Why is it I read the bible and pray every day and do not experience God in my life? Why do I go to church every week and God is not real to me? This are some of the most common questions I get from Christians. The real question is really “how do I experience God?” Sometime back, I wrote a book entitled The Salvation Equation specifically to deal with the issue. Perhaps it is worth revisiting at this point. The experience of God, His blessings, His freedom, His forgiveness, His love, His power and His healing are essentially what is encompassed by the GRACE of God. Christ died on the cross specifically so that we can experience these things. Salvation is not just about going to heaven after we die but to experience in this life the blessings of God. As stated in the Salvation Equation, Grace is something God does, it is something He gives to us. It is the part of the equation He alone is responsible for. But to come to experience Grace, there is something we must do. And that part is FAITH. Faith is our part of the equation, something we are required to do before we can experience Grace.
What then does it mean to exercise and grow in Faith? As discussed in the Salvation Equation, there are 4 aspects of Faith:
(1) Faith Appropriation – This is when we begin to claim the promises of the bible that God has given to us the full measure of His Grace when Christ died for us. His blessings, His intimacy, His freedom, His power, His love, His healing. All these things were given to us on the Cross. To appropriate them is to confess verbally that we have them, and to believe the same in our hearts. Our responsibility is not just to read the Word but to claim it for ourselves.
(2) Faith Surrender – To experience God’s grace, the next component of Faith is surrender. It is only when we empty ourselves of our flesh that the Spirit can fill us and bring us into the fullness of God. Like a cup, we must be empty before God can fill us. We must therefore die daily to our human judgments, our rights, our reputation and our ambitions and surrender ourselves fully to God. Our responsibility is therefore to daily allow the Holy Spirit and the Word to convict us of sin, and to repent when such conviction comes.
(3) Faith Intimacy – The next component of Faith is intimacy. Intimacy involves pursuing a close relationship and walk with God. Like Enoch, we “walk with God” everyday of our lives. In practical terms, this involves prayer, worship, resting and waiting on God and living consciously in His presence continually. It is in such intimacy that we grow in our faith in God and come to experience His Grace.
(4) Faith Community – The last component of Faith is the Faith Community. To grow in faith, we require the help of fellow believers in the church. We ere never meant to walk the Christian life alone. Each member of the church has been given complementary gifts to serve and edify the body so that we can all reach “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:13b). Faith Community therefore requires that we spend time in fellowship and service with other believers in the church, helping them build their faith and letting them help us build ours.
Placed in these terms, if we are not experiencing God, His blessings, freedom or power in our lives, then we simply have to check how we rate or are doing on each of the above four aspects of Faith. Perhaps the answer to our question is really not so difficult to find.
We want more
There must be something greater. There must be something more. This simply cannot be it. Birthing within the hearts of our young people is a cry for something greater than the lifeless and pretentious routine called church. There is a longing for a true spiritual experience of God, a longing for God Himself. Enough with the empty talk. We want the real thing.
Perhaps such a concept is not as unbiblical and new age as some would have us believe. After all the bible with replete with such examples. One of the most noteworthy is the manifestation of God in the temple after Solomon has dedicated it. God had given Solomon the blueprint for the building of the temple. The temple has just been built, the sacrifices made and Solomon dedicated the temple. Then look what happened:
“When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chron 7:1-4)
This is what many have called the manifest presence of God. It is when the presence of God is so real that we can feel Him, almost touch Him. This is what happens that God shows up in the church. You walk into the service and know that God is here. Our prayers take on a different dimension, our worship is lifted to a different plane. The presence of God will bring men to their knees in tears and conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit manifests in signs and wonders. Tongues, prophesy and miracles abound. I don’t know what is your vision of revival. This is mine.
How to we get there? How do we move from where we are to where God wants us to be? This glorious state where church becomes transformed into the spiritual temple of God where His manifest presence dwells? The bible itself gives us the answer. God Himself answers the question to those who have ears to hear.
