THE NECESSITY OF THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT:  Send the Holy Spirit  Become High Priest  Receive Dominion  Prepare Us a Home

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT “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.” (John 16:7)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE “IN” THE APOSTLES “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TEACH THE APOSTLES “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TESTIFY OF JESUS “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CONFIRM THE WORD So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. (Mark 16:19-20) How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO REPROVE THE WORLD “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:8-10)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT BECOME HIGH PRIEST 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, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man...if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since......there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.“ (Hebrews 8:1-5)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT BECOME HIGH PRIEST TO COMPLETE THE ATONEMENT “And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD." (Exodus 30:10) But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:11-12)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT BECOME HIGH PRIEST TO MAKE CONTINUOUS INTERCESSION Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 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. (Hebrews 7:23-25)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE DOMINION “I was watching...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.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE DOMINION OVER A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE DOMINION & BE PRIEST ON HIS THRONE “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!” “He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” (Zechariah 6:12-13)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE DOMINION & REIGN TILL DEATH IS DESTROYED Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT PREPARE US A HOME “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:1-2)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT PREPARE US A HOME AND GIVE US A CONTINUING CITY Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (Hebrews 13:12-14)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT PREPARE US A HOME AND GIVE US A CITY WITH FOUNDATIONS By faith [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God…for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:9-10, 16)

CHRIST ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT PREPARE US A HOME AND GIVE US A HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIP For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

CHRIST DID NOT ASCEND BACK TO HEAVEN AFTER AN ABJECT FAILURE TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSE IN COMING INTO THE WORLD AS IS IMPLIED BY PREMILLENNIALISTS

SUCH AN IDEA IS A REJECTION OF GOD’S MANIFOLD WISDOM! To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

HAVING ACCOMPLISHED HIS PURPOSE IN COMING HE ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN THAT HE MIGHT:  Send the Holy Spirit  Become High Priest  Receive Dominion  Prepare Us a Home