The Heavenly Enthronement of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Having just celebrated Easter, most Christians and churches overlook the next significant event in the redemptive work of God, that being Ascension Day. This comes 40 days after Easter. Just as Easter is always Sunday, so Ascension Day is always Thursday (May 9, 2024). Theologically, the ascension and enthronement of Christ is huge. The ancients knew it and confessed; Christ ascended into heaven where he was enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords. But this vital doctrine is overlooked and neglected in our day.

The home going of Jesus that theologians refer to as the ascension and heavenly session of Christ is a mostly ignored truth by Christians as a whole. One finds a vast amount of material on the First and Second advents of Jesus, on the cross and resurrection, but very little material on the ascension and current enthronement and rule of Jesus.

The enthronement did not mean that Jesus replaced God on the throne but rather that He co-reigns with Him in Heaven in the most significant position "at the right hand of the Majesty on high".

This was instituted by means of two pronouncements of the Father found in Psalm 110:

110:1, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." This institutes Jesus as King over the nations and over the earth and the course of human history.

110:4, "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." This establishes Him as an eternal High Priest with authority over the heavenly realities and the salvation and redemption of all creation.

Let’s explore more biblical revelation of this oft ignored subject and discover some of the “NOW” dimensions of it.

The Heavenly Enthronement of Jesus was the Actual Culmination of His Earthly Ministry and the Official Coronation for His Successful Mission - Acts 2:33-36

What Peter proclaimed must have shocked his Jewish audience to the core of their being. The Messiah of whom David prophesied was the despised, lowly Nazarene, named Jesus! God had raised Him from among the dead, as the apostles could all testify because they were eyewitnesses to His resurrection. Following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God, (the place of supreme authority) and now the Holy Spirit had been sent as promised by the Father. This was the explanation of what had happened in Jerusalem early that morning at 9AM.

Once again, in 2:36, Peter makes the announcement that comes crashing down upon the Jewish people. GOD HAS MADE BOTH LORD AND CHRIST - THIS JESUS WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED (Greek word order). As Bengel said, “The sting of the speech is put at the end” - THIS JESUS, whom you crucified. They had crucified God's Anointed One, and the coming of the Holy Spirit was evidence that Jesus had been exalted in heaven (see John 7:39).

Jesus is frequently depicted as being seated at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34; Matt. 22:44; Matt. 26:64; Luke 22:69; Eph.1:20; Cols. 3:1; Hebs.1:3; Hebs.8:1; Hebs.10:11-12; Hebs.12:2).

This enthronement was a reward for His obedience, suffering and death on the cross and resulted in Him being given "the name that is above every other name" (Philippians 2:5-11) and becoming King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with all authority in Heaven and on earth being given to Him. (Matthew 28:18, 1 Timothy 6:15). It also results in His kingship over the nations (Matthew 25:31-33) and His high priestly ministry for believers (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 8:1)

The Ascension of Jesus was the Legal Subjugation of His Enemies and the Continual Elimination of Them by Conversion or Judgment

Colossians 2:15, declares that “when He (Jesus) had spoiled, disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them.”

Ephesians 4:8, declares that when, “... he ascended upon high and led captivity captive.”

We read in Mark 16:19, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”

Two of the most important events in the ministry of our Lord are covered in this short sentence. First, Mark recounts the ascension of Jesus. After several weeks of interactions with His disciples, Jesus was taken up to heaven for His coronation, fulfilling a prophecy of Daniel:

"I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." (Dan. 7:13-14)

Second, we see the session of Jesus, His reign in power at the right hand of the Father. This ministry flows out of His ascension and coronation. He is reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords, governing every event in this world, so that there are no maverick molecules. (RC Sproul)

The ascension and exaltation of Jesus assures us the world is not being run by a bunch of rebellious madmen and that history is not meaningless.

The ascension and exaltation of King Jesus assures us that the problem of evil and suffering has been definitively fixed and is being progressively solved by the conversion of Jesus’ enemies via the gospel or their removal via His present, active and continuous judgment.

The Ascension of Jesus was the Installation of the Priest/King in the Administration of His Heavenly Session

The word session means to be seated. The legal courts of America open with, “Hear ye, hear ye, court is now in session, honorable John Doe presiding.” This means that the court is open for business. Likewise, Jesus, being seated in the place of Supreme authority, isn’t idly waiting for things to go from bad to worse so that He can return to earth and take the reigns of power from all earthly rulers, but declares, “I am in business!” He is in the business of appearing in the presence of God on our behalf; of interceding on our behalf; of running the affairs of the world for the benefit of His Church, and bestowing gifts and ministries upon His people.

