Ephesians 1:17-21
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so 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 surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. “ (NASB)
Ephesians 1:17-21
For I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into mysteries and secrets, in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints, His set apart ones, and so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly sphere, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and ever name that is named, above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also I the age and the world which are to come. (The Amplified Bible)
Ephesians 2:4-6
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, (NASB)
Ephesians 2:4-6
But God, so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead, slain, by our own shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; He gave us the ver life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for it is by grace, His favor and mercy which you did not deserve, that you are saved, delivered from judgment and make partakers of Christ’s salvation, and He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together, giving us joint seating with Him in the heavenly sphere by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One. (The Amplified Bible)
There are three experiences that a believer has in union in Christ:
ONE: God made us alive with Him (Ephesians 2:5)
Literally it reads that God’s love and mercy have “made us alive together with Christ,” expressing the intimate union we have the Lord.
TWO: God raised us up with Him: (Ephesians 2:6)
We have been raised up, or resurrected, in the likeness of Christ. (Romans 6:5)
Not only that, but we have been raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places, far above this earth.
THREE: God seated us with Him: (Ephesians 2:6)
The believer, by virtue of his union with Christ, is enthroned in the invisible world of spiritual reality where Christ reigns supreme.
Because we are made alive in Him, raised up us with Him, the result is that we are jointly seated with Him.
Colossians 3:1-2 reads,
“If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (NASB)
Colossians 3:1-2
If then you have been raised with Christ to a new life, thus haring His resurrection from the dead, aim at and seek the rich, eternal treasures, that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above, the higher things, not on the things that are on the earth. (The Amplified Bible)
In Colossians 3:1-2 believers are exhorted to set their minds on heavenly things because they have been raised to a new life with Christ. We will dig into this a little deeper later on.
Right here I want to stop and say this one thing:
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT YOU CAN BE SO HEAVENLY MINDED THAT YOU ARE NO EARTHLY GOOD.
THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.
IF YOU ARE NOT HEAVENLY MINDED, YOU ARE NO EARTHLY GOOD.
JESUS WAS HEAVENLY MINDED.
HIS MIND WAS SET ON THE THINGS ABOVE.
This is important.
As we begin to study SIT, WALK, STAND, we begin to see that where our focus will be of the utmost importance.
Let’s look at these passages of Scripture more closely and see what we can glean from them.
We will start with Ephesians 1:20-21.
Ephesians 1:20
“which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (NASB)
WHICH HE BROUGHT ABOUT IN CHRIST: ( Romans 6:5-11; Philippians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:3)
“WHICH” (hos) refers to the resurrection and ascension power—the divine energy that lifted Christ from the grave to the earth, and from the earth to heaven—is the power that will lift us to glory
“HE BROUGHT” (energeo related to the noun energeo just used in Ephesians 1:19) refers to that which is effectively working. The idea here is that this might or power was operative in Christ when God raised Him from the dead. It operated to raise Him from the dead." The aorist tense speaks of effective action in the past or past completed action.
WHEN HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD: (Psalms 16:9-11; John 10:18,30; Acts 2:24-33; 4:10; 10:40; 26:8; Romans 1:4; Hebrews 13:20)
“RAISED” (egeiro) means to waken, rouse from sleep here to wake up from death, of which sleep is the emblem "AORIST (effective action - the raising) ACTIVE (God performed this action) PARTICIPLE ( having raised = aorist speaks of a definite event in the past ~ the resurrection)
“DEAD” (nekros from nekus) (Eng - necropsy, etc)
In the Old Testament, God’s power was measured by the creation (Isa 40:12–27) or by His miracle of opening the Red Sea to allow Israel to escape Egypt, Jeremiah for example recording:
“Therefore behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives, Who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt" (Jer. 16:14).
But today, we measure God’s power by the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. Much more was involved than merely raising Him from the dead, for Christ also ascended to heaven and sat down in the place of authority at the right hand of God. He is not only Savior; He is also Sovereign (Acts 2:25–36). No authority or power, human or in the spirit world, is greater than that of Jesus Christ, the exalted Son of God. He is “far above all,” and no future enemy can overcome Him, because He has been exalted “far above all” powers.
AND SEATED HIM AT HIS RIGHT HAND IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES: Psalms 110:1; Matthew 22:43-45; 26:64; 28:18; Mark 14:62; 16:19; John 17:1-5; Acts 2:34-36; 5:31; 7:55,56; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 2:9; Hebrews 10:12; Revelation 1:17; 5:11-14)
“SEATED” (kathizo from katá = down + hizo =sit) Having caused Christ to sit down. The aorist tense speaks of effective action in the past or past completed action.
