believers in Christ | Stephen Nielsen

The “heavenly places” are mentioned five times in the book of Ephesians. We will look at each of these passages, with my comments, and then I will make some concluding remarks.

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

The heavenly places (or Lit. “the heavenlies”) is a special place where we may receive spiritual blessings. I believe this place is the realm of God’s kingdom within each believer—a place where God rules and reigns; it is a place of His throne and holiness. It is also a place of fellowship with God where joy and peace and love are realized. It is where the Holy Spirit is always present and is producing His fruit of His Spirit.

Ephesians 1:18-21

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 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 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, 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.

According to this grand passage, this place, the heavenlies, is a place where Christ is seated in power at the right hand of God the Father. And Paul here prays that they (the Ephesians) would be enlightened so that they would know of His calling and of their inheritance and of His power toward all believers. This tells me that the heavenly places holds spiritual blessings for us that we may not be aware of unless we pray about it—that our eyes may be “enlightened” (v. 18).

Ephesians 2:4-7

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Here we read that every believer being once dead (an unbeliever) was raised up (resurrected to new life) with Christ and was seated with Him in the heavenly places. And here we sit with Christ; and we will be sitting with Him through all eternity, where He will show the riches of His grace to us forever. Yes, we have eternity to be blessed by Christ in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 3:8-10

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

Apparently, it seems that the heavenly places, at least for now, does not rule out angels, both good and bad. And we the church have the calling of God to make known to them through our life all the mysteries of God.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

For the believer, before we arrive at our home in heaven, with our new bodies, this place where God rules and reigns in us, the heavenlies, is not void of evil. All of God’s blessings to us are there, but so is all evil and the demons. Hence, it is a place of holiness and blessing with Christ and God; and it is also a place of demons, where we are to be on guard against them and have on the spiritual armor.

Concluding Remarks. So it is true that every believer is seated with Christ in the heavenly places; and so we are very blessed with all the blessings of Christ—if we take hold of those blessings; for we should know that Satan (with his demons) is lurking around and seeking to destroy us. Yes, the heavenly places is a wonderful place—a spiritual realm in God’s kingdom (within us) with every spiritual blessing available to us. But Satan and the demons are prowling around too, waiting to pounce on us and destroy us. So, what should we do? I would say that we should enjoy all the blessings of God, walk in Him, commune with Him, confess your sins and be right with Him; and constantly put off the old life and put on the new life. And always be aware of Satan and have on the spiritual armor. Be at prayer always. Be drawing near to God constantly. And enjoy your place at the throne, seated with Christ.

Every believer when he is born again and is assured of an everlasting inheritance, is also miraculously, by the power of God, rescued from the domain of darkness and is transferred into the kingdom of God and of His Son. Paul in Colossians 1:13 writes, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”

This kingdom, though it is grand and glorious, is not visible; it is a spiritual kingdom and it is within us—within every believer (Lu. 17:21). Christ sits on His throne in our hearts, and He will lead us and instruct us in right living; but only if we allow Him to. Hence, all who are obedient sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14).

Now from time to time we will fall into sin; for we still have our sinful flesh. But we remain children of God who live in His kingdom, and because Christ has come into our heart and changed us—given us a new nature—we have His mind. Paul has written in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16,

But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

And with our new mind and by the powerful strength of God in us and around us we are protected from the devil and all evil—but only if we use that protection. Paul, in Ephesians 6, speaks of this Christian protection as the armor of God. It is available to us if we put it on every day. It is the Christian’s daily and life-long attire.

One of the most powerful pieces of armor available to us is prayer. Paul writes that we are to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 1:18). James also writes about prayer. He said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Ja. 1:5). But then he goes on to say that we must ask in faith without any doubting. And this is the key to living victoriously in the kingdom of God—having faith in God and in Christ without doubting. It is a life of trust in Him.