Seated with Christ

Why would anyone want to postpone the benefits of Kingdom citizenship? Yet, many do, imagining that the Kingdom of God is for only that time after Jesus comes again. That’s not what Jesus taught. Today’s excerpt from The Kingdom Turn is found on pages 28 and 29:

“What does it mean to be seated with Christ in heavenly places? This is a seating arrangement available only to those who have been called to God’s Kingdom and glory and who are born-again and indwelled by His Spirit. It must be an important privilege and prospect, because Paul commands us to fix our minds there, to let our thoughts, plans, outlook, and worldview be shaped and guided by the vision of unseen things above, where we have been seated with Christ.

“In Psalm 110 David explains that, from His seat at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ administers the progress of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. He sends His people out like the refreshing dew of the morning to live and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (v. 3). He plants His scepter of uprightness plunk down in the midst of his enemies – all their culture, institutions, and puny plans – and exercises His power among them, doing good, restraining evil, preparing the soil of men’s souls, creating doors of opportunity, making all things new, and furthering the progress of His Kingdom (v. 2). He engages all His enemies by His powerful Word, working by His Spirit in and through His Church (vv. 5, 6; cf. Ps. 45.4, 5). And He intercedes with the Father for this far-flung, all-comprehending work, a work the triumphant end of which He already rejoices to see (vv. 4, 7).

“This is what Jesus sees as He sits in heavenly places. Angels await His instructions to carry out the details of His will. Departed saints keep up a chorus of praise and glory, anticipating with unceasing excitement the reuniting of their souls with their glorified bodies in the new heaven and new earth. And a landscape of wondrous sights, sounds, sensations, and smells envelops the whole, where everything cries, ‘Glory!’ without end.

“And all who have made the Kingdom turn are seated with Christ, there in the heavenly places. They have the mind of Christ and full access to His Word. They live in the midst of that glorious then and there in every moment of their here and now. They see the events of their lives and times through the lens and according to the agenda of Christ’s Kingdom. They receive His grace that they may go into their lives to refresh, redeem, and renew every moment of time and everything in that time.”

For reflection or discussion
1. What role does meditating on Jesus, seated in glory, have in your Christian life?

2. How do you attempt to “live in the midst of that glorious then and there in every moment of [your] here and now”?

On every front and scale of human life—purpose, strength, aims, meaning, fulfillment, service, and joy—the Kingdom of God breaks through the secular and materialistic ceiling of our age in flight with God to bring a new era of heaven-sent eternal life in Christ. Make sure you get in on that. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss it. Your free copy of The Kingdom Turn is waiting for you in The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore