Our union with Christ is a mystery to the sense realm. A term used to describe our oneness with Him throughout Church history is “mystical union,” simply because it is a spiritual union that doesn’t always make sense to our natural man, but it is the truest thing about us as New Creations.
Col. 1:25 , Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
1 Cor. 6:17, But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
In reality don’t think of Heaven as literally “up,” even though metaphorically we can and do speak of it that way because it is ABOVE all things. Think of Heaven as “other.” Heaven is a different realm of reality; a supernatural realm of reality that is a Kingdom where God rules and from which every other realm of reality exists and is subordinate to. So, Heaven is a real realm of reality that is spiritual, supernatural, Holy, and is ABOVE all other realms. Now look at these verses which describe how Jesus lived on earth and then see yourself one with Him, seated in the Heavenly realm, facing daily life on earth.
Jn. 3:31, “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
Jn. 8:23, And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
As people who are in Christ, His finished work transformed our identity (that is, what is true about us) and how we are called to live. In Christ, we were crucified, buried, rose, and ascended In His person. I now live in the risen Jesus who is seated in the Heavenly places (realm). We may still be in this world, but we are not of this world, because we are people “In Christ” who abide in and live from a different world.
In union with Him, seated above all that’s going on in the earth realm, we react to every situation with the mind of Christ. We see everything through the grid of His ability, wisdom, mercy, love, etc. That is, we see everything through the grid of His all sufficient grace, and we rest in that (seated in the heavenlies) and react accordingly. This is living by THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, not just faith in Him. He fully believes in His all sufficiency, and in union with Him, our faith is just restfully staying in agreement with Him about that, living ABOVE the battle. This is what it means to enter into His Rest. Nothing startles Him, or shakes Him, or rattles Him, or threatens Him, or takes Him by surprise. He is never anxious, and because we are in Him, He can say to us to “be anxious for NOTHING”. I guess it is kind of LIVING UP. It’s hard to ever get DOWN, when you are always UP in the heavenlies.