Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Rom 8:34) [God] raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus … (Eph. 2:6)

We are with Christ, right now, in the heavenly places! Amazing. We take this by faith; it is not an incidental teaching of Scripture. No one can condemn me for anything I have done in the past, present, or future—no guilt or shame that I carry with me, for I am sitting next to Christ. There is no closer position to God (the Father) than sitting at His right hand along with His beloved Son. Whose judgment could possibly stand against me or against anyone who has been redeemed at the cross for the forgiveness of their sin?

How can any sin now hinder my access to His grace, His unmerited favor and forgiveness, whose place of exaltation extends to us, in the words of Scripture:

“Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

We are already seated there; our entry is not a beginning but a continuation of our conscious faith. The enemy may either whisper or shout with a never-ending litany of penetrating accusations, but we don’t need to heed those emotional, abusive thrusts and parries, the battle against which we can never win on our own. We are not “invited,” nor is it merely suggested; we are commanded to come into His presence in faith, listening to the voice of Him who is the Creator God of the universe over the multitude of voices bidding us not to enter. The taunts that could otherwise strike fear or shame in us do not have a standing before our heavenly Father, who loves us like His own Son! He is our defender, advocate, strong tower, refuge, protector, and security. His is our body-guard, our soul-guard and our spirit-guard.

At His right hand is the perfectly righteous One, in whom the Father is well pleased. Since God sees us as being “in Him,” therefore, in us also the Father is well pleased. In Him, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3); this means that we lack nothing, as God’s favor and actions towards us are endless and abundant.

How could I possibly be worthy? Mustn’t it be inappropriate, arrogant, and hypocritical to come into God’s presence? Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are already in the presence of Him, who concurrently lives in the past, present, and future. Since, as Scripture says, we have been saved from the foundation of the earth, then our presence, as believers, is secured forever in the One whom to believe and to know is the very definition of eternal life (John 17:3). We need no mediator but Him who died for us. We need no “saint” with a supposed holiness greater than ours to speak to God on our behalf. The Scripture is unequivocal: we have the one and only mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5). We are in Him, and He is seated at the right hand of God, and therefore, that is where we are. Anything else is to beggar God’s truth with something vastly inferior, like a dark room is inferior to the sunlight.

Dear believer who is hearing or reading this, what disbelief keeps you from resting securely in Christ? What is keeping you from moving from, “I think so” or “I hope so” to saying, “I know that I am there with Christ, in Christ, at God’s right hand. What shame, guilt, insecurity, failure, fear, anger, disappointment, or doubt hinders you from believing you are there right now in the eternal dwelling place of the Lord, seated right beside the Savior who won your soul for the Father’s good pleasure? Faith is to believe and act upon who God is and what He says. And He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28–30)