Our burden in these chapters is to continue to see the wonderful Person of Christ. In the previous chapters we have seen Christ in the four Gospels. That brought us from the incarnation to the resurrection of Christ. We have seen how Christ was the incarnated one, and eventually He became the resurrected one. Now we want to continue to see the wonderful Person of Christ in the Acts and Epistles.
After the four Gospels, we have the book of Acts. In the first chapter of Acts, the main thing is the ascension of Christ. Here we see how the disciples saw Christ ascending up to heaven. “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).
Many Christians know that Jesus ascended to the heavens after His resurrection, but not many know the real meaning of the ascension of Christ. We all know the meaning of His crucifixion and His resurrection. However, it would be very difficult for us to explain the real meaning of the ascension of Christ. In the Bible, the ascension of Christ is a great thing. In all of the above verses, there are some main points concerning the ascension of Christ. By putting them together, we will see the significance of Christ’s ascension.
First of all, the ascension of Christ means His exaltation. After He was resurrected, God highly exalted Christ. Man had killed and even buried Christ in the tomb. But God raised Him up. Moreover, He not only raised Him up from the grave, but highly exalted Him. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). Through His ascension, Christ has become the One Who is far above all. He has been exalted far above all principalities, powers, might, and dominion, and above every name that is named. This is true not only in this age, but also in the age to come. “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:20-21). This means that in the whole universe, nothing is above Christ. Everything is under Him. He is far above all! Hallelujah! We all must see that Christ is the One Who is far above all.
Another point is that by being exalted far above all, He was made the Lord and Christ. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). He was also made the Prince, which means the Leader and the Author. And He was made the Savior. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31). By being exalted, the Lord Jesus was made the Lord, the Christ, the Prince, and the Savior. Of course, we may say that He was the Savior already. Why then was He made the Savior by being exalted? We must realize that before His ascension, He was the Savior, but not officially. He was officially made the Savior by being exalted. By His ascension, He was made the Lord, the Christ, the Prince or the Author, and the Savior.