Sermon on Lord’s Day 18⤒🔗

46. Q. What do you confess when you say, He ascended into heaven?
A. That Christ, before the eyes of His disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven,[1] and that He is there for our benefit[2] until He comes again to judge the living and the dead.[3] [1] Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9-11. [2] Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:14; 7:23-25; 9:24. [3] Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11. 47. Q. Is Christ, then, not with us until the end of the world, as He has promised us?[1] A. Christ is true man and true God. With respect to His human nature He is no longer on earth,[2] but with respect to His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is never absent from us.[3]
[1] Matt. 28:20. [2] Matt. 26:11; John 16:28; 17:11; Acts 3:19-21; Heb. 8:4. [3] Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:16-19; 16:13.

48. Q. But are the two natures in Christ not separated from each other if His human nature is not present wherever His divinity is?
A. Not at all, for His divinity has no limits and is present everywhere.[1] So it must follow that His divinity is indeed beyond the human nature which He has taken on and nevertheless is within this human nature and remains personally united with it.[2]
[1] Jer. 23:23, 24; Acts 7:48, 49. [2] John 1:14; 3:13; Col. 2:9.

49. Q. How does Christ's ascension into heaven benefit us?
A. First, He is our Advocate in heaven before His Father.[1] Second, we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, our Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself.[2] Third, He sends us His Spirit as a counter-pledge,[3] by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth.[4]
[1] Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1. [2] John 14:2; 17:24; Eph. 2:4-6. [3] John 14:16; Acts 2:33; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5. [4] Col. 3:1-4.

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 9:1-15; Colossians 3:1-17

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Hymn 32:1,2,3
Psalm 84:1
Psalm 42:4,5
Hymn 33:1,2,3,4,5,6
Hymn 31:1,2,3,4,5

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

How big is your world? From our position on this earth we see things only of this earth. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus left this earth to ascend into heaven, and that suggests that the world is bigger than simply this earth.

But: is it? Our young people learn early about the solar system, how the earth revolves, together with numerous other planets, around the sun – and the moon revolves around the earth. More, they learn that our solar system is one of countless more solar systems, in fact, that some stars are millions of light years away…. They learn too that it has taken days for man to travel to the moon, and a proposed trip to Mars will literally take months of space flight to get there.

And now speak of a man leaving planet earth to rise through the skies into heaven? The scientific mind has major problems with that! Where is heaven? How could Jesus even get off planet earth without the assistance of rocket propulsion? How could he travel through space without a space suit? So many questions…. They conspire together to persuade us that the ascension could not take place, could not be real. For (say the scientists) there’s no heaven to ascend to…, and no way for a man without today’s technology to travel through space.

How big, beloved, is your world? Who do you think Jesus Christ is? Matthew tells us that He spoke to His disciples on the mountain in Galilee, and said that "all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:18). How much authority is that? "All": that includes the authority the Father displayed when He created the world. There was no light, and God said, "Let there be light," and lo, there was light; by His word of command God called into being what did not exist. Talk about authority! Well now: even that authority, says Jesus, is given to Him! Could He then command an instant transference from earth to heaven? Of course He could.

It all comes down to this: will you believe the word of scientists or the word of God? That’s a choice, beloved, that you have to make. Either choice has profound implications. If you will believe the word of scientists, you will have to conclude that there is no heaven and therefore no ascension – and then your world can be no bigger than this earth and the cold stars around it. Then what’s important can only be the things of this world, eating, drinking, pleasure, comfort, fulfillment. But if you believe the word of God, you must accept also that Jesus Christ has departed from Planet Earth and traveled to Heaven – and so your worldview must include also the existence of heaven, and Jesus’ current presence in heaven for your benefit. Such a worldview dictates that you can’t consider the things of this earth all that important after all; more important are the things of heaven.

Those things of heaven: that’s what I may draw out with you this afternoon. I summarize the sermon with this theme:

Christ’s ascension into heaven implies a broad worldview for us on earth

1. The cause of Jesus’ ascension,
2. The benefit of Jesus’ ascension.

The cause of Jesus’ ascension←⤒🔗

Forty days after He arose from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven. He left His disciples behind on earth while He returned to the presence of God from whence He’d come. Why did He ascend? Would it not have been better if Jesus had stayed with the disciples, indeed, gone out Himself to preach the gospel? We look at the world of today, the unimaginable poverty and misery in some of the mega-cities of third world countries, the unrest the Middle East, etc. Would it not be better if the Lord could visit those places, perhaps do some miracles and break the bondage of poverty and unrest? That would be O so helpful! Why did He leave this earth?

