Christ in Heaven

The first effect on Stephen of being full of the Holy Spirit is that he sees only one thing—Christ in heaven. Another effect follows, namely, the capability to persevere. We all know how liable our thoughts are to wander, but why do they? We are not full of the Holy Spirit. When He takes possession of the soul it is not so. Often a person occupied all day long with his business or family, or pleasure, finds when he goes to pray for ten minutes, instead of devotion of soul in the presence of God, a mind swarming with all the thoughts that are in the heart. This is a test of the condition of the heart. The house is a little empty and the door left open to Satan.
When the Holy Spirit is there it is not so. Then the heart is steadfast in the things of God. When there is not this devotedness, we ought to recognize it as failure.
When heaven is opened, Stephen sees a Man in the glory of God. Never had such a thing been seen. It was prophesied about, but now was the thing itself. How did He come there-this Man? He came there by perfectly accomplishing redemption. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our union with Him. The eye of Stephen was fixed on that. Glory is natural to heaven, but Stephen now saw the Son of man in the glory of God.