The “Heavenly Realms”

Posted on April 5, 2023 by howtobesaved@abiblecommentary.com

Introduction 

  1. How many of you like science fiction? Science fiction is mostly about imaginary worlds.
  2. Peter Pan. Star Wars. Star Trek.  Jurassic Park. Avatar. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
  3. Most kids I know love the Tales of Narnia stories with it’s amazing wardrobe that leads to a magical realm and the picture on the wall that starts flooding the bedroom
  4. Then there’s Alice in Wonderland, the strange adventures of a young girl who tumbles down a rabbit hole into a place that is ‘curioser and curioser’.
  5. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. These stories capture our imaginations because we love the idea of mysterious hidden worlds that are accessible from our own.
  6. They are often places of adventure and danger, but also of courage and victory.
  7. They often take the most unlikely, average kinds of people and through their adventures transform them into significant and powerful leaders who accomplish great things.
  8. All of these are imaginary, of course.
    1. But this evening we are going to study about place that is NOT imaginary.
    2. It’s not even a real place, as defined by physical location. You can’t find it on Google maps
    3. But it is as real as the shoes you are wearing or the pew on which you are sitting.
  9. Open your bibles to Ephesians.
  10. The book of Ephesians speaks five times of something called “heavenly realms” or “heavenly places,” depending upon which translation you are reading
  11. What is meant by this mysterious realm called “the heavenly places”?
  12. There is a lot we do not know and cannot know about the “heavenly realm”
  13. As flesh-and-blood humans, we have very little understanding of the spirit world
  14. Yet, there are some things revealed in scripture, and we can know what God reveals to us
  15. The “heavenly realm” about which Paul writes is much more exciting and much more challenging than Narnia or Never-Never Land or any other imaginary world
  16. The Greek word that is translated “heavenly realm”, (lit., “the heavenlies” or “the sphere of spiritual activities”), is found only 5 times in Scripture, all of them in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians ( 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12).
  17. I prefer “realms” over “places” – it seems more defined, less generic
  18. But neither are in Greek – literally, “in the heavenlies”: spiritual, not earthly
  19. The fact that all 5 uses are in Ephesians is actually helpful for interpretive purposes
  20. We can expect the phrase to have a consistent meaning throughout.
  21. When we follow the concept throughout Ephesians we discover several characteristics of the “heavenly realms” (note carefully the tenses of the verbs as we read these verses)

First, let’s read: Eph. 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

  1. Look closely at this verse. What is stated in this verse about the “heavenly realm”?
  2. We praise God (present tense) because He “blessed us” in the “heavenly realm” (past tense)
  3. The “heavenly realm” is where ALL spiritual blessings are to be received.
  4. The spiritual blessings that God has given us (past) are “in Christ” in the heavenly realms
  5. We have many reasons to praise and worship God for the blessing contained in this world
  6. Creation / health / good food / family / friends
  7. But people who are not “in Christ” can and do have these blessings also
  8. But we who are “in Christ” have been given spiritual blessing not available to anyone else, and these blessings are to be found in “the heavenly realms” – sphere of spiritual activities
  9. Paul discusses some of the spiritual blessings in 4-14 – they are awesome! Glance through it
  10. So, all of these blessings are “in Christ” in the “heavenly realms”
  11. Let that swirl around in your head as we move to the next “heavenly realms” verse

Let’s now notice Paul’s 1st prayer for the Ephesians: Eph. 1:17-21…which he [God] exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…

  1. It is in heavenly realm where Jesus is right now … at the Father’s throne
  2. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be able to comprehend the power that raised Jesus and seated him at God’s right hand in the “heavenly realm” – don’t lose this thought!
  3. Picture the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe 1:19
  4. Picture Jesus sitting “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” 21
  5. Isn’t it a glorious thought see picture Jesus sitting above Satan and all his evil servants?
  6. This introduces the fact that the “heavenly realms” is not all good – there is evil there too (more on this in a few minutes)
  7. How does this affect us?
  8. When the eyes of our hearts are opened to see this power, it gives us hope 1:18
  9. The hope we have is not wishful thinking … it’s guaranteed for those “in Christ”
  10. So, not only do we have all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms, we have a confident hope as we become aware of the power that raised Jesus and seated him at God’s throne
  11. Victory in Jesus!
  • Will this confidence help you deal with your daily problems?
  • Will this hope help you deal with temptations knowing Jesus is victorious over Satan?
  • Will you let this motivate you to keep your eyes focused on Jesus?

