We turn to the word of God to two places in scripture this morning. First, to the Old Testament, to Psalm 24. Psalm 24, a psalm that prophesies of the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. And then we'll turn to the New Testament, Acts chapter one, and read the historical account of Christ's ascension. Let's read the 10 verses of Psalm 24. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein, for he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob, Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the king of glory. Selah. And now let's turn to Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one, let's read the first 12 verses, especially noting those latter verses pertaining to the ascension of Jesus Christ. Acts chapter one, the former treatise, have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up After that, he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me, for John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father hath put in his own power, but ye shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 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 steadfastly 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 you have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. It's on the basis of these two texts and others like it that the catechism bases its instruction on in Lord's Day 18. The Heidelberg Catechism in Lourdes Day 18, questions 40 and answers 46 through 49. How dost thou understand these words, he ascended into heaven, that Christ in sight of his disciples was taken up from earth into heaven, and that he continues there for our interest until he comes again to judge the quick and the dead. Is not Christ then with us, even to the end of the world, as he hath promised? Christ is very man and very God. With respect to his human nature, he is no more on earth. But with respect to his Godhead majesty, grace and spirit, he is at no time absent from us. But if his human nature is not present wherever his Godhead is, are not then these two natures in Christ separated from one another? Not at all. For since the Godhead is illimitable and omnipresent, it must necessarily follow that the same is beyond the limits of the human nature he assumed. and yet is nevertheless in this human nature and remains personally united to it. And finally, of what advantage to us is Christ's ascension into heaven? First, that he is our advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven. Secondly, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he as the head will also take up to himself us, his members. Thirdly, that he sends us his spirit as an earnest by whose power we seek the things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God and not things on earth. beloved congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Heidelberg Catechism continues its exposition of the steps in the exaltation of Jesus Christ now with his ascension into heaven on the 40th day after his resurrection. And as with the Resurrection, the Catechism doesn't spend time so much with the historical facts of the Ascension, but it treats the Ascension very simply as an event that has occurred. And the fact itself is even given rather brief treatment in the Bible itself. The most extensive treatment of the ascension, the historical fact, comes from that passage that we read in Acts chapter one. As for the gospel accounts, Mark mentions it with a brief verse in Mark 16, verse 19, So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And that's the ascension in Mark. The gospel of Luke likewise takes all of one sentence to cover the event. Luke 24 verse 51, and it came to pass while he blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. The gospels of Matthew and John, Matthew doesn't mention the event of Jesus' ascension into heaven, and neither does John. It's as if they treat the event as self-evident, that the risen Lord Jesus Christ cannot dwell on earth anymore, but must be exalted into heavenly glory. And though the Bible doesn't devote many chapters to the historical event of the Ascension, and yet we mustn't fail to see that the Heidelberg Catechism on the basis of Scripture, but especially that Scripture does extensively treat the meaning and the significance of Christ's ascension into heaven. And we'll see that from Psalm 24. Let's take as our theme for this sermon, Christ's ascension into heaven. Let's note first the meaning of Christ's ascension. And then secondly, the benefits. Christ's ascension into heaven. Question 46 of the Catechism asks, how does thou understand these words, he ascended into heaven? And the answer that Christ in sight of his disciples was taken up from earth into heaven and that he continues there for our interest until he comes again to judge the quick and the dead. And so the Heidelberg Catechism here emphasizes the historical event of Christ's ascension as a change of place from earth into heaven. The ascension was that Jesus Christ in his body, his now glorified resurrected body, went from this earth up into heaven. An event that happened in the sight of the disciples. So that the event that we read in Acts chapter one happened in fulfillment of what we read in Psalm 24. Psalm 24 is prophetic of the ascension of Jesus Christ, and not simply the ascension of Jesus Christ from the point of view of the earth, from what the eye of the body could