“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” (2 Chron 7:13,14)
When there is spiritual dryness, when true spirituality seems absent, when it seems as if God has not showed up in our congregation for a long time, God himself steps in to tell us what to do. The first – hunger – “If my people will…humble themselves and pray and seek my face”. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. I feel that as a church, we are simply not hungry enough. We have long deceived ourselves into spiritual complacency that we simply do not see our need for God, and hence there is no hunger. We must come to a state where we realize the immensity of our spiritual poverty, how sinful and fallen we are, how far from God we have come and how much we need Him. God waits for us to want Him so badly, to want Him more than anything else that we are willing to give anything to get Him.
The next condition is “turning away” – “…and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.” It is not enough just to acknowledge intellectually that we are sinful. True repentance involves turning away from everything that is not of God, and turning back to our one true love, the God who loves us. We cannot love God and anything else at the same time. To turn away involves an active involvement of the mind, the emotion and the will. Our entire being inclines towards God, the compass of our souls. Grace may be free but it will cost us our every love and our very lives.
Are you content to play church Sunday after Sunday? The eyes and ears of God are open and attentive to the prayers of His beloved. God is waiting, waiting to pour out His Spirit in immeasurable abundance, waiting to manifest His presence in His holy congregation. The question is are we hungry enough to ask?
Perhaps such a concept is not as unbiblical and new age as some would have us believe. After all the bible with replete with such examples. One of the most noteworthy is the manifestation of God in the temple after Solomon has dedicated it. God had given Solomon the blueprint for the building of the temple. The temple has just been built, the sacrifices made and Solomon dedicated the temple. Then look what happened:
“When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chron 7:1-4)
This is what many have called the manifest presence of God. It is when the presence of God is so real that we can feel Him, almost touch Him. This is what happens that God shows up in the church. You walk into the service and know that God is here. Our prayers take on a different dimension, our worship is lifted to a different plane. The presence of God will bring men to their knees in tears and conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit manifests in signs and wonders. Tongues, prophesy and miracles abound. I don’t know what is your vision of revival. This is mine.
How to we get there? How do we move from where we are to where God wants us to be? This glorious state where church becomes transformed into the spiritual temple of God where His manifest presence dwells? The bible itself gives us the answer. God Himself answers the question to those who have ears to hear.
“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” (2 Chron 7:13,14)
When there is spiritual dryness, when true spirituality seems absent, when it seems as if God has not showed up in our congregation for a long time, God himself steps in to tell us what to do. The first – hunger – “If my people will…humble themselves and pray and seek my face”. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. I feel that as a church, we are simply not hungry enough. We have long deceived ourselves into spiritual complacency that we simply do not see our need for God, and hence there is no hunger. We must come to a state where we realize the immensity of our spiritual poverty, how sinful and fallen we are, how far from God we have come and how much we need Him. God waits for us to want Him so badly, to want Him more than anything else that we are willing to give anything to get Him.
The next condition is “turning away” – “…and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.” It is not enough just to acknowledge intellectually that we are sinful. True repentance involves turning away from everything that is not of God, and turning back to our one true love, the God who loves us. We cannot love God and anything else at the same time. To turn away involves an active involvement of the mind, the emotion and the will. Our entire being inclines towards God, the compass of our souls. Grace may be free but it will cost us our every love and our very lives.
Are you content to play church Sunday after Sunday? The eyes and ears of God are open and attentive to the prayers of His beloved. God is waiting, waiting to pour out His Spirit in immeasurable abundance, waiting to manifest His presence in His holy congregation. The question is are we hungry enough to ask?
So tired...
Don’t know if you’ve experienced such tiredness that if you were to close your eyes, you would probably fall asleep immediately. Sometimes in this fast paced society, we simply don’t rest enough. The multitude of expectations and responsibilities at work or school, in ministry, for family just seem never-ending. Some like me, thrive on such activity – because it persuades us that we must be productive if we are doing so much. We move from activity to activity with clockwork precision – switching from one intense mode to another. Going from office to church to the gym to dinner with my family. We feel useful, accomplished, as if we are somehow justifying our existence. But we simply cannot go on like this forever, our human bodies will grow tired and weary. Today was one of those days…a day where to simply drag myself out of bed was a momentous struggle of will verses flesh.
