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 #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. 

Post #22 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - Part One: "and ascended into heaven"

 

Introduction:

    As we continue through our study of the Nicene Creed, we come to that portion of its confession of Christ and His work that speaks to His ascension. The Nicene Creed uses four words to affirm this doctrine: "and ascended into heaven."

   In the words of Bible teacher R.C Sproul, Christ's ascension puts an exclamation point on entirety of Christ's first coming. Two scriptures give us the beginning and ending points of the forty- day period of time between Jesus' resurrection from the dead and His ascension into Heaven. Matthew 28:1 states: 

"Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave." 

    The other endpoint that would occur forty days after Jesus' resurrection represents what was Jesus' ascension into Heaven. Acts 1:1-3 

"The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God." 

     Much of course occurred in that 40 day period of time. By beginning to focus upon the scriptures that speak of the event of Christ's ascension, we can begin to see why this event is so crucial to our understanding and worship of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What Jesus had to say about His own ascension.

      Jesus Himself had predicted during His trials and journey to the cross that He would  ascend and sit at the right hand of God the Father in Luke 22:69, 

"But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 

    Such a statement is important and reminds us that Jesus' ascension into heaven was only possible because of His willing "descension" from heaven to earth, in the virgin birth of His incarnation and ultimately into His passion or sufferings on the cross.

     The ascension as an event is recorded in the Gospels and in Acts. For now, I just want to list the scriptures that record this event. Why? To remind the reader that this was no myth or fictional hallucination in the minds of the New Testament authors. This event really happened, in time and space, in history and among eyewitnesses.

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."

Luke 9:51 "When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem."

Luke 24:50-51 "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven."

John 6:62 "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?"

John 20:17 "Jesus said to her, “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.’”

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."

How the ascension gives us a window into the glory of the exalted Jesus confessed by the Nicene Creed.

    The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 not only summarizes belief in the physical ascension of Jesus into Heaven, but also how it relates to three other significant truths: His resurrection, His return, and His activity in the lives of Christians today.  This is what the BFM 2000 states: 

"He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord."

    That statement summarizes for us the connection we as Christians have to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and all that He is and accomplished.  Each of the major events of our Lord's lives, a window is given through which we can see increasing manifestations of His glory.

    For example, in His incarnation and virgin birth, the angels are depicted as singing "glory to God in the highest". Later at His baptism, the voice of the Father is heard speaking from Heaven: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." In the midst of His earthly ministry Jesus reveals His pre-incarnate Divine glory to his disciples atop the Mount of Transfiguration. Even in His cross, scripture repeatedly states that the glory of His love is demonstrated.

    The cross for many Christians represents the epicenter of Christian devotion - and rightly so - being that it is at the cross where humanity and Deity meet, being that the One Person who is humanity and Deity accomplished the necessary redemption. 

    The windows of glory continue in what is considered the most important event, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  It is this event which, according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-20, is the article upon which the validity and reality of Christian faith rises or falls.  Without confessing one's trust in Jesus' death and resurrection, salvation cannot be applied.

    As scripture marches forward, especially in the Gospels, Acts 1, and 1 Corinthians 15:1-10, we see the glory of Jesus Christ seen yet through another set of windows - His post-resurrection appearances.  

    It was Jonathan Edwards that once stated: "grace is but glory begun and glory is but grace completed." It is in those twelve post-resurrection appearances of our Lord, over a period of 40 days, that we see the early disciples established and solidified in their faith, and getting ready for what will be their message to a lost and dying world: "He is Alive!"

    All of these key events: Jesus' incarnation/virgin birth; earthly life, crucifixion, resurrection and appearances give us windows into His glory.

    However, there is one event that not only gives us a window, but a grand, sweeping bay window into the glory of the God man - the ascension. There is no denying how much is suddenly opened up to us in the ascension of Jesus Christ.  It seems that once He had ascended, the New Testament explodes with scripture after scripture describing and applying the significance of the ascended Jesus to Christian identity and living. A few of these scriptures will serve to prove what we are talking about in this post:

Romans 8:34 "who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."

Ephesians 1:20  "which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."

Colossians 3:1  "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

Hebrews 1:3 "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Hebrews 8:1 "Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens."

