The Sunday after Ascension, 2004

In order to sway public opinion in favor of the League of Nations, President Wilson embarked on a nation-wide train tour. At every stop he gave speeches trying to whip up enthusiasm for his idea, but his health was bad. On Oct. 2, 1919 in Wichita, Kansas he suffered a stroke. Behaving stoically, Wilson was able to hide the fact from everybody but his wife and physician. Thereafter, he made a few public appearances but for all intents and purposes he was a dead man not yet in his grave. In his place his wife ran the county. Later on, citizens were surprised to learn that it was Edith Wilson who headed the government of the United States for a year and a half. Every ruler relies on others. Nobody can do everything. Some leaders prefer to delegate responsibilities, others don’t.

In a way a power-sharing dynamic flows from the ascension. Jesus brings up to Heaven all His brothers and sisters and gives them thrones in order to rule with Him. How are we to understand the truth that we are seated with Christ? What are the ramifications of it? On this Sunday after Ascension let us delve into these questions.

We begin with what the prophet Daniel says. He seems to link the rule of the Messiah and the rule of the saints in Daniel 7. Rather than read the entire chapter we’ll read select verses 9-10, 13-14, 18, 21-22, 27. [Read them.]

First of all, the granting of a global kingdom to the Son of Man immediately follows the Ascension. Let’s set the stage: the Ancient of Days is God the Father. The Son of Man is Jesus Christ. The ten thousand times ten thousand beings are angels. The saints are Christians. The coming of the Son of Man to the Ancient of Days with the clouds of Heaven signifies Christ’s coming up to Heaven at the Ascension. It takes place during the height of the Roman Empire, the fourth kingdom. The saints immediately possess the kingdom in league with Christ. The reign of the Messiah and the reign of the saints are two sides of the same reality. The two work in tandem.

The New Testament also promotes the idea of the dominion of the saints. We find it in Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians 2:1, 4-6. [Read them.]

1.) St. Paul says that God has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” How is that so? We comprehend it in terms of the doctrine of union with Christ. Union with Christ implies our participation in all His work. It is the Holy Spirit who places us in union with Christ and that union brings about certain consequences, the first being that we participate in the sufferings of our Lord (Colossians 1:24). Pain, exhaustion, and affliction are aspects of the normal Christian life. No follower of Jesus avoids suffering and, in fact, God often uses it to make us better.

2.) Union with Christ also means we participate in His death. Romans 6:3 states that we have been “baptized into His death.” We die to sin and mortify the deeds of the flesh.

3.) Union with Christ furthermore guarantees that we participate in His resurrection (Romans 6:4; Eph. 2:5). We have the promise of God that our bodies will arise from the dead at the Last Day in the general resurrection. We can be confident that our spirits will arise to the presence of Christ at our death; and thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit working in us now we rise to newness of life in a moral sense. We rise to holiness and hope in Christ.

Everything said so far concerning our union with Christ is commonplace in Christian teaching. Most believers know that we participate in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. However, three other aspects of the work of Christ almost go unnoticed. By virtue of our union with Christ we participate in His ascension, His reign, and His crushing of Satan.

That is what the apostle Paul is suggesting in Ephesians.

4.) God raised us up together with Christ; that is participation in His ascension.

5.) God made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that is a participation in His reign.

6.) The Church is the instrument to break down the gates of Hell; that is participation in the crushing of Satan.

Let’s examine these three things a little more closely. When the Bible talks of the ascension of the saints it is not speaking of a literal sitting in Heaven with Jesus. These truths are primarily spiritual, theological, or even covenantal. The doctrines of our joint ascension and reign with Christ harmonize with the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. The doctrine of justification by faith alone means we can have full confidence that our sins have been completely forgiven, and thus we are in position restored to the prefallen state of Adam. Thanks to this forgiveness, and the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to us by God’s grace, we have ascended with Christ into Heaven, and we preside with Him. Thrones are in view! Christians are enthroned on high because they are “in Christ.” The Spirit unites them to Christ’s ascension! They are united to the Son of Man who has been exalted high above all rule and authority and dominion and power. [I am indebted to Peter Leithart’s The Kingdom and the Power, and James Jordan’s Anti-Utopianism in Modern Christian Thought.]

The doctrine of the saints’ dominion can be a puzzling one. What kind of rule is it when hardly anybody recognizes the kingship of Christ? What authority do believers wield when the Church is so weak, mocked, and rejected? Looking at a globe there seems to be precious little territory we can call Christian. Survey American academia and entertainment and there is little perceptible Christian influence. The same goes for our federal and state governments, not to mention the judiciary. Are St. Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter two a bit of self-delusion? How should we understand them?

Our first reaction is to dismiss such a notion. But we can’t do that; the Bible teaches it. Some people relegate the rule of the saints to a distant period in the future. Others consign it to the visions of the mystic. Does the reign of God’s people carry any significance for the present? How does the Church now reign with Christ? In what ways can we see this and participate in it?

