Do you believe in a three-decker world? Hell down below us, and heaven above us? No, neither do I! So, what do we make of the Ascension? Clearly the action was symbolic. Going up was the only way Jesus could convey the significance of what was happening. Had he just vanished from sight, as on previous occasions, they would still have expected to see him again. Going down would have given the wrong message – so ascending it had to be – to stress the finality of his withdrawal – and of his going to be with his Father in glory. Of course, we know little of what heaven is like – apart from Jesus’ teaching, and the pictures in Revelation, which portray eternity in terms we understand from our present experience.

God’s symbolic language

So it is that God conveys deep truths to us in symbolic language. When we’ve finished a hard day’s work – what do we want to do? Sit down! So in Hebrews (1:3) we read: After the Son had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Jesus sat because he’d finished the work his Father had given him to do – as he’d proclaimed in that triumphant cry, Finished! from the cross (John 19:30).

Jesus had sacrificed himself once for all for our sins. I cannot emphasise this too strongly – God himself has done all that was necessary to achieve our forgiveness, to put us right with himself. We cannot do this for ourselves – nor can we add to what Christ has done on our behalf. Thereafter our obedience must be a response of sheer gratitude for God’s gift, empowered by his further gift of his Holy Spirit in each of our lives. (Eph 2:8-10; Col 2:6; Rom 8:1-4)

The writer to the Hebrews describes Jesus as a priest who offered himself for our sins, When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... By one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.. (Heb 10:12-14) There is no need for any further sacrifice, nor any re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice. God raised Jesus from the dead and sat him at his right hand – his sacrifice for our sins is already received and accepted. (Heb 9:12,25-28; 10:18) Therein lies our assurance!

What does it mean by saying Jesus sits at God’s right hand? Again this is symbolic language (and is derived from Psa 110:1), best understood in Paul’s commentary: God seated Christ at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet... (Eph 1:20-22)

Jesus has divine power; he reigns now in power everywhere as King and Lord. (Matt 28:18) As we heard read, Paul also expresses this in other words, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that... every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:9-11). Using the place of God (his throne) and the name of God (Lord) are two ways of saying the same thing

Jesus Christ is Lord – what we can learn from this

As we contemplate this truth, there are several things we must hold on to.

(1) This honour was granted to Jesus as a reward for his humble obedience to a shameful and terrible death – for our sakes. We must never isolate Christ’s present glory from his past sacrifice We see Jesus.. now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste [= experience] death for everyone. (Heb 2:9) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.. who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)

The lesson for ourselves is plain. First the Cross, then the Crown. Our new life in Christ must be one of sacrificial service, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. In this way we shall experience true unity, Being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Phil 2:3-4;2)

(2) The One God so honoured is, in his very nature, also God from all eternity – but now is Man as well, to all eternity. (Rom 1:3-4; 1 John 4:2; Col 2:9; Titus 2:13)

Christ Jesus..being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped – held on to – but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness...(Phil 2:6-7)

Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. (Heb 4:14-16) What an encouragement to pray to him, to love and trust him!

(3) It should be clear that Jesus isn’t leading in heaven a life of mere glory, majesty and blessedness – but he is active there on our behalf, because he loves and cares for us. (Heb 7:25; Rom 8:34)

He is our Shepherd, our Priest, and our King – and by his Spirit he is present with each one of us that is his child. (Mt 28:20; Heb 13:5)

What our union with Jesus Christ means for us.

Can I take you back to John’s Gospel and some of the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples on the night he was betrayed? He said, If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of Truth... You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you... Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you... (Jn 14:15-20)

And to help his disciples understand, Jesus gave them the picture of the Vine. I am the Vine; you are the branches. It is a lovely picture of the intimate union between himself and his disciples, by which alone we could be empowered to bear fruit – to live lives of loving obedience, lives of joy and love for one another. (John 15)

Elsewhere this union with our Lord is spelled out in terms of the profound significance for us of Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension and heavenly session. We are described as having died with him, died to our old sinful life, and as having been spiritually raised with him, given new, eternal life, so that we may live a new life of righteousness.

