Summer in the Systematics – Christology (Part 10): The Exaltation of Christ

Transcript

JRS 50
08/25/2024
Summer in the Systematics, Christology, Part 10, The Exaltation of Christ.
Selected Scriptures
Jesse Randolph

Well, even though it’s over 100 degrees outside and feels like a literal oven out there, the reality is that with kids back in school and the Huskers kicking off their undefeated season next weekend and leaves already falling, on my front lawn at least, summer is basically over. But with fall around the corner it is time to wind down our summer-long study of systematic theology and specifically, the discipline of Christology, the doctrine of Jesus Christ. I do not know, I’ve lost count, how many hundreds of slides we have worked our way through this summer. I know it’s been fast and furious. I know it’s been an ambitious attempt to work through the entire discipline of Christology in one summer. I’ve seen the looks in your eyes. I’ve heard the fingers scribbling. I’ve heard the keypads clattering. I’ve heard about the hand cramps after Sunday evening service. And we have been speeding our way through. We’ve been speeding our way through topics like, The Preexistence of Christ, The Deity of Christ, The Humanity of Christ, The Two Natures of Christ, The Incarnation of Christ, The Life of Christ, The Obedience of Christ, The Death of Christ, The Resurrection of Christ. And those have been our main topics. But it has been my hope and prayer throughout this series, and I mean this sincerely as your pastor, that I hope this has not merely been an academic exercise for you all summer long. And to use Dr. Lothquist line this morning that we’re not just “filling up our notebooks” all summer long. We were warned against that this morning as we worked through Hebrews 13. But rather, it’s been my prayer that as we’ve considered all summer long these many different dimensions of the glorious person and work of Christ our Lord, that our love and our affections for our Savior really have been stirred. Truly stirred to love Him more deeply, to serve Him more diligently and proclaim His name more faithfully. I’m going to keep praying that, that this series has that lasting effect in our lives.

And then tonight with our tenth lesson, we’re going to cover this, The Exaltation of Christ. And that simply refers to the place and the position in which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sits today. You know, going back a few lessons, recall that God the Son humbled Himself in His incarnation. Philippians 2:7 says, He “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men.” That’s called the kenosis. We’re not going to revisit the entire kenotic theory tonight. But that kenosis theory refers to the emptying, the self emptying of Christ as we defined it in that message on the incarnation. And that’s gentle Jesus. That’s the meek and mild Jesus. The Jesus the world likes to think of and the Jesus so many liberal denominations and pastors like to focus in on as they preach about Christ. But Christ’s period of humbling is over. The One who emptied Himself has now returned to His place on high. It’s all come full circle. Christ has gone, think about this, from His state of preexistent glory to His incarnation, to the earthly suffering He faced, to now being back in glory where He sits and He reigns in the majestic splendor of heaven in this place and this position of His exaltation today.

We have just two points tonight. We’re going to handle this matter of Christ’s exaltation along these two broad and general lines. And it was brought to my attention earlier that your worksheets have a number 1 on one side and a number 5 on the back side. Don’t worry you’re not missing another worksheet. There’s just two points. It should say 1 and 2 right there. So just two points tonight.

First, we’re going to look at The Ascension of Christ. That literal, historical event which took place soon after our Lord’s resurrection by which He became seated in His position of exaltation today. And then second, we’ll look at The Enthronement of Christ. Those are your two headings, The Ascension of Christ and the Enthronement of Christ. And the enthronement refers to what our Lord has done and continues to do in His position in the heavenlies today, as the risen, ascended, and exalted Lord of all.

So we’ll start with The Ascension of Christ. And when it comes to the study of Christology, this topic, the topic of the ascension is actually often overlooked. And why is that? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that certain wayward churches, and certain apostate churches like the Roman Catholic church or the Eastern Orthodox church celebrate what they call Ascension Day. And in our zeal to sniff out any unsound doctrines in a church like ours, we tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater, thinking that if the Catholic Church celebrates Ascension Day, and that’s a liturgical holiday for that church, well, we’re not liturgical people so out the window goes any serious thought about the actual biblical event of the ascension. Or, along a similar line it could be that we associate words about Christ’s ascension with the Apostles’ Creed. And many of you heard the Apostles’ Creed growing up and it mentions that Christ “On the third day rose again; then he ascended into heaven, (you see it up here) is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.” And we may think, well, we’re not creeds and confessions people. We’re Bible people. And again, so out with the bathwater the baby goes and we end up de-emphasizing or devaluing the ascension.

