Christ’s Ascension was His Inauguration into His Heavenly Offices for His Heavenly Ministry

We need to have a great and colossal vision concerning the ascended Christ, the Christ in the heavens. We need to see the Christ who has ascended to the heavens and who was inaugurated, exalted, and enthrone to be the One commissioned to execute God’s universal administration and carry out God’s new testament economy through His Body.

Stephen saw this One: while he was being stoned to death, Stephen looked intently into the heavens and saw the glory of God and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. his eyes were in the heavens; this is the gaze that every martyr has, and we all need to see this scene.

In Heb. 2 we are encouraged to see Jesus, the One who was made a little inferior to the angels and died, but now was crowned with glory and honor. We need to see Jesus, and even look away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him despised the shame, suffered the death of the cross, and sat down at the right hand of God.

We need to see this Jesus – not only the incarnated Jesus, the crucified Jesus, and the resurrected Jesus but the ascended Jesus, the One who has been inaugurated, exalted, and enthroned by God!

John also saw a vision of the throne of God where One was sitting, and the 24 angelic elders and the 4 living creatures gave Him all the glory (see Rev. 4-5). This One, the freshly slain Lamb standing in the midst, was qualified to take the scroll from God and open it. This scene must have been part of the inauguration ceremony of the Lion-Lamb, the victorious redeeming Lamb. Christ is qualified to take the scroll and open its seals: He is qualified to open God’s New Testament economy and execute it, redeeming the entire universe and taking care of all mankind including the Jews, the Gentiles, and the believers.

May we see Jesus Christ in His ascension! We may know Him as the One in a manger, the One living in a carpenter’s home, the One who worked and ministered for three and a half years, the One who died on the cross, and the One who was raised from the dead – all these are great and profound matters, but we need to go on and see the vision of the ascended Christ.

What happened to Christ in His ascension, what is He doing and carrying out now, and how should we live and work in relation to Him? If we see the vision of Christ in His ascension our Christian life will be revolutionised, our church life will be different, and the local churches will be in ascension!

Christ’s Ascension was His Inauguration into His Heavenly Offices for His Heavenly Ministry

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In His ascension Christ was inaugurated, inducted, installed, and initiated into His heavenly offices. Just as the president of a country is inducted and inaugurated into his office after his election, Christ was inaugurated in His ascension into His heavenly offices for His heavenly ministry. This Man, Jesus Christ, who suffered, was persecuted, was maligned and slandered, mocked and crucified, this One has been inaugurated into the highest office in the universe (see Acts 2:33, 36).

After His resurrection, Christ was ascended and was officially put into His offices; His ascension allowed Him to begin His heavenly ministry. The Lord Jesus had two ministries: one earthly and one heavenly; in His earthly ministry Christ in the flesh lived a God-man life, expressed God the Father, and accomplished redemption for all mankind through His all-inclusive death on the cross.

Christ’s earthly ministry prepared Him and qualified Him to be inaugurated into a wider, richer ministry, His heavenly ministry; His earthly ministry was in time and space, being limited, but HIs heavenly ministry is still being carried on 2000 years later and will go on for eternity. In Christ’s heavenly ministry He is in the center of the universe and He executes God’s universal administration and He carries out God’s New Testament economy. Hallelujah!

In His ascension Christ was inaugurated into His offices, which are:

• Christ was made the Lord of all (Acts 10:36)! As God, Christ was always the Lord of all, but as a Man, He was made Lord of all in His humanity! As the Lord of all, Jesus Christ is not just God but man! A Man is Lord of all! Jesus Christ, the God-man, is the Lord over all things, including man and Satan! Satan wanted to destroy Christ, but this Man has become Lord! Hallelujah!
• He is the Christ (Acts 2:36). From eternity He was the Christ, but now He is “another Christ” – He was officially anointed in His ascension, His inauguration, to be the Christ as the Man-God, the God-man, the One who has not only divinity but also humanity! The One anointed and commissioned by God to carry out God’s economy is a Man, Jesus Christ the ascended God-man! Praise Him!
• Christ is the Leader and the Savior (Acts 5:31). He is the Prince, the originator, the initiator, the captain. In His ascension Christ was made the Leader and the Savior! He was the Savior in His divinity, but now in His humanity He was inaugurated as the Savior of man, the Savior of Israel, having the power to give repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Hallelujah, Christ as a Man is our Leader and Savior!
• Christ is the Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5). All the kings, presidents, prime ministers, dictators, and emperors are under the rule of Jesus Christ, the God-man in His ascension. A Man is in charge, and He is the ruler of all the kings of the earth Praise the Lord!
• Christ is the Head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23). He was given to be Head over all things to the church, and in His ascension Christ was made the Head of the church. The head of the church is a man, Jesus Christ as the ascended God-man!
• Christ is the Minister (Heb. 8:2). He is the heavenly minister, the glorified servant and serving One to carry out His heavenly ministry. He ministers God into us and brings us into God, and He carries out God’s new testament economy.
• Christ is the High Priest (Heb. 4:14-15; 7:25-27). He is the great High Priest having a great and grand office, going higher than the heavens and caring for God’s people according to God.

