Applying the Gospel

The proclamation, “he ascended into heaven,” is the glorious counterpart to the utter humiliation of Christ proclaimed in the earlier phrase, “he descended into hell.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ was not complete with his death and bodily resurrection. The mission of God the Son was to restore humanity to its divinely intended place in God’s presence, to exalt and to glorify humanity. He was triumphant in this mission upon his ascension. “It was God who went into the far country, and it was man who came home” (Barth). Our “deification” happened when Jesus carried our restored/perfected/resurrection humanity into God’s presence, never to be cast out again. As the Ascended Man he is the Eschaton Man, the Omega Man, the Man who has gone where humanity was always destined by the will of God to go. And he is our Man, our Vicar, our Representative. He went to prepare a place for us (John 14:3), because he wants us to be with him where he is (John 17:24). In his ascension we have been glorified (Romans 8:30). “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

“He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). “This Jesus” (Acts 1:11)—the Ascended Jesus—is the very same Jesus we see in the Gospels (Hebrews 13:8). He remains the humble, loving Servant-Lord. He remains Immanuel, “God with us,” even after his physical departure. Jesus didn’t just ascend into the heaven of God’s creation, but beyond it, to Glory, to the eternal dwelling place of God, to the divine heart of all reality, so that he could be present to all reality. Therefore, his ascension should not be seen as a loss of his presence, but as the super-cosmic universalization of the Gospel, that God is with our humanity and our humanity is with God, forever.

Does your understanding of the Gospel include the Ascension? How does it factor in to your evangelism? How does the Ascension change your view of God? Of the world? Of yourself? What hints are there in the Old Testament that humanity’s ascension was God’s plan all along?

Jesus was raised from the dead bodily on the third day following his death, according to the Hebrews’ inclusive manner of counting time. That is, he died on a Friday and was raised on Sunday (the first day of the week). Friday, Saturday, Sunday: the third day is Sunday. Jesus taught several times from the Hebrew Scriptures (our “Old Testament”) the necessity not only of his death for our salvation, but also of his resurrection—and that specifically on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 18:31-33; 24:46). Jesus believed that someone who understood the Scriptures would conclude that the Messiah’s resurrection would necessarily take place on the third day. Paul also maintained the Scripturality of the third day resurrection as being of primary importance in the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:4). This assertion might puzzle someone searching the Old Testament for a simple, declarative, propositional statement on the matter.

We must learn to read the Old Testament as Jesus and Paul read it. From the beginning, the Scriptures have portrayed creation as containing within itself the “seed” of new creation that comes through death and resurrection. On the Third Day of creation (Genesis 1:9-13), God created “plants yielding seeds” (Heb., zera) and “trees bearing fruit in which is their seed” (v. 12, emphasis added). Seed plants are “resurrection” plants; new life is created as the seed falls to the ground and dies (John 12:24). It is a pattern, a paradigm, a principle of God’s creation—life, death, resurrection—that we have codified on the Third Day through the idea of the seed. On the Sixth Day, man—uniquely among all living creatures—is given this spiritually significant Third Day food to eat: seed-fruit plants, resurrection food to give life to our bodies as we take it in to ourselves. Then, in Genesis 3, after the fruit rebellion, God promised that the seed (zera) of the woman would deliver humanity from the power of the serpent, which is death (Hebrews 2:14). The implication is that the Savior would bring new life to a world under the rule of death through the Third Day seed-fruit process—through his own death and resurrection.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is no one’s opinion, but a decisive, historical, public event (Acts 26:23, 26; 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). As the seed of the woman, the firstborn of the dead (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), Jesus is the firstfruits of the new creation (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). He is the proof of God’s good intentions toward humanity, the fulfillment of all God’s promises. He is how humanity is supposed to be, immortal and glorified in body and soul, resting in his victory over all God’s and our enemies. Our humanity has been made right in his resurrection (Romans 4:25). The resurrection of Jesus Christ has always been God’s plan for the renewal of the world. And his resurrection is paradigmatic of God’s power (Ephesians 1:18-20). Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have permission to see that God’s resurrection power is always at work among us and on our behalf, even when—perhaps especially when—circumstances appear most dire and bleak. God specializes in resurrection, as seen most clearly in his Son Jesus Christ. His resurrection changes the meaning of everything in the world, a fact we celebrate as we gather weekly for Worship on the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10). He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Can you believe that Jesus rose bodily from the dead? Don’t you want to believe it? How does this essential tenet of the Christian faith rank among your personal core beliefs about God, salvation, and reality? When do you most need to remember Christ’s resurrection? What are some of the real ramifications of Christ’s resurrection? What are some of the implications of your believing Christ’s resurrection? Do you see the resurrection as a central element of the proclamation of the Gospel? Of your personal evangelism or encouragement of other believers?

