For the past few months we have emphasized the truth that in the Scriptures we find the right hand of God mentioned a great many times, and the left hand of God is mentioned on a number of occasions. The word "right" as used with "hand" is generally the Hebrew word "yamiym" meaning STRONGER, MORE DEXTEROUS. The word for "left" is "smowl" meaning DARK. From the meaning of these two words it is very easy to understand that God's right hand is His strength and dexterity, or His wonderful ability to do all things. The implication is that the right hand of God is the GOOD HAND of God, doing GOOD things. The Psalmist confirms this when he says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your RIGHT HAND are PLEASURES for evermore" (Ps. 16:11). But the left hand in the Old Testament means DARK and from this we can readily understand that it signifies the opposite - what we call bad or evil. The left hand represents the DARK SIDE OF GOD. This is the hand of God so little understood.

It should not seem strange that God, who made man in His image, should have both a bright side and a dark side, manifested through the works of His two hands, in blessing and glory on the one hand, and in discipline and judgment on the other. The right hand of God, as we have seen, bespeaks God moving and acting through POSITIVE FORCES, while the left hand of God signifies God moving and acting through NEGATIVE FORCES. This reveals the beautiful balance in God's nature, as in all His works, and the whole creation is a revelation of this balance that exists first in the Creator Himself. There must be a balance. There must be the negative as well as the positive. That is but a natural law, established by God Himself, and we see it all around us.

All nature is a revealing of the Creator as Paul explains in Rom. 1:20. "For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity have been seen and made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made - His handiworks" (Amplified). The universe unmistakably reveals the awesome fact that there is polarity in God. What exactly, is polarity? Webster defines it as "the condition of having magnetic poles, one positive and attracting, the other negative and repelling; the contrary qualities, powers, etc., as both wrath and mercy." Polarity more than simple duality or opposition. For to say that opposites are "polar" is to say much more than that they are far apart: it is to say that they are RELATED AND JOINED - that they are the terms, ends, or extremities of a SINGLE WHOLE. Polar opposites are therefore INSEPARABLE opposites, like the poles of the earth or of a magnet, or the ends of a stick or the faces of a coin. Though what lies between the poles is more substantial than the poles themselves - nevertheless the three are undivided, constituting a single whole.

The correct understanding of this principle gives the answer to the all-important question, "Is God this, or is He that? Is God a God of wrath, or is He a God of mercy? Is He absolute love, or is He absolutely just?" The answer to such questions is simply that He is BOTH! God is not one OR the other. He is the perfect harmonization and balance of POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE. God has TWO HANDS! "The works of HIS HANDS are truth AND judgment" (Ps. 111:7). We will never understand God or His dealings alright until we grasp the truth that many experiences, values, qualities and powers which we have believed to be contrary and distinct are, after all, TWO ASPECTS OF THE SAME THING. God does not pit His judgment against His mercy, neither does He show ONLY MERCY to some and ONLY JUDGMENT to others. The sweet singer of Israel intoned these enlightening words: "I will sing of mercy AND judgment: unto You, O Lord, will I sing!" (Ps. 1O1:1). The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the ministry of the Christ, declared of Him, "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto TRUTH" (Isa. 42:3). Judgment unto truth - how unspeakably blessed! This kind of judgment can never be characterized as unrestrained, unappeasable, implacable, sadistic rage inflicting purposeless, merciless, unending vengeance upon mankind - but CORRECTIVE, REDEMPTIVE JUDGMENT to break the rebellion of men, and BRING THEM ALL INTO TRUTH AGAIN. As the apostle so beautifully confirms, "I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for ALL MEN ... for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:1, 3-4). We do not minimize the workings of wrath, but we do rejoice in the beautiful BALANCE and PURPOSE between the work of God's LEFT HAND and that of His RIGHT HAND - both leading to righteousness. "For the Word of the Lord is fight; and ALL His works are done in TRUTH. He loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the GOODNESS of the Lord!" (Ps. 33:4-5).

The "rightness" or "leftness" of a thing, however, exists not in the thing itself, or in the space it occupies. It exists rather in the thing's RELATIONSHIP TO US. Let me illustrate. If we are facing each other, what is on the right or the left of me hasn't the same meaning for you. Its meaning, in fact, is exactly reversed in each consciousness. The things on your right are on my left. If we are talking to each other on the phone, however, left and right have no concrete meaning at all in the absence of a common reference point. They exist only abstractly. How important, then, the words of Jesus become! "And before HIM shall be gathered all nations: and HE shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on HIS RIGHT HAND, but the goats on the (His) LEFT. Then shall the King say unto them on HIS RIGHT HAND, Come,   blessed of My Father ... then shall He say also unto them on the (His) LEFT HAND, Depart from Me, you cursed..." (Mat. 25:32-34,41).

