Raised Up With Christ

'God'”raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2 6-7 ESV

Have you ever wondered why God wants to raise us up with Him in Heavenly places? I believe it's for more than just bragging rights. God loves His family and wants to show His lavishness upon His Sons and Daughters. But why in heavenly places? I believe God wanted to prove the rebellious divine beings wrong. They claimed that mankind was too weak and feeble to ever amount to anything, which is why they attack us so mercilessly. God wanted to demonstrate that they were sorely mistaken, and that with His help, we can accomplish great things through Christ. By raising us up in Heavenly places, God is showing the spiritual world that nothing is impossible when Christ resides in us.

But what about on earth? That is where we reside and the place we will inherit. How does that translate to our present reality? Jesus said “Father...Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. So if God’s will is to raise us up with Him in Heavenly places, how much more are we to live like kingdom subjects here on earth. We are giving away the resources of the Heavenly places to fortify and build us up so that we can be confident and strong in our faith trusting the word of God to win the battles of this earth over the principalities and powers that are presently ruling the earth.

As inhabitants of Earth, we are in a position to inherit it. This is mentioned in Psalms, "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11 KJV) However, we should not forget that our present reality should align with God's Kingdom, as Jesus also emphasized in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5 ESV) Jesus taught us to pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. If we are to be raised up with God in Heavenly places, then we must be Kingdom regents here on Earth too. We demonstrate Kingdom principles by tapping into the resources of Heavenly places, which will fortify and build us up in our Kingdom identity. This will build our confidence and strength in our faith. By trusting the word of God, we become victorious in the battles of this Earth. Do we recognize that these battles are the Lord's battles against the principalities and powers that are presently ruling it. Our role is to release the Kingdom upon ALL of God's children that He has redeemed on the cross and bring them home to their Heavenly family.

The divine beings that rebelled are presently ruling on earth thought that they were something back in the day, and let their pride rule their thoughts elevating their egos to believe that they were somehow greater then God Himself. They came to earth with the belief that mankind could be easily manipulated and controlled. Satan and his angels of rebellion have believed this since they first came to earth. The question in my mind is why did they want to corrupt mankind when these angels were already part of God’s heavenly family? I cannot believe it was pride alone that motivated them to rebel, that is too simple of an explanation.

Lucifer, a divine being of unparalleled beauty, held an esteemed position in Heaven. Many of God's heavenly family admired him and followed his lead. However, Lucifer's desire for power and control led him astray. He requested a partition of Heaven to rule with his followers, and God granted his wish, but it was not what he expected. He became the ruler of Hell, along with one-third of the angels who followed him. God replaced these vacancies in heaven with the creation of a human family.

Lucifer was renamed Satan, and he felt betrayed by God for his prideful boast. In his anger, he formed a plot to attack humanity, launching an all-out assault against God for banishing him and his followers to Hell. The consequences of his actions were catastrophic, and humanity has suffered greatly as a result. But God provided a way of redemption through Christ, that even Satan was unaware of and could not control.

Yes, we are ruling and reigning with Christ in Heavenly places, but part of our inheritance is the earth. We will eventually displace the principalities and powers that are currently ruling on the earth, and take their place as benevolent benefactors over the nations that have been ravaged by these rebellious divine beings, and bring the Kingdom age into fruition that all may know Christ and the power of His rule and might, as well as the mercy and grace He shows to all who come to Him and make Him their Lord and savior.

As we continually grow in Christ, He becomes our everything, and we become transformed into the image of God in all of our words and actions. It is Christ in us which is changing us. God does want to show us off and demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus so that others would see Christ in us and come to know Him too.

Stephen Barnett