Every week, in both our morning and evening services, our congregation confesses or sings one of the historic creeds of the church before we receive the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes it is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles’ Creed, and other times it is the Athanasian Creed. Each of these creeds has a Trinitarian element as well as a statement of faith in the redemptive work of Christ; in other words, faith in the gospel. Notably, when the work of Christ is confessed, the fathers of the church who wrote these creeds made sure that we confessed the bodily ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. This entry serves as a primer in order to answer the questions: “What is the ascension of Christ and what makes it gospel, that is, ‘good news’?”

Thus far in our primer series, we have considered the different acts of Christ in redemptive history: his incarnation, his perfect life (active obedience), his suffering for sinners (passive obedience), and his resurrection. The next act in the redemptive work of Christ is his ascension. Thus, we will first consider the ascension of Christ from the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Second, we will interpret the ascension of Christ through the lens of the Reformed confession, in particular, the Westminster Larger Catechism. This will help us to understand what the ascension is and what makes it good news for sinners who trust in Christ for their salvation.

The Ascension of Christ in the New Testament

The evangelist Luke records the ascension of Christ both in his gospel and in his second book, the Acts of the Apostles. In Luke, he writes,

And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:50–53)

And in the Acts of the Apostles, recounts,

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:6–11)

In both instances, Luke highlights the historicity of the ascension. Just as the miraculous events of the incarnation, death, and resurrection truly occurred in the first century AD, so too did the ascension of Christ. Thus, the ascension is central to the work of Christ and his current corporeal location in the high-heavenlies from where he reigns over all things, and from where he will return to judge the living and the dead.

In addition to its historicity, we can also observe the supernatural nature of this historical event in the response of the disciples. In the first case, “they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52). In the second account, the angels find the disciples “gazing into heaven as he went” as if awe-struck (Acts 1:10) What would you do if you saw Jesus ascend into heaven? Probably the same things that the disciples did—they stared into heaven in astonishment and then worshiped the ascended Christ!

In addition to Luke, the apostle Paul calls attention to the importance of the ascension of Jesus. For example, in his first epistle to Timothy, he writes this:

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory. (1 Tim 4:16)

It is believed that in verse 16, Paul is either citing a familiar first-century hymn or a commonly used liturgical creed. If the former is true, then it is important to see how soon after the ascension, Christians were singing of the event in their churches. If the latter is the case, it is certainly noteworthy that included along with the incarnation (“manifested in the flesh”) and resurrection (“vindicated by the Spirit”), the ascension (“taken up in glory”) also appears in this brief confessional statement. In either case, it is clear that the ascension held a prominent place in the apostolic church, just as it did in later creedal statements such as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan, the Apostles’, and Athanasian creeds. Why would this be? Because the ascension is an essential part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What makes it essential? Besides several of the benefits that will be discussed in the final part of our study, the ascension of Christ is essential because it leads to the enthronement of Christ and it answers the question of how he physically arrived at his throne. Indeed, the ascension is his very procession into the heavenly throne room of God. Without the ascension, there is no enthronement. Paul writes in his epistle to the Ephesians concerning the power of God on display in the resurrection and enthronement of Christ, expressing his prayer that the Ephesian believers would know

. . .the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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. (1:19–21)

Here, he mentions explicitly the resurrection and enthronement, but implied is the ascension, for how is Christ enthroned, if not by ascending into heaven in the power of God? Indeed, as Paul writes later in this epistle, citing Psalm 68,

‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.’

In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. (4:8–10)

There are several additional places in the New Testament where the ascension of Christ is either mentioned or assumed, but these are enough to demonstrate the prominent place of the ascension in the ministry and writings of the apostles.

The Ascension of Christ in the Old Testament

In addition to the New Testament, we can also observe several prophecies of the ascension of Christ throughout the Old Testament. For example, we hear the ascension promised in the Psalter. Consider, for example, Psalm 24:

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and who does not swear deceitfully. (vv. 3, 4)

Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory! (vv. 7–10)

Often used as either an Advent or Palm Sunday text, this psalm is ultimately promising that the LORD himself, the King of Glory, will ascend into heavenly Mt. Zion and throw open the gates of heaven like a conquering king. This is a promise of the ascension of Christ, the Divine victor who upon defeating death and Satan, continued his serpent-skull-crushing procession with his ascension into heaven.