The only way we can ever know what is "right" and what is "left" is by becoming properly RELATED TO GOD, positioned IN HIM, to SEE AS HE SEES! Right and left is never determined in relation to us, from where we sit or how things appear to the natural mind, but only in relation to God, from where HE sits and how things are to HIM! "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on HIS RIGHT HAND and on HIS LEFT" (I Kings 22:19). "Therefore being by the RIGHT HAND OF GOD exalted ... He has shed forth this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). "GOD ... set HIM at His OWN RIGHT HAND in the heavenly places ... and has raised US up together, and made US sit together in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 1:20; 2:6). Ah, it is there IN CHRIST JESUS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD that we are positioned with God, to see as He sees, the things at His fight hand becoming the things at our right hand and the things at His left hand are at our left hand. How can we know, in any circumstance or situation, what is needed? Should God deal with His right hand of blessing or His left hand of judgment? Should we rebuke the devil that the captive be set free, or remain silent in the knowledge that this one is, for a season, delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh? If we render a decision based on some blanket set of "promises" in the Word, or on how things look to us, apart from the mind of the Spirit, we will invariably take the wrong action! The natural mind always has things reversed. Only in proper relationship to God, in union with Him, receiving the mind of Christ, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, can we comprehend God's purposes, our spirit saying Amen, and our actions flowing in harmony with what the Father is doing. We must reign AT HIS RIGHT HAND!

There is a theme about which every Son must have a clear understanding if he is to walk in the Father's dealings in full assurance. It is the fact of the dual aspect of God's nature and His workings - the two sides of love - God's love. Let every man and woman who treasures the beautiful hope of sonship know that there is the DARK SIDE OF GOD'S LOVE! Ah, the Great Physician will put His child on the operating table. He will use the surgeon's knife when He sees a tumor of self-will or a deadly virus of carnality sapping our spiritual lives, or when He sees the cancerous growth of sin. He does not hesitate to deal with us severely. We must learn this fact early: He loves us just as much when He is subjecting us to surgery, as when He sends us blessings and gifts and brings us into the sunshine of His glory. Precious friend of mine, He loves us most when He is dealing severely with us, "for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives" (Heb. 12:6).

The Lord is causing His elect to "PASS UNDER THE ROD", the rod of chastisement in His left hand, and all who are Sons indeed are aware of the effectiveness of that ROD OF THE LORD. When the Lord gave His covenant to David, He also included a promise to David's seed: "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with THE ROD of men, and with the stripes of the children of men" (II Sam. 7:12-14). We are also aware of the fact that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God", therefore, chastisement and correction is necessary for all who would attain unto the glory of God. And if we are to inherit the covenants of God with promise, it is important that we submit ourselves unto Him for the corrections necessary to bring us into conformity to His likeness and glory.

Job was a man who was PASSING UNDER THE ROD OF GOD. He was called to something in God and his life was marked by intense trials and testings. As he endured the trials of the rod of the Lord, he observed that other men were not called upon (at that time) to go through such testings, for he said, "Their houses are safe from fear, NEITHER IS THE ROD OF GOD UPON THEM" (Job 21:9; 9:34). The Psalmist recognized that the Lord alone was his Shepherd and that He led him "in green pastures" and "beside still waters". "He restores my soul," declared David, "and He leads me in the paths of righteousness." And then David revealed how it was that God so led Him when he said, "...for You are with me; YOUR ROD and Your staff they comfort me." When we are able to see the wonderful purpose and benefit of the rod of the Lord, as did David, then we likewise declare, "YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF THEY COMFORT ME!"

In the beautiful eighty-ninth Psalm we read more of the seed of David and the necessity for the rod: "My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him ... his throne shall endure as the days of heaven. If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments ... then will I visit their transgressions WITH THE ROD, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break..." (Ps. 89:28-37).

In the original covenant with David the Lord stated, "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son" (II Sam. 7:14). In the Wisdom of Solomon we read of the true relationship of a father and his son: "He that SPARES HIS ROD hates his son: but he that loves him chastenes him betimes" (Prov. 13:24). It is, therefore, evidence of a father's love when he chastens his sons with his rod. The wise man also said, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; BUT THE ROD OF CORRECTION shall drive it far from him" (Prov. 22:15). Ah! The Lord's ROD OF CORRECTION in His left hand is driving from us the foolishness of our own ways. Thank God!

