Why did Jesus use the words “the new covenant in my blood” at the Lord's Table?

Introduction:

    Why did Jesus state in His institution of the Lord's Table in Luke 22:20-22 that the cup represented "the new covenant" of His blood? This post will set out to answer that question. Let's first look at the text itself. Luke 22:20-22 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” 

    So, again we ask: why did Jesus describe the cup of the Lord’s Supper as “the new covenant in my blood”? To guide us in our thinking, I'll have us keep in mind what a covenant is first of all. Then, we will briefly tour what the Bible teaches about covenants, as well as noting the Biblical terminology of “Old Covenant” and “New Covenant”. We will then conclude our observations with how these words from Jesus actually shape Christian identity, and why it is spiritually beneficial for believers in the local church to partake of the Lord's Supper. 

Defining a covenant.

    A covenant is a binding agreement made between two parties, or one party fulfilling the agreement and bestowing its benefits on another. Included in covenants are oaths, promises, sanctions in the event one party breaks the covenant, and a sign or symbol reminding the participants of the covenant (compare Hebrews 6:18-20). Covenants are throughout the Bible.

God never relates apart from covenant.

    Whether God’s relationship with creation (Jeremiah 33:20), Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:16-17; Hosea 6:7), or even with the original couple following their disobedience in the garden (Genesis 3:20-21), God has never done nothing in our world apart from covenant. When God had ordained Abraham and his descendants to be His chosen people, He ratified that choice by covenant (Genesis 12:1-7). 

    

    The sign of the Abrahamic Covenant was circumcision to remind him and his descendants of their need to be born again or to have a heart change by faith (Genesis 17; Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Romans 2:29). This Covenant with Abraham was God’s promise of a nation (Israel) and ultimate descendant (Jesus). Also, God’s later covenant with David was that of an ultimate descendant (Jesus) in 2 Samuel 7:13-16. Both covenants forecasted what would be the New Covenant (see Genesis 17:6; 2 Samuel 7:13-16; Jeremiah 31:23-26; Galatians 3:16). Once Abraham’s descendants, through his grandson Jacob, made their way down to Egypt, they became enslaved by the Egyptians for over 400 years. God called Moses to deliver them and to bring them to Mount Sinai.

C. The Old Covenant.

     In Exodus 20, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Hebrew people, would become a nation, Israel at Mount Sinai. To administrate or provide a context for God and the people to relate, God instituted a temporary arrangement, a covenant, which the books of Hebrews and Galatians called “the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:1,18); God’s covenant through Moses (Hebrews 9:19); and “The Law” (Galatians 3:15-16).

    God ratified this particular covenant by the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:18-19), through Divinely administered signs or symbols (sacrificial system, commandments, circumcision, various Jewish festivals), and by the giving of Divinely revealed books (Luke 24:44).

    Although this “first covenant” had all these components, it was not meant to bring salvation, but to point the people to their need for heart changed by grace through faith in God’s promise of salvation. God used it as a temporary prototype to guide the people as He revealed His promises and salvation by grace through faith by way of the Abrahamic and eventually New Covenants (Galatians 3:23-25).

    Israel and the Jews under the Old Covenant were redeemed as we are today – by a changed heart, faith, and repentance (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; John 3:3-5; Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-3; Isaiah 30:15; Acts 2:37).

    To illustrate. The Old Covenant was like a set of training wheels on a child’s bike (this borrows in principle from Paul’s illustration of a tutor in Galatians 3:23-25). The child has to trust their parents as they learn to ride the bike as they ride with the wheels. The time comes though when the parent takes the wheels off. The child is told to still trust the parent as they learn to ride the bike without the wheels.

    The principles of trust (faith) are the same in each situation, even though the way the parent administrated their time with the child is different (with training wheels, without them). When Jesus came, the promised New Covenant was inaugurated, meaning the ceremonial aspects of that first covenant were rendered obsolete or “old” (hence “the Old Covenant, Old Testament” Hebrews 8:18). 

    Nonetheless, the principle of a changed heart, made even more robust in the New Covenant by the Spirit’s work of the New Birth or regeneration, is identical whether Old Covenant or now New Covenant believers.

The New Covenant.

      The prophets Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:25-27), as well as other prophets, foretold what would be a future second covenant, a “New Covenant”, wherein God would bring salvation and heart change to sinners from the nations (called Gentiles) and restore Israel as a nation upon the return of Messiah to earth (see Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 23; 31-33; Ezekiel 11; 36-27 and many others). They predicted the Holy Spirit Himself, being God, would dwell in the hearts of His people – Jew and Gentile.

