The Session of Christ in the Bible

The session of Christ is the rich biblical doctrine of Jesus being seated at the right hand of God the Father after His ascension. The word "session" simply means "the act of sitting," and Scripture repeatedly portrays the risen, ascended Christ enthroned in heaven. The writer to the Hebrews declares that after making purification for sins, the Son "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3). This seated posture is no idle rest; it is the royal repose of a King whose redeeming work is complete and whose reign has begun. The session is grounded in the great messianic promise of Psalm 110:1: "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" Jesus and the apostles understood this as fulfilled in His exaltation. Mark records that "the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19). Paul writes that God "raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:20), a place of supreme authority over all powers. A central truth of the session is the finished nature of Christ's sacrifice. Whereas the priests of the old covenant stood daily offering repeated sacrifices, "when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). His sitting down proclaims that atonement is accomplished once and for all; there is nothing left to add. The believer rests in a salvation already secured. The session also shapes Christian living and hope. Paul exhorts, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). And in his dying moment, Stephen "gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55), the exalted Christ ready to receive His faithful witness. The session assures believers that their Savior reigns, intercedes, and will one day subdue every enemy beneath His feet.