11. Christ's Ascension and Ours

Christ’s Ascension and Ours I ascend.’

I ascend to the Father, and to my Father and your Father too. Now I have quitted myself of death, and sin imputed to me as a surety, and I am going to heaven to make an end of all there: ’I ascend to God, to my God and to your God.’ We have all one common Father, and one common God.

First, For his ascension. He did not yet ascend. Why then doth he speak for the present? ’I ascend;’ that is, I am shortly so to do. And it was in his mind, it was certainly so to be; and therefore he speaks of it in present. It is the phrase of faith, to speak of things to come as if they were present. Faith makes them so to the soul, for it looketh on the word and all things as they are in that Word, who will make good whatsoever he saith. And therefore it is the evidence of things that are not yet, yet they he evident to a faithful soul. If we, could learn this aright, to make things to come present, what kind of people should we be! Could we think of our resurrection and ascension and glory to come as present, they would be present to our faith; the things present, or sense, could not withdraw us. If we could set hell before us, could the pleasures of hell bewitch us? If the time to come were present, could anything in the world withdraw us? It could not be. And therefore it is an excellent skill of faith to set things to come before us as present.

He ascendeth. He implieth that he was risen. That was past, and therefore he nameth it not. All Christ’s mind was on ascending. Those that are risen together with Christ, their mind is all on ascension, all on heaven. And this is one main reason, because where anything is imperfect, there the spirit resteth not till it attaineth to that perfection that it is destinated unto. When anything hath a proper element and place where it must rest, it resteth not till it be in its own proper place and element. The perfection of the soul is in heaven, to see Christ face to face, and God in Christ. Heaven is the element of a Christian. It is his proper region. He is never well till there; and there is his rest, his solace and contentment, and there all his desires are satiated to the utmost. Till we be in heaven, we be under desires; for we be under imperfections. All the while we are in imperfections we are in an uncomfortable estate; and while we be so, we are not as we should be. And therefore wheresoever any are partakers of Christ’s resurrection, they mind the ascension as present. Where any grace is, there the thoughts are for heaven presently.

Let us take a scanting of our dispositions from hence. There be many that think it good to be here always; they never think of ascending. If they could live here always, they would with all their hearts, but it is not so with a Christian. It is his desire to be where his happiness, his Saviour, his God and Father is, where his country and inheritance is, and therefore he mindeth ascension and things to come. When anything is done, he thinks that what is done is not yet enough. As your great conquerors in the world, they forget what they have conquered, and remember what they have yet to do; so Christ, having got conquest over death, he thinks now of ascension, to conquer in the eyes of all; for it is not enough to conquer in the field, but he will conquer in the city; he will conquer to heaven, and make show of his conquest. I ascend to lead captivity captive, ’to make a show,’ as it is expressed, Col 2:15. While anything is to do or receive, our souls should not be satisfied, but still stretched out to desire further and further still, more and more still, till we be there where our souls shall be filled to the uttermost; and there is no place of further desire, as heaven is the place to satiate, and fill all the corners of the soul.

Quest. But how shall we know whether we be risen with Christ or no?

Resol. Partly we may know it by our former courses. Christ when he was risen, all the clothes were laid together in the grave. He left them behind, and rose with an earthquake. There was a commotion; and after his resurrection he minded heaven. So if ye be risen with Christ, your former vile courses lie in the grave; your oaths are gone; profaneness and wickedness of life gone. Tell you me, you are risen, while you carry the bonds of your sins about you? You profane, wretched, swearing, ungodly persons, filthy speakers, that have an heart more filthy, vile in body and soul, can they have any part in Christ? Where is that that bound you before? You carry it about still. Therefore you be in the bonds of the devil; you be in the grave of sin; there is no rising. Resurrection is with commotion. There was an earthquake when Christ arose; and there is an heartquake when the soul riseth. Can the soul rise from sin without commotion? In the inward man there will* be division between flesh and spirit, without any ado at all? And therefore they that find nothing to do in their spirits, where is their rising again? But that which is proper to the occasion in hand is the third. Where grace is begun, there will be an inward proceeding and ascending with Christ. How shall I know therefore whether I ascend?

