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Lord's Day 18

Topics: Ascension, Judgment Day, Holy Spirit

46. Q.

What do you confess when you say,
he ascended into heaven?
A.
That Christ,
before the eyes of his disciples,
was taken up from the earth into heaven, 1
and that he is there for our benefit 2
until he comes again
to judge the living and the dead. 3
  • 1. Mk 16:19; Lk 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9-11.
  • 2. Rom 8:34; Heb 4:14; 7:23-25; 9:24.
  • 3. Mt 24:30; Acts 1:11.
47. Q.

Is Christ, then, not with us
until the end of the world,
as he has promised us?
A.
Christ is true man and true God.
With respect to his human nature
he is no longer on earth, 2
but with respect to
his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit
he is never absent from us. 3
  • 1. Mt 28:20.
  • 2. Mt 26:11; Jn 16:28; 17:11; Acts 3:19-21; Heb 8:4.
  • 3. Mt 28:18-20; Jn 14:16-19; 16:13.
48. Q.

But are the two natures in Christ
not separated from each other
if his human nature is not present
wherever his divinity is?
A.
Not at all,
for his divinity has no limits
and is present everywhere. 1
So it must follow that his divinity
is indeed beyond the human nature
which he has taken on
and nevertheless is within this human nature
and remains personally united with it. 2
  • 1. Jer 23:23, 24; Acts 7:48, 49.
  • 2. Jn 1:14; 3:13; Col 2:9.
49. Q.

How does Christ's ascension into heaven benefit us?
A.
First,
he is our Advocate in heaven
before his Father. 1
Second,
we have our flesh in heaven
as a sure pledge that he, our Head,
will also take us, his members,
up to himself. 2
Third,
he sends us his Spirit as a counter-pledge, 3
by whose power we seek
the things that are above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God,
and not the things that are on earth. 4
  • 1. Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1.
  • 2. Jn 14:2; 17:24; Eph 2:4-6.
  • 3. Jn 14:16; Acts 2:33; 2 Cor 1:21, 22; 5:5.
  • 4. Col 3:1-4.
Copyright 2010, Standing Committee for the Publication of the Book of Praise of the Canadian Reformed Churches.
Used by permission.
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