And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Eph 2:6)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Eph 1:3)
Paul speaks repeatedly about believers being in Jesus, ‘in Him’. Paul is saying that if you are in Christ, then you are ONE with Him, in spirit. Consequently, you are seated in Him where He is seated, at the right hand of God.
Similarly, it also applies, if you are in Christ, thus ONE with Him in spirit, that we are:
- … are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Col 2:9-11)
- …are sanctified in Christ Jesus… (1 Cor 1:2)
- In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Col 1:14)
- Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (Rom 3:24)
- For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:2)
Notice how the above promises relate to truths that are already activated, they are true in every newly born spiritual man, from the moment he believes on Jesus Christ. In Jesus, our ‘spiritual man’ is already complete, because He is complete. When we, as incomplete physical men die, all corruption dies with us, and only the perfect, freed from sin, redeemed, justified, sanctified spiritual man remains.
This has the following implications for our life now, how we can view ourselves:
- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)
- Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ…. (2 Cor 2:14)
- Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 2:1)
- If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. {3:2} Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. {3:3} For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. {3:4} When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. {3:5} Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Col 3:1-5)
Our spirit man can not fail, In Christ our new spiritual reality is that we are strong, victorious and renewed, even when our physical man is tired, busy with work or doing other things, and is totally oblivious to it. Note also that our mortification of the flesh is a choice, something which we freely choose to do because of the glory of our spiritual reality.
In Him, even in our corrupted physical state, when walking in the Spirit, we to some measure display our spiritual reality:
- For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)
- But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Cor 1:30-31)
- (in) Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)
And In Him, we are already have eternal life:
- … as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22)
- … according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, (2 Tim 1:1)
- (also view why-a-born-again-person-cannot-lose-salvation)
So when Paul says we are seated in Christ in heavenly places, he means exactly that – it is reality and it is the Truth. Christ is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of God – and if we are spiritually one with Him, then we too are seated in exactly that place.
A essential component, forming part of our preparation for end times tribulation, is being clear on our position ‘in Christ”.
Right Now
The following is a citation from David DePra’s article on the site https://eternalsecurity.info/
“Paul says that Christ is seated at the right hand of God in heavenly places i.e. in the eternal spiritual realm, He is seated in heaven. He then says that WE are seated together in those heavenly places IN Christ. Then he says that because of this, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings that belong to Christ.
Paul doesn’t say maybe. He doesn’t hope for someday. He is saying that these things are FACT – right now. They are as final as is the finished redemption that made them possible. If you are IN CHRIST, then everything Paul says in these verses are the Truth for YOU personally.
Now, note carefully. Paul doesn’t say we are seated in heavenly places beside Christ, or because of Christ, or separate from Christ. No. We are seated IN Christ.
Now perhaps you think that Paul was only speaking in a legal sense. Maybe you think that he is telling us that because Christ paid the price for sin that God then had legal justification to imagine that we are seated with Christ. In other words, maybe this is only a legal or, “positional,” Truth. This implies (wrongly), that we aren’t REALLY seated in Christ in heavenly places, but it is a nice thought that we can use if we get depressed. We can imagine ourselves as a part of the legal and positional Truth of the Redemption.
We are where He is, in Him
First of all, there is no such thing as legal or positional Truth. You will never find any such distinction made in the Bible. There is just, well, there is just TRUTH. Period. Legal and positional Truth are terms and vehicles MAN has invented for the purpose of trying to explain Truth. But despite this sincere attempt, we must never attempt to separate Truth into compartments. No. There is just Truth. And the Truth IS – Paul says we are, right now, seated IN CHRIST in heavenly places. If we are IN CHRIST at all, then this is likewise a great Truth.
Here is where the problem comes in – the problem is that it doesn’t seem TO US like we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. How could this possibly be so when we have such difficulties, failures, and even sin? Well, read the epistles. Does it sound like Paul is naïve to those things in the lives of those who are in Christ? No. He talks about them all the time. And yet he insists and demands that the absolute Truth is that if we are in Christ, we are seated in Him in heavenly places – we are seated where Christ is seated because we are IN HIM.