1 Peter 3:22 "who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him."

Closing thoughts

     In the next post we will continue expounding upon the Nicene Creed's confession of Jesus' ascension into Heaven by noting His three-fold work in Heaven and how the ascension ties us to what will be His second coming. 

The Doctrine of Scripture Series - Jesus In All 66 Books of the Bible - Jesus Is Present With His People In The Book of Acts

Introduction: 

    In today's post, we continue to follow Jesus through the 66 Books of the Bible. We want to note how He is present with His people. The Book of Acts shows us how Jesus Christ, post-ascension, is still accessible to His people back then and to His people in the here-and-now. What follows below is an attempt to discover how the Book of Acts develops this idea. We will then theologically unpack how Jesus Christ as truly God and truly man can be still present with us, even though He has ascended to Heaven (a clue is found in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit). We will close with applications and examples of how Jesus is present with His people in key experiences of their lives.  

Quicknotes on the Book of Acts.

    The Book of Acts records the thirty year span of time that followed Jesus' life, death, burial, resurrection, post-resurrection appearances, and ascension. Acts is the sequel to Luke's Gospel, written by the same author. 

    

    In as much as Acts is called "The Acts of the Apostles", in reality, the Book could be more accurately termed "The Acts of the Holy Spirit". In my reading of the Book of Acts, I find some fifty-seven occasions where the Holy Spirit is referenced. 

    As I pondered on the amount of times one finds the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, I was curious as to how often Jesus is found. A search uncovered that Jesus, whether preached, appearing, or referenced, is found in some twenty places. Now why mention these statistics? The one thing we know about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit is that His main job is to point people to Jesus Christ (see John 14:26-27; 15:26-27; 16:8-12). 

    Furthermore, as I mention below, the Holy Spirit connects God's people to Jesus Christ, and He to them. Four times in the New Testament we find reference to this particular ministry of the Holy Spirit in the titles "Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9; 1 Peter 1:11) and "Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:7; Philippians 1:19). 

    In the Book of Acts, we find the outline for the book contained in Acts 1:8 

"but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” 

    The outline of course conveys the church's witnessing about Jesus in Jerusalem (Acts 1-8); Judea/Samaria (Acts 9-12); and the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 13-28). Even though the promise spoken of by Jesus pertains to the sending of the Holy Spirit, we nonetheless see the result: the power to testify about Jesus Christ.

Distinguishing the states of Christ.

    Whenever we study the doctrine of Christ (known as Christology) in the Bible, we sometimes will focus attention upon what is called "the states of Christ". All we mean by the term "states of Christ" is in what way creation's relationship to Christ changes as He interracts with it. Also, this discussion pertains to what changes Christ undergoes in His human nature, from incarnation, through resurrection, through ascension, to exalation. It merits our attention to consider the "states of Christ", particularly in the realm of His incarnation in the Gospels (sometimes called "the pre-Pentecost Jesus") and His exalation or ascension in Acts (sometimes called "the post-Pentecost Jesus").

    Most oftentimes, theologians speak of the following "states":

1. Christ's pre-existent state, that is, He as the Second Person of the Trinity, existing co-eternally with the Father and Holy Spirit as the blessed Trinity from all eternity.

2. Christ's pre-incarnate state. When we come into the Old Testament, we find God making appearances to His people or traveling alongside with them. At times, we encounter a figure known as "The Angel of the Lord". This mysterious figure is referred to some fifteen times in the Old Testament. Most theologians refer to the "Angel of the Lord" as a "Christophany", that is, an appearance of the Son. 

    Other manifestations of the Son of God include the rock that somehow accomapnied the Jews in the wilderness (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-6), or the pillar of cloud we find oftentimes in the Book of Numbers. This visible manifestation of Yahweh, Jehovah, i.e. "The Son" (see for instances Psalm 2; Proverbs 30:4), is what we call "Christ's pre-incarnate state", meaning His activity in history before he took unto Himself a human nature.

3. The third state of Christ we often speak of is of course His incarnation. Christ's incarnation is where He, as a Divine Person, unites with truly human nature (comprising a rational human soul and physical body), whence was obtained from the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit's work in the virginal conception. 

