The Spirit and Gospel-Centeredness: A Consideration of the Ascension, Spirit-Filling, and Gospel-Centered Living

As I mentioned in a recent post, the ascension of Christ should receive much more air-time than it currently does. Though ascension was separated chronologically from the resurrection by 40 days, we must be careful not to separate it theologically (Romans 8:34). Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand was the inevitable and necessary consequence of his resurrection. It signifies Christ’s defeat of death and the powers of evil, the inauguration of his heavenly priestly ministry, and the Father’s full acceptance of him, his work, and all who died with him, were buried with him, and were raised with him (see Charles H. H. Scobie, The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology 457) (Colossians 2-3). Charles Scobie writes:

“The Ascension and session complete the Christ event. They underline forcefully that the resurrection of Jesus was not merely the resuscitation of a corpse. In the cases of Jairus’s daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, and Lazarus, all of whom were raised by Jesus from the dead, we are left to assume that they resumed their normal life here on earth, only to face death again in due course. Jesus’ triumph over death is of a totally different order, though it does guarantee the ultimate resurrection of believers. God not only raised Jesus from the dead; he also took him to be with him in the highest position of power and authority. To believe in Christ’s ascension and session at God’s right hand is therefore to believe that the Christ event is God’s final and decisive act within human history for the salvation of humankind. The ascension and session complete the full NT pattern of preexistence/incarnation/exaltation. Thus, ‘so far from being incredible, the Ascension is an indispensable part of the Christian message, without which that message would not be complete or intelligible’” (Argyle 1955: 241) (The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology 465).

It seems to me that if the gospel would not be complete or intelligible without the ascension of Christ, than his ascension must hold an indispensable place in gospel-centered living. In Colossians 3:1-3, Paul is clear that the ascension and session of Christ is to have a central place in the thinking of gospel-centered people.

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set you minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Gospel-centered people are those who minute by minute set their minds on the Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. Certainly, the ascension of Christ is essential to gospel-centered living.

The ascension is so important to Luke that he closes his Gospel with it (Luke 24:50-51) and refers to it again at the beginning of the book of Acts (Acts 1:9). In both cases, Luke is careful to connect the ascension of Christ with the sending of the Spirit (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8). Throughout Luke’s two-part book (i.e. Luke and Acts) he consistently connects Spirit-filling with gospel-proclamation (e.g. Luke 1:41-15; Luke 1:67-68; Acts 4:8-12; Acts 4:31; Acts 7:55-56). So it seems to me that we should recognize a strong connection between the ascension, the Spirit, and gospel-centered living. If this is true, the question we must ask is this:

Is the connection between the ascension and the Spirit merely one of chronology, that is, is it merely that Christ could not send the Spirit until after his ascension, or is the connection also theological?

Consider how Christ’s ascension and session are connected with the Spirit in Acts 7:55-56. Luke writes:

“But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

It is not incidental that when Stephen saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God he was full of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that causes Stephen to look heavenward to where Christ is, standing at the right hand of the Father (cf. Colossians 3:1-2). Luke uses the same word for Stephen (i.e. gazed) that he used when referring to the Apostles’ heavenward gaze at Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:10). We could say that the Spirit was causing Stephen to set his mind on where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. In Stephen’s time of great need the Spirit was filling him with the experiential knowledge that even as the Father had welcomed the resurrected Christ, so now Christ the Advocate was welcoming him. I. Howard Marshall comments:

“Although Stephen was a man full of the Spirit (Acts 6:5) he experienced a special filling with the Spirit which enabled him to enjoy a heavenly vision” (Acts, 148).

What heavenly vision did Stephen enjoy? He enjoyed the sight of his Advocate, the Son of Man who had been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 28:18), welcoming him into his Father’s presence where there are fullness of joy and pleasures forever more (Psalm 16:11). Consider Tim Keller’s thoughts on Stephen’s experience:

“At the very moment that an earthly court was condemning him, he realized that the heavenly court was commending him. In other words, the ‘fullness’ he experienced was an experience of the gospel. At that moment, he got an extremely vivid, powerful sight of what he already knew intellectually—that in Christ we are beautiful in God’s sight and free from condemnation (Colossians 1:23). But the Spirit took that intellectual concept and electrified his entire soul and mind and heart and imagination with it. At that moment, the verdict there (at the throne of God) became so real and overwhelming to him that the verdict here (in the earthly kangaroo court) became inconsequential. He faced his accusers with not just boldness, but even with a calmness and joy, and forgiveness” (Evangelism: Studies in the Book of Acts).

If you recall, in John 14:16-17 Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.” Jesus tells the disciples that the Spirit is a Helper or Advocate of the same kind that he is for them. Herman Ridderbos writes, “This [Helper] will take Jesus’ place after Jesus’ departure (cf. John 16:7) and in his activity as [Helper] will do nothing other than what Jesus has been doing, except that in doing it he will continue and advance Jesus’ work” (The Gospel of John, 500). In 1 John 2:1, John uses the same word for Helper to refer to Jesus’ work as our Advocate before the Father (“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”). I believe that one of the primary things the Spirit does when he fills us is make the Advocacy of Christ so real to us that we enjoy a contentment and confidence that can not be shaken by adverse circumstances. This was the experience of Stephen when he faced the kangaroo court. The other Advocate (i.e. the Holy Spirit) made Stephen profoundly aware of the active Advocacy of Christ before the Father for him.

What I believe happens in Spirit-filling is that the Spirit essentially does in us what Jesus did for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke 24:32-33 says that Jesus made their hearts burn within them as he opened to them the Scriptures. When the other Advocate, the Spirit of truth, fills us, he gives us a fresh experience of the gospel. He fills our hearts with the beauty of all God has made Jesus to be for us in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to His right hand. And in doing this he gives us a courage and boldness that we would not have otherwise. It is interesting to note that as soon as Jesus departs from those two disciples, they immediately returned to that place which was previously the occasion for lost hope, namely, Jerusalem (Luke 24:33). This is what the Spirit does when he fills us. He causes the truth about Jesus to so fill us that our hearts burn within us and we are filled with a new courage that we would not otherwise have.

When Paul commands the Ephesians to be being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18, he is essentially commanding them to let the word about Christ, that is, the gospel, continually dwell in them richly. And if this is happening in a church, what you will find is a people who, rejoicing in their Advocate with the Father, are empowered for service with great confidence and humility. To the degree that we are aware of who God has made Jesus to be for us, and are aware of His session before the Father as our Advocate, to that degree we will exhibit great love, joy, boldness, and forgiveness. To be filled with the Spirit is to be under the grasp and thrill of the gospel.

Both the ascension and Spirit-filling are essential for gospel-centered living.