Seated in Christ
As natural people born in Adam, we have no Truth in us, and no spiritual life in us. For that we must be born again. But even after we are born again, we will continue to think in old patterns, and often we will walk according to the natural sense. And we know that naturally and physically, we are not seated in heavenly places. If we try to use our natural senses, or our emotions, or anything about our natural selves, we will have no frame of reference for being seated in heavenly places in Christ. Even if we say we believe it is true, if left to our natural senses, we will never actually SEE it is true.
What is impossible in the natural realm is normal in the spiritual realm. Thus, it is entirely possible for your natural man to be completely oblivious to what is a fact as to the new creation in Christ – to the fact that you are seated in Christ at the right hand of God. This is not merely a nice thought, or an allegorical illustration. It is reality. You ARE seated in Christ at the right hand of God – in spirit you absolutely are.
So HOW are we seated in Christ in heavenly places? Well, the question, and the verse itself tell us: We are seated in Him in HEAVENLY or SPIRITUAL places. In other words, this is spiritual, and not physical. But never think that this makes it less real. No. It makes it MORE real.
More real.
Is the realm of God MORE real than this physical realm? Sure. That is not to say that the physical realm is our imagination. But the point is that the realm of God is eternal. The physical realm is not. Do the math. Which realm is more real?
Paul is saying that if you are in Christ, then you are ONE with Him in spirit. Consequently, you are seated in Him where He is seated, at the right hand of God. This Truth is established in the definition of salvation itself. Salvation is Christ in us. We are made one with Christ, and because He is LIFE, in Him we have LIFE. Note that this is not just a legal classification. No. If you have salvation – if you are eternally alive – then it is because you are one with LIFE HIMSELF. Thus, we see that salvation is not only a ‘gift object’ that is given us. It is a Person with Whom we have become ONE. We have life eternal because we are one with Life Himself.
So when Paul says we are seated in Christ in heavenly places, he means exactly that – it is real and it is the Truth. Christ is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of God – and if we are spiritually one with Him, then we too are seated in exactly that place. This is not just a nice thought, or, “positional Truth.” No. It is THE Truth. It is Truth that not only beyond the physical, but it is Truth that supersedes the physical.
We tend to look at the physical and to evaluate life according to the flesh – in other words, we interpret life through our natural senses, and judge things based on how they impact us. But this leaves out the spiritual realm – the realm of God – which is the more REAL realm. And it certainly makes us incapable of seeing the Truth. The fact is, when Paul says that we are seated in Christ in spiritual places, he is stating absolute Truth. He is stating something possible only through the Spirit of God. In Christ is where we are seated because of our oneness in spirit with Christ. We are not seated there physically, but spiritually, which, according to God, is more real than anything physical could ever be.
Either these things are REAL and have meaning and purpose – or this is just a bunch of theology without any experience possible. The question is very simple: Does being made one with Christ – does having eternal life – make any difference? Or again – is this just a legal classification God gives us, or, “positional truth,” or, “how God looks at us,” or merely a doctrine to believe in? Well, according to scripture, being one with Christ and being seated in Christ ought to have such an impact upon us that we will be changed forever.”
Complete In Christ
It is a fact that God has absolutely NOTHING for us except it be in His Son. Of course, this is great news, because God has wrapped up ALL in His Son, meaning that, as Paul states, God blesses us with ALL spiritual blessings in Christ. The obvious conclusion is that if Christ is in you, you have all that God has given in Christ. You lack nothing.
Paul wrote Colossians to pound this point home – that IN CHRIST are all things that God has for us. He said, “You are COMPLETE IN HIM.” (Col. 2:10) He also said, “IN HIM are did ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) Yet many of us don’t believe this. Perhaps we don’t realize that we don’t believe it. But according to Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, we MUST believe it or we are going to run into great spiritual problems, and actually be ripe for deception.