1. First, By minding things above. The apostle telleth us directly, Col 3:1, ’Mind things above,’ be heavenly-minded in some sort, live the life that Christ did, after his resurrection. All his discourse was, after his resurrection, of the kingdom of heaven, and his mind was on the place whither he was to go; and so a true Christian indeed, that is truly risen, his thoughts and discourse is, when he is himself, heavenly. Other things he useth as if he did not; as while we be in the world, we must deal with worldly things; but we must deal with them as that which is not our proper element, 1Co 7:37, ’They used the world, as if they used it not; and they married, as if they did not; for they knew the fashion of this world passeth away.’ And therefore they that affect earthly glory, carnal affections and delights, they cannot think of these things with any comfort. They be moles which grovel in the earth. Some make a profession, and they ascend higher as kites do, but they look low; they make high professions, but their aims are low. The true eagles that ascend to Christ, as they ascend, so they look upward and upward still. They do not mind things below; they do not take a high pitch, and still continue earthly-minded; but they look high, as well as ascend high. Therefore let us not deceive ourselves.

2. Yet more particularly, those that ascend with Christ, they that are in heaven and they that are on earth do the same things, though in different degrees and measure. What do they in heaven? There they meddle not with defilements of the world; and so, though a Christian be on earth, he defileth himself not with the world, or ill company. He will converse with them, but not defile himself with them. They that be in heaven are praising God, and so be they much in praising of God here. They that be in heaven love to see the face of God, they joy in it. And they that be heavenly-minded here joy in the presence of God, in the word, the sacraments, and his children. If they be ascended in any degree and measure, this they will do. And then they will joy in communion with God all they can, as they do in heaven. You have some carnal dispositions that are never themselves but in carnal company like themselves. If ever we mean to be in heaven, we must joy in heaven on earth; that is, in them that be heavenly in their dispositions. If we cannot endure them here, how shall we ever live with them in heaven?

What was Christ to ascend for? What is the end of his ascension? The end of his ascension was to take possession of heaven in his body, which had never been there before?

1. And he was to take possession of heaven in his body for his church; that is, his mystical body. So he ascended to heaven, carried his blessed body that he took in the virgin’s womb with him.

2. And likewise he ascended to heaven, to take up heaven in behalf of his spouse, his church; as the husband takes up land in another country in behalf of his wife, therefore he did ascend.

3. And likewise he ascended to leave his Spirit, that he might send the Comforter. He taketh away himself, that was the great Comforter, while he was below. He was the bridegroom; and while the bridegroom was present, they had not such a measure of the Spirit. Christ’s presence supplied all. But Christ ascended to heaven that his departure from them might not be prejudicial to them, but that they might have comfort through the God of comfort, the Spirit of comfort, the Holy Ghost: ’I will send the Comforter,’ John 14:16, seq. And though there was no loss by the ascension of Christ, they might fear by losing of Christ that all their comfort was gone. Ay, but Christ telleth them, ’I go to prepare a place for you.’ He goeth to take up heaven for his church, and then to send his Spirit. What a blessed intercourse is there now, since Christ’s ascension, between heaven and earth! Our body is in heaven, and the Spirit of God is here on earth. The flesh that he hath taken into heaven is a pledge that all our flesh and bodies shall be where he is ere long. In the mean time, we have the Spirit to comfort us, and never to leave us till we be brought to the place where Christ is. This is great comfort, and this is the main end why Christ ascended to the Father, that he might send the Comforter. And comfort might well come now in more abundance than before, because by the death of Christ all enemies were conquered, and by the resurrection of Christ it was discovered that God was appeased. The resurrection of Christ manifested to the world what was done by death; and now, all enemies being conquered, and God being appeased, what remains but the sweetest gift next to Christ, the Holy Ghost? And that is the reason why the Holy Ghost was more abundant after Christ’s resurrection, because God was fully satisfied, and declared by the rising of Christ to be fully satisfied, and all enemies to be conquered.

4. One end likewise of his resurrection was ’to make a show of his conquest.’ There is a double victory over the enemy. There is a victory in the field, and triumph together with it. And then there is triumphing in civitate regia, a triumphing in the kingly city. So Christ did conquer in his death, and shewed his conquest by resurrection; but he did not lead captivity captive and make show thereof till he ascended; and then he made open show of his victorious triumph in civitate regia.