To understand the answer we need to go back to Genesis 3. The Lord God created a world of much variety, and as crown of His creation He fashioned two people in His own image and likeness – man. With this human race the Lord God established His covenant; there was a bond of love between God in heaven and man on earth. Consistent with that bond of love is what we read in Gen 3:8: Adam and Eve "heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden." How, brothers and sisters, did Adam and Eve know that the sound they heard was that of God coming? We realize: that’s simply familiarity – just as we can interpret certain sounds without having to look. Here’s the point: the Lord God came habitually from heaven above to the earth beneath to visit Adam and Eve in Paradise, and talk with them.

But this time Adam and Eve did not welcome God’s arrival. Vs 8b: they "hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God." Why? That’s because of what had just happened; they had fallen into sin. You see: sin puts distance between God and man. And it’s not just fallen man who felt uncomfortable in the presence of holy God; God also could not stand sinful man in His presence any more. As the Holy Spirit records in vs 23f: "therefore the Lord God sent [man] out of the garden of Eden…. So He drove out the man…." God was in the Garden, and in the Garden people could enjoy the privileges of God’s presence. But they could not stay in God’s presence because they had sinned, and so God "sent them out", yes, "drove them out" of the Garden, out of His presence. And what did God place at the gate of the Garden? Vs 24: at His command a contingent of cherubim, angels, took their stand to prevent that man return to the Garden where God had visited them. No longer would God travel from heaven to earth to visit with His covenant people in the cool of the day, and the reason is sin. Sin drives God and man apart; sin produces distance.

This material from Gen 3 comes back in the revelation of God at Mt Sinai. Holy God appeared on the mountain to the people congregated at the foot, and established with this nation of sinners His covenant of grace. In the framework of that covenant the Lord commanded the people to build a tabernacle where He could live in their midst. That is: God was making moves to overcome the distance sin had generated between Himself and man. The tabernacle was to include a section in the back called the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, separated from the front part of the tabernacle (the Holy Place) by a curtain, a veil. In the Holy of Holies was the ark with its mercy seat (God’s throne), and on the ark two cherubim (Ex 25:18f). But what, brothers and sisters, was on the veil, on that curtain? Ex 26:31: the veil (said God) "shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim." Now why did God command that cherubim be embroidered on that veil? Here, beloved, is the material of Gen 3! Because of the fall into sin sinful man cannot come into God’s presence – angels bar the way, are God’s guards. The tabernacle was rich inasmuch as God lived in the midst of His people. But it was also poor, inasmuch as God was hidden in the back of the tabernacle, out of reach to the people. Here was the terrible message of distance, and therefore the terrible message of sin.

Still, the Lord allowed one exception, allowed one person to pass through the angelic guard on the veil and enter the Holy of Holies. That was the High Priest, once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:2,12). First, though, the High Priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself, had to slaughter a bull to pay for his own sins, and only then could he come with blood for the people. The message was clear: sin dictated distance, but the sacrifice of the animal proclaimed forgiveness – and therefore ability to enter God’s holy presence.

There, brothers and sisters, is the reason why Jesus ascended into heaven. Because of sin the Lord God no longer traveled the route from heaven to earth, for sin decreed distance. Christ Jesus paid for sin on the cross, and so –as the High Priest foreshadowed in the Old Testament- He could enter the Holy of Holies, the presence of God in heaven itself. He could, and so He did! Though on the cross of Calvary He had been the Sinner, He approached God’s dwelling in heaven and the angels did not draw their swords to bar His way; He was permitted to enter God’s presence! Indeed, God Himself received Him, welcomed Him, gave Him a place in His presence better than the place Gabriel has, better than the place Elijah has, better than the place Abraham and Moses and the prophets received. God received Him, and did not seat Him in the far corner the room, away, away…. God received Him, and gave Him a seat at His right hand, right beside Him. Sin meant distance, but Christ’s triumph over sin on the cross meant closeness again. Christ, true man, traveled to heaven to receive a place there, and so the distance of Gen 3 is undone! See there the wealth of Jesus’ ascension!