see, what the disciples could see, but also of what you could see in heaven when Jesus ascended there. But in Psalm 24, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? that hill of the Lord symbolizing that hill where the temple stood and then that holy place referring to the place where God dwelt in the Holy of Holies and that presence of God not simply in the temple itself but that presence of God ultimately in heaven itself. And we see Jesus rising up from the Mount of Olives, the disciples standing and watching in wonder and amazement while that cloud carries Jesus into heaven, even unto the throne room of God. And as Jesus enters the heavenly sanctuary we are given to see in the prophetic account in Psalm 24 that the gates of the eternal temple are personified in song and they are addressed as if they are human beings. They are addressed and called to lift up their heads to honor the entrance of so great a conqueror the very King of glory and the gates of heaven itself are called to open themselves up and to receive the Lord Jesus Christ who is the King of glory. Well, that's the event recorded in Acts chapter one, which is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 24. Although from Acts chapter one, all we see is Jesus' ascension from an earthly point of view. From an earthly point of view, what do we see happening? From Acts one and the two gospel accounts. Well, we see Jesus addressing his disciples on the top of the Mount of Olives. repeating to them the promise that the Holy Spirit would come and that they would be witnesses of him to the ends of the earth. And then we read in verses nine through 11 of Acts 1, and when Jesus had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up. And a cloud received him out of their sight, and while they looked steadfastly 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? The same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Now in the Heidelberg Catechism is emphasizing that Christ ascended in the way that the disciples could clearly observe and that therefore the body of Jesus went from earth into heaven The catechism, among other things though, but it is taking a view over against the Lutheran view. The Lutheran view of the ascension of Christ with respect to his body now is not so much that Jesus, the ascension was a change of location for the body of Jesus, that Jesus' body went from earth into heaven, but rather that his body went through a change of condition. And as much as we hold Luther in high esteem and thank him for the work that God gave him to do in Reformation, yet the emphasis of Luther and the Lutheran theologians regarding the Ascension was that the body of Jesus was made divine. so that all the attributes of the Godhead could now be ascribed to the human nature, to the body of Jesus Christ. So that Luther spoke of the ubiquity of Christ's human nature. Ubiquity, a word that means everywhere present. So that as a man, Physically, Christ now, according to Lutheranism, is omnipresent. And that affects the Lutheran's view of the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, believing that the physical body and blood of Christ can be within and under the sacrament, no matter where that sacrament is administered over the course of the earth. Christ's body is ubiquitous. It's taken upon itself that divine attribute of omnipresence. Now, perhaps we might wonder why our Reformed forefathers would make an issue of this, and why we need to dwell upon this nowadays, because isn't this, after all, rather abstract? If the Lutheran theologians and if Lutheranism wants to believe this regarding Jesus Christ, then so what? Is it that big of an error if somebody wants to deify the human nature of Jesus Christ? It's a whole lot better than deifying some other man on this earth. Well, do know this, that our Reformed fathers did not enjoy debating the Lutherans, who were one with them in so many respects at that point in history, but they engaged in debate with the Lutherans, never as a matter of abstract doctrine, but rather as a biblical truth that bears upon the comfort of the child of God. And we'll see a little later when we consider the benefits of Christ's ascension that Christ appears before God now as our flesh in heaven so that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he is the head will take up to himself us his members. But And now this is where the controversy is. But if Christ's human nature is characterized by divine attributes, well then we can hardly think of it as our flesh. Because what else does the word of God say concerning the body of Jesus Christ and our relationship to Jesus. Well, 1st John 3 verse 2, 1st John 3 verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. That's important. