Jesus At the Right Hand of God

As I was scanning though some emails, someone asked me “Will Jesus be sitting at the right hand of the throne of God?” The words “will Jesus” really stuck out since in reality Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God.

On the day of Pentecost Peter testified, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33). Elsewhere, the author of Hebrews wrote, “And He [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). These two passages indicate that Jesus’ position at the right hand of the throne of God is a present reality.

What is really significant is the idea being communicated in the image of Jesus being at the right hand of God. According to the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, “To be at the right side is to be identified as being at the special place of honor…Thus the full participation of the risen Christ in God’s honor and glory is emphasized by his being at God’s right hand (Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998], 728).

The imagery of Jesus being at the right hand of God is more about a relationship than a location. For example, when employers identify an employee as a “right hand man” (if the expression is still being used today), the employer is not intending to communicate the employee is by his side twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, morning, noon, and night; rather, the employer is communicating the employee is one whom is granted the highest confidence in carrying out his duties. In the same way, the image of Jesus being at the right hand conveys the idea that Jesus is in special place of honor and glory.

Acts 2:32-33 is part of Peter’s explanation of why the first Christians were displaying the signs of wonders of the age to come foreshadowed in Joel was because of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, which inaugurated His messianic reign as demonstrated in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The author of Hebrews writes of Jesus is God’s ultimate revelation to all people in both who His being fully divine, and His work of purifying sinners from their sin. For this reason, Jesus Christ is worthy of all the glory and honor, and well deserves the title of being at the right hand of God.

Glory, Gloly, Hallelujah, He reighs...

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