Jesus Ascension - Acts 1.6-9
So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1.6-9).
So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1.6-9).
As one considers the biblical narratives regarding the post-resurrected Jesus and the doctrines that proceed from his mission as the Incarnate One, namely, the ascension, exaltation, and session, followed by a cursory examination of doctrines of the reignand high priesthoodof Jesus, he will find that there is a natural interconnection between them. Minimally, they are linked together by the transcendent effulgence of Christ’s glory. Less is revealed in the New Testament about the transcendentpost-resurrected Christ than is recorded about his immanence, that is, his incarnational ministry. No doubt, the earthly Jesus is much easier to identify with than the New Testament revelation of Jesus as the Transcendent One. Yet, such an understanding of Jesus is vital if one is to grasp the New Testament’s promise of a future kingdom. The presence of the kingdom (Matthew 6.10 thy kingdom come– the already and the not yet) is only possible because the exalted Jesus is interceding on behalf of his church. No Christology (a doctrinal study of Christ) is complete without an inclusion of an examination of the post-resurrected aspects of Christ. It is evident from the opening pages of the Synoptic Gospels(Matthew, Mark & Luke), where John the Baptist and Jesus are calling people to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand, that there is something eschatological (teaching about the final destiny of the human soul & mankind)about Jesus’ ministry.
Paul, a very popular theologian of the New Testament, describes the cosmic role of Jesus. Not only is he the first born of all creation, but Scripture declares that all things were created though him (Colossians 1.15-23). The epistle of Hebrews is even more expansive, telling us that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power(Hebrews 1.3). The image of a cosmic Christ is clear throughout the New Testament and the world’s future is inescapably linked to Christ’s rule in heaven.For example:
(Revelation 21.1-8 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death).
All people will come face to face with Jesus the Judge who condemns the wicked and rewards the faithful(viz. those who trust the Son for their salvation). The more thoroughly the Christian grasps the biblical vision of the post-resurrection Christ, the more likely he is to be responsive to the Spirit’s prompting to be a faithful servant.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord 's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two- edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.Revelation 1.9-20
The importance of understanding the nature of the post-resurrection Christ can scarcely be overstated. The present reign and activity of the post-resurrected Christis a necessary component in the believer’s salvation. It is the second part of a kingdom theologythat permeates the New Testament. The inaugurated kingdom will be brought to its complete fruition with the triumphal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the kingdom is presentin the life of every Spirit-filled believer, its final perfection is yet future.Note Paul’s encouragement to Titus for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possessions who are zealous for good works (Titus 2.11-14; cf. 2 Corinthians 5.3; Revelation 6.10-11; 22.20 etc.). It is the work of the post-resurrected Christ ascended into heaven, exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father, reigning as our high priest and interceding on behalf of the Christian that gives the believer power to live a godly life. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6.22-23). It is the work of the resurrected Christ that secures for the believer a hope that the heavenly kingdom will be his future home. This is the promise of Jesus to his disciples in the upper room: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also(John 14.1-3).So, too, Paul encourages the saints in Rome: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 8.31-39).
ASCENSION– Acts 1.6-11
The doctrine of the ascension was a common affirmation of the early church acknowledging the exaltation of the Christ: 1 Timothy 3.16 [an early hymn of the church]): Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.Jesus refers multiple times throughout the Gospel of John about the temporality of his time as the incarnate Son of God. Indeed, as John expands upon the prologue to his Gospel (1.1-18) wherein he identifies the Christ as the eternal Divine Logos, the ascension becomes an obvious progression of the incarnation, death and resurrection. The apostle John indicates that Jesus had it in his mind very early in his ministry. From John’s introduction where he writes: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truthto his dialog with Nicodemus about the new birth he said “No one has ascended into heaven except him who descended from heaven, the Son of Man”(John 3.13). In chapter six, there are critics who had been a part of the crowd that heard Jesus’ discourse about the bread of lifewho took offense at some of the things he said. In response to their unbelief Jesus says, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”(John 6.62). There is an expectation that Jesus’ disciples are to understand his ascension to the Father’s right hand was an essential part of believing in him and his messianic mission.