The prophet Micah forthtold the Lord's purpose in correcting His people, Israel. In the burning passion of prophetic anointing he declared, "The Lord's voice cries.. HEAR   THE ROD, AND (HIM) WHO HAS APPOINTED IT" (Mi. 6:9). And again, "FEED (OR RULE) YOUR PEOPLE WITH YOUR ROD" (Mi. 7:14). There shall be an obedient people, Sons conformed to the Father's image, the elect of the Lord who shall HEAR THE ROD OF HIM WHO HAS APPOINTED IT. Beloved one, is God causing you to HEAR THE ROD? Are you receiving correction from the rod of the Lord and HEARING ITS MESSAGE? The Sons of the Most High are truly PASSING UNDER THE ROD in fulfillment of the prophetic type, and are thereby being separated unto the Lord to rule and reign at His right hand.

One fact stands out from history, the Bible, and our own experience: GOD DOES NOT CHASTEN AND CORRECT ONLY SAINTS - He also judges individual sinners, wicked families, cities, and nations. Some months ago I turned on my car radio while enroute to a meeting on a Sunday morning and heard a preacher relate a most interesting and illustrative story. He said, "I remember a friend of mine that I was in school with. He was a pastor in the East Texas oil fields at the time of the explosion at the New London School. I shall never forget that night when word came in on the radio that that school had exploded and that over 300 boys and girls had been killed. I was speaking the next morning on the radio in Dallas, Texas. And that morning I directed everything I had to say to the parents and loved ones of those boys and girls. We had cards and letters from New England, from Cuba, from Mexico, from all over the country.

"But this pastor friend of mine told me this story. He said, In the parish in which I was the pastor, there lived a man that had become suddenly rich. He was a Texan who had become oil rich, even had put up a small refinery. And he had made already several millions of dollars. He had built a lovely home. He had a wife and two beautiful boys. And the wife and two boys were Christians, fellowshipping in our Church. And this pastor went on and said, This man was the worst blasphemer I had ever met in my life. I've never heard a man talk as that man would talk. He would blaspheme God, curse God. And his wife was so concerned about him and asked me to go see him. I went to see him, and I've never been treated like that in my life. He cursed me from the time I opened my mouth until I got out of earshot. He called me everything that was in the book and some things I didn't know were in the book. He was vile. His wife and one of his little boys took sick during the flu epidemic and both died at the same time. I went over that night to see them. I went in and there sat the father and the little boy that was alive. I went over and sat down beside them and began to talk, and he began to abuse me again. And curse - I've never heard anything like it! It was vile beyond description. He blasphemed God's name. There was nothing left for me to do but get up and walk out of there, which I did. I had the funeral. The man wouldn't even speak to me. And he became more vile after that. But all of the love that he'd had for his family, and that seemed to be the only thing about the man that was a redeeming feature, was now turned to this one little boy that was left.

"That little boy was in the New London School. This man, when he heard of the explosion, went out to that school and went through that rubble like a madman until he found the torn and twisted, broken body of that little boy. Then he took it in his arms and walked up and down that schoolyard like a madman until they actually took it away from him and carried it to the funeral home. You know, I felt it was my duty to go and talk with him. So that night I went over to that big home, and I went in and there was that little white casket and there he sat, the same place he'd sat before. I just steeled myself for the cursing that I was to get. I was afraid to say anything. I just sat down. Then that great big hulk of a fellow looked up and our eyes met. He hadn't cried before, but there were tears in his eyes. And instead of cursing me, he said to me, God has been after me all the time. He's tried to speak to me all my life, and I turned my back on Him. He took my wife and my other little boy, and I knew He was talking to me. But I was afraid of what men might say, those I worked with and was associated with. Oh, what a coward I've been. And now He's had to take this one! Well, he said, God can have me now. And that man got down on his knees beside that casket and took Christ as his Saviour. The last time I saw that pastor friend of mine he told me that that oil man was still serving God."

That man did not respond to the dealings of God's right hand through the POSITIVE witness of the gospel of God's grace, so corrective measures were needed, and God stretched forth even His left hand and brought NEGATIVE forces into action, thereby getting his attention. Once broken under the dealing of God's left hand, he knelt before the Lord and received the salvation so graciously offered by God's right hand. Hallelujah!

