Keep Your Seat

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6, NIV).

“Keep your seat.” I sensed Holy Spirit whispering those three words to my heart recently as I contemplated the subject of spiritual battles. I was thinking about how He has so emphasized to me this verse, Ephesians 2:6. God has seated you and me with Christ in the heavenly realms. What does that mean? Where is that?

We find the answer in the previous chapter. The Father “raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked…” (Eph. 1:20-21, NIV). Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all other authority that exists. That He has seated us there with Him is absolutely mind-boggling!

What a lofty position He has granted us! Why, then, do we so often find ourselves trying to fight the enemy on his own level, which is so far below where Christ is seated? When we operate this ineffective way, we quickly find ourselves overwhelmed, discouraged, and exhausted. When we are down at our foe’s level, that’s when the giants in the land look enormous and invincible. That’s when we seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes.

Here’s where Holy Spirit’s gentle exhortation to me comes in about Ephesians 2:6. “Keep your seat.” When I hear that phrase, a picture of a cowboy or cowgirl comes to mind. This individual is holding on for dear life while the horse bucks with riotous energy. The better the rider does at staying in the saddle, the more we recognize their triumph.

Sound familiar? Oftentimes, the ride is wild for us, too, as we face the circumstances of life. This is why the Father wants to train us to keep our seat. If we ask Him to, He will teach us to “stay high” when we face battles. As He reminds us of the superior position He has already given us when He raised us up with Christ, we learn to fight from a place of victory already ours.

You know how in war, the side that fights from higher ground always has a great tactical advantage? The same is true in spirit. Seated with Him in heavenly places, we are far, far above the enemy’s level. In fact, up here with Him, the battle is already won.

Keep your seat, mighty warrior!

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In this same passage, Paul prays that we would receive a “spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph. 1:17). How does the answer to this prayer help with keeping our seat in spiritual warfare?