Search
Scripture Reading: Acts 2:32-33, 36; 5:31; 10:36b; Heb. 4:14-15; 7:25-26; 8:1-2; Rev. 1:5a; Eph. 1:22
The Bible has a wonderful ending. Of course, the beginning is also wonderful. The Bible opens with God and then with His creation. The center of the creation was man, who was made in God’s image and according to His likeness. If you consider, you will realize that man was formed specifically so that he might be one with God. In the opening pages of the Bible, there is also the tree of life. When you turn to the end of the Bible, however, you can see that it is even more excellent than the beginning. It may surprise you, but this ending begins with the book of Acts and continues right through the book of Revelation.
When I was young, my mother used to tell us stories from the four Gospels. After I grew up, I found out that when Catholic missionaries went from Italy to China some three or four hundred years ago, the main books they put out were the four Gospels. Even during my youth, missionaries usually preached and taught from these four books. Why were all the other books of the New Testament neglected? It was due to a lack of understanding and appreciation for the ending of the Bible.
Now we are here in Europe at the latter part of the twentieth century. It is time to see how the Bible ends. What is the real ending of God’s revelation? To see His revelation in creation is easy. To see His salvation is also not too difficult. But to see the final stage of His revelation is not easy.
There are three main ministries in this final stage. No doubt there are some minor ones as well, but we shall be concerned with only these three major ones. The first is the ministry of Christ in the heavens. The second is the completing ministry of Paul. Without Paul’s Epistles the Bible clearly is not completed. Yes, much has been revealed already, but it takes Paul’s ministry to bring to completion the divine revelation. The third is John’s mending ministry. Although the completing writing was done by Paul, damage came in, and there was therefore the need of John’s ministry to repair the damage. Paul’s last Epistle was written about A.D. 65; it was not until a quarter century later that John’s last writing was done.
If we want to know God’s up-to-date move, we surely must understand the conclusion of the Bible. It is not just one verse or one chapter or even one book. There are more than ten books to this ending. With this message we shall begin a series on the first ministry of this final stage.
The Lord Jesus surely had a fruitful life during the thirty-three and a half years He was on earth. Most of what He accomplished, however, was in a three-year period. He spent thirty years in preparation. Then He came forth to minister. What is preached and taught among Christians today largely concerns this earthly ministry.
When I was a young, seeking Christian, I was taught that Christ has finished His work. John 19:30 was cited as proof of this. The Lord’s word, spoken when He was on the cross, was “It is finished!” After His death He rested in the tomb for three days. Then He was resurrected and ascended to the heavens, not to work but to sit there. To sit, they explained to me, meant that the work was finished. He is there now, waiting until God puts His enemies under His feet (Acts 2:34-35).
Is this the true picture? Has Christ finished His ministry? We have to say both yes and no. Yes, His earthly ministry is finished. But His heavenly ministry still continues.
The person of Christ has two aspects, as does His ministry. While He was on earth, He was the man Jesus. Since His ascension into heaven, however, He is the glorified Christ. His earthly ministry lasted for only a limited time, thirty-three and a half years at most. His heavenly ministry, in contrast, is eternal; it will never end.
It is regrettable that many Christians pay attention only to the first part of Christ’s ministry. In these messages we want to focus on the second part, which is far more crucial. God’s intention is to have a church and, ultimately, the New Jerusalem. During Christ’s earthly ministry the church did not come into being, much less the New Jerusalem. The church and the New Jerusalem are not to be seen in the four Gospels.
It is when we come to Acts that we find the church. In Acts, the first book of the ending of the Bible, the church comes into existence, and in the final book, Revelation, the New Jerusalem appears. Yes, in Acts there is the preaching of the gospel, but that is not an end in itself. The preaching of the gospel is for the producing of the church. The church is the outstanding feature of Acts. Then in the last book of the ending, the first three chapters pertain to the churches, but in the last two chapters there is the New Jerusalem, which is the ultimate consummation of the churches. If we take a bird’s-eye view of the books from Acts to Revelation, we shall find that the church and the New Jerusalem stand out the most.
The church and the New Jerusalem are carried out by Christ’s heavenly ministry, not His earthly one. His earthly ministry accomplished redemption for the producing of the church, but a higher, richer, wider ministry is needed for the carrying out of God’s eternal purpose concerning the church and the New Jerusalem. As far as His earthly ministry is concerned, all has been accomplished. Redemption has been secured by the cross. This accomplishment, however, has only ushered Him into His heavenly ministry. Now He is engaged in a more far-reaching ministry than He ever had on earth.
Do not think that the Lord Jesus is seated in the heavens with nothing to do — He is administrating the affairs of the universe. During His earthly life, this is surely not what He was doing. He suffered, was persecuted, and eventually went to the cross to accomplish redemption. Now, all has changed. He is fully in charge. He is working for you, for the churches, and even for Germany.
The title Christ means “the anointed One.” He is referred to as God’s Anointed (Psa. 2:2; Acts 4:26). When and how was Christ anointed? It was at His baptism, when the Spirit of God descended upon Him. There in the Jordan River, right after He was baptized, God anointed Him with the heavenly oil, that is, with the Spirit. This anointing signified His appointment by God.
When did Christ take office? After the president of the United States is elected (corresponding to Christ’s appointment), he is inaugurated into office. Two or three months after the election, there is an inaugural ceremony, when he is inducted into office and officially begins his duties. When did Christ’s inauguration take place? It was in the ascension. When Christ was exalted to the third heaven, that exaltation was His inauguration into His official position.
