Forgotten Glory: Recovering the Ascension of Christ

Posted on by jemack

Forgotten Glory: Recovering the Ascension of Christ is one of the significant needs of the Church today. We speak often of the cross and the empty tomb. However, we rarely lift our eyes to the throne where Christ now reigns. The Ascension is not a footnote to the Gospel—it is its crown. Without it, we lose sight of His exaltation, His authority, and His ongoing ministry for His people. 

The Gospel Is More Than Resurrection

Contemporary Evangelicalism often ignores the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. When asked to define the Gospel, evangelicals will often say it is the “Life, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That definition, of course, leaves out other key features of the Gospel. The Gospel is the

Incarnation

Perfect Life

Death as a criminal executed by a lawful magistrate

Resurrection

Ascension

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the Father

Second Coming to reward the saints and punish sinners threat treaded on His blood.

The Ascension and Resurrection Are Tied Together

Today, we will explore the unique connection between the Ascension and the Resurrection. The two events communicate some wonderful things to the people of God if we stop and think about them. We will use Ephesians 1:15-23 as the basis for exploring and celebrating the Ascension of Christ.

Ephesians 1:15–23

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Paul’s Ministry to the Ephesians

We know that Paul spent two years in Ephesus. We recently moved into Paul’s years as a “prisoner” for Christ in our Acts of the Apostles series. Ephesus comprises nearly the entire Third Missionary Journey of Paul.Roman authorities arrested him in Jerusalem in 58 AD. Paul wrote his letter to Ephesus in 62-63 AD. It has been 4-5 years since he last visited the city. In Acts 20, on his way to arrest and imprisonment, he met with the Ephesian elders in Miletus. However, the letter to the Ephesians feels like Paul hasn’t had much contact with the church there since then.

Paul’s Indirect Information

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints (Ephesians 1:15),”

The sentence implies an indirect source of information. Ephesians 3 more clearly demonstrates my point.

“For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:1-4),”

News has come to Paul that the Church in Ephesus is flourishing. Tychicus delivers the letter on Paul’s behalf (Ephesians 6:21). About a year after writing this letter, Paul will send a letter to Timothy, who has since the writing of Ephesus, relocated to the city to become the bishop or leading teaching elder in the Church there. 

Paul writes in 1 Timothy, “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia*, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3).” In any event, Paul has a renewed interest and connection to Ephesus in the later years of his ministry, going so far as to place his chief disciple, Timothy, there as their leader.

Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16).”

Paul writes a wonderful letter to the Ephesian church, full of dense theological material. However, he also wants them to know that since he heard of their Faith, he has put them on his intercessory prayer list. He wants them to know specifically what he is praying for them.

“16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (Ephesians 1:16-17),”

Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

First, “the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.” Notice that the translators capitalize the “S” in Spirit. It is not general wisdom, such as that needed for conflict resolution or financial management. It is a wisdom from the Holy Spirit. Wisdom unto salvation and sanctification. 

Wisdom is the application of Truth–not just thinking about it. Spiritual wisdom is not human philosophy. Wisdom is a word that helps bridge the distance in our minds between “Faith in Christ” and “the acknowledgment of Christian history.” Faith and wisdom are similar in that you know them by their fruits. 

Listen to Jesus:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds (Matthew 11:18-19).”

A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

Where wisdom is rightly ordered action, revelation is a word that means “a further expanding and unfolding of knowledge.” It is essentially the idea that they would continue to meditate on the Gospel and deepen their understanding and application of it. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ in the Word and draws forth the amen and further applications. 

