He Ascended Into Heaven

Minister:
Date: PM
Text: Acts 1; Lord's Day 18
Psalters: 258, 427, 183, 303
  1. The historical facts.
    1. Jesus ascended and a cloud actively received Him out of the sight of the disciples (Acts 1:9).
    2. There is progress in Jesus’ exaltation: a change of location.
      1. He changed locations going to a different created placed called heaven (cf. Gen. 1:1).
      2. The heart of heaven is that it is the house of God, i.e., the revelation of God’s throne and glory (Hebrews 9:24).
    3. In the ascension Jesus presented His perfect sacrifice to the Father.
  2. He now is active in heaven.
    1. In His ascension His human nature began an exalted (heavenly) existence in heaven.
    2. There He can be with us in a much closer sense.
      1. His presence is more real than when He was with the disciples.
      2. Now He is with each of us always, even to the end of the world (Matt. 28:20).
    3. What else does Jesus do in heaven?
      1. He is our advocate before the Father (Heb. 9:11,12,24,28).
      2. And He is our intercessor (Heb. 7:25).
  3. The spiritual benefits.
    1. While the disciples were initially saddened, the ascension is a cause for great joy among believers.
      1. With joy the glorified saints saw Him come and watched the devil be cast out of heaven.
      2. And we sing, “Worthy is the Lamb to receive... (Rev. 5:12).
    2. Essentially the church ascended with Christ, our Head so we sit together with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).
    3. Practical results for us.
      1. With our Head in heaven we are increasingly heavenly-minded, stirring ourselves up to holiness of life.
      2. We increasingly see ourselves as spiritual pilgrims and strangers on the earth.
      3. And we increasingly long for heaven (II Cor. 5:2-5).