Precious friend of mine, once we thoroughly understand the dual ministry of God's two hands we will THANK HIM for all things He sends into our lives. We will thank Him for adversity - not just for blessing, for for adversity. And we will thank Him for every problem, every disappointment, every faithless friend, every heartache, every false accusation that has ever been made against us. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to TRY you, as though some strange thing happened unto you..." (I Pet. 4:12). When God by revelation has made this very real to our hearts we will say, "Oh, God, I thank You for putting me oil the operating table, for cutting out that which was hindering me." You and I are being trained and disciplined in order that in wisdom and righteousness and power and love we may reign with Christ at God's right hand.

What is YOUR RESPONSE to the dealings of God in your life? Are you angry and bitter at your circumstances, filled with resentment and rage? Are you inwardly shaking your fist at God, demanding, "Why does this have to happen to me?" Or are you thankful and broken? What is your spirit? What is your attitude? There is a verse in the Old Testament that beautifully clarifies these truths. "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, Surely they are My people, children that will not lie: so He was their Saviour. In all THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore HE WAS TURNED TO BE THEIR ENEMY, and HE FOUGHT AGAINST THEM" (Isa. 63:7-10).

Everything that happened to Israel in the Old Testament happened for our example and learning (I Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4). When Israel rebelled against the Lord, He became their ENEMY! God becomes your enemy when you walk after the flesh, for the carnal mind is HOSTILE toward God (Rom. 8:7). The Lord's people, then and now, rebel and grieve the Holy Spirit. Then God becomes your adversary. Whenever the believer frustrates the grace of God by being bull-headed in his conceit, or stubbornness, or pride, or bitterness, or resentment, God becomes his enemy. In that moment the LEFT HAND OF GOD becomes the adversary against that UNHOLY attitude. And for our GOOD, God will fight with us...to correct us. God will discipline and mold us as Sons. This will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness in us. To be carnally minded is death. God wants us to live! God will trouble us, pursue us, and put His sword at our throat until we break and learn that God's way is the BEST way!

God wants us to prosper. God wants us to be in health. God wants to lavishly bestow blessings upon us from His right hand. I believe that and I preach that and I practice that. But God also wants us to be refined as gold is refined in the furnace and come forth bearing His nature! You and I, beloved, must be discerning and get a solid, balanced perspective of God's plan for our lives, or we will miss the very thing that can bring us into His likeness, and image, and glory. There has been a subtle, deceptive teaching creeping through the body of Christ that says that ANYTHING negative or adverse is wrong. But I do not hesitate to tell you that we must have a balanced diet of spiritual things. To the best of my ability I am going to preach a balanced Word. I want my daughter to eat a balanced diet and grow up to be strong and healthy. Did you ever learn to eat spinach? I am talking about those things that don't taste so good (at least to children) but which are good for us! Some Christians are like little children - they only want to eat that which is good TO them, but not that which is good FOR them. Mama says, "Eat your spinach, honey." And then we hear a further word: "Eat ALL of it. It is good for you!" My deep desire is for you to grow up to be strong and healthy in Jesus Christ as Sons of God! I want you to be an overcomer. I really do. I don't want you to be filled with frustration. I learned something a long time ago: if you want to know what the Bible means, then first see what the Bible SAYS. "We MUST through MUCH TRIBULATION enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Now, instead of that word "tribulation", insert that person or thing or circumstance that God has custom-built for YOUR development! I know what is happening to you who are crying out in your spirit to be like the Lord: you are being processed and matured and trained and changed! One extreme in the land proclaims the great things, bountiful blessings from God's right hand. The other tangent can only project the terrible things, doom and gloom and the working of the cross. But God has TWO HANDS and He works in a balanced way. We rejoice in the faith and goodness and prosperity from God's right hand, but we also praise God for the chastenings and dealings from His left hand that will make these truths work themselves out in reality and practicality.

The carnal mind says, "I see no value or purpose to all this trouble and tribulation." The carnal mind is shrewd as a lawyer looking for a loophole. The carnal mind doesn't like it or want it. The mind of Christ, the spiritual mind of Rom. 8:1-6, knows that the servant is not above his Lord. The disciple is not above his Master who learned obedience by the things He suffered. God is preparing a people who cannot be moved or upset or frustrated by anything. The cry of His heart is for a people who can share His throne and shepherd the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26-27). We cannot afford the luxury of our personal feelings. WE HAVE NO "RIGHTS". If we do, we'll lose them under the dealings of God's left hand! Your testings will last as long as it takes to change your mind, attitude, and actions. Can we walk around in the furnace without complaining? Can we sing and dance in the fire? Can we sing praises in jail at midnight? The key to God's whole program operating in your life is your spirit and attitude of response to HIS WILL in your life. When your attitude and conduct become right, then the dealing of God's left hand will cease.