While teaching in the temple courts during the feast of the booths, Jesus said: “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me (John 7.28-29). Jesus is clearly identifying his origin and implies that he will return to his Father: Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me(John 7.33; 16.5; 17.11-13). This becomes ever more clear in his confrontation with the chief priests and Pharisees who had sought to have Jesus arrested because of what he was teaching (e.g. “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come” (John 7.33-34). Jesus publicly insisted that he pre-existed with God the Father. This claim was a point of contention with the Pharisees (John 8.13-19). Moreover, they questioned his claim to be the light of the world (John 8.12). Essentially Jesus says his claim is true because he knows where he comes from and where he is going, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going”(John 8.14b). Later Jesus says to those present “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world(John 8.24).
While the cross is central to the Gospels, it is not the end of salvation history.At the Passover celebration Jesus told his disciples that he was going away in order to prepare a place for them so that at some future date they would be able to be with him permanently (John 14.2-3– In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.).
And then, at the culmination of the upper room discourse in Jesus’s high priestly prayerhe says: John 17.10-13: All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Interestingly, the chiastic structure of Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles has the ascension as its fulcrum.Forty days after the resurrection and subsequent to many post-resurrection appearances Jesus led his disciples out as far as Bethany (Luke 24.50) where he informed them that they would receive the Holy Spirit and, being so equipped, they would become witnesses of his work of grace to people everywhere. Immediately after telling his disciples this, he was lifted up and vanished from their sight in a cloud (Acts 1.9). The cloud was presumably the same Shekhinah (cloud) that represented God’s presence with the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 13.21-22).
As I have already noted and repeat again for emphasis, the doctrine of the ascension was part of the early church’s confession about the mystery of godliness in Christ. Thus, Paul writes: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory(1 Timothy 3.16). That the ascension is an essential part of New Testament Christology is evident for several reasons:
First, Jesus came from heaven and the sinfulness of earth is ill suited to a glorified post-resurrected Christ; as the exalted Lord, heaven is his proper home.
Second, it is vital for the believer that Jesus assume the role of High Priest to intercede for the people he redeemed through the priestly sacrifice of his life. He died for our sins, was raised for our justification, and as ascended Lord and reigning high priest intercedes on behalf of his church.
Third, if Jesus did not go away he could not have sent the Holy Spirit: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. … You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.”(John 14.18-20, 28; cp. 15.26). Also, “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” (John 16.7; cp. 16.13, 28). The coming of the Holy Spirit fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 31.31-34, so that every believer may enjoy intimate fellowship with the Father through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sealsthe believer’s heart and guaranteeshim of his heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 1.13-14).
Finally, Jesus’ ascension is necessary so that he might prepare an eternal dwelling place for all those who put their trust in him for their salvation (cp. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2, p. 634).
ASCENSION AND THE SECOND ADVENT
The bodily ascension of Jesus anticipates his second coming. After the disciples observed Jesus being taken into heaven, or at least ascending into the cloud, they were confronted by two men (presumably angels) who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1.11). From this we may make several observations.
First, it was not merely the soul, or some immaterial part of Jesus that ascended, but his whole person. Jesus, born of a virgin in the flesh, God incarnate, departed the world in the flesh; he did not discard the body of flesh as though it were no longer necessary or important.
Second,ascension is important for the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit within the lives of believers. Jesus promise of the Holy Spirit in the farewell discourse is predicated on his ascending to the Father: John 14.15-20 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.Again, in John 14.25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.John 14.28 You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.Again,John 15.26 But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.Again,John 16.4-7 I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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 go, I will send him to you. Finally:John 16.26-28 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Finally, his departure was visible to everyone standing by. Precisely “where” Jesus is physically the Bible does not say. Scripture speaks metaphorically of Jesus being seated at the Father’s right hand. However, Scripture does indicate that Jesus is in whatever part of creation God manifests his glory in the presence of his heavenly hosts. Millard Erickson’s comment may be helpful.
