What does it mean that we sit with Christ “in the heavenly places”?

Explanation:

Paul wants the Ephesians to grasp the depth of God’s love in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:17–20). He explains that God is working in the believers with immeasurable power (Ephesians 1:19), which he accomplished through Jesus Christ when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him in heaven (Ephesians 1:20). In other words, through God’s immeasurable power of raising Christ from the dead and seating him in heaven, God accomplished something for believers.

And what did God accomplish for believers? Paul explains in Ephesians 2:4–6 that even though we were dead in our transgressions, and therefore unable to be in a relationship with God, God raised us with Christ into the heavenly places. This means that although we were alienated from God and unable to enter the heavenly places because of sin, through the work of Christ we now reside with Christ in heaven. Just as God physically raised Christ to sit in the heavenly places, and so, through Christ, he raises believers to sit in the heavenly places spiritually.⁵

Counterargument:

When Paul explains that believers are seated with Christ in heaven, he is not highlighting the efficacy of Christ’s ministry. Rather, his purpose is to empower the believers through the imagery of exaltation.⁶ The fact that the believers share in Christ in the heavenly places means that they are empowered to resist evil.⁷ In antiquity, images of exaltation were a means of empowerment for the sake of conquering evil. For example, Psalm 110:1 speaks about sitting at the right hand of the Lord until one’s enemies are made a footstool. And 1 Enoch 61:8 speaks about the chosen one sitting on a throne and judging the works of the holy ones.⁸ These examples illustrate the fact that images of exaltation to the heavenly places have to do with empowerment over evil.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument will not do for several reasons. First, language and imagery are flexible in the sense that the same image or statement can have multiple meanings. For example, we can deduce many things about God from the fact that he is enthroned in heaven. It means that God is exalted above all else. It also means that God is a being unlike us, he is the master of the universe, he is holy, and so he dwells in a realm of purity and so on. Thus, God’s being depicted in heaven can mean exaltation, and it can mean other things.

Second, the way to decipher how language is being used in certain instances is through a variety of interpretative techniques, including reading language in context. The context of Ephesians 2:6 combined with Ephesians 1:20 suggests that Paul highlights what God accomplished through Christ by his grace, not the empowerment of evil.

Third, not all of the examples offered have to do with empowerment. For example, Psalm 110:1 is about sitting at the right hand of the Lord, not in order to be empowered to vanquish one’s enemies but to wait for the Lord to vanquish one’s enemies. Also, 1 Enoch 61:8 does not seem to be about empowerment to conquer evil, but rather about sitting on a throne to judge the works of the holy ones. It is hard to see how judging the works of the holy ones is related to the motif of empowerment to conquer evil.

Explanation:

When Paul writes that believes are raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places, he uses the aorist indicative of the verb συγκαθίζω (to sit down with) to make his point. By far the most common categorization of the aorist indicative is constative.⁹ The constative aorist does not account for the nature of the action it describes, but only the fact that the action happened. That is to say, the constative aorist is not concerned with the duration of the action or whether the action has ongoing effects. Rather, the constative aorist only says that the action happened as a whole at some time in the past. In other words, just as God raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places, so, in Christ, he raised believers while they were dead and seated them in the heavenly places with Christ.¹⁰

Of course, it is not difficult to confirm that believers are not physically in heaven right now because we are believers, and we are not in heaven. Therefore, Paul means to say that just as Christ is physically in the heavenly places, so believers are spiritually in the heavenly places.

Counterargument:

There is no disagreement that the aorist in the indicative mood is often constative, and therefore has to do with completed action. Still, this does not show that Paul is saying that believers are spiritually in heaven. Rather, it likely conveyed to the original audience a level of intimacy that suggested they would share in God’s power in the life to come. In fact, it is more likely that Paul is being rhetorical and uses the image as a powerful motivational technique.¹¹ He wants to motivate the Ephesians in their faith by explaining that in the life to come, they will share in God’s power.

Response to counterargument:

It is unlikely that Paul is speaking of a future, rather than present reality. Paul has already stated that the magnificence of God’s grace is that he seats us with Christ while were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:5). Paul is not suggesting that God’s grace is demonstrated in the fact that while we were dead in our sins, God promises that in the future we will share in his power. Rather, Paul wants the Ephesians to understand that the power of God goes beyond their natural minds (Ephesians 1:17–18). The fact is, while they were still sinners, God not only promised them a hopeful future, but he literally (in a spiritual sense) sat the Ephesians in heaven with Christ. Thus, the Ephesians benefit from the spiritual blessings that find their source in heaven and enable believers to persevere to the end (Ephesians 6:10–17).^12,13

Possible weaknesses:

One possible weakness of this view is that it is hard to see what it means for believers to be literally seated in the heavenly places, even in a spiritual sense. If believers are seated in a heaven in a spiritual sense, one would think that a believer’s spiritual life would be impeccable. The fact is, believers continue to undergo doubt, and often sin, so the spiritual life of a believer is not impeccable.