It is at times like these were I force myself to pull back and reflect. Am I too busy? Why am I driving myself like this? Some responsibilities I cannot extricate myself from. Others I do simply because I am unwilling to say no. After all, this is such a competitive society, and there is so much depending on me. How can I let up? As I ponder these swirling passions within me, I pause for a moment and consider what heaven was thinking about all this. As God looked down at my life, I wonder what he must be thinking. Was he thinking, “he is so busy…good for him.” Somehow I get a sense that he was sad…sad that I was driving myself so hard, striving so hard to get ahead. And in all that running, I had somehow left Him behind.
Father I want to come back to you. In returning and rest we are saved. I realign myself now to you, my Lord and my God, to come back to the safe place of your presence. I quieten my passions, I still my soul, for you are God. For even young men grow tired and weary and youth stumble and fall, but those who wait on the Lord, He will renew their strength. They will rise on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.
It is at times like these were I force myself to pull back and reflect. Am I too busy? Why am I driving myself like this? Some responsibilities I cannot extricate myself from. Others I do simply because I am unwilling to say no. After all, this is such a competitive society, and there is so much depending on me. How can I let up? As I ponder these swirling passions within me, I pause for a moment and consider what heaven was thinking about all this. As God looked down at my life, I wonder what he must be thinking. Was he thinking, “he is so busy…good for him.” Somehow I get a sense that he was sad…sad that I was driving myself so hard, striving so hard to get ahead. And in all that running, I had somehow left Him behind.
Father I want to come back to you. In returning and rest we are saved. I realign myself now to you, my Lord and my God, to come back to the safe place of your presence. I quieten my passions, I still my soul, for you are God. For even young men grow tired and weary and youth stumble and fall, but those who wait on the Lord, He will renew their strength. They will rise on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.
Can you lose your salvation?
Can you lose your salvation? This has been an issue of great debate among Christians. Let me organise my answer into a couple of points.
(1) The bible speaks of the eternal security we have when we become Christians. eg. Jesus says "no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hands." John 10:29. Paul writes, "whom he predestined, he called, whom he called, these he justified; and whom he justified, these he glorified." Rom 8:30.
(2) The bible also speaks of Christians falling away. Heb 6:6 talks about the falling away (apostasy) of those who were partakers of the Holy Spirit. Paul also writes, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." 1 Tim 4:1
How do we reconcilse these?
(1) It is not possible to lose your salvation through normal sinning, ie. lack of good works. If you could lose your salvation through sinning then it is another way os saying that salvation is by works. Salvation is by faith and not by works so no man may boast. (Eph2:8) When a Christian persist in sinning and grieving the Spirit of God after he becomes a Christian, he does not lose his salvation. However three things happen:
(a) He loses the joy and experience of his salvation (Psalms 51:12) This means he loses his assurance of salvation. Sin acts as a wedge in our relationship with God and silences the voice of God in our lives. Our prayers become futile and the presence of God is withdrawn from our lives.
(b) He comes under the corrective discipline of God. Heb 12:6 says, "For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he recieves." God cannot be mocked. Time and time again we see God send the nation of Israel into captivity, oppression and drought to cause them to repent and turn back to Him. He never stopped loving them, never forsook them. If we have accepted HIm as Lord, and continue to sin, God will not let us go or leave us alone. Many Christians continue to suffer in this life not knowing that they have brought themselves under the discipline of God.
(c) He will be judged by Christ at the second coming. At the second coming, Christians will be judged according to how we have lived our lives(2 Cor 5:10). This is a separate judgment from non-Christians. The judgment here is not unto eternal life, but as to rewards or lost of them. 1 Cor 3:13-15 says on that day, "each one's work will become clear, for the Day will reveal it, because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." To those who have lived in sin after conversion, there will only be regret and shame as we enter heaven and are disqualified from any rewards.
(2) The Christian may lose his salvation only if he abandons the faith (apostasy). Faith in, faith out. The bible calls this sin blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31) Paul illustrates this in Heb 6:4-6,where he says "it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew themselves again to repentence." This condition is one where after having experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in conviction and regeneration, to walk away from God. It requires a heart so hardened, so cold towards God that there is no more a possibility of guilt or remorse, to make repentence impossible. The examples of these prophesied in the bible are of deception by demons and false prophets in false religons .
