And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we have a great hope that lies in the future. For most of us, the ultimate fulfillment of that hope is on the other side of the grave. And we often identify it as “going to heaven.”
But we do not have to wait to experience heaven. Paul tells us in this verse that God has raised us up and seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms. This is not a future prospect, but a present reality.
Right now, I exist in two realms. I live in the physical world and interact with it through my physical senses. And it is very real to me.
But, as a believer, I have been born of the Spirit and also live in the spiritual realm. I am with Christ in heaven. Right now. I experience it only through the Spirit. And a much greater realization of it awaits me. Nevertheless, it is my current reality.
As those who have been born of the Spirit and seated with Christ in the heavens, we need to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Look through the eyes of faith into the heavenly realm where you are seated. The more you do, the more real it will be to you. And the less appeal this world will have.