But this shouldn’t be so. Because the Scriptures clearly testify that not only did Jesus rise from the grave but after spending 40 days here on earth in His resurrected body, He ascended to the Father. And as we’re gonna see in this second part of the message, He now sits in glory in His exalted state at His Father’s right hand.

Now, getting to the heart of our study about what the Bible teaches about the ascension, it is important to note at the outset that the ascension didn’t happen randomly. It didn’t happen with no prior warning or indication. Not at all. Rather, during His earthly ministry Jesus predicted not only that He would suffer and die and predicted not only that He would rise from the grave (which we looked at last week), but He also indicated that He would eventually return to the Father and that when He did so He would return to His previous glorified state. Some of His statements were more indirect. Like these. “And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’” Or John 17, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Or Luke 24:26, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” You can pick up on the pattern there. Christ was in glory. Then came this phase of His earthly life during His incarnation, when He left glory. But then the days of His earthly ministry were never thought to have gone on forever. He wasn’t going to be on earth forever. Rather a day would come on which He would return to the glorious position in the heavenlies which He once held in eternity past, in the presence of God the Father.

Now, admittedly the passages I’ve just shown you have no direct mention of the ascension. You don’t see the words ‘ascension’ in those 3 verses I just threw up here. But there are other places in the New Testament where the references get more direct and closer to what we understand as the doctrine of the ascension. For instance John 7:33, the words of Christ, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.” John 8:21, “I am going away… Where I am going, you cannot come.” Then in the Upper Room, “Now I am going to Him who sent Me.” Again now, we don’t have Christ directly using the word ‘ascension’ here, but the ascension clearly is in view. I’m going. And I’m going to Him, meaning God the Father. But even then make no mistake, that there were times when Jesus our Lord did make mention of the ascension directly and plainly. The ascension that was to come. For instance John 6:62 refers to the “the Son of Man ascending (there’s our term) where He was before.” And then soon after His resurrection He appears to Mary and charges her to tell the disciples here, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” And He’s speaking futuristically there. This could be taken to say, I will ascend to my Father. In other words, Christ predicted His own ascension.

Now, I’ve kind of gotten ahead of myself here. We need to define certain terms. What does that term ‘ascension’ mean and who or what was involved in the ascension. We know the who. Well, by ascension we mean this, we mean that after the tomb was discovered empty, and after, as it says here in Acts 1:3, He, meaning Jesus appeared to them over forty days and was speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God. We know that He then departed physically and visibly from the earth and was immediately received into heaven. And it’s important to say this because just as they’ll be people who will spiritualize the resurrection, they will also spiritualize the ascension as though it wasn’t a bodily ascension. But the ascension wasn’t a state of mind. It wasn’t some mere philosophical abstraction. It wasn’t a metaphor or a myth. Rather, just as Jesus rose, resurrected, physically and bodily, He returned to the Father physically and bodily. That’s Demarest, he highlights that here. “the Ascension did involve a real exit of the God-man from this material world, and a real entrance into God’s spiritual world.”

Now in terms of more direct biblical evidence of the event of the ascension itself. The ascension as a recorded historical event is mentioned three times in the New Testament. And I’m going to run through them right here. Mark 16, “So then, the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Luke also records it, “And it happened that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” And then, the one we’re all thinking of, Acts 1, “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. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? 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.’” That’s pretty cut and dried. The ascension was not only attested to, it was witnessed as we see there in Acts 1. And as Rolland McCune notes, “The only alternative to accepting this miracle is to impugn the power of God and the testimony of those who heard His parting words and watched Him ascend to the clouds.”