“RIGHT”(dexios) right as opposed to left. A person of high rank who puts someone on his right hand gives him equal honor with himself and recognizes him as of equal dignity.
“HEAVENLY PLACES” (epouranios) means above the sky, celestial, heavenly, high. A spiritual battle is going on in this world and in the sphere of “the heavenlies,” and you and I are a part of this battle. Knowing this makes “being strengthened standing firm” vital!"
Ephesians 1:21:
“far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (NASB)
FAR ABOVE ALL RULE AND AUTHORITY AND POWER AND DOMINION: (Philippians 2:9,10; Colossians 2:10; Hebrews 1:4) (3:10; 6:12; Daniel 7:27; Romans 8:38,39; Colossians 1:15,16; 2:15; Hebrews 4:14; 1 Peter 3:22)
Christ’s exaltation by His Father has resulted in His supremacy over everything...
“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him.” ( Colossians 1:16)
“FAR ABOVE” (huperano from hupér = above + ano = up) So Christ is not just ABOVE but FAR ABOVE. Also includes idea of rank or dignity. Christ is in a class by Himself so to speak. The demonic rule, authority, etc, aren't even in the same ball park!"
“ALL”(pas) all. Terms that follow were traditional Jewish terms to designate angelic beings of great rank and might. The power of Christ applied in the believer’s behalf cannot be defeated because it far surpasses that of the hosts of Satan who are design to defeat it"
“RULE”(arche) means the first ones, preeminent one or leaders. “Arché” speaks of those first in order of rulership in a community, “the first ones” in the town. The "arche" is an authority figure who initiates activity or process. In this context “arche” reflects a high order of demonic creatures that assist Satan in his warfare against God and His children!
“AUTHORITY” (exousia) is derived from éxesti = it is permitted, it is lawful meaning liberty of action. “Exousía” refers to delegated authority and combines the idea of the "right and the might", these attributes having been granted to someone.
“Exousía” means the power to do something and was a technical term used in the law courts, of a legal right.
“POWER” (dunamis from dunamai = to be able, to have power) refers to power, especially achieving power. It refers to intrinsic power or inherent ability, the power or ability to carry out some function, the potential for functioning in some way (power, might, strength, ability, capability), the power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature. In the present context dunamis almost certainly refers to evil spiritual forces which possess this inherent power.
“Dunamis” is the implied ability or capacity to perform. It conveys the idea of effective, productive energy, rather than that which is raw and unbridled. Note that words derived from the stem “duna”— all have the basic meaning of “being able,” of “capacity” in virtue of an ability.
“Duna”- is the root for English words like dynamic, dynamo, dynamite, etc.
Ephesians 2:6
“and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (NASB)
AND RAISED US UP WITH HIM: kai sunegeiren: (Romans 6:4,5; Colossians 1:18; 2:12,13; 3:1-3)
Paul speaks here of our spiritual resurrection with Christ (our blessed hope is of a body that is yet future). In Colossians Paul repeats this truth at the beginning of his charge to walk in the light of the truth in the first two chapters.
If (since = fulfilled condition) then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
“RAISED US UP WITH HIM.” Believers are in a solemn, binding, indissoluble covenant with Christ and so are eternally in union with Him and identified with Him. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When he was raised up, we were raised up. When He was seated at the right hand of His Father, we were seated at the right hand of our Father in heaven. These great truths of the believer's identification with Christ are more thoroughly expounded by Paul in Romans 6.
“RAISED UP WITH”(sunegeiro from sun = with, speaking of an intimate relationship or intimate union + egeiro = raise) is more literally "raised up together", the pronoun "Him" being added to indicate it was with Jesus we were raised up. Obviously this is a spiritual resurrection that follows our crucifixion with Christ and our entombment with Christ. Christ's resurrection was physical while ours was a spiritual resurrection. On the basis of the believer's past spiritual resurrection, there is the guarantee of a future physical resurrection and transformation (glorification) when
we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable (earthly body) must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1Cor 15:51b-53)
“Sunegeiro” means to be roused (from sleep but here used figuratively as a reference to death) in company with and figuratively as used by Paul means to revivify spiritually. Plutarch has a writing, which uses “sunegeiro” in a secular sense meaning "waking up together".
Believers don't just receive life, but experience resurrection life in Christ! Practically this truth means that we now can walk in His resurrection power. The aorist tense indicates that this co-resurrection is a past completed event.