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And that's very comforting truth that we hold on to. We shall be like Him, especially in our bodies, be glorified like Him. But then the question is, how can we be made like unto Him if the body of Jesus Christ has been deified? In the resurrection, our bodies will not be deified. In the resurrection, our bodies will be glorified. Our bodies will be made spiritual bodies. And in that regard, yes, our bodies will be made like unto the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ, but not our bodies being deified. We won't be gods in the body. But if according to Lutheranism, the body of Jesus Christ has been deified in the ascension, well then that means that his flesh has become something that we never will be. And therefore, 1 John 3 verse 2, how can it be the case that we shall be made like unto him? And therefore to preserve our comfort, our reformed fathers steadfastly held to the truth that Christ's human nature, while now glorified, still remains our flesh. And that Christ's human nature in the ascension was a change of place from earth to heaven, only to come again at the end of the world. And so also our Reformed fathers held to the truth that had been well established in the church historically, the truth of the distinction between the human and the divine natures of Jesus Christ. The catechism gives careful development of the doctrinal meaning of Christ's ascension, but now always focusing on the comfort of that ascension for us, So that it asks in question 47, is not Christ then with us to the end of the world, even as he has promised? Because that was a promise that Christ gave to the disciples and that he gave to you and to me and to all the church. The promise of Christ there is, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. But doesn't the ascension of Christ into heaven then conflict with that promise that Jesus gave? He'll be with us always, but then he leaves to go into heaven. And we ask the question, well, is Christ with us or has he departed? And Jesus answers that question elsewhere. He gives the answer when he meets with his disciples in the upper room the night before his crucifixion. And we read about that in John 14 and in John 16, where Jesus says, I go unto my father. In fact, Jesus says, it's expedient for you that I go away. It's necessary for you to go away. And why was it necessary for Christ to go away? because then he could return and give us his spirit. But it was necessary for Jesus to go away because as man, he could not remain on the earth. As a man, after the resurrection, he must needs go to heaven in order to prepare a place for us. But as God, he is well able to provide for us and to be with us by his spirit. So that Jesus says in John 16, verse seven, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it's expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And here it's very important that we understand that Jesus is very man and that he is very God. With respect to his human nature, he is no more on earth. Search high and low on this planet, in this galaxy, in this universe, and you won't find the human nature of Jesus Christ. but with respect to his Godhead majesty, grace, and spirit, he is at no time absent from us. And the evidence for that, that he's at no time absent from us, evident in the fact that Christ gives us his spirit, evident in our own lives, by the very joy that we have as Christians, knowing that I am a child of God, and that Christ shall never leave me nor forsake me, even when I go through the trials and the tribulations of life, and the very dark and depressing moments of life, and yet God is with me. His rod and staff are with me and cheer me and comfort me. And what is that but evidence and proof that Christ is with us, bearing us up, leading us on through this life to our eternal home. And so we bear witness to the truth in our lives by our confession that Christ is with me, he's never absent, constantly abiding with us by his spirit. Catechism isn't finished though, it raises another question, but if his human nature is not present wherever his Godhead is, are not then these two natures in Christ separated one from another? And that is admittedly a very deep theological question. If Christ divine nature is everywhere present, which it is, but if his human nature, his body, his glorified body is only in heaven, then doesn't that mean that the two natures of Jesus Christ are separated one from another? Well, we confess that those two natures, though distinct, are nevertheless inseparable, That's our confession in the other creed that we have, the Belgic Confession, Article 19. These two natures, the human and divine natures, are so closely united in one person that they were not separated even by his death. All right, it's stated there, but the question still remains to a degree. To say then that Christ in his human nature is in heaven, But Christ in His divine nature is with us as well as in heaven. Isn't that still a separation of the two natures of Jesus? According to the Heidelberg Catechism, it answers it this way, not at all. for since the Godhead is illimitable, means you can't limit the Godhead and that's the divine nature of Jesus Christ and omnipresent, it must necessarily follow that the same divine nature of Jesus is beyond the limits of the human nature he assumed and yet is nevertheless in this human nature and remains personally united to it. So that if we use an illustration to help us understand that truth, you think of You think of the sun up in the sky and from that sun we receive light and warmth day after day. And yet that light and that heat are just as much present in the sun itself as we experience it here on earth. Now, that comparison is weak and faulty, but perhaps can help us understand what the Catechism is teaching us, that Christ's Godhead is united to His human nature now in heaven, but also extends beyond that human nature to us on earth. There's more to the meaning of Christ's ascension