This, congregation, is the glorious gospel the author of the letter to the Hebrews works out in the passage we read from chap 9. There’s two parts to the tabernacle, says vs 2f, but "the priests always went [only] into the first part" (vs 6). "Into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins…" (vs 7). The Holy Spirit, says the apostle, taught through this structure of things that "the way into the Holiest of All" –God’s presence behind the veil- "was not yet made manifest," was not yet opened – distance remained! But see: "Christ came," says vs 11, "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come," and "He entered the Most Holy Place once for all" –how come?- because He "obtained eternal redemption" through His own blood shed on the cross. What is "the Most Holy Place" Jesus entered once for all? No, He never entered the physical Holy of Holies in the back of Jerusalem’s temple-of-stone, but at His ascension He entered heaven itself, the courts of God, the Most Holy Place! The ascension: Hebrews 9 insists that that is the fulfillment of the Old Testament laws about no priest coming into the Holy of Holies except the High Priest once a year. Vs 24: "Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."

How rich that ascension is then: contact between God and man is restored, the communication of Paradise restored! We understand: this is much richer than if Jesus were still with us on earth today!

Still, we live on this earth, in this life. How does Jesus’ ascension concretely help us? To put the question sharper: what benefit is there for us in the fact that Jesus through His ascension has overcome the distance generated by our fall into sin?

That’s our second point:

The benefits of Jesus’ ascension←⤒🔗

In Question & Answer 49 the Catechism mentions three benefits. The first is this: "He is our Advocate in heaven before His Father." Advocate: that’s an old word for a lawyer, that’s someone who pleads, intercedes, on behalf of another.

Now: why would one need an advocate, an Intercessor? That, congregation, is only because there was somewhere a communication breakdown! When the Lord God came to visit Adam and Eve in Paradise there was no place and no need for an Intercessor; God spoke freely to man and man spoke freely to God. Problems in communication arose with the fall into sin. Specifically, sinful man had forfeited his right to speak to holy God! Why should God listen to man anymore?! Distance!

In the fullness of time Jesus Christ –true man- paid for sin in His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Consistent with that victory He also bridged the distance between man and God; He ascended into God’s holy presence and was welcomed there. But for whose sins had Jesus paid? His own? No. He’d paid for your sins and mine, had paid for the sins of all who believe in Him. Why then should He alone have access to God in heaven? Why should we not have access with Him into heaven, to the presence of God and the ear of God? Here’s the point: because of Jesus’ victory on the cross we have access to God again! We can speak to God again, as in Paradise, can tell Him of the ups and downs of our day, lay before Him our praise and our questions. We can pray, since our sins have been taken away in Jesus’ blood! That’s why Jesus told His disciples to pray, even taught them what to say. For Jesus’ sake contact with God is restored!

But we remain sinful, and God holy. We cannot come before Him on own steam. That is why we need an intercessor, an advocate. And see: that is what Jesus in heaven is busy doing! 1 John 2:1: "if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Romans 8:34: "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." The church sums up this good news of Scripture in the Belgic Confession, Article 26: "We believe that we have no access to God except through the only Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ the righteous. For this purpose He became man, uniting together the divine and human nature, that we men might not be barred from but have access to the divine majesty."

What, then, is the first benefit of Jesus’ ascension? This: we can pray! We, who in the beginning fled from God, hid from God, were driven away from God, may again speak to Him openly and freely! Communication with God about all the things of this life and our service to Him: what glorious fruit the ascension has wrought!

Here’s my question from the beginning. How big is your world? Daily life confronts us with so many questions…. If there is no heaven, and therefore no God in heaven, you’re left to your own resources to solve the problems of your life. But the fact of Jesus’ ascension implies that the world is much bigger than the eye sees, implies that there is a heaven most interested in the affairs of this earth – your affairs included. Jesus’ ascension means that you can speak again to God, and Jesus Himself will plead before God on your behalf; Father, I died for him, I washed his sins away, so hear him, listen and answer! And, beloved, God does listen to this plea! Recall Jesus’ words to His disciples: John 14:13f: "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." What encouragement to pray! "In prayer transcending distance" we may boldly "seek the God of my existence"! (Ps 42:5).

