We have seen that the apostles’ teaching is the entire speaking of God in the New Testament. This teaching is concerning God’s New Testament economy from the incarnation of God to the consummation of the New Jerusalem, and it includes the entire New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. The items of the apostles’ teaching that we have seen thus far are the incarnation of the Triune God, the all-inclusive death of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the ascension of Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the baptizing of all the believers into one Body. The church is the Body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the universal new man, the household of God, the temple of God, the called-out assembly, the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the heavens.
There are three major items between the church and the millennium, the kingdom of a thousand years. These three major items are the ministry of Christ in His ascension, the second coming of Christ, and the rapture of the saints. We will cover these three major items before we cover the kingdom of a thousand years. The ministry of Christ in His ascension goes along with the church. Without the second coming of Christ, there cannot be the thousand-year kingdom. Without the rapture of the saints, the overcoming saints cannot enter into the reality of the heavenly part of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium. The heavenly ministry of Christ, the second coming of Christ, and our rapture are three crucial items of the apostles’ teaching.
Among most Christians, the general emphasis is put on the work which Christ did on earth. But who talks about the heavenly ministry of Christ? Most Christians have not heard much concerning Christ’s heavenly ministry. In this message we want to see the ministry of Christ in His ascension. In particular we want to see the Christ in ascension, the offices of Christ in His ascension, and the heavenly ministry of Christ as the continuation and complement of His earthly ministry. Christ’s earthly ministry and His heavenly ministry are actually not two ministries. They are two sections of Christ’s ministry. Christ’s ministry comprises not only what He did on earth but also what He is doing in the heavens. He has not finished His ministry.
When I was a young man with the Brethren, they stressed John 19:30 where Christ said on the cross, “It is finished!” The Brethren said that all the work concerning our salvation was finished. It is correct to say that the first section of Christ’s ministry is finished. Through His crucifixion He finished the work of His all-inclusive death by which He accomplished redemption. But actually our salvation is not finished yet; it is still going on. Christ’s ministry goes on after His work in His earthly ministry. What Christ is doing in His heavenly ministry is indispensable. For more details concerning Christ’s heavenly ministry, I would recommend the book which we have published entitled The Heavenly Ministry of Christ.
Before we see the Christ in ascension, we need to consider the striking aspects of the Christ on earth. The striking symbols of Christ’s work on earth were the manger and the cross. The manger refers to Christ’s incarnation, to Christ’s first coming, and the cross refers to Christ’s death. A king may live in a palace, but after Jesus’ birth, He was laid in a manger. The Man-Savior’s life began with a manger in the lowest estate. His first lodging place on this earth was a manger.
In Christ’s heavenly work, His ministry in ascension, the significant signs are the throne and the crown. The throne replaces the manger, and the crown replaces the cross. This is very meaningful. In the past on earth, Jesus was related to the manger and the cross. But now Christ is in the heavens. He is in ascension (Mark 16:19; Heb. 4:14a). We need to see what kind of Christ we have in the heavens, in His ascension.
In His ascension, Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20b). He is also seated on the throne of God. Hebrews 8:1b says that Christ “sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Christ is sitting in the heavens on the right hand of the throne. In Revelation 3:21b the Lord says, “I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne and on the Father’s throne.
In His ascension, Christ is also crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:7b, 9). Glory refers to a condition, a situation, and honor refers to a position. In the heavens in ascension, Christ is in a splendid situation and condition full of glory. He is also in a position full of honor. Both glory and honor are a crown to Him. The word crowned implies being designated. Christ was designated with glory and honor. Christ being seated at the right hand of God means that He is in a position of honor. He occupies the first place. Christ needs to be honored because He is honorable, and He needs to be praised because He is glorious. Glory is the splendor related to Jesus’ person; honor is the preciousness related to Jesus’ worth, value (1 Pet. 2:7, “preciousness” in Greek is the same word as “honor” in Heb. 2:9), and dignity which is related to His position (2 Pet. 1:17; cf. 1 Pet. 2:17; Rom. 13:7).
In His ascension Christ is also far above all rule, authority, power, lordship, and every name in this age and in the age to come (Eph. 1:21). Rule refers to the highest office, authority to every kind of official power (Matt. 8:9), power to the mere might of authority, and lordship to the preeminence which power establishes. Every name that is named refers not only to titles of honor, but also to everything that has a name. Christ has been seated far above everything, not only the things in this age, but also those in the coming age. This means that no one can compare with Christ. Everyone is under Him. Christ is far above presidents, kings, and queens. He is the top Ruler and the top Being in the entire universe. He is the unique Head and the unique authority. In His ascension Christ is the most glorious One, the most honorable One, the most powerful One, and the highest authority. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” what is our realization concerning Him? We are short of the adequate knowledge concerning Christ. We need to see and know the Christ in ascension.
In His ascension He has all things subjected under His feet (Eph. 1:22a). Everything is under His feet. We have all become the members of Christ. The lowest part of Christ is His feet. Because all things are under His feet, that means all things are under us. We are not under the feet of Christ because we are members of His Body.
The Christ in ascension was given to be Head over all things to the church, to be the Head of His Body as the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22b-23). The Body is the fullness, the full expression of Christ, the One who fills all in all. As the One who fills all in all, He is unlimited, unsearchable, and immeasurable.
This One has received of God the authority to administrate the entire universe (Rev. 5:1, 6-7). Christ is the real administrator of the heavens and of all the nations on earth. In Matthew 28:18 the Lord told the disciples that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. Revelation 4 and 5 show us a picture of the scene in the heavens immediately after Christ’s ascension into the heavens. In Revelation 5 Christ as the Lamb of God was standing in the midst of the four living creatures and the elders. The One who was sitting on the throne was holding a scroll sealed with seven seals. That scroll can be likened to a “schedule sheet” of what will happen from the ascension of Christ to the New Jerusalem. God was sitting on the throne holding this scroll, the schedule of His administration in the entire universe. The seven seals with which the scroll is sealed are actually its contents. John saw an angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” (5:2). John wept because no one was found worthy to do it (vv. 3-4). Then one of the elders said to John, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals” (v. 5). Christ is the One who is qualified to open the mystery of God’s economy and to carry it out. This indicates that Christ is the One who has received the very authority to administrate the entire universe.