Stephen: Christians believe in a presently living Saviour. And so, we get to Acts chapter 1 and we read that Jesus after talking to his disciples is taken up and the clouds receive him from their sight. So, the question is, where is he now and what is he doing?
Joel: Yeah, very important question because you could think well would it not have been better if Jesus had stayed on earth? Why didn't he remain here? But his ascension I think it is a demonstration of his triumph, of his victory and he has gone and you read about this in other parts of the Bible particularly the letter to the Hebrews you'll discover that he has ascended to the place of ultimate authority. He's described as being seated in heavenly places, being seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. He's gone to the throne room of heaven.
Stephen: So why is that a good thing for us? Why does that benefit us? So whenever the disciples we when we meet them in Acts chapter 1, they've seen the risen Christ and their natural conclusion or assumption is Lord, are you going to at this stage restore your kingdom? And that's kind of a natural idea. If Christ has dealt with sin, provided salvation, why not just get on with reigning on the earth? So what's he doing in heaven for us? Why is that a good thing for us?
Joel: Yeah. One of the things that the book of Acts establishes for us is that there exists between the believer and Christ this intimate vital union, this deep connection. You see that in Acts chapter nine when Saul of Tarsus is on the road to Damascus. He's persecuting Christians and the risen and glorified Christ appears to him and he says Saul says, "Who are you Lord?" And the Lord responds by saying, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." Now, that almost seems like that can't be right because Jesus wasn't on earth at that time. As far as Saul was concerned, he had died. As far as the truth is, he had died, raised again, and gone to heaven. But Saul wasn't physically persecuting Jesus. He was persecuting Jesus's followers. But what that shows us is this, that whenever the disciples of Christ are persecuted, he is being persecuted as well. Whatever is done to them is also done to him. And there's another glorious kind of the opposite side of that. Whatever is true of him wherever he is, that's actually true of the Christian as well. So in a spiritual sense, we are already in the father's presence. He has gone there to be and again you'll find this in first John and the letter to the Hebrews. He's gone there to be our advocate with the father. He's Jesus Christ the righteous. He is there as our great high priest. He's actually there to continue to work on our behalf.
Stephen: Is there something in here where the purpose of the world and life is about God's glory – about God being revealed, God showing himself – that if we went straight into this perfect world into paradise there's a sense where there's a lot that we would never know. You know, there's something amazing that right now as Christians face trials and difficulties and suffering and persecution and whatever else they can we can know something about the power and the greatness of God through our relationship with Christ in glory.
Joel: There's something really incredible there that is immensely powerful – it changes how you face all of those difficulties and struggles in life. And I think that I said a moment or two ago there, he's there to work for us. So we need to be really clear in terms of his suffering for sin. The work to procure and provide salvation for a guilty world that's done. This man after he'd offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God. So never again will he rise on account of sin. Never again will he suffer in that regard. But his work in relation to the believer, in relation to supplying their needs, to sanctifying them, to changing them, that continues at the right hand of the father. He is our representative in heaven. And that's an immensely comforting and empowering thing for the believer.
Stephen: Yeah. You know so often in the New Testament you read about how that the Father is basically disciplining us, refining us through the world and our characters are being refined through the experiences and the challenges of life. But all along we have this man, this high priest, this advocate who is constantly working for our good that we would get to this finished article that we would be like him and holy.
Joel: Yeah. And it's also immensely encouraging in terms of our security. One of the lovely truths in the New Testament is this that we are viewed as being in Christ. He's our representative in heaven. We are his representatives on earth. when we talk about that in a future episode. But because he is accepted in the presence of the father, we are also accepted in the presence of the father. For us to be driven out of God's presence, the son would need to be driven out as well. like such a thing can never be. He has accepted and the ascension, the fact that he's received up in the clouds, the fact that there are angels standing there, it shows again that the father's approval is on this man and on what he has done, which means that that approval that we don't deserve it, it comes to us. We have an indisoluble link with a risen man in glory. So that transforms our present as you've been saying, but it also guarantees our future.
Stephen: Ephesians 2 talks about that as well about being, you know, quickened with him and seated with him in the heavenlies and kind of this picture of all the blessings that are his. All the possession that is guaranteed to be ours.
Maybe just to finish up with, skeptics obviously point at a lot of these different events of Christ's life with raised eyebrows. What do we know from scripture about the body of Christ? How is it possible they might say that a human body would ascend through the sky, be taken by clouds and be in heaven?
Joel: Yeah. I mean, it's clear in the resurrection that Christ had a physical body. There's nothing kind of merely mystical or figurative or spiritual about this. People were able to touch him. he was able to eat food, you know, it was a physical body and yet it was a changed body because he was able to enter into a locked room. He wasn't bound by the same physical restrictions that previously he had subjected himself to whenever the two on the road to Emmaus saw him initially. They didn't recognise him. The same is true of Mary in the garden in John 20. So there's a sense in which there's very much a correspondence to the pre-resurrection body, but also it has been changed. Now to the question as to like is this possible? You know, could there be a physical body, a real man in the presence of God? Yes, it does sound quite fantastical in a sense. But that's what a miracle is. We don't expect these kind of things to be happening all the time. And if you believe in a God who created something out of nothing, who raised Jesus from the dead and those are the two great miracles that I have not heard compelling explanations from a naturalistic or an alternative perspective. But if you believe in those things and he was born of a virgin, is it really that big a stretch to think that then in that same body that he could be received into the direct presence of God? I just don't really see how that's an issue unless you insist as a premise that naturalism is true and that there's no potential for miracles that I don't actually see how that is a particular skeptical challenge.
Stephen: Yeah. And just to finish with another question, why this method, you know, of all the ways the Lord could have returned to the father's right hand, why rise through the air and be taken, you know, from a cloud from their presence?
Joel: Yeah. It's interesting that Satan is described, one of the names is given to him as the prince of the power of the air. And Jesus returns to the Father's presence through the air. And it's almost like this triumphal procession. you kind of have the picture of an ancient ruler or ruler from antiquity having gone out to battle. They've been involved in conquest. They've won and they return in triumph and everyone, friend and foe alike, has to watch as the majesty of the victor proceeds back to his throne. And I think that's what we're seeing. Satan and his legions of demons, they watch in dismay as a man goes into the presence of God. This is the first-fruits, the guarantee that other men and women will go into that same presence of God. And there's nothing that Satan can do or say. There's no accusation that he can make or finger that he can point. And it shows to us that Satan is for the Christian a defeated and vanquished foe. Yes, he remains dangerous. Yes, he remains powerful. But ultimately because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, he is defeated.