5. One special end, likewise, why he would have this message sent, that he was to ascend, was that he might appear there in heaven for us, as Heb 9:11, seq., ’He appears for ever in heaven for us, and maketh intercession for us.’ When the high priest was to enter into the holy of holies, which was a type of heaven, he carried the names of the twelve tribes engraven in stone upon his breast. Christ, our true high priest, being entered into the holy of holies, carried the names of all his elect in his breast into heaven, and there appeareth before God for us. He carrieth us in his heart. Christ doth fulfil that which in John 17. he prayeth for, appearing in heaven before his Father by virtue of his blood shed, and that blood that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. It speaks mercy and pardon. The blood of Abel crieth for vengeance and justice; but the blood of Christ saith, Here is one that I shed my blood for. And when we pray to God, God accepts of our prayers; and by virtue of Christ’s blood shed, there is mercy, and pardon, and favour procured, which is sprinkled by faith upon the soul; God manifesting to the soul by his Spirit, that Christ died in particular for such a soul, which soul praying to God in the name of Christ, that blood not only in heaven, but sprinkled upon the soul, speaketh peace there. The Spirit saith that to the soul, which Christ doth in heaven. Christ saith in heaven, I died for such a soul; the Spirit saith in the soul, Christ died for me; and the blood of Christ is sprinkled on every particular soul. As Christ in heaven appears and intercedeth for me, so the Spirit intercedeth in mine own guilty heart, that always speaks discomfort, till it be satisfied with particular assurance. Christ died for me, and God is mine, and Christ is mine. Thus particular faith sprinkleth the blood of Christ upon the soul. So that now my sins are not only pardoned in heaven, but in my soul. There is not only intercession in heaven, but in my soul. My soul goeth to God for pardon and for mercy, and rejoiceth in all the mercies it hath and hopeth to have. What is done in heaven, is done in a man’s soul by the Spirit in some measure.

6. The last end is, that he might shew that our salvation is exactly wrought, that God is perfectly satisfied to the full, else he should never have risen, much less ascended to heaven. And therefore if we once believe in Christ for forgiveness of sins, and yet say, I doubt of salvation, it is all one as if you should go about to pluck Christ from heaven. The doubtful, distrustful heart, till it be subdued by a spirit of faith, saith, ’Who shall ascend to heaven, to tell me whether I shall go to heaven?’ or ’Who shall enter into the deep, to tell me I am freed from hell?’ I am afraid I shall be damned, saith the guilty heart, till the Spirit of God hath brought it under and persuaded it of God’s love in Christ. Say not, ’Who shall ascend up to heaven? for that is to bring Christ down from heaven,’ Rom 10:7. And what an injurious thing is it to bring Christ down from heaven, to suffer on the cross! This is a great indignity, though we think not of it, to doubt of our salvation, and not cast ourselves on his mercy. For as verily as he is there, we shall be there. He is gone to take up a place for us. He is there in our name, as the husband taketh a place for his spouse. And if we doubt whether we shall come there or no, we doubt whether he be there or no. And if we doubt of that, we doubt whether he hath wrought salvation or no, and so we bring him down to the cross again. Who shall descend to the deep? that is, to bring Christ from the dead again. Such is the danger of a distrustful heart. So that by Christ’s ascending into heaven, we may know all is done and accomplished; all our enemies are subdued; God is appeased and fully satisfied, heaven is taken up in our room, and therefore labour for a large heart answerable to the large unchangeable grounds we have, for faith to pitch and bottom itself upon it. Therefore make this farther use of this ascension of Christ, and thereupon his intercession in heaven for us. He is there to plead our cause. He is there as our surety to appear for us, and not only so, but as a counsellor to plead for us; and not only so, but one of us, as if a brother should plead for a brother; and not only so, but a favourite there too. All favourites are not so excellent at counselling perhaps, but we have one that is favourite in heaven, and is excellent at pleading, that can non-suit all accusations laid against us by the devil. He is the Son of God, and he is one of us; he appeareth not as a stranger, for a stranger, as the counsellor is perhaps for his client, but he appears as our brother, Rev 12:10. Let us think of the comforts of it. He appears for us to plead our cause, with acceptation of his person and cause. For he, before whom he pleadeth, God the Father, sent him to take our nature, die, and ascend into heaven for us, to sustain the persons of particular offenders. He must needs hear Christ, that sent him for that purpose. Where the judge appoints a counsel, it is a sign he favoureth the cause. Perhaps we cannot pray, are disconsolate, and vexed with Satan’s temptations. The poor client hath a good cause, but cannot make a good cause of it. But if he get a skilful lawyer, that is favourable to him, and before a favourable judge, his comfort is, his advocate can make his cause good. If we would confess our sins, as that we must do, we must take shame to ourselves in all our distress and disconsolation of spirit; and we must lay open our estates to God, and complain; and then desire God to look upon us, and Christ to plead our cause for us and answer Satan; and when Satan is very malicious and subtile, as he is a very cunning enemy to allege all advantages against us, to make us despair, remember this, we have one in heaven that is more skilful than he ’that is the accuser of brethren,’ Rev 12:10, that accuseth us to God and to our own souls, that accuseth every man to himself and maketh him an enemy to himself. But we have a pleader in heaven that will take our part against the accuser of our brethren, and quiet us at length in our consciences. Perhaps we may be troubled a while, to humble us; but remember that he is in heaven purposely to plead our cause.