Why did Jesus call the Lord's Supper a covenant meal?

    

    We've looked at the meaning of a covenant in the Bible. We've noted some examples of covenants, as well as defined and compared the Old and New Covenants. This leads us to the night our Lord instituted His covenant meal for His church and the homestretch of today's post. Four implications follow from Jesus' identification of the Lord's Supper as a covenant meal.

1. The Lord's Table indicated the New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus. 

    When you read Jesus stating that “this cup is the blood of the New Covenant in my blood”, it was a sign that the predicted New Covenant was spiritually underway, with the Lord’s Table being one of the two premier signs (baptism being the other) administered to believers. We saw already that all covenants in the Bible always have some sort of symbols or signs to signify the promise of God, the believer's need to relate to God by faith, and His covenantal commitment to the believer. 

2. The New Covenant was to be ratified by Jesus' work on the cross.   

    As the Old Covenant was certified by blood being sprinkled on the people and the revelation of the Law of God (see Exodus 24:8), so too the New Covenant needed ratified by the shedding of Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:27; 1 Peter 1:17-18; 3:18). Jesus was already associating this covenant meal with His then pending substitutionary atoning work on the cross with the bread and the cup. 

3. The Lord's Supper conveyed its association with God's Word and the revelation of the New Testament books. 

    Just as the revelation of 39 inspired books served God's people to expound and remind them of their covenantal relationship to Yahweh from Mount Sinai through the Kingdom years to their exiles to their return to Jerusalem at the end; God revealed 27 additional books to expound on the implications of the New Covenant work of Jesus Christ (see John 14:16-17). In other words, this is why we have 27 additional books to indicate Jesus’ getting the New Covenant spiritually in motion. The Lord's Supper is never separated from the preaching, teaching, and mediation on God's Word - the Bible. 

4. The Lord's Table as a covenant meal reminds the Christian of their spiritual identity in Jesus Christ. 

    

    Finally, when we participate in the Lord’s Supper as a covenant meal, we are expressing our identity with Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the New Covenant. born-again Christian enjoys unity due to their union with Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). The Lord’s Supper conveys this truth of our union with Him as we already noted (see 1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Some 40 or so places in the New Testament we find reference to Christians being “in Christ” or “with Christ” as tell-tale signs of union with Him. Such union with Christ is captured in the ultimate sense of the great “marriage of the supper of the Lamb” feast spoken of yet-future when we’re with Christ in Revelation 19, all pointed ahead in the Lord’s Supper. 

    His Holy Spirit has written God’s Law in our hearts (Romans 2:29), and has brought about our New Birth in saving faith. Furthermore, we would even say that God’s promise to redeem Israel still holds as the final expression of the New Covenant (Romans 11:25). The covenant meal proclaims the central message of New Covenant Christianity in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Post #27 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - The Nicene Creed's Confession Of Last Things (Eschatology) and a word on theological triage

Introduction:

    In our study of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 A.D., we have explored the Creed's confession of God the Father and God the Son. As we are coming down the homestretch of what the Nicene Creed has to say about God the Son, we come to that section that deals with summarizing the Biblical teaching on "eschatology" or the study of last things.

Theological triage. 

    In an emergency room, doctors and nurses are able to know who to treat and who is to remain in the waiting room by a process known as "triage". A person with a broken arm, though serious, is not regarded as severe as another in cardiac arrest. Determining which is which is the whole point of triage. 

    In the study of Bible doctrine and theology, theologians undergo a similar approach to "theological triage", noting what the Bible states as of first, second, and of third importance, as well as viewing historic creeds like the Nicene Creed. Readers may refer to an excellent article on theological triage by Al Mohler here A Call for Theological Triage and Christian Maturity - AlbertMohler.com 

    Let me mention one more important point before we go forward. This author affirms the historic and Biblical doctrine of "Scripture Alone" (sola scriptura). Whenever Jesus for example was dealing with His opponents, He would always distinguish between "it is written" (quoting from the Old Testament at the time) and "you've heard it said" (the traditions of the Pharisees). Jesus was a proponent of sola Scriptura, affirming that all other secondary forms of authority are decided by the primary and only infallible, inerrant source of the faith - Scripture. Sola Scriptura does not exclude consultation of such secondary authorities like creeds, commentaries, and church leaders (otherwise we would have to call it "solo-scriptura"). 