So those are some of the historical records of the ascension. And some might say, well, that’s it? Just 3 verses? That’s all you got to prove the ascension? Well, number one that would be enough, just having 3 verses. Having one verse would be enough. But the reality is there are details concerning the ascension of Christ all over the Scriptures. For instance, we learn from the Scriptures that the ascension wasn’t merely a physical disappearance. It’s not like He Jesus disappeared like a ghost into the ether. And it wasn’t merely a changed physical state. It was an actual physical passing from earth to heaven where God the Son at the end of His 40 days post-resurrection here on earth was received by the Father. And here’s where your hand is going to cramp a bit because I’m going to give you various references to this event here.

“Therefore, (says the author of Hebrews) since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us take hold of our confession.” Acts 3, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 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.” Acts 7, here’s Stephen of course, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” These are all verses that tie into the ascension. And Christ’s placement, His passing through the heavens to God’s right hand. Ephesians 1:17, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, so that you -- the eyes of your heart having been enlightened -- will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” 1 Timothy 3, “And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness, He who was manifested in the flesh, (that’s incarnational) was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Hebrews 8:1, “Now the main point in what is being said is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” One more, Hebrews 10:12, “He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies are put as a footstool for His feet.”

And then just to sort of put a color commentary, exclamation point on this, we have Ryrie saying, “Christ actually traveled up as if supported by the cloud. (He’s in the Acts 1:9 reference here) The ascent was not a sudden disappearance but a gradual, though not long, movement upward.” He’s taking all of the Scriptures that speak of the ascension and coming up with that summary thought there. In other words, though the ascension of Christ was, you could say it this way, a complete reversal of the incarnation of Christ -- in the incarnation of Christ, Christ came down leaving glory -- in His ascension Christ went up returning to glory.

So the ascension did happen. It did occur. It’s part of the biblical record. It’s historically verifiable. Next, we want to spend some time looking at a few other truths concerning the ascension. Like what was its purpose? What did it accomplish? Those sorts of things. Well, for starters, the ascension marked the end of our Lord’s life here on earth, His earthly mission. John 17, “I glorified You on the earth, having finished the work which You have given Me to do.” Put another way, in accomplishing what He did through His death and resurrection, the Lord accomplished all He came to do.

Second, the ascension made possible Christ’s present work in heaven, what He does for believers on behalf of believers today in heaven. There will be a few examples here. Before I do so, I think we’re all familiar with the basic concept that Christ does minister on believer’s behalf today. I think we know that as a truth. And we are comforted by that truth. But I don’t think we ever really think too much about where. Where is He doing that ministry on our behalf. Where is He representing us? From where is He representing us? It’s not a thought, at least I, give much thought to, to my shame. Like this one, Christ is head of His church. We know that truth. We think of Ephesians 5:22-23. But from where does He serve as the head of the church? From heaven. Christ rules and governs His church, does He not? He sure does.

Ephesians 1, “He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body.” Where does He do that from? From heaven. Christ is building His church, is He not? He sure is, Matthew 16:18. 1 Corinthians 6, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” Of course, Ephesians 4:11-12 speaks of the building up of the body of Christ.

Well, from where is Christ doing this? From heaven. Christ is interceding for, advocating on behalf of believers, is He not? He sure is. Hebrews 7:25, “He always lives to make intercession for them.” 1 John 2:1, “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.” Now where is He doing that from? From where is he interceding? From where is He advocating? From heaven. Christ is communicating His spiritual life to His people through the Holy Spirit today, does He not? Sure He is. Christ is our life! As Colossians 3:4 notes. And from where is He doing that? And purposing that ministry? From heaven. So, to summarize, Christ ministers to individual believers and to His churches today. And He does so, from heaven.

Here’s another function of the ascension. You could put it that way. The ascension opened the door to the Holy Spirit performing His work in our current church age. We remember these words from Christ in John 16, “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Advocate (speaking of the Spirit there) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” And we know that the Spirit has governed the process by which New Testament revelation was given. We see that alluded to here in John 16, “I still have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” And of course, the Spirit’s ministry to believers today includes convicting, regenerating, baptizing into the body of believers, indwelling followers of Jesus Christ. We see in a few of these passages. The Spirit’s work in believers lives in light of the ascension. “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment,” that’s a reference to the Spirit. Acts 1:8, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” this is right before the ascension. John 14:16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever.” So Christ goes away, the Spirit comes. John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” Which we saw just a few moments ago.

