I'm sure most of you are on overload with the water cooler discussions and media coverage of the recent royal wedding. However, there were a few things I personally gleaned from the coverage (that just tied in so perfectly with the newsletter theme) that I think will help to crystallize in our minds just what is meant by commoner, royalty, kingdoms etc.
So let's begin with a brief discussion of the Lord's position, rights and authority in the heavenly realm because after all - it is in Him that we are seated - and, as a result, it is in Him that we derive all of our rights and authority.
KATE MIDDLETON
If we go to the first chapter in Ephesians, verses 20 - 22, Paul clearly spells out the position and authority given to Christ. When Father God raised Christ from the dead He bestowed approximately eleven rights and authorities to His Son. (Depending on the Bible translation - the wording is different - so I'll use the Amplified Bible version as it seems to make clearer distinctions.) These authorities are as follows:
1. Seated Him at His own right hand
2. In Heavenly places
3. Far above all rule
4. Far above all authority
5. Far above all power
6. Far above all dominion
7. Far above every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred]
8. Not only in this age
9. But in the world to come
10.He placed everything under His feet
11.Appointed Him the universal and supreme head of the church.
This list is so all encompassing that it is somewhat difficult to completely understand the full impact of what took place when Christ was resurrected and seated in the heavenlies. The Message Bible captures the essence of what took place so it bears repeating: "All this energy issues from Christ: God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence."
There's so much here to meditate on however, for the sake of brevity - I'll expand on just a few things. Perhaps one of the most subtle authorities conferred was the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of Father. This is extremely important for us to grasp as joint heirs with joint seating because from this position (at the right hand) our authority flows. In ancient royal courts, the right side of the king's throne was reserved for the person who could act on behalf of the king. Wow! So does this mean I can act on behalf of the Lord? Absolutely yes!
The next series of rights and privileges, have to do with the Lord being the head of everything and everything being under the His feet. Everything. Do you mean even my wayward child? Everything. Do you mean the report of cancer? Everything. Do you mean the tornado winds? Everything. I can keep asking these types of questions from now until Jesus returns and the answer would still be the same. Everything. This is a key point for us to focus on as we learn how to begin to walk according to our heavenly position. I'll talk more about this a little later.
The last point has to do with the church being Christ's body by which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence. Sometimes, I think Christians read a passage concerning the body of Christ, the church, and they envision a literal church building. In doing so, it's almost as though they would rather imagine a building (which is an outward expression and hence an impersonal representation of the body); and by implication, relieves them of having to take personal responsibility for carrying the glory of God... Howbeit, Scripture is very clear, each of us, individually and collectively, represent and are called to be, the body of Christ. And as a result, we speak and act for Christ.
Now that we have briefly reviewed the rights and authorities given to our Lord, let's take a look at the benefits you and I receive when we operate as heavenly citizens seated with Him.
Before I review the benefits, let me take a moment and give one of the clearest analogies gleaned from this recent royal wedding. One of the things that struck me was that Kate Middleton, who was a commoner, had to learn Prince William's royal ways in order to become his wife. The commoner had to learn the royal's duties in order to be joined with him and subsequently gain his rights, privileges and authority. And so it is with us. We have to learn the heavenly kingdom ways, by the Holy Spirit, in order to fully assume all of our rights etc. And what we gain in doing so far exceeds anything that the royal British family or any other named royal or government family have to offer.
There are at least four key benefits of being seated in heavenly places. They are as follows: 1) we have all spiritual blessings, 2) we reign and rule with Christ, 3) our enemies are under our feet, and 4) we have clearer strategic vision. Let's take a look at each one in more detail.
Ephesians 1:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB) states that God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. There are many different blessings we can associate with this passage - but the ones I want to highlight are these three. Spiritual blessings are significant in that we are provided with the supernatural ability to know and understand the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, we are eligible to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit - which empower us to live triumphantly and boldly for Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 12 for further details). And lastly, the spiritual blessings are eternal.
In the past I would oftentimes read about spiritual blessings but because I was so earthly minded I didn't see the full relevance and/or impact of what God was trying to say. It wasn't until I got the full realization that things which are spiritual, even though we can't see them, trumps things that are seen (natural) in terms of truth and power at all times. Therefore, we should earnestly seek to understand our inheritance of spiritual blessings. Wouldn't you want your children to take full advantage of the rich estate you leave for them in your will?
The second benefit is that we reign and rule with Christ. In Him we are seated in the heavenly realms and as such we reign over His kingdom on His behalf. (Remember the earlier analogy of the ancient royal kingdoms?) Also, recall how the Message Bible stated that the church is at the center and the world is at the periphery. Just think about that for a moment. The enemy has truly done a number on the body of Christ because I'm not too sure the majority of us (believers) really see ourselves as being in the center of this worldly system. It may not "look" like we're reigning - but if God's Word says we reign and rule with Him - then that settles it! Therefore, we have to start acting like it!
Let's look at the royal couple again for a moment. You see Prince William is not the king. In fact, he's not even next in line. However, the entire British Empire shut down - during extremely difficult economic times - and spent millions of dollars for his wedding. He received all of the rights and privileges just because he is an heir. So it is with the church. We receive the benefit of ruling with Christ because of His universal headship!
To take this a step further, we are ambassadors for Christ here on this earth. We represent Him and carry out His orders. In this worldly system we even have diplomatic immunity. The laws of the prince of this world do not apply to us (I'm not suggesting that we are above the governmental laws) but rather, we have immunity from the spiritual operation of demonic forces led by the prince of this world, Satan.
The best analogy I could come up with is this (no not the royal couple again): let's say you are a diplomat representing the United States in Haiti. You live in Haiti and of course you see the famine and the poverty in the country. However, since Haiti is NOT your home country you are not bound by or hindered by the poverty and famine. You can freely operate there as an American citizen. How much more should we be operating here on earth as the Lord's representatives when it comes to His agenda!
The third benefit is that our enemies are under our feet. I somewhat touched on this in the previous section - so I'll spend just a few moments now. It is so clear to us that Jesus sits in the heavenlies and He is far above all things and everything is under His feet. What I want you to grasp is this - if we are IN HIM, occupying JOINT SEATING, then where does that put us? Think of a mother holding a baby in her lap. If a tiny ant crawled around the mother's feet - would it touch the baby's feet. No. Do you get the mental picture of where you and I are seated in Christ in heavenly places?
As a result, our enemy is already defeated. When life happens, i.e. trials and tribulations, and things start to overwhelm us - more than likely we've stepped down from our heavenly seat - and we've begun to see ourselves as a commoner. Do you think Queen Elizabeth sees herself as a commoner when trials come her way? I don't know her - but I would probably say that would never enter her thinking. A key advantage for her is that she started as a baby learning the rights and privileges of her royal inheritance. As believers, we have a lot to learn about our inheritance.
The fourth and final benefit is that we have clearer strategic vision. When we're seated in Him, far above everything, we have the ability to see things from a much broader and wider perspective. For example: as we seek the Lord for guidance and direction - our vision becomes clearer if we focus in on Him. It's amazing how the "light upon our path" just seems to point us in the right direction.
In addition, while seated in heavenly places, the plans and tactics of the enemy can be seen sooner. We call this spiritual discernment. Jesus operated in it all the time. The Bible often speaks of how Jesus had a "knowing" about what was in the hearts of the crowd that was out to get Him. We too can operate with this same type of discernment.
So, my question to you is: What rights and privileges are you deriving as a result of your royal citizenship and being seated with Christ in heavenly places?
Are You a Member of the Royal Family?
Audrey Robinson
Leadership, Business & Career Coach
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