The Theology of Christ’s Ascension
John 16:5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Introduction
This morning as we come celebrating Christ’s Ascension, I want us to take a moment to understand the importance of the Ascension.
Now the reason is, that too often, we as the people of God, rush straight from the Resurrection right to Pentecost and all but ignore the Ascension. However, if we stop and listen to Scripture what we find is that the blessings of Pentecost are the direct result of the Ascension. In fact, in the passage we just read, Jesus says that without the Ascension there would be no Pentecost.
Therefore, this morning I want us to ask two basic questions
A] The Ascension serves as an Explanation: The ascension provides a public explanation to the question, “where is the living Christ now?” FN#1
John 16:28 “I came from the Father, and entered the world; now I am leaving the world, and going back to the Father.”
B] The Ascension underscores the completion of our full salvation (both our debt for sin and our obligation to obey). In other words, Christ ascends because His work of salvation is fully completed.
Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,
However, if we stop there, we will miss some very crucial aspects of the Ascension. Not only that, we will leave the vital connection between the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit ambiguous at best. So, what are these crucial aspects of the Ascension, why is the Ascension such a big deal, and what is the relationship between the Ascension and Pentecost?
C] The Ascension as Presentation: at its heart/essence the Ascension is fundamentally a presentation. Simply put, Christ ascends to heaven in order to present Himself and the new life He accomplished to God. [Notice then the progression: the Cross paid the full price of sin; the Resurrection is proof that the payment was accepted; and the Ascension is the presentation of this salvation to God on behalf of all believers].
Notice then the point: it is not enough that a payment is secured/ available. It’s not enough that that payment is deemed sufficient and acceptable to cover the cost. The payment actually has to be given/presented to the one to whom it is owed.
Importance: notice at once, when we turn to the very heart of the Old Testament sacrificial system and the picture that God provides there of the salvation that Christ was coming to accomplish, we find this very same pattern: a sacrifice is made, it is deemed acceptable, and then it is presented to God.
Leviticus 16:15 “And Aaron shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, * and then bring its blood inside the veil, * and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat
In other words, the sacrifice made and accepted is presented to God and is before God FN#2.
Notice then when we turn to the New Testament, we find that Christ perfectly fulfills this very pattern of redemption (in other words, this pattern that the O.T. promises, is the salvation that Christ accomplished).
Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things to come, He entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. [see also Heb 9:24]
Bottom line: why is the Ascension so important? The Ascension is the presentation of the completed work of salvation to God on our behalf FN#3.
D] The Ascension as Application FN#4: the Ascension is a presentation that is the basis of and results in an application. Simply put, the Ascension means that Christ, our 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. As such, at the heart of the Ascension is the idea that the new life Christ accomplished and then presented is now applied to His people.
Importance: once again we see this very pattern promised in the heart of the Old Testament
Leviticus 16:21 “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness.
Importance: Lev 16:21 is a reenactment, an object lesson, done in full view of all the people of the transaction that just took place behind the veil in 16:15.
Notice then the message: God now deals with His people in terms of the accepted sacrifice just presented to Him and not their sins.
Notice once again, that Christ is the fulfillment of this Old Testament pattern:
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; (Rev 5:6) FN#5
Bottom line: The salvation accomplished on the Cross, accepted in the Resurrection, and presented at the Ascension is now applied to God’s people. How do we know? FN#6
E] Pentecost is Proof– Pentecost is the proof that God now deals with His people in terms of Christ’s sacrifice. How? On Pentecost God poured out His Holy Spirit to seal, administer, and apply the new life to His people.
Titus 3:5 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,
Bottom line: Pentecost is the fruit (the direct result) of the Ascension (Jn 16:7). It is the proof that the salvation accomplished, accepted and presented to the Father has been applied to His people FN#7.
Footnotes
1] Importance: unlike the myths and epic poetry of the pagan world, our salvation is not accomplished in some far away mistic realm out of view and out of reach. Instead, it is accomplished publicly, in real time and real place, amid watching crowds from around the world.
