Very few Christians have ever paid much attention to the ascension of Christ. Of course, even the attention that has been paid to the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ has not been adequate. When people talk about the incarnation or the birth of Christ, it is always in a very shallow way. They celebrate His birth at Christmas, and recall a child born in a manger to be their Savior. Most Christians did not see, and still do not see, that the incarnation of Jesus is much deeper than that.
What is the real meaning of the incarnation? It is the bringing of God into humanity. The incarnation of Jesus brings in the mingling of divinity with humanity. It is deeper than merely the birth of a Savior. For four thousand years after Adam was created, God was God, and man was man. However close God may have been to man at times, God never mingled Himself with man until the incarnation. The incarnation of Jesus brought God into man and formed a mingling of divinity with humanity. Almost two thousand years ago, four thousand years after Adam’s creation, there was a man by the name of Jesus. That man was the mingling of divinity with humanity. Through Him God was in man, and man was in God. There was such a mingling. This is the deeper meaning of the incarnation of Christ.
Then we come to His crucifixion. The crucifixion of Christ means termination. The cross of Christ terminated everything! It terminated sin, Satan, the world, and you and me. The crucifixion of Christ put an end to every negative thing. All that was sinful, old, rotten, fallen, corrupt, devilish, demonic, and satanic was ended by the cross of Christ! Most Christians only realize that the cross of Christ accomplished redemption. That is true, and we are very much for the redemption of Christ on the cross. But the crucifixion also has a deeper meaning. It terminated every negative thing.
What then is the meaning of the resurrection of Christ? The resurrection of Christ is a new beginning with a new creation. The crucifixion of Christ terminated everything, and His resurrection originated everything new. The cross of Christ terminated all the old, negative things, and the resurrection of Christ brought forth a new start. It was a new start not only in creating power, but also in generating power. Christ’s crucifixion terminates and His resurrection germinates. Everything old and negative has been terminated by the crucifixion of Christ, but that was not the end. The end became the beginning. Christ’s crucifixion was followed by His resurrection. The termination was followed by germination. The resurrection of Christ was, and still is, a real germination.
After His resurrection, Christ ascended to the third heavens to God the Father. As we have seen in the last message, the best word defining the ascension of Christ is inauguration. The ascension of Christ was His inauguration. By being exalted to the right hand of God, He was inaugurated into His office. He was not elected by you and me; He was selected by God.
Before the ascension Christ was the Redeemer, the Savior, and the Author of life, yet He was not inaugurated. It was by His ascension that He was exalted by God the Father. Satan did his best to bury Jesus in a sepulchre, but God raised Him up! He not only raised Him up, but also highly exalted Him to His own right hand. The right hand of God is the peak of the universe. Satan tried to put Jesus down, but God raised Him and highly exalted Him to His own right hand. This is the ascension, the exaltation, the inauguration of Christ. In this exaltation God declared to the whole universe that the man Jesus is now the Lord of all! “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses....Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32, 36).