never heard any talk about this before. I wonder if realms could indicate places where these spiritual battles are occurring. A War with no boarders being fought by the armies of our Omnipresent God.
Ron,
As a followup to your followup …
I have the impression that the “realm” where Jesus is seated would be what we call “heaven.” There is no battle going on there because those who oppose God are tossed out (See Luke 10:18). However, there are two additional possibilities.
One has been mentioned; that is the realms where spiritual battles are fought. I think this is an important realm to be aware of because this is where our spiritual battles are fought, too.
The other, which has not been mentioned, is the possibility of additional heavenly realms. I have no idea what they would be, but it is possible that heaven is a multi-faceted place.
My own thought is that there is a distinction between spiritual realms. “Heavenly” refers to the place we aspire to be after this life. That is, to be with Jesus in heaven. The non-heavenly spiritual realms would be those we encounter when we take our eyes off of Jesus, and of course, there are places like the abyss where Satan is locked up and the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation.
Is there value in pondering this stuff? I think so. I think it helps us to understand that spiritual realms are real and that we need to be aware of them as followers of Jesus.
Great question. This was covered well by others. Well done.
I had seen an article before about this in gotquestions.org and thought it was good. So I attached it here in case anyone wanted to dig more.
https://www.gotquestions.org/heavenly-places-realms.html
Brother Rich,
My apologies for the delay in releasing your comment from “comment purgatory.” It was the external link that triggered the time out.
Excellent link! Thank you!!