During His incarnation, as recorded in the four Gospels, we can see a little man from Nazareth named Jesus. Today, however, He is gloriously different. Is our Christ the Jesus of the Gospels or the One in ascension? In Levitical times the offerings that the people brought could be different. Some might bring a bull, others a lamb, and still others just two small turtledoves. This is a picture to us that in our experience Christ may be large like a bull or small like a turtledove. He is the same Christ, but our enjoyment of Him differs according to our knowledge, appreciation, and experience of His different aspects. For too long we have known Christ only in His incarnation. Now we must know Him in His ascension.
It is strange that so much emphasis is put upon the birth of Christ. From now on you must look away from the manger and away from the carpenter’s home and see Christ on the throne in the heavens. Is your Christ still in the manger? Do you treasure the manger, or do you appreciate the throne? Where is your Christ now? You may reply that He is in you. Of course, I must agree, because Paul says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). But how do you experience this Christ in you? If your appreciation is of the manger, your experience will be limited by that. If your appreciation of Him is linked to the throne, this will uplift the experience you have of Him in your spirit.
When I visited the Vatican, I saw many scenes with a manger. It might be reasonable to see a manger in Bethlehem, but why should manger scenes be so prominent elsewhere? People are being given the impression that Christ is linked with the manger. They have little realization that today He is on the throne. Their concept of Christ is therefore limited to His incarnation. We need to be brought out of that low concept and see Christ in His ascension.
When Christ ascended, He was inaugurated into a number of great offices.
Not until His ascension was Christ officially inaugurated as the Christ. On the day of Pentecost Peter said, “God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified” (Acts 2:36). This verse used to bother me. Was He not Christ before His ascension? Yes, even in eternity He was Christ, but in eternity He was not anointed. It was at His baptism that He was anointed. However, He was not officially inaugurated as the Christ until His ascension. Christ has been not only chosen, appointed, and anointed by God but also inaugurated by God into His office. He has passed through the manger, the river Jordan, and the cross, and He is now enthroned in the heavens as the Christ.
Everywhere in Christianity the cross can be seen. There are crosses of wood, gold, stone, and steel. Catholics often make the sign of the cross. They have a dead Christ. Their knowledge of Him is limited to the manger and the cross. Where is the symbol of the throne? Our Christ did not end with the crucifixion. He is enthroned! Even in our spirit there is this throne. The One in our spirit is not lying in a manger or hanging on the cross but seated on the throne. It is this enthroned Christ we must experience.
Acts 2:36 also tells us that He was made Lord. Yes, He was Lord before His ascension, but, again, He was not inaugurated into this office. One of the Old Testament names for God is Lord (Heb., Adonai, meaning “master”). Christ in the Old Testament was Adonai. Then He became a man, a despised Nazarene. This very One was appointed Lord, even when He was on this earth. But it was not until His ascension that He was inaugurated into His lordship. When Peter said, “This One is Lord of all” (10:36) in the house of Cornelius, Peter meant that He was Lord of all peoples — both Jews and Gentiles — and of all things. There is not only God but a man on the throne today, who in His ascension was inaugurated as Lord of all.
“This One God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior” (5:31). The Greek word translated here as “Leader,” or “Prince,” is used only four times in the New Testament and always in reference to Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb. 2:10, Author; 12:2, Author). It has been translated a number of different ways in various versions because there is no precise English equivalent to the Greek. The thought is that this One is the origin and the Originator, the Author, the Leader, the Inaugurator. He is, therefore, above all and spontaneously is the Ruler with authority.
Acts 3:15 calls Him the Author of life. In Hebrews 2:10 this same word is translated “Author.” Christ in ascension is the Author of our salvation, leading us into glory, where He has already entered as the Pioneer. Hebrews 12:2 calls Him the Author of faith. Again, the thought is included that He is the Originator, the Leader, or the Forerunner, of faith. To be our source of faith and to lead us in the pathway of faith are functions of the office into which He has been inaugurated.
How rich is this Christ in ascension! On earth He was so poor that He had to ask water of a Samaritan woman. Now the poverty of His earthly life is over. He has taken office as the origin and the Originator, the Ruler, the Author, the Leader, the Captain, the Pioneer, and the Forerunner. He is far above all. He is the first. All things and all power are in His hands.
When Christ was on earth, He saved Peter, John, and many others. However, although the title Savior is applied to Christ in His earthly ministry (John 4:42), He was not officially the Savior until His ascension (Acts 5:31). Do you realize that your salvation is more glorious than Peter’s? Peter was saved unofficially by the Carpenter from Nazareth. You were saved officially by Christ on the throne. I realize you think that Peter was special to have been saved by Jesus on the seashore of Galilee, but you were saved by One in glory, the One seated on the throne in the third heaven. Do not be envious of Peter. When he was saved, he followed Jesus in Galilee. When you were saved, you were seated with Him in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6). Christ has saved you from the throne and to the throne. This is your Savior!
We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14-15). He is not just a priest but a High Priest, “able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them” (7:25). Christ appears before God on our behalf, praying for us that we may be saved and brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. As verse 26 says, He is not only in heaven but “higher than the heavens.”
In Hebrews 8:2 Christ is called “a Minister of the holy places, even of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.” He is the enthroned Servant, ministering to us from the heavens.
This is a great title. Lazarus was resurrected from the dead (John 11:43-44), but his resurrection was only temporary; later on he died. With the Lord’s resurrection, however, death is over. He will live forever. Thus, He is truly the Firstborn of the dead (Rev. 1:5).
He is also called in Revelation 1:5 “the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” Ruler here is a slightly different word than the title we referred to in Acts 3:15. It is common to call Jesus the King of kings, but to call Him the Ruler of kings is to say that He is far above the earthly rulers.
When Christ was raised from the dead, God “subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22).
These are some of the offices into which Christ was inaugurated in His ascension.
