In the previous message we saw that the Man-Savior’s ascension was His inauguration into His heavenly office through the process of creation, incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. The Man-Savior was inaugurated as God and man, as the Creator and a creature, and as the Redeemer, the Savior, and the life-giving Spirit to execute God’s administration and to carry out God’s New Testament economy. Considering the objective aspect of Christ’s ascension, we saw that in His ascension He was crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9), enthroned for God’s administration (Heb. 12:2), and made the Lord to possess all and the Christ to carry out God’s commission (Acts 2:36).
When some hear about the objective aspect of Christ’s ascension, they may say, “Yes, in His ascension the Man-Savior has been inaugurated into His heavenly office. This is wonderful but it seems to be something too high for me and too far away from me. What does this have to do with me?” In answering such a question we need to realize that the very Christ in resurrection, the pneumatic Christ, lives in us. According to John 20:22, in His resurrection Christ came back to the disciples to breathe Himself into them. But according to Mark 16, Luke 24, and Acts 1, the Lord ascended to the heavens so that something further could take place. If His relationship with us ceased with His breathing Himself into us, it would be difficult for Him to work out anything for the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy. After breathing Himself into the disciples, it was still necessary for Him to be inaugurated into His heavenly office.
We may use the election and inauguration of the President of the United States as an illustration. The President does not begin executing his presidency immediately after the election. No, he must wait until the day of inauguration, the day he is inaugurated into his office. Then, after his inauguration, he may begin to carry out his administration as President. Likewise, after the Man-Savior’s resurrection, He still needed to be inaugurated in His ascension. For fifty days after the Lord breathed Himself into the disciples, they were quiet. But after the Lord ascended to the heavens and was inaugurated into His post, a great many things began to happen, starting on the day of Pentecost.
We need to realize the significance of the Man-Savior’s ascension. In addition to His resurrection, there is also His ascension. Now the very Christ who lives in us and works through us is not only the One in resurrection but also the One in ascension. The One in resurrection is full of life and power, but He still needs authority in ascension. After His ascension the Lord has not only life and power in resurrection but also authority in ascension.
Apart from a proper inauguration, a government official cannot have authority. Authority comes through inauguration. Once a person has been inaugurated into a certain post, he has the authority of that office. We need to see that, as believers, we have One living in us who has not only life and power in resurrection but also authority in ascension. The very Christ in resurrection and ascension lives in us and dwells upon us. He lives in us as life, and He dwells upon us as authority. Therefore, we are now one with this Christ in His resurrection and ascension. As a result, we have life and power in resurrection and also authority in ascension.
We may not have much appreciation for what is revealed in the Scriptures concerning the Man-Savior’s resurrection and ascension. Recently, while I was having a time with the Lord, I realized that we all need the Lord’s mercy. We may never have seen into the depths of the truths that are revealed in the Bible. Rather, we may often read the Bible in a very superficial way. We do not go below the surface to see what is in the depths. For example, we may appreciate the Lord’s word in Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” When we read this verse, we may say, “Thank You, Lord. I am one who labors, one who is burdened. Lord, I come to You and ask You to give me rest.” We may understand even such a verse as John 3:16 in a shallow way. In this verse the Lord says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” In reading this verse, we may pay attention only to the fact that God loves the world. However, we may not study what it means to believe. We may not consider what eternal life is, or what it means to have eternal life. We may not realize that eternal life is actually the Triune God. To have eternal life, therefore, is to enjoy, participate in, and experience the Triune God. However, we may have little or no understanding of this.
Reading the Bible in a superficial way can be compared to skating on the ice that covers a deep lake: the skater does not break the ice to see what is under the surface. When we read the Bible, we may “skate” on the “ice,” the surface, of the Word. We do not break through the surface, go down into the depths, and see what is revealed there.
Because of superficiality in the reading of the Bible, very few Christians know the matters of resurrection, ascension, and the coming down of the Spirit. Therefore, we are burdened that we all see that the Christ who is now living and working within us is the One in resurrection with life and power and also the One in ascension with authority. The One in resurrection and ascension now lives, works, and operates in us.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the Lord’s relationship with us does not stop with His resurrection, but goes on to His ascension. Many things happened as a result of His ascension. We have emphasized that as God, man, the Creator, a creature, the Redeemer, the Savior, and the life-giving Spirit, He has been crowned and enthroned. He has been inaugurated into His heavenly office to administrate the entire universe and to execute God’s New Testament economy. This administration and execution are not only with life and power but also with authority. He is now in us both in His resurrection and in His ascension. We all need to realize Him to such an extent.
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