By Tyler Warner
What exactly is Jesus doing right now in Heaven? The writer to the Hebrews said, “He always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25). Intercession means to “go between”, to intervene on behalf of somebody else. Your initial justification was a work of intercession. But this is something that continues. Every day, Jesus Christ stands before God to advocate for you. Quite literally, Jesus is praying for you all the time!
This is important for us because we also have an accuser in Heaven. The name, Satan, means “adversary”, as in a court of justice. We would call such a person a “prosecutor” today. Satan comes into the courtroom of Heaven and accuses you to God and demands that God execute His justice. This is a terrifying thought because we are guilty!
But now Jesus has returned to Heaven, where He performs His priestly duties. And now that our sins have been covered by His blood, the justice of God has been satisfied. So when Satan comes in to accuse you, you do not stand alone. You have a divine Defense Attorney! John said in that famous verse, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Tyler Warner
That is what happens every day in Heaven. Satan comes to accuse you before God. He holds up your rap sheet with all your lies and lusts and laziness on it and demands that the Father send you to everlasting fire. But Jesus steps in and says, “Father, we’ve already handled this case! My blood covers him, so the penalty has been paid.” Someday the accuser will be thrown down for good (Revelation 12:10), but in the meantime, the ascended Christ is there to stand in the gap for you.
And this expands beyond matters of Heaven and Hell. Romans 8:34 says that Christ Jesus “is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us”. This is an ongoing ministry. How might Jesus intercede for you? Consider your life. You don’t know what you need, but Jesus does. You don’t know which job or relationship would be best, but Jesus does. When trials and tribulations come, sometimes you feel too weak to pray, but Jesus never is. And while you sometimes lose sight of your sanctification, Jesus is always focused on what is best. How effective is prayer when the very one in whose name you pray is saying “Amen” right along with you?
When you feel like God is angry with you, and every thought is an internal accusation – that does not come from Jesus, He is our Advocate. Satan is the accuser. Don’t listen to his lies, instead demand to know how he dares to bring a reviling accusation against the one God has chosen to save! Every accusation falls flat before the intercession of our great Advocate.
Tyler Warner is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Trussville. CCT meets on Sunday mornings at 9:30am, at 5239 Old Springville Rd. Listen to Tyler’s verse-by-verse Bible teaching at CalvaryChapelTrussville.com or Sundays at 8:30am on 101.1 FM.