Let me give one example of how sincere Christian people can, without even realizing it, deny this great Truth that God has given us all things in His Son – and only in His Son. Right now, there are millions of professing Christian people who believe that, yes, when we are saved, Jesus Christ comes to live in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But those same folks also believe that at that point you do NOT have everything God desires to give you, and certainly, you do not have all that you need for the Christian life. They insist, and teach, that you must go on to receive a, “second blessing,” in the form of a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Christ dwells in you through salvation, they agree, and He does this through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – but you must go on to receive an, “overflow.” Otherwise, you do NOT have everything God intends for you.
Can we see what this is actually saying? It is saying that Jesus Christ in you is NOT enough; is NOT all that God has for you, and that despite the presence of the living Christ in you, you continue to LACK MUCH that you could have otherwise. In fact, I have had people who believe this error become so upset over the Truth on this matter that there was one guy who actually blurted out to me, “I cannot believe that you think that Jesus is enough! I cannot believe that you think that when you receive Christ that you receive all that God has for you!” I’m sure that he did not hear his own words or realize the utter nonsense of them. And yet in them is an admission, isn’t there? It really is what he believes – that in Christ we continue to lack, that we NOT complete, and that we don’t have all blessings from God – but that we need MORE.
The Biblical Truth on this matter is so clear, and so up front, that it is amazing how people are able to completely by pass it in favor of their experiences, demands, and insistence. The Bible teaches that when we are saved, we receive the one and only baptism with the Holy Spirit, and that through this, we are made one with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are, at that point, and forever, COMPLETE IN CHRIST. We have, at that point, everything God has to give us. What continues to be necessary is our growth IN CHRIST. We DO have to come to actually experience and know all that God has given us in Christ – that is a process. But for this we don’t need a second blessing. Rather, we need the work of the Cross through the Holy Spirit so that the Christ who is in us might come to be known TO us, revealed IN us, and seen through us.
We must come to terms with this Biblical Truth: Are we complete IN CHRIST, or are we NOT? If we are, then we became complete in Christ when Christ came to dwell in us. If we don’t believe we are complete in Him, then we need to at least be honest about our rejection of Biblical Truth – because Paul says we are complete IN CHRIST. But NOT by a second blessing in addition to Christ. But complete IN HIM because He dwells in us, period.
All Things In Christ
You will find that everything that God has given us is given to us — in Christ. The Bible says this over and over, with a few of those statements quoted below. But we miss this Truth because we get so used to some of these Biblical phrases that they lose their meaning to us. Furthermore, we are blinded by tradition and religion – and so we are programmed to interpret these simple verses in other ways. But Paul was inspired by God to write Truth. And that great Truth is this: That all things are given to us IN CHRIST.
What does that mean? It means that it is only if we are spiritually one with Christ are these things given to us, and possible for us through coming to know Christ. And it means that if you are not in Christ, there is no possibility for you to experience what is of Him. But there is an important enlargement to these facts. Even if I am one with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – which IS salvation – then I must grow to know and experience Christ Himself if I want to know all that God has given me IN HIM. But if I try to know and experience the things of God through some other means I will be deceived, and I will not be walking in the Truth that is in Christ.
Read Colossians 2. You will find there FOUR warnings to this effect. All that God has given us in HID, found in, wrapped up in, the Person of Jesus Christ. And Christ is IN US. Thus, we must grow to know Him. That is our only access to the things of God.
All things are given in Christ, and nothing is given outside of Him. All that God has, and is, is wrapped up in His Son. Thus, get Christ and you get all things. Refuse Christ and you are left with nothing. The NT could not be more clear about this:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Col 1:14)
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Col 2:9-11)
Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (Rom 3:24)
…the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:39)
…to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus… (1 Cor 1:2)
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Cor 1:30-31)
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22)
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…. (2 Cor 2:14)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)
… according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, (2 Tim 1:1)
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 2:1)
Christians by the thousands, while agreeing with what these verses say, miss the Truth wrapped up in them. These verses are NOT saying that God merely GIVES US these things because of what Christ has done. NO. Rather, we are being told that God gives us CHRIST HIMSELF – and IN HIM are all these things!