The Church has written reams—whole libraries—through the ages, unpacking the wisdom and revelation of God. When done accurately, these writings display “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”

Have you ever been reading the Bible and thinking about a passage when suddenly a new application occurs to you? The Lord reveals a new place of repentance. Perhaps not around immoral things that you’ve done but around moral things you left undone. Curious, you wonder if other Christians have thought about what has occurred to you. Sure enough, you go to a commentary or sermons by other godly Christians, and there in black and white is the same wisdom that occurred to you, just in different window dressing. One day you are singing an old hymn or a Psalm, and there it is again, the Spirit depositing the same truth and applications hundreds or even thousands of years before the thought and application occurred to you. That is “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”

Christian Enlightenment

The Atheists and the East are not the only people who get to have “Enlightenment.” The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, who gives unfolding and ever-deepening applications of God’s Word to God’s people, enlightens too. The modern enlightened atheist says, “Man is everything; there is no God.” The enlightened East declares, “Man is nothing and will be assumed into everything.” The truly enlightened man, the Christian, proclaims, “Christ is everything, and man’s present happiness and future hope are found only in Him.”

That You May Know

Therefore, for the Apostle, praying to “the Father of glory,” to “give the Spirit of Wisdom and of revelation” leads to “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know” three things:

  • What is the hope to which he has called you
  • What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints
  • What is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe

Each one of those three topics is a sermon or a series of sermons on its own merit. It could even be, in the hands of a profound Christian, a book, or even a series of books. The Hope To Which He Has Called You sounds like the title to someone’s Magnum Opus. We are not about to plow into each of them individually. That would take us too far afield from our main point. What I want to draw our attention to is the rest of verse 19 and then 20.

According to His Great Might

“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20).”

At the end of verse 19, Paul uses two very important words: “according to.” Paul prays that God enlightens their spiritual sight. He urges them to know three things—the Christian’s future eternal hope, inheritance, and the source of our power to walk in holiness—“according to,” or “as it is seen,” in Christ when God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

The Importance of Including the Ascension

Here, we can see why it is crucial not to stop your “Gospel” at the Resurrection and possibly why we have such a poor understanding of our privileges in the Gospel within the Evangelical church. If we omit the Ascension of Christ from our Faith or treat it as an add-on to the Gospel, we cut off fifty percent or more of what we should be meditating on and growing in our understanding of through revelation. The Ascension of Christ, far from being an add-on, is the substance of our claim that He is above all others, for Christ has done two things that no other man has done.

God raised Him from the dead.

He ascended into the Presence of God

Christ’s Superiority Displayed in the Ascension

He conquered death.God awarded Him a Name above every name. Where does He sit now?

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

There is no power in this age, or the one to come that is mightier than the Captain of our Salvation. The Resurrection places him above all men, and the Ascension places Him above all men and angels and whatever else there will be in the world to come.

The Ascension Places Christ Far Above All

Later in Ephesians 4, Paul asks,

“In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things (Ephesians 4:9-10).”

That is also how he closes our passage. He is far above, so that everything is

“under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

The Church as His Fullness

The Church is the fullness of him who fills all in all. We are those who have the Spirit of Christ within us. 

Christ purified us to be Temples of God 

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19).” 

Christ poured His Spirit out upon/into us to make us dwelling places of God.

Application

Forerunner – Blazed the Trail

God has torn away the curtain or veil.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:19-20).”

Advocate – On Your Side

An agent that represents you before the Father

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).”

Mediator – Go-Between

A representative in a dispute (someone to arbitrate)

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time (1 Timothy 2:5).”

“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).”

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool (Isaiah 1:18).”

High Priest – Offers Himself

He offers himself to you and for you.

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 12:17-18).”

King of Mankind – Seated at the Right Hand

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).”

Each of these truths can be considered until the end of the world and throughout eternity, too, and we’d never fathom the bottom. They can be termed “the hope of your calling, the riches of your inheritance in Christ, the immeasurable greatness of Christ’s power toward the saints.”

  • What is the hope to which he has called you
  • What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints
  • What is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe

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Finally, at the risk of sounding desperate, make sure to smash all the buttons and share it, puhleez. If you enjoyed The Forgotten Glory: Recovering the Ascension of Christ based on Acts 22:30-23:5, then check out some of our other blogs.

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