Where is Christ today? What’s He doing and what attitude and approach did He adopt after the conclusion of His earthly ministry? In our final post on the person and work of Christ, we’ll consider what the Bible reveals to us about Christ’s ascension and its impact on our daily Christian walk. This event wasn't merely a dramatic stage exit but an awesome transitional step from Christ Jesus’ earthly ministry to a heavenly one. By examining what the Bible presents to us about Christ’s ascension, we’ll gain a deeper appreciation for our unique savior, Jesus Christ.
The first thing we need to understand regarding Christ’s ascension is that Christ ascended twice, first privately and then publicly. When Mary found the recently raised Jesus outside the tomb in John 20:17, He said to her, “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Jesus Christ first ascended to the Father on the day of His resurrection. This secret ascension took place before the public ascension witnessed by His disciples in the first chapter of Acts. Acts 1:9 tells us that “He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight.” Jesus first ascended early in the morning on the day of His resurrection to satisfy the Father, returned to the disciples later that evening, and publicly ascended forty days later.
What took place when Christ ascended? The Bible provides us with numerous significant details, but for our general understanding, it's helpful to think of Jesus Christ’s ascension as an inauguration. Before a newly elected official can take office, they must first be inaugurated. Their inauguration makes their new office, with all its powers and responsibilities, official. Similarly, Jesus was the Christ and the Lord before His ascension, but His ascension made it official. In his gospel message, Peter, in Acts 2:36, says that “God has made [Jesus] both Lord and Christ.” This took place at the inauguration of Christ’s ascension.
For Jesus to be made “Lord” means that He is now the Ruler of the universe and the authority in God’s government. It’s worth pausing here to reiterate that Christ’s work depends on His person, and that concerning His person, Christ is fully God and fully man. You may have thought that because Christ is fully God, He was already the Lord and Ruler of the universe. But when Jesus Christ was inaugurated as the Lord, it was not as God but as the incarnate Jesus. The ruler of the universe, the Lord in the heavens, is Jesus the man! Acts 2:36 also tells us that Jesus was made “Christ,” God’s Anointed One. As Christ, the man Jesus, has been appointed by God to accomplish God’s plan. In His ascension, Jesus was officially inaugurated as the Christ.
For God the Father’s purpose and according to His plan, the Son is always working. (John 5:17) We can think about Christ’s work, or ministry, as having two parts, an earthly part and a heavenly part. The work that Christ accomplished while He was on the Earth was hugely successful. He fully accomplished redemption through the steps of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Since His work was successful, Christ Jesus is, on the one hand, in the heavens, sitting at the right hand of God. His sitting down indicates that He is resting from the work He completed. On the other hand, however, we can point to several passages that show us that Christ is still working while He is in the heavens. At the conclusion of his great testimony, Stephen was stoned to death by his Jewish brethren. Luke, the author of the book of Acts, records that as he was being killed, Stephen looked up into heaven and saw “Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56). The Lord Jesus’ posture, standing in the heavens, is an expression of His intimate concern for His faithful servant at the time of Stephen’s mortal persecution. In Revelation 2:1, John tells us that he saw Jesus Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, and in Revelation 5:6, he records seeing the Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. Christ is not sitting lazily in the heavens but is exceedingly active in His heavenly ministry. And we are the blessed recipients of His faithful and constant work!
Acts 5:31 says, “This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior.” In His heavenly ministry, Christ Jesus is leading and saving. As the ruler of the universe, He leads by arranging every circumstance and situation to bring His chosen people to Himself so that He can be their Savior. Consider your own story. How many events transpired, how many sequences aligned, so that you would find Christ and He you? The time you were born, your country of origin, your family, acquaintances, blessings, and hardships were all part of Jesus Christ's sovereign arrangement of your life in His heavenly ministry. And His work doesn’t cease after our salvation. In our post about Jesus’ Human Living, we considered how His experience as a genuine man enabled Him to empathize with and relate to us as our High Priest. (Hebrews 4:15) But in His heavenly ministry, He is not only a man but also God, and as God, He can care for us in every situation. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that in His heavenly ministry, Christ Jesus “lives always to intercede for [us].” Throughout the day, the Lord Jesus’ faithful intercession reminds us to pray and speak to Him, and causes us to praise and thank Him. No anxiety will ever befall us without the corresponding intercession of our great High Priest, and our Christian life should be full of small and meaningful responses to His intercession.
We hope that this series on Christ’s person and work has strengthened your Christian faith and walk. Building “upon the foundation” is a lifelong endeavor that is greatly helped when we thoughtfully consider God’s word and faithfully pursue Christ with our Christian companions.
