Seated with Christ
Seated with Christ
The Father has determined to work through us! It’s high time for us to realize our position in Christ and embrace what that means.
To understand what we’ve been given and our position in Christ, we must first understand the position that Jesus Christ has. Let’s look at Ephesians 1:17-23, where the apostle Paul was praying for believers:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
New King James Version
Do you realize the significance of what you just read? Jesus Christ is seated in a place of power and authority that’s beyond what you might believe. He’s seated far above all principality and power and might and dominion. As I speak to believers, I find that a lot of the church right now doesn’t actually see Jesus this way. They believe He’s God and is all powerful, but they don’t actually think He has any bearing on the world today. But this says that in relation to Jesus, the powers of Satan are under His feet!
There’s a parallel verse in Colossians, which is a book that Paul wrote right around the same time that he wrote the letter to the Ephesians. Here, he is again declaring the authority of Jesus Christ:
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:15, NKJV
This idea of someone gaining victory and then triumphing over the enemy and making a public spectacle of them is a very specific picture that would have been understood by the culture of Paul’s day. When Roman generals would go out and defeat the enemies of the empire, it was common for them to take the weapons and shields and banners of the enemy—anything that was used to intimidate them. Then they would take the enemy general or king and his entire army captive. They would put them all in chains. Afterward, they would claim all the spoils of the victory and then return to Rome to hold a triumphal parade. The Roman general would ride at the head of his army that stretched far behind him. Then you would see all the prisoners they had taken captive. All of this was done to establish the victory of the Roman Empire. This is the picture that Paul is giving of what Jesus did to Satan.
Can you imagine Jesus is on the cross bearing the judgment that we deserved? Our sins are upon His shoulders, and Satan is looking on. Then, when Jesus takes His very last breath and says it’s finished, Satan rejoices. He thinks he’s just pulled off the greatest coup in history. But what Jesus was saying is, “Satan, you’re finished.”
You see, Jesus has taken all the power of the Enemy in his death, burial, and resurrection. Then He put Satan in chains and paraded His victory over him in heaven. The angels in glory celebrated as Jesus came before the throne of His Father at the head of a great procession. He made a public spectacle of all the power of Satan.
Friend, Jesus has won the victory for you and me! He has won over the power of darkness of this world. However, it’s not a victory for you to just sit back and enjoy; God wants you to partake of the victory He’s won by being an active participant.
As we move to one of the most significant elections in our lifetime, especially for my Michigan readers, let’s exercise our power in Christ Jesus. Use your voice and your vote to stand for life!