|
|
by The Rev. Charles Henrickson
Ephesians 1:15-23
The Ascension of Our Lord, which we are celebrating today--"The Ascension Bridges the Past, the Present, and the Future." It connects the past, present, and future work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And because it does, our Lord's Ascension has tremendous implications for us, for our past, present, and future.
Our text is the Epistle, St. Paul's prayer for us Christians, in which he brings together the past, present, and future aspects of Christ's work and how that affects our past, our present, and our future. Let me read it for you once again, Ephesians 1:15-23:
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."
Let's start with the past work of Christ. Admittedly, that is in our text mostly by way of a brief reference, where Paul talks about the working of God's great might "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead." So there Paul refers to Christ's death and resurrection. But the death of Christ, that past work which Christ completed on the cross--this is indeed the basis for everything that follows from it: Christ's exaltation, his resurrection and ascension, his being seated at the right hand of the Father, and his coming again. There is no present and future work of Christ without his past work as its foundation.
Furthermore, what Paul says here in this portion of Ephesians cannot be separated from what he says elsewhere in the rest of this epistle. And elsewhere in Ephesians, Paul speaks very clearly of the past work of Christ, his suffering and death, and what that means for us. Paul opens the letter by saying that "in him," that is, in Christ, "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses." Later he says that we have been brought near to God "by the blood of Christ," that Christ made peace and reconciled us to God "through the cross." You see, the Christ who ascends into heaven is the same Christ who suffered and died and shed his blood on the cross. This same Jesus is the one whom God raised from the dead and seated at his right hand. The past, completed work of Christ is the basis for his present and future work.
And that past, completed work of Christ takes care of your past. All your past transgressions, all your unsavory past for which you are rightly ashamed, all your past failures and unfaithfulness--all of that is taken care of, cleansed, paid for by the blood of Christ. You are freed from the unfavorable record of your sins--the slate has been wiped clean--by the finished work of Christ on the cross. So Christ's completed work covers and cleanses the guilt of your past.
The Ascension of Our Lord confirms his past work, that God approves of what his Son has done, because God puts his stamp of approval on it by raising Christ from the dead, exalting him in this glorious ascension, and seating him at his right hand, the position of honor. At the same time, the Ascension also points to the future work of Christ. St. Paul likewise refers to this only by way of a brief reference, where he speaks of Christ's authority and dominion "not only in this age but also in the one to come." The age to come--this is the age that will commence when Christ comes again, when he returns in glory at the last day. The angels at the Ascension itself were very specific about this second coming, when they told the eyewitnesses: "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." And that coming again is what will initiate "the age to come" that Paul speaks of in our text.
And Paul does speak expressly about our future in that age to come when he says that he wants us to know "what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." That glorious inheritance--that's talking about our future, what's in store for us! An inheritance is something you do not hold in your hands at the moment, but it is yours nonetheless. You are in line for that inheritance, you have title to it. It is stored up in heaven for you, in safe keeping. No one can touch your inheritance or take it away from you. We are the rightful heirs, because we are the sons of God through Christ, in Christ, who is himself the Son of God. And so what Christ receives, we receive! He was raised from the dead; we will be raised from the dead. He was carried up into heaven; we who trust in him will be carried up into heaven. We are co-heirs with Christ. And so the Ascension shows us what is in store for us, dear friends, and it is glorious! "On Christ's ascension I now build the hope of my ascension."
And that then brings us to the present, and this is where the Ascension serves as the bridge, connecting the past and the future--the past and future of Christ's work, and our own past and future. You see, the Ascension tells us what Christ is doing now, for us, and that in turn fills us with hope in our here and now, in our present.
What is Christ doing now, during this time between his ascension and his return? St. Paul tells us: God seated Christ "at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. . . ." Our risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God. That, as I say, is the position of honor. God has highly exalted Christ and given him great glory for accomplishing the saving mission the Father sent him on. And being seated at the right hand is also the position of authority and dominion. Christ has been set as head over all things, and all things have been put under his feet. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me," the risen Christ declares. He truly is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
But now realize this too: Christ right now is ruling all things for the sake of the church! Do you understand what this means? All the rise and fall of nations, all the tumultuous events that play out on the evening news, the whole course of human history--all of this is under Christ's control. And Christ is ruling over the nations for the sake of the church! For the carrying out of the church's mission, which is the spread of the gospel. For the good of his people, the sheep of his flock whom he loves and cares for so deeply.
Now it sure doesn't always look like that, does it? It looks like the world is spinning out of control. Chaos seems to be the order of the day. The church looks like she is failing in her mission, at least in this corner of the world. And his people are suffering and hurting; bad things are happening to God's people.
But rest assured--and what Paul is telling you here is the truth--Christ is still in charge. He is ruling and governing all things for the good of his church, both individually and collectively. When you hurt, he knows it, and he will give you the strength to endure, endure to the end. When many ears seem deaf to the gospel, there are still those who rejoice to hear the good news, and they are being gathered into Christ's church. Christ has ascended into heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of God, head over all things, with all things under his feet.
And this present work of Christ fills us with all hope in our present circumstances, whatever they may be. That is what St. Paul is telling us today in his prayer for us: "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe."
That you may know Christ, know him in an intimate, relational, experiential way, and grow in your knowledge of him. That you may have the eyes of your heart enlightened, so that you can see clearly what the real picture is, the big picture, from God's perspective. And with that, then, "that you may know the hope to which he has called you." Hope is faith projected into the future. Hope is believing firmly what is in store for you, what the future holds for you and who holds your future. Hope is the present knowledge of that inheritance that awaits you, laid up for you in heaven. And this firm, sure hope--as sure as Christ's own ascension--this hope is what will sustain you in the current ups and downs of this life. This hope acts as your anchor in the storms of life, to hold you steady so you are not overwhelmed. God wants you to have this hope, to know it with every fiber of your being. And Christ's ascension is the sure sign that you have that hope to hold onto.
Well, we could go on, couldn't we? But the good news is that we will go on! We will go on throughout this life, growing in our knowledge of Christ, always having this hope as our anchor. And we will go on, as Christ's people, his church, even in the age to come, freed from sin, raised imperishable, rejoicing and worshiping forever in the presence of our glorious Lord.
See Also:
Sermons Home | General Sermons and Essays | Articles | eBooks | Our Faith | Prayers | Library - Home | Baselios Church Home
-------
Malankara World
A service of St. Basil's Syriac Orthodox
Church, Ohio
Copyright © 2009-2020 - ICBS Group. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
Website designed, built, and hosted by
International Cyber Business Services, Inc., Hudson, Ohio