    Sometimes theologians will refer to this miracle of the incarnation as "the hypostatic union". The word "hypostatic" derives from the Greek term "hypostasis" meaning "Person". Hence, the Person of the Son, already having the Divine nature as God, with which He has union with the Father and Spirit, joins to His Personhood the human nature of which we mentioned. 

    The Father and Holy Spirit were not incarnated - only the Son. The incarnation, once begun, would remain a permanent feature of the Son of God's life and ministry as a man, whether on earth or now in Heaven.

4. The fourth state we speak of is the resurrected state of our Lord Jesus Christ. Resurrection refers to a physical body being raised to glory and immortality. It is important at this point to remind readers that when we talk of the "states of Christ", were not speaking of a change in the Divine nature of our Lord. 

    Passages such as Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 underscore how the divine nature of deity never undergoes alteration, addition, subtraction, or diminishment (also known as "The Doctrine of Divine Immutability). As God, Christ retains all the perfections and their use. His relationship with our world represents change from our vantage point, being that, for instance, there is a difference between there not being a creation and there being one.

    Whenever Christ would enter our world in the Old Testament, it was not He who changed, but instead He was expressing Himself through the media of the changing creation (whether clouds, rocks, or even temporarily taking on human form (see Genesis 18; Joshua 5). As for Jesus' human nature, that certainly undergoes change. 

    

    Furthermore, in His experience as man, the Son of God learns and increases in knowledge and wisdom, since He has a human mind, along with a human body (see Luke 1:48-52). This applies in the realm of His resurrection of the dead. He ever remained truly God - unchanging and eternal, a Divine Person. As also man, He as the Divine Son of God experiences all that occurs in resurrection as the glorified man, Jesus Christ. One Person, two natures - this is Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). He as God with us, Immanuel, still remains also "man for us", Jesus, our Savior (see Matthew 1:21-23).

5. The fifth state, which brings us to Acts, is what we call "Jesus' exalted state" or what I've heard referred to sometimes as "The post-Pentecost Jesus". Philippians 2:9-11 records this exaltation of Christ to the Father's right hand. As our exalted Lord, Jesus Christ is our Prophet, who speaks through the Scriptures (Acts 2:30-36; Hebrews 1:1-2). He is our Eternal High Priest, interceding and representing us (Acts 7; Hebrews 7:24-25). He is our Soon coming King, returning for His people and aiming to set up His Kingdom here on earth (Acts 1:11-14; Philippians 3:20). In this exalted state, Jesus Christ still retains His glorified, resurrected body. As man, He is locally in Heaven, seated at the Father's righthand. As God, He is everywhere present with the Father and Spirit.

6. The sixth state, which I'll mention briefly, is what we could call Christ in His "Messianic Kingdom State." Whatever one may believe about the nature of the Millennium in Revelation 20, we know that in the future, Christ's Kingdom in Heaven will become visible and earthly. Luke alluded to this in Acts 1:11-14. Pre-millennialists (like myself) are convinced this will entail a 1,000 year reign on earth before the ushering in of the New Heaven and Earth. Other believers who hold to an A-millennial or Post-Millennial viewpoint believe that Christ's return will usher in the New Heavens and Earth. I won't go into the distinctions between these views, only to point out they all agree that our Lord will return visibly and rule over the earth and the universe from the earth.  Our Lord will be visible to all. This "Messianic State" our our Lord will feature Him ruling on His throne, over the nations, with His saints alongside Him (see Ephesians 3; Revelation 20). 

7. For sake of completion, if we were to assign a possible seventh state concerning Christ in His humanity, it would be where He delivers up the Kingdom to the Father as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:23-28. This final act, right before the whole creation is renewed (see 2 Peter 3:13 for example), represents Christ and His people together for eternity in a glorified New Heavens and Earth (see Revelation 21-22).

The activity of Jesus in the Book of Acts and today.

    The reason for working through the various states of Christ that we find in the Bible is to aid us in thinking of how we find Jesus in the Book of Acts. For example, we find Jesus encountering Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3-7

"Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one."

    Who was it that Saul encountered. In 1 Corinthians 15:8, Saul (renamed "Paul", see Acts 13), mentioned Jesus "appearing to Him": "and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." 

    Whenever we study the other post-resurrection appearances of Jesus mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, they all feature Jesus appearing physically, bodily, as the post-resurrected Jesus. Paul classifies Jesus' appearance to Him in these same terms. This appearance of Jesus was not a vision, nor hallucination, nor a trance. There were physical phenomena (light, sound, physical interraction). How do we account for this?