 We are now ready to move to Eph. 2:4-6 [For] God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…

  1. Most of us are very familiar with 4-5
  2. God’s rich mercy … God’s great love … God’s power to make dead people alive again
  3. And all of us know that “by grace you have been saved”
  4. But something I failed to grasp for many, many years is what’s said in 6
  5. Not being “raised up with him” – we know about baptism: death, burial, resurrection
  6. But what I overlooked, what some of you may also have also, is to understand that God has “seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”
  7. Paul tells us that we, those baptized into Christ, inhabit this same heavenly realm as Jesus does and are sitting with him at, even while we still inhabit the earthly realm.
  8. In fact, Ephesians 2:6 specifically says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead enables every Christian to have life in the heavenly realms as certainly as we have life in the physical realm
  9. Usually we think of being in heaven with God after we die, after the Judgment
  10. Usually we think of going to Heaven at the end of time – and that’s still true
  11. This does not change that
  12. Yet, Paul tells us that while physically we are still on earth, spiritually we are sitting with Christ
  13. “raised us up” is past tense; so is “seated us with him” – check out any translation
  14. Consider this: to be in Christ is to be with Christ 2.20 “live by faith in the Son of God”
  15. How does this affect us?
  16. Our relationship with Jesus is not theoretical, it’s real; not just future, but now and forever
  17. Being in Christ and with Christ at the throne of God gives us firm assurance of salvation
  18. This helps us have a deeper understanding of 2 Cor. 4.16-18, 6-9
  19. This should inspire us to make sure that nothing will ever jeopardize this relationship
  20. Since spiritually we are with Jesus in the “heavenly realms,” we should live like it NOW

The next verse: Eph. 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms…

  1. This is not a metaphor. God wants to use us – His spiritual children living in this world – to demonstrate His wisdom to the spiritual powers, rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
  2. Why? I don’t know! But what we can know is
  3. The mystery, the things kept hidden for centuries, has been revealed in Christ to us.
  4. Before Christ, even the angels longed to understand this mystery 1 Peter 1.12
  5. But not just in Christ. The mystery is revealed also in the spiritual body of Christ, the church!
  6. I’m not sure how all this is taking place, but the Ephesians 3 tells us that in the “heavenly realms” the church is somehow making known the hidden things of God to the rulers and authorities who are also in the “heavenly realms”
  7. Always in Ephesians, “rulers and authorities” refers to the evil powers connected w/Satan
  8. So, how does this verse affect us?
  9. It should challenge us to be faithful at doing what God wants the church to do
  10. It should excite us that God is involving us in something larger than we can know
  11. It should honor us to be chosen before creation to be a part of this amazing work of God
  12. It should broaden our understanding of how very important the church is to God
  13. Now, let’s connect this verse with the last time “heavenly realms” is found in Ephesians

Turn to Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

  1. We currently live in two realms at the same time, the flesh-and-blood and the heavenly.
  2. We are creatures of two natures James 2.26
  3. We are engaged in the spiritual warfare that is raging in both realms.
  4. Beyond that, God needs us to function in both realms with a certain degree of confidence and faith.
  5. We are not simply fighting people who are choosing to practice evil
  6. We are standing up against the source of evil: rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the “heavenly realms” who are serving Satan’s evil plans
  7. These forces of evil make Islamic terrorists seem like friendly neighbors
  8. I cannot possibly describe how totally evil these enemies of Jesus really are
  9. It’s not a flesh / blood war; it’s not political ideologies; it’s not any kind of earthly conflict.
  10. Again, I don’t know how all of this is taking place, but I do know that it is!
  11. When we expand our awareness to include the “heavenly realms” we should be more mindful of how very much we need the tools God provides for us to fight evil                    2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
  12. God is not leaving us defenseless against an unseen enemy
  13. He is giving us everything we need
  14. But we must take up the challenge to be “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might”

Conclusion

  1. Heavenly realms is a term we use for speaking about spiritual realities in spiritual dimensions.
  2. The term heavenly denotes a different place than our earthly one
  3. The term realm tells us this place is under the rule and sovereignty of God.
  4. Though we understand that these heavenly realms are in another dimension it’s a mistake to believe that they are irrelevant to earthly matters. Just the opposite is true
  5. It is in the heavenly realms where we receive every spiritual blessing
  6. It is in the heavenly realms where we live in and with Jesus
  7. It is also in the heavenly realms where we do battle with Satan and his evil forces
  8. The heavenly realms are as real as the earthly realms.

Joe Chesser

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