into heaven We must view the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven as Jesus who is now the conquering king. And this is now the ascension is what it means for Jesus. in the Ascension, Jesus Christ coming back home, having accomplished the victory. And you see that happening in Bible times, where the king goes out into battle, and he's on the battlefield, and then having conquered the enemy, this conquering king comes home to his home city. And there is a grand parade as the king comes back home amidst the cheers of the people and carrying the spoils of war behind him. Well, that's what we have in Psalm 24. That's a picture to us of what the ascension was like from the point of view of heaven. So that we read in verse eight, who is this king of glory? And the answer is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. So that the work of Jesus Christ in our salvation was a kind of warfare that he was engaged in. That's what the New Testament states in Colossians 2 verse 15, having spoiled principalities and powers, Jesus made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. so that the devil try as he might to prevent Jesus from going to the cross, try as he might to still lay hold on God's people. Jesus Christ prevailed. Jesus prevailed against the purpose of Satan. Jesus performed the will of the Father and died for our sins and redeemed us from the bondage of sin. and from the tyranny of the devil. So that in the Ascension, Jesus, the conquering King, now enters heaven itself. And the gates and the doors of heaven are called to open themselves wide to receive the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The ascension of Christ into heaven is also of great advantage for us. It's not something that has no effect on us. On the contrary, there is great advantage for us who are God's people in light of the fact that Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven. The catechism asks, of what advantage to us, that last question, of what advantage to us is Christ's ascension into heaven? And three, namely, that he's our advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven. Second, that we have our flesh in heaven. as a sure pledge that he is the head will also take up to himself us his members. And finally, that he sends us his spirit as an earnest by whose power we seek the things which are above. That's the advantage for us, the benefit of Christ ascending into heaven. In the first place, note that he is our advocate in the presence of his father, in heaven. And that's reinforced when the catechism uses the word and when the Bible repeatedly in regard to the work of Jesus Christ in relation to us that Jesus Christ is there for us, for us, for our benefit, for our interest. And that's what the Bible declares elsewhere in the book of Hebrews 9, verse 24, it speaks of this activity of the exalted Christ. Hebrews 9, 24, for Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. for us, for our benefit. And when you consider who He is, the one who has overcome death and the grave, the one who has a perfect righteousness, the one who is very God and very man, to think of it. that we have an advocate at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ, the righteous, what a blessing, what a comfort we wouldn't want anyone else advocating on our behalf, except the one who is powerful to merit salvation for us and to apply that salvation to us as well. And that's of comfort for us because then when we struggle with our sins, when we go through hard times in life, when we are lonely and depressed, even when we struggle at times with our own assurance of salvation, then we have to remember that Christ, the conquering King, the risen Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God for us, for His people. And for me in particular, as my advocate representing me before the father and praying the father that all the blessings of salvation be given to us. And you can be assured that God hears the pleading and the advocacy of his son for us. And to us then are indeed granted all the blessings of salvation. But what a great benefit. We wouldn't want any other person advocating on our behalf, except one who knows the judge, who is intimately acquainted with the judge, and is perfectly suited to bring our needs to the Father. The second advantage and benefit of Christ's ascension for us according to the catechism that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he as the head will also take up to himself us his members. So that the presence of Christ in heaven in his risen, exalted, glorified human nature is the pledge of our resurrection and of our glorification. That Jesus ascended into heaven in his human nature means that he took our flesh and blood into heaven. And for Jesus Christ, for him personally, that is glory. For us, it's a sure promise because in Christ, scripture tells us we are already in heaven. There is a sense in which you and I are already in heaven because of our union to the Lord Jesus Christ. And since Christ has taken our flesh to heaven, there is nothing that shall prevent our glorious entrance one day into heavenly glory and that's a sure pledge. And that pledge of Jesus Christ will be fulfilled in the first place, at least initially fulfilled at the moment of our death upon this earth. And though it be the case that our bodies be laid in the grave and into