“The Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension”
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Welcome:
Announcements:
Open with Prayer:
Tonight we are going to look at the Lord’s resurrection and His ascension. There are several questions that we will consider when we think about this specific doctrine.
1. As believers we of course hold to the belief that our Lord rose triumphantly from the grave, but we may wonder what was Christ’s resurrection body like?
2. With this in mind, what is the significance for us as Christians?
3. What happened to Christ when and after He ascended into heaven?
Question = What evidence or proof do we have of the Lord’s resurrection? How do we know in fact that Jesus rose from the grave?
All the gospels record for us that Jesus rose from the grave. (Intro paragraph)
-Matthew 28:1-20.
-Mark 16:1-8.
-Luke 24:1-53.
-John 20:1-21:5.
The entire New Testament bears witness to the fact of the resurrection of Christ.
2. The nature of Christ’s resurrection. Did Jesus actually have a physical body after he resurrected? Question # 1
Jesus did not just come back from the dead like Lazarus and others. Jesus was a first fruits of a new kind of human life, which his body was made perfect, no longer subject to weakness, aging, or death. He also was able to now live eternally.
There are at least 10 ways or evidences in the New Testament showing that Jesus had a physical body after the resurrection.
-The disciples took hold of his feet. Matthew 28:9.
-Jesus appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus just like some kind of traveler. Luke 24:15-18.
-Jesus took bread and broke it. Luke 24:30.
-Jesus ate a piece of broiled bread which helps us to see that he had a physical body and wasn’t some kind of spirit.
-Mary thought that he was the gardener.
-Thomas touched the Lord’s hands and side. John 20:27.
Finally, there is a larger doctrinal consideration. The physical resurrection of Jesus, and his eternal possession of a physical body, give clear affirmation of the goodness of the material creation that God originally made.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Grudem tells us that Jesus’ physical resurrection body affirms the goodness of God’s original creation of man not as a mere spirit like the angels, but as a creature with a physical body that was very good.
4. Doctrinal Significance of the resurrection. We now come to the question of what is the significance of the resurrection for us as believers??? Question # 2
a. Christ’s resurrection insures our regeneration.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
What we see here is that Peter connects the Lord’s resurrection with our regeneration or new birth. Jesus earned for us a new life just like his. In our spirits we are made alive with new resurrection power. So, Jesus earned for us the new kind of life we receive when we are born again.
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
b. Christ’s resurrection insurers our justification.
Paul very plainly helps us to see that because of the Lord’s resurrection we are declared not guilty, but righteous before God.
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
If God raised us up with Jesus, then by virtue of our union with Christ, God’s declaration of approval is also his declaration of approval of us.
c. Christ’s resurrection insures that we will receive perfect resurrection bodies as well. There are 2 verses that are really helpful here.
14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
Question #3 What implications does Christ’s resurrection have for us as believers after we die?
First of all this gives us hope as believers that when we die we will also be resurrected like Christ and be with Him for all of eternity.
Second of all our labor or work here on earth is not for nothing.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
We should continue steadfastly in the work of the Lord. We do this by sharing our faith and telling others the good news about Jesus. We serve others, love others, forgive others, and pray for others. We do all of this until the Lord returns or calls us home.
Another reason is that when we think about the resurrection, we can focus on our future heavenly reward as our goal.
And finally, when we think about what Christ has done for us in and through his resurrection we can stop yielding to sin in our lives.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
B. We now come to the Lord’s Ascension.
This leads us to our fourth question. Question # 4 Where did Christ go when He ascended? Was it an actual place???
Acts chapter 1 and verse 3 tell us that after the Lord rose from the grave, he was here on earth for 40 days, but what happened to him after this?
50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
Luke also explains this to us in Acts.
9 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. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 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.”
Both of these accounts show us that Jesus went to an actual place. He did not just disappear from them, never to be seen again. The angels tell us that Jesus would come back in the same way in which he had gone into heaven. Jesus had a resurrection body that was subject to spatial limitations which meant that it could only be at one place at one time. This shows us that Jesus went somewhere when He actually ascended into heaven.
-Jesus recieved glory and honor that had not been his before as the God-man.
33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
-Christ is now seated at God’s right hand in glory. This means that Christ is now receiving his honor when he sat down at the right hand of God.
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4. Christ’s ascension has doctrinal significance for our lives. Question # 5 What significance does the ascension have for believers? What’s the big deal about the ascension???
Just as the Lord’s resurrection has wonderful implications for our lives as believers, so too does the ascension of Christ. The first significant aspect is that the Lord’s ascension is a picture of our future ascension into heaven with Jesus.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Jesus tells us that there will come a day where he will take us to be with himself.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Second of all, the Lord’s ascension gives us a wonderful assurance that our final home will be in heaven with Him.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus went before us to prepare the way. When He ascended back to heaven we know that this is where He is at and it gives us great assurance that we will eventually join him and be with him for all of eternity.
Third, because of our union with Christ in his ascension, we are able to share now in part in Christ’s authority over the universe, and we will later share in it more fully.
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
-To contend against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
-To destroy strongholds.
-To judge angels.
-We will share with Christ in his authority over the creation that God has made.
-To overcome the nations.
(Closing Questions)
(Close in prayer)