(3) Conclusion. God will not let us go once we have accepted Him. Neither Satan not others can snatch us away from his hand, for we are being kept by the power of God through faith for salvation (1 Peter 1:5). But if we choose to deliberately abandon the faith and say to God, "I dont need you or your salvation or want you to be my God anymore", I suspect God will in His respect of our human free will, let us go. This is not something we may want to test Him on.
(1) The bible speaks of the eternal security we have when we become Christians. eg. Jesus says "no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hands." John 10:29. Paul writes, "whom he predestined, he called, whom he called, these he justified; and whom he justified, these he glorified." Rom 8:30.
(2) The bible also speaks of Christians falling away. Heb 6:6 talks about the falling away (apostasy) of those who were partakers of the Holy Spirit. Paul also writes, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." 1 Tim 4:1
How do we reconcilse these?
(1) It is not possible to lose your salvation through normal sinning, ie. lack of good works. If you could lose your salvation through sinning then it is another way os saying that salvation is by works. Salvation is by faith and not by works so no man may boast. (Eph2:8) When a Christian persist in sinning and grieving the Spirit of God after he becomes a Christian, he does not lose his salvation. However three things happen:
(a) He loses the joy and experience of his salvation (Psalms 51:12) This means he loses his assurance of salvation. Sin acts as a wedge in our relationship with God and silences the voice of God in our lives. Our prayers become futile and the presence of God is withdrawn from our lives.
(b) He comes under the corrective discipline of God. Heb 12:6 says, "For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he recieves." God cannot be mocked. Time and time again we see God send the nation of Israel into captivity, oppression and drought to cause them to repent and turn back to Him. He never stopped loving them, never forsook them. If we have accepted HIm as Lord, and continue to sin, God will not let us go or leave us alone. Many Christians continue to suffer in this life not knowing that they have brought themselves under the discipline of God.
(c) He will be judged by Christ at the second coming. At the second coming, Christians will be judged according to how we have lived our lives(2 Cor 5:10). This is a separate judgment from non-Christians. The judgment here is not unto eternal life, but as to rewards or lost of them. 1 Cor 3:13-15 says on that day, "each one's work will become clear, for the Day will reveal it, because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." To those who have lived in sin after conversion, there will only be regret and shame as we enter heaven and are disqualified from any rewards.
(2) The Christian may lose his salvation only if he abandons the faith (apostasy). Faith in, faith out. The bible calls this sin blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31) Paul illustrates this in Heb 6:4-6,where he says "it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew themselves again to repentence." This condition is one where after having experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in conviction and regeneration, to walk away from God. It requires a heart so hardened, so cold towards God that there is no more a possibility of guilt or remorse, to make repentence impossible. The examples of these prophesied in the bible are of deception by demons and false prophets in false religons .
(3) Conclusion. God will not let us go once we have accepted Him. Neither Satan not others can snatch us away from his hand, for we are being kept by the power of God through faith for salvation (1 Peter 1:5). But if we choose to deliberately abandon the faith and say to God, "I dont need you or your salvation or want you to be my God anymore", I suspect God will in His respect of our human free will, let us go. This is not something we may want to test Him on.
The struggle to obey
The struggle for obedience is one that every Christian can identify with. We, who have experienced the birth of a new spirit by the indwelling Spirit find our sin nature constantly contesting with our better conscience. I want to obey yet there is a war within myself. Each time I find myself fighting a strong desire to move in a contrary direction. This is exactly the struggle of Paul in Romans 7. The good that I want to do, I do not do. The evil that I do not want to do, this I find myself doing. I can surely identify with the cry of Paul at the end of Romans 7, “who can save me from the body of death?”
The answer is found in Romans 8:1 – there is now no more condemnation to those who are in Christ, for the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is like the law of gravity. It pulls you in a direction you may or may not want to go. When confronted with a moral law, the sin nature within us naturally inclines to contravene it. The only way to overcome the law of gravity is to have another law that is more powerful than it. Like the law of physics involved in the force and momentum of a rocket ship propelling itself upwards against the law of gravity. Likewise, the only law that is powerful to overcome the law of sin and death is the law of the Spirit of life. Christ’s death on the cross broke the power of the law of sin and death over us and the indwelling Spirit helps us appropriate that freedom daily.