"In premodern times the ascension was usually thought of as a transition from one place (earth) to another (heavenly). We now know, however, that space is such that heaven is not merely upward from the earth, and it also seems likely that the difference between earth and heaven is not merely geographical.One cannot get to God simply by traveling sufficiently far and fast in a rocket ship of some kind. God is in a different dimension of reality, and the transition from here to there requires not merely a change of place, but of state. So, at some point, Jesus’ ascension was not merely a physical and spatial change, but spiritual as well. At that time Jesus underwent the remainder of the metamorphosis" begun with the resurrection of his body. (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology,p. 778).
The comment of the angels regarding Jesus’ return is in keeping with Jesus’ own promise to return for his disciples: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also(John 14.3). The manner of his return is similar to his departure in that it will be visible, bodily, and in the clouds(shekinah). Of course, there are many differences that I leave for your own perusal of Scripture. Mark’s description of the second advent, like the angel’s comments, excites the imaginations of all who long for his appearing: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mark 13.26-27). It is Jesus’ ascension, exaltation and session (cp. Mark 14.62) that gives the believer reason to hope that one day Jesus will return to receive to himself everyone who is awaiting his glorious return.
ADDENDUM ON THE KINGDOM
At the onset of the gospels John the Baptist was in the wilderness preaching the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel(Mark 1.15). In Luke 4.43 Subsequent to Jesus healing many people and retreating to the wilderness Jesus responds to those who would have persuaded him to remain with them by saying: I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.From this point on Luke, as in the other synoptic gospels records numerous references to the kingdom of God. Moreover, during the interim between the resurrection and the ascension Jesus spoke to the disciples about the kingdom of God; consequently, it may not be suprising that the disciples asked him: Lord, will you at this time respore the kingdom to Israel?
Robert Stein notes that Jesus used poetic parallelism(two hundred examples (Matt 4.7-8; Mark 3.24-25), antithetical parallelism( Matt 6.22-23; 7.27-18), step parallelismMatt 5.17; Mark 9.37), chiasmic parallelism(Matt 23.12; Mark 8.35). moreover, he made abundant use of hyperbole(Matt 5.29-30q 38-42; 7.3-5),puns(Matt 16.18; 23.24), similes( Luke 13.34; 17.6), metaphors(Matt 5.13; Mark 8.15), proverbs(Matt 26.52; Mark 6.4), riddles(Matt 11.11; Mark 14.58), paradox(Matt 23.27-38; Mark 12.41-44),a fortiori(Matt 7.9-11; 10.25), irony(Matt 16.2-3; Luke 12.16-21) and counter questions(Mark 3.1-4; 11.27-33). And, of course, he made abundant use of the parable. “We possess in the gospels somewhere between 55 and 75 parables, depending on whether we define certain saying as metaphors, similes or parables (Robert Stein, Jesus the Messiah, p. 124).
Parables are an useful tool for disarming the listenerand Jesus used them as an effective means of talking about the kingdom of God without alarming the Roman occupational magistrates. “Yet statements that the kingdom of God is ‘like a mustard seed’ (Luke 13.18-19) or ‘like yeast’ (vv. 20-21) were sufficiently enigmatic that the political authorities judged them harmless. Through his use of parables Jesus could speak about politically sensitive issues. As a result, those outside his circle of followers could ‘listen, but never understand, … look, but never perceive’ (Matt 13.14). but to those within the believing community such teachings were explained.” (Stein p. 125).
