4. Heavenly Places

Heavenly Places

Itwas a gruesome experience for me, many years ago, to see a man fall from the top of an eighty foot building in course of erection. One can imagine three bodies of equal bulk falling through the air, a piece of rock, a dog, and a man. All three obey the laws governing material substances, including the Newtonian laws of motion. At this level man is the feeblest of the three and is likely to sustain the greatest damage. The dog and the man but not the stone, would be capable of emotional reaction. They would find this a terrifying experience, and could cry out with fear and shock. The man alone would be capable of spiritual response, could think of the consequences of such a fall, and even, in the brief seconds available, could think of meeting God. These thoughts illustrate the truths, first, that man is unique in the scale of creation, in that he has a footing in all three levels of being, body, soul and spirit, and second, that alone among earthly creatures he is capable of spiritual activity. In this particular he is like God and all other spirits. These thoughts in turn lead to the suggestion that at least an important part of the meaning of the phrase "heavenly places" must be the spiritual arena, the realm of spiritual activity, and where the spiritual conflict is waged.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." This is the first of five occurrences of the phrase "heavenly places" in this epistle, although the last is translated "high places" (1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12). It is possible that the same expression occurs in John 3:12, but apart from this possibility, the phrase is characteristic of Ephesians, and therefore careful study is warranted. An understanding of the phrase is necessary to understand the epistle. That even unregenerate man is capable of spiritual activity is clear since conscience is active in him. Yet in the realm of spiritual things unregenerate man is dead in trespasses and sins and yet walks under the influence of the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. The epistle is, however, explicit regarding what exists in heavenly places. Our blessings are there. Christ exalted is there. The saints are already seated there in Christ. Principalities and powers are there, and the rulers of the darkness of this world.

While, doubtless, bodily conditions react on spiritual things, and vice versa, the great emphasis in this letter as we shall see, is that by virtue of being spirit, man is accessible to spiritual influences, both good and evil, from God, from other saints, and from the devil and other evil spirits. Our blessings are spiritual and in the spiritual arena, or heavenly places. We are alive with life in the spirit, and above all can be open to the action of the Spirit of God, and also of the adversary the devil. Hence arises the conflict, and our actions are thought of in terms of grieving and hence hindering the work of the Spirit of God, and giving place to the devil and helping his baleful influences. The latter truth is particularly to be seen in the fourth chapter. From 4:17 to 5:21 the epistle considers the conduct of the saints from the point of view of general principles, as distinct from the particular relationships and hence duties dealt with in 5:22 to 6:9. The lives of the saints are to be different from the lives of other Gentiles because a different spirit animates them. The two kinds of life as seen in their actions and habits are called the old man and the new man. Intensely practical matters of conduct are dealt with in 4:25 to 5:5, and it is here we are taught that evil conduct gives place to the devil (v. 27) and grieves the Holy Spirit of God (v. 30). Action and habit are considered here in the light of which spiritual influence to which we are accessible they encourage or discourage, help or hinder. Especially is this concept elaborated in the sixth chapter where the writer deals with the spiritual conflict in the spiritual arena. The Old Testament shadow of heavenly places is the land of Canaan. Long before Joshua, God had chosen a people for a land, Israel for Canaan, a land of corn and wine, a land of milk and honey. When the time came for God to put into execution His promises, the chosen people were slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh. God stepped in and rescued them and across the great barriers of the Red Sea and Jordan, brought them into the land of promise. They were by promise of God not only to be in the land, but possessors of it. In fact, they found hostile nations in possession, and they only possessed it in the measure in which they conquered it. When they acted in the strength of Jehovah they were invincible, and the only thing which rendered them liable to defeat was disobedient conduct, as at Ai. Nevertheless they never possessed it in more than a partial sense in the past. Yet Scripture is unanimous that they will, in the age to come, possess it, not in the measure of their faithfulness, but in the full measure of the promise of God, from the river to the ends of the earth.

All this is the clearest shadow cast beforehand of the Christian’s Canaan, heavenly places. All begins with God, before all worlds: God, rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us: God, in the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us: God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Out of the sovereign pleasure of His will He chose a people for a place, the saints in Christ for heavenly places. He predestinated them, not only to be there, but to be in Christ supreme, to possess all spiritual blessings, to know the love of Christ. When the moment came for these purposes to be put into execution, the people were dead in trespasses and sins (yet walking according to the spirit which works in the children of disobedience). In the exceeding greatness of His power toward us, He has given us life in Christ, supreme in heavenly places. Other spiritual beings are there: they see in the saints the manifold wisdom of God, yet they are hostile and a struggle ensues. An explicit contrast is probably intended in 6:12 - our struggle is not like Israel’s, against human foes, but against spiritual powers, striving to make us fall. We have to reckon not only with our own feebleness, but also with strong enemies.