In Genesis 9, after the flood-judgment, God makes covenant promises to Noah, and to the living creatures of the new world that has been delivered through the judgment. “God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth'” (Genesis 9:12-13).

In Hosea 2, God speaks of the coming war-judgment on Israel, and of the promises he will make to his people and living creatures. These promises are reminiscent of those he made to Noah after the flood-judgment. “I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety” (Hosea 2:18). So, there are several parallels:

Flood-judgment // War-judgment

Covenant with Noah & creatures // Covenant with Israel & creatures

Bow hung in the cloud // Bow (& other weapons) broken

In the rainbow—the war bow hung up in the cloud—we have a vivid picture of God’s promise to make war against war itself, to bring everlasting peace and security to the whole world. This is something we have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have peace with God and with each other in the church because Jesus has removed our enmity through his sacrifice of love. And we have the promise of perfect peace in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Interestingly, it’s most common to see not a full bow in the clouds, but a partial rainbow. This is a better visual symbol of God’s promise to “break the bow,” to bring an end to all our warfare with God and each other. The rare complete rainbow is a sight to see. But, ordinarily, the bow we see is broken. As it should be.

This phrase of the Apostles’ Creed may be the most inscrutable. Christians in different traditions have understood it differently. It is unlikely that it refers to a point chronologically after Jesus’ bodily death and burial, a point at which his soul “went down” to a tormented netherworld, some metaspatial hinterland where his spiritual sufferings continued for a time until his resurrection. Remember, he promised the thief on the cross next to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). And with his last breath he committed his spirit into his Father’s hands (Luke 23:46). Apparently Jesus believed that, as his earthly life expired, he would be received by God his Father in heaven without a stopover in hell. The credal reference to his descent into hell, then, speaks to the nature of what he suffered on the cross. We often summarize the Gospel this way: “Jesus died to save us from our sins.” His descent into hell is how he did that. We understand it to be a soteriological statement; on the cross, Jesus suffered the holy wrath of God for the sins of his people.

This doesn’t make the event itself any less inscrutable, though. What does it mean, that Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18)? What exactly happened, and how did it “work”? Heaven and hell are “places” (real, but surpassing our comprehension) defined primarily by relationship to God. God is present in both places—otherwise, they would not maintain their existence. Being in heaven means being with God in mutual love. Being in hell means being in God’s presence, but without him, not in mutual love. So the sinless Jesus Christ suffered the relational chasm from God that we in our sins deserve. On the cross—in our stead, on our behalf, for our sake—Jesus went to the impossible place of being absolutely cut off from God in God’s holy presence. He experienced God’s presence as hell so that we might experience God’s presence as heaven. He went alone into “the outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13), into “the unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:48). “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isaiah 53:4-5). Somehow, we find our reconciliation to God in his descent into hell.

Have you thought about heaven and hell in relational terms before? Why do our sins deserve hell? How could it be possible that Jesus would suffer relational separation from God? Does this mean the temporary disintegration of the Trinity? How could it be possible that his suffering hell for us would result in our enjoying heaven? Why does our salvation “work” this way? Did it have to be this way? Does any of this bother you? Whose idea was all this? What are some other biblical passages that talk about Christ’s suffering on the cross in terms of our redemption or atonement or salvation? Are you even interested in any of this?

This is based on the Decalogue (the “Ten Commandments,” found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). It is not entirely original—it was inspired by a similar version used in a Worship service of the Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the PCA. In fact, I really can’t remember how much of it I borrowed and how much I wrote! Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

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O Lord, we have loved other gods before you and have become their servants. We have not worshiped you in spirit and in truth. We have brought insult upon your reputation. We have not trusted you to give us rest. We have not honored others as they deserve. We have hated our neighbors. Our desires are all distorted and misplaced. We have taken for ourselves what did not belong to us. We have lied, slandered, and gossiped. We have coveted the good blessings you gave to others. O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have not kept your law. Forgive us for the sake of your Son, our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

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Holy One, we confess that we are unholy. We have taken the side of your Enemy and believed his lies rather than your Word. At a deep level we are suspicious of your goodness and authority. We revel in your gifts but do not delight in you. We are ungrateful and deluded in our pretended autonomy. You are Love, but we love ourselves and hate you. We sin. Clearly we do not deserve your forgiveness, but we are bold to ask for it because of your Son, Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us. Please, Father, assure us of your love through the Gospel of your Son, purge our sins through the cleansing fire of your Holy Spirit, and crush the devil’s power. We ask in the name of Jesus and according to his will. Amen.

