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The
Heavenly Places
"A
devout Scotchman, being asked if he ever expected to go to
heaven answered, 'Why man I live there."' Heaven is
not alone a place far distant, a place of which we know
very little and to which we hope to go some day when this
life is over. Heaven is some" thing that may be
enjoyed here and now. "God, who i. rich in mercy, for
his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ....
and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2 :4-6).
Too many people put off their enjoyment to another life
and do not expect much of it in this life. It is our
privilege to enjoy heaven now. As it is often said,
"We can have a heaven to go to heaven in." It is
true that many persons who speak of this refer only to
superficial emotions, outbursts of rejoicing, leading to
physical demonstrations and the like. These things may
have a certain value but they are not the things referred
to in the text mentioned. Living in heaven here means
something far deeper, richer, and more glorious than mere
emotions, however joyful for the moment emotions may be.
Living in heaven is a reality. It was a reality toJesus.
He said, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he
that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is
in heaven" (John 3:13). Jesus was living on earth in
the midst of a few friends and many enemies, but he was
also, as he here asserts, living in heaven. To be sure his
being in heaven was something different from our being in
the heavenlies with him. His statement was a declaration
of his omnipresence. But his being in heaven need be no
more real than our being in heaven while we are in this
"vale of sorrow."
Phil. 3:20 (American Standard Version) says that "our
citizenship is in heaven." In other words, we are
citizens of heaven now.
What does it mean to dwell in heaven, to sit in the
heavenlies in Christ? First, it means to be raised up
above the low and evil elements of this world into a
heavenly atmosphere. It means to have our affections set
upon heavenly things, not upon things on the earth. It
means that heavenly things, that is, the things of
righteousness, purity, love, and all kindred elements,
will have more importance to us than do earthly things.
Living in the heavenlies means to live in the element of
love, to be actuated by love, to be filled with love, love
that is begotten in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts"
(Rom. 5: 5). "God is love; and he that dwelleth in
love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (I John 4: 16).
Love instead of selfishness becomes the mainspring of
life. It banishes hatred, jealousy, envy, malice, and all
similar things that blight life.
In the heavenly places we are in an atmosphere of peace.
We are at peace with God, at peace with our fellow-men,
and peaceably disposed. Those who live in heaven are
heavenly minded, as it is written, "Let nothing be
done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not
every man on his own things, but every man also on the
things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2: 3-5).
To be living in heavenly places requires certain
characteristics in ourselves. In other words we can live
in the heavenlies only when we have been raised up into
the heavenlies by Christ. This raising up is a
purification of our natures and an implanting of divinely
given spiritual characteristics. One of these
characteristics is inner purity. Jesus said, "Blessed
are the pure in heart; for they shall see God" (Matt.
5: 8). We must not suppose seeing God in the sense this
means is confined to eternity. No, we can say like Simeon
of old, "Mine eyes have beheld thy salvation."
As was prophesied, it shall be true of us, "all shall
know me, from the least to the greatest" (Heb. 8:11).
We must be godlike in the characteristics of our souls if
we would dwell with God either in eternity or in the
heavenlies in this life. There must therefore be inner
purity of desire and purpose, of affection and will. There
must be glad acceptance of God's will for us. We must
always act from motives of love and purity. Only by this
means can we have the favor of God and realize his
presence with us.
Inward purity manifests itself in outward purity, that is,
purity of life. Our conduct will be the fruit of love. We
shall not only love our neighbor as ourselves, but even
love our enemies and do good to those that despitefully
use us and persecute us. A great profession of religion,
together with many physical demonstrations of joy, may
exist when there is no inner purity and when the outer
life is inharmonious and unlovely, but there can be no
actual living in the heavenly places under such
conditions. There must be unworldliness o! spirit. Those
who love the world do not and cannot love God. We must
mingle with the people of the world as did Jesus, but if
he dwells in us and rules our life we can keep ourselves
pure in the midst of this life. We may dwell among men,
yet sit in the heavenlies in Christ.
Living in the heavenlies we have fellowship with God. John
says, "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1:3). Again,
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (vs. 7).
Fellowship must be experienced to be understood. It is the
answering of our hearts to the heart of God. It is one of
the most precious experiences of the Christian life. It
includes a consciousness of being acceptable to God. It is
the realization that our heart answers to him and his to
ours. This includes the sense of divine companionship, of
divine understanding, and of union with God. We are his
and he is ours. The Bible expresses this relation by the
figure of marriage. A marriage of true love symbolizes
this sacred relation of redeemed souls to God.
In this relation we have communion with God. We know God
hears us. We know we can talk to him as to a father. We
know there is a heart that answers to our heart. We know
one understands and enters sympathetically into the things
that make up our lives. Jesus said he would not call his
disciples servants, but friends. Abraham was called the
friend of God. It is our glorious privilege to be friends
of his, in a close, intimate, and satisfying friendship
that will enrich our lives and make a heaven of them.
When we dwell in the heavenlies it is our privilege to
entertain God there. "If any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me" (Rev. 3: 20). Again it is
written, "I dwell in the high and holy place, with
him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isa.
57:15). Therefore God does not alone dwell in heaven—he
dwells in the hearts of his people. We can entertain him
as a dear friend when he comes in and sups with us. We are
called the temples of God because God dwells in us (I Cor.
3:16). The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, comes into us to be
an abiding guest (John 14:16). All these texts show
clearly that it is God's purpose that man be in intimate
relations with himself in this world.
Life has two sides. Most of us could realize more of the
heavenly if we should let our minds dwell more upon that
side. The heavenly is not merely imaginary. It is not
merely an attitude of mind. It is a glorious reality.
We shall not have fellowship with Jesus merely in his
joyfulness and victory, but in "the fellowship of his
sufferings" (Phil. 3: 10). "For unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him
but also to suffer for his sake." He had his periods
of heaviness and mental distress. It is our privilege to
go with him through the valley of humiliation, through the
garden of Gethsemane to Calvary. It is our privilege to
fellowship his sufferings from rejected love, from unjust
condemnation, from neglect and hatred. Christ was still in
the heavenlies as he passed through these things and we
may be in the heavenlies with him, yet walk with him
through such things. We have the promise that if we suffer
with him we shall also reign with him. Let us not shrink
back from whatever suffering comes to us because we are
true to Christ and walk with him.
God has promised to withhold no good thing from them that
walk uprightly. Eph. 1: 3 says, "Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ." All spiritual blessings are ours through
Christ or, as the American Standard Version says,
"every blessing" is. When we walk with Christ we
have access to his storehouse of love, mercy, kindness,
and blessing. As Paul cried out, "All things are
yours and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's."
Since it is our privilege to sit in the heavenly places
with Christ let us draw near in full assurance of faith.
Let us become heavenly minded. Let us set about realizing
our privileges. We must draw near to God. We must dwell in
his presence. This is not such a hard thing to do. It
takes some time. It takes some effort. But this time and
effort are largely to free ourselves from our sense of
earthly things. We are close to them, so absorbed with
them, so busy with them that we do not take time for many
things. We do not give God an opportunity to talk to us.
We fill our minds with trivial things instead of with
thoughts of the high, and holy, and blessed things that so
fill God's will for us.
Let us learn our privileges in Christ; then set about
having these privileges realized in actuality. Oh, the
blessedness of being hid away in the presence of God, the
sweetness of communion with him, the joys
"unspeakable and full of glory" that come to the
quiet soul whose heart is all the Lord's, when he lives in
the very atmosphere and elements of heaven. No matter what
may be our situation in life, it is the privilege of each
of us to have this blessed experience.
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