    We ought to know what the church-at-large has historically taught so as to check our own doctrinal positions to ensure doctrinal fidelity. What sola Scriptura reminds us of is that those secondary reference markers are to be checked against the only source which God has revealed through the Prophets and Apostle - the Bible. Even as we move forward in our study of the Nicene Creed, we mustn't think it is the same level of authority as the Scripture (for the Creed is only a summary, an outline of what Christians confess). If the reader wants more details on where I stand on the place and purpose of creeds and confession in Christian practice, then please review my first post in this series here  http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2025/05/post-1-1700-years-of-nicene-creed-what.html  

The Nicene Creed's confession of eschatology or "last things".

    If we use the approach of "theological triage" introduced above, we can begin to grasp what the Nicene Creed has to confess regarding eschatology. Eschatology (more popularly known by some as "Bible Prophecy") covers the following subjects typically discussed today: the state of the soul after death, Heaven, Hell, Christ's physical, bodily second coming, resurrection of the soul and body, the final judgment, and the New Heavens and New Earth. Most would consider these "first-tier" subjects or those dogmas that are confessed by Christians everywhere and at all times. 

    There are other topics that are discussed among Christians that though important, do tend to not be as central as the above subjects. There are what we would call "second-tier" areas, such as whether or not Christ will have a millennial reign on earth and whether or not Israel is to be restored. Sometimes a second-tier issue can become emotionally charged enough or touch upon a current issue in the culture that makes it hover between first and second-tier status (the whole matter of Israel's current status has become a hot-button topic in recent years, for example).  

    Then there are then so-called "third-tier" topics that are intramural discussions among Christian denominations and churches, such as whether or not there will be a future tribulation period, whether or not there is a rapture, the timing of the rapture relative to the tribulation, identity of the Anti-Christ, and whether or not world events are setting up future end-times scenarios. 

    As the reader can note, some of the first grouping of topics on eschatology are those covered not only in the historic Christian creeds (Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed), but also historic confessions (such as the 2nd London Baptist Confession 1689, Westminster Confession of Faith, Augsburg Confession) and more recent ones (Baptist Faith and Message 2000 for example). The second and third groupings, as I said, tend to be discussed among denominations and larger segments of Christianity. 

    I bring this out to remind the reader that although all doctrine is important, yet not all doctrine is of equal weight and bearing on the totality of Christian conviction. For instance, if I deny the physical, bodily return of Jesus Christ, I may need to question the genuineness of my Christian confession. However, if I differ with someone else on the timing of the rapture or even on whether or not there is to be a future millennial reign of Christ on earth, Christian faith and practice will remain intact. This is why studying the historic Creed of Christianity is valuable, since we're reminded by such summaries what is central, secondary, and tertiary in the realm of Christian doctrine, judging all of course by the final court of appeal - The Bible.    

    When you look at the Nicene Creed's summary of eschatology, its "short list" of what it considers primary-tier or first-order doctrines central to the Christian faith, you find the following.

1. Christ's physical, bodily second coming = "and He shall come again, with glory."

2. Final judgment = "to judge the quick and the dead."

3. Christ's eternal Kingdom = "whose kingdom shall have no end."

    Those three clauses give us the first group of statements by the Creed on eschatology. They occur as the concluding statements in the overall confession of the Son's deity, humanity, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, and ascension. 

    We then come to the final sentences of the Nicene Creed, which give us further statements on eschatology:

1. The resurrection of the body = "and we look for the resurrection of the dead" 

2. New Heavens and New Earth = "and the life of the world to come. Amen"

    It is of interest to note that the first grouping of eschatology occurs at the end of the confession on Christology, whereas the second grouping comes after statements made about the church and baptism. 

Why theological triage is relevant to our confession of eschatology in the Nicene Creed

    We must remember that the Nicene Creed is a confession recited by Christians who meet together for Sunday worship. Their identities and understanding of where they're heading is wrapped up in the Person of Jesus Christ, who reveals the Father, who won their salvation, and who is coming again. 

    Typical debates in eschatology today about Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism won't be settled by appealing to the Nicene Creed, since such matters are of second-tier status, not first-tier central Christian affirmations. As for third-tier level discussions such as the timing of the rapture (an intramural discussion among certain strands of premillennial believers), the Nicene Creed will not be the place to go. Why?

    The point of creeds is not to exhaust all the Bible has to say on such matters as eschatology, but rather to provide a summary of the most salient points of the faith "once for all delivered to the saints". In the realm of theological triage, the creeds give us "first tier" concerns. 

    When we look at confessions of faith like those mentioned above, they will get more detailed, bringing into view the second-tier as well as first tier commitments. Then of course we have doctrinal statements relevant to denominations or churches that may even spell out their teaching on third-tier matters, since such subjects are of importance in those immediate contexts of Christians. 