the earth, and yet we know at that exact moment when the earthly house of this body of this tabernacle is dissolved, that we have a building of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens and our souls go to heaven. But then secondly, that pledge of Jesus is finally fulfilled when Christ will come again at the very end of time, when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised, and our bodies will be raised, beautiful, glorious, heavenly bodies, like unto the body of Jesus Christ, and then our resurrected bodies and our souls will be reunited, and we will be ushered into the new heavens and the new earth, where the tabernacle of God shall be with men. And we mustn't ever forget how that came about, how Christ took our flesh and blood into heaven. Because remember, our human nature has fallen in Adam, is entirely unfit to enter heavenly glory. And not only is this my body of the earth, earthy, but it's been corrupted with sin. And nor do we even have the right to be delivered from the corruption of our natures and to enter into the presence of God. Heaven was closed to us, but Christ took upon himself our flesh. He assumed our nature. Christ took to himself the same human nature, our flesh and our blood, yet without sin, and he willingly and obediently satisfied God's justice to merit righteousness for us and to obtain the right to heavenly glory. And then the Son of God took that human nature through death into the glory of heaven. And having glorified that body by his resurrection, he took it into heaven to be in the presence of God. Now I belabor that point to a degree and emphasize that point that Jesus Christ took his human nature into heaven, the flesh and blood that he assumed like unto us. So that when Jesus arose and entered into heaven, he didn't set aside that human nature. He didn't discard it as something that was no longer necessary for him. But he took that human nature into heaven. And that means that we have our flesh and blood in heaven. He's the head of the body, the head of the church. And we can never be separated from him. And therefore, John 14 verse 3, Christ promises to all who are His that He will draw us unto Himself, that where He is, we may be also, not only in our souls, but in our bodies as well. And finally, the benefit of the ascension of Christ is that Christ now sends us his spirit as an earnest by whose power we seek the things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God and not things on the earth. What's the explanation for why you and I seek the things which are above and that we're not all wrapped up with the things of this earth? It's because Christ ascended into heaven. It's because at the right hand of God, Christ pours out his Spirit upon the church. But it's due to the ascension of Christ into heaven. And by the power of the Spirit, then we don't live for the things of this earth, but we long and we yearn for heavenly things for spiritual realities and that's only possible in our hearts and lives because Christ first ascended into heaven and pours out His Spirit upon the church. And because of that heavenly life in us that the life that we now live in this world is a kind of of a tension and a kind of a struggle because in that hope that we have, we groan, in hope we reach toward heaven. We long for the things of heaven even though at the same time we feel so many ties that are pulling us down here to this earth. But nonetheless, we long to be with Christ, to be purified, to be glorified, to be once and for all free from sin and corruption. And you long for that, do you not? What explains that longing and that yearning? Well, it's due to the ascension of Christ into heaven and his giving you his spirit. So that by the power of Christ's spirit within us, we seek the things which are above. By the power of his spirit, we hear and obey his voice in the preaching of the gospel and we love the word of God. We fight against sin within us and around us and we strive to live a holy life. May God so grant us by his spirit that we live in the consciousness of the benefits of the resurrection or of the ascension of Christ for us. And in that way that we may enjoy then the only comfort that we have in life and in death that we belong to our Savior. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, we thank thee for thy word. We thank thee for the Lord Jesus Christ who is so rich in his work and so generous in the blessings that he gives unto us. We are thankful that he rose up into heaven and that he ascended as the conquering king and that this ascension of Christ at thy right hand is of great benefit and value for us, the people of God. So give us to meditate upon our Lord Jesus Christ and to live by the power of his spirit, seeking the things which are above. Bless us in the remainder of this worship service and the remainder of the Sabbath day. Keep us in the hollow of thy hand, care for us moment by moment. We pray this in Jesus' name alone, amen. We sing Psalter number 58. Psalter number 58, a versification of Psalm 24. And that's saying the three stanzas, all three of Psalter number 58. The day of our glory is this, that we sing the voice from MIT, the comfort of our home. ♪ The wind away ♪ ♪ To the Lord our Father's love eternal give him a praise ♪ ♪ Love in a good way, love in a good way ♪ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all. Amen.