Alright, so we have looked so far at Christ’s prediction of His ascension. We’ve looked at the fact of His ascension. We have looked at a few of the purposes of the ascension. What we’re going to do now is consider the impact of the ascension. Namely, the impact the ascension had on Jesus’ disciples after the event of the ascension took place. We have to remember that many of them spoke boldly to the fact after the ascension. Not only to the fact that Jesus rose, but that He ascended to the Father. For instance when we think of Stephen, the Jewish leaders of the day are casting the stones in his direction that would eventually take his life. He sees this vision of the Lord Jesus in His ascended state. And it says here, “He gazed intently into heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” So that’s Stephen with his vision of the ascended Christ.

And then there’s of course Saul of Tarsus. An extreme persecutor of the church. He’s making his way to Damascus. He’s knocked off his horse by the brilliant glory of that same ascended Lord. And so significant was his vision of the ascended Christ on that day when he was on his way to Damascus, that later, when He went on trial for proclaiming the name of that same Christ, Saul, now Paul, as he details the experience, the ascension, the ascended status of Christ, plays a part in it. Acts 22, “But it happened (this is him standing at one of his tribunals, one of His trials) that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’” He’s testifying here to this vision of the ascended Christ. Or Acts 26 later in his appeal process, he says, “At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” The one that was presenting Himself in light from heaven was the ascended Lord.

And then even later that same man, Paul, would go on to declare here in 1 Timothy 3:16, that Christ was “manifested in the flesh.” and “taken up (that’s ascension language) in glory.” And of course, we can’t forget the vision of the ascended and glorified Christ that the Apostle John received while he was imprisoned on the isle of Patmos. He says, “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.” That’s not Jesus meek and mild from our storybook Bibles in childhood. This is the all-glorious, supremely exalted Christ as He exists today.

Well, we’ve considered some of the biblical data surrounding the ascension of Christ. That was our first point. We’re now going to go ahead and you can turn the page in your worksheet if you’re a note taker, to look at The Enthronement of Christ. Now that term ‘enthronement,’ I mean the definition I’m giving to that term, is what happened once Christ ascended. What happened once He ascended. Some theologians will call this His present session. His session, that period following His resurrection from the grave and His ascension into the heavenly realm where He took His seat at the Father’s right hand. That position of highest rank and authority far above all things and people and rulers and authorities and creatures.

And what has Christ been doing? If I can put it that way. What’s our Savior been doing since that moment of His ascension? Well, before we can get into that, let’s consider an important nuance and detail concerning Christ’s enthronement. Which is this. When we speak of His enthronement, we’re speaking of the Lord’s enthronement in His humanity. See, we have to remember Jesus as eternal God has always been enthroned in His deity. He’s never stepped off that throne. But recall that in His incarnation, He took on humanity. He took on a human nature. That’s Philippians 2:7. That’s John 1:14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He assumed a position that was lower even than the angels that He Himself created. Hebrews 2:9. “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels -- Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” But look, He was made for a little while lower than the angels. Well, with His enthronement now at the Father’s right hand, and we’re still speaking of Him in His humanity, the Lord Jesus was exalted to this highest position, far above all angelic beings, human beings and any other authority. Ephesians 1:19, “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Colossians 2:10 is similar, it says, “in Him you have been filled, who is the head over all rule and authority.” Meaning Christ is now not only glorified in His deity, but in His humanity. And He occupies this place of supreme authority, ultimate authority, exalted authority in both natures, both the divine and the human.

Now let’s consider, if we may, a couple different aspects of our Lord’s post-ascension ministry. Getting back to that question that seems so irreverent when I say it. What has He been doing since His ascension? Well, first He’s seated. Our Lord sits. And He’s seated at the right hand of God which indicates His honor and His prominence and His equality ultimately with God the Father. And here’s another long list of the Scriptures that testify to the fact that Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Acts 2:33, “Having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.” Acts 5, “This One God exalted to His right hand as a Leader and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” The “this One” here is referring to Jesus. This One, God exalted. Acts 7, the Stephen reference again, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Romans 8:34, “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 1:19-20, “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating 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 10, “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, (meaning Christ) having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies are put as a footstool for His feet.” One more, Hebrews 12:2, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Reference after reference to Jesus sitting at God’s right hand. References that confirm the ontological, meaning the essential of equality of God the Father and God the Son. These references confirm Jesus’ divine nature that He is, going back several lessons now, truly God.