“Crucified means rejected… Death is the end of all present possibilities of life… In the grave [man] drops into forgottenness” (Barth). This describes the fate that humanity has chosen for itself in choosing sin, choosing rebellion against the Creator, choosing the distortion of the created nature. And it describes the fate that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, took upon himself in our stead, to fulfill righteousness and to reconcile us to God for eternal life. The prolonged torment of crucifixion was “the most cruel and disgusting punishment” (Cicero). Once you were on the cross, the only remaining comfort was death—which is no comfort. Jesus gave himself to suffer the most violent hostility. The cross of Christ is the picture of our conflict with God, the showcase of our kind of power… and now it is the symbol of our peace with God, the showcase of God’s kind of power, because through it God has killed our sin and death. Jesus became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), he became our curse (Galatians 3:13), and as such he died, according to God’s plan.

This is the glorious power of God because it is the shape of his love. Jesus didn’t put his divine glory on pause while he was crucified, dead, and buried; the “hour” of his cross was the hour of his glory (John 12:23; 17:1). The God-man was willing to endure death for us. His freedom to love us like this is identical to his power. The cross is the ultimate exercise of Christ’s authority, which is an authority to give himself for the sake of those who would usurp God’s authority and distort his power in their self-exaltation. Christ died to give life to those who killed him, and in this he is glorified.

Are you able to trust in and give thanks for Jesus’ death on your behalf? How do you feel about God’s love being cruciform in shape? Is the Father’s love for the Son visible in the cross, or is this just divine child abuse? What does Jesus mean when he says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23)? Is the Father’s love for you as his adopted child visible in the cross you’re called to bear? How does this vision of God’s love shape your own love? Are there people in your life who do not receive the love of God through the cross of Christ? Can you imagine what their particular reservations might be?

Why is there a reference to Pilate (of all people!) in our creed? This is a statement of essential beliefs about God, isn’t it? Pilate was a traitorous, manipulative, self-seeking, power-hungry, cowardly, political figure. In other words, he’s one of us. He imagines himself to be what the first Adam wanted to be: the self-made master of his domain, the judge of God himself. In this he represents the old humanity. We all share that nature, and he acted on our behalf with regard to Jesus Christ. His historical actions as a public representative have profound spiritual significance.

Jesus suffered under Pilate. He suffered false accusations, the destruction of his reputation, public humiliation, unjust punishment, and mindless cruelty under Pilate’s power. He was willing to do that. The Son of God condescended to submit to the corrupt authority of Adam’s race as exercised by Pilate, even to death. He suffered under us; the True King suffered under would-be usurpers. And the beauty of it is that he suffered for us. His suffering perfected him as our Savior (Hebrews 2:10). His suffering reveals a God who is willing to take the pain of hostility in order to remove the hostility, to let our rebellion wash over him so that he could raise us to his right hand in glory. He didn’t set aside his divine authority in order to suffer under our corrupt authority; his suffering revealed precisely the shape of his divine authority as the authority to lay down his life for the sake of love (John 10:17-18). In his submission Jesus’ new humanity opposes the old, imperious humanity, and “loses.” But, actually, the victory belongs to him, because his is the true humanity in God’s image, and our old humanity stands self-condemned for having opposed him.

Do you think political leaders only represent us in remote, limited, administrative ways, or in more comprehensive, spiritually-significant ways? How do you feel about Pilate representing you? How do you feel about current political leaders representing you? Do you believe that Jesus, in his new humanity, represents you? What does that mean? What does it mean to live as a citizen of his Kingdom? What does it mean to exercise authority like his? What does it mean to stand in opposition to the old humanity through our solidarity in Christ’s new humanity?

Why was Jesus born of a virgin? Is that how he could remain sinless? Does it make him a magical demigod? Actually, it goes all the way back to the beginning of the Bible, to the first promise of the Gospel. After Adam and his wife sinned, God made a threat-promise to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed] and her offspring [seed]; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). God would be the one to wrench humanity back from the devil’s dominion, and he would do so through the seed of the woman. This is an enigmatic way of talking about a future champion. Women don’t have “seed,” men do. Ordinarily we’d expect the man’s offspring to be the object of such a prophecy. The Bible is full of lists of “this man” begetting “that man,” but man could not bring his own salvation into the world. God would do something unconventional to show his will and power to save.

And Jesus wasn’t just born of any virgin, but of Mary, in the house and city of David. Among God’s many gracious promises was the fantastic one made to David concerning his descendant: “I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Jesus is unique, but he is truly human; he shares our nature. And he is the great King of Israel whose rule and deliverance extends to all nations. The King of kings is one of us! His kingdom is for people like us! It is customary for nations to commemorate the reigns of kings and dynasties; now the whole earth measures time according to the rule of our brother, Jesus Christ (Anno Domini, “The Year of the Lord”). Two thousand Years of Jubilee, two millennia of the rule of the promised seed of the woman is a good start to his eternal dominion!

Why do you suppose it is so difficult for us to hold together the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus? According to the Scriptures, why must the Messiah be truly both? How does the unique-yet-shared humanity of Jesus encourage you? In what ways are you prone to forget its importance? Do you feel like the Virgin Birth is an odd doctrine for which you must make apologies, or Good News you celebrate and share with others?