How beautiful the knowledge that BOTH of God's hands are WORKING TOGETHER to produce in us the righteousness and glory of God. "Your people also shall be all righteous ... the branch of My planting, the WORK OF MY H-A-N-D-S, that I may be glorified" (Isa. 60:21). And how wonderful, too, the knowledge that God shall in due time so deal with all mankind. How important that we enter into such intimate relationship and vital union with God that we see all things AS HE SEES THEM. Recently I read a sermon by a brother who gave this precious experience which, to me, wonderfully reflects the purpose in the dealings of the two hands of God. The brother said, "On Mother's Day I did something so vital for all God's ministries: I sat and listened to someone else preach. It was a wonderful Word, and while listening I had an opportunity to do something that I do not have opportunity to do when the pressure of preaching is upon me; I sat there and looked at the folk in a very relaxed sort of way. I saw a mother wearing a lovely corsage sent to her by her son in the East. He is a prominent business man, high up in government circles, but he is not a Christian. She is praying for him. She has asked others to pray for him. She said to me one day, with tears streaming down her cheeks, 'Oh, Bro.____, I pray that God will save my boy. I pray that He will save him even if he has to put him on a sick bed; EVEN IF HE HAS TO KILL HIM - I pray that He will save him!' If the FBI heard her plotting like that, would they arrest her? No, sir! She loves her boy! She loves him with all her heart, and if giving her own life would save that boy, she would give it immediately." -end quote.

Even in judgment, dear ones, God is love! May all who are called to be KINGS AND PRIESTS of God be possessed by such a divine love for the whole world! "For God SO LOVED the world, that He GAVE His only begotten Son" (Jn. 3:16). God so loved that He was willing to pay the VERY HIGHEST PRICE to redeem the World unto Himself. God gave His blessed Son to be slain for us, and now He says to us, "I will save you and I will conform you to My image - even if I have to KILL YOU to do it!" "See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand" (Deut. 32:29). Praise God! This is how His righteous hands work, He kills only to make alive and wounds only to heal. He kills only those things that should die and makes alive the things that should live. What beautiful co-ordination in all the works of HIS HANDS!

The right hand of God is the ANOINTED HAND of God for CHRIST sits at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD, and CHRIST means THE ANOINTED. Paul tells us that we are to SEEK those things which are ABOVE -WHERE CHRIST SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. This means that we are to SEEK THE THINGS OF THE RIGHT HAND! Reigning with Christ must become one of the great goals in the life of every man or woman apprehended to sonship to God. Man in God's image, man in Christ at the right hand of God, is God's government in the Kingdom of God. It is this hand of God, the right hand, the Christ, Head and body, that reaches out to take from God and give to men. It is the hand of strength and dexterity. It is the more active hand of God. THIS IS THE GOOD HAND OF GOD. It is the POSITIVE energy force of God. It is the hand that bestows the blessings and benefits of His Kingdom. The left hand of God is also a benefit to God's people but to them it does not seem so at the time. But the right hand is THE ANOINTED hand of God that shall reach forth to all men and nations bringing blessed deliverance and restoration into His righteousness, joy, and peace. The overcoming body of Christ, the MANY-MEMBERED SON OF GOD is being raised up and seated in power and glory at the right hand of God and is, indeed, BECOMING THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. "Your right hand, O Lord, is BECOME glorious and power..." (Ex. 15:6).

What is the power of the right hand of God? Paul tells us something about it in Eph. 1:16-23. "...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, WHICH HE WROUGHT IN CHRIST, WHEN HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, and SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and has put ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is HIS BODY, THE FULLNESS OF HIM THAT FILLS ALL IN ALL."

We find in this passage that there is an EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF POWER that is TOWARD US. This is God's inheritance in the saints and it is rich in glory! We do not naturally know or realize just what this power is or just what it can do, so in these words Paul by the Spirit gives us a measure by which we can have a little idea of just what this power is and what it is able to do for us. Let us see! The power that is directed to us is according to a power that God wrought in the Christ. It is that power by which God raised up the Christ from the dead and SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND. By this power God set the Christ far above all principality, all power, all might, all dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world but in the ages to come. This power that God used for the raising up of the Christ has put all things under His feet and made Him to be the Head over all to the Church. And the Church, HIS MANY-MEMBERED BODY, is the FULL DEVELOPMENT OF GOD, as we read in the translation of the Diaglott.