Closing thoughts:

    As a final note, whether one is a Premillennialist (which I am), or Postmillennialist, or Amillennialist, the importance of such tried-and-true summaries like the Nicene Creed is I can confess what the Creed says about Christ's second coming along with those dear brothers and sisters who espouse different schools of eschatological thinking. Creeds help us to see the Christian faith from the 30,000 foot level, especially in this era of history where so many attacks are daily leveled against Christians. May we prayerfully and thoughtfully consider these thoughts as we move forward in this study. 

Post #26 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "and sits on the right hand of the Father" - Summarizing Christ's Ascension And Session

 

Introduction:

      In this series we spent the last four posts detailing what Jesus is doing as the exalted Prophet, Priest, and King in His "session" or activity at the right hand of God the Father. The purpose of today's post is two-fold: to recap all that I've written in the last four posts and to reference those posts as an exposition of the Nicene Creed's confession "and sits at the right hand of the Father". 

Reviewing the meaning of Christ's ascension

    The ascension of Jesus Christ was not merely His defying gravity and going up into heaven. The late theologian R.C. Sproul explains in an article he wrote years ago in Ligonier Ministry's "Table Talk Magazine" here: The Ascension by R.C. Sproul. An excerpt from Dr. Sproul's article crystalizes the significance of Jesus' ascension and seating at the Father's right hand:

"When Jesus speaks of ascension, He’s not speaking of merely “going up.” He is speaking of something in technical terms. He is thinking in terms of the Psalms of Ascent that celebrated the anointing of a king (Pss. 120–134). When Jesus says no one ascends into heaven, it is true that no one ascends or goes to heaven in the same manner or for the same purpose that He went there. He was lifted up on clouds of glory in order to go to His Father for the purpose of His coronation as our King—as the King of kings and the Lord of lords."

    As to how Jesus' ascension and session are relevant to our current study of the Nicene Creed, readers may review my post here: Growing Christian Resources: Post #22 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part One: "and ascended into heaven"

    The Apostle Peter is recorded preaching on the day of Pentecost these words in Acts 2:34-36 that summarize Christ's ascension:

"This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 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. 34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

What we understand from Scripture about Jesus' current heavenly ministry. Grasping the Nicene Creed's phrase: "and sits at the right hand of the Father". 

       In the last several posts, I wrote more detailed expositions of what exactly the Lord Jesus is doing in His current heavenly session and ministry on behalf of His church. I'll provide headings and links to each of the posts that unpack all He is doing as the Christian's Heavenly Prophet, High Priest, and Exalted King. 

1. Jesus Christ the Heavenly Prophet.

Growing Christian Resources: Post #23 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Two: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus The Heavenly Prophet

2. Jesus Christ the Heavenly High Priest

Growing Christian Resources: Post #24 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Three: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus' Heavenly Priesthood

3. Jesus Christ the exalted King

Growing Christian Resources: Post #25 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part four: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus' Exalted Kingship

Closing thoughts for today:

   This brings to a close our study of Jesus' ascension and session at the Father's right hand. In the next post we will begin to look at what the Nicene Creed means when it confesses:

"and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end."

Post #25 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part four: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus' Exalted Kingship

 

Introduction:

    A few postings ago we began to look at the short phrase in the Nicene Creed "and ascended into Heaven". We explored the main Biblical texts that talk about Christ's ascension and it's meaning here Growing Christian Resources: Post #22 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part One: "and ascended into heaven". We then saw how when Jesus ascended that He assumed three offices that were foreshadowed in the Old Testament and fulfilled by Him. He ascended to be the Heavenly prophet who by the Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible, the written Word of God Growing Christian Resources: Post #23 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Two: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus The Heavenly Prophet.

    In the last post we studied how Jesus also ascended to by the Christian's Heavenly Highpriest who represents them before God here Growing Christian Resources: Post #24 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Three: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus' Heavenly Priesthood. In today's post we continue on noting further revelation of Jesus' currently heavenly ministry as our exalted King.  

Jesus Christ's Kingship over all things. 

    The Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:16-19 "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him."

    How long has Jesus been King? We can say without question His kingship has persisted since He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit as the One Triune God created the heavens and the earth. John 1:3 "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." Psalm 99:1 "The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!" When we consider Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6:1 of seeing "the Lord sitting on a throne"; the vision being none other than the preincarnate Christ (compare John 12:41-44), the Bible is plain about the scope and eternality of Christ's Kingship. This Kingship of the Son, established from all eternity as to He being our appointed mediator, extends also into eternity future (Luke 1:33; Revelation 19:6). 

    Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology summarizes the importance of Christ's Kingdom as we've discussed it thus far:

"Although the kingdom of God had existed from the beginning, yet as everything therewith connected before the Advent was merely preparatory, the Scriptures constantly speak of the Messiah as a king who was to set up a kingdom into which in the end all other
kingdoms were to be merged. 

The most familiar designation applied 
to Him in the Scriptures is Lord. But Lord means proprietor and ruler; and when used of God or Christ, it means absolute proprietor and sovereign ruler. 

Apart from Christ's right in us and sovereignty over us as God, He as the God-man is our Lord. We belong to Him by the purchase of his blood, and God has set Him as King on his holy hill of Zion."

The forms of Christ's Kingdom

    When we speak of the "forms" of Christ's Kingdom, we're talking about the manner in which His Kingly office and reign is manifested in the world and to men. Below are some of the most common headings used by theologians to capture a quick sketch of the vastness of Christ's kingly reign. 

1. God's Kingdom rule over creation.

    We can refer to this first form as really the overarching rule of the Triune God in providence as He guides history, the decisions of human beings, and the course of creation itself. The Kingdom of God broadly speaking pertains to those creatures which have the capacity to exercise volition or making of choices. Even when 1/3 of the angels rebelled to become the demons, God's Kingdom purposes and will remained established. When God created all things, he gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to execute His governance in creation by being His coregents. (Genesis 1:26-28). They of course broke the covenantal arrangement that made such a coregency possible. God's Kingdom was not in jeopardy. His method of mediating His Kingly reign would turn to covenantal mediators.

2. His mediatorial kingdom.

    It is this second form of the Kingdom that brings the eternal Son into focus. The Son of God is the appointed mediator for His people from all eternity (2 Timothy 1:9). The 2nd London Baptist Confession of 1689 8.1 notes of Jesus Christ as the appointed Mediator (note the underlined sentence which is relevant to our discussion):

"It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the mediator between God and man; the prophet, priest, and king; head and savior of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world; unto whom He did from all eternity give a people to be His seed and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified."

    Moreover, the Father had decreed that the Son would have an everlasting Kingdom that would have no end (Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Daniel 7:13ff). John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue in their "A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth, Biblical Doctrine", page 852, comment on how God developed this mediatorial form of the Kingdom through the Old Testament to where the incarnation of the Son of God would become central:

"The means of restoring God's mediatorial kingdom on earth would come through four eternal and unconditional biblical covenants - the Noahic, Abrahamic, Davidic, and new covenants. Together, these covenants have revealed both kings and King (Jesus) of God's kingdom plans and details of this kingdom."  

Throughout the Old Testament, God's mediatorial kingdom was typified through Israel as a nation along with its priestly and kingly institutions. All those details foreshadowed what was to be Christ's forthcoming advent as the incarnate Son.

3. The inaugurated Kingdom.

    When Jesus came into this world, He fulfilled the covenantal promises pertaining to the mediatorial kingdom. He as the King would formally inaugurate or introduce the Kingdom of God to Israel. Israel as a nation had functioned as a patterned people, depicting and foreshadowing what the Kingdom of God was like in small form. He proclaims several times in the course of His earthly ministry the Gospel of the Kingdom (Luke 4:18) as He demonstrates He has inaugurated the Kingdom by His ministry of exorcism (Matthew 12:28). When Jesus died, raised, and ascended, He took His seat at the Father's right hand to take this inaugurated form of the Kingdom to new heights, exercising His kingly prerogatives over the church and to resume what He had always been doing, guiding the providential affairs of our world (see Acts 2:32-36; Colossians 1:16-20).

4. The mystery form of the Kingdom.

    As Jesus reigns over His church, the kingdom of God's current nature and form is mainly spiritual, invisible, and hidden from plain view. That is not to say that Christ and His kingdom are not wielding influence over the lives of people. By the proclamation of the Gospel is the message of Jesus' Christ's victory over sin and all surpassing power communicated against the parasitic kingdom of Satan (see Acts 26:18). The church at large functions as an embassy for Jesus' Kingdom. Each local church is a local manifestation of the delegated authority of Christ through His word. Truely born again church members are His ambassadors who are to proclaim the Gospel of His kingdom and salvation until He comes (Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

5. His coming messianic Kingdom.

    The mystery form of the Kingdom will persist until the Lord Jesus appears in the clouds to take the church out of this world to be with Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Following that event (known as the rapture), a final time of judgment on this world will take place, lasting seven years. At the end of that seven-year period (known as the tribulation period), Jesus Christ will return to earth and the Kingdom over which He presides will no longer be in its mystery form. Instead, the Kingdom of God will manifest on the earth. This Messianic form of the Kingdom will feature a redeemed church and a redeemed Israel ruling side-by-side with the Son of God over the nations (Revelation 20:1-6). It will be at the end of that period that Christ will judge the nations and Satan. 

