Heaven Opened (3)—Jesus the Son of Man at the Right Hand of God - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!
Acts 7:56

Heaven Opened (3)—Jesus the Son of Man at the Right Hand of God
Whenever heaven is opened, the Lord Jesus is the object, whether He is on earth or in heaven. In our text today, heaven is opened, but here He is in heaven, so now He becomes earth's object in heaven: "Jesus has no object, but He is the Object of heaven when it opens; the saint has, and it is Jesus Himself in heaven when it is open" (J. N. Darby).

The martyrdom of Stephen was a turning point in the history of the nation of Israel. They had not only cast out and crucified the Lord of glory who visited them in grace, but now they had cast out and murdered the one who was a witness of Christ's heavenly glory. Those who stoned the first Christian martyr laid their garments at the feet of young Saul of Tarsus; God had His eye upon the one who, before long, would become the preeminent witness of the gospel of Christ's glory.

Stephen truly characterizes the believer on earth, full of the Holy Spirit and beholding Christ in the glory. This is the present position of every believer: an opened heaven, filled with the Holy Spirit, and, in beholding "the glory of the Lord," they are being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). Stephen was bearing the image of Christ in Acts 7 when he prayed, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (7:60). Is this not like his Master, who said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Lk. 23:34)? And like Christ, who was cast out and crucified, so Stephen was rejected and murdered.

Stephen "being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). This privilege belongs to every believer—heaven is now open, and a Man in the glory is the object of our hearts.

Brian Reynolds