Jesus’ teaching centered on the coming of the kingdom of God. The phrases “kingdom of God” (Mark and Luke) and “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew) occur 87 times in the gospels. What do the gospel writers mean by the phrase “kingdom of God?” there is nothing in the gospels to suggest that Jesus is speaking of a kingdom that exists only in the hearts of His followers. Certainly, He may not be accused of attempting to recruit Zealot sympathizers. Imagine trying to stir up a revolt with catch phrases like “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9). When Jesus’ enemies attempted to lay a trap for him with respect to earthly and heavenly loyalties Jesus responded Render unto Cesar what is Cesar’s and unto God what is God’s
PRESENT KINGDOM
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.(Luke 16.16)
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2.21-22)
The advent of Jesus’ ministry marks the arrival of the kingdom of heaven; it is no longer merely a future event. God’s promise to Abraham inaugurated the old covenant, Jesus’ inaugurated the new covenant. Jesus tells his disciples: But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not se it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it(Matthew 13.16-17). The good news is being proclaimed to “the poor.” Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 61.1-2 (cp. Isaiah 29.18). Miracles are a sign that the kingdom of heaven has come. “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Luke 11.18-20).
"The Miraclesof healing and exorcism present in Jesus’ ministry (Luke 4.31-41) were also seen by the Gospel writers as intimately associated with the proclamation of the kingdom’s arrival(Luke 4.42-44). The healing of the blind was especially associated with the coming of the kingdom (Mark 8.22-26; 10.46-52); compare Isaiah 29.18; 35.5; and 61.1 in the LXX). The feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand were foretastes of breaking bread in the kingdom of God. Later, by his resurrection Jesus would demonstrate even more powerfully that the end of the ages had come (1 Cor 10.11) – the kingdom had arrived." (Stein p. 128)
The calling of the twelve is clearly symbolic of the restoration of Israel. However, Jesus also offers salvation for the gentiles (Matthew 8.5-13). The inauguration of the kingdom is the establishment of the new covenant. Jesus was not a religious reformer; he was the author of a new covenant; securing for the elect a salvation that is wholly a free act of God’s grace.
FUTURE KINGDOM
That Jesus thought of His kingdom as yet a future event, is also taught in the New Testament. The Jesus’ instruction to his disciples about prayer includes the phrase “…your kingdom come,” indicating that the kingdom of heaven had not yet been fully realized.Speaking of His kingdom in the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.. Away from me, you evildoers’”(Matthew 7.21-23)! From these passages it is evident that some aspect of the kingdom of God remains in the future. We find in Mark 10.17, 23 and John 3.3-5 that the kingdom of God is used synonymously for eternal life. While Jesus has inaugurated his kingdom, there is still much that necessarily lies in the future; not the least of which is the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12.18-27), and final judgment (Luke 10.13-15; 11.31-32).
The presence of the kingdom brings with it a new intimacy with God.Jesus addresses God with the Aramaic term Abba. Although the idea of addressing God as Father was not an entirely new idea, the familiarity of address that Jesus used was unique. This is particularly pronounced in the gospel of John. There is no change in character of God suggested by the traditional titles for God (Yahweh, Elohim, and Adonai), but the concept of calling God Father and the frequency of its use by Jesus denotes an intimacy with God that was heretofore uncommon. The three uses of the Abbain the New Testament are significant in that they are given as an encouragement to think of God in this manner (For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father” (Romans 8.15; cp. Mark 14.36; Galatians 4.6). In support of the wide-spread use of this practice we may observe Greek-speaking church of Galatia and Rome incorporated the Aramaic term Abbaas a regular part of their prayers. “There can be only one explanation for this: it was the way Jesus taught his followers to address God, and the church prized this way of addressing God so much that they continued the practice even though it was a foreign language” (Stein, p. 132).
The inaugurated kingdom requires its citizens to repent of all wickedness, to take up the cross and follow Christ.The Christian life involves a new kingdom ethic. Jesus’ disciples are required to deny themselves, acknowledge Jesus as Lord, give to the poor, befriend the comfortless, visit those in prison, proclaim the good news of the kingdom, and in short, to abide in Him. There is no abrogation of the Old Testament law, Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”(Matt 5.17). However, it is a new heart that marks one as a citizen of the kingdom not mere compliance with the law. Paul writes, What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have last all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Phil 3.8-9).
