We have seen that the fact of Jesus' ascension was one of the great foundations stones of New Testament belief and practice. Both are important: belief and practice are of one substance in the matter. The New Testament apostolic ministry took place in a dynamic way. The apostles not only believed that Jesus had been raised up to the right hand of the Father (as though it were an article of their faith, learned by rote), but they lived under his active and continuing Lordship, looking for its revelation in the last day. This was core business for their gospel proclamation and for the hope that they held for the Church and the whole creation. Thus, they knew that all the powers of this age (both seen and unseen) were subject to him, and that in the telos (the goal that God has set for the world) Jesus' victorious Lordship would be unveiled.

In view of the apostolic proclamation that "Jesus is Lord" we can say that the ascension is the declaration of the triumph of God in Jesus. Ascension and Lordship are two sides of the one coin. Being raised to the right hand of the Father is at one and the same time the declaration of the victory of God. It is at one and the same time the declaration of the defeat of all God's enemies and the vindication of his holy Name. The New Testament does not attempt to defend this declaration in any way. Where we may be inclined to bring speculative questions to bear on the matter, the New Testament simply affirms the reality of its existence.

The Ascension Declares Jesus' Lordship

In Acts 2:36 Peter arrives at the concluding point of his sermon on the day of Pentecost, saying "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified". A little earlier he had said that Jesus had been raised up by God of which he and others were witnesses (Acts 2:32) and that the same Jesus was now "exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he has poured out this which you both see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Peter then goes on to quote Psalm 110, affirming that this reign of Jesus, granted by God himself, is of such an order that all God's enemies would be subject to him, without exception, affirming the absolute victory and sovereignty of God for all time. The reality of such triumphant Lordship is assured by the very fact of the ascension, which also guarantees the outcome of God's plan and purpose among the nations.

The fact that Jesus is designated both "Lord" and "Christ" should not escape our notice. These titles are immensely significant, not simply in terms of biblical theology but also in terms of the political history of Peter's day. In relation to their Old Testament backgrounds each term is heavily freighted with meaning. "Lord" is a term characteristically used of God himself, particularly in reference to his utter sovereignty over all that he has made. "Christ" (which translates the Old Testament ‘Messiah' i.e. ‘anointed one') is the one at the right hand of God, appointed by him as the ruler of the nations (as in Psalm 2). In calling him "Lord and Christ", Peter is asserting that Jesus is one with God, and that he is God's appointed King, to whom all allegiance is due.

Moreover, the title "Lord" had a political weight that is important. It stands in sharp contrast to the way in which the Caesars had arrogated this title to themselves, not only to designate their political and military might, but also to indicate their divine status as celebrated in the Emperor Cult. If Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not! If Jesus is Lord he is none other than God's divine representative and appointed King. And, astoundingly, it is Jesus who is Lord-the one whom God's own people had crucified. This declaration of Jesus' Lordship is made without apology or without any caveat. Jesus is Lord of all things, in all places, all the time, and without exception.

Such pronouncements of Jesus' Lordship are common in the New Testament. Colossians 2:10 declares him to be "the head of all rule and authority". In Ephesians 1:20 we are told that God "seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places", the meaning of which is that he is "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," (Eph. 1:21-22). 1 Peter 3:22 states that he "has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him", and other passages tell us that he is ruling at the right hand of God. In the book of the Revelation we see Christ as the exalted and glorified Lion of Judah-forever the Lamb who had been slain-who is in the midst of the throne of God, and who has all human history in his hands. In the end, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). This will be the revelation of what is already the case-the unveiling of the Lordship which Jesus actually has and by virtue of which he is currently subduing all things to himself. The ascension is the declaration of that Lordship to the eyes of faith. The return of Christ will be the declaration of the Lordship to the whole of the created universe.

His Lordship and Ours

In the powerful assertion of Jesus' Lordship, the Bible declares something majestic about the nature and destiny of human beings. We know from Genesis 1:26ff. that human beings were made in the image of God, according to his likeness. While the image and likeness of God cannot be confined to any one aspect of human existence, it is clear that there is a close link between being made in the in the image of God and exercising dominion over the lower orders of creation. Human beings were created to function as God's vice-regents on the earth, executing his will and thereby reflecting his glory and character to the created world.

In Psalm 8 we find a grand exposition of this theme, which is all encompassing in terms of its description of human dignity and related authority. The question in Psalm 8:4, "what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" should not be understood as a an inquiry made against the background of human insignificance, but a declaration of human glory. The weight of the meaning is surely this: "When I consider the magnificence of Your creation, in view of its expanse and its glory, what sort of a creature must Man be, in that he alone is the one to whom You give special attention, and of whom You are continually mindful?"

It is this weight of glory that gives us the key to understand Hebrews 2 and the way in which Psalm 8 lies at the heart of the writer's explanation of the work of Jesus. In Hebrews 2 this Psalm is quoted, indicating that while we should see the whole creation subjected to humanity, in fact we do not. The paradox is expressed clearly in Hebrews 2:8 "Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him". The answer to this non-regency of humanity (and remember, the writer was penning his letter to a group of believers in the midst of deep suffering, where, in effect, all things were ruling over them!) is that we do see Jesus, the great High Priest of our confession who has been raised up into heaven for us. In his continuing incarnation he bears witness to the final destiny of a redeemed humanity. In his role as the High Priest, he bears all his people on his heart, representing them in his person, in the very presence of God. From this presence he rules over all things, as the great King-Priest, of a new order.