Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Session (of Christ)

Christ's 'sitting at the right hand of God' after the ascension — a place of supreme authority, honour, and rest, from which he reigns, intercedes, and pours out the Spirit until he returns.

Latin sessio, 'a sitting'; from Psalm 110:1 ('Sit at my right hand'), the most-quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament.

Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33–35; 7:55–56; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20–22; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21.

The 'sitting' (contrasted with the standing priests of the old covenant who could never sit because their work was never done, Heb 10:11–12) signifies the finished sacrifice accepted. It is not inactivity: the session is the present phase of Christ's mediatorial reign — ruling all things for the church, defending his people, and interceding.

'The right hand of God' is a position, not a place — authority and honour. Believers are said to be already 'seated with him in the heavenly places' (Eph 2:6), their destiny secured in his.

The mode of Christ's bodily presence given the session (Lutheran vs. Reformed); how his heavenly rule relates to earthly government.

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