6. The eternal Kingdom.

    Revelation 21-22 record that after the final judgment of the unbelieving world and Satan, a new heavens and new earth will follow a transformation of the entire created order. The New Heavens and Earth will become one, eternal, vast, physical, God-saturated, redeemed reality. We see no end to this final form of the Kingdom. Revelation 21:21-27,

"I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

Closing thoughts:

    This post has attempted to offer a summary of what is the subject of Christ's exalted Kingship as revealed in His ascension. My hope is these last several posts have introduced the reader to the rich topic of Christ's ascension. This also should show us why creeds like the Nicene Creed are summaries. When Christians confess "and ascended into Heaven", they are confessing Jesus Christ as their heavenly prophet, high priest, and exalted King. 

Luke's Gospel Challenge - A 30-day Guide To Thirty Readings In Luke's Gospel

Introduction:

    Last year, I began preaching verse-by-verse through Luke's Gospel. We are now in Luke 8. I anticipate it will take us at least four to five years (give or take a year). When you absorb God's Word verse by verse, year after year, the brain and mind are reshaped. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us: 

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

Also, Paul asserts the transformative effects of God's Word in Romans 12:1-2  

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

    I had issued a challenge to our church family last year, a challenge I want to reissue for this new year - read Luke's Gospel in 30 days!

    Below are 30 readings. Luke’s Gospel is 1151 verses. If you read around 40 verses/day, you’ll complete the Gospel in 30 days. If you're pressed for time, 20 verses/day will complete it in 60 days. 12 verses/day will complete it in 90 days. Below is a 30-day reading plan. Challenge each other. Be blessed as you read!

Day 1 = Luke 1:1-38           Day 2 = Luke 1:39-80

Day 3 = Luke 2:1-40       Day 4 = Luke 2:41-3:22

Day 5 = Luke 3:23-4:30      Day 6 = Luke 4:31-5:26

Day 7 = Luke 5:27-6:26 

Day 8 = Luke 6:27 – 7:18    Day 9 = Luke 7:19-8:3

Day 10 = Luke 8:4-40       Day 11 = Luke 8:26-9:6

Day 12 = Luke 9:7-45       Day 13 = Luke 9:46-10:24

Day 14 = Luke 10:25-11:13

Day 15 = Luke 11:14-54       Day 16 = Luke 12:1-40 

Day 17 = Luke 12:41-13:19  Day 18 = Luke 13:20-14:24

Day 19 = Luke 14:25-15:32  Day 20 = Luke 16:1-17:6

Day 21 = Luke 17:7-18:8

Day 22 = Luke 18:9-19:10   Day 23 = Luke 19:11-48

Day 24 = Luke 20:1-38       Day 25 = Luke 20:39 – 21:33

Day 26 = Luke 21:34-22:38 Day 27 = Luke 22:39-23:12

Day 28 = Luke 23:13-49      Day 29 = Luke 23:50-24:12

Day 30 = Luke 24:13-53      Day 31 = Make-up day. 

Post #24 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Three: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus' Heavenly Priesthood

 Introduction:

We have in the last couple of posts considered the Nicene Creed's confession about Jesus "and ascended into Heaven". Jesus Christ's ascension and exaltation resulted in His "session" or royal seating at the right hand of God the Father. Mark 16:19 "So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God." Readers who want to review every Biblical reference touching upon the ascension may review part 22 of this post series here Growing Christian Resources: Post #22 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part One: "and ascended into heaven" 

     In today's post we want to continue to expound on the entailments of the Nicene Creed's "and ascended into heaven" by seeing Christ not only as our ascended Heavenly Prophet who speaks through the Word of God, but also as the believer's High Priest who intercedes for the Christian before God. 

Jesus the Heavenly High Priest  

   The sixteenth century reformer John Calvin wrote extensively on Jesus' three-fold activity in His session at the Father's right hand. In his "Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 15, Section 6", Calvin expounds on Christ's royal priesthood.