2] Importance: Leviticus 16 is not the only place we find this three-fold salvation promised or depicted in the Old Testament. Instead, over and again throughout the Old Testament promises and prophesies we find each of the three stages taught:
Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
Psalm 16:10 For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.11 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
Isaiah 53:10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.
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, 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: in Acts 1:9 we see the ascension from the ground up, in terms of Christ’s departure. However, in Daniel we see the Ascension from the top down. That is, Daniel is allowed to see Christ’s arrival.}
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.”
In turn, it is important to note that this threefold pattern of salvation is not a threefold salvation. There are not three salvations but one. Instead, it is a threefold manifestation of the one Salvation that God sent Christ to accomplish. Thus:
3] Note: we see the vital importance for our Salvation that the Ascension and the Presentation it represents hold. We see this in the touching scene at the empty tomb between the Resurrected Christ and Mary.
John 20:17 Jesus said to Mary, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'”
After the trauma and loss of the Cross, Mary clings to the resurrected Jesus and does not want to ever let Him go again. However, Jesus’ compassionate rebuke lets Mary know that there is more to be done. Not only that, this more (this Ascension and Presentation) is a vital part of the Salvation He has come to accomplish.
Notice the results (notice the importance of the full pattern of Salvation that God has promised and the way that each part directly impacts your life): the Cross is the singular source of your salvation. The Resurrection is the singular content of your salvation (it is the salvation and new life that Christ accomplished and brings forth with Him from the tomb). The Ascension is the presentation of this completed salvation; while Pentecost is the application of this presented salvation to you. Finally, Christ’s burial establishes the way that you experience this salvation while on earth.
4] The ascension is a presentation that results in and is the basis of an application.
More precisely, the ascension is the presentation of the completed work of salvation that results in and is the basis of the application of that salvation to believers.
5] Notice then we see a beautiful picture of this very idea in Revelation 5:6.
Revelation 5:6 And I saw a Lamb as if slain standing between the throne (of God) and the elders (the Church)
Notice at once, John is standing in the very throne room of God (the true Holy of holies). In the center of all creation is God’s throne. Not only that, surrounding God’s throne are the 24 thrones of the entire Church (12 Old Testament tribes and 12 New Testament Apostles). Notice then the point of this portion of the picture: where ever God turns to work in His creation, He sees that work through His people. In other words, whatever God does in the whole of creation, He always does it in light of the promises and plan He has for His people.
Next, notice John sees a Lamb. Not only that, notice the picture he provides us of this Lamb immediately describes the Lamb in terms of the full pattern of salvation the Lamb was promised to fulfill. He is a Lamb as if slain. There is the Cross and the sacrifice made. However, He is not dead but alive and standing. There is the Resurrection and New Life. Not only that, notice where He is standing. He is standing in the throne room of God ever before His Father. There is the Ascension and its vital presentation. In other words, John depicts Christ in terms of the whole pattern of salvation that He was sent to accomplish (and we would do well not to forget or neglect any aspect of this pattern or the way that each particular aspect provides an essential factor of our salvation).
Notice then the point of this scene that John is describing: the entire Church (Old and New Testament) is seated in a complete circle around God’s throne. Standing between God’s throne and His people is the sacrificed, risen, and ascended Lamb. Thus, whenever God turns to attend to one of His children (to answer their prayers, to comfort, provide for, or correct them), He sees them through the blood of the Lamb. That is, He deals with them in terms of Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice (not their own merits). In other words, the salvation presented to the Father is now applied to His people.
Subsequently, this is the very same picture presented to us each week at the Lord’s Table. Notice then, God commands us to draw near to Him “In remembrance of me (Christ)”. Why? That is exactly how God draws near to us- in remembrance of, on the basis of, and in terms of Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice, which is ever before Him on our behalf. Christ is truly our mediator and the reconciler of man to God.
