The Power of God
- “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).
Several scriptures from the Bible itself that indicate that phrase is an idiomatic expression for God’s own power:
- “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy” (Exodus 15:6).
- “The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly” (Psalm 118:16).
- “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Luke 11:20).
Jesus did not merely speak of Himself as being at the right hand of God. He spoke of “the Son of Man” as being “at the right hand of power.”
- “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).
Christ Is the Power of God
- “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
- “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).
- “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
Right Hand of Majesty
- “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).
- “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1).
With Christ in God
If Jesus is literally “at the right hand of God,” are we also literally at the same place? The following passages express a figurative sense that we are “with” Him in heavenly places; and our life is hid “with Christ in God.”
- “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20).
- “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
- “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God… For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1, 3).
The Kingdom of God
- “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
But many other detailed Scriptures tell us explicitly that Jesus Christ will never relinquish His kingdom to another.
- “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8).
- “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:33).
- “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
- “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” (Ephesians 1:20-21).
Jesus Christ as God Is “All in All”
Jesus Christ as God is “all in all.” The writer surely was speaking of the Sonship of Jesus, which will be subjected, that God may be “all in all.” Therefore, the kingdom in which we live now, before the end, is the “kingdom of the Son” (Colossians 1:13).
- “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).
- “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10).
- “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).
In future ages, there will be no need for the Son’s “redemptive action”; there will be no need for the Sonship of God. In the new heavens and the new earth – after we are completely reconciled to our Creator – there will be no need for our God to live and die again as a Son on our behalf. At that time, the role of God as “Son” is to be subjected – “that God may be all in all.”