"With regard to his Priesthood, we must briefly hold its end and use to be, that as a Mediator, free from all taint, he may by his own holiness procure the favor of God for us. But because a deserved curse obstructs the entrance, and God in his character of Judge is hostile to us, expiation must necessarily intervene, that as a priest employed to appease the wrath of God, he may reinstate us in his favor. Wherefore, in order that Christ might fulfil this office, it behooved him to appear with a sacrifice. For even under the law of the priesthood it was forbidden to enter the sanctuary without blood, to teach the worshipper that however the priest might interpose to deprecate, God could not be propitiated without the expiation of sin."

    As for the Christian confession "and ascended into heaven", the office Christ occupies as our heavenly High Priest has much benefit. 

Jesus the appointed High Priest for those who follow Him by faith 

    When Jesus died on the cross, He did so as He and the Father had planned from all eternity (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2). He became man for us because He was the eternally appointed mediator. Jesus' heavenly priesthood at the Father's righthand provides the following benefits for Christians.

A. Permanent representation.

     The Old Testament's revelation of the Levitical priesthood through Aaron in the Book of Leviticus foreshadowed what was to be Christ's permanent priesthood. Hebrews 7,8,9, and 10 all tie Christ's priesthood to the pattern shown earlier than Leviticus by Melchizedek, the priest-king who met Abraham after the battle with Chedorlaomer and his allies in the Valley of Siddim in Genesis 14. Priesthood in the Old Testament only persisted from one generation to the next. Death was the barrier. Melchizedek's earlier priesthood never stated its end, but only its uniqueness and what would come to be its superiority to the Levitical mediation of the priests in ancient Israel. Jesus came to be the unique and permanent high priest for his people.  

        Hebrews 7:17-24 summarizes perfectly how Jesus' current heavenly priesthood as our ascended Mediator aids the Christian in daily life:

"For it is attested of Him, 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.' 18 For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath 21 (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’”)

22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

B. Prayer's representation.

      Not only is Jesus' ascended high priestly ministry permanent, but also representative. This especially is encouraging by how He helps the Christian pray by the Holy Spirit whom He promised to give to every believer (John 15:26-27) for their aid in prayer (Romans 8:26-27). A recent lecture by a scholar I listened too gave the illustration of a small child trying to lift a heavy object. Unknown to the child, the parent comes up behind and gives "lift assistance". To the little one their confidence soars as they successfully maneuver the heavy lifting. That's what Jesus is doing now in heaven for every believer who prays and seeks Him. His current heavenly ministry as our ascended heavenly High Priest gives wings to our prayers and guarantee that we have a hearing. 

C. Personal representation.

    We know that Jesus retained His humanity following His ascension (Acts 1:9-11). Let's not forget too that He ever remains truly God, worthy of worship (Hebrews 1:5-10). What our ascended Lord does is to provide personal representation. Hebrews 4:14-16 summarizes:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Closing thoughts:

    Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." As the believer's sole representative in Heaven, He is truly God as God with the Father and He is truly man as with us. He ascended to represent us and to pull up those sinners whom His Holy Spirit calls up from darkness and unto His marvelous light. Our Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven and prays, intercedes, and represents His people. In our next post we will explore how He not only ascended to be our Prophet and Priest, but also our reigning and soon coming King. 

Post #23 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part Two: "and ascended into heaven" - Jesus The Heavenly Prophet

Introduction:

    Happy New Year to all readers! As we continue in our study of the Nicene Creed, it is technically now the "1701st" anniversary year. For simplicity's sake I'll retain the original title of the series. Let's press forward!

    In the last post we began to look at the Nicene Creed's confession of Jesus' ascension to Heaven in the statement "and ascended into Heaven" here Growing Christian Resources: Post #22 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part One: "and ascended into heaven" 

     We noted all the key Biblical texts associated with His ascension. We also observed how major events in the life of the incarnate Son of God (virgin birth, life and ministry, crucifixion, resurrection) function as windows to behold His glory. The ascension caps off all these by giving us the clearest window possible into what was the ultimate trajectory of His humiliation and exaltation. 

      Christ's humiliation began at His incarnation, carried through His birth, circumcision, humility, crucifixion, death, and descent into Hades. His exaltation began with His resurrection from the dead, carried through His post-resurrection appearances, and culminated in His current heavenly ministry as our ascended Prophet, Priest, and King.

    What I want to do in this post today is to begin to explore the details of His current ministry in Heaven on the believer's behalf as our ascended heavenly Prophet. 

Christ ascended into Heaven to be our Prophet who speaks to His church through the Scriptures, the Word of God.