The Catechism mentions a second benefit. "We have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, our Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself." Recall Jesus’ prayer before He went to the cross. "Father," He said in His prayer of John 17, "I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me" (vs 24). Consistent with that prayer, Jesus dared to say to the criminal with Him on the cross: "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). You heard that beloved? Sinners shall again be in Paradise, where God visited His people! In the fallen Paradise of Genesis 3 the Lord placed cherubim to guard the way back in. But the criminal on the cross was assured that when he died no angel would bar his way into God’s holy presence, and that is true for all God’s own. In fact, in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus our chief Prophet and Teacher relates that the angels carried the dead beggar into Abraham’s bosom (Lu 16:22). You see: those who die in the Lord are welcome in the courts of holy God!

What delightful comfort that supplies to us as we face death. Over the years many of us have had to bury loved ones. Some of us have lost a child through miscarriage. Where they are who have died in the Lord? God’s word is clear: they go immediately to be with the Lord, there to delight in the glory God has given to the Son. In the face of death we see the vacant body, but we believe the reality of life forever in the presence of God. And the Scriptures assure us: all God’s people will be "with God" in the New Jerusalem. Paradise Restored, people welcome in the presence of God, God even making His home with people: what wonderful fruits of Christ’s ascension!

And there’s a third benefit mentioned in the Catechism: "He sends us His Spirit as a counter-pledge, by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth." Christ Himself has departed from this earth, is not physically, bodily present (A 47). But a mere ten days after His departure He poured out His Holy Spirit – Pentecost- and through that Spirit He is with us still, always and everywhere. What He does through His Spirit? We’ll talk more about the Holy Spirit, the Lord willing, with Lord’s Day 20, but suffice it to say for now that the Holy Spirit directs our attention to Christ. One may think of a floodlight; the purpose of a floodlight is not to draw attention to itself but to the building it’s lighting up. So too the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit of Christ, and He has come to draw attention to Christ. And where is Christ? In heaven, seated in glory right beside the Father.

We live on earth, and so our inclination is to stare ourselves blind on the things of this earth – comfort, pleasure, reputation, our problems at work, etc. But that’s too small a vision, beloved, and much to discouraging; this earth knows only vanity, Solomon said. So the Holy Spirit lifts our gaze to heaven above, encourages us to look up. More important than the things of this earth are the bigger realities of heaven, where God (whom we rejected in Paradise) is enthroned in indescribable majesty and at His hand is our brother in the flesh –true man- who laid down His life to reconcile us to this holy God – and succeeded! This God is again our Father, and we for Jesus’ sake again His children, recreated to image what He is like.

This perspective, this vision Paul works out in his letter to the Colossians. You have been raised with Christ, he asks in vs 1? Then "seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God," he says. Christ is in heaven, and so your focus cannot be on earth, nor can your attitudes be from this earth. Earthly attitudes produce earthly conduct, things like "fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness," things like "anger, malice, blasphemy, filthy language…." But, says Paul, since your focus is in heaven, since your vision is bigger than simply this earth, make sure you display the attitudes of heaven. What did God do to overcome the bitter effects of our fall into sin? What did He do to restore communication between heaven and earth? He sent His only Son – and that involved mercy, kindness, patience, forgiving. So, says Paul, you need to do too. Your vision includes heaven where Christ is? Then be consistent: on this earth reflect heavenly attitudes. Vs 12: "put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." We understand: this produces a whole new lifestyle, a style of living and thinking that comes not from this fallen world, but from heaven above. It’s the fruit of Christ’s ascension, Christ’s opening the way again between heaven and earth!

The human eye can see only things of this world, can find no heaven, can understand no ascension. In a scientific age, this is the challenge for the church: will you believe that Christ actually departed this earth to travel to heaven? That is: will you believe that the effects of the fall into sin are undone, communication with God restored? That gospel is rich, and has such glorious consequences for this life. Talk with God today, enter God’s presence when we die, by the strength of the Spirit display heavenly attitudes in life: what privileges we have! The ascension: how rich the gospel!  Amen.