AND SEATED US WITH HIM IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS: kai sunekathisen en tois epouraniois en Christo Iesou: (Matthew 26:29; Luke 12:37; 22:29,30; John 12:26; 14:3; 17:21-26; Revelation 3:20,21)(1:3)
“SEATED US WITH” (sugkathizo from sún = with speaking of an intimate union + kathízo = to set or sit down) means to cause to sit down with. Paul uses the aorist tense, which here speaks of a past completed action. Paul is so certain of this grand truth, that he records it as if it has already occurred! So certain is every word of God, every promise! Why are we so often, so prone to wonder, so little in our faith? And so with the eyes of faith we see that this seating with Christ has occurred, even if we from our finite human perspective cannot fully comprehend its practical importance.
We don't sit in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus (yet) but we do sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Since our life and identity is in Christ, as He sits in the heavenly places, so do we. And even though we are not yet in possession of all the inheritance that God has for us in Christ, to be in the heavenly places is to be in God’s domain instead of Satan’s ("For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13) and we were turned "from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God" Acts 26:18). Now, we are in the sphere of spiritual life instead of the sphere of spiritual death.
"In the heavenly places" is where our blessings are and where we have fellowship with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and with all the saints who have gone before us and will come after us. "In the heavenly places" is where all our commands come from and where all our praise and petitions go.
The Queen of England exercises certain powers and privileges because she sits on the throne. The President of the United States has privileges and powers because he sits behind the desk in the oval office of the White House. The believer is seated on the throne with Christ. We must constantly keep our affection and our attention fixed on the things of heaven, through the Word and prayer, as well as through worship and service. We can enjoy “days of heaven upon the earth.”
“HEAVENLY PLACES” (epouranios from epí = upon, in sense of pertaining to above + ouranos = heaven) encompasses the entire supernatural realm of God, His complete domain (it is the supernatural sphere where God rules) and the full extent of His divine operation. The true citizenship of every saint is not this present earth (which is passing away) but is heaven, Paul explaining to the saints at Philippi that...
“our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3: 20, 21)
Because our new citizenship through Christ is in heaven, God seats us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. We are no longer of this present world or in its sphere of sinfulness and rebellion. We have been rescued from spiritual death and given spiritual life in order to be in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.
Christians are a "heavenly" people. That's what Paul meant when he told the Ephesians that God has "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). We live on earth, but "our citizenship is in heaven.” We should therefore "seek those things which are above," and store up treasures in heaven.
Colossians 3:1
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated." To sit down not worshipping or standing, but sitting in majesty. This is His seat of divine authority because He has defeated the forces of evil & death (Heb2:14-15)." (NASB)
“If" does not convey uncertainty but is what is referred to as a first class conditional clause which assumes that the statement which follows is true. One can often substitute "Since" or "in view of the fact" for "if". In marked contrast to the mystical promises of achieving your "human potential" offered under the guise of the New Age Movement, here Paul unveils in clear language the true way to "be all that you can be", God's plan for the "human potential movement".
Thus Paul is reaffirming that our co-resurrection with Christ is a fact & is not in doubt. True spiritual life is nurtured in the "womb" of true doctrine. If you are going to live a holy life in an unholy world, your doctrine has got to be "pure milk" (1 Peter 2:2-3).
RAISED UP WITH CHRIST: sunegerthete to Christoi: (Col 2:12;13,20 Ro 6:4, 6:5, 6:9-11 Gal 2:19,20, Gal 5:24, 2Co 5:14 Eph 1:19a;19b-20 2:5,6)
Correct belief is foundational for right (righteous) behavior. An understanding and appropriation of a believer's death, burial and resurrection with Christ is crucial to living out the Christ life. And so Paul repeats what he had explained earlier to the Colossian believers...
“having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross...you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world.” (Col 2:12;13,20)
Writing to the Roman saints Paul declared...
“Therefore (because you have been "baptized into Christ Jesus [and] have been baptized into His death") we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Aorist tense indicates our co-resurrection with Christ is a past completed action, which was reckoned as true in our life the moment we by faith received Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord (Col 2:12). We were raised spiritually when Christ was raised physically and this identification (because we are now in an everlasting, unbreakable covenant with our Lord) is the foundation truth for our new spiritual position and power to walk in newness of life.
Note that "sunegeiro" has the prefix "sun" not "meta", a seemingly small point but actually very profound because "sun" conveys the idea of an intimate and irrevocable association with another, in this case with the risen and exalted Christ.