This ought to change our thinking about much. For example, it means that salvation isn’t a THING – it’s a Person. In Romans, Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus….” John says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection and the LIFE.” (John 11:25) And then, right to the point, John adds, “God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ” (1 John 5:11) In short, if Christ is in you, LIFE is in you. If Christ isn’t in you, you are dead. It’s all about being IN HIM, and Him being in us.
If Christ is THE LIFE, then all that is OF LIFE ETERNAL is found in Him. Paul says this direction to the Corinthians: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:30-31) So again, all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ.
It is our failure to understand the centrality of Christ – which is what we are talking about as to our experience – it is our failure on this point that often leads the body of Christ off the track. We don’t really believe we are complete in Him, and so we try to find completion in something else – and then give God credit for it. We don’t really believe that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ, and so instead of asking God to reveal to us Christ, we ask God for information. So much confusion and trouble in the Christian life results from trying to apprehend and attain to the things of God – without realizing that we really need is to know Jesus Christ, and to experience HIM.
How often in my Christian life I have asked God to tell me this or that, or to help me to understand Him – and I thought that this was merely a matter of God feeding me information, or teaching. What I needed was to know Christ. Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t a time or place for God to tell us stuff, or that we cannot know teaching without knowing Christ. No. But what I am saying is that if everything God has for us is found IN CHRIST, then anything we receive apart from that will be temporary at best, and will almost certainly be a hollow shell in comparison to knowing HIM.
If you want to know God’s purpose for you life, it will be unfolded to you and Christ is unfolded to you. That is the general principle. How often in trials we forget this! The trial itself is nothing more than a situation – if we seek and surrender to God – wherein God will be able to reveal to us, not just teaching or information, but more of Christ. Thus, instead of asking God how to get OUT of a trial, we need to ask God to do whatever it takes to reveal Himself to us through the trial. You will find when God gets you to that place that the trial will become somewhat anticlimactic as a thing unto itself. This is about knowing and experiencing what God has for us in Christ.
Now, I’ve said all of this to get back to the Truth of our being seated in Christ. We must understand what this means, and what it does NOT mean. First, what it does NOT mean: It does not mean we are given a throne LIKE His throne. Neither does it mean we are given THINGS. Rather, it means we are given CHRIST. We are ONE with Him. Thus, we are seated IN HIM where HE is seated on the right hand of God. Thus, as God moves IN CHRIST, doing HIS will, and HIS purpose, we will experience this – and perhaps be used in this – because God is doing it in Christ.
Contrast this over and again the error of thinking that we need to get God aboard OUR program. No. And I’m not even talking about rebellion here. I’m talking about US trying to get God to do HIS WILL. We push and struggle and beg and cry – trying to get God to do what we think He has already promised. For some reason it doesn’t occur to us that we don’t have to beg God to do what He has already done, or said He wanted to do. Rather, we have to realize that we are seated in Christ – and that God wants to do His will more than we want Him to do it. Thus, what is the problem? That we might believe and rest, and become completely sold out to God’s will. Then you see, God can move because we will move with Him.
Do we still think that God will conform Himself to us? That He will accommodate our thinking? That He will come on over to our way of doing things – even if we think they are good? He won’t. God wants to develop in us the mind of Christ. He wants to reveal to us HIS Truth. He wants to form us together with Christ. Nothing will change this purpose of God. But if we let Him do this, over the course of time and experience, the fact that we are seated in Christ will become a reality that governs us.
God has given us all things freely in His Son. Being seated in Christ is one aspect, or perhaps better said, one way of describing this. Thus, being seated in Christ gives us NOTHING apart from Christ. It gives us NOTHING that we can use independent of Christ. Rather, because we remain ONE WITH CHRIST – which is the basis of our being seated in Christ to begin with – being seated means that we must come under the authority of Christ, and if we do, we will move as He moves.”
