And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6
During a recent opportunity to speak with the children in the Sunday School, I told them the story of Jacob and his dream about a ladder between earth and heaven. I asked them if that ladder is real. Some of them weren’t sure. In fact, some of the adults who were listening were a little uncertain, too. I assured the children that the ladder is very real, just as real as any ladder, or staircase, that we use every day. So, if it is real, I asked them, why can’t we see it? That made them think! So I told them the ladder is in a spiritual realm, not in the physical realm that we see with our eyes. It’s that same spiritual realm that our text speaks of, the ‘heavenly places’ where you and I are seated in Christ Jesus. The Greek word ‘epouranios’ that is translated ‘heavenly places’ occurs only five times in our Bible, and all five are in the book of Ephesians. Let’s look at those.
The first use is in Ephesians 1:3: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ’. There may be days when you and I are caused to wonder about our physical blessings. But there can never be any doubt about the spiritual blessings that accompany our salvation, blessings that are infinite and precious beyond description.
The second use is in Ephesians 1:20: ‘Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places’. This reminds us of the position that our Saviour and Advocate occupies. Because he achieved all that God required and desired at Calvary, our Lord has entered the heavenlies before us and intercedes for us until we arrive to join Him there.
The third use is in our text for today: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is a precious reminder that not only are you and I going to Heaven, but we have also been seated there. Just as the Lord Jesus is seated in acknowledgment of His finished work of redemption, so you and I are seated in acknowledgment that we have been eternally and irrevocably redeemed.
The fourth use is in Ephesians 3:10: ‘To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God’. Do you ever wonder why you can see things in the Scriptures that the unsaved fail to grasp? These things are obvious to us because the heavenly places into which God has brought us include His manifold wisdom. No, we are not as wise as we would like to be, but we are not the fools that we see opposing and denying God today.
The fifth use of the word ‘epouranios’ is not actually translated ‘heavenly places’, but ‘spiritual’. It’s in Ephesians 6:12: ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’. This reminds us that our foes are more than the evil we see about us, but the demonic forces that war against God. This will drive us to our knees to acknowledge that only the power of God can preserve us and give us victory.
We sit today with Christ in the heavenlies. Although our eyes can’t see what that means, our souls can rejoice in it. -Jim MacIntosh