Christ’s Ascension: Part II
Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, in order that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed FN#1.
Introduction
Now remember, last week we began our celebration of the Ascension by noting that at its heart the Ascension is a presentation and application.
That is, the Ascension is the presentation of the completed work of salvation to God on our behalf. As such, the Ascension means that Christ, our all sufficient sacrifice and new life, is continually before God on our behalf.
The result is that God now responds to His people in light of Christ and His completed work. In other words, the new life Christ accomplished and then presented is now applied to His people.
This morning I want us to continue our celebration of Christ’s Ascension, by looking a bit further into this notion of application and noting the two primary ways that God applies Christ’s all sufficient Sacrifice to us.
II. Ascension as Application:
A] The first way that God responds to us in light of Christ’s Sacrifice is by seating Christ (in His human nature and as our representative) at the Father’s right hand. Notice the results:
· First, the seating of Christ means that God has irrevocably enthroned the source, security, and certainty of your salvation at His right hand
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. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
· Second, by seating our security/representative/salvation at His right hand, 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. As such, Christ now governs the whole of existence in light of His purpose for His people
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,
Notice then what the Ascension and Christ’s reign mean to you right now today:
1. The Ascension means 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.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
2. Second, the Ascension means that because the One you are following governs all creation and because His plan will not fail, you know that faithfulness is never in vain and trusting God will never leave you short.
Romans 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
3. Finally, the Ascension means that you are not merely a passive recipient of Christ’s reign. Instead, you have been raised 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 Christ’s reign is unfolding
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.
Bottom line: the Ascension means that your security and your advocate (that is, the source of your salvation and the one who champions your cause) now sits enthroned as the Lord of all creation directing the whole of existence according to His plan for His people.
However, please note how Scripture says that Christ will reign:
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 Fn#2.
This is so important, especially for the church today. Two point:
1. Christ reigns in the midst of His enemies because those enemies do not in any way threaten or thwart His Kingdom or plan
Isaiah 55:10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, 11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. (Psl 2:1-12; Dan 2:21; Acts 17:24-26)
2. Christ reigns in the midst of His enemies and does not immediately remove them because He sends His people (you and me) to offer those very enemies the same mercy, grace, and forgiveness that He has given to us
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 in the midst of His enemies mean that I am to respond to the world around me with faithfulness, courage, and compassion not indifference, timidity, and despair
B] Next, notice the second way that God responds to us in light of Christ’s Sacrifice is by pouring out the Holy Spirit on us that He might apply to us, the salvation that Christ accomplished for us. Fn#3
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.
Importance: next week we will talk more about the Spirit and His work. However, for now just remember that the Holy Spirit is the one who applies the salvation and new life that Christ accomplished for you to you. That is, the Spirit seals salvation to you, He marks you as God’s Child, and He renews you with God’s grace
Bottom line: notice at once, the Ascension means that inside and out Christ is unfolding the Salvation and Kingdom that He accomplished for you. In fact, inside and out, this unfolding is the single defining reality that you confront in every detail of existence.
Footnotes
1] Notice at once: Daniel chapter 7 provides a stunning picture of the Ascension. However, Daniel’s vision views the Ascension from the top down. Thus, while the disciples watch as Christ is taken up into the Shekinah Glory Cloud to heaven, Daniel is allowed in his vision to see the other side of this event. That is, Daniel watches as Christ, who has just departed from the Disciples, arrives in heaven and enters the heavenly Holy of holies. Compare:
Acts 1:9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, One like a Son of Man was coming with the clouds of heaven, And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
Note, Daniel provides one of the most concise theologies of the Ascension in all of Scripture. Remember the Ascension may be summarized in two words:
Both of these elements (Presentation and Application/Reign) are front and center in Daniel’s vision.
2] A while back 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. 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. 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 (i.e. recognize, realize, experience) 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.
3] To be theologically precise, the Father responds to us in light of Christ’s sacrifice by seating Christ and then pouring out the Holy Spirit through Christ. Notice then, this notion that the Father pours out the Spirit through the Son is an idea and pattern that we encounter over and again throughout the Scriptures to describe the working relationship between the members of the Trinity. For example:
a. The Father creates all things through (by way of) the Son
John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through (by way of) Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
b. The Father redeems and reconciles all things to Himself through (by way of) the Son
2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
c. The Father responds to us in light of the completed Sacrifice by pouring out the Holy Spirit through His ascended, seated Son
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
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,
Notice then John 15:26 describes this very pattern: the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son, who sends Him to us from the Father. It is important to note that here we are dealing with the working relationship of the Godhead and not any grounds of being with regards to the Spirit. The passage is not addressing where the Spirit derives from (the Spirit is co-eternal and co-ultimate with the other members of the Trinity. As such, He is not derived). Instead, the passage’s concern is to show us something of the relationship of the Spirit’s work to that of the Father and the Son. The Father responds to the Son’s completed work of Salvation by pouring out the Spirit through the Son in order to apply that salvation and to equip God’s people as the heralds of the Gospel. Notice then what this tells us about the Spirit’s work: it tells us that the Spirit’s work always has reference to the salvation Christ accomplished and to the Father’s plan for and acceptance of that Salvation. In other words, the Spirit proceeds from the Father’s acceptance of our Salvation and points back to Christ and that Salvation.