It is a good plea to God, ’Lord, I know not what to say; my sins are more than the hairs of my head. Satan layeth hard to me. I cannot answer one of a thousand. I confess all my sins. Hear me, and hear thy Son for my sake. He is now at thy right hand, and pleadeth for me.’ And desire Christ to plead for us. We have not only all the church to pray for us, ’Our Father;’ but we have Christ himself to plead for us and make our cause good, if Christ saith, I shed my blood for this person, and [he] appears now by virtue of my redemption. And the condition of the covenant is, if we confess our sins, he is merciful to forgive. And if we sin, we have an advocate in heaven, to whom we must lay claim, 1Jn 2:1. The party hath confessed the debt; and therefore the bond must be cancelled. He hath performed the conditions on his part; and therefore make it good on thine own part. And being* the Spirit hath shamed thee for thy sins, what can the devil say? What saith Paul? ’It is God that justifieth; who shall condemn?’ Rom 8:33. If God, the party offended, do justify, who shall condemn? It is Christ that died. That is not enough. ’That is risen again.’ That is not enough. It is Christ that rose again, ’and sitteth at the right hand of God for us,’ and maketh intercession for us. ’Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?’ Let the devil accuse what he will, Christ is risen, to shew that he hath satisfied; and is now in heaven, there appearing for us. Oh that we had hearts large enough for these comforts! then should we never yield to base temptations.

It is against the pleasure of God that we should be disconsolate? Therefore we wrong our own souls, and sin against our own comfort, when we let the reins loose by inordinate and extreme sorrow. We lose that sweetness that we might enjoy, by giving way to discomfortable thoughts. Indeed, if a man examine his life from the beginning of his conversion to the end thereof, he may thank himself for all his trouble. The sin against the holy gospel is a kind of rebellion against God, though we think not so, when we will not be comforted, nor embrace grounds of comfort when we have them. The comforts of God ought not to be of small esteem to us. The sweet comforts, large, exceeding, eternal comforts of God, we ought to esteem of them as they be; and therefore our Saviour Christ sendeth to them speedily.

All Scripture is to this end, for consolation, even the Scripture that tendeth to instruction and direction, that so men may be in a state of comfort; for cordials are not good, but where there is purgation before. So all Scriptures that are purging, to tell us our faults, they be to bring us unto a comfortable condition. Other Scriptures, that tend to instruct our judgments and settle us in faith, what is the end of all, if we walk not comfortably towards God and strongly in our places? Therefore, when we look not to comfort and joy in all conditions, we abuse the intendments of God.

But, I beseech you, make not a bad use of it; for if you know it to be so, if it worketh not graciously in you, and winneth you to respect God the more, and love him that is thus indulgent and gracious, but go on in offending conscience, and break peace off, then at length conscience will admit no comfort. Many that have excellent comforts have made havoc of their consciences, and will go on in spite of ministers, in spite of their consciences and God’s Spirit joined with conscience. At length it is just with God to give them up to despair, wicked sinners that trample the blood of Christ under their feet. But for all other that strive against corruption, and would be better, it is a ground of marvellous comfort.

