SOME FUNDAMENTALS -

THE ASCENSION AND EXALTATION OF CHRIST

Quite early in His pathway the Lord had indicated that He would ascend up where He was before. The disciples had experienced the sorrow of their Lord's rejection and crucifixion, and they knew where He had been buried, but had known the joy of receiving the wonderful news of His glorious resurrection. They had, too, His message, "I ascend to my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God", John 20: 17. During a period of forty days He assembled with them speaking of the things relating to the kingdom of God. But still the disciples did not understand His current movements and Jesus made it clear that the time for restoring the kingdom to Israel must be left in the Father's hands. He had previously told them He would go away to His Father and their favoured part was to be His witnesses during His absence in the very scene of His rejection and crucifixion. For this purpose they would be empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit not many days hence (see Acts 1: 1-11). Then He lifted up His hands and blessed them, and while He was blessing them He was carried up into heaven, a cloud receiving Him out of their sight (see Luke 24: 50-53). We can well understand how intently they watched that cloud, but two men in white clothing stood by them and said, "Men of Galilee, why do ye stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven shall thus come in- the manner in which ye have beheld him going into heaven", Acts 1: 11.

The world had rejected Him but the heavens received Him. Our knowledge of what took place when Jesus was received up into heaven is very limited, but we know He was "received up in glory", 1 Tim 3: 16. Because of His path of moral worth, God "highly exalted him and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow", Phil 2: 9. In a coming day it will be said, "Lift up your heads, ye gates... and the King of glory shall come in", Ps 24: 7. How much greater the acclamations must have been in the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit over the great work of redemption accomplished so gloriously by the Son! God's delight in the exaltation of Christ is emphasised by the quotation five times in the New Testament of David's words, "Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put thine enemies as footstool of thy feet", Ps 110: 1.

So now, by faith and in the power of the Spirit, we see Jesus, who was made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour. It is a great moment for the believer when for the first time he gets the impression in his soul that Jesus is a real living Man at the right hand of God. Henceforward the Lord Jesus will become the centre and object of his affections and govern his life and ways here. As this outlook is maintained he will grow in his appreciation of the fact that the One who descended to the lowest depths is the same who has also ascended above all the heavens that He might fill all things.

W.E.Ellis