In His ascension Christ was made the Mediator and Surety of the new covenant. This better covenant, which is the new covenant Christ enacted for us (Matt. 26:28), was not only enacted upon better promises of a better law, the inner law of life (Heb. 8:6b, 10-12), but also consummated with Christ’s better sacrifices (Heb. 9:23) and His better blood (Heb. 12:24). Thus, Christ became the Mediator and Surety of the better covenant between God and man, not only guaranteeing the eternal efficacy of this covenant but also executing all the rich bequests of this covenant into His believers.
Hebrews 8:2 reveals that the ascended Christ is also a Minister of the holy places, even of the true tabernacle, in the heavens. Christ, as a Minister in the heavens, ministers heaven (which is not only a place, but also a condition of life) into us, that we may have the heavenly life and power to live a heavenly life on earth as He did while He was here.
When Christ ascended above all the heavens, He was also made the High Priest of the new covenant according to the order of Melchisedec (Heb. 5:9-10; 4:14; 7:28). Christ, as the High Priest, appears before God on our behalf, interceding for the believers and supplying them with the heavenly life, that they may enjoy His daily salvation to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25) and enter fully into God’s eternal purpose.
First John 2:1 tells us that the heavenly Christ is also our Advocate before God; He is the righteous One, the only righteous Man among all men. His righteous act (Rom. 5:18) on the cross, that is, the act of dying to accomplish redemption according to the will of God, fulfilled the righteous requirement of the righteous God for us and all sinners. Only He is qualified to be our Advocate in heaven before God to care for us in our sinning condition and restore us to a righteous condition that our Father who is righteous might be appeased and that we may continue to live in the fellowship of God.
Revelation 1:5 refers to the Christ who has ascended above the heavens as the Ruler of the kings of the earth. This title indicates that He is far above all rule and authority of the earth. Hence, He is called King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16), and He rules and reigns over all mankind on the earth to execute God’s eternal kingdom to them.
Revelation 5:5 also reveals that the Christ who has ascended to the heavenlies is the Opener of the mystery of the new covenant, the One who opens the seven seals prophesied in Revelation (Rev. 6:1; 8:1). He is the Lamb who has accomplished redemption for us and the Lion of Judah who has defeated God’s enemy. Such a One alone is worthy to open the new covenant enacted by His blood (Rev. 5:5-6) to show us that the church redeemed by His shed blood will become His bride, His counterpart, to enjoy the marriage feast with Him (Rev. 19:7-9), and will become His holy army to fight Antichrist and his armies (Rev. 19:11-21) and then reign with Him in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4-6), thus ushering in the new heaven and new earth and participating in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate expression of God (Rev. 21:1-3, 9-26; 22:1-5).
The above eleven items tell us of the different aspects of Christ’s heavenly ministry according to the offices He received of God in His ascension.
Acts 3:21 says, “Whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all things,” that is, the coming age of the kingdom, the time of the millennial kingdom. This indicates that Christ will remain in the height of heaven to where He has ascended until the end of this age.