LD 18: Comfort in the Ascension
April 30, 2011 2 Comments
It definitely has been a while since I last blogged. It’s not because I didn’t want to, so it’s good to be back. Though hopefully, one day I’ll complete all the Lord’s Days (LD 12-LD 17) I missed since I took my break from posting here. For now, I’ll continue coinciding the HC’s Lord’s Day with their respective Sunday. So here we go…
The immediate context of Lord’s Day 18 is the section regarding Christ and our deliverance in the Apostles Creed. Specifically LD 18 focuses in on the ascension of Christ and how that benefits us who believe in Him. HC #26 states the Creed in full and notice the extra discussion dedicated to Jesus (bolded mine):
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
So Christ was born, died on a cross, rose again, and has ascended. Why is this important? The HC has much encouragement to offer us regarding Christ’s ascension.
My greatest comfort in life and in death is that I belong both body and soul to my Savior. The ascension of Christ gives flesh to this comfort. Christ’s ascension gives me an ever-present hope of a glorious future; in other words, the ascension of Christ is hope-worthy because his ascension will be mine as well. HC #29 describes this further:
First, he pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father.
There is no one in heaven or on earth that I want to plead my cause, except Christ. Why? When Christ pleads my cause, He’s is presenting Himself in my stead. He is not presenting my personal works. Neither is He presenting His good works combined with my (so-called) good works. No, He is presenting Himself. He is presenting His perfect righteousness as my righteousness. He is presenting His meritorious obedience to the Father as my obedience to the Father. His garbs were washed white as snow by His precious crimson blood, and He now clothes me with those precious robes. The Father sees Christ’s royal clothes and not my filthy rags. Ultimately, the Father sees me the way He sees Christ. There is no one else I want pleading my cause save Jesus. The Father loves the Son and is perfectly pleased with Him. Christ presents me as His and so, the Father loves me and is perfectly pleased with me in Christ.
Second, we have our own flesh in heaven—a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, his members, to himself in heaven.
Christ’s death was our death. Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection. So too is His ascension. He is pleading our cause in heaven because that is where He is taking us. My comfort in this life is that my next life is eternity with Him. There is nothing more comforting than Him taking me not only to heaven and all its glory, but that Christ is taking me home to Himself and His radiant glory.
HC #29 challenges me to long for heaven, not because it’s heaven, but to long for Christ who reigns in heaven.
Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.
Christ had to ascend so that the Comforter might apply all Christ’s benefits to me. As soon as Christ’s obedience to the Father was perfectly completed, the Holy Spirit was to be sent. Jesus had to leave so we could receive the deposit guaranteeing our salvation–the Holy Spirit. A reward of Christ’s obedience was the gift of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The beauty of the Spirit is that He drives us to Christ and molds us into His image. All the benefits of Christ’s meritorious work are applied to us by the Spirit.
My prayer is that the Spirit would drive my focus heavenward and give me the desire to embrace Christ in all His fullness.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lord’s Day 18
Q & A 46
Q. What do you mean by saying, “He ascended to heaven”?
A. That Christ, while his disciples watched, was lifted up from the earth to heaven and will be there for our good until he comes again to judge the living and the dead.
Q & A 47
Q. But isn’t Christ with us until the end of the world as he promised us?
A. Christ is truly human and truly God. In his human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit he is not absent from us for a moment.
Q & A 48
Q. If his humanity is not present wherever his divinity is, then aren’t the two natures of Christ separated from each other?
A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ’s divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity he has taken on, but at the same time his divinity is in and remains personally united to his humanity.
Q & A 49
Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?
A. First, he pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven—a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, his members, to himself in heaven. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.