    One of the things we note about Jesus' state of exaltation (i.e. "The post-Pentecost Jesus") is that by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Who was sent from the Father and Himself to the church at Pentecost in Acts 2 and in subsequent outpourings in Acts 8, 10, and 19), the deity and humanity of our Lord is made accessible to His people. 

    As I stated earlier, Jesus' humanity remains localized in Heaven, whilst His Deity of course is unconstrained by the limits of time and space. His purpose for sending the Spirit was so that He could be connected to His followers here on earth. The New Testament believer in Jesus has a greater accessibility to the "Post-Pentecost Jesus" than the twelve disciples did to the "pre-Pentecost Christ".

    He as the Divine Son of God, united to the Spirit and the Father, is immediately accessible to His people. The humanity of our Lord, also attached to His Person, is made accessible because of the Holy Spirit's working. The whole Christ, as truly God and truly man, is that precious stone that is made accessible by faith to the Christian (1 Peter 2). 

    In the Book of Acts, we see the early church celebrate the Lord's Table (see Acts 2:37-42). The Lord's Supper, instituted by our Lord, depicts this reality of having access to Him by the Holy Spirit. When I eat the bread and drink the juice, I am not eating the body and blood of Christ in those elements. Instead, the bread and fruit of the vine signify or symbolize the reality of other Christians and myself mystically interracting with the Person of Christ by faith, through the Holy Spirit (see John 6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28). Christ indwells every Christian by the Holy Spirit (John 14:23; Colossians 1:27). We cannot comprehend how this is so. Nonetheless, the Lord's Supper symbolizes and seals this truth of such an experience by faith to every Christian. 

    The introduction to great fifth century Calcedonian Creed expresses this point of Jesus Christ, as truly God and truly man, having the ability to be with His people today:

"We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood. "

    He who was able to mysteriously, yet wondrously appear to Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 is still available to every believer this day. He who stood to receive the soul of Stephen upon his stoning in Acts 7 prays for and feels the pain of every Christian, as their human representative, while exercising His omnipresence as God to meet their every need (see Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 7:24-25; 1 Peter 4:16-17; 1 John 1:9-2:2). 

    What the Book of Acts establishes as fact about our Lord is expounded further in the New Testament letters. Consider a few New Testament texts that affirm what I just said.

We see how Christ, as truly God and truly man, is present with His people in suffering.

2 Corinthians 1:5-6 "For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer."

We see also how Jesus is present with His people, by the Spirit, in their worship.

Hebrews 2:11-13 "For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers, In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.” 13 And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

Once more, we note how Jesus as God and man is present with Christians in temptation.

Hebrews 2:14-18 "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For clearly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brothers so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."

Why Jesus needed to ascend into Heaven rather than remain here on earth for our sakes

John 14:16-20 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you."

Introduction:

In our last post we began considering what it means to be united to Jesus Christ. Union with Christ lies at the core of Christian identity. Union is that ministry of the Holy Spirit that connects the Christian to Christ. Such union begins at conversion and continues on into sanctification. In the above opening passage, we see first mention of this concept by the Lord Jesus Christ. This truth is relayed in the context of the devastating announcement that He was going to be leaving His disciples. His promise to the disciples was that upon His ascension into Heaven, He would have the Holy Spirit sent to them in His name (see John 14:26-27; 15:26-37; 16:8-12). Today's post wants to briefly explain why Jesus words here in John 14,15,16 turn out to be better for our sake. In other words: why did Jesus need to ascend into heaven rather than remain here on earth as it relates to our relationship to Him and He with us?

It is far better for Jesus to be "in" us and us to be "in" Him than how He was with His disciples

Now it is at this point I raise this question: which is better? to have the physical, pre-pentecost Jesus here and localized or to have the glorified physical post-pentecost Jesus in Heaven? I raise this question as it pertains to comparing the relationship with Christ experienced by all Christians versus what the disciples had in the four Gospel accounts. 

I'm sure we all have said to ourselves: "how great it must had been to hear Jesus preach, watch Him do miracles and eat meals together with Him". The disciples had certainly come to enjoy the company of their master. However, Jesus' ultimate aim was not merely to be with them. Doubtless He would go to the cross and die for them (and us) and rise from the dead. 