This power of God that Paul describes is the rule by which is measured the power God has for all who follow on to be filled with all the fullness of God. The power that God has for us is just the same in quality and character as is the power God used for the raising of the Christ and the placing of Him at THE RIGHT HAND. Therefore be assured, beloved, that the power that God has toward us and for us will do for us JUST EXACTLY WHAT THAT POWER THAT GOD HAD FOR JESUS CHRIST DID FOR HIM. In other words, the power God has toward us will also RAISE US FROM THE DEAD AND WILL SET US AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND. It will set us far above all principality, all power, all might, all dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this world or age but in the ages to come. It will put all things under our feet and give us dominion over all the work of God's hands, both earthly and heavenly. This in no way detracts from the glory, authority, and preeminence of Jesus Christ. Rather it is the FULFILLMENT OF HIS MINISTRY as HE moves in and through His many-membered body, the "many brethren" brought to His very own glory.

The Greek word for "heaven" is OURANOUS. The meaning of OURANOUS is elevation height, exaltation, eminence. It has both natural and spiritual applications. In its spiritual application it bespeaks THE ETERNAL AND OMNIPRESENT REALM OF THE SPIRIT in which God dwells, far above the realm of the physical, material, earthly, and mortal. It is not a geographical or astral location. It is not a place. It is a realm, a dimension of life and reality, as eternal as God is eternal and as omnipresent as God is omnipresent. Christ left His heavenly glory. He humbled Himself, took upon Himself the form of sinful man; and becoming a man, was despised and rejected. He was of no reputation. And yet, while in humility and reproach, a Man among men, He made this amazing statement: "No man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man WHICH I-S IN HEAVEN" (Jn. 3:13). The Son of God left His glory, and descended to the depths of shame and reproach. He came and took our place of disgrace in order that we might be raised and exalted and honored and, under Him, be given a name above every name. He, the Christ, Who was made in all things like unto His brethren, yet, while a man on earth, in humility, Himself said, "The Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN!"

Our Lord was in heaven; He came down from heaven, AND WAS STILL IN HEAVEN! It is something a person can be in, can descend from, and still possess. Our Lord was the Mighty God. But He descended from that state. He humbled Himself and became despised and rejected. But nevertheless, in His humility He was still the Mighty God, God manifest in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us! Yes, even while in the flesh, by the eternal Spirit within He was ONE with the invisible, eternal REALM OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. His flesh was conscious of the earthly realm and one with it, but in Spirit He was conscious of the eternal realm and one with it. The heavens were open to Him, He dwelt and lived and walked and manifested OUT OF THE DIVINE SPHERE OF LIFE. THAT is OURANOUS - heaven!

But now in Eph. 1:20 we have the Greek phrase "en tois epouraniois", "in heavenly places". "...He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES." We are still dealing with the word OURANOUS, only now we have something added to it. And the compound word thus formed is of such great import to us that we must consider it very, very carefully. We have the Greek word EPI, which means SUPERIMPOSITION, or in plain speech, ABOVE, HIGHER THAN, OVER. And when joined to OURANOUS, it becomes EPOURANIOS. The two words joined together mean ABOVE HEAVEN or THE HIGHEST HEAVEN or HIGHER THAN ALL HEAVENS - SUPERIMPOSITION! This word is found twenty times in the New Testament.

Our Lord and Saviour when on earth, even though He had humbled Himself and had descended to the depths of the realm of death and had borne our sins, was still the exalted One. He was still in heaven (Jn. 3:13). But then He arose the conquering Christ! And not only that, but He ASCENDED victor over all the powers of darkness having brought in eternal redemption for a lost world and redeemed all things unto Himself. "Wherefore God has HIGHLY EXALTED HIM, and given Him a name which is ABOVE EVERY NAME." Or as Paul tells us in Eph. 4:10, "He ... ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS." Or, let us note carefully, God has set Him "at His own right hand IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES." And the word which is mistranslated here as "heavenly places" is EPOURANIOS, or to be exact, EPOURANIOIS, which is the adjective form of the same word, which change does not in any way alter its meaning, it still retains the meaning of HIGHER THAN HEAVENLY. It is ABOVE HEAVEN, HIGHER THAN HEAVEN, FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS! Thus we read, "He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand "IN EPOURANIOIS" FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY, AND POWER, AND MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and has put all things under His feet" (Eph. 1:20-22).