KEEP SEEKING THE THINGS ABOVE: ta ano zeteite (Jn 8:23, Gal 4:26, Php3:14, Mt6:20, Ro12:1-2 Mt6:33, Mt7:7 Mt13:45,Ps16:11; 17:14,15; 25:14 Pr15:24; Lu12:33; Ro8:6; 2C4:18;
" aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above" (Amplified Bible)
"All your aims must center in heaven, where reigns the Christ who has thus exalted you, enthroned on God’s right hand" (Lightfoot)
"The things above" (the upward things, the treasure in heaven) is placed first for emphasis so that the Greek is more literally rendered "the things above, keep on seeking".
The things above (ta anô) is "the upward things" ( Philippians 3:14 Matthew 6:20).
Paul gives this ideal and goal in place of merely ascetic rules, reminding the Colossians that they have risen with Christ. This is the path to holiness, not self-denial, angelic experiences, or ritual keeping. They should no longer be living the old life they lived before their salvation, but now they should lay hold of he eternal life of Christ since they have been raised to live on another plane & another kingdom. They should not be ignorant or forgetful of who they are in Christ and how they are to live. All sinful passion is controlled and conquered by the power of the indwelling Christ (Christ in you the hope of glory) and our union with Him. Obviously, the thoughts of heaven that are to fill the believer’s mind must derive from Scripture. The Bible is the only reliable source of knowledge about the character of God and the values of heaven. When heavenly values dominate the mind godly behavior is the natural outflow. Sin that so easily entangles us will be conquered and humility, a sacrificial spirit, and assurance will result. All from keeping a proper eternal perspective.
Colossians 3:2:
“Set your mind on the things above , not on the things that are on earth.” (NASB)
SET YOUR MIND: ta ano phroneite: 1Ch 22:19; 29:3; Ps 62:10; 91:14; 119:36,37; Pr 23:5; Eccl 7:14; Mt 16:23; (contrast Mt16:23) (Jos 1:8 Ps 73:25 Ps 8:3,4 48:9 119:148 143:5)
“Have a relish for things above”, “study industriously things above” (Spurgeon)
"Set your affection on things above" (Webster)
"the things above, keep on setting your mind upon", (Literal)"Set your heart on things above, not on earthly things" (Montgomery)
"And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things)" (Amp)"Focus your minds on the things above," (Jewish NT)
“SET YOUR MIND” (phroneo from phren = mind) denotes the whole action of the affections and will as well as the reason.
"Phroneo" refers to the basic orientation, bent, and thought patterns of the mind, rather than to the mind or intellect itself, and refers more to inner disposition, while "keep seeking" is rather practical pursuit. The sure safeguard against seeking things below, is not to set the mind upon them.
Setting one's minds on things above involves an act of one's will (active voice) and is something we must do (imperative mood = command) continually (present tense = habitual).
Kenneth Wuest picks up on this tense and mood rendering it...
“The things above be constantly setting your mind upon, not the things on the earth.”
Vincent suggests that:
"Seek marks the practical striving; set your mind, the inward impulse and disposition. Both must be directed at things above.
As Lightfoot says:
“You must not only seek heaven, you must think heaven”
The believer’s whole disposition should orient itself toward heaven, where Christ is, just as a compass needle orients itself toward the north.
Remember that everything you allow into your mind will affect your pursuit of holiness either positively or negatively so set a guard over your heart (Pr 4:23) and think on things which are true, honorable, etc (see note Philippians 4:8)
The way you live is determined by what you believe and the purer the doctrine the purer the life. Our position (co-resurrected with Christ) needs to be put into practice. How you live is determined by how you think for as a man "thinks within himself, so he is" (Pr 23:7).
How can we continually think heavenly thoughts when we are continually bombarded with earthly propaganda?
It is not easy but it is not impossible or otherwise God would not have commanded us. Do you remember how you felt when you first fell in love with that person of your dreams? Your thoughts continually focused on that one who made your heart flutter. When you had free time your thoughts would drift in their direction. When you lay in bed at night you thought about them. You'd spend hours together and the first thing you did when you got home was call them and talk until the wee hours of the morning. That's the mindset Paul wants us to exhibit. Heavenly thinking is thinking about the one we love more than life itself. It is being so in love with our Lord that we think about Him all the time, contemplating His loveliness, His power, what it will be like spending an eternity with the One we love and Who loves us with a love indescribable and infinite. You're thinking about Him now aren't you? We need to practice the "presence of God" rising early to meet Him in sweet communion, listening quietly as we read His love letter to us, ready to lovingly do our Master's will. Every time we look at the luxury car commercial on television, we must remind ourselves that car we are lusting for will never make us more significant or valuable than we already are in Christ. Every time we are tempted to compromise our ethics to make things comfortable we must remind ourselves that the impact of our action extends into eternity. Every time we are tempted to choose pleasure over obedience we must remember that we are offending the One who loves us with an everlasting love (cf Gen 39:9). We must resist the notion that true happiness can be found in anything this world has to offer. It is not in the new car, the faster computer, the new mate, the bigger home, the highest award, the swelling bank account. If our greatest desire is for the things of this earth, that's where our heart will be tethered. If our greatest desire is for the things of Heaven, then our heart will be in heaven and as a man thinks in his heart so he is.
