The verses after that describe some of the gifts He distributes - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers - all of these are designed "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (v.12). The Ascension Brings Great Benefits to UsĮphesians 4:8 tells us that it was at the Ascension of Christ that all the spiritual gifts were given to believers - "Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." The expression, "He led captivity captive" (from Psalm 68) portrays Christ as a mighty conqueror returning to His home country in a grand victory procession, leading all His prisoners of war, and distributing the spoils of war generously to all His subjects. Therefore the Father's right hand indicates a real geographical location.ĭear Reader, if you truly love the Lord Jesus, your heart will be thrilled to know that He is now glorified in heaven, sitting at the Father's right hand! He is no longer the suffering servant on the cross, but the glorified Son of God sitting majestically on high! But just before Stephen died he had a glimpse of Jesus standing on the right hand of God, ready to receive him up to heaven (Acts 7:55,56). He now sits at the Father's right hand, the place of highest honour in heaven that is rightfully His! (Acts 2:33,34) There are some who think that the expression, "at the Father's right hand" is merely figurative, and only means that He has great authority. "God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).
The Ascension fulfilled this prayer when Jesus was restored to the pristine glory He had as God the Son. He said, "O Father, glorify thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (John 17:5). From His Ascension, we know that we serve a glorified Saviour! Jesus Himself looked forward to this in the prayer He made before going to the cross. The Ascension of Jesus Christ was a spectacular event, filled with awesome truths for us!įrom the Resurrection of Christ, we know that we serve a risen Saviour. What is of greater importance is the significance of this event. However, no one really knows where Christ ascended from, because all that is given about the location in Acts 1:12 is that it was at the Mount of Olives and a Sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem.
This rock is believed to be the exact spot from which Christ ascended. If you were to visit the Mount of Olives today, you will see a small dome-shaped shrine there, and inside it is a hole in the cemented floor where the rock underneath is exposed. What a glorious sight that must have been! Two angels suddenly appeared and told them the wonderful truth - "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). The disciples knelt down in worship and saw Him going up further and further until He disappeared into a cloud.
Then, while His hands were lifted up to bless them, He was taken up to heaven. He was answering some questions from His disciples and giving them His final instructions. According to Acts 1:3, Jesus ascended up to heaven from the Mount of Olives, which is on the east of Jerusalem, 40 days after His resurrection. This Thursday (25 May) is commemorated by some as "Ascension Day" which is 40 days after Easter Sunday. Preached at / Published Life BPC Weekly,
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