Do we see this One, the ascended Christ? Wow, what a Christ! He is the Lord of all, the Christ, the Leader, the Savior, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Head of the church, the Minister, and the great High Priest! We just say AMEN! to God’s word and praise this One! Hallelujah to Him! Praise the Lord as the inaugurated, exalted, and enthroned One! We agree with this!

Our physical eyes cannot see it, but by exercising our spirit of wisdom and revelation we can see this scene. We see this Jesus Christ, the enthroned, preeminent, ascended, the Christ of all! He is our head, our life, and our everything! Christ in ascension is everything to the church, transmitting all that He is and has accomplished to the church!

What we see today in the world is a lie and what we read in the news is not real; what the Bible says is real, and Christ in His ascension was inaugurated by God in His heavenly offices, being honored by God! Christ’s ascension inaugurated Him as the Lord of all, the One above all things and all people in the universe!

Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your ascension! We praise You as the One inaugurated by God to be the Lord of all, the Christ, the Leader and the Savior, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Head of the church, the Heavenly Minister, and the great High Priest! God, we agree with You that this God-man Jesus Christ is now the Lord of all! We agree with You, and we are one with You! We call on Your name, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! We confess that Jesus is Lord, and every knee shall bow to this name!

Jesus Christ passed through a Lengthy Process to be Inaugurated in Ascension as Lord of All

It is so wonderful to see that this Man from Nazareth, Jesus Christ, who grew up in a lowly and despised region, has passed through a long process to be the Lord of all in His ascension (Matt. 2:23; Acts 3:6; 10:36; 22:8; 26:9). For Him to attain to such a high position and occupy such a supreme office He had to be tested, approved, and qualified.

His inauguration required a lengthy process that began with creation – He created the whole universe in and through Himself; then, He became a man through incarnation to be prepared for His heavenly office. In His human living for 33.5 years the Lord Jesus expressed God with all His divine attributes shining out in His aromatic human virtues, and then He died on the cross to terminate everything negative (including the devil) and accomplish redemption.

After His death, He was resurrected – His resurrection was God’s approval that this One has passed the test and is fully qualified to be the Lord of all. Christ as a Man has been approved by God and has done all things according to what God wants, and now in His ascension He is ready to be inaugurated by God Himself into His heavenly offices!

In His ascension Christ was inaugurated as God and man – He is the complete God and the perfect man, the man without sin and blemish. He was inaugurated as the Redeemer, the Savior, and the life-giving Spirit to execute God’s universal administration and to carry out God’s New Testament economy.

What a lengthy process He went through, what high honor He has received, and how weighty and significant are His accomplishments! Christ is now the Head of the divine government controlling everything, having a say over everything, and administrating all the world affairs and international events.

He has been commissioned by God to carry out God’s New Testament economy from the throne, which is connected to our mingled spirit; we can now come forward to the throne of God and be one with Him in our mingled spirit. We can see this divine scene and be one with Christ by simply exercising our spirit. Praise the Lord for Christ’s ascension!

Praise You Lord for passing through the lengthy process of creation, incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, so that in Your ascension You may be made Lord of all! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ as a Man was qualified and fully approved by God, and He was inaugurated by God to be Lord of all as God and man, Creator and creature, Redeemer, Savior, and the life-giving Spirit! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, our resurrected and ascended Head and Lord! Hallelujah!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Minoru Chen’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Wonderful Christ in the Canon of the New Testament,” chs. 9-10, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Vision and Experience of Christ in His Resurrection and Ascension, week 4 / msg 4, The Vision and Experience of Christ in His Ascension (1) – Christ Inaugurated, Exalted, and Enthroned to Execute God’s Universal Administration and to Carry Out God’s New Testament Economy through His Body.
• All verses are taken from, Recovery Version Bible.
• Hymns to strengthen the burden in this article:
  # Christ the Savior hath ascended / To the heavens far above, / Crowned with glory and with honor / By the Father God in love; / He hath made Him Head of all things, / His supremacy to prove. (Hymns #277)
  # But now He’s ris’n, ascended, crowned, / On the throne! On the throne! / Heav’n’s highest place for Him is found, / On the throne! On the throne! / Our hearts we low in worship bow, / And join, as one, to hail Him now: / “Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou!” / On the throne! On the throne! (Hymns #103)
  # Lo! a man is now in heaven / As the Lord of all enthroned; / This is Jesus Christ our Savior, / With God’s glory ever crowned! (Hymns #132)