The Ascension, Pentecost, and Delay
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Introduction
Last week in our study on the Ascension we asked two basic questions:
Now remember over the course of our study we found that the Ascension is a big deal because it is the presentation of the completed work of salvation to God on our behalf.
Not only that we also learned that the connection between the Ascension and Pentecost rests on the fact that the new life Christ accomplished and then presented is now applied to His people (thus the pouring out of the Holy Spirit).
This morning, I want us to return to the Ascension and Pentecost in order to tidy up some loose ends. Not only that as we get a clearer, more direct and comprehensive view of the Ascension, what we are going to find is that the Ascension, together with Pentecost provides the final chapter in our study on Christ burial and the great assurance it provides.
Now to accomplish all of this (Ascension, Pentecost, and Burial) we begin with a question:
Why is the Ascension and its presentation necessary for Pentecost? In other words, why can’t we simply move from the Cross and Resurrection directly to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit? Why is the Ascension and it presentation necessary in order to apply a salvation that has already been accomplished?
As we turn to Scripture we find that we can answer this question with one word: Reception.
Question: Why is the Ascension and its presentation necessary for Pentecost? In other words, why can’t we simply move from the Cross and Resurrection directly to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit? The answer is Reception.
A] When Christ ascended He presented Himself and His completed salvation to God on our behalf. In response, God seated Christ at His right hand. In other words, the salvation presented is received. Importance: when God seated Christ, He received and enthroned our savior, our salvation, and all who belong to Christ at His right hand and in His presence for all eternity.
Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, (Col 3:1-3) FN#1
1 Peter 1:3 [God has caused us to be born again] 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
II The Result of Reception- Application
Notice then the result of this reception (God’s reception of our savior, our salvation, together with all who Christ represents):
A] The seating/reception of Christ means that God has irrevocably enthroned the source, security, and certainty of our salvation at His right hand. As such, God now deals with us in terms of the full salvation that is ever before Him on our behalf.
Revelation 5:6 And I saw standing between the throne (of God) and the elders (the Church) a Lamb as if slain (I Jn 2:1-2)
B] Second, the seating/reception of Christ also means that God has enthroned the very purpose, plan, and Kingdom that Christ accomplished for us. Therefore, God seats Christ at His right hand as King over all creation in order to govern the whole of existence in light of His purpose and plan for His people FN#2
Ephesians 1:20 He raised Christ from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
Importance: Christ’s seating and reign mean that there is no aspect of your life, nor is there one detail or event that you encounter in this world that falls outside of God’s Lordship, purpose, and plan for His people FN#3.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
C] Finally, once seated, Christ’s first act in office is to pour out the Holy Spirit on us in order that the Spirit might apply to us, the salvation that Christ accomplished for us. Fn#4
Act 2:33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Ephesians 1:13 you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge/deposit of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession (Eph 4:30) FN#5
Bottom line: the Ascension is necessary for Pentecost because the salvation accomplished and presented is then received and applied. Thus, God now deals with us in terms of the Savoir and salvation seated at His right hand.
III Conclusion: Reign, Delay and Promise
In our series on Holy Saturday we learned that Christ’s burial established a delay for His people between the completion of salvation (the Cross) and the reception of its full measure (our own resurrection). During this delay the believer experiences the full conditions of this fallen world, even its death yet not under the world’s judgment or separation but under God’s promise. FN#6
The Ascension and Christ’s reign then is the culmination of that series. That is, the Ascension and Christ being seated at the Father’s right hand as King over all creation is the promise (are the terms) by which our delay is defined and secured. Notice then
Notice the result: inside and out (be it in our own walk or in every detail of life around us), Christ is governing all creation in light of His promises and Kingdom. It is this reality/reign then that defines the whole of our delay. That is, it is this reality/reign that sets the terms and the reasons according to which we encounter this fallen world (we have not been left behind, we have been sent out to share in Christ’s work/mission/reign). As such, when we say that the believer endures the conditions of a fallen world under promise, we have only to point to Christ seated at God’s right hand (His reception, reign, and the gift of the Holy Spirit) to find the whole of that promise in concrete certain terms FN#8.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Footnotes
1] Notice then the full picture of our salvation that Scripture provides (the very pattern/progression promised by the Old and explicitly fulfilled by the New- Lev 16:15; Heb 9:11-12):
Note the progression and the distinction as we move from the Resurrection to the Ascension: in the Resurrection God bestows on Christ the salvation that He accomplished for us and that is to be ours. In the Ascension Christ our representative now presents this completed salvation to God in order that what He has done for us may now be applied to us.
In other words, the key to understanding this progression and the distinction between what takes place at the Resurrection and what takes place in the Ascension is understanding the mediatorial/representational nature of the Ascension. Christ ascends, is presented, and seated in the fullness of our human nature as our head and representative. Not only that, what He presents to the Father as our representative is the fullness of the salvation that He accomplished for us on the Cross and brings with Him from the Resurrection. Simply put, at the ascension Christ has with Him all that He was sent to secure for us.
2] Notice at once how Scripture says that Christ will reign. Not only that notice the direct tie between Christ’s reign and our own delay:
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” 2 The LORD will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.”
