"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matt. 6:10

Two Sides to the Same Coin

There are two streams of thought that run through the New Testament that may, at first glance, appear to be contradictory. This concerns our life with the Lord and many believers have been confused by these two "streams". To explain what I am saying, let's take a look at some examples.

In Ephesians, Paul tells us that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Yet later in that same letter he tells us to walk in the Spirit. Now why would we need to walk in the spirit if we are already seated with Christ? We are also told that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us. Yet in Philippians, Paul says that he is pressing on toward the goal of gaining Christ. Now how could Paul gain any more of Christ than he already had? Christ is in him and he is in Christ! Paul also tells us that we have been crucified with Christ and the old man has been buried with Him. (Romans 6) Yet it seems that everyday we battle with the flesh.

What is going on here? Are these contradictions in the Word of God? Are we to choose which scriptures we like and throw away the rest? Are we to believe one set of scriptures and neglect the others? Not at all. Yet how could both things be true? They are simply both sides of the same coin. One is the established fact, the other is the outworking of that fact.

We live in two realms

The understanding for this spiritual truth comes much easier when you can see that we, as believers, live in two realms at the same time. We live in this earthly, physical realm, and also in the heavenly, spiritual realm both at the same time.

Of course, everyone on this planet lives in this earthly, physical realm. But we, as Christians, also live in the spiritual realm because our spirits have come alive by the Holy Spirit coming to live within us. Now, we can live and walk in the spirit.

The Established Facts

God has already established every fact of our spiritual existence with Him in the heavenly (or spiritual) realms. Remember, there is no space or time in the heavenlies. We are already seated with Christ in the heavenly places. We are already crucified and resurrected with Him. We are already in Him and He is in us. We are one with Him and each other. We are already holy ones (saints) and have been perfected in Him. These are established facts in the heavenly realm. However, this is not the whole story. Remember, we live in two realms.

The Outworking of Those Facts

Because we live in two realms we pray: "Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven." We pray that the Lord will bring the established fact that is in heaven, into reality here on earth. There is an established fact in heaven that we are seated with Christ there. However, for that fact to be established here on earth, we need to walk in the spirit. One is the established fact in heaven; the other is the out working of that fact here on earth. You will notice that we sit in the heavens, but we walk here. One is a place of rest; the other requires an action or activity. One is a noun; the other is a verb. One is place of rest; the other is a place of activity. We have been crucified with Christ (heavens); yet daily we take up our cross daily and deny ourselves (earth).

A Matter of Confusion

Many believers get caught in the trap of taking one of these "sides of the coin" as opposed to the other. Some will take the heavenly side and neglect the earthly action required to bring the established facts in the heavenlies to this realm. Others will focus only on the earthly activities without ever knowing the established facts!

Dear, saints, heaven is full of spiritual blessings that are just waiting to be established here on the earth! We need to know and live in the glory of those heavenly things now. We also need to pray and take the necessary actions for those blessings to become established facts in this realm as well.

". . . on earth, as it is in heaven."

written by Milt Rodriguez