Jesus Saves! But How? PART 7: Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension

Andrew Grey continues the adult Sunday school teaching on Jesus Saves... But How?

This part is titled, "Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension" and is from Sunday 25th January 2026.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

So, why does it matter that Jesus is alive? Let's pray and then we'll consider Jesus' resurrection and ascension. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we read in your word that you will not abandon my soul to the grave, or let your holy one see corruption. And so we praise you that you are a God of resurrection life because we know and serve a risen Saviour. Encourage our hearts, we pray, feed our minds with good things from your word today, and we ask that for our good and your glory. Amen. Amen. We've thought previously about the Lord Jesus' incarnation and his obedient life, how he is the true and the new Adam. We thought about the Lord Jesus dying on the cross, his sin-bearing and his judgment-bearing death. And today we're thinking about his resurrection. But remember that those different aspects of Christ's work they can't be separated. We've got one Christ, one mediator, and together they are his work. Today, though, we are going to focus on the resurrection, and we're going to assume the fact of the resurrection. Christ is indeed risen from the dead. Not just the resuscitation of an exhausted man, but the actual raising of a dead man, and also the transformation, the glorification of Jesus' humanity, such that the Son of God in heaven still lives in and through that body and will do so forever. And what I want us to see today is why does it matter? Why does it matter that Jesus is alive? How it is that the Apostle Paul can say in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, pointless, and you are still in your sins. So why is it that our faith is futile and we are still in our sins if Christ has not been raised? So, first of all though, let's think about Jesus' resurrection and what it did to Jesus. And we'll see why we're approaching it in this way in just a moment. Got three important New Testament verses for us. Right near the start of Romans, Paul puts the Lord Jesus in front of us, Romans 1, verse 4, and says of him that he was declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. That verse used to puzzle me. Hasn't Jesus always been Son of God? And for all eternity? And yet Paul says there, he was declared to be, or appointed to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. Now when we just stop and think about the person of Jesus, it's actually not that strange. The one who is eternally God the Son, second person of the Trinity, he became Son of God when he was raised. So we're talking about Christ in his human nature, but remember too that in the Bible, Son of God is a title, it's like another title given for the Messiah, God's Savior. So we can distinguish between God the Son, who has forever and ever been with the Father and the Spirit, and also the Son of God. So in the Bible's story, Adam was supposed to be the Son of God, Israel was supposed to be the Son of God, Israel's kings were supposed to be sons of God. But each failed. However, Jesus, by his death and critically by his resurrection, is appointed, he's declared to be the Son of God in power. And so we see something in that next couple of verses there in Acts 13. The Apostle Paul is preaching in the synagogue in Psidian Antioch, and he says, We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. That is, today, on resurrection day, there is a way in which I have become your father. Now, obviously, God the Father has always been the father of God the Son. But that's not what it's talking about. It's talking about this office, this office of Son of God. And it is at his resurrection that he receives and takes on that office, the Son of God, the mediator that we need. Something similar, but slightly different. In 1 Timothy 3, 16. Talking of Jesus, he was manifested in the flesh. There, that's talking about his incarnation and I think his death on the cross. Vindicated by the Spirit. Again, I think this is talking about the resurrection, and it literally is his he was justified by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory. So there is a vindication or a justification which Jesus received. So risen from the dead, he is publicly shown no longer to be bearing sin. So in that sense, Jesus is vindicated or Jesus is justified. Now God deals with us. God deals with Christians in Christ, in the person of Christ. So what happens to Christ affects us. We're going to think about union with Christ, God willing, next Sunday and what it means to be, and how it is that we are united and joined to Him. And that's why we look at what Jesus is before we see what we are in Jesus. So here is what the resurrection has done to Jesus. Now, therefore, given this, what does it do for us, for the Christian? So second side of the handout. Well, because he is vindicated, we