1:3 in the heavenly places. Two of the other five instances where this phrase appears in Ephesians have a bearing on its meaning here. Christ was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father “in the heavenly places,” from where He governs “all things to [for the sake of] the church” (v. 22). Moreover, believers have also been raised up and seated with Him “in the heavenly places” (2:6). Christ’s victory over death has won believers a series of benefits for which Paul blesses the Father.