God’s actions in the spiritual realm are to give spiritual blessings there, to choose, to predestinate, to accept in the Beloved, to seal with the Spirit, by whom we are united to Christ. Christ, ascended up on high, in this realm of action gives gifts unto men, and imparts, in the power of His might, strength to stand in the conflict. The prince of the power of the air takes occasion by the failures of the saints, by his wiles to hinder their enjoyment of their blessings in Christ. The action of the saints in the spiritual realm centres on prayer, as in 1:15 to 19 and 3:14 to 21, and conduct which does not grieve the Spirit of God or give place to the devil. Above all, donning the whole armour of God, it is to withstand the wiles of the devil in the evil day.

Victory in chapter 6 is equated with standing. Our standing is in spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, and these enemies aim to bring us down. The real victory will be achieved if, when the evil day is done, and we have been subjected to the wiles of the devil, we shall be found standing. There is a good deal in Scripture about another kind of fight described in the words, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." This kind of conflict is not what the Word of God calls "the good fight", and was never part of the intention of God for us. The good fight is to lay hold of eternal life, to retain our standing in the wonderful world of spiritual blessings. When the wiles of the devil come to us, they do not appear as pink devils labelled "wiles of Satan". They come in forms dictated by a great wisdom, designed to deceive. Our struggle is against those great and mysterious spiritual beings, of whom we know so little, called in Scripture "principalities and powers". Their method is like that of the Philistines with Samson. He only saw Delilah, and probably never heard of or imagined the secret conference, "Entice him. Entice him, that we may bind him." Another hint as to their methods is in 6:16: the shield of faith is needed to quench "the fiery darts of the wicked one." At times, when all seems calm and bright, a thought, a word, a sight, suddenly sets us on fire. It may be the thought of distrust of God, or something that sets alight an evil temper. From whence come such thoughts? They are the fiery darts of the wicked one. The Romans used arrows and darts carrying fire when attacking a camp, with the intention of finding and igniting inflammable material within, and so distracting and confusing the defenders. We certainly have inflammable material within, and therefore we need the shield of faith. In face of this fight and these foes, the watchword is, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." How strange it is that any Christian is ever overcome, when we remember that the dominant fact about heavenly places is that Christ is supreme there. The exceeding greatness of the power of God has been shown in Christ’s resurrection from the dead and in His exaltation; and it is explicitly in terms of His being far above these same principalities and powers, placed under His feet, that we learn of His present position in heavenly places. In face of this fact, how can any Christian be overcome? It can only be through neglect of the warnings and admonitions of a passage like this, and especially of this verse 10, "Be strong in the Lord." The real idea here is a passive one. "Be strengthened in the Lord." There can be no real difficulty in understanding this. Who has not had the experience of speaking to a human friend of the difficulties and problems, and coming away strengthened by his sympathy and advice? In how much more full and abundant measure is it true that when we come constantly to the Lord, there flows into us from Him, power superior to every power that can be against us in the spiritual arena. "She only touched the hem of His garment," says the gospel story, and immediately virtue flowed out of Him. If we came to Him more constantly, realising our weakness and need, and His love and the greatness of His power, then we would be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of His strength. The next direct exhortation regarding this fight is to put on the whole armour of God. The armour of God does not grow like feathers on a bird. If this were the figure intended, the Spirit of God would have used it. It has to be put on, and this indicates a purpose (still only in the strength of the Lord) to act in truth (not lying), righteousness, peace, faith, and to learn to use the offensive weapons of the assurance of salvation, the Word of God, and prayer.

We have considered in this paper the meaning of the expression "heavenly places" as the spiritual arena. We have learned that it is the realm of spiritual things, spiritual blessing, spiritual action, and spiritual conflict. We can be active there because we, like God and His angels, the devil and all demons, we are capable of action, and accessible to influences in that realm. Perhaps the greatest impress we should take away is the privilege and importance of prayer, especially in terms of the prayers in this epistle, so that we may see the glorious Christ, live in His love, and be strong in His strength.