However, even beyond those crucial works, the Lord Jesus Christ was expressing this incredible state whereby He could be "in" His people and He "in them. The only way this amazing state could be achieved was for Jesus to ascend 40 days after His resurrection and for the Holy Spirit to be sent in His name at Pentecost in Acts 2. The Lord Jesus Christ functions currently as the Mediator between believers and God (see 1 Timothy 2:5 and 1 John 2:1-2). In as much as we are saved by Christ's accomplished work at the cross and resurrection (see Ephesians 1:7; Romans 4:25); the Christian is also a recipient of His ongoing work as Prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2); Priest (Hebrews 7:24-25) and King (Romans 9:5; Philippians 3:20). These incredible benefits are possible due to the Holy Spirit's uniting of each Christian to Christ in justification and continuing such connection in sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). Thus, these are some of the main reasons why Jesus needed to ascend into Heaven rather than remain here on earth for our sakes.

How the Old Testament anticipated Christ's ascension

Philippians 2:8-11 "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Introduction:
The last couple of posts have featured passages of scripture that speak of the event of Christ's ascension. Much like His cross and resurrection, the ascension can be discussed in terms of the event itself and then the meaning of the event. 

Generally speaking, passages in the Gospels and the opening chapter of Acts record for the reader the event of His ascension. The ascension of Jesus Christ literally refers to His "lifting up" or "ascent" into the clouds - but it is far more than just stating that Jesus "went up" into heaven. In today's post, we want to consider how the Old Testament anticipated this event, and how the rich meaning of Christ's ascension is drawn from key Old Testament texts in the mouths and writings of the New Testament Apostles.

The Apostle Peter quotes David as referring to the ascension of Jesus
The Apostle Peter gives us the earliest recorded statement of the meaning of Christ's ascension that follows from that event in Acts 2:32-36 

"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.”

Peter's words are said in a context of explaining the events of the first day of Pentecost and evangelizing his Jewish audience. He is urging them to look up in faith to this exalted Jesus. Remarkably, Peter's quotation of Psalm 16:18 tells us that Christ's ascension was already anticipated and predicted in the Old Testament. 

The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 45 with reference to Christ's coronation as the truly Divine King Who is also man
Paul's reference to Christ being exalted to the Father's right hand in Philippians 2:10 is a quotation of Isaiah 45:23, which remarkably speaks of the Uniqueness of the One true and living God as the One and only Savior, as quoted in the context of Isaiah 45:21-24:

“Declare and set forth your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 “I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame."

The Philippians 2:10 reference squarely places Jesus Christ, in His ascension, as being in the same category as Yahweh spoken of in Isaiah's recorded prophecy. Amazingly, Paul's emphasis is on the Deity of Jesus and His humanity which He had taken unto His Person in the course of His incarnation in Philippians 2:5-8. Philippians 2:9-11 functions as a mirror contrast to Philippians 2:5-8. telling the complete account of the Son's humiliation and "descent" from eternity into His incarnation through the virgin birth-conception. As the incarnated God in the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth, He would live, die and then (per Philippians 3:10) rise from the dead. 

Jesus of Nazareth's rising from the dead would have Him make nine post-mortem appearances, all in preparation for His ascension and thus, heavenly coronation. The exaltation of the Son of God as God in human flesh signaled the "return of the Son" into heaven as exalted Deity and glorified, physical, resurrected humanity. 

The Apostle John alludes to the Old Testament anticipation of Jesus' exaltation as to being the Mediator between God and man
Normally when we speak of the Apostolic witness of the New Testament, we typically look to what I call "the Big Three": Peter, Paul and John. We've seen Peter and Paul's references to the ascension of Jesus and how they connected Old Testament anticipation of that event. Now we find John making reference to Jesus' ascension by way of how the Old Testament understood His activity as the heavenly mediator. The Apostle John records Jesus stating His mediatorship as "the way, the truth and the life" in John 14:6. Then, in 1 John 2:1, we find John speaking of the ascended Jesus as our exalted Advocate: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Jesus Christ as eternal God, prior to the days of His flesh, was the Divine mediator for His people. As the Old Testament revelation progressed, there became a faint-outline of at least two-Divine personages sharing the One-Divine nature (see Psalm 110; Proverbs 30:4). A remarkable passage in Zechariah 3:1-5 records what appears to be a pre-incarnate vision of the Son in heaven:

"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by."