6] There is an important question should be asked at this point: why is presentation necessary for application? Why not simply move from the Cross and Resurrection to Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, and application? Was not the Cross a sacrifice presented/made unto God? Was not the Resurrection a bestowal of the New Life accomplished by Christ? The answer to these last two questions is, “Yes, but…”. Yes, the Cross was a sacrifice presented/made unto God. However, it is not the reward we receive. Instead, it is the payment made on our behalf by which the reward is secured in full. Again, yes, the Resurrection was a bestowal of the New Life accomplished by Christ. However, it is not the bestowal we are looking for. It is not the bestowal of the new life upon us, the believers. Instead, it was a bestowal given specifically to Christ (on our behalf). Thus, Christ receives for us what He then bestows on us. Notice then, the Spirit (and thus the merit of the Cross and the New life of the Resurrection) is bestowed upon us by the Father through the Son. In other words, our reception of this new life (its bestowal on us) always has reference to Christ and what He has accomplished and what He has received for us. The point is, when Christ ascends to the Father, it is not with bits and pieces of our salvation. Instead, He ascend with the completed fullness of that salvation (a salvation both accomplished and received; accomplished and secured). Simply put, at the ascension Christ has with Him the totality of all that He was sent to secure for us (both the accomplishment and the thing accomplished; both the grounds and the content, both the Cross and the Resurrection). It is this totality, this complete package, that Christ then presents to the Father as our representative that it might be bestowed on us in full.
To put the same answer another way: to understand why presentation is necessary for application we must 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 Him. On the other hand, in the Ascension, Christ our representative presents to God this completed salvation (accomplished and received) in order that what He has done for us may now be applied to us.
Ephesians 4:8 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”
In the Ascension, Christ returns to the Father in the fullness of our human nature as our head and representative. Not only that, He ascends with the fullness of the comprehensive salvation that He accomplished and received for us. Simply put, at the ascension Christ has with Him the totality of all that He was sent to secure for us (both its accomplishment and its reception; both its grounds and its content; both the Cross and the Resurrection). It is this complete package that Christ, our representative, then presents to the Father that it might be bestowed on us in full.
Importance: notice the point here: it is not until Christ- His onetime sacrifice and the fullness of the New Life that He accomplished for us are seated before the Father in our flesh, as our representative, that the salvation accomplished for us is applied to all who belong to Christ (to all who are included in Him and thus seated with Him- Col 3:1-3). Simply put, in receiving Christ, God receives all who are in Christ according to the terms (the salvation) that Christ has established. Thus, our security, our assurance, our hope and certainty have but one singular source/focus/basis. It is Christ our savior, eternally and irrevocable seated at the Father’s right hand as our representative.
7] One of the main points of our Easter Season series that will become clearer next week is the way that this total picture/pattern of salvation fits together, with each part contributing an essential and interwoven factor to the whole redemption that God has provided. Thus, even though we have recently concluded our study of Christ’s burial, we have not left it behind. Instead, from the very beginning Scripture alerts us that the Ascension and the dynamics established for us by Christ’s burial go hand in hand, each one contributing a central factor to the other. Notice then in Psalm 110 (a passage all about Christ’s Ascension and His being seated at God’s right hand), we find the dynamics of Christ’s burial front and center.
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”
Notice at once that little unassuming preposition “until”, right in the middle of this glorious Ascension promise, points directly to a delay. Christ’s enemies will not be immediately vanquished. Instead, the very manner in which Christ’s reign is implemented is coordinated with the manner of the delay that He established for His people. Again, this same notion is repeated front and center in the same Psalm:
2 The LORD will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.”
Again, Christ’s enemies are not immediately vanquished. Instead, there is a delay in which His people are sent out as witnesses, in the midst of the enemies, enduring the very conditions of this fallen world. However, this delay is not defined by uncertainty, judgment, or any unfinished aspect of salvation. Instead, it is a delay that is defined by the victory and certainty of Christ’s reign. Simply put, just as delay structures the immediate manner of Christ reign, Christ’s reign defines the very terms of that delay. We abide delay under the surety of His favor and rule. In other words, the point here is that each part of the pattern of salvation (promised in the Old and fulfilled in the New) is an interconnected whole which directly impacts our life/walk today.
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):
Such then is the pattern/picture of salvation promised by the Old and explicitly fulfilled by the New.