In that same vein, consider also, the psalm that Paul quoted in Ephesians regarding the ascension of Christ, Psalm 68:

The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them;
Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train,
and receiving gifts among men. (vv. 17–18)

Once again, the ascension is powerfully pictured as a victory procession into the heavenly throne-room of God where Christ, as victorious King, leads his redeemed people into the throne-room and receives, or gives gifts to men. And again, throughout Psalm 68:

Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my king into the sanctuary (v. 24)

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—
he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God. (vv. 32–35)

The ascension of Christ is pictured here as his royal procession into heaven as he receives his reward for his work of redemption. This is evident in the prophetic vision of Daniel as well,

Behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13–14)

Here, the Lord Jesus (“the son of man”) is carried into the presence of the Father (“the Ancient of Days) on the clouds. After ascending into the presence of God the Father, God the Son is “given a kingdom.” What is this a reference to? This is speaking of that which he did upon ascending: sitting down on the throne in order to rule over all things as the King of kings and Lord of lords.¹

The Ascension of Christ in the Westminster Larger Catechism (AD 1646)

Besides our ancient creeds containing statements on the ascension of Christ, the ascension is well-represented in our Reformed confessions and catechisms. For example, consider this wonderful statement from our Larger Catechism, written as a method of teaching (catechesis) the Christian faith:

Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
A. Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations, forty days after his resurrection, he, in our nature and as our head, triumphing over enemies, visibly went up into the highest heavens, there to receive gifts for men, to raise up our affections thither, and to prepare a place for us, where himself is and shall continue till his second coming at the end of the world.

Let us take a closer look at some of the points made by the Westminster divines:

1. “in our nature and as our head”

“Having assumed our nature” is a reference to his coming in the flesh in his incarnation. He did this in order to be the last Adam, or as the catechism states, “our [covenantal] head,” the One who would fulfill the covenant of works on behalf of his elect. The elect have also been united to him, and therefore, what he accomplishes as head, he accomplishes for us by virtue of that union.

2. “triumphing over enemies”

The phrase, “triumphing over enemies,” is an allusion to his crushing the head of the serpent in his incarnation, perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection. The divines stated that his skull-crushing continues in his ascension. He also does this for believers, which is fully realized when they are glorified as he is. As Paul encourages Christians, “The God of all peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Rom 16:20)

3. “visibly went up into the highest heavens”

Here, the divines referred to the historical aspect of the ascension; hence, “he visibly went up.” This was the first point of our study when considering Luke’s accounts of the ascension. In other words, “Yes, the ascension really did occur in history, and you can be certain of this fact.”

4. “to receive gifts for men”

What are these “gifts” that he gives to “men”? Paul tells us that the gifts are “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,” who preach and teach the Word of God in order to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11–12). In other words, the ascension of Christ is good news for the church, because in it, Christ establishes for us a foundation (“the apostles and the prophets”; see Eph 2:21), and provides a continued ministry of the Word in order to equip and build us up in Christ (evangelists, shepherds, and teachers).

5. “to raise up our affections thither”

As Paul writes in Colossians, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (3:1–2). What an encouraging point to end our study of the ascension on: Christ has ascended into heaven and we are united him. Therefore, we may and ought to raise our affections to him.

To summarize, it is clear that the ascension of Christ as an aspect of the good news of Jesus Christ for our salvation holds a prominent place in the New Testament, the Old Testament, and in our confessional standards. Thanks be to God for the good news of the ascension of Christ and what it accomplishes for Christians.

Note

1. That this passage refers to the ascension is attested to by John Calvin who writes regarding these verses: “This, in my judgment, ought to be explained of Christ’s ascension; for he then commenced his reign, as we see in numberless passages of Scripture.” “Thus he appeared to Daniel like the Son of man, who became afterwards truly and really so. He was in the clouds, that is, separated from the common lot of mankind, as he always carried with him some marks of deity, even in his humility. He now arrives as the Ancient of days, that is, when he ascends into heaven, because his divine majesty was then revealed.” John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: Daniel Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 42–43.

©Scott McDermand II. All Rights Reserved.

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Post authored by:

• Scott McDermand II

  

  Scott McDermand II is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bad Axe, Michigan. He graduated from San Diego State University (BA, History) and earned masters degrees at Westminster Seminary California (MA, Historical Theology; MDiv). He serves on the board of directors of the Heidelberg Reformation Association as secretary. He has a passion for preaching and teaching the Word of God, Biblical theology, Church History, and enjoys fellowshipping with the saints. In his free time, he also enjoys baseball, reading, classical music, eating whatever his wife cooks for him, and walking their two dogs.

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