And let demons rage. Let fools and unbelievers hang their heads in shame. We quote once more from the incomparable Word of God. "BUT GOD ... HAS raised US up together, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2.4-6). And this "heavenly places" where WE NOW SIT with the firstborn Son is this same superheaven, or epouraniois, the same position which He holds "far above all heavens"! Ah, we who have come the way of the cross, we whose spirits have been quickened by His Spirit, we in whom the mighty power is working which God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand far above all heavens - are enthroned with Him in this super-eminence N-O-W. Christ is enthroned in the higher than all heavens and WE HAVE BEEN QUICKENED AND RAISED UP AND GIVEN JOINT SEATING WITH HIM IN THE UNION OF HIS DIVINE LIFE!

Note carefully... it is not just a future hope, but a PRESENT REALITY! "HAS raised us up ... HAS made us sit together..." And yet Christians in ignorance sing, "When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be!" Heaven for those who have been born from above is not a future hope. It is an ACCOMPLISHED FACT! To be sure it must be appropriated, walked out, and lived out in very practical terms in our daily lives. "If we LIVE in the Spirit (heavenly realm), let us ALSO WALK in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25). Oh! Sons of God - let us arise and LIVE THE HEAVENLY LIFE! Our bodies may still be tied to earth, but the Sons of God are discovering the glorious and eternal reality of HEAVEN N-O-W! And how much BETTER is this than a golden street, or a pearly gate, or a cabin in the corner, or a mansion over the hilltop! Hallelujah!

There are certain basic principles of the Kingdom of God that must be a part of the frame of mind and the experience of all who press forward into sonship to God. We must learn to think like God. We must begin to RULE WITH CHRIST IN THIS LIFE. Too many saints are weak, frustrated, and defeated. May the dynamite of God's Spirit blow us all out of the low places of lethargy, discouragement, oppression, and defeat into a vibrant walk with Christ in the high places of peace, joy, and triumph of His Kingdom. "...strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the devil. For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world - the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground IN THE EVIL DAY, and, having fought to the end, TO REMAIN VICTORS ON THE FIELD" (Eph. 6:10-14, Weymouth).

Once the believer embraces the truth that he is now seated with Christ at the right hand of God in the higher than all heavens, his heart will find rest and joy and confidence in the face of all situations and circumstances. The right hand of God is the place of omnipotent universal power and dominion - FAR ABOVE ALL THINGS! Such all-embracing majesty is far too vast for my feeble understanding, yet I know by the Spirit that the body of Christ is being formed and prepared for the explicit purpose of UNIVERSAL DOMINION. But how can a man rule over principalities and powers and universes if he cannot RULE HIS OWN SPIRIT? "He that rules his own spirit is better than he that takes a city" (Prov. 16:32). God is a God of principle. He does not do anything by chance. It is my deep conviction that what happens in your life and mine is a result of the use or abuse of the principles of the Kingdom of God. Learn this, beloved, and you will know one of the fundamental principles of reigning with Christ: OUR AUTHORITY IS OVER SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS FIRSTLY IN OURSELVES!

Our first great battle is WITHIN OURSELVES. For if our dominion over our own spirit is to be perfect, then every thought, desire, and impulse must be brought into subjection to Christ. This discipline will be an attribute of the mind of Christ within, and when this is in effect, then we will be able to expel every mutineer, or every thought, attitude, and emotion which rises up against the knowledge of God. Our great training in THRONESHIP AUTHORITY takes place in the bringing of our own selves into conformity to the Christ. We have got to look at and deal with ourselves first. Then as we are victorious OVERCOMERS in the different phases of our own lives, there comes a very real sense of victory and AUTHORITY over evil spirits no matter where they might be found. It is a great fact - deliver yourself of it first and then you will have complete AUTHORITY over the same problem or spirit anywhere else! You will never have power over spiritual wickedness in high places, you will never be able to deliver your brethren, or cities, or nations into the Kingdom of God until first every wicked and rebellious spirit within your own nature has been brought into subjection to the Spirit of Christ ...

I never think of the glory of reigning with Christ without remembering an incident that happened a number of years ago. In 1966 three other brethren and I made a trip from Florida to Central America by automobile. We arrived late one night in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. From there we would fly after a couple of days to the island of Roatan for a series of meetings. Three things needed to be done the following day before our departure for Roatan. The brakes on the car must be fixed, we must find a place to leave the car while away from the capital, and we must locate the Embassy of El Salvador and secure visas for our return trip through that country.