To understand Jesus’ ethical teaching, we must recognize that his teachings on ethical behavior are intimately connected to the coming of the kingdom of God. Since the God of the kingdom is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses and the prophets, we should expect continuity with the ethical teachings God gave to his people in the Old Testament. Those teachings stem from the moral character of God himself. As a result, ethical holiness in the new covenant corresponds with the ethical holiness in the old. Yet with the coming of the kingdom the attainment of that holiness has been enhanced because of the “already.” With the coming of the kingdom of God the “childhood” of the old covenant gives way to the maturity of “adulthood” in the new. (Stein, p. 138)
Paul, a very popular theologian of the New Testament, describes the cosmic role of Jesus. Not only is he the first born of all creation, but Scripture declares that all things were created though him (Colossians 1.15-23). The epistle of Hebrews is even more expansive, telling us that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power(Hebrews 1.3). The image of a cosmic Christ is clear throughout the New Testament and the world’s future is inescapably linked to Christ’s rule in heaven.For example:
(Revelation 21.1-8 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death).
All people will come face to face with Jesus the Judge who condemns the wicked and rewards the faithful(viz. those who trust the Son for their salvation). The more thoroughly the Christian grasps the biblical vision of the post-resurrection Christ, the more likely he is to be responsive to the Spirit’s prompting to be a faithful servant.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord 's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two- edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.Revelation 1.9-20
The importance of understanding the nature of the post-resurrection Christ can scarcely be overstated. The present reign and activity of the post-resurrected Christis a necessary component in the believer’s salvation. It is the second part of a kingdom theologythat permeates the New Testament. The inaugurated kingdom will be brought to its complete fruition with the triumphal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the kingdom is presentin the life of every Spirit-filled believer, its final perfection is yet future.Note Paul’s encouragement to Titus for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possessions who are zealous for good works (Titus 2.11-14; cf. 2 Corinthians 5.3; Revelation 6.10-11; 22.20 etc.). It is the work of the post-resurrected Christ ascended into heaven, exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father, reigning as our high priest and interceding on behalf of the Christian that gives the believer power to live a godly life. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6.22-23). It is the work of the resurrected Christ that secures for the believer a hope that the heavenly kingdom will be his future home. This is the promise of Jesus to his disciples in the upper room: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also(John 14.1-3).So, too, Paul encourages the saints in Rome: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 8.31-39).
ASCENSION– Acts 1.6-11
The doctrine of the ascension was a common affirmation of the early church acknowledging the exaltation of the Christ: 1 Timothy 3.16 [an early hymn of the church]): Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.Jesus refers multiple times throughout the Gospel of John about the temporality of his time as the incarnate Son of God. Indeed, as John expands upon the prologue to his Gospel (1.1-18) wherein he identifies the Christ as the eternal Divine Logos, the ascension becomes an obvious progression of the incarnation, death and resurrection. The apostle John indicates that Jesus had it in his mind very early in his ministry. From John’s introduction where he writes: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truthto his dialog with Nicodemus about the new birth he said “No one has ascended into heaven except him who descended from heaven, the Son of Man”(John 3.13). In chapter six, there are critics who had been a part of the crowd that heard Jesus’ discourse about the bread of lifewho took offense at some of the things he said. In response to their unbelief Jesus says, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”(John 6.62). There is an expectation that Jesus’ disciples are to understand his ascension to the Father’s right hand was an essential part of believing in him and his messianic mission.
While teaching in the temple courts during the feast of the booths, Jesus said: “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me (John 7.28-29). Jesus is clearly identifying his origin and implies that he will return to his Father: Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me(John 7.33; 16.5; 17.11-13). This becomes ever more clear in his confrontation with the chief priests and Pharisees who had sought to have Jesus arrested because of what he was teaching (e.g. “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come” (John 7.33-34). Jesus publicly insisted that he pre-existed with God the Father. This claim was a point of contention with the Pharisees (John 8.13-19). Moreover, they questioned his claim to be the light of the world (John 8.12). Essentially Jesus says his claim is true because he knows where he comes from and where he is going, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going”(John 8.14b). Later Jesus says to those present “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world(John 8.24).
