Daily Meditation

Receiving Joy and Strength

Ligonier Ministries

There is still another vital aspect to the “why” of Jesus’ departure. He said, “If I do not go away, the Helper (Paraclete) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” Jesus’ departure was tied to Pentecost. There is no Pentecost without ascension. As the invested King of kings, Jesus had the authority together with the Father to send His Holy Spirit in a new and powerful way upon the church. Jesus spoke of a certain necessity of His leaving in order for the Spirit to come. Herein was another great advantage. He declared, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you” (Acts 1:8, KJV).

Two remarkable things happened to the disciples after Jesus departed. The first is that they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52). They were not despondent over the departure of Jesus. Obviously they finally understood why He was leaving. They understood what, for the most part, the church since then has failed to understand. We live as if it would not have been better for Jesus to leave.

The second obvious change in the lives of the disciples was in their spiritual strength. After Pentecost, they were different people. No longer did they flee like sheep without a shepherd. Instead, they turned the world upside down. They turned the world upside down because they fully understood two simple things: the “where” and the “why” of Jesus’ departure. 

Coram Deo

Great joy and spiritual strength are two of the benefits of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Let Him release these benefits in your life today.

Passages for Further Study

Acts 4:31
Acts 4:33
Acts 4:29

Daily Meditation

Accepting Our Helper

Ligonier Ministries

It was 3 a.m., Amsterdam, 1965. I couldn’t sleep. I was pacing the floor of our apartment like a caged lion. My body was more than ready for sleep, but my mind refused to shut down.

I had spent that day studying the doctrine of the ascension of Christ, the climactic moment of His departure from this world. One statement of Jesus gripped my mind in a vise. The statement was part of Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples in the upper room. He said: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7).

I paced the floor mulling over this astonishing statement. How could it possibly be better for the church to experience an absentee Lord? Parting with loved ones is not a “sweet sorrow.” One would think that to part with the incarnate Jesus would be an utterly bitter sorrow, a total dissolution to the soul.

Yet Jesus spoke of a certain “expediency” of His departure. The word translated “advantage” or “expedient” in John 16 is the word sumpherei, the same word employed by Caiaphas in his ironic prophecy (John 18:14).

The advantage of Jesus’ departure from earth is found partially in answer to Peter’s earlier question: “Lord, where are you going?” (Quo vadis?). We might say that the entire farewell discourse of John 14 was given in answer to that question. But equally important is that Jesus answered Peter by telling him not only where He was going but why He was going.

When Jesus left this world, He went to the Father. His ascension was to a certain place for a particular reason. To ascend did not mean merely “to go up.” He was being elevated to the right hand of the Father. The seat He occupies since His departure is the royal throne of cosmic authority. It is the office of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Coram Deo

Rejoice in this fact: The Holy Spirit, the Helper promised by Jesus, stands ready to assist you today.

Passages for Further Study

John 18:14
John 16:7–8

Merry Warriors and Paper Tigers

Enjoying the Battle

Psy-ops has a long and ignoble history in warfare.  In poker it's called bluffing.  In commerce, it's called marketing.  Getting into the mind of your opponent or target can pay great dividends.  Consequently, it is not surprising that in the Great Battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Man the latter would engage in psy-ops as often as possible.

One of the most effective psy-ops weapon is within your grasp when you have a chance to convince your enemies that their defeat is inevitable.  There have been many deployments of this stratagem in our generations.  Jesus Christ is passée.  The Age of Science has replaced the former ages of ignorant myths.  The real is the material; anything else is either fabrication or imagination.  Only fools and horses still believe in the Bible.  Nothing will be able to withstand the forces of reason and the science.  And so on.

It is true that there is much that might discourage the Christian.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From America

Come Up, Come Up

Liturgy and Worship - Church Year
Written by Douglas Wilson
Wednesday, June 01, 2011

When the Lord Jesus was raised up from the grave, it was not long before He was raised up from world itself. Jesus first came up out of the earth, and He then came away from the earth. That departure from our world was His ascension into Heaven, a glorious transit between the moment of His resurrection and the triumphant moment of His enthronement in power and glory.

Scripture teaches us that He was ushered into the throne room of the Ancient of Days on numinous clouds of glory (Dan. 7:13-14). Contrary to a popular misconception, this prophecy is not referring to His Second Coming to earth, but rather to the Ascension. This is a glorious vision of the Lord coming into Heaven, not a vision of Him descending to earth. The one coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory is coming, not down to earth, but into the throne room of Almighty God. And when He arrived there, He was crowned with universal dominion and glory—power, majesty, and might, world without end. Amen.

The New Testament teaches this as well, and teaches further that we believers have a new birthright portion of this dominion and glory.

Meditation on the Text of the Week

The Cleansing of the Shire

The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.

Psalm 110:1

Psalm 110 is the most frequently cited Older Covenant text in the New Testament. This should indicate something of its central importance to the Kingdom of God.

Firstly, we should note that the body of the Psalm expounds the opening stanza. It speaks of God stretching forth His hand to establish His rule in the midst of all God's enemies upon the earth. The people of God would volunteer freely and in great numbers to engage in the task of destroying the enemies of the Lord. The army would be continually refreshed by youth—forthcoming generations would rise to join the armies of the Lord and enter the lists of battle. Every day, like the dew, more soldiers would be added to the armies of God.

Secondly, we need to inquire when the events described in this Psalm were or are to be fulfilled. There are those who would cast it off into the distant (or near) future and see it as a reference to the Last Judgment. Others see it referring to Christ returning to earth to set up a physical kingdom which will hold sway over all the nations of the earth, prior to the Last Judgment. Both alternatives see it as a future event.

But the Scripture is its own interpreter. Most crucial, then, is when the Scripture sees this event taking place—the event of the Lord saying to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” The scriptures of the Newer Covenant are clear and explicit on this.

At Pentecost, at the first apostolic proclamation of the Gospel, the apostle Peter declares that Jesus had recently been raised from the dead and had recently been exalted to the right hand of God. Then he quotes Psalm 110:1, and ends his sermon immediately thereafter with the words: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:32—36)

The Scriptures reveal that the declaration of Psalm 110:1 was given out in history, in heaven, when Christ ascended to God. At this point in time, which is the investiture of our Messiah as the Lord of the heavens and the earth, He sat upon the Throne of the King of all kings, and the task of putting all enemies under His feet began.

The decisive exchange with the enemy had by that time already taken place. Christ had vanquished the Devil on the Cross. He had atoned for sin. He had cleansed His people. He had risen before them as the first born from the dead. Now, He is enthroned to apply the spoils of that victory to the earth. God the Father and God the Spirit now assume the responsibility of applying that great victory to the earth. The whole bent of the Godhead from that point on is to ensure that all the implications, all the reality of Christ's victorious work is brought to pass on the earth, according to the direction and specification of the Son of Man upon the Throne. Thus, in Psalm 110, God says to the Lord Jesus that He has now assumed the duty and task of ensuring that all Christ's enemies are to be placed under His feet.

Since we are privileged to live in this glorious age, let us then bow the knee and pray in terms of the realities spoken of and prophesied in Psalm 110. Let us pray and work for the weakening and vanquishing of the Lord's enemies. Let us pray and work for the willing subscription of the saints in the vast armies of God. Let us take our place in the line once again, in holy array, from the womb of the dawn.