The ascended Christ cares not only for us and our welfare: He cares for God’s desires. This High Priest cares more for God’s need than for our need. God wants lampstands. Therefore, the Lord establishes lampstands and trims the lamps for the expression of God (Rev. 1:13; 2:1). This work includes His edifying of the saints and His building up of the church. The Lord is now building up a living testimony of Jesus.
As the High Priest in the heavens, the Lord is the surety and Mediator of the better covenant and the Executor of the New Testament. Hebrews 7:22 says, “Jesus has become the surety of a better covenant.” That Christ has become the surety of a better covenant is based on the fact that He is the High Priest. Hebrews 8:6 tells us, “He is also the Mediator of a better covenant.” Furthermore, Hebrews 9:15 and 16 say, “And because of this He is Mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, those who have been called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.”
In verse 15 we have the word “covenant,” and in verse 16, the word “testament.” In Greek the same word is used for both covenant and testament. A covenant is an agreement with some promises to accomplish certain things for the covenanted people, while a testament is a will with certain accomplished things bequeathed to the inheritor. The new covenant consummated with the blood of Christ is not merely a covenant but a testament with all the things which have been accomplished by the death of Christ bequeathed to us. First God gave the promise that He would make a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). Then Christ shed His blood to enact the covenant (Luke 22:20). Since there are accomplished facts promised in this covenant, it is also a testament. This testament, this will, has been confirmed and validated by Christ’s death, and it is now being executed by Christ in His ascension.
Our High Priest is establishing lampstands and trimming the lamps. In this establishing and trimming, He is also executing the New Testament for us. The New Testament has many bequests, all of which are divine blessings bequeathed to the churches.
In the Bible the word “testament” is equal to the modern word “will.” The New Testament, therefore, is a new will for our inheritance. This new will is for the bequeathing of the divine blessings, including the Person of Christ and His all-inclusive redemptive work. The One who enacted this new will is Jesus Christ, who died for its enactment. Now whatever He enacted has been bequeathed to us and is available to us.
The enactment of a will and all that is bequeathed in it requires the death of the one who makes the will. Once the maker of the will dies, the bequests in the will become available to the heirs. Praise the Lord that Christ died to enact the will and that He is now in the heavens as the living Executor of the will He has bequeathed to us! How does He execute this will? He executes the new will by establishing the churches as the lampstands and by trimming all the lamps.
At this very moment the ascended Christ is establishing lampstands and trimming the lamps. I can testify that daily I am under His trimming, for I have much that needs to be trimmed. I also realize that He is walking among the local churches, that He is establishing the golden lampstands. By doing this He is executing, carrying out, the New Testament in a real way. Every blessing in the New Testament is a bequest applied to us by the living, resurrected, and ascended Christ. This is Christ in His ascension. Praise Him that we may enjoy Him in this way!
Christ’s ministry as the High Priest in the heavens has a destination—the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will be the consummation of Christ’s work in His ascension. Whatever Christ is now working in His ascension will consummate in the coming New Jerusalem.