"But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" Ephesians 2:4-5
Now let’s look at the second half of this verse, God hath raised us up together with Christ in Heavenly places. People talk about Heaven as if it is some future tense thing, all of the benefits, all of the glory, and all of the power, yet God says with Christ we have already been raised up to Heavenly places. This is why Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 We can be of good cheer now because we are in Christ now, we have been raised up together with Him right now, and we have been made alive together with Him right now. In heaven there is no tribulation, no foes, no distresses, and through Christ we have now been raised up to be with God in Heavenly places, right now!
But we are here, on this earth, where Jesus teaches that there are tribulations, how can we be in both places at the same time? Hold on, because this is awesome stuff! Turn over to 1 John 4:17, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” Is God in Heaven and on the Earth? Is Jesus in Heaven and in the Earth? Is the Holy Spirit in Heaven and on the Earth? Yes, they are! Who are we now one with? As He is, so are we on this earth! God is omnipotent; He is everywhere all at once, yet He is intimate with us all at once! As He is so are we in this world! It’s no issue to think of God as being in multiple places, and we are now one with Him, created in His image, made to be conformed to the image of Jesus, so where is the stretch for us to be? We have been raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! As He is, so are we in this world, crucified with Him, yet we live, yet it is not us who lives, but Christ in us! God is God and He can do all things, so empowering us to be as He is, in Heaven and on the Earth is no big deal! God is that powerful! The ability lies in God, not in man. God is not limited by our weaknesses, A-men!
Now let’s look at the second half of this verse, God hath raised us up together with Christ in Heavenly places. People talk about Heaven as if it is some future tense thing, all of the benefits, all of the glory, and all of the power, yet God says with Christ we have already been raised up to Heavenly places. This is why Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 We can be of good cheer now because we are in Christ now, we have been raised up together with Him right now, and we have been made alive together with Him right now. In heaven there is no tribulation, no foes, no distresses, and through Christ we have now been raised up to be with God in Heavenly places, right now!
But we are here, on this earth, where Jesus teaches that there are tribulations, how can we be in both places at the same time? Hold on, because this is awesome stuff! Turn over to 1 John 4:17, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” Is God in Heaven and on the Earth? Is Jesus in Heaven and in the Earth? Is the Holy Spirit in Heaven and on the Earth? Yes, they are! Who are we now one with? As He is, so are we on this earth! God is omnipotent; He is everywhere all at once, yet He is intimate with us all at once! As He is so are we in this world! It’s no issue to think of God as being in multiple places, and we are now one with Him, created in His image, made to be conformed to the image of Jesus, so where is the stretch for us to be? We have been raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! As He is, so are we in this world, crucified with Him, yet we live, yet it is not us who lives, but Christ in us! God is God and He can do all things, so empowering us to be as He is, in Heaven and on the Earth is no big deal! God is that powerful! The ability lies in God, not in man. God is not limited by our weaknesses, A-men!
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