Let all the people on the earth know assuredly that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ (adaptation of Acts 2:36).
In His ascension, Christ was inaugurated by God to be the Lord of all and the Christ of God, and He was given the highest name in the universe – the Lord Jesus Christ! Christ as a Man – the Man-Savior – in His ascension was made the Lord of all to possess all, and He was made God’s anointed, the Christ, to carry out God’s commission.
Just as a president is elected first and then inaugurated into his office (from which point he starts to rule), so the Lord in His resurrection was “elected” by God (God had approved His Person and Work by raising Him from the dead) and in His ascension, He was “inaugurated” by God to be the Lord and the Christ!
When we as believers organically joined to Christ in spirit see such a Christ in ascension, we are filled with joy and praise! How excellent is His name in all the earth! Let every people, tribe and tongue proclaim its wondrous worth! What a glorious, majestic, and awesome Christ!
And now we are joined to Him in spirit, which means that when we exercise our spirit to be one with Him, we enjoy not only His life and power (in His resurrection) but also His authority! Christ was given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:19), and He has been exalted to the highest place, being made Lord of all – now He is Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22). Hallelujah, in spirit one with the Lord we enjoy and share His life, His power, and His authority!
In His Ascension Jesus was Inaugurated as the Lord of All
The word “inaugurated” is not in the Bible, but the fact that the Lord Jesus was inaugurated by God in His ascension to be the Lord of all is there (see Acts 2:36). In His ascension, God inaugurated Christ into His heavenly ministry to be the Lord of all, making Him both Lord and Christ.
The Lord Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man, putting on human flesh, and even dying on the cross. But God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name that is named on earth, in heavens, or anywhere else: the Lord Jesus (see Phil. 2:9-11)!
In the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will openly confess that Jesus Christ Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father!
Jesus Christ, the ascended One, is the highest in the universe and the Lord of all – He possesses the whole universe, God’s chosen people, and all positive things, matters, and persons. Christ is the Lord of all, over all, including over all the angels, the people of the past/present/future, and in the new heaven and the new earth.
He has no competition. There is no other name higher than the name of Jesus. We as believers in Christ are joined to such a One, we are saved in His name, and we should never be ashamed of the name of Jesus! We exalt no other name but the name of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of all! How excellent is His name in all the earth!
He was made a little inferior to the angels to be a mortal man, but He was crowned by God with glory and honor, and He was made Lord of all to rule over all the works of His hands! All things were put under His feet – animals, birds, fish, angels, demons, Satan, man, and everything and everyone else (see Psa. 8). Hallelujah for the Lord Jesus Christ!
In His Ascension Jesus was Made the Christ, God’s Anointed
From His birth, the Lord Jesus was the Christ of God, the anointed and appointed One to accomplish God’s plan. But even more, in His ascension, Jesus as the Man-Savior was made Christ as God’s Anointed to carry out God’s commission. God has anointed Him with the oil of exultant joy above any of His partners (Heb. 1:9).
On the one hand Jesus is the Lord of all to possess all, and on the other hand, He is the Christ to carry out God’s economy. As such a Christ He is dispensing all that God is and all that Christ has accomplished into His chosen and redeemed people for their renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification.
As the Christ of God in ascension, He is Head over all things to the church, constantly transmitting all He is and has accomplished into every member of His Body to cause them to grow in life and be built up in His life.
As the Christ of God, He is anointed by God and appointed by Him to accomplish God’s economy to make man the same as God is in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead. The Lord Jesus is the Christ of God, very busy in His heavenly ministry, accomplishing God’s plan to save man to the uttermost and gain a corporate expression of God in humanity.
Hallelujah for such a Christ, the Head of the Body, to whom we are organically joined and from whom we constantly receive the divine dispensing!
We are Now One with Christ in His Resurrection and Ascension
When we read the many accomplishments and attainments of Christ in His resurrection and ascension, we may praise the Lord for all that He is, but at the same time we may ask, This is wonderful about the Lord, but what about me? What does this have to do with me?
Leaving aside the “me, me, me” part, we need to see that the Lord Jesus right now is the Spirit with our spirit, organically joined to us as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). The Christ in us is not only in resurrection – infusing His divine life in us and strengthening us with His resurrection power – but also in ascension – He has authority over everything.
Christ lives in us as life and power, and He dwells upon us as authority. We were dead in our sins and offenses, but God made us alive together with Christ, He raised us up with Him, and He seated us with Him in the heavenlies. Now we are in Christ and Christ is in us, and we have His divine life and power in resurrection, and we have His authority in ascension.
If we realize that we are now one with Christ in His ascension, our prayers will be stronger and more bold in our oneness with Him so that He may move in an unhindered way! We will simply praise the Lord! No matter what our level of growth in life is, when we realize we are one with the ascended Christ, we will praise Him – and the enemy will be stopped!
The more we know Christ in ascension, the more we will praise and exalt Him, and the more the enemy will be stopped! We need to know Christ as God, man, Creator, creature, Lord of all, king of kings, crowned with glory and honor, and the Christ of God – and we will be overcome with joy!
We will then simply praise Him and be one with Him to pray the prayers He needs to stop the enemy, still him, and swiftly end his days! Hallelujah for our Lord Jesus Christ!
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! Let every people, tribe, and tongue, declare its wondrous worth! Lord Jesus, today we want to take the lead to PRAISE YOU! You were made both Lord and Christ by God in Your ascension! Hallelujah! We are now one with You, joined in spirit to enjoy and partake of everything You have accomplished and attained. We praise You, Lord! In our spirit one with You we want to pray the prayers You need to stop Your enemy and end his days. Pray in us the prayers that will bring in Your kingdom! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration (besides the Word of God and my Christian experience): bro. Dick Taylor’s speaking in this message and portions from, Life-study of Luke (msg. 77), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 3 / msg 3, The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (2) – Knowing the Ascension.
- Further reading: recommending ch. 9 in, The Wonderful Christ in the Canon of the New Testament (W. Lee), and footnote 1 in Acts 2:36.
- Hymns on this topic:
# O Lord, our Lord, how excellent / Thy name in all the earth! / Let every people, tribe, and tongue / Proclaim its boundless worth. / Out of the mouth of little ones / Thou hast established praise, / That Thou may still Thine enemy / And swiftly end his days.
# Lord, Thou art God’s anointed, / Thou art of kings the King! / Here in full adoration / Our song to Thee we bring! / Thy kingdom is forever, / Established is Thy throne! / Thy reign with love and justice / In glory stands alone!
# Lord Jesus, Thou art Lord of all, / With glory ever crowned; / In power and in majesty / Thou art to all renowned.
# 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.