And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus …
Summary: When it comes to putting words on paper, Paul is no slouch. He is careful to say what he means. In this passage he says something very interesting. He says we are with Christ already.
My pastor always looks down on me. He can’t help it. He is taller than me. Sometimes I jokingly ask, “How’s the weather up there?”
When Paul says that God has “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms,” I want to ask the same thing; “How’s the weather up there?”
Of course, we are still here, on earth, stuck on this planet by this thing called gravity.
So what is Paul talking about?
He doesn’t say that God is “going” to raise us up with Christ. He says God “has” (past tense) raised us up. How does that work?
The answer to this question depends on how you understand the words “heaven” and “human.”
If you think of “heaven” as a place somewhere “out there,” Paul’s words are not going to make any sense. If you think of a “human” as an entirely physical being, that is not going to work, either. To understand Scripture, we have to adjust our thinking so we see things from God’s perspective instead of our own.
When Jesus teaches us the Greatest Commandment, he tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) All three parts, heart, soul, and mind, are invisible and beyond touching with the human hand. They are, in effect, part of the spiritual realm.
When Paul says we have been “raised up with Christ,” he is not speaking about our physical body. Obviously, if he was, we would be with Christ. We would no longer be on earth. But what about heaven?
Recently, I wrote a post titled “Near and Far.” The question of where heaven is was the topic of that post. Is it near or far away? The short answer is that heaven is both. It is high above us in authority and power. It is very near when it comes to knowing God personally. God, being God, can be with us in the form of his Holy Spirit in real-time. God knows what you are thinking and feeling. God is very near. (See Psalm 44:20-21, Luke 12:7, Psalm 139:2, Luke 9:47)
Is it possible that we are still alive physically while our spirit is seated with Christ?
Yes, indeed!
Application: Enjoy the view!
What is different when we are “in Christ Jesus” instead of being in our old selves?
Well I could repeat yesterday and say that the difference is we are alive….
But it’s more than that its seeing things differently, doing things different that don’t make sense to others. You could say our eyes were opened in a new way. That our hardened hearts received a transplant. We become a new creature/creation. We have a new found power. We finally feel in a sense Alive…
Nicely said, Tim!
Eyes opened, new heart, becoming new…
Yes, all of these are true!! Well said. 🙂
Good thoughts T. Thank you.
I agree. When we are in Christ we are a new creation and God’s masterpiece in the making. 2 Corinthians 5: 17; Ephesians 2: 10. It is no longer I who lives independently from God, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2: 20. We also have an amazing inheritance and position in Christ. Ephesians 1: 3 – 14.
So the answer to what is different could be – everything!
Brother Rich,
Thank you! Excellent reference Scriptures! (Link here.)
04-02-2023, What is different when we are “in Christ Jesus” instead of being in our old selves?
We become joined to Jesus Christ by faith in Him as our Savior, our previous immoral spiritual condition is cleansed and we are reborn, renewed by the Holy Spirit. We experience our spiritual awakening, born again as He brings life into our bodies.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Jesus makes the point that we must receive the kingdom from Him as children, and this is not an option. He explains how we come to him to be part of the kingdom of God by abandoning our self, become as a child who is teachable, willing to learn, receive care, free from prejudices, and eager to grow in knowledge.
Mark 10:13-15
Ron,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts today. Yes, when we receive Jesus, we receive his kingdom as well. Being “childlike” about the whole process is such an interesting quality…
🙂
(Yesterday comment) Romans 8:9-14
Christ did the work but we have an obligation which the Holy Spirit now leads us in our imperfect state- prone to fail but not really content to float along.
TJR,
Thank you for the Romans 8:9-14 passage. Very interesting!
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.” (Romans 8:9)
This fits well with today’s post. We are in the realm of the Spirit as believers.
In verse 12, it says “we have an obligation” in the NIV and many other translations. About half of all English translations use the word “debtor.” We owe it to the God who saves us to live according to his Spirit.
This makes total sense. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross saved us.