As a result of the incarnation, death, resurrection and exaltation of the Son of God, per John's writings, we now have this same heavenly, truly Divine Mediator who operates as the exalted human representative on behalf of believers (see Revelation 5). 

Closing thoughts
Today we considered how the ascension of Jesus Christ was anticipated and foreshadowed in the Old Testament. The above referenced texts by the Apostles comprise only a sampling of the mountain of scriptures that both anticipated and explained the meaning and significance of Christ's ascension. 

A closer look at the key texts of the event of Christ's ascension

Acts 1:11 "They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Introduction:
In our last post we began considering an introduction to the event in scripture that is known as "Christ's ascension". We commented on a few Bible verses and how this event relates to His resurrection and to our lives. In today's post we want to take a closer look at more key passages that refer to the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Taking a closer look at the key texts which record Jesus Christ's ascension 
Jesus Himself had predicted during His trials and journey to the cross that He would ascend to be seated at the right hand of God the Father in Luke 22:69 "But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” Such a statement is important and reminds us that Jesus' ascension into heaven was only possible because of His willing "descension" from heaven to earth. As the eternal Son came from eternity into time, He did so by means of in the virgin birth/conception - resulting in His incarnation or assuming unto His Person true and total humanity. Then of course, the point of His incarnation was to live and enter into His passion or sufferings on the cross, followed of course by His resurrection from the dead. 

The ascension as an event is recorded in the Gospels and in Acts. For now I just want to list the scriptures that record this event. Why? To remind the reader that this was no myth or fictional hallucination in the minds of the New Testament authors. This event really happened, in time and space, in history and among eyewitnesses.


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. "

Luke 9:51 "When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem."

Luke 24:50-51 "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven."

John 6:62 "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?"

John 20:17 "Jesus said to her, “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.’”

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."

Acts 1:22 "beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”



Thus we see that according to Jesus Himself, the New Testament scriptures and the testimonies of the early Christians, the ascension functioned as a watershed event that would fix the identity of Christ's exaltation forever in the full testimony about Him.  

Closing thoughts:
I thought I would close out this post with a statement from the SBC "2000 Baptist Faith and Message". With other Bible-believing Christian bodies throughout the world, Southern Baptists strongly affirm the reality and significance of Christ's ascension.  Consider the following statement: "He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man." May we all think on the event of the ascension and why this event is so crucial to our understanding and worship of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Introducing Jesus Christ's Ascension

Luke 24:50-53 "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God."

Philippians 2:9 "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name."

Introduction:
In the retelling of the facts surrounding the Person and work of Jesus Christ, Christians will usually speak of His remarkable life, His atoning death and His glorious resurrection. Sometimes too, Christians will add that they look forward to the time, yet future, when Christ returns. The Old and New Testaments both abound with numerous scripture references pertaining to these events. However, there is one particular event that few Christians ever mention and yet is vital to our understanding of Jesus Christ: namely His ascension. 

What is meant by "ascension"?
When we speak of Christ's ascension, we refer to two things: first, the event of Jesus being caught up into the clouds or "ascending" before His disciples on the 40th day following His resurrection from the dead; then second, when we say "ascension", we refer to Jesus' inauguration to cosmic kingship, priesthood and prophet-hood over His church. 

Both the event and meaning are entailed in conversations about Christ's ascension. The above two opening verses (Luke 24:50-53 and Philippians 2:9) respectively refer to the historical event of Christ's ascension and one of the key descriptions about the meaning of the event. The ascension, in the words of Bible teacher R.C Sproul, puts an exclamation point on entirety of Christ's first coming. In today's post we will consider some key Biblical texts that refer to the event of Christ's ascension, followed by some suggested points of application.

Getting a handle on the relationship of Christ's ascension to that of His resurrection from the dead
Two scriptures give us the beginning and ending points of the forty day period of time between Jesus' resurrection from the dead and His ascension into Heaven. Matthew 28:1 states: "Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave." According to Acts 1:1-3 "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God." 