The position of our Lord Jesus as Head over all things is grammatically written as a past event in I Corinthians 15:27 with an ongoing progressive element, several other New Testament passages state this plainly.

In Acts 5, Peter hammers home again the exaltation and enthronement of Jesus to the very people who had Him humiliated and killed: (Acts 5:29-32 NKJV) “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Stephen got a glimpse of Jesus in His new role as the enthroned God-man: Acts 7:55-56 NKJV, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" This is a slightly unusual reference as Jesus is seen as "standing" not sitting and some commentators say He was standing to receive the first martyr of the Church.

Hebrews sees the enthronement as a reward for the cross. (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Paul expands on the enthronement as a reward for suffering in Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV), “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Paul sees the enthronement as a demonstration of the mighty resurrection power of God and the authority of Jesus Christ: Ephesians 1:19-23 NKJV, “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Paul also sees the throne as Christ's present position in the heavenly realms: Colossians 3:1 NKJV, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”

For believers the exalted position of their Savior means the assurance of grace: Romans 8:34 NKJV, “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

1 Peter 3:22, “who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. “

We are not awaiting a future time or place when Christ receives a position of supremacy – He has it NOW! Thus, during the present age Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, putting His enemies under His feet, through His properly authorized, Spirit-baptized, great-Commission-going, disciple-making, signs-and-wonders-following-them type people!

King Jesus has entered into His heavenly session – open for business. What is the nature of His business?

1. He is running the affairs of the world for the benefit of His church, and bestowing gifts and ministries upon His people.
2. He is appearing in the presence of God on our behalf and interceding on our behalf.

We have the most powerful King/Priest in the universe looking after our interest in the interest of His Father’s business. To look after the interest of another is the meaning of the word “intercede”. Our High King/Priest Jesus looks after our best interest by appearing before the Father in our nature. The shout of a King among us declares that Jesus loves us and wears our names on His heart and has engraved us upon the palms of His hands and is touched with all the feelings of our infirmities. (Read Heb 4:14-16)

Rom 8:34, “ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Heb 7:25, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Heb 8:1, “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,…”

Heb 10:12-14, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

The Ascension of Jesus was the Formal Termination of the Old Covenant and the Initial Inauguration of the New Covenant

Hebrews 8:6, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. “

1. The Physical Absence of Jesus' Throne doesn’t mean Lack of Presence - but Omni-presence!

Jesus said to His fearful disciples in John 14:18, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

In 14:23, “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

Here’s the mind-blowing truth of the ascension and enthronement of King Jesus: The Word that “became flesh and dwelt among us”; the “Word” which was in the form of God (Phil 2:6) took on the form of man, becoming flesh, and the eternal Word has never divested Himself of that form since the Nazareth conception and the Bethlehem birth. The Scriptures indicate that He never intends to lay aside His humanity which is now glorified by resurrection and ascension.  From the moment of His human conception, He is eternally human. The glory to which He returned in His ascension was that which He had with His Father before the foundation of the world (John 17:24), but something is different.  What is in view here is the exaltation of the God-man. Christ had indeed been at the right hand of God the Father before the incarnation.  But never before had He existed in heaven as the God-man. So, Christ’s condition in heaven now is different in this respect - He is now in heaven as a man. He has dignified our very human nature by taking it as His own nature - and He will keep it forever. He has now brought humanity to glory - not only His humanity, but His humanity as representative of all humanity that will believe in Him.

Hebrews 10:12 says, “This man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”  Let me say it again in concluding this point.  Jesus had a human ministry on earth, and He has a human ministry in heaven.  And He has been in heaven as a human being for 2000 years now! 

We have looked at a few of the Biblical statements, pictures and ideas of the glorious ascension of Jesus to heaven at the end of His brief earthly life.  I pray that we have been enabled by the illumination of the Spirit to see and appreciate this mighty truth.  May God enable us to be “ascension saints,” aware that we have been elevated to sit with Him in heavenly places while fulfilling His purposes on the solid surface of planet earth.  May we see Him ascended, reigning, administering His affairs on earth, and preparing for His return.

Praise God that Jesus is super-exalted above all, and that He has taken us with Him to His throne!  But we must not forget that we are “two-world people.”  While we are already ascended and seated with Him there (Ephesians 2:5), we have an assignment to fulfill here (Acts 1:8).  We will have all eternity to celebrate the victories won while here, but we have only a short time to win them.  Let’s rise up and get to the task!