Explanation:

There are two important verbs in Ephesians 2:6. Paul states that believers are raised up with and seated with Christ in the heavenly places. The ESV translates Ephesians 2:6 as and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Paul uses a very similar phrase in his letter to the Colossians. In Colossians 3:1 Paul writes, If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. The similarity between these verses is striking. In both cases Paul states that believers are raised with Christ, and he refers to the fact that Christ is seated in heaven. At the same time, there is a difference between these. In Ephesians, Paul states that believers are not only raised with Christ but are also seated with him in heaven. But in his letter to the Colossians, while he points out that Christ is seated in heaven, he does not explicitly say that the believers are there with him. Instead, he exhorts believers to set their minds on the things that are above. In fact, Ephesians 2:6 is the only time that Paul places believers in heaven with Christ.

So why does Colossians suggest that believers only put their minds in heaven, while Ephesians states that believers are already in heaven? The most likely answer is that Paul balances Ephesians 2:6 with his statements about the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1:13–14 and Ephesians 4:30, Paul explains that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit who guarantees their inheritance. The seal of the Holy Spirit is so powerful that believers are effectively already in heaven with Christ. In other words, the notion that believers are seated in heaven with Christ expresses God’s future purpose for them.¹⁴

Counterargument:

The problem with this view is that it relies too heavily on a similar motif from Colossians. We can see that Paul makes a similar statement in Colossians because in both Ephesians, and Colossians, he states that believers are raised with Christ, and he mentions that Christ is seated in the heavenly places. Still, we should not rely wholly on Colossians to understand Ephesians, because Paul could be addressing a different situation in Ephesians, and therefore making a different point. This means we should prioritize the immediate context of Ephesians when determining what Paul means that believers are seated with Christ in heaven.¹⁵ In fact, when we check Ephesians 2:6 against the immediate context, we find Paul emphatically praying that the Ephesians would grasp the riches of the glorious inheritance to which they have been called (Ephesians 1:16–18). The inheritance is so glorious, and God’s grace so profound, that just as God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavens (Ephesians 1:20), so the believers, even while they were dead in their sins, were raised with Christ, and seated with him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5–6). The notion that Paul conveys is not so much future hope but exaltation.¹⁶ Even though the Ephesians were sinners, the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice is such that the Ephesians are spiritually located with him in the heavenly places.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this view is that it overlooks the already aspect of Jesus’ ministry. Scripture explains that there is an already and a not yet component to our salvation in Christ. Already we have been redeemed through Christ’s blood and forgiven for our sins (Ephesians 1:7). Still, there is a fully realized inheritance that is promised, but yet to come (Ephesians 1:14). When Paul says that believers were raised and seated with Jesus, just as Jesus was raised and seated by God, this seems to highlight the already of our salvation. Since the already is consistent with New Testament theology in general, interpretations that at first glance highlight the already of salvation should not be quickly dismissed.

Explanation:

When Paul says that believers are seated with Christ in heaven, he does not mean that believers are literally located in heaven. We know this because we are believers, and we are still located on this earth. What Paul means to say is that believers experience blessings in this life that originate in the heavenly places.

Believers are located on earth, but our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is located in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20). Further, believers are intimately connected to Christ through faith. This means that whatever happens to Jesus the bridegroom has an immediate effect on believers, the bride. From the heavenly places, Christ sends forth his Holy Spirit so that believers are raised to a new life. In other words, even though we are not yet located in heaven, we are governed by heavenly standards and motivated by heavenly impulses.¹⁷

Counterargument:

It is clear from the immediate context that Paul has aims in mind other than that of indicating where our spiritual blessings originate. Paul wants the Ephesians to know the depth of God’s grace and power (Ephesians 1:17–18). He explains not only that God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20), but that this heavenly position places Jesus far above all rulers and authority, and that all things have been placed under his feet (Ephesians 1:21–22). In other words, Jesus inhabits an exalted position. With this background in mind, Paul explains that likewise, even while the believers were dead, they have been raised with Christ and seated with him in the heavens (Ephesians 2:5–6). Of course, no one would deny that believers receive blessings from heaven. Still, this does not seem to be Paul’s point. Rather, his point is to highlight the immeasurable grace of God by explaining that God elevated the believer’s status, even while they were sinners.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this view is that it overlooks the plain meaning of the text. Paul does not seem to be using metaphor or otherwise cryptic imagery. Rather, according to the immeasurable greatness of God’s power, just as Jesus has been raised and seated in heaven, so have believers. We should not lose sight of the significance of Paul’s statement just because we are not yet physically heaven. The fact is, there is a physical and a spiritual dimension to reality so Paul could just as easily be speaking about our spiritual reality.