Now back to this question. What is He doing at the right hand of God? It makes it sound like I’m a supervisor checking in on what He’s doing. We don’t have that right to check in on what Jesus the exalted Lord of all is doing. We’re just trying to mine the Scriptures to see what they reveal about what He’s doing. And one thing we know is He’s ruling over the entire universe. We’ve already read this one from Ephesians 1:19-20, speaking of the greatness of His power and the might of His strength. He is working out the might of His strength as He rules over the entire universe. We know from Hebrews 1:3 that He’s upholding everything from the Father’s right hand by the Word of His power. “In these last days He spoke to us in His Son whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” We know that He is subjecting today all angels, and authorities, and powers to Himself. 1 Peter 3:22, “He’s at the right hand of God, (there’s that reference again) having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” We know He’s crowned with glory and honor, Hebrews 2:9, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

We know He’s received a body of glory, Philippians 3, “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, (His glorious glorified body) by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.” And we know He has received from God a glorious name. In fact, a name that is above all names. This is the incarnational verse here, but it says, “God has also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

Now while the ascended Christ is in heaven, want to use that reference. He sits from what God calls His throne room and the earth is its footstool. It’s not as though Jesus is only in heaven today. Or that He is spatially restricted in any way. No. He is in a very real sense present everywhere. Ephesians 4:10, “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.” He fills all. And is in all. And He is truly “Lord of all,” Acts 2. And as Lord of all, He is worthy of highest honor. “All will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

Now many when they think of Christ, even in His current, post-resurrection, post-ascension state, think of Him only as our Savior? And He is our Savior if we’ve put our faith and our trust in His death and resurrection. But He is also our Lord. Yes, if we have put our faith in Christ, we have been positionally justified based on what He has already done for us on the cross. But we are still yet being practically sanctified as we submit ourselves to Christ’s Lordship, doing what He says. Doing what He has revealed for us to do in His Word. And that’s never changed. I mean, wasn’t that exactly what Jesus’ pushed on His disciples with in Luke 6:46 when He says, “why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and yet not do what I say?” Lordship has always been at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Whether you are one of the first century disciples, or whether you’re a member of His church today. The risen Christ, the ascended Christ, is not only Lord of all creation as He sits in His ascended exalted place in the heavenlies today, He is to be the Lord of our lives.

Now, this takes us to an interesting fork in the road in our discussion tonight. Because so far what we’ve seen is that Christ is ascended and we’ve seen that He is in a state of His glorified humanity. He’s always been in a glorious state of deity. We’ve seen that He’s exalted. We’ve seen that He’s enthroned. We’ve seen in multiple Scriptures that He sits at His Father’s right hand. So since He is enthroned and since He is exalted, does that mean that Christ is King? That’s a catchy phrase today if you haven’t noticed. “Christ is King.” And especially its used in a lot of Christian nationalist movements. You know, Caesar’s not king. Trump’s not king. Biden’s not king. Christ is King. But is He? And if so, King of what? Now there is a sense in which, I will say, I think we can confidently say based on Scripture, that Christ is King over all the earth. He is God, after all, going back many lessons in this series. Psalm 93:1 says, “God reigns,” that’s kingly language. “He is clothed with majesty,” says that same Psalm. So God, Yahweh, is King. He is the sovereign ruler over all. He reigns over all the earth. And to the extent that God, Yahweh, exercises universal dominion, reign, power over all the earth and can be said to be King of all the earth, so too, can Christ Himself, being eternally God. We’re on secure biblical footing with that statement.

But where things get complicated is that the Scriptures also indicate that Christ will one day rule as king over this earth in a very specific and literal and physical way as He sits on David’s throne. Here’s what it says about that in 2 Samuel 7. Speaking prophetically, it says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Now here’s the rub. There are certain theologians and certain traditions who will argue that what Christ is doing right now as sovereign Lord with power and authority over all, in that Psalm 93 sense of our God reigns -- they’ll say that right now as He does that, as He rules over the earth, He’s fulfilling the promise that was made to David by God, to Nathan, to David, to the future Messiah. Here in 2 Samuel 7 regarding the One who would one day sit on David’s throne. In other words, there are some who believe that throne that Christ is sitting on now and occupying when the Scriptures speak of Christ sitting at the right hand of God, all those Scriptures we went through, is the throne of David.