QUESTION: WHERE IS CHRIST SEATED?
According to Ephesians 1:20-21 and Colossians 3:1 He is seated:
IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES
AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER
FAR ABOVE ALL RULE, AUTHORITY, POWER, DOMINION AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED.
HE IS SEATED WITH ALL AUTHORITY AND RULE.
QUESTION: IF GOD RAISED US UP AND SEATED US IN HIM, (Ephesians 2:4-6), THEN WHERE ARE WE SEATED?
This is our position in Christ. To be able to WALK and STAND, we must remain in our position in Christ. As we will find out later in our study, one must learn to “SIT” before one can WALK and STAND.
What are the implications of the word “SIT?”
It reveals the secret of a heavenly life.
Christianity does not begin with walking; it begins with sitting.
The individual Christian life begins with a man “in Christ,” when by faith, he sees himself/herself seated together with Him in the heavens.
Most Christians make the mistake of trying to walk in order to be able to sit, but that is a reversal of the true order.
Our natural reason says:
If we do not walk, how can we even reach the goal?
What can we attain without effort?
How can we ever get anywhere if we do not move?
If at the outset we try to do anything, we get nothing.
If we seek to attain something, we miss everything.
Christianity begins not with a big “DO,” but with a big “DONE.”
In Ephesians 1:3, we are invited at the very outset to “sit down” and enjoy what God HAS DONE for us; not to set out to try and attain it for ourselves.
ILLUSTRATION: If you were invited to someone’s house for dinner, and when you arrived saw the table already prepared, the food sitting on the table, all the silverware, fine china plates, do you run to the kitchen, say “I must fix the food, I must set the table”. No, the host will say that dinner is ready. Everything is prepared. All you have to do is “sit down” at the table and receive and enjoy what has been prepared.
In Ephesians 2:8, we begin our Christian life by depending, not on our doing, but depending on what He has DONE!
Until a man does, he is not a Christian; for to say “I can do nothing to save myself; but by the grace of God He “HAS DONE” everything for me in Christ,” is to take the first step in the life of faith.
The Christian’s life from start to finish is based upon this principle of utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 15:5)
There is no limit to the grace God is willing to bestow upon us.
He will give us everything, but we can receive none of it except as we rest in Him. (Hebrews 4:10,11)
“Sitting” is an attitude of rest.
The only way we advance in the Christian life is as we learn first of all to “sit down.”
What does it really mean to “sit down?”
Walking implies effort.
When we walk or stand we bear on our legs all the weight of our body. We grow weary and in walking or standing we expend a great deal of energy.
But when we sit down, our entire weight rests upon the chair or whatever we are sitting on.
We feel rested because the strain no longer falls upon our muscles and nerves, but upon something else outside of ourselves.
In the spiritual realm, to “sit down” is simply to rest our whole weight, our load, ourselves, our future, everything, upon the Lord. (I Peter 5:7)
We use the expression, “Take a load off your feet!”
We let Him bear the responsibility and cease to carry it ourselves. (Matthew 11:28-30)(I Peter 5:7)
This was God’s principle from the beginning.
Think about this. In the Book of Genesis:
God worked 6 days.
God rested on the 7th day.
If God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th day, on what day was Adam created?
Adam had no part in those 6 days of God’s work, for he came into being at the end.
God’s seventh day was Adam’s first.
Whereas God worked 6 days and then enjoyed His Sabbath rest, Adam began his life with the Sabbath.
God works before He rests, and then alone can He work, because God’s work of creation was truly complete that Adam’s began in rest.
In the Gospels, we find that God has gone one step further and has completed the work of redemption, and we do nothing whatsoever to merit it, but we can enter into by faith directly in the results of His finished work.
Christianity means that God “HAS DONE” everything in Christ, and that we simply step by faith into the enjoyment of that fact.
When Jesus said on the cross just before He died, “IT IS FINISHED,” everything in the plan of redemption was completed and done. There is nothing left out.