A. First, the Church rules and conquers in the midst of, and through her suffering. If God is for us, who can be against us? We may be accounted as sheep for the slaughter, yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:31-37). Why must the Church rule and conquer in the midst of trials and suffering? In order for us to realize that the good things we accomplish are not credited to our own talent or cleverness, but to God’s grace (2 Corinthians 4:7). We might become vain and proud if we were able to conquer in the midst of ease.

B. There is another way that we rule with the Lord in Heaven. As “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ,” the saints of God possess “all things” necessary for their highest well being (Romans 8:17; 1 Cor. 3:21-22; James 2:5). We possess the riches of royalty! We enjoy the hope of heaven, the promise of victory, the wisdom of the Word, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the communion of Christ, the fellowship of God’s people, the wonders of creation, the grace of the sacraments, and the worship of God. As royal sons and daughters of the Great King we inherit eternal life and all the good things we need. Let us therefore be grateful to our Lord and King for granting us these benefits. They are everything that a king or queen would want. We need nothing else.

C. Our union with Christ furthermore means we participate in His crushing of Satan. In the litany we pray to God “to raise up those who fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet.” “We beseech thee to hear us good Lord.” [BCP p. 42] Romans 16:20 declares “the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” St. Paul tells us to put on the armor of God in order to “wrestle against the rulers of darkness” (Eph. 6:10ff.). Granted, Christ does the definitive work of binding Satan and crushing him, nonetheless, the Holy Spirit places us in union with Christ in order to flesh out Christ’s work historically. The Church gradually binds Satan and crushes him through the proclamation of the Word and the faithful celebration of the Sacraments. This world is the battleground and construction site for Christ’s Kingdom. This world is not yet even close to being the kingdom of God, but it will be. Over the centuries the dominion of King Jesus continues to take in more and more territory. The reign of Christ and the saints implies that we can’t build the kingdom per se, that is we can’t do it in our own power, but with the aid of the Holy Spirit we gradually make the world the theater of God’s glory. As in any war the battle goes back and forth, but victory is assured, a victory gained on the battleground of history, not by catastrophic intervention. God’s agenda for history will not be thwarted.

D. Moreover, God raises us up for service. What kind of power do Christians wield? Never for a moment should we think that the saints’ dominion has to do with grabbing power and lording it over others. Nor does God’s agenda advance by means of coercion or force. That is more of a Muslim idea. The children of God rule in the manner set down by Jesus in Matthew 20:26-28. There He said, “whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Christ tells us that rule and authority are gained through love and service to others. Such service is best carried out with the people closest to us. Constant sacrificial service to our spouses and children at home mixes with our servanthood at Church and in the community. Servants go out of their way to serve – visiting prisoners, feeding the hungry, helping the needy, and demonstrating the love of God in ways that seem radical to the world. The experience we gain in service prepares us for authority, and glorifies God along the way.

E. Next, the dominion of the saints involves the privilege of feasting at the King’s table. This is a privilege higher and greater than the kings and potentates of the earth. We are baptized into Christ’s ascension and sit together with Him in heavenly places. Every Eucharistic celebration we draw near to the banquet table in the throne-room of the King, and there Christ feeds us with His Body and blood.

F. What else? The Church rules in Heaven as an intercessor. We rule through prayer. The Church pleads with God on behalf of all men and women. By our prayers we move the Arm that controls the winds, the rain, and all the potent forces of the physical world. The liturgy of the Church quite literally moves history. As we pray and worship and commune with God in the Land of the Trinity, our Sovereign Creator sends out His angels to do His bidding. The environment and history itself respond to the faithful worship of the Church Militant. Even the power of wicked nations and men are foiled (Jer. 1:10, 18; Mat. 7:7-8; 18:10; Acts 12:5; James 5:14-18).

The ascension does not mean Christ sits alone in Heaven. Spiritually, covenantally, you sit with Him. You have been baptized into Christ’s ascension. What a privilege! What a blessing! You belong to the world-governing body. Almighty God desires to produce in you qualities of responsibility, maturity, hope and comfort in order to equip you for your dominion duties. It is for a purpose that God has raised you up to sit in heavenly places with King Jesus. You have been raised to participate in Christ’s sufferings. You have been raised to enjoy the riches of Christ’s glory. You have been raised to participate in the crushing of Satan. You have been raised to serve others. You have been raised to feast with the King. You have been raised to sway history through your prayer and praise.

On this Sunday after Ascension let us take to heart the statement of the Apostle Paul, “God … raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” If by God’s grace we faithfully turn our hearts toward these things, we shall see the Church limping along, yet conquering the world. We shall see unstoppable Christian, cultural advancement. We shall be amazed one day to behold the earth filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

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