Much of course occurred in that nearly six week period of time. In harmonizing all four Gospel accounts together in regards to their reports of Jesus' subsequent appearances, The NIV Harmony of the Gospels gives the following scriptural references for Christ's appearances leading up to His ascension:

1. Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18
2. Mt 28:9-10
3. Mk 16:12-13; Lk 24:13-32
4. Lk 24:33-35
5. Mk 16:14; Lk 24:36-43; Jn 20:19-25
6. Jn 20:26-31
7. Jn 21:1-25
8. Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:15-18
9. Lk 24:44-49

Christ's ascension caps off and concludes the flurry of events issuing forth for 40 days following His resurrection:

10. Mk 16:19-20; Lk 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-12

Closing thoughts for today
Thus we can observe the relationship between Christ's resurrection, His post-mortem appearances and His ascension.  
By beginning to focus upon the scriptures that speak of the event of Christ's ascension, we can begin to see why this event is so crucial to our understanding and worship of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Unless Jesus had ascended, there would be no grounds for neither our worship of Him nor for His present ministry of mediator between God and man. Moreover, Christ's ascension bridges the conclusion of Christ's first coming to the anticipation of what will be His second coming. Finally, Christ's ascension marks what would be the culmination of His earthly ministry and the beginnings of His heavenly ministry as the One Who is truly God and truly man for us. 

How the Person of the Son co-operates with the Father and Spirit in the conversion of sinners

Ephesians 2:13-18 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far offhave been brought near by the blood of Christ.14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thusestablishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we considered how Jesus the Son is active in the conversion of sinners. The above passage of scripture expresses not only Christ's finished work of accomplished redemption, but also His work in the application of salvation. Such efforts by Jesus the Son are to be understood not only in light of His activity as the ascended, exalted Jesus, but also in His relationships with the Father and the Spirit in the Godhead. When I use that term "Godhead", the word refers to the unified being of the One God that exists equally and co-eternally among the Three Persons. God is afterall One God, existing as Three Persons, with each Person being truly God. 

An example of How the Trinity works together

Whenever we consider the three major works of God: creation, redemption and what will be the consummation of all things, each Person of the Trinity distinctively performs their role in the unified effort of each work. For example, God is: Father, Author of Heaven and Earth; Son, Architect of Heaven and Earth; and Spirit, Animator of Heaven and earth. Certainly to say that the Father is the Author is not to exclude Him being involved in the architecture nor the animation of all things; nor in claiming the Son to be the architect are we detracting from His involvement in the authorship and animation of all things. The Holy Spirit functions equally with the Father and Son in terms of His involvment in the authorship and architecture of all things, even though the scriptures credit Him as the primary agent behind the animation of life itself. All three persons together function and relate as One - henceforth the creation was caused by One all powerful God. 

How the doctrine of the Trinity helps us to better understand Jesus' role in the conversion of sinners

As the Father, Son and Spirit have their roles in creation, much the same can be said in how the Triune God operates in salvation. The particular interest in today's post is how the Person of the Son works in the conversion of sinners as understood in relationship to the Two other Persons of the Trinity.

We first of all must recall that there is no inconsistency amidst the Trinity - since God exists equally and truly in the Three Persons of the Godhead. If we say that the Father is active in regeneration (Which we know the Father is by His effectual calling - Romans 8:29-31); and the Spirit is active in the work Himself (1 Cor 12:12-13) then the Son must be active as well. G.I. Williamson's Study Guide for the Westminster Confession of Faith, page 83, is instructive on this point. I will summarize below with a few quotes and brief explanation for clarity's sake:

Williamson notes: "We have also seen that Christ's mediatorial work concurrently involves both natures." Williamson draws his observations from Christ's current work as Prophet, Priest and King. I agree that Christ's achieved work on the cross is the objective grounds of our redemption. When Williamson makes reference to Christ's "natures", he is reminding us of how the Son is "One Person" who expresses His existence in two ways (i.e natures): as truly God and truly man. As truly God, the Son is the second Person of the Trinity, Who has and always will be in co-eternal union with the Father and Spirit, sharing in the Power and being of God; whereas as truly man, the Son is Jesus of Nazareth, crucified, risen and ascended in glorified humanity, sharing in the plights of His people. These observations provide guardrails, so that to say that Jesus is not some how involved in the regeneration of sinners would result in an unecessary division within the Godhead. 

