EPHESIANS: Raised and Seated

EPHESIANS Number 16:
Raised and Seated

Ephesians 1:20–21 (KJV 1900)
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

This mighty power, we are told is the self-same power He “wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” We don’t use the word “wrought” much these days, and if we do, it generally produces images of a blacksmith making something of “wrought” iron. The Greek here is energeo from which we get our word “energize.” In context, it means work, operate, be effective, bring about.

So, this mighty Power brought about the raising of Christ from the dead. More than that, this Power seated Him [Christ] at His [God’s] own right hand in the heavenly places. This should cause bells to go off in our head because we have heard something about being raised and seated and something about heavenly places before. Back in Ephesians 1:3 we read that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” What’s more, when we get to Ephesians 2:6 we will discover that he has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

The Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realm. This seat of power is, we are told, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Far above. ALL. And we are in Christ. Where He is, there we are.

No wonder then that Colossians 3:1–4 (KJV 1900) urges us “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” The word translated “hid” here is very interesting. The Greek is krypto. I’m sure that word puts an image into your mind the moment you hear it. It has a wide range of meaning in ancient Greek, but really the idea is exactly what you’d expect. To keep from being seen, to hide, to cause to disappear. That is the role of cryptography today, it is the basis for the word crypt in which remains are safely and invisibly held.

Friends, your life is encrypted with the Lord Jesus Christ in God. So, we can boldly ask with the Psalmist and the writer of Hebrews, “What can man do unto me?” Psalm 118:6b and Hebrews 13:6b (KJV 1900)