Enough of theology. So how does this work in practical reality. The issue is the mind. To overcome the law of sin and death, we must set our minds according to the things of the Spirit. You see, there is a sequence. How we think determines what we feel and what we feel determines how we ultimately act. If we think that the law of God is restrictive and burdensome, then we will not feel like wanting to obey it. However if we think that the law of God is beautiful and brings true freedom and blessing, then we will instinctively feel like we want to obey it.
The key therefore is the mind. Trash in, trash out. You are what you think. If we fill our minds with the ideas of the world, the sensual and sexual and covetous images from the media and the internet, then this will progressively change our minds. And the way we feel. And the way we act. It cannot be understated that media is the tool of the devil too brainwash us that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are indeed desirable and beneficial to us. I have learnt that when I fill my mind with the things of God, read His Word, listen to MP3 sermons, read Christian books, talk to God and live with the consciousness of His presence all the time, incline myself to the prompting and leading of the Spirit, these things change the way I think. That is why Paul says in Rom 12:2 to be transformed by the renewal of our “minds”. That is also why Jesus says that “the eye is the lamp of the body”. Our eyes are the channels to what we put into our minds. If we gaze on images of sensuality and sexuality and covetousness and lust, we will be changed into what we see. Because it will changes our minds, and then our desires and ultimately our actions.
The battle for obedience therefore lies not in the will or even our feelings, but much further upstream in the arena of the mind. Let God change your mind and you will win the battle for obedience.
The answer is found in Romans 8:1 – there is now no more condemnation to those who are in Christ, for the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is like the law of gravity. It pulls you in a direction you may or may not want to go. When confronted with a moral law, the sin nature within us naturally inclines to contravene it. The only way to overcome the law of gravity is to have another law that is more powerful than it. Like the law of physics involved in the force and momentum of a rocket ship propelling itself upwards against the law of gravity. Likewise, the only law that is powerful to overcome the law of sin and death is the law of the Spirit of life. Christ’s death on the cross broke the power of the law of sin and death over us and the indwelling Spirit helps us appropriate that freedom daily.
Enough of theology. So how does this work in practical reality. The issue is the mind. To overcome the law of sin and death, we must set our minds according to the things of the Spirit. You see, there is a sequence. How we think determines what we feel and what we feel determines how we ultimately act. If we think that the law of God is restrictive and burdensome, then we will not feel like wanting to obey it. However if we think that the law of God is beautiful and brings true freedom and blessing, then we will instinctively feel like we want to obey it.
The key therefore is the mind. Trash in, trash out. You are what you think. If we fill our minds with the ideas of the world, the sensual and sexual and covetous images from the media and the internet, then this will progressively change our minds. And the way we feel. And the way we act. It cannot be understated that media is the tool of the devil too brainwash us that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are indeed desirable and beneficial to us. I have learnt that when I fill my mind with the things of God, read His Word, listen to MP3 sermons, read Christian books, talk to God and live with the consciousness of His presence all the time, incline myself to the prompting and leading of the Spirit, these things change the way I think. That is why Paul says in Rom 12:2 to be transformed by the renewal of our “minds”. That is also why Jesus says that “the eye is the lamp of the body”. Our eyes are the channels to what we put into our minds. If we gaze on images of sensuality and sexuality and covetousness and lust, we will be changed into what we see. Because it will changes our minds, and then our desires and ultimately our actions.
The battle for obedience therefore lies not in the will or even our feelings, but much further upstream in the arena of the mind. Let God change your mind and you will win the battle for obedience.
Facing challenges sitting down
God gave me a tremendous revelation driving to work today and I would like to share it. How do we face the challenges and spiritual opposition that life throws at us? The answer we would most often give is to stand up and fight. While this may be true in some sense, I would like to share a completely different way of looking at our battles. The Christian who is truly mature faces opposition sitting down! Let me explain...
