Apostles' Creed Sermon - 8

Apostles’ Creed – He Ascended…is Seated

Acts 1:5-11

1. Introduction – When I was in university and seminary I worked in construction in the summers to help pay for it.

a. I worked at a stucco company – it would have been for like 5 or 6 summers. And I remember my first spring working stucco – working with a bunch of Dutchmen – and it was a Thursday, and they all started asking each other if they were going to the service that night.

i. And I’m thinking? Service? It’s Thursday! Who has a church service on a Thursday night? People barely make it out to a church service on Sunday morning, but Thursday night?

1. I was curious, so I asked what they were talking about, and they told me they were going to an Ascension Day service.

a. Now I was just as confused as ever, because I had never heard of an Ascension Day service before. Who has? Who grew up with that tradition?

b. At first, I thought it was nuts, but as I began to think about, as the years rolled on and I got a little more familiar with an Ascension Day service, it kinda started to make sense to me.

i. Easter always falls on a Sunday, so we are here to celebrate the resurrection. We plan special services for Good Friday and Christmas Eve; if we followed the church Calendar, Pentecost always falls on a Sunday because it is 50 days after the resurrection.

1. And Ascension Day always falls on the 6th Thursday after Easter. We are told in the Bible that 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus was taken back up to heaven. We read the scene earlier from Acts 1.

c. It is an even that receives very little coverage within Protestant Evangelicalism, but the ascension is actually event that is really important in order to have a proper and well-rounded theological understanding.

i. I said last week that sometimes the resurrection takes a back seat to the cross; that sometimes it becomes an afterthought to the cross.

1. Well, the ascension is usually relegated to simply Jesus’ departure from the earth – an inevitability after the glory of the resurrection.

d. But the writers of the Creed didn’t see Jesus’ ascension as an afterthought. It was so important to them that it was written down as a foundation truth of the Christian faith.

i. Part of the life we claim to have is believing in the truth that Jesus ascended to heaven.

1. This morning in our journey through the Creed, we are actually going to tackle two interrelated lines. Jesus ascended and is seated at God’s right hand.

a. We are going to study the importance and the implications of Jesus’ ascension. Then we’ll get a glimpse into what Jesus is doing at this very moment.

2. Ascension – Even before his death and resurrection Jesus started preparing his disciples for his return to heaven.

a. In John 14-17, we have an extended picture of Jesus in the Upper Room with his disciples. Before Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified…Remember that he celebrated the Passover Meal with his disciples in the Upper Room.

i. It was here that he washed his disciples’ feet. It was here that Jesus initiated the Lord’s Supper meal. It was in the Upper Room that Jesus said such things as “I am the way…” “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

b. And it was in the Upper Room, at the Passover meal, that Jesus started preparing his disciples for his eventually ascension back to the Father.

i. Jesus talks of it on many occasions through John 14-17, but this morning I want to focus on 2 of the more peculiar sayings found in this discourse.

3. It is Better… - First, look at these verses from John 16.

a. And it’s there in verse 7 that we hear Jesus’ first peculiar phrase…it is best for you if I go away…really? How?

i. The disciples walked and talked with Jesus every day for 3 years – and now he’s telling them that’s it’s actually going to be better for them if he leaves? What kind of logic is that?

b. And for us today – we’re thinking, “What could be better than having the living, breathing Jesus physically present here with us?”

i. But according to Jesus, it was better for his disciples – and it is better for us – that he ascends to the Father – so that he can in turn send the Holy Spirit.

1. And it is better for Christians to have the Holy Spirit then a physically present Jesus.

c. And here’s why. When Jesus was on earth, he had physical limitations.

i. Yes, sometimes he operated outside the laws of nature, but Jesus could only be in 1 place at a time.

1. If someone wanted to hear Jesus speak or have him perform a miracle – that person would have to physically seek Jesus out.

a. But since Jesus has ascended to the Father – it means he is no longer confined to the laws of nature – restricted by the space/time continuum.

i. Since he has ascended to the Father, there is now no sphere in which Jesus is not present, and no sphere in which Jesus does not rule and reign.

1. His ascension is the guarantee that he has triumphed over the principalities and powers of this world.

d. His ascension meant that the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the Advocate, would come. And the Spirit doesn’t begin a brand-new ministry, but he continues what Jesus started.

i. But instead of being a physically present being, the Spirit lives and dwells inside each person who calls Jesus Saviour and Lord.

1. Jesus said, “It is better for you if I leave…” and the crazy thing is – he’s right.

e. Think about, we don’t have to go anywhere to experience the presence of Jesus or the presence of God. We don’t have to be in any particular place in order to experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

i. The same Spirit that fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost – the same Advocate the Jesus promised his disciples in the Upper Room – that same Spirit is available to us today.

f. We don’t have to go to Jerusalem or the Holy Land – or even to the church building – to experience Jesus’ presence. There is no sphere in which Christ has no rights and is not present.

i. If you are in Christ – the full power of God, the third person of the Trinity, who we’ll study in a couple weeks, fully dwells inside of you and is with you wherever you go.

1. Just let the sink a bit.

a. It’s not something reserved for pastors or theologians or the super-spiritual. This power, this Spirit, is available to all – even you.

i. And it’s better for you to have the Spirit in you than to have Jesus physically present on earth – let that sink in too.

