v 6. For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
A couple of weeks ago I went to a concert in the Cadogan Hall, near Sloane Square. I knew where we wanted to sit, so when tickets came on the market I duly applied and was able to get the seats I hoped for. It makes a great difference to go to some event – a concert, a wedding, a play – and know exactly where you are going to sit.
So here is a significant thing for you – you have a seat with Christ in the Heavenly realms. And more than that, God sees you in that place already. It is not simply that there is a reserved seat with your name on it, God sees you as already present! This ‘raised from the dead’ is not about a future resurrection but rather expresses the idea that every believer is so fully and totally integrated into Jesus that we share or participate in his death, resurrection and ascension. The chapter starts by reminding us ‘Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. ‘and then faith became part of life, evidenced by baptism ‘For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. ‘ (Romans 6:4) This union with Christ is completed when he writes about being raised with him, and seated with him, in this verse.
The Heavenly realms are not just something for the future – you belong there now, and all the blessings of that are something for you today.
Surely, that makes you someone special. Your ultimate destiny is not a grave because your Heavenly Father sees you along with Christ in glory right now. Of course, that does not exempt me from experiencing physical death, but it gives me a view of death as nothing more than a gate into the life that is already mine in Christ.
The promise is not that I will be there, but I am there already!