But as I’ve just expressed, I can agree with the statement that the ascended Christ, the exalted Christ, the seated Christ as He sits at the right hand of God the Father, He does rule and reign over the world at large. Our God reigns. He is the head over all rule and authority, Colossians 2:9-10. He has “disarmed,” Colossians 2:15, “the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them in Him.” But the throne that Christ is sitting on today is not the Davidic throne. In fact, it’s not an earthly throne of any sort. Where He’s sitting today is a heavenly throne. A heavenly throne at God’s right hand from which He rules over all of the universe and over all God’s creatures. David’s throne pertained to the earth. To the land of Israel. To the people of Israel. It was never contemplated to be any other than an earthly throne in a specific context. The ascended Christ as He sits today, doesn’t sit on David’s throne. Rather He sits at the right hand of God the Father. This heavenly throne. This eternal throne. One that existed long before David was born. And one that existed long before any promise was made to David about one sitting on His throne.

So if I could just boil that down, Christ’s current position is at His Father’s right hand in heaven. On His heavenly throne, you could say. It’s not the same thing as the Davidic throne that He’ll occupy on a later day in the kingdom. They’re different thrones. They’re not the same. Walvoord teases out the distinctions here, saying it much more artfully than I could. He says, “The throne in heaven on which Christ is now seated is obviously one of supreme honor, glory, victory, power, and authority. No power on earth or in heaven could possibly have a higher position nor could there be one of more honor and privilege than what the Lord Jesus Christ now possesses. The throne of God is in keeping with the divine attributes of the eternal God and is supported by infinite power and authority in keeping with the position and work of the second person of the Trinity. Because He is on the throne in glory, saints are able to have victory in this world and can be assured that though the power of Satan and the temptations of this world are real and though they experience weakness because of their sin nature, it is still true that Christ is on the throne and thus He is able to sustain them in their hour of need.” He’s speaking of the heavenly throne here. “By contrast, these factors cannot be said of the throne of David. The church has no relationship to the throne of David nor was the throne of David one of infinite power and authority. Conceivably it could be lost and destroyed, though David was assured that it would not be.”

So He’s distinguishing the heavenly throne, Psalm 93 throne, versus the coming Davidic throne. And then He notes, “To confuse such dissimilar positions is to bring confusion to the Word of God.” I brought that quote in because someone might say, why are you spending so much time on two thrones? Who cares? Aren’t you just splitting hairs here? But I appreciate the guidance Walvoord gives here. Because this comes down to not wanting to confuse, and ultimately tamper with the Word of God.

So that’s a little detour just to explain how we can say that Christ reigns today. He reigns from the heavens. He is seated at His Father’s right hand but not from David’s throne on earth as other theological tribes or camps will articulate.


Alright. A few more details about what Christ has been doing since His ascension. In His enthroned state and exalted state. For starters, He’s directing the affairs of the church. We looked at that a little earlier, too. He’s head over all things to the church, His body. “We are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, (of the church) that is Christ.” Ephesians 5, Christ also is the head of the church, “The husband is the head of the wife as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.” So Christ in His exalted state, is directing the affairs of the church.

That would include His sending of His Spirit, as we looked earlier, to indwell those who would make up the church. John 14, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever.” John 16, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” It was only after Christ’s exaltation to His throne in the heavenlies that the ministry of the Spirit began in the church. And we know that with the sending of His Spirit, He gives gifts to the church, Ephesians 4:11-12, for the building of the body of Christ. And we know He gives us to one another so that as believers can attain mutually, “the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

So He rules over the church. He sends His Spirt. Not only that, we know with his ascension it inaugurated His high priestly work in heaven. We remember how the priests in Israel, they would pass within the veil of the temple. They would intercede for the people through the shedding of blood. We know from actually Hebrews this morning that Christ is the better priest and He is the perfect fulfillment of the old priesthood. He serves as our Great High Priest. That was Hebrews 4, “We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” Or Hebrews 9, “Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself.” And we know that while those in the Old Testament priesthood were required to stand while they performed their ritual service, we know that from Hebrews 10, Christ through His effective and effectual sacrifice, a single sacrifice, sat down. And is now seated once again at the right hand of God.