Where is Christ now? He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given (Eph 1:20,21). From His seated position on the throne, all things are placed under His feet (vs 23) The same image is found in Revelations 4:2. The Apostle John saw a vision of the glorious Christ, sitting on the throne.
Let me suggest two things this posture of sitting conveys. Firstly, it is a posture of rest from a finished work . It is a posture of victory. When Christ gave up His last breath on the Cross, he said "it is finished". And upon the completion of His work, the victorious Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. Every sin, every disease, every sickness, every curse, He took upon Himself on the Cross. With His death, His work of salvation is now complete. There was nothing left for one who believed in Him to do, except to receive the gift of grace by faith. It was finished. By His stripes we are healed. By His death, we are free.
Secondly, the posture of sitting is a posture of authority. When we approach a king on the throne, we are always standing and the king is seated. When we approach the court, the judge is always seated and we stand. The one who sits is the one in authority. The one who stands is subject to the one who sits. By Christ's perfect life and perfect faith, all power and authority was given to Him over the dominion of darkness. In one act, He disarmed the principalities and powers and removed the bondage Satan had over mankind. When Satan approaches Christ, it is Christ who is seated on the throne.
When spiritual opposition come against us, we must learn to remain seated. For when we believed, God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6). Around Him who sits on the throne are twenty four thrones, with twenty four elders seated on them (Rev 4:4), a representation of the victorious and reigning saints - a picture of our position in Him. To remain seated is to stay in the finished work of Christ, to claim the authority that has been given Him. On the throne of God, there is no more strife, there is nothing left to fight, because the victory has been won. To remain seated is to remain in the perfect rest of faith. We enter into His perfect rest. Even in the midst of trouble, we remain in this perfect rest. It is when we rise from our position in Christ and try to fight our own battles that we are defeated by the devil and overwhelmed by our troubles. For when we remain seated, we identify with Christ and His victory, His finished work. And to this, the devil has no answer. So the next time the devil comes knocking, or life throws challenges at us, we face them sitting down. For we are now on the throne of grace, the throne of His finished work, the throne of His victory.
Where is Christ now? He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given (Eph 1:20,21). From His seated position on the throne, all things are placed under His feet (vs 23) The same image is found in Revelations 4:2. The Apostle John saw a vision of the glorious Christ, sitting on the throne.
Let me suggest two things this posture of sitting conveys. Firstly, it is a posture of rest from a finished work . It is a posture of victory. When Christ gave up His last breath on the Cross, he said "it is finished". And upon the completion of His work, the victorious Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. Every sin, every disease, every sickness, every curse, He took upon Himself on the Cross. With His death, His work of salvation is now complete. There was nothing left for one who believed in Him to do, except to receive the gift of grace by faith. It was finished. By His stripes we are healed. By His death, we are free.
Secondly, the posture of sitting is a posture of authority. When we approach a king on the throne, we are always standing and the king is seated. When we approach the court, the judge is always seated and we stand. The one who sits is the one in authority. The one who stands is subject to the one who sits. By Christ's perfect life and perfect faith, all power and authority was given to Him over the dominion of darkness. In one act, He disarmed the principalities and powers and removed the bondage Satan had over mankind. When Satan approaches Christ, it is Christ who is seated on the throne.
When spiritual opposition come against us, we must learn to remain seated. For when we believed, God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6). Around Him who sits on the throne are twenty four thrones, with twenty four elders seated on them (Rev 4:4), a representation of the victorious and reigning saints - a picture of our position in Him. To remain seated is to stay in the finished work of Christ, to claim the authority that has been given Him. On the throne of God, there is no more strife, there is nothing left to fight, because the victory has been won. To remain seated is to remain in the perfect rest of faith. We enter into His perfect rest. Even in the midst of trouble, we remain in this perfect rest. It is when we rise from our position in Christ and try to fight our own battles that we are defeated by the devil and overwhelmed by our troubles. For when we remain seated, we identify with Christ and His victory, His finished work. And to this, the devil has no answer. So the next time the devil comes knocking, or life throws challenges at us, we face them sitting down. For we are now on the throne of grace, the throne of His finished work, the throne of His victory.
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