Thus Paul writes, You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world... All of us lived among the disobedient at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus... (Eph 2:1-6)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God... Put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature... (Col 3:1-3)

Do you understand what it means to be dead in transgressions? Those who are unbelievers, those Paul calls the disobedient, would certainly not think of themselves as dead. What is characteristic of a dead person? There is no life in them. They can’t see, or hear, or speak. And that is true spiritually of us before we commit our lives to Jesus Christ. We couldn’t understand the Bible, it didn’t speak to us. (1 Cor 2:14)

Jesus may have seemed an attractive man, but we didn’t see him as God come among us. We didn’t want him as Lord and Saviour, we didn’t love him for having died for us, because we felt no need for God’s forgiveness. In reality, we rejected God’s claim on our life: it fell on deaf, on dead ears. We were in rebellion against God, and therefore under his judgement, under sentence of eternal death, the eternal separation we had, in effect, chosen for ourselves. We were dead men and women.

That is why we need rescuing, why we need to receive God’s forgiveness, why we need new life from God. Jesus died the death our rebellion deserves. (Rom 6:23) And if we are given new life from God, and put our trust in Christ as our Saviour – then God counts Jesus’ death as our death. Then we have died with Christ to all the condemnation that our disobedience entails. Immediately we are set free from our guilt, for the price has been paid. God treats us from now on as clothed in the righteousness of Christ. (2 Cor 5:21) And he has given us new life; we have been raised with Christ spiritually (as one day we shall be raised bodily). (1 Cor 15:22-23)

This is the very essence of the gospel! In our attitudes we find we are changed. Jesus is now precious to us, we love and adore him for his love to us. We want to know him – and God’s Word becomes intelligible to us, and we want to read it. And sin becomes more and more hateful to us – not so much because it ruins our life – but because we know it hurts our new Friend when we persist in it.

For, although we are immediately forgiven and brought into that union with Jesus that he spoke about, we still have old habits, sinful ways of thinking and behaving, dwelling in us. (1 John 1:8-10; Rom 7:22-25) That is why Paul exhorts us to put these to death! And with the help of Christ’s indwelling Spirit, we can – but it is our life-long task to become like Jesus.

Let me give you an illustration I’ve found helpful. Consider a compass. It’s needle points to the north. That is like our disposition as an unbeliever, we are set in one direction, that of self-pleasing and independance. Of course, the compass needle can be deflected by the nearby presence of a piece of iron. And so can we be, if outward conformity to laws or public opinion serves our own ends. Now suppose that compass needle is re-magnetised, with the opposite polarity, so that it seeks the south instead. This is like us, when God gives us new life, new attitudes to him and to Jesus. Our direction is now to seek his will. But we are hindered by the attraction of old habits, temptations from the world and from the devil. So our compass often does not truly point south. But the change is real, despite the influences that must be overcome – by the power of the Spirit working within us, making us holy.

Finally, we may ask, What does it mean to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms – to be hidden with Christ in God? Straightaway, we can say that this doesn’t just refer to some future event, let alone to some privileged special saints! I think it is clear that Paul is, in the first place, describing that union with Jesus, that Jesus taught us, in the parable of the Vine. And Jesus made it clear that if we are his – then we are his branches, joined to him, hidden in him, nourished by him, our lives made fruitful.

But I think Paul is also talking about our new status. Already we are citizens of heaven, of the heavenly Jerusalem. We may be citizens of an earthly realm – France, perhaps, or Britain, or America or some other country. But far more importantly, our first loyalty is to Christ, our true King. Our confession (for which men and women have been willing to die) is that Jesus Christ is LORD. And if that is our loyalty, our citizenship – then we must show it in our lives, in our speech and in our behaviour.

Are we proud of being French, or British, or American..? We may have had good reasons for being so – but, at the end of the day, there will only be one loyalty, one citizenship that will count! We no longer belong to this world – we’re no longer ‘men of the world’ – but men and women of Christ. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. (Acts 26:18; Col 1:13) We are a colony of heaven on earth – set here to bring the good news of Christ to those who are dead! (Phil 2:16; 3:20)

Have you been raised with Christ from the dead? Does he dwell in you through his Spirit, by faith in him? Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Are you a citizen of his kingdom, now and for ever? If you are not, I pray you may turn to him and live!

                            Amen