Ephesians 1:15-23
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (ESV)
Enthroned With Him
Friday of Easter 6
14 May 2010
Our flesh is enthroned in the highest heights of heaven. Of this the Ascension of our Lord assures us. The God-Man, Christ our Lord takes our human nature to its rightful place: into the throne room and presence of God our Father. There perfect fellowship between God and man is restored. If our nature has been so enthroned and fellowship perfectly restored, what would keep us from inheriting our heavenly home? For what our Lord has accomplished He has accomplished for us, who share with Him human nature. Leo the Great (d. 461) gave this great insight to the Christians of his time in his preaching on the Ascension.
Leo the Great
"The subject of our present gladness is His ascension, as we commemorate and duly venerate that day on which the nature of our humility in Christ was raised above all the host of heaven, over all the ranks of angels, beyond the height of all powers, to sit with God the Father. On which providential order of events we are founded and built up, that God's grace might become more wondrous, when, notwithstanding the removal from men's sight of what was rightly felt to command their awe, faith did not fail, hope did not waver, love did not grow cold. For it is the strength of great minds and the light of firmly faithful souls, unhesitatingly to believe what is not seen with the bodily sight and there to fix one's affections to where you cannot direct your gaze. And how should this godliness spring up in our hearts, or how should a man be justified by faith, if our salvation rested only on those things which lie before our eyes? Therefore our Lord said to him who seemed to doubt of Christ's resurrection, until he had tested by sight and touched the marks of His suffering in His very flesh, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed' (Jn 20:29)."
Prayer
Lord Christ, You have promised me that You have gone to prepare a place for me, that I may be where You are, let me rejoice at the enthronement of my human nature at the right hand of the Father, that I may live out my days in a sure confidence of the resurrection of my flesh and translation to my heavenly home. Amen.
For God's people that they would acknowledge that Christ alone is true God, and thus faithfully keep the first commandment in both confession and deed
For our troops in Iraq and for the people of Iraq that they might keep the peace and live out their lives in the safety of civil liberty
For our district president, Ken Henning, that God would give him strength of body and faithfulness of confession
Art: GRUNEWALD, Matthias Resurrection 1515