Ascension 2023
Messenger Dox
Call to worship:
dr. alex loginow
Psalm 110
song: Crown him w/ many crowns
Historical reading:
pastor andrew loginow
Apostles' Creed
song: Lord have mercy
Confession & Pardon:
pastor michael champoux
song: Doxology
song: Behold our God
Sermon:
dr. alex loginow
Ascension 2023
Romans 8.31-39
Two weeks ago seemingly the entire world stopped to watch the coronation of King Charles III. Beforehand I had people asking me, “Are you going to wake up early to watch the coronation?” After the fact more than one person asked me, “did you watch the coronation?” Even in our modern Western world, so far from the pomp and circumstance exhibited in the royal coronation, there is a fascination with the elegance and grandeur of it all.
Here in America we live in a fast-paced and autonomous culture – we want everything to be as quick and easy as possible and we don’t want anyone to tell us what to do. But when events like the coronation of King Charles III happen so many Americans are enchanted. No doubt part of it is that the royal British family has been a train wreck for decades so it’s kind of like a living soap opera. But I don’t think that’s the whole story.
Regardless of what culture they live in, people are infatuated with kings and queens, princes and princesses, coronations and royal weddings, thrones and crowns. That’s true because God created us that way. God created us to want and need to worship and serve a king. That longing is ingrained in our DNA; it’s part and parcel of what it means to be created in the image of God.
As we remember and celebrate the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ on this Ascension Sunday 2023 that’s exactly what we are acknowledging. We are acknowledging that we were created to worship and serve a king and that king is Jesus. And the ascension of the Lord Jesus 40 days after his resurrection is a crucial moment in the history of redemption. For over 2,000 years Christians have confessed the ascension of Christ and we did so earlier in the Apostles’ Creed when we all confessed together, “He ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” The ascension of Jesus of Nazareth was his coronation as the king who rules the cosmos.
Our text this morning is one of the many pericopes in the New Testament to emphasize why the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is really good news for the church. But before we look at that specific paragraph we need to find our bearings. We will first place our pericope within the context of the book of Romans and then we will see what the text has to say.
Review of Romans 1.1-8.30
Romans opens with Paul’s greeting and his acknowledgment that he wants to come visit the church in Rome. Then in Romans 1.16-17 we see the thesis statement for the book of Romans – Romans is about how the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Paul then spends a significant portion of the letter describing our need for this alien righteousness because God’s wrath is revealed against our unrighteousness. You’ll remember 2 weeks ago we read the entire section of Romans 1.18-3.20 for our call to worship. Romans 3.21-31 then restates that this righteousness is obtained exclusively through faith in the gospel of Jesus alone.
In Romans 4 Paul tells us that this is not a new reality in the New Testament but this has always been the case. Abraham was justified; Abraham was counted righteous by faith. And in Romans 5 he tells us that it is only through faith that we have peace with God (Rom 5.1-11). We needed peace with God because through Adam we only had condemnation and death from God, but through Jesus we now have righteousness and life (Rom 5.12-21). Romans 6 says since Jesus made us alive we must be dead to sin and this life begins with our baptism.
Romans 7 reminds us that in this new life the fight with our sin will not be easy. We will do what we don’t want to do but we can fight victoriously because of what we find in Romans 8. We can fight our sin because there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8.1). Jesus condemned sin through his death and the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead has indwelt us (Rom 8.11). Because that’s true we are heirs with Christ. We have been adopted into God’s family and a day is coming when the earth will be made new and our salvation will be complete.
The Coronation of King Jesus
That was an accelerated bird’s eye view of Romans 1.1-8.30 that leads us to our text. It is after all of that rich theological reflection that the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us our Ascension Sunday 2023 Word of the Lord. In light of 7+ chapters of doctrinal depth Paul asks this question: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us (Rom 8.31)?
You know what the Bible is saying here? It’s saying what are you worried about? We all worry. We all struggle with anxiety; some maybe more frequently than others; some to a greater or lesser degree than others, but we all worry. But in light of the gospel of Jesus, Scripture rebukes our worry – If God is for us, who can be against us?
Verse 32 illustrates the lengths that God is willing to go to show us how much he loves us: He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Think about that, if God did not spare his Son, if the Father and the Son agreed that the incarnation was the only way, if the Holy Trinity went to the lengths to insure that the Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary and lived a truly human life and died and resurrected, if God did that, do you really think that he’s not caring for you in the exact way you need every millisecond of your life? If he didn’t hold out on us with his Son, the one most precious to him, do you really think he’s holding out on you with anything else? Maybe we don’t agree with God’s choices all of the time, maybe we think we know better than God because we think we should have this job, or that amount of money, or this relationship or whatever, but with Jesus God has graciously given us all things. In Christ God gives us the forgiveness of sin and the hope of eternal life and through his daily providence God gives us exactly what we need, maybe not what we always want, but exactly what we need every moment of every day.
Verses 33-34 remind us that it doesn’t matter what any other human has to say about us either: who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised…
The world will tell you that faith in Jesus and obedience to Jesus is stupid or archaic or hate speech or any number of things but the world cannot justify us. God is the one who justifies. God is the one whom we have sinned against and so God is the only one who can declare us righteous. And it is because Jesus died that we can be justified, declared righteous. Because Jesus is righteous he experienced our condemnation on the cross. Now if you repent and believe you will be justified, declared righteous, and you will no longer be condemned.
