DAY 18 - January 22 - Dimensions

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The Heavenly places are definitely another dimension, or realm in God. The Third Heaven, visited by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, is considered the highest heaven. A simple way to remember the distinctions between these three realms is that the first heaven is weather, the second is warfare and the third is worship. The first is the natural realm, then the realm where angelic and demonic activity take place and the third, where God dwells and worship takes place.

We have the capacity to operate in all three realms. We naturally function in the first realm. We supernaturally function in the second realm. We participate in the third realm through worship, our abiding in Christ and our oneness with the Trinity as described in John 17.

Notice, that our ability to function in these higher realms is a result of our passing from death to life. Being full of life includes salvation, receiving His Spirit and functioning from our inheritance as a son of God. When we worship in this way, we are being elevated. When we carry out our assignment from our position in Christ, our authority rises exponentially. This is because the highest heaven always trumps the lower heavens. Our greatest authority flows from Heaven’s realm.

Often in scripture distinctions are made from the highest heaven to the lowest depths. These realms of experience are real not metaphorical. Human language is insufficient to describe the scope of the unseen realm. This is the reason descriptions of heavenly encounters often sound strange or impossibly fantastic.

However, our participation in these mysteries is important. What do we think will happen when we get to Heaven and have an eternity to explore the realms and dimensions of Creation? We have been given permission to explore greater realities now, while we keep one foot on the earth, so to speak. The familiar helps us to understand the unfamiliar. We are destined for Heaven someday. God is preparing us for that future now.

What do we call training for participation in unseen realms? We call it learning to love. Love prepares us for every exploration into heavenly territory. Because God is love, learning to love is learning about God. Love will help us navigate the mysteries God has prepared for us. Our ability to love is the most practical key we have to unlock new things. The Keys of the Kingdom represent the authority granted to us by Christ. We truly have been given access to everything in His kingdom. Greater and greater love in our lives is evidence that we are ready for more.

Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

1 John 3:13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be. bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in. God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of. this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in. the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

John 17:21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

MEDITATION

• As you read the scriptures listed above, spend time meditating on each passage. Allow yourself to be caught up in the reality spoken of by Jesus and the apostles. Imagine yourself enfolded in Christ, in the Father and at the same time imagine how He also is in you, at the same time as you are in Him!

• Think about the reality of Principalities, Powers and Dominions. Think about the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To be pre-eminent means to be first and before all things. Jesus is the first and the last. He is the first word and the final word. Think about yourself announcing His jurisdiction in all lands and in all circumstances.

• Meditate on the connection between love and life. Life is the evidence of love. If there is no love, we have not left the realm of death. But, when there is love present, abundant life is poured out and access to heavenly realms is available to us.