Is the right hand of God a divine position?
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Mark 12:35-36 and Acts 2:33-36 both quoted Psalm 110:1:
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."
which arguably is the most important OT verse in Christian theology to prove "the plurality of the Godhead and Jesus' supremacy as king, priest, and Messiah. For this reason, Psalm 110 is 'the most frequently quoted or referenced psalm in the New Testament'" (source: Wikipedia article Psalm 110).
The 2015 Christian Crier blog article What Does The Right Hand Symbolize or Mean by Jack Wellman (pastor) cites many Biblical references of "right hand" into several related meanings:
The Hand of Authority (cf. Ps 110:1, 1 King 2:19, Mark 10:37, Mark 12:35-36, Mark 16:19, Luke 20:42-43, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33-36, Eph 1:20-21, 1 Pet 3:22, etc.). To be at the right side next to God in Heaven is to be in the traditional place of honor (see Wikipedia article Right hand of God).
The Hand of Blessing (cf. Gen 48:14, Jacob blessing on Ephraim)
The Hand of Strength (cf. Ex 15:12, Deut 33:2, Isa 41:10, Rev 1:17)
The Hand of Sovereignty (cf. Rev 5:1, Rev 5:7, Rev 10:2)
See also the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article Right and Left which give us more Biblical references as well as more ancient Hebrew, Rabbinical, Ceremonial, and Angelology connotations.
The GotQuestions website article Why does Scripture emphasize the right hand of God? gives us the significance of Jesus's sitting at the "right hand of God" :
- that Jesus the Messiah has been given the power and authority to subdue His enemies
- that Jesus had indeed gone to heaven proven by the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), confirmed in Rom 8:34 that Christ is making intercession for us.
Conclusion: (from the GotQuestions article):
Therefore, what we can say is that "God’s right hand" refers to the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ, and He is of equal position, honor, power, and authority with God (John 1:1-5). The fact that Christ is "sitting" refers to the fact that His work of redemption is done and when the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in (Romans 11:25), Christ’s enemies will be made His footstool. When the end of the age comes, all prophecy will be completed, and time will be no more.
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Is the right hand of God a divine position?
The short answer is no.
The right hand of God signifies a special place of honour.
The right hand of God (Dextera Domini "right hand of the Lord" in Latin) or God's right hand may refer to the Bible and common speech as a metaphor for the omnipotence of God and as a motif in art.
In the Bible, to be at the right side "is to be identified as being in the special place of honour". In Jesus' parable "The Sheep and the Goats", the sheep and goats are separated with the sheep on the right hand of God and the goats on the left hand.
It is also a placement next to God in Heaven, in the traditional place of honor, mentioned in the New Testament as the place of Christ at Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Matthew 22:44 and 26:64, Acts 2:34 and 7:55, 1 Peter 3:22 and elsewhere. These uses reflect use of the phrase in the Old Testament, for example in Psalms 63:8 and 110:1. The implications of this anthropomorphic phrasing have been discussed at length by theologians, including Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Jesus is often seen sitting or standing at the right hand of God, the place of honour.
But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” - Acts 7:55-56
Throughout the Scriptures we see the right side as being the place of honour and the left side as being the place of disgrace.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. - Matthew 25:33
There are at least 58 biblical verses about the Right Hand of God. They all seem to show this general meaning of the Right Hand of God as being a place of honour.
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