Luke 22:67-70
“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. “But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
One of the most important things we must understand when entering into spiritual warfare is Jesus’ position. Any ability or power that we have comes from Him and therefore His position is critical. Scripture makes it clear that Jesus has been raised from the dead, He has ascended to the Father and He is now “seated at the right hand of the power of God.” But what exactly does this mean? Let’s look at several scriptures to get a better picture.
Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
1 Peter 3:21b-22 (NKJV)
Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Acts 2:32-38 (NKJV)
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Note that Jesus, in His current position has been given authority over angels, authorities and powers. These entities are subject to Him but from other scripture we know that His enemies are not yet a “footstool” for His feet. It is important to understand that while Jesus’ first coming and all that includes, earned the resurrected man – Jesus, the authority over His enemies. It will be at His appearing (second coming) that he will start to execute judgment over His enemies and they will become a “footstool” for His feet. I could look at several places in scripture to explain this idea further, but for today we will simply look at one.
In Acts 2:34-35, Peter preaches at Pentecost and during his sermon he quotes from Psalms 110.
“For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.’
This is the only part of Psalm 110 Peter quotes, the Psalm actually goes on to talk of events that have to do with His return.
Psalm 110:5-6 (NKJV) The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.
This is a common thing for the writers of the New Testament. They often will quote a portion of an Old Testament scripture that directly relates to something that Jesus’ first coming fulfilled but they will stop short and not quote the portion that Jesus will fulfill when He returns. In the case of understanding Jesus’ current position, it is important to know that while Jesus sits in a place of authority over the current evil powers of this world, He has not yet executed final judgment over them. This time of judgment will begin at Jesus’ appearing (second coming). Next week we will continue to dive into the idea of Jesus position and the authority He has in that position. We will also begin to look into what impact that has on our (as Christ followers) position.