Heavenly Places - Ephesians 1:3

Ephesians 1:3 ESV 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 3:10-11

so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The heavenly places may be more complicated than we might commonly think. There are spiritual blessings mentioned in 6:12, but we see something else. A dark side resides there. In fact, this is the source of evil that attempts to bring about our defeat. Our spiritual armor defends against attacks from this enemy of God. 

The heavenly places may be the new creature born in the spiritual world and transferred into the kingdom of heaven. It is within man that darkness opposes the light and flesh opposes the things of the spirit. The chief battle field for the soul lies in the heart of man. 

A son of God is challenged by the flesh one hand and the spiritual forces of evil which God allows to prove and refine the man. His will and purpose for creation is a new creation resulting from His mercy and grace. This will prove the wisdom of the Lord in both heaven and earth. 

The heavenly places in view may be seen as the temple of God which are present in the world. This would be the people of God, the church, who are called the stones of the new temple. We are the living temple of the living God, a heavenly place if one defines heaven as the presence of God. The effects of the spiritual battle are manifest on earth and it is in creation that the will of the Creator will find it's completion. Heaven and earth will be joined as pictured in the union of Adam and Eve. 

No one can dispute that the battle is for our souls. This is why we must put on the full armor of God in this spiritual battle we find ourselves. 

These heavenly places will at last be revealed when the sons of God are revealed. The new creation will be unveiled in the form of those "mansions" Jesus said He would prepare for us: our new bodies that match our spirits as we fully enter the life of our eternal Father.