I Believe in Jesus… Seated at the Right Hand of the Father
Michael Bird asks,
What is the Old Testament passage that is most quoted or echoed in the New Testament?… the answer is in fact Psalm 110, especially the first four verses….
This text was top of the billboard charts for Christian preaching. It was popular because it set forth a hugely important claim. Jesus had not only returned to heaven but was in fact now ruling from heaven as well. Jesus had been exalted, and he continues his work from his heavenly throne.[1]
That Jesus is seated in heaven has several implications for us. First, the fact that He is sitting implies that He has completed the work necessary for our atonement. It’s done. Your redemption is as sure as the character of God—who does not lie and does not change—can make it!
Jesus became the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins; then He became our High Priest and presented His blood to the Father on our behalf. Now, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).
But what is He doing? He is representing us to the Father. He is acting as our mediator. Because of Him we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). As R.C. Sproul explains, “Christ takes up residence in the ultimate Holy of Holies and involves himself in a perpetual ministry of intercession.”[2]
R.C. Sproul also points out another reason why Jesus is seated. He explains, “To be seated at the right hand is to be in the position of judge. The defense attorney stands in the courtroom, not the judge.”[3]
How encouraging it is that “Because of Jesus’s ascension and exaltation, believers have a brazen confidence to presume upon God’s favor and a shameless sense of security that God’s door is always opened to them.”[4]
The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:1-4)
[1] Michael F. Bird, What Christians Ought to Believe (Zondervan Academic, Kindle Edition), p. 166.
[2] R.C. Sproul, What We Believe (Baker Publishing Group, Kindle Edition), p. 152.
[3] Sproul, p. 152.
[4] Bird, p. 168.