While the cross is central to the Gospels, it is not the end of salvation history.At the Passover celebration Jesus told his disciples that he was going away in order to prepare a place for them so that at some future date they would be able to be with him permanently (John 14.2-3– In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.).
And then, at the culmination of the upper room discourse in Jesus’s high priestly prayerhe says: John 17.10-13: All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Interestingly, the chiastic structure of Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles has the ascension as its fulcrum.Forty days after the resurrection and subsequent to many post-resurrection appearances Jesus led his disciples out as far as Bethany (Luke 24.50) where he informed them that they would receive the Holy Spirit and, being so equipped, they would become witnesses of his work of grace to people everywhere. Immediately after telling his disciples this, he was lifted up and vanished from their sight in a cloud (Acts 1.9). The cloud was presumably the same Shekhinah (cloud) that represented God’s presence with the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 13.21-22).
As I have already noted and repeat again for emphasis, the doctrine of the ascension was part of the early church’s confession about the mystery of godliness in Christ. Thus, Paul writes: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory(1 Timothy 3.16). That the ascension is an essential part of New Testament Christology is evident for several reasons:
First, Jesus came from heaven and the sinfulness of earth is ill suited to a glorified post-resurrected Christ; as the exalted Lord, heaven is his proper home.
Second, it is vital for the believer that Jesus assume the role of High Priest to intercede for the people he redeemed through the priestly sacrifice of his life. He died for our sins, was raised for our justification, and as ascended Lord and reigning high priest intercedes on behalf of his church.
Third, if Jesus did not go away he could not have sent the Holy Spirit: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. … You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.”(John 14.18-20, 28; cp. 15.26). Also, “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” (John 16.7; cp. 16.13, 28). The coming of the Holy Spirit fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 31.31-34, so that every believer may enjoy intimate fellowship with the Father through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sealsthe believer’s heart and guaranteeshim of his heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 1.13-14).
Finally, Jesus’ ascension is necessary so that he might prepare an eternal dwelling place for all those who put their trust in him for their salvation (cp. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2, p. 634).
ASCENSION AND THE SECOND ADVENT
The bodily ascension of Jesus anticipates his second coming. After the disciples observed Jesus being taken into heaven, or at least ascending into the cloud, they were confronted by two men (presumably angels) who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1.11). From this we may make several observations.
First, it was not merely the soul, or some immaterial part of Jesus that ascended, but his whole person. Jesus, born of a virgin in the flesh, God incarnate, departed the world in the flesh; he did not discard the body of flesh as though it were no longer necessary or important.
Second,ascension is important for the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit within the lives of believers. Jesus promise of the Holy Spirit in the farewell discourse is predicated on his ascending to the Father: John 14.15-20 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.Again, in John 14.25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.John 14.28 You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.Again,John 15.26 But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.Again,John 16.4-7 I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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 go, I will send him to you. Finally:John 16.26-28 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Finally, his departure was visible to everyone standing by. Precisely “where” Jesus is physically the Bible does not say. Scripture speaks metaphorically of Jesus being seated at the Father’s right hand. However, Scripture does indicate that Jesus is in whatever part of creation God manifests his glory in the presence of his heavenly hosts. Millard Erickson’s comment may be helpful.
"In premodern times the ascension was usually thought of as a transition from one place (earth) to another (heavenly). We now know, however, that space is such that heaven is not merely upward from the earth, and it also seems likely that the difference between earth and heaven is not merely geographical.One cannot get to God simply by traveling sufficiently far and fast in a rocket ship of some kind. God is in a different dimension of reality, and the transition from here to there requires not merely a change of place, but of state. So, at some point, Jesus’ ascension was not merely a physical and spatial change, but spiritual as well. At that time Jesus underwent the remainder of the metamorphosis" begun with the resurrection of his body. (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology,p. 778).