It included:
Salvation
Deliverance
Sanctification
Healing
Reconciliation
Prosperity
Redemption
Peace
Righteousness
Justification
Propitiation
Victory
Love
Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Fruit of the Spirit
The promise of the Holy Spirit
Gifts of the Spirit
Wisdom
Knowledge
EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE IS ALREADY IN YOUR LIFE MERELY AWAITING YOUR RECOGNITION OF IT!
THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE GOING TO RECOGNIZE IT IS TO “SIT”.
Our key word here is not a command to “sit down,” but to see ourselves “seated” in Christ.
To understand all this, contained for us in this double fact, is that God has first by His mighty power, “made Him to sit” and then by grace “made us to sit down with Him.”
The first lesson we must learn is that:
The work is not initially ours at all, but His.
It is not that we work for God, but that He works for us, and through us.
God gives us our position of rest.
He brings His Son’s finished work, presents it to us and then He says to us “please sit.”
His offer to us cannot be better expressed than in the words of the invitation to the great banquet in Luke 14:17: “Come; for all things are now ready.”
Our Christian life begins with the discovery of what God has provided, and by sitting at His feet we can find out what has been provided and how to appropriate it.
From this point onward the Christian experience proceeds as it began, not on the basis of our own work, but always on that finished work of Christ.
Every new spiritual experience begins with an acceptance by faith of what God “HAS DONE”, with a new “sit down.”
This a principle of life, and one which God Himself has appointed, and from beginning to end, each successive stage of the Christian life follows on the same divinely determined principle.
HOW CAN I RECEIVE THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT FOR SERVICE?
MUST I LABOR FOR IT?
MUST I PLEAD WITH GOD FOR IT?
MUST I AFFLICT MY SOUL BY FASTING AND SELF-DENIALS TO MERIT IT?
WE DID NOTHING TO MERIT IT!
We have redemption through His blood, that is, on the ground of what He “HAS DONE.”
I receive everything, not by walking, but by “sitting down”; not by doing, but by resting in the Lord.
We never arrive by walking.
It starts with Jesus Christ, and with the fact that God chose us “in Him” before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)
He chose us, actually picked us out for Himself as His own before the foundation of the world. (Amplified Bible)
Ephesians sets forth what “IS.”
In fact, everything written in the New Testament sets forth what “IS!”
If you will pay attention to the verbs when reading the letters that Paul, Peter and John wrote, you will notice they are always in the past tense. It is not something that may one day be done, or might be done, but something that is ALREADY DONE!
When the Holy Spirit shows us Christ and we believe on Him, then at once, with no further act on our part, there brings a life in union with Him.
But if all these things become ours by faith alone, what about the urgent and practical matter of our sanctification?
How can we know present deliverance from sin’s reign?
How is our “old man” who has followed us and troubled us for years, to be “crucified” and put away?
QUIT CARRYING AROUND THE CORPSE!
HAVE A FUNERAL AND BURY IT ONCE AND FOR ALL!
WRITE OUT A DEATH CERTIFICATE!
SIT AT HIS FEET AND MEDITATE ON GALATAINS 2:20 UNTIL IT BECOMES REAL TO YOU.
Once again, the secret is not in walking, but in sitting, not in doing, but in resting in something DONE.
Because the Lord Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago, and I was crucified with Him, by it His experience has now become my spiritual history, and God can speak of me as already having everything “with Him.”
Here is secret that will help you in your Christian walk:
We need to see ourselves as God sees us.
We need to see ourselves the way the Word of God says we are!
We need to believe what the Word of God says about us!
All that I now have I have “with Christ.”
We must receive it from God as something He “HAS DONE!”
We need to renew our minds to the Word of God.
We were not born with Christ, but we were “crucified with Him.” (Galatians 2:20)
IS GALATIANS 2:20 A REALITY IN YOUR LIFE?
IT IS A REALITY TO GOD!
IT WILL BECOME A REALITY IN YOUR LIFE AS YOU BEGIN TO WALK IN THE REVELATION OF IT!
RENEW YOUR MIND TO THE REALITY OF IT!
AGREE WITH WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS!
THIS IS THE SECRET TO A VICTOROUS CHRISTIAN LIFE!
IT COMES BY SITTING AND LISTENING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
START ACTING AS IF IT WE SO!
MAKE A CHOICE TO BELIEVE IT AND SETTLE IT IN YOUR LIFE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Our union with Him began therefore with His death.
God included us in Him there:
It is something accomplished by Him in His sovereign wisdom, to be seen, believed, accepted, and rejoiced in by us.