are justified. So Paul writes, Romans 6, 9, we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. Now if we just turn that verse around for a moment, imagine the terrible negative. Imagine that Christ had not been raised from the dead. Well, death would still have had dominion over him. Death would have been his master still. If Christ had not been raised, he would not have died to sin. That is, sin would still have had a hold on Christ. Not his own, but ours. So death and sin, they always go together, and without the resurrection, he would still be under their mastery. However, that's not the case. But it is just worth just thinking about that for a moment. A non-risen Christ, unforgiven us. A non-vindicated Christ, unjustified Christian. Dead Christ, we too remain under the dominion of sin and death. Richard Gaffin summed it up really piffily. A dead Christ is an unjustified Christ, and an unjustified Christ means an unjustified believer. But gloriously, at the resurrection, Christ is publicly shown to be the righteous one who has put away sin and death. And therefore, if you are in Christ, all of those fruits and benefits are yours. And specifically because he is justified, so too are we. Another angle on the risen Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ is raised as a second Adam who gives resurrection life to his people. Hopefully, as we've been going through these sessions, we've seen how standing over the whole of the Bible and the whole of human history are two figures. There is Adam and there is Christ. Adam is the head of the human race, Christ is the second Adam or the last Adam. He's a new head of a new human race. And every single person who has ever lived is either in Adam or in Christ. Now, please would you in your Bibles turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 20. And if you're in a Black Church Bible, you are on page. Someone's going to shout a number at me. 961. So Black Church Bible, page 961. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 20. So 1 Corinthians 15 is one of the great resurrection chapters of the Bible. That's why we traditionally read from this chapter at a Christian's funeral. And it is full of these contrasts between Adam and Christ. So let me just read verses 20 to 23. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. So you see the contrast. Here is Adam. What did Adam do for us? He brought death. The man Christ brings resurrection. So he is raised, and then will follow with him those who belong to him. He's the first fruit. So imagine a great harvest, and he is the first fruit of it. And then as the chapter goes on, Paul uses the picture of a seed. And he does that to teach us about death and resurrection. So please look on to verse 42. And again, it's contrasts. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Now there are kind of complicated bits in those verses, but at very basic level, you see, you can you can imagine a two columns, and I'll try to show them on the handout. You've got Adam and the Adamic and the fleshly, and you have the new Adam, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a body that's perishable and one that is imperishable, a resurrection body that will never wear out. You have a natural body contrasted with a spiritual body. Now, which does not mean sort of floaty and insubstantial, a spiritual body. In the New Testament, by the way, spiritual means of or by the Holy Spirit. So here is a body that is wrought and empowered by God the Holy Spirit. You've got a body over here that is dust. Yeah, we are by nature dust. But there is also a body that is from heaven. Adam, his people are like him and bear his image. Christ's sons and daughters are like him and will bear his heavenly image. So do you see how our resurrection is joined to his? So all of those things that we receive from him, well they are his, his to give. Again, see why it's that the harvest is such a good illustration. First fruits, and then more to come. He was raised, we will be raised like him. The New Testament would actually say that spiritually the Christian is already raised with him. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. We've kind of got two locations for church. Here in Brentwood and with the glorified spirits in heaven. And one day our physical and bodily resurrection will take place. And here is all comfort and hope for the Christian. We live with a failing and a frail body, we live with a sinful nature which is still being sanctified and one day like Christ. Look on to the next slide. Maybe this is something we've not really thought very much about. The event of the ascension, what are we talking about? Well, Jesus prophesied it. He said things like John 14, 2, in my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? So I go, I'm going back to the Father. Now, again, in your Bibles, could you just look to uh Acts 11 for a moment? Uh sorry, uh Acts 1, uh 1 to 11. So again, Black Church Bibles, you're on page. Someone's going to shout at me.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