4. Greater Things – And Jesus says one more crazy thing about his ascension. Listen to these words from John 14.

a. So first, we hear Jesus say it’s better that he leaves, and now he’s saying that if he ascends, if the Spirit comes, his followers will do even greater things than he did…let’s ask the question, is Jesus out of his mind?

i. Think of it this way. We will never replicate or supersede the magnitude of Jesus’ work.

1. We will never die and rise again for humanity’s sin. And I don’t think that’s what Jesus was getting at.

b. Think in terms of volume. If each one of us is filled with the power of Jesus through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – then each time we do something in the name of Jesus, we are continuing his work.

i. And as God’s people, each one of us filled with the Spirit, will do greater things collectively, in number, than Jesus, simply because there are more of us and we are spread out all over the globe.

c. And this power is available to us because Jesus ascended to heaven. I hope you’re beginning to see that the ascension is not simply an afterthought, an inevitable conclusion or a rubber stamp – it’s actually the continuation of the Incarnation, because in the Holy Spirit – God is STILL with us.

i. If the ascension simply meant God’s absence from the world, then it would be something to mourn over, not celebrate.

1. But Jesus didn’t leave humanity alone when he ascended, he unleashed the Spirit in to the world to dwell in and give power to those who believe in the name of Jesus.

a. The ascension paved the way for something better than Jesus’ earthly ministry.

i. It paved the way for the amazing work of the disciples and the work that continues today through the church.

5. Seated – And the Creed goes on to state that when Jesus ascended, and Scripture confirms this – that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

a. The ascension of Jesus and his present work at God’s right hand are intimately connected – that’s why we are studying two lines this morning.

i. Take note of the change in verb tense with this phrase. Since we started studying this middle section of the Creed, the Jesus section, all the verbs have been in the past tense – conceived, born, suffered, crucified, died, buried, descended, rose again, and ascended…

1. But then we come to this line about Jesus’ present work – and the verb tense changes to the present tense. Jesus is seated at the right…Jesus is currently sitting beside God the Father Almighty.

b. And so, that begs the question, what is he doing there? Well, besides ruling and reigning and presiding over the entire universe, Jesus is performing two very specific roles.

i. First, he is there interceding on our behalf. Look at Romans 8:34.

1. Jesus is currently sitting at God’s right hand, pleading for us, interceding for us.

a. Look at Hebrews 7:25.

i. Jesus lives forever to intercede with God.

c. Intercession is one of the main roles of Jesus at this very moment. From his throne, he gives us the strength, grace, love, and mercy we need to live the kind of life he has called us to live.

i. From his throne, he pleads our case before the Father. Now, we shouldn’t picture this as Jesus constantly requesting a reluctant Father to be merciful.

1. This isn’t an appeal to charity, but it is the intervening of one who has sovereign power to make such a request.

a. It is Jesus, presenting his brothers and sisters to the Father, pleading their prayers for them, turning the Father’s gaze upon them.

d. Just picture this for a second – and let this image fill you with awe and wonder. Look at what Jesus does for us.

i. Jesus prays your prayers. Jesus does it. Jesus prays your prayers and presents your requests to God – he brings your needs to the throne of heaven, insuring that your true needs are met, not merely your felt needs.

1. Jesus makes sure your true needs are presented to God.

a. Hear it again – Jesus, God’s only Son, our Lord, Jesus – crucified, risen and ascended – Jesus who sits at the place of honour at God’s right hand – Jesus is presenting your requests to God.

i. Jesus is constantly working on your behalf, as your Saviour, your Advocate, as your Intercessor. He lives forever to intercede for you.

e. And because Jesus is ascended and seated – as Christians we have this brazen confidence and shameless sense of security that God’s door is always open to us.

i. And it is – because we have a Great high priest, whose name is love – who ever lives and pleads for me.

1. And when the Father looks at his children, he doesn’t see your faults, failures and shortcomings – but he sees you as one with his beloved Son – who is seated beside him.

6. Preparing – And quickly, while Jesus is seated at God’s right hand, he is also preparing – he’s prepare a place for his people, and he is preparing for his return. We’re going to look at this in more detail next week.

a. It’s awesome that whenever Jesus spoke about his ascension, he also spoke of his return.

i. At the scene in Acts 1 – which we read earlier – as the disciples were still standing there after Jesus disappeared, two angels came and told the disciples that Jesus will return in the same way that he left.

b. And in John 14, in verses that are usually only read at funerals, Jesus says, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” And then he says these amazing words, “If I go, I will come back – when everything is ready, I’ll come back to get you.”

i. So that where I am, there you will be also.

1. So Jesus went, he ascended, he sent the Spirit, he intercedes for us and he is currently preparing a place for us, so that we can enjoy eternity in his presence.

a. Jesus went, he left, he ascended, and today we live in the hope and the security that since he left, he will indeed come back.

i. That’s just quick introduction to next week’s sermon. We’ll look at the return of Jesus in more detail then.

7. Conclusion – The ascension, on the surface, may seem rather harmless; maybe it seems like an afterthought.

a. But when we dig in to it, it has wide ranging affects.

i. The ascension affects our understanding of salvation, the end of time, the church and our mission; the ascension affects our understanding of the Holy Spirit, of who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing right now.

1. It’s not a rubber stamp or an inevitable conclusion, but it’s a seal of victory – a symbol that Jesus is indeed with us always, even to the end of the age.

a. It’s a seal of victory, that one day – God will indeed complete the good work that began with Jesus and was carried on through the work of Spirit in the people of God.