Ephesians 2:4-6
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,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
There are three main items in this passage. They are quickened, raised up, and made to sit. At present, we wish to draw attention to the third item. We hear it mentioned often, but we fear the meaning is unclear to most folks.
We must look at the whole work of identification with Christ in order to see the place of this one aspect. In the administration before this, the believer was told that he had been crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, and alive with Christ. And here we have the quickening, raising, and then seated together. This makes 6 points of identification with Christ. There is one yet to come, which is to be manifested with Him in glory. This is a sevenfold identification with Christ.
The average person will ask how that one can sit in heavenly places and simultaneously be here on Earth. The same question can be asked concerning the other five items which preceded the manifestation. How have we died with Christ? How have we been buried with Christ? It is a matter of reckoning with us, and it is a matter of reckoning with God. Because Christ died for the sins of the world and as a sacrifice became the substitute for us, then God reckons us to have died the death, which is the penalty for sin because we were there, so to speak. And we likewise should reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive unto God and walking in newness of life.
Now the queen of England is said to sit on the throne. That is her position from the time she becomes queen till she dies or somebody takes her place. But now, she might be on a trip in her yacht or with the family at Windsor Castle. But still, she is on the throne. This is a reckoning, for she has that power and authority.
So it is with the believer and his session in the heavenlies. If the believer is in Christ, and Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, then where does that put the believer? But something is clinging to the believer, which prevents his actual entrance into this throne. It is the old nature, the flesh. There is no release from this old nature till the actual resurrection.
In addition to this handicap of the flesh, there is also the question of transportation. But we are assured that it is from our place of citizenship, the heavenly places, that we will look for this appearing. So we must conclude that our resurrection takes place in the heavenlies, not on this earth, as is the case of the other dispensation.
Since our citizenship is in the heavenlies and we are seated with Christ at the Father's right hand, we must conclude that we are strangers and pilgrims here on this earth. It is our duty and privilege to behave as it becomes our citizenship.
