The Open Heavens

What do we mean when we ask God to “open the heavens” or for an “open heaven”? It seems that when we as God to open the heavens, we are asking Him to rain down His Spirit, miracles, and blessings. We want God to heal us, set us free, and provide for us. Not that any of those are bad things, but are we thinking before we ask? Essentially, we are asking for God to be willing to move. Asking God to open the heavens implies that Heaven is closed.

First, we should define “Heaven”. Heaven is that spiritual realm where God moves and where we can interact with God. Basically, Heaven is God’s presence and heart being made manifest. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) So, God’s heart is for heaven-on-earth, but how does that apply to us?

When Jesus was baptized, the Bible says that “At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him.” ([Matthew 3:17], Mark 1:10, Luke 3:21) From there on out, Jesus began to do those things we associate with an open heaven. The Bible never talks about it being closed back up again. So, if we have been united with Christ (Ephesians 2:6, Philippians 2:1), then we can walk in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) and under that same open heaven that He did.

The last key part of that verse is that the Spirit of God came upon Him. It is by the Spirit that Heaven touches earth. Holy Spirit was on Jesus; now, He has been given to us. (Acts 2: 1-4, John 14:15-17) If we have Holy Spirit, then we have Heaven on earth in us. If it is God’s will for Heaven to be made manifest on earth, then anything that is not in Heaven does not belong on earth. God has given us His Spirit and is fully willing to back up His Word and His heart. His Spirit is in us, the heavens are open, and we are free to live His heart.

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” Romans 14:17

A New Creation

Our identity is the core of who we are. In the beginning, we were created in the image of God. That was our created identity. Sin broke that image and distorted our identity. However, Christ restores it and makes us new creations. We truly are new. Jesus more than restored our relationship with God; He drew us even closer. In the Garden of Eden, God would walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Through Christ, we have an even greater intimacy than they had. We can now call God our Father.

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.” Romans 8:15

We are His children and we have His Spirit. He has put His Spirit inside of us such that we don’t have to wait until the cool of the day to walk with God. We can know Him now because of what Jesus did and who the Holy Spirit is (Eph. 2:18). He is always there waiting to reveal Himself to us. We will never walk alone. God desires to reveal Himself to us because He loves. It’s because of His love for us that He wants to give us this intimacy; and it’s that love that defines us.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

This is God’s love defining us. He has lavished Himself on us and drawn us into His love. Our new identity is characterized by Him and His love. Now, we live from His perspective. Everything we are comes from the Father and goes back to the Father. We can never live out God’s heart for us unless we see ourselves through God’s heart. If we wake up every day seeing ourselves as sinners who need to control ourselves, acting out of our own strength, then we will fall into sin and the bondage of guilt. But if by faith in God, we see ourselves as new creations, then we will walk as children of God. When we were still sinners, God came to us, laid His life down for us, showed us His love, gave us a new identity, showed us His heart, and showed us His mission. He wiped away our past and every lie that held onto us; He has set us free. In Him, we are new creations.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17