The comment of the angels regarding Jesus’ return is in keeping with Jesus’ own promise to return for his disciples: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also(John 14.3). The manner of his return is similar to his departure in that it will be visible, bodily, and in the clouds(shekinah). Of course, there are many differences that I leave for your own perusal of Scripture. Mark’s description of the second advent, like the angel’s comments, excites the imaginations of all who long for his appearing: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mark 13.26-27). It is Jesus’ ascension, exaltation and session (cp. Mark 14.62) that gives the believer reason to hope that one day Jesus will return to receive to himself everyone who is awaiting his glorious return.
ADDENDUM ON THE KINGDOM
At the onset of the gospels John the Baptist was in the wilderness preaching the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel(Mark 1.15). In Luke 4.43 Subsequent to Jesus healing many people and retreating to the wilderness Jesus responds to those who would have persuaded him to remain with them by saying: I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.From this point on Luke, as in the other synoptic gospels records numerous references to the kingdom of God. Moreover, during the interim between the resurrection and the ascension Jesus spoke to the disciples about the kingdom of God; consequently, it may not be suprising that the disciples asked him: Lord, will you at this time respore the kingdom to Israel?
Robert Stein notes that Jesus used poetic parallelism(two hundred examples (Matt 4.7-8; Mark 3.24-25), antithetical parallelism( Matt 6.22-23; 7.27-18), step parallelismMatt 5.17; Mark 9.37), chiasmic parallelism(Matt 23.12; Mark 8.35). moreover, he made abundant use of hyperbole(Matt 5.29-30q 38-42; 7.3-5),puns(Matt 16.18; 23.24), similes( Luke 13.34; 17.6), metaphors(Matt 5.13; Mark 8.15), proverbs(Matt 26.52; Mark 6.4), riddles(Matt 11.11; Mark 14.58), paradox(Matt 23.27-38; Mark 12.41-44),a fortiori(Matt 7.9-11; 10.25), irony(Matt 16.2-3; Luke 12.16-21) and counter questions(Mark 3.1-4; 11.27-33). And, of course, he made abundant use of the parable. “We possess in the gospels somewhere between 55 and 75 parables, depending on whether we define certain saying as metaphors, similes or parables (Robert Stein, Jesus the Messiah, p. 124).
Parables are an useful tool for disarming the listenerand Jesus used them as an effective means of talking about the kingdom of God without alarming the Roman occupational magistrates. “Yet statements that the kingdom of God is ‘like a mustard seed’ (Luke 13.18-19) or ‘like yeast’ (vv. 20-21) were sufficiently enigmatic that the political authorities judged them harmless. Through his use of parables Jesus could speak about politically sensitive issues. As a result, those outside his circle of followers could ‘listen, but never understand, … look, but never perceive’ (Matt 13.14). but to those within the believing community such teachings were explained.” (Stein p. 125).
Jesus’ teaching centered on the coming of the kingdom of God. The phrases “kingdom of God” (Mark and Luke) and “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew) occur 87 times in the gospels. What do the gospel writers mean by the phrase “kingdom of God?” there is nothing in the gospels to suggest that Jesus is speaking of a kingdom that exists only in the hearts of His followers. Certainly, He may not be accused of attempting to recruit Zealot sympathizers. Imagine trying to stir up a revolt with catch phrases like “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9). When Jesus’ enemies attempted to lay a trap for him with respect to earthly and heavenly loyalties Jesus responded Render unto Cesar what is Cesar’s and unto God what is God’s
PRESENT KINGDOM
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.(Luke 16.16)
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2.21-22)
The advent of Jesus’ ministry marks the arrival of the kingdom of heaven; it is no longer merely a future event. God’s promise to Abraham inaugurated the old covenant, Jesus’ inaugurated the new covenant. Jesus tells his disciples: But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not se it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it(Matthew 13.16-17). The good news is being proclaimed to “the poor.” Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 61.1-2 (cp. Isaiah 29.18). Miracles are a sign that the kingdom of heaven has come. “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Luke 11.18-20).