Williamson's comments further build on Christ's ongoing work in not only sustaining the faith of His people post-conversion, but also in working in the events leading up to it. He states again: "Here we shall be content to stress the fact that Christ does effectually apply redemption to those for whom He died. And in grasping this truth we will find it helpful to remember the following truths: Christ freely and sincerely offers salvation to all who hear the Gospel, whether they be elect or not. 'For many are called but few are chosen' (Mt 20:16). Again, Williamson draws out the point we are making in today's post: how the Person of the Son works in the conversion of sinners as understood in relationship to the Two other Persons of the Trinity. 

Closing thoughts and applications

This particular discussion is important due to the union within God Himself over the application of salvation in our current day. God is not a begrudging God when it comes to salvation. The Son in particular reveals most clearly the intentions of the Father and endorses the effects worked forth by the Spirit in the hearts of unsaved people who believe on Him. One passage that comes to mind in asserting the union of the Trinity in the conversion of the lost is Acts 16:14, wherein we read of "The Lord opening Lydia's heart....". To refers one last time to G.I Williamson, he goes onto quote Matthew 11:28, 23:37 and John 6:37 in his comments on the Son's involvement with conversion. It is clear that more scriptures attribute regeneration to the Father and the Spirit than to Christ. Nevertheless, there is evidence enough in the New Testament, along with considerations of the Triune nature of God - in which the Son equally shares - to demonstrate that the Son is active in the regeneration of the lost.

How Jesus Christ works in the conversion of sinners

1 Timothy 4:10 "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."

When we consider the work of redemption that Jesus achieved in His substitutionary death, resurrection and ascension - such achievements are once and for all, never-to-be-repeated. The cross will ever be the anchoring point of redemption, with the resurrection demonstrating that what Jesus achieved overcame the otherwise infinite gulf between God and human beings. We could term this as referring to "redemption accomplished".

The Scriptures reveal that God is One God, existing in three Persons and with each Person in turn being fully and truly God. In the work of salvation, the Father is described as drawing sinners unto Himself whom He set his love and affection (Ephesians 1:4; John 6:44). Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the Chief Agent in the work of conversion, seeking after sinners and bringing unto them the finished work of Christ so that they can respond, believe and be saved (John 16:8-12). The Holy Spirit's efforts in applying salvation are done through the words of scripture, which are the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; James 1:18). This aspect of Biblical redemption could be classified as "redemption applied".

When it comes to the work of the Son in the conversion of sinners (i.e the application of redemption), does Jesus play an active role? Scripture is firm that His work of salvation is a once-and-for-all done work. Yet scripture also indicates that by sharing equally in the Divine nature with the Father and Spirit, Jesus the Son operates in somehow in the reception of Him in saving faith. Today's post aims to grasp what the New Testament has to say about how Jesus works in the conversion of sinners:

1). The Son works forth salvation via the sending of the Spirit in His name. John 16:7; Acts 2:38. 

2). The Son is described as directly involved in our salvation by His activity and calling by the scriptures. John 5:24-25; Acts 3:20-21; Col 3:15

3). Jesus the Son works by way of the authority of His blood. This once-for-all accomplished work has continuing ongoing results in the current moment upon all who respond to His call based upon the blood which He shed. Acts 4:12; 10:43; Ro 3:19-26; 4:25; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:14. 

4). The Son bestows salvation by virtue of His exalted position in heaven at the right hand of the Father. The authority which the Son exercises over the church and the world is what theologians call "His Sessions". Classically Bible teachers have considered Christ's current activity or "session" as occupying three offices: "prophet", "priest" and "king". In theese three capacities, the Son works in the salvation of sinners. Rom 10:12; 2 Cor 4:6; John 1:17; 2Thess 2:6; 1 Ti 2:5; 4:10; Heb 2:14-18; 5:9; 7:25; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10. This final point demonstrates how the Son is involves in the salvation of sinners. His session is also responsible for the other three observations made in the prior remarks.

Jesus works in the conversion of sinners with the Agency of the Holy Spirit and the active will of the Father. All Three Persons are One God.  Truly how Jesus works in the conversion of sinners is an amazing thing to think about.