Sunday was Ascension Sunday. One of the six great feast days of the Christian Church.
Why is it so important and what does it mean for all of us--all of humanity?
It was placed in the church in around the 300's A.D. before the Catholic Church was ever recognised. It was placed to declare the BODILY ASCENSION of Jesus Christ into Heaven. Jesus remains forever human in His eternal existence in His humanity.
In Acts 1:10-11, the angel said, " this SAME Jesus who you see ascending into heavens will come again ." The Feast of Ascension or Ascension Sundany, ( May 16th this year,) declares the bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus into Heaven.
This is important for all of us--humanity--for it is in the ascension of Jesus that He takes all of us in His ascension and places all of us at the Father's right hand along with himself. ( Ephesians 2:6).
Not only this, but since Jesus is still human in his existence, we will also be human in our eternal existence with a "spiritual body" of flesh and bone which appears 'physical" and without physical limitations. Not subject to decay or death. See I Cor. 15.
In a sense, the Ascension of Jesus validates the entire Gospel which concludes with all of mankind residing at the right hand of the Father with Jesus, a position of highest love and respect the same as the Father has for Jesus himself.
In our state of Union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit IN Jesus we will have, as Paul describes in I Cor. 15, our own 'spriitual body' which will appear 'physical' and without physical imitations. We will be able to do all of the things we do now but only better with a 'glorified' body made of spirit but appearing physical.
Ascension Sunday and the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father and taking all of us with Him is vital to our understanding of the Gospel.
A few verses to further study for all of us;
I Cor. 15:47-49. The man Jesus remains a human man from heaven.
I Tim. 2:5, Jesus, the MAN, remains the mediator between heaven and man
Acts 1:10-11 The same Jesus which ascended in Acts 1 will return in the same
bodily form as always--one which He will have forever.
Ephesians 1:3-14 All of humanity has been included in this eternal future in Christ
May God bless all of us in uderstanding this more.
Pastor Paul
Madison, Al
256-468-8081
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1 comment:
Good stuff,Pastor Paul! By Jesus sharing and remaining in our humanity, He has forever united man with God - Awesome! Kind of like the joke about the chicken and the pig: the chicken is "involved" in breakfast (eggs) BUT the pig is committed! (bacon) Jesus is committed to humanity!
I'd like to ask you a little more about how you describe Jesus - as "appearing" physical, and that we will also receive a "spiritual body" of flesh and bone that "appears" physical, a "glorified" body "made of spirit" but appearing physical. Is that a correct understanding? In Luke 24:39, after suddenly appearing in the disciples midst, frightening them (they thought he wsa a ghost!), He said "Look at my hands and feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost (or spirit) does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." He said He wasn't a spirit or ghost, but was flesh and bone. I guess you could say His glorified body was made of spirit but appeared physical if you posit that all things are made from spirit. Then, even we now "appear" physical, but the only original "stuff" we could come from is spirit? I don't know. Maybe just semantics. Or, could the glorified body be some new catagory of existence? Not spirit, not natural, but Super-natural? The BEST flesh and bone ever, that will last forever? I think it does make a difference in how we view what Jesus is, now. Is He really flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone?
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