The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 4

"It may be said that there is no incident in the life of Jesus . . . . so essential as the Ascension." --William Barclay, The Mind of Jesus, p. 315.

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2. As head of his church, Jesus ascended so that he could be present with all of his church at all times by the Holy Spirit.

At the end of his time on earth Jesus told his followers, I will be with you always even until the end of the world. Earlier, in Matthew 18, he promised his followers that any time two or three of them were gathered in his name, ironing out their differences, he would be there with them.

Of course, Jesus could never do that in the flesh, as one of us. Though ironic, the Scriptures teach that it was only by ascending to the presence of the Father that the Lord Jesus could be present with all of his people at all times. And he is with us, by means of the Holy Spirit who was sent to live in the heart of every Christian.

In John 14:16-18, Jesus said: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

But not only is Jesus with his church by the Holy Spirit, from his exalted position he serves and supports all of his people everywhere. One example of Christ's current service to his church is his provision of human leadership for the body so that each member will be prepared to do the will of God. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 4:10-12:

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

In Acts 1:1-2, Luke tells Theophilus that in the previous volume, the Gospel of Luke, he had written about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. The implication is clear. When Jesus ascended, he was not finished doing and teaching. Indeed, the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe (Eph. 4:10), had just gotten started in His great work of leading and instructing the church.

Why "the Unity of the Spirit"?

Sometime back I mentioned that an upcoming presentation has the assigned title "The Unity of the Spirit."

Obviously, this one can start from a lot of different places and go in a bunch of different directions. So I've decided to begin my study and thinking at that place in the New Testament where we actually have the expression, "the unity of the Spirit." Of course it comes from the first paragraph of Ephesians 4:

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy
of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (verses 1-6, New International Version).

My first question is: Why does Paul refer to unity or oneness in the church as "the unity of the Spirit"? I have some inklings that I want to explore, and would appreciate your feedback.

A concordance search in Ephesians points to the many places in this short letter where the word "spirit" or "spiritual" appear. In the first three chapters of Ephesians, there are several passages where the Spirit of God is said to be the agent or instrument through whom God the Father in Christ Jesus accomplishes certain things in behalf of the church. For example . . .

• Through Christ, Jew and Gentile Christians "both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (2:18).
• In Christ, Gentiles are also "being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" (2:22).
• The mystery of Christ "has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets" (3:5).
• Paul reports that he prays for the Ephesian Christians that God the Father "may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (3:16).

It seems natural, then, to conclude that (a) if the oneness of Jews and Gentiles in Christ is a oneness that the Father has created, and (b) if the Father's work in Christ is often said to be done by or through the Spirit, then it stands to reason that this unity might be called the unity "of the Spirit."

I've got a bunch of other questions. But I want to stop here. So far so good? What would you add?