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Practical Applications of this truth.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. {7:18} For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. {7:19} For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. {7:20} Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. {8:8} So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
In Romans 7 and 8 Paul explains how our spiritual reality meshes with our current sinful flesh. Romans 7:17-24 quoted above is a well loved passage. All Christians can identify with Paul here. We agree because Paul admits to having to war against the flesh daily. And if he had to, how much more do we?
When we are saved, we are in Christ, and our spirits and souls are made new. We are born anew, we are a new creation, but still temporarily housed in this body of flesh. When we got saved, the flesh was not saved. The flesh cannot be transformed. And the flesh remains in enmity against God. The flesh is irredeemable, it cannot be transformed. That is why Paul wars against it every day. He starves the flesh, wars against it and puts it to death every day. Like Paul, we seek to rather feed the spirit, by reading the word of God, being obedient to his commands, and so walk in the Spirit. However, even though we war, we still find that we sin, we still find that “the evil which I would not, that I do.”
This battle is relentless, and yes, some temptations we may learn to overcome, but there will always be new ones. The flesh will remain in enmity with God, and continue to war against the spirit.
Paul says “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.“, this is not a cop-out. This is not him saying “It wasn’t really me’. He is saying that as long as we are in our mortal bodies, sin will remain present in us. The flesh likes sin. The spirit does not. It’s as simple as that. The flesh cannot be other than continuously being at “enmity against God“.
Further implications, for study, may be considered below.
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Continuing with David DePra’s article, note that in some cases, the practical application of the above truths were not all that clear to me, hence I have amplified/edited some of his thoughts (see inclined text). Please consider these carefully, keeping in mind that I have edited the article at the indicated positions because the wording seemed insufficient to me. Especially the warring against the flesh, as per Romans 7 and 8, are not clearly portrayed to balance the overall teaching. The death of the old man and victory over sin cannot be divorced from the fact that the flesh cannot ever be transformed, it will always remain at “enmity against God . Check whether you agree.
Consider the doctrine on ‘Victory’ and ‘crucified with Christ’ is balanced with the reality of Romans 7. Refer to the original article (website above) for the unedited version.
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Victory
“This Truth about being seated in Christ at the right hand of God is the basis of so much in the Christian life that one hardly knows where to begin. But if nothing else comes into view through this Truth, then there ought to at least be one thing that is evident: To be seated in Christ above all is the place of absolute final and complete victory.
When Jesus Christ finished His Redemptive work, He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. All that God wanted Him to do was FINISHED. And now, we are seated IN HIM.
You will notice that there is no suggestion by Paul that we ought to be TRYING to deserve our way into this position. We are not TRYING to be seated. We ARE seated. Indeed, it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for you to be IN CHRIST without being seated where Christ is seated. If you are IN CHRIST, you are in this position of victory because He is in that position.
So what this means becomes quite evident: Jesus Christ’s victory over death means that our battle on this earth is not to improve our position. Instead of trying to win any victory, we need to operate from a victory already WON. The battle then, rather than win a victory, is to BELIEVE. Our battle is never to win. Rather, our battle is to believe and HOLD FAST to what Christ has already given us, and to the reality of being seated in Christ.
Now, consider what this means from a practical standpoint: Consider, before asking God for a victory over sin, ask Him to bring you into conformity with Christ. Instead of begging God to do what He has already promised, ask Him to show you what He has already promised, and to do whatever it takes to bring you into oneness with Him over it. Instead of getting depressed over your present trial, realize that the victory is already certain – and that what God wants is for you to refuse any less.
Victory in Christ is not so much that I have gotten out of a trial, or solved it. Rather victory in Christ is when the trial can do nothing to get between myself and God.