God has put us in Christ.
What happened to Him happened also to us.
All the experiences He met, we too have met “in Him.”
Spend some time reading and meditating on Romans 6!
Romans 6:6 is not an exhortation to struggle.
ROMANS 6–8 IS OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM SIN!
IT IS A REALITY WITH GOD!
IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALREADY DONE.
WHEN YOU READ ROMANS 6-8, IF YOU WILL PAY ATTENTION TO THE VERBS, THEY ARE IN THE PAST TENSE.
IN FACT, WHEN YOU READ THE NEW TESTAMENT, IT IS ALWAYS IN THE PAST TENSE, SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
IS IT A REALITY WITH YOU!
EPHESIANS IS ABOUT WHAT “IS”!
IN FACT THE WHOLE NEW TESTAMENT IS ABOUT WHAT “IS”!
THE WHOLE NEW TESTAMENT IS ABOUT HOW GOD SEES YOU.
YOU JUST NEED TO AGREE WITH HIM.
AGREE WITH THE WORD OF GOD!
WHAT GOD HAS SAID IN THIS WORD IS SPIRITUAL LAW!
IT CANNOT BE CHANGED!
WHEN YOU ACT UPON IT, IT BECOMES REAL TO YOU!
SIT BEFORE GOD AND ASK FOR A REVELATION OF IT!
WHEN IT BECOMES REAL TO YOU, IT WILL BECOME PART OF YOU AND YOU REST IN THE POWER OF THAT REVELATION.
That is history, our history, written in Christ before we were born.
Our crucifixion with Christ is a glorious historical fact.
ILLUSTRATION: We have all seen pictures of Christ hanging on the cross. The next time you see one, picture yourself hanging there.
Our deliverance from sin is based, not on what we can do, nor even on what God is going to do for us, but on what He has already DONE for us in Christ.
YOU HAVE BEEN DELIVERED!
When that thought dawns upon us and we rest upon it, then we have found the secret of a holy life. (Romans 6:11)
It is true that we know too little of this in experience.
No Christian experience begins with walking, but always with a definite sitting down.
The secret of deliverance from sin is not to do something, but to rest on what God “HAS DONE!”
SECRET: THE MORE YOU RESIST SIN IN YOUR OWN STRENTH, THE STRONGER IT GETS! YOU CANNOT DELIVER YOURSELF FROM SIN!
GOD IS WAITING TILL YOU CEASE TO DO!
WHEN YOU CEASE DOING, THEN GOD WILL BEGIN!
GOD IS WAITING FOR YOUR STORE OF STRENGTH TO BE UTTERLY EXHAUSTED BEFORE HE CAN DELIVER YOU!
YOU COME THE END OF YOURSELF; YOU COME TO YOUR WITS END.
ONCE YOU HAVE CEASED TO STRUGGLE, HE WILL DO EVERYTHING!
GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU TO DESPAIR!
THIS IS WHERE YOU TAP INTO THE POWER OF GOD!
IT IS NOT BY MIGHT, NOT BY POWER, BUT HIS SPIRIT!
I would like to share a personal testimony with you that will help illustrate what I am saying. When I got saved in 1977, I use to smoke 2 ½ packs of cigarettes a day. The Lord began convicting me about smoking, so I tried to quit on my own. The more I tried the more I smoked. Finally in despair, I sat down in the doorstep of where I was living at the time and turned the radio on to a new Christian radio station. I was really feeling bad about not being able to quit smoking. The man who was talking on the radio spoke Ephesians 6:10: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” When he spoke those words, it felt like a charge of electricity flowed through my body from my head down. It only last for a split second, but when it left, I no longer had a desire to smoke, and I was completely delivered from cigarettes.
REVELATION:
While “sitting” at my computer one morning, the Lord spoke these words to me:
We “sit down,” not at God’s feet, but at the feet of the TV and listen to the “gods” of this world: Oprah Winfrey, the declared new spiritual guru; Maury Povish, Montel Williams; Jerry Springer, and all the other talk show hosts, the soap operas; the movie stars; the rock stars, the psychics, the fortune tellers, the psychologists, just to name a few. We listen to everyone except the One who has the solution. We don’t take the time to come to Him, sit at His feet, and listen to Him.
In Luke 15 we find the supreme illustration of the way to please God.
“It was meet to make merry and be glad.” (Luke 15:32)
In these words Jesus reveals what is that sphere of redemption that supremely rejoices His Father’s heart.
It is not an elder brother who toils incessantly for the father, but a younger brother who lets the father do everything for him.