    Theologians refer to Christ's current heavenly ministry as His "session" (from a Latin term "sessio" meaning "to sit"). When we speak of Christ's session, I think of those old T.V. court shows like the "People's Court". As the show would commence, the Bailiff of the court would say "court is now in session, the honorable Judge so-and-so presiding".  

    When Christ was ascending to Heaven, He gave final instruction to His disciples concerning the Great Commission and His promise that He would be with them always to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). He also had angels assigned to tell the disciples that He would return in the same manner He left them - a physical, bodily revelation of His glory (Acts 1:9-11). What we see Jesus doing in these passages is the office of Him as our Heavenly Prophet. A prophet "forthtells" or exhorts the people of God to covenant relationship and "foretells" what the people can expect in the future from God. 

Jesus as our prophet fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and expectation

     When Jesus came into this world, He had fulfilled a major prophetic prediction by God through Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-17 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17 The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him."

Jesus as the prophet was identified as such in the New Testament

    The Apostle Peter specifically tied the Lord Jesus Christ to this prophetic prediction, identifying Him in His Prophetic office in heaven that He occupies as our ascended Lord. We read of this in Acts 3:20-23 "and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

     In the Old Testament, prophets were anointed for service as a precursor to what would be the prophetic office to which our Savior was anointed (see 1 Kings 19:16). When Jesus began His earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit's coming down upon Him at His baptism was the indicator of His empowerment and enablement as "the anointed one" or as "the Christ". When Jesus came forth to begin His earthly ministry in Luke 4:18, He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2a that had predicted His anointing as Prophet: 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed."

The importance of Jesus being the Prophet for His Church in Heaven today

      It was the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea that first laid out a systematic exposition of the Biblical data concerning the three-fold office of the ascended Lord Jesus. In his "Church History, Book 1, chapter 3, section 1.8-9", Eusebius notes the following about the significance of Christ's prophetic office:

"And we have been told also that certain of the prophets themselves became, by the act of anointing, Christs in type, so that all these have reference to the true Christ, the divinely inspired and heavenly Word, who is the only high priest of all, and the only King of every creature, and the Father’s only supreme prophet of prophets."

Eusebius then comments:

"And a proof of this is that no one of those who were of old symbolically anointed, whether priests, or kings, or prophets, possessed so great a power of inspired virtue as was exhibited by our Saviour and Lord Jesus, the true and only Christ."

    The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 explains Christ's current prophetic office in its tenth paragraph of its eighth article "Christ Our Mediator":

"This number and order of offices is necessary; for in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of His prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services."

    I'm reminded those verses of the Book of Hebrews that tie the office of Christ as our exalted Prophet speaking forth through the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit whom He and the Father sent to illuminate the Church to her calling, identity, and daily living (Hebrews 1:1-3; Hebrews 4:12-16). 

     The composition of the New Testament by the Apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit serves as the written record of God's revelation of Christ and as the platform through which He instructs His people today, complementing the inspired Old Testament record that infallibly anticipated His arrival in our world (Luke 24:44; John 16:12-15). Jesus Christ as the heavenly prophet was already predicted as such in the Old Testament (Isaiah 42:1; 49:5-6; 61;1-2a) and came to be such in the New Testament as we already mentioned. His role now as our ascended prophet is to guide His Church, His body, by His Spirit and the Scriptures as Christians everywhere await His second coming. 

Final thoughts

    Joel Beeke, a Teaching Fellow at Ligonier Ministries, notes the following about the application of Christ's heavenly role as Prophet in our lives today in an article he wrote entitled "Jesus' threefold office as Prophet, Priest, and King":

"As the Prophet, Jesus is the only One who can reveal what God has been purposing in history “since the world began” and who can teach and make manifest the real meaning of the “scriptures of the prophets” (the Old Testament; see Rom. 16:25–26). We can expect to make progress in the Christian life only as we heed His instruction and teaching."

    When Christians gather every week to hear the Scriptures preached and applied, they are listening to the voice of their Heavenly Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ. He as the decisive revelation of God, being Himself truly God who reveals and truly man that is the fullness of revelation pointed to by the written revelation, God's Word, the Bible, calls sinners by His Spirit to repentance and faith and believers to live and look forward to His soon return. This is why I need to be in the written Word of God and get the written Word of God into me, so I can hear what the Lord Jesus Christ, my Heavenly Prophet, is guiding me to do by His Spirit. In the next post we will continue expounding the Nicene Creed's phrase "and ascended to Heaven" by noting Christ's heavenly high priestly office.