Repentance means to confess your sin and turn from your sin. Faith means that you know who Jesus is and what Jesus did, you assent that who Jesus is and what Jesus did is true, and that you trust in who Jesus is and what Jesus did on your behalf. Faith means:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10.9-13).
But our text doesn’t end there because the work of Jesus doesn’t end with his resurrection. All too often we give the strongest emphasis to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (and rightly so) but that is not the sum of Christ’s work. Verse 34 goes on to say that the Lord Jesus is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Theologically this is what we call the ascension and session of Christ. 40 days after his resurrection Jesus visibly ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father.
For the last 2,000+ years God incarnate, the man Jesus of Nazareth has been in session ruling as the king of the cosmos. King Charles III ascended to the throne after Queen Elizabeth died in September but his coronation wasn’t until May 6th. For King Jesus his ascension and coronation were simultaneous. Jesus ascended to heaven where he sat down at God’s right hand and was installed as the king of God’s creation.
By his resurrection Jesus has inaugurated the new creation and now he is guiding us toward its completion. N.T. Wright said, “If Easter is about Jesus as the prototype of the new creation, his ascension is about his enthronement as the one who is now in charge. Easter tells us that Jesus is himself the first part of the new creation; his ascension tells us that he is now running it. We sing this every year at advent – “He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love.” Jesus is king and Jesus is Lord.
In our call to worship we read from Psalm 110 where David writes, yhwh says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” In Matthew 22 Jesus asks the Pharisees how to interpret this Psalm. What does it mean that YHWH tells David’s Lord to sit at his right hand? When YHWH made his covenant with David, YHWH told David that David’s son would sit on his throne forever. But how can David’s son be David’s Lord? David was Israel’s greatest king.
The answer is Jesus. The Lord Jesus is truly God and truly man so he is greater than David in ontology; he is David’s Lord by nature of his personhood. But he is also David’s Lord by function; Jesus is greater than David by nature of what he did. David sinned greatly; Jesus never sinned. David murdered for his own benefit; Jesus died for the benefit of others. David’s son and grandson destroyed Israel’s kingdom – David’s family had more drama than the royal British family, believe it or not. But Jesus is the true and final son of David who fulfills David’s covenant and establishes an eternal kingdom with citizens from all the nations.
And because Jesus ascended to heaven and because Jesus sits in session at the right hand of God the Father almighty, because Jesus intercedes for us, listen to what the Bible tells us is the result in verses 35-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus has ascended and Jesus is ruling and reigning and that means nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Can tribulation or distress separate you from the love of Christ? Can cancer or chronic pain or the death of a loved one separate you from the love of Christ? What about persecution or famine, hunger or thirst? Can danger or someone cutting your head of with a sword separate you from the love of Christ?
In verse 36 Paul quotes Psalm 44.22 where the sons of Korah are begging God to rescue them from their enemies. At that time Israel faced enemies from the nations that hated them and tried to kill them because they followed YHWH – it was for YHWH’s sake they were being killed all the day long; like sheep to be slaughtered. I have never stared death in the face because I am a Christian but there are Christians throughout church history and around the world today that have and do. And even though it is to a lesser degree cultural, emotional, and relational persecution does happen to us, doesn’t it? But whether it is the death of a relationship, our reputation, or even physical death in the face of persecution, can that separate us from the love of Christ?
Verse 37 announces: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. The Greek word is ὑπερνικάω, which means, “to be completely and overwhelmingly victorious.” It’s the word that the company Nike built their brand on. Through Jesus, who loved us, we are completely and overwhelmingly victorious.
The pericope ends with one of the most epic benedictions or doxologies in all of Scripture in verses 38-39.What can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord? Death? No. Life? No. Angels? No. Rulers? No. Things present? No. Things to come? No. Powers? No. Height? No. Depth? No. Anything else in all creation? No.
That is why the ascension of Jesus is good news for you. That is why the ascension of Christ is as important as his incarnation, his life, his death, and his resurrection. That is why we celebrate ascension Sunday every year at Christ Community Church. The ascension of Jesus means that our salvation is secure because Jesus is interceding on our behalf. And the ascension of Jesus means that literally nothing that happens in the world is out of his control. The ascension of Jesus means that Jesus will return just like he left – physically and visibly – to make everything sad untrue.
The Heidelberg Catechism gives three benefits for us of the ascension of Christ. 1) Jesus is our advocate in heaven before his Father. 2) We have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, our head, will also take us, his members, up to himself. 3) Jesus sends us his Spirit as a counter-pledge, by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth. We’ll talk more about that next week for Pentecost, but take comfort in those 3 benefits this morning church – you have an advocate in heaven, your own flesh is in heaven through Jesus, and his Spirit is here with you.
Conclusion
The ascension of Jesus of Nazareth is his coronation as the king of the cosmos. The ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David. Jesus Christ has been ruling the world for the last 2,000 years from the right hand of God the Father almighty and he will do so until he returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. At the coronation of King Charles III the Archbishop of Canterbury declared, “God save the King!” The truth is God did save the King when he resurrected Jesus from the dead and crowned him the King of kings at Jesus’ ascension. And the good news is God will save you too. Look to King Jesus.