It is not an elder brother who always wants to be the giver, but a younger brother who is willing to be a receiver. He received his father’s restoration.
The Father’s chief delight is to give.
ILLUSTRATION: Grandparents are notorious for spoiling their grandchildren. Why? Because their delight is lavishly giving. Do the grandchildren do anything to work for this giving? Do you hear them say,” No, Grandma, no Grandpa, I can’t receive this new toy. I haven’t worked for it, I don’t deserve it. I haven’t been good enough, I can’t go to the ice cream store with you.” No! They just receive. Grandparents receive great pleasure and joy in watching their grandchildren receive from them. How do you think they would feel if their grandchildren refused their gifts?
It gives Him true joy when we just let Him give, and give, and give again to us.
He longs that we will just let Him do and do and do.
It gives Him great pleasure and joy for us to receive all that He has for us.
ILLUSTRATION: How you ever considered that and when we get to heaven that God wants to play with His children? He wants to play with His children now. When I get to heaven, I hope the Father pulls up in that chariot of fire at my mansion, and says, “Come Dan, let’s go for a ride around the universe a couple of times. There’s a planet I want to show you. We can have a picnic there. On the way back you can drive the chariot.” Sounds wild doesn’t it.
He wants to be the GIVER eternally, and He wants to be the DOER eternally.
DO YOU THINK THAT IF YOU CEASE TRYING TO PLEASE GOD YOUR BEHAVIOR WILL CEASE?
IF YOU LEAVE ALL THE GIVING AND ALL THE WORKING TO GOD, DO YOU THINK THE RESULT WILL BE LESS SATISFACTORY THAN IF YOU DID SOME OF IT?
DO WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT HE IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL WE CAN ASK OR THINK? (Ephesians 3:20)
It is when we seek to do it ourselves that we place ourselves back again under the Law.
Just you stop “giving” and you will prove what a Giver God is.
Stop “walking” and you will discover what a Worker God is.
The younger son was all wrong, but he came home and he found rest, and that is where the Christian life begins.
The story of the prodigal son is a picture of restoration and of the father’s joy in restoring his son. The son rested in what the father gave him.
The younger son was restored to his rightful place, right standing with his father, by receiving it from his father.
In Luke 10:38-42, we have the story of Martha and Mary.
If you know the story, Jesus comes to Martha and Mary’s house for dinner. We find Martha busy with many things and we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha tells Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her. What is Jesus’ reply? He asks Martha why she is too busy with a lot of things. Mary has chosen the good thing.
Where do we find Mary? Sitting at Jesus’ feet; listening to Him.
We need to be more like Mary and less like Martha.
Martha was trying to please the Lord by her “much doing.”
Mary pleased the Lord by just sitting at His feet, listening to Him. What a picture of sitting.
Although active, practical service to God is essential and good, our first and most important task is to a love and devotion that expresses itself in quiet worship, prayer and fellowship with the Lord.
Are we so busy doing the work of the Lord, attending church services and performing good deeds that we forget spiritual communion with our Lord?
“Sitting” is spiritual communion with Jesus at His feet.
It is listening to Him.
It is receiving from Him.
Service comes out of worship, out of sitting at His feet.
It is sitting at His feet and finding out what He wants to do, and then doing it with obedience.
Once we do that, we find that there is no struggle.
The Christian life begins with sitting.
You have to learn how to sit before you can Walk and Stand.
From learning how to sit you will have the power to Walk and Stand.
Satan’s main goal is get you out of your position with Christ. He knows that as long as you “sit” you will receive what you need to defeat him in your life. That’s why is uses distractions of all types. He will even convince you that church activities and much doing are what are necessary to please God. It will keep you from the important thing, sitting before God.
Have you noticed that when you want to “sit” before the Lord, it seems like there is one distraction after another? It’s not a coincidence.
Every time I get on the computer to work on teachings, or read the Bible, I start sneezing for about 5 minutes. It happens every time. It is a distraction.
In March of 2006 I got laid off from my job. I needed a rest, so I spent the next 7 months sitting before the Lord. What I am sharing with you is the result of my sitting before the Lord. I have found some notes from Watchman Nee’s book, SIT WALK STAND. When I read a book, I underline in red ink the things that stand out to me. I had put them on my computer, and each morning during my quiet time, I would read over the notes. Each day that I spent just going over my notes, little by little I would receive a little bit of insight into each section of the book. The result is what you are reading now.
Again, I emphasize putting what you learn into practice. You can read this and say what a wonderful teaching, forget it, and never experience the results for yourself.
Application is very important. Be a “doer of the Word.”