909, 910.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

909. Ish. Acts chapter 1. So, at the very start of the book of Acts, in the first book, O Theophilus, so in Luke's gospel, my gospel, in the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up. So that's the ascension in a sentence, the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Scoot on to verse eight. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria unto the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. So there again is the event of the ascension. So forty days after Jesus was raised from the dead, he ascended into heaven. And the ascension is incredibly important to the saving work of Christ. First, the ascension brings Jesus to the height of glory. It completes what the resurrection began. So think about those 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension. Jesus had entered into a state of exaltation, but he had not yet entered the place of exaltation. It's what the Bible talks about as the right hand of the Father. Again, you will bump into that. The right hand of the Father. He sat down at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven. He is our minister in the holy places. Philippians 2, God has exalted him, lifted him up, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. So he has been raised to a position of the greatest glory. And here's why that matters for us. Just turn over to the back of the handout. From this place, from the right hand of the Father, he rules everything, all the Sake of the church. So here's Paul in uh Ephesians 1. We pick up in the middle of a really long sentence, but he's talking about the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, there's the resurrection, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. So there is the ascension. Now here is where he is, verse 21. He is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. So we're to imagine here as Christ as the king and his enemies under his feet. If you're a king in the ancient world, you might literally do that. You would bring a defeated general or a defeated king, and they would cringe on the floor before you, and you would put your foot on their head or their throat. And that's actually what Christ does. All things are under his feet. So total power, total authority. But what does he do with it? Well, verse 19, this is great power for us who believe. Verse 22, he's head over everything for the church. So when metaphorically Jesus rolls up his sleeves and puts his muscles to work, what does he do with it? Well, he wants to use his power for the good of the church. For the advantage of the church, his body, you know, his bride, who he loves. It's why the Great Commission will succeed. And because of who Jesus is in his resurrection and ascension. So he rules everything for the sake of the church, but also from the right hand of the Father, he pours out the Holy Spirit on his people. So here we are on the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit is poured out as Jesus promised, and the Apostle Peter explains what's going on in these strange events of Pentecost. He explains the cross and the resurrection, and he climaxes with the ascension. So he says Acts 2.33, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. And here we're thinking about Jesus and the Spirit. Obviously, the man Jesus had the Holy Spirit from the moment of his conception. At his baptism, he received the Spirit in a particular way for the office of his ministry. Now at the ascension, Christ is rewarded with the Spirit in such a way he can then pour the Spirit out. So he is the Spirit baptizer. He will baptize with the Spirit and with fire. And he pours the Holy Spirit out upon his church. He brings knowledge of God to people, and he brings himself to people. So how is it that we can say that Christ is with us as Christians? How is it that Christ is with us in a particular way as we gather for worship? And the answer is because Jesus has poured out his Holy Spirit to his people on earth. Lastly, so he's at the right hand of the Father, he's ruling for the church, he pours out his spirit, and as the ascended Christ, he intercedes for his people. Now, this is a really wonderful thought. The high priest back in the Old Testament, and we'll probably all know something about the Old Testament High Priest. One of the distinct things about him was what he wore. These extraordinarily elaborate and precisely described garments. One feature of them. On his chest he wore twelve precious stones, each bearing the name of a tribe of Israel. So that when he entered the tabernacle, he quite literally carried the people of God into the presence of God. And it's a little shadow of what the Lord Jesus Christ does. He is our great high priest, he is our risen and our undying high priest. He had two parts to his priestly task. The first one was to sacrifice himself. But now he stands as our risen priest by the power of an indestructible life. And what does he do? He bears and he carries his people. You and me, he carries us to the Father. So there is no Christian alive whose name, Christ the risen high priest, has not spoken to the Father. It's as if he says to God the Father, All that I have done, this was for him. All that I have done, this was for her. And he is at the right hand of the Father, ever interceding for us. So Jesus, your Saviour, risen and exalted, is praying for you. Hebrews 7 24, 25 sort of sums this up. He holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever, consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. God be praised. It's a wonderful thing. Now, why don't we pause and just discuss uh with a neighbour for three or four minutes? Perhaps things that have encouraged us or questions that we might want to ask, and then we'll take uh five minutes or so and share some of those questions together.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Thank you. So the idea of Christ uh wielding his power for the sense for the sake of the church, what do we do with that? What should we expect? We were just talking a little bit about that down here. I wonder whether the net effect of Christ's ascended rule blessing of and presence with the church is maybe a greater sense of confidence and expectation. And I think that probably works out in our evangelism. You know, there'll be disappointments, but the Great Commission will succeed. Uh, so in Ephesians it has implications for uh the life of the church. You know, Christ is present in the body of the church, in our life and in our relationships, and he's present in the church's worship. You know, it's Christ who came and preached the gospel in Ephesus by his Holy Spirit. So I guess when we meet for worship, when we receive preaching, Christ is with us. He is doing things, and you know, all of our labours, and we are called to labor in certain ways, in a sense, we are just getting on board with what Christ is doing in our midst. And so I think probably two outboxes from that are a confidence and an expectation. And maybe that also when when the Lord chooses to bring frustrations and pains into our lives or the life of the church, I guess it also puts them in a different light as well, doesn't it? It's not that, and we know that Christ is not powerless, but in his wisdom he has chosen to bring pains and griefs, but it's the risen, exalted, glorious Christ who's doing that, who also loves and is trying to bless the church. Anyone else want to uh chip in? Question? Well, why don't I pray? Um let me pray with this in mind. Uh God our Heavenly Father, we've been reading and thinking uh on wonderful things. We thank you that as we've been doing so, you have been with us. Your Holy Spirit has been addressing us uh through your word. Thank you that you desire the good of your church. You've installed the Lord Jesus as King over all for our sakes, and that is uh marvelous and humbling. Help us to think uh your thoughts. Pray that in times of discouragement we would remember the Lord Jesus. Thank you that when we find it hard, we thank you that He is uh ever interceding for us. When we don't know what to pray or do, we have an all-competent and all-gracious uh Saviour. Uh, we think of our uh gathering to worship shortly, and we thank you that this is not a merely human enterprise. Thank you that you are the one who calls us, who dwells amongst us, and desires to uh bless us. So we thank you for this uh in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.