I shall come to the message itself. Tell them, ’I ascend.’ He speaketh of that as present which was surely to be. So we should think of our future estate as if we were presently to go to heaven. Faith hath this force, to make things to come present. If we could keep it in us, and exercise it, could we live in any sin? But that it is distant, that is the cause of sinning. We put off things in a distance. If it be at the day of judgment, that is far off; and therefore they will not leave their present pleasure for that that shall not be, they know not when. But look on things in the word of a God that is Jehovah, that giveth a being to all, who hath spoken of things to come as if present, and then you will be of another mind. Faith is the privilege of a Christian, which maketh things afar off present. No wicked man but would leave his swearing and profaneness if he saw the joys of heaven and pains of hell; and it were no thanks to him. But to believe God on his word, that these things shall be, that is the commendations of a man, and the excellency of a Christian above another man. Another man doth all by sense; but the Christian will trust God on his word. ’I ascend,’ saith Christ.

We must not think of the ascension of Christ as a severed thing from us, but if we would have the comfort of it, we must think of it as ourselves ascending with him. Think of Christ as a public person and surety for us, and then we shall have great comfort in that, that he saith, ’I ascend.’ God prepared paradise before he made the creature. He would have him to come into a place of honour and pleasure. And so God, before ever we were born, provided a place and paradise for us in heaven, that we might end our days with greater comfort. We may be straitened here. Many a good Christian hath scarce where to lay his head; but Christ is gone to prepare a place for them in heaven. And this may comfort us in the consideration of all our sins; for sin past, and for corruption present, and sin that we may commit for time to come. For any thing that is past, if we confess our sins to God, he will forgive them. ’The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sins,’ 1Jn 1:7, even from the present corruptions that attend on us. We have one that stands between God and us as a surety; and he will give us his Spirit to subdue our corruptions, and at length make us like himself, a glorious spouse, Eph 5:27. If we were perfect men, we need not a mediator; and this may teach us comfort, rather because we are sinners, and daily subject to offend God. We have one to make our peace for time to come; if we sin, we have an advocate, 1Jn 2:1. When Christ taught us to pray, ’Forgive us our daily trespasses,’ he supposed we should run daily into sins, Mat 6:12. We have an advocate in heaven every day to stand between God and us, to answer God, to undertake that at length we should cease to offend him; and for the present, we are such as he shed his precious blood for; and he appeareth for us by virtue of his death, which is a marvellous comfort. We think if we commit sin there is no hope. But what needs a mediator, but to make peace between the parties disagreeing? If all things were made up between God and us, what need of an intercessor? But God knoweth well enough we run into daily sins, by reason of a spring of corruption in us, which is never idle. And therefore we may daily go to God in the name of our advocate, and desire God for Christ’s sake to pardon, and desire Christ to intercede for us. Let us therefore shame ourselves.

There is not a Christian but will be in himself apprehensive of being thrown into hell every day. There is a spring of corruption in him, and should God take a forfeiture of* his daily rebellions, his conscience tells him it were just. And therefore we must every day live upon this branch of his priestly office, his mediation. We must live by faith in this branch of Christ, and make use of it continually, for this will keep us from hell. And therefore if we sin every day, go to God in the name of Christ, and desire him to pardon us. This is to feed on Christ; and therefore we should more willingly come to the sacrament. When we be in heaven, we shall need a mediator no longer, for we shall be perfectly holy. We cannot think of these things too much. They be the life of religion and of comforts; and it may teach us to make a true use of Christ in all our conditions. Poor souls that are not acquainted with the gospel, they think God will cast them into hell for every sin, and they live as if they had not an high priest in heaven to appear for them. The matter of the message is, Christ ascended to God, as a common Father and God to him and them. He doth not say, I ascend to the Father. That were no great comfort; for what were that to them? or to my Father only. Neither doth he say, ’I ascend to our Father,’ for that is true in the order of it: for he is not in equal respect the God and Father of Christ, and the God and Father of us. And therefore he speaks of himself in the first place: ’I go to my God and your God.’ For he is first and specially Christ’s Father and Christ’s God, and then ours; as we shall see in the particulars. We have a common Father and a common God with Christ. God the Father is Christ’s Father by eternal generation, as he is God and man. We have therefore the nature of Christ as he is God and man.