Importance: first, notice what God does not say- God does not say that Christ’s reign means the immediate end of all His enemies; nor does God say, Christ’s reign will have to wait until His enemies are gone to really begin. Instead, God says that Christ will rule in the midst of His enemies. Notice then the tie to our delay:
Daniel 2:21 “And it is He [God] who changes the times and the ages; He removes kings and establishes kings;
Daniel 4:32 You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’
Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, (2 Pet 3:9)
Bottom line: Christ’s Ascension and His reign amid our delay mean that I am to respond to the world around me with faithfulness, courage, and compassion not indifference, timidity, and despair (II Tim 1:7-8)
3] Christ’s Ascension and His Reception/Enthronement combine to tell you that you are not merely a passive recipient of Christ’s reign. Instead, you have been seated with Christ. In other words, you are an active participant in Christ’s reign (remember the grace that saves you changes you). Therefore, you are to seek with every moment and every aspect of your life the very things that Christ’s reign is unfolding
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Importance: remember, everything Christ does in His human nature He does as our representative and on our behalf. Therefore, we don’t just passively benefit from what Christ has done, we actively share in it (be it the salvation of the Cross or the Resurrection of the body- we directly partake of and participate in what Christ has done as our mediator). Christ’s Ascension and Reign are no exception. Christ does not just reign over us and for us; we actively participate in that reign. In other words, the work that grace is doing in you and through you (along with the spiritual gifts and ministry that God has given each one of us) are some of the chief means that Christ uses to accomplish the work of His reign. Notice then, throughout Scripture we see the believer assisting Christ at every stage of His reign
1) Your work participates in the present work of Christ’s reign
Matthew 6:33 “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness;
Matthew 6:10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
2) Your work participates in the future work of Christ’s reign
1 Corinthians 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels?
3) Your work participates in the fullness of Christ’s reign
Revelation 5:10 “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Bottom line: Our delay underscores that fact that our work shares in Christ’s reign. That is, you have been given an active part in the work that Christ is doing.
4] To be more theologically precise Scripture says that in receiving Christ, God gives Him (in His capacity as our savior, King, and representative) the Holy Spirit. The result is that Christ’s first act in office is to pour out the gift of the Father on us in order that the Spirit might apply to us, the salvation that Christ accomplished for us.
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me,
Act 2:33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus) has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Ephesians 1:13 you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge/deposit of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession
5] It is thus that the Spirit guides, instructs, corrects, cleanses, engifts, and empowers God’s people as citizens and fellow workers of Christ’s Kingdom. Importance: if Christ’s burial provides the delay in which we are blessed with a direct share in the work/mission of Christ, then the Holy Spirit is poured out to renew and equip us for that work. In other words the coming of the Spirit means that you are not merely a passive recipient of Christ’s reign. Instead, you are an active participant in Christ’s reign (remember the grace that saves you changes you).
John 20:21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Notice then our work of “building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12) is based on and directly reflects the Holy Spirit’s same work of building up, providing for, and nurturing God’s people (inside and out- be it through discipleship or witness). In other words, each gift is a public manifestation/disclosure by which the Spirit allows us to share in the very objective and work that He is doing as He administers and unfolds the salvation and Kingdom that Christ accomplished. Not only that, notice how this active participation given to believers is based on the very nature of the salvation that Christ has accomplished for us. The grace that saves you is a grace that changes you; and it changes you so that you can be an active participant in the new life and Kingdom that God has given you. Thus, salvation not only means a share in Kingdom life, it also means a share in the Kingdom labor (which underscore the believer’s value, the actual nature of our relationship with God, and the current operation of new life in us).
6] Recently we looked at Christ’s burial. Paul says that Christ’s burial is a matter of “first importance” (I Cor 15:3-4). We found that while the Cross is the source of our salvation and the resurrection is the content of that salvation (i.e. the new life that Christ accomplished for us), Christ’s burial establishes the way we experience this salvation while on earth.
Christ’s burial provides for an essential delay between the completion of salvation (on the Cross) and the reception of the full measure of its reward (at the Resurrection). As such, Christ’s burial establishes the very context of your whole existence on this earth. Thus, between the completion of salvation (the Cross) and the reception of its full blessings (your own resurrection) there is a delay. A delay in which the Church is sent into the world, enduring its conditions and even its death, yet not under God’s judgment but under God’s promise that the whole of our salvation is secure and that our certain victory is already underway.
Case in point: as we turn our attention to Christ’s Ascension and His reign, Christ’s burial is not the bases of that reign (Christ would reign as our head over all creation even if there had been no burial). However, Christ’s burial does determine the way we experience that reign while on earth as well as the way that Christ administers His reign in light of His people’s mission/delay. Importance: on Holy Saturday, Christ not only established the terms of our delay, He also established the very manner in which He will unfold His reign. Notice then the way that Hebrews 2:8 talks about Christ’s reign in terms of the very delay that His burial established for His people:
Hebrews 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
In the end, it is the very framework established by Christ’s burial which determines the manner of His reign prophesied in Psalm 110:1-2 (c.f. footnote #2 above).
Psalm 110:1. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” 2 The LORD will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.”
Bottom line: Christ’s burial not only established the terms of our delay, it also established the very manner in which He will unfold His reign
7] In other words, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the direct application to every believer personally of all the factors and realities of Christ’s reign. Consider:
Not only that, in the end, the Kingdom purpose at work in us (through the Holy Spirit) and that which is at work all around us (as Christ reigns) will perfectly and exactly converge.
2 Peter 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
8] On Holy Saturday, Christ not only established the terms of our delay, He also established the very manner in which He will unfold His reign. Christ unfolds His reign in such a way that His people may participate in that reign (during their delay) as witnesses and heralds to a fallen world.