And as He sits at the right hand of God there’s still some more things the Lord does in His enthroned, exalted position. For instance, He intercedes for us. During His earthly ministry He prayed for others. He prayed for small children we see here in Matthew 19. He prayed for His disciples like Peter here, “I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail.” He even prayed for His enemies, this is during His earthly ministry, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” But now, in His exalted state, in His enthroned state, He intercedes for His own before God in heaven. “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Hebrews 9:24, He appears in the presences of God for us, that intercessory ministry. And more here. Hebrews 7:25, He makes intercession for us.

Two more of these things He does in this exalted and enthroned position. One He prepares an eternal home for us for those who have believed upon Him. We know this is a verse concerning the rapture. But there’s also this underlying truth that He has prepared a place, He’s preparing a place for us. “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, (that’s a rapture reference) that where I am, there you may be also.” Demarest notes, that “Christ by His own blood has opened for us the gates of heaven. And now He is at work preparing a place for all who love Him.” So the fact that our ascended Lord has entered heaven bodily guarantees that those who have believed upon Him will one day do the same. Here’s Demarest again. He says “Christ has blazed the trail to the heavenly world and the Christian confidently follows in His train.”

And here’s the last one. The ascended and enthroned Christ has left us with a promise. We remember the words of Acts 1:11 which tells us that as the disciples watched the Lord ascend, those two angels appear and promise that in the same way that He had been taken from them, He would return “in just the same way.” “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? 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.” Thiessen notes, the “bodily ascension of Christ is a necessary historical presupposition to belief in his bodily return, since he is to come back to earth as he went away, and to belief in our own bodily resurrection, since we shall be like him.” And Rolland McCune notes, “The bodily ascent of the Lord into heaven has a correlate truth, namely His personal and corporeal return to the earth.” In other words, the ascension of Christ secures our eschatological hope. Our future hope that Christ is coming again. And it all begins here on this next event on the eschatological timeline. The end times timeline. An event known as the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Those are comforting words, are they not, as we wrap up this whole series on Christ and what He has done and who He is. The One we’ve been studying all summer long, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have studied the Scriptures and what they reveal about Him being eternal. And Him being preexistent. And Him being fully God. And Him being fully man. And Him being incarnate. And Him walking the earth in perfect obedience to God His Father. This the One who was the spotless Lamb. And the One who died. And the One who rose. And the One who appeared. And then the One who ascended. And the One that we’ve seen tonight is now enthroned and exalted. And that One is coming back. To which we cry, “Maranatha, Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Amen? Well, since we were there this morning with Dr. Lofquist, I’m going to end our time together tonight, and I’m going to end this series on Christology with these words from the doxology of Hebrews 13. Les took us through verses 1-21 this morning and I’m going to read verses 20 and 21 to conclude. Hebrews 13:20, “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, equip you in every good thing to do His will, by doing in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Let’s pray. Father we thank You for Your patience with us. We thank You for the study we’ve been able to embark on all summer long. God, I thank You for the patience of everybody here. I know we have been going at a fast speed all summer and I know it’s sometimes hard to follow along. But I do pray that we would come away with a higher view of who You are, Lord Jesus. The preexistent One. The Eternal One. The Incarnate One. The God-man. The One who died. The spotless Lamb. The One who rose. The One who appeared. The One who ascended and the One who sits now enthroned and exalted. And the One who will one day come for us. God, I pray that we will be and continue to be comforted with these words. That we will come away from this study not with a notebook full of data, but rather with a heart full. And a heart ready and a heart prepared and equipped to do Your will as revealed in Your Word. God, may this study stir up in us passion to see more souls won to Christ. May this study stir up in us a desire to engage with and read the Word of Christ and be conformed into the image of Christ. God, may we be known as much for who we are and what we do as what we know. We know we are to speak the truth in love. We know we are to balance doctrine and practice. But God I pray that those two would remain in good and healthy balance in this church for many years to come. God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your sure promises. Thank You for your Son. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.