After breakfast the next morning we inquired at the desk for the address of the Embassy of El Salvador. The desk clerk courteously gave us directions and we set out to accomplish our business. But there was no Embassy at the address we were given. Driving around the block we found nothing in that area that resembled an Embassy. Finally, inquiring of a man on the street, we were informed that the Embassy had moved to another location. But when we arrived at the new address, there was no Embassy there, either! I entered a small shop nearby and introduced myself to the owner, a well-dressed, distinguished looking business man. He said, "Oh, yes, I know exactly where that Embassy is, in fact, I have business in that part of the city and will be most happy to accompany you." He climbed into our vehicle and happily we sped away. An hour later we were driving around in circles and our distinguished guide still could not find the building he was quite certain he had seen a hundred times before!

Disheartened, we dropped that project, concentrating instead upon getting the brakes repaired. In a matter of minutes we discovered a large garage and were motioned in. We stated the problem, whereupon a mechanic proceeded to jack up the car, take off the four wheels, and remove all the brake shoes. Once the parts were laying out on the floor an attendant informed us that it would be three days before they could fix the brakes! Astonished, we instructed them to reassemble the brakes, and made our departure.

I was aware of an American Church in the city and thought perhaps we should seek help from the pastor. We did find the Church rather quickly. Leaving the brethren in the car I walked to a side door where there appeared to be a residence. I rang the doorbell. A young American girl answered the door. I asked if she could direct me to the pastor of the Church. Her response was that she didn't know the pastor and neither did she know his name, where he lived, or how he could be contacted. By this time I was completely confounded! We had spent the entire morning accomplishing absolutely nothing! Our efforts to locate the Embassy were fruitless. The attempt at getting the brakes repaired ended ridiculously. And now here we sat in front of an American Church in a Spanish-speaking city in the heart of Central America, and an American girl in that American Church denies any knowledge of the pastor of that Church!

I related this news to the brethren, whereupon one brother, especially sensitive to the Spirit, exclaimed, "The Lord shows me that this city is RULED BY SPIRITS OF CONFUSION. We must agree together and bind these spirits in Jesus' name!" We joined hands there on that hilltop, and spoke to the spirits of confusion reigning over the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, commanding them to loose their hold. After several minutes of praise and rejoicing we drove down that hill, saw a Texaco station, and were impressed by the Spirit to pull in. We met the proprietor, an English-speaking gentleman. In the conversation that ensued we found that he knew where the Embassy was, and he graciously offered to park our car by his station while we were in Roatan; furthermore, he would fix the brakes while we were gone - and then the icing on the cake - he picked up his phone and arranged a free night's lodging for us at a Bible School on top of a mountain just outside the city. Within forty-five minutes after we took our position in the higher than heavenlies and bound the spirit of confusion that had us (and the entire city) running in circles, every problem was solved, every need met, and all our business accomplished! Furthermore, we were convinced in spirit that not only had we personally triumphed in Christ, but something tremendously glorious had transpired in the heavenlies that would overflow in blessing to that city for years to come!

Simply speaking, the purpose of God is that we might reign for Him, and to reign is to exercise authority for God - to rule all things. All who in Christ appropriate the fullness of His life and glory and exaltation are destined to exercise that awesome dominion, seated together with Him, far above all principality and power. This is the blueprint and strategy for the triumph of His Kingdom in all realms, from the lowest hell to the highest heaven. Ah, beloved, we shall reign throughout the ages of the ages to come until all enemies are conquered and Christ is all in all. But we must begin to reign with Him here and N-O-W!

The reason so many people fail to be overcomers or to attain to the great heights of the Spirit is because they are unable to see God's purposes, and therefore they have no particular incentive to seek the great heights that are IN HIM. So many Christians are far too taken up with carnal ideas and childish notions about mansions in the skies and harps and white night gowns and sitting on clouds eating pork chops with nothing to do and all eternity to do it in, to be able to see the true purposes of God in REIGNING AT HIS RIGHT HAND.

Thank God! there is a RIGHT HAND COMPANY, those indwelled by THE SON OF THE RIGHT HAND, daily growing in the nature, wisdom, and power of HIS LORDSHIP. This company IS the manifestation of GOD'S RIGHT HAND OF BLESSING AND DOMINION in the earth today, and this right hand shall do even much more valiantly as the Sons of God press on in to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This present time is but a proving ground for those who through grace will reign with their Lord over the endless vastnesses of infinity. He is raising us up and teaching us to sit with Him in the higher than heavenlies, gaining victory upon victory as we learn what it is to reign. And the place which He has prepared for each one is not only a world to come, and a Kingdom of light and love, but a place IN HIM, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, Spirit of His Spirit, nature of His nature, wisdom of His wisdom, power of His power - LIFE OF HIS LIFE! Glory to His wonderful name!

J. PRESTON EBY ...................End of Series

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