The obstacles in the Christian life we encounter all boil down to some version of ONE obstacle: Unbelief. That is why the Bible is able to say that FAITH is the victory. If we realize that we are seated in Christ, then we will see that this is the battle: Unbelief vs. faith. For if we see we are seated in Christ, we will know the real battle is already won. Not maybe. It is. Thus, the real battle is that we believe God and surrender and embrace His victory – which amounts to letting God have victory over US. We must be shaped by God in accordance with His will and purpose. Then we will reign and rule with Him from the seat of Christ.
It is one thing to be seated IN Christ, but another to actually reign and rule with Him from that seat. If I would reign and rule, the seat must become a throne. What makes this possible is that I be changed. To the extent that Christ rules in me, I rule through Christ.
This is overcoming. Overcoming happens when I refuse to allow any form of unbelief to come between myself and God – I, “come over,” unbelief with FAITH. And the basis for this is that I see that I am already seated in Christ.
Crucified with Christ:
Col 3:1 ” If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. {3:2} Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. {3:3} For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. {3:4} When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. {3:5} Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Not only did Christ die and become raised FOR us, but we die and are raised WITH HIM. This is vital to see. Indeed, when you are saved, you were first planted into the death of Christ (Romans 6:5), and as a result, planted into His resurrection. Indeed, you were permanently united with Him – your human spirit was made one with His Spirit. Thus, we see again that we were made one with Him. Paul says this over and over:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
No one was more aware of the fact that Christ died FOR him than the apostle Paul. In fact, he says so right in this verse – he says, Christ, “gave Himself for me.” But note the Truth Paul says Christ made possible by giving Himself for us: I am crucified WITH Christ. In other words, when Christ died for us, this made it possible for us to die in Him. Christ made it possible for us to be united with Him in His death so that our old nature could die in Him, and we could be raised with Him a new creation.
This is what Paul goes on to explain in Romans 6 was the result of being PLANTED together with Christ in death and resurrection:
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 6:5-11)
Christ died FOR us – hence it might be said that He satisfied the legal requirements of the law. It might be said that He bore our penalty for sin FOR US. And the Bible DOES teach this. However, because we have died WITH Christ, His death also means that we can reckon ‘yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin’. Our spiritual union with Christ is the basis for all victory over sin, and the basis for all victorious living. Christianity is CHRIST IN US, the hope of glory.
In Romans 6-8, it becomes clear as to the core of salvation. Salvation is NOT your body, or your flesh, or your natural senses, being made brand new. No. Your spirit is made brand new by virtue of union with Christ. You are saved in your SPIRIT. Then, of course, the rest is to be progressively brought into subjection. But my point is this: When you are saved, you are ONE WITH CHRIST in spirit. Thus, it is not possible for you to be anything less than seated in Christ – because HE is seated. Nothing can change that, take away from it, or add to it. The challenge is therefore simple: To SEE and BELIEVE and LIVE in this Truth.
If there is a single Truth about the Redemption that must form the basis of our walk with Christ it is found in these passages – that it is finished in Christ. We are not trying to WIN any victory. We are seated AS VICTORS in Christ. We are not trying to work, earn, merit, or battle our way into the throne room of God. No. The entire message of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has conquered every enemy, and won every battle – and if we are IN HIM all of those victories become ours.
The picture of being SEATED is quite wonderful. Can we see REST and COMPLETION in that picture? Sure. Christ SAT DOWN after He ascended. There is more meaning in this than we might imagine. And if we are in Him we are seated as well.
Now, if you see what I’m getting at, you will recognize that this is the basis teaching of the NT, and the continual illustration of the OT – that we are to live and operate FROM VICTORY. We are not trying to win victory – we are living FROM victory. In other words, we are to live and walk by FAITH – and if faith means nothing else, it is a certainty that the victory of Jesus is finished.”
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The remainder of this article must be read with great discernment. As mentioned above, although the doctrine of seated in Christ is correct, the remainder of the article is an example of going ‘overboard’ with a good doctrine. For some guidance on ‘overboard’ doctrines, refer to http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/122919p.mp3. Source of original article in eternalsecurity.info, is https://www.goodnewsarticles.com/Nov08-1.htm