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|
| 46 Q. |
What do you mean by saying,
"He ascended to heaven"? |
| A. |
That Christ,
while his disciples watched,
was lifted up from the earth to heaven1
and will be there for our good2
until he comes again
to judge the living and the dead.3
1 Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11
2 Rom. 8:34; Eph. 4:8-10; Heb.
7:23-25; 9:24
3 Acts 1:11 |
 |
| 47 Q. |
But isn't Christ with us
until the end of the world
as he promised us?1 |
| A. |
Christ is truly human and truly God.
In his human nature Christ is not now on earth;2
but in his divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit
he is not absent from us for a moment.3
1 Matt. 28:20
2 Acts 1:9-11; 3:19-21
3 Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:16-19 |
|
| 48 Q. |
If his humanity is not present
wherever his divinity is,
then aren't the two natures of Christ
separated from each other? |
| A. |
Certainly not.
Since divinity
is not limited
and is present everywhere,1
it is evident that
Christ's divinity is surely beyond the bounds of
the humanity he has taken on,
but at the same time his divinity is in
and remains personally united to
his humanity.2
1 Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 7:48-49 (Isa. 66:1)
2 John 1:14; 3:13; Col.
2:9 |
|
| 49 Q. |
How does Christ's ascension to heaven
benefit us? |
| A. |
First, he pleads our cause
in heaven
in the presence of his Father.1
Second, we have our own flesh in heaven--
a guarantee that Christ our head
will take us, his members,
to himself in heaven.2
Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth
as a further guarantee.3
By the Spirit's power
we make the goal of our lives,
not earthly things,
but the things above where Christ is,
sitting at God's right hand.4
1 Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1
2 John 14:2; 17:24; Eph.
2:4-6
3 John 14:16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5
4 Col. 3:1-4 |
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