Heavenly Things

Feature 2 – April 2014 – Grace & Truth Magazine

HEAVENLY Things

The Supreme Heavenly Thing
When Nicodemus puzzled over the necessity of new birth as an entry condition to the kingdom of God the Lord Jesus Christ responded, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (Jn. 3:12 ESV ). This truth is found in Ezekiel 36:24-29 where Israel’s place as a nation in the kingdom upon earth is the focus of the prophecy (see 37:22-24), which is why the Lord said it was an “earthly thing.” But from that point onward in the conversation with Nicodemus the Lord Jesus spoke about “heavenly things.”

He begins with His death upon the cross: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn. 3:14). Yes, the first “heavenly thing” is the plan of salvation counseled by the Godhead in eternity past. Why? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (v.16). More correctly then, the foremost “heavenly thing” is the true nature of God: “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8). It is a truth which could only be declared by the One who ever enjoyed that love: the Son who came down from heaven and became a man in order to make God fully known to mankind (Jn. 3:13, 1:14,18). Verse 13 (NKJV) ends by emphasizing that the Son of Man is in heaven at the same time as He is on earth. Never out-of-touch with “heavenly things,” “He bears witness to what He has seen and heard ... Whoever receives His testimony sets His seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand” (3:32-35 ESV).

Heavenly Revelation, Relationships And Destiny
The greatest and most precious “heavenly thing” is the revelation of the Person of Christ which manifests the eternal relationships within the Godhead: “[Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 16:15-17).

Peter says it is through Christ that we are now God’s children and have a place in heaven reserved for us: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). Verse 4 of that chapter assures us that even at this time we are properly guarded and our inheritance in heaven is:

• Imperishable or incorruptible – nothing and no one can affect it in anyway.
• Undefiled – sin cannot spoil it.
• Unfading – time cannot change it.

In order for us to live in heaven we will be given heavenly bodies (2 Cor. 5:1-2) at the Rapture, when dead saints are raised and together with all living saints are made suitable for the heavenly kingdom. This is fully explained in 1 Corinthians 15:35-56. Yes, “as we have borne the image of the earthly [man], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [Man]” (1 Cor. 15:49 KJV).

Our Heavenly Father
Meanwhile we live on earth as the Lord’s disciples. But God, in heaven, is our Father who looks after us. Although He is our heavenly Father, we are not to think that He is far from us. No, He knows our every need and tenderly cares for us. The Lord Jesus encouraged His disciples to have the confidence that our heavenly Father will provide all our necessities. Pointing to creation He said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ... Consider the lilies how they grow ... [and how] God so clothes the grass ... will He not more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Mt. 6:26-30 ESV). We learn from verses 8-9 and 30-32 that our heavenly Father knows all our needs before we pray to Him. He wants us never to be anxious, but He desires that we ask these things of Him (7:7-11).

Heavenly Blessings
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). This verse tells us that all heavenly blessings are ours. The Person who blesses us is “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” not here as our “heavenly Father” because believers spiritually occupy the place of these blessings “in the heavenlies.” 1 The heavenlies are not exactly heaven itself, but “the heavenly realms” (NIV). Our blessings are spiritual in character and as such they contrast with Israel’s physical blessings in Canaan which are given in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Ephesians 1:4-13 lists some of our spiritual blessings. They are:

• Verse 4: our election, sanctification and justification. God chose us in Christ in eternity past. He has made us holy (set us apart) and blameless. This is the outcome of our justification for no one can raise any charge against God’s elect (see Rom. 8:33). Now we are in relationship with the Father, having been brought near to Him and embraced by His love.
• Verse 5: our predestination and adoption. God has purposely determined a special eternal status for us: We are His sons through Christ.
• Verse 6: our acceptance. God has taken us into His favor in His Beloved Son so that we will be eternally for the praise of the glory of His grace.
• Verse 7: our redemption and pardon (the forgiveness of our sins). God has bought us back and has set us free from the slavery of sin by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Verse 8: God has lavished His grace upon us.
• Verses 9-10: God has revealed to us the secret of His will – what He intends for His Christ. He plans that everything in heaven and earth will be united under the headship of Christ when times reach their fullness in His kingdom.
• Verses 11-12: our inheritance. We will share in all that is Christ’s because we have been predestined to obtain the inheritance in Him when we will be for the praise of God’s glory. At the present time God is working all things out to fulfill His eternal purposes for His Christ.
• Verses 13-14: sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. We are marked out as God’s own possession and have the Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of our inheritance (see 2 Cor. 1:22).

Ephesians 1:3 says that such heavenly blessings are ours because we are “in Christ,” our spiritual position before God. Even now, although we are physically on earth, we are spiritually associated with Christ where He is. We were dead in our trespasses, but God has made us alive together with Christ “and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:6). Ephesians is all about Christ who, as man, is God’s chosen and anointed One. In half of the occurrences of the title “Christ” in Ephesians He is emphatically (officially) referred to as “The Christ” (22 times out of 44, according to JND’s translation2). Throughout Ephesians, our heavenly blessings are always said to be in/with/through/by The Christ.3

Earthly Things
In Philippians 3:18-19 Paul warns these believers about those who make a pretense of being Christians but whose lifestyles demonstrate that, in reality, they have “minds set on earthly things.” Earthly things in this context are the natural things of life as lived by men-of-the-world and, as such, are very different from those the Lord talked to Nicodemus about in John 3:12.

Paul admonished the Colossians: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). In Philippians 3:20 he emphatically says, “our citizenship is in heaven,” which could be translated as “our politics are in heaven.” All ideas for and our actual way of living here on earth are to be governed by and should be consistent with our high and heavenly calling. Our manner of life must be “worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27), as Paul implored the Ephesians, “I ... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (4:1). If we appreciate what “heavenly things” actually are then we will practically manifest these truths in all spheres of life. Our lives will be different in character than those in the world around us. We will be heavenly citizens!

ENDNOTES
1. 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12 (JND).
2. 1:10, 12, 20; 2:5, 13; 3:1, 4, 8, 17, 19; 4:7, 13, 15, 20; 5:2, 5,14,23, 24, 25, 29; 6:5 (JND).
3. At least one of the prepositions is used in each of the following verses: 1:3-7, 10-13; 2:5-7, 13, 18, 21; 3:9, 21; 4:15-16.

By David Anderson