"The Miraclesof healing and exorcism present in Jesus’ ministry (Luke 4.31-41) were also seen by the Gospel writers as intimately associated with the proclamation of the kingdom’s arrival(Luke 4.42-44). The healing of the blind was especially associated with the coming of the kingdom (Mark 8.22-26; 10.46-52); compare Isaiah 29.18; 35.5; and 61.1 in the LXX). The feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand were foretastes of breaking bread in the kingdom of God. Later, by his resurrection Jesus would demonstrate even more powerfully that the end of the ages had come (1 Cor 10.11) – the kingdom had arrived." (Stein p. 128)
The calling of the twelve is clearly symbolic of the restoration of Israel. However, Jesus also offers salvation for the gentiles (Matthew 8.5-13). The inauguration of the kingdom is the establishment of the new covenant. Jesus was not a religious reformer; he was the author of a new covenant; securing for the elect a salvation that is wholly a free act of God’s grace.
FUTURE KINGDOM
That Jesus thought of His kingdom as yet a future event, is also taught in the New Testament. The Jesus’ instruction to his disciples about prayer includes the phrase “…your kingdom come,” indicating that the kingdom of heaven had not yet been fully realized.Speaking of His kingdom in the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.. Away from me, you evildoers’”(Matthew 7.21-23)! From these passages it is evident that some aspect of the kingdom of God remains in the future. We find in Mark 10.17, 23 and John 3.3-5 that the kingdom of God is used synonymously for eternal life. While Jesus has inaugurated his kingdom, there is still much that necessarily lies in the future; not the least of which is the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12.18-27), and final judgment (Luke 10.13-15; 11.31-32).
The presence of the kingdom brings with it a new intimacy with God.Jesus addresses God with the Aramaic term Abba. Although the idea of addressing God as Father was not an entirely new idea, the familiarity of address that Jesus used was unique. This is particularly pronounced in the gospel of John. There is no change in character of God suggested by the traditional titles for God (Yahweh, Elohim, and Adonai), but the concept of calling God Father and the frequency of its use by Jesus denotes an intimacy with God that was heretofore uncommon. The three uses of the Abbain the New Testament are significant in that they are given as an encouragement to think of God in this manner (For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father” (Romans 8.15; cp. Mark 14.36; Galatians 4.6). In support of the wide-spread use of this practice we may observe Greek-speaking church of Galatia and Rome incorporated the Aramaic term Abbaas a regular part of their prayers. “There can be only one explanation for this: it was the way Jesus taught his followers to address God, and the church prized this way of addressing God so much that they continued the practice even though it was a foreign language” (Stein, p. 132).
The inaugurated kingdom requires its citizens to repent of all wickedness, to take up the cross and follow Christ.The Christian life involves a new kingdom ethic. Jesus’ disciples are required to deny themselves, acknowledge Jesus as Lord, give to the poor, befriend the comfortless, visit those in prison, proclaim the good news of the kingdom, and in short, to abide in Him. There is no abrogation of the Old Testament law, Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”(Matt 5.17). However, it is a new heart that marks one as a citizen of the kingdom not mere compliance with the law. Paul writes, What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have last all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Phil 3.8-9).
To understand Jesus’ ethical teaching, we must recognize that his teachings on ethical behavior are intimately connected to the coming of the kingdom of God. Since the God of the kingdom is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses and the prophets, we should expect continuity with the ethical teachings God gave to his people in the Old Testament. Those teachings stem from the moral character of God himself. As a result, ethical holiness in the new covenant corresponds with the ethical holiness in the old. Yet with the coming of the kingdom the attainment of that holiness has been enhanced because of the “already.” With the coming of the kingdom of God the “childhood” of the old covenant gives way to the maturity of “adulthood” in the new. (Stein, p. 138)