Jesus Ascended: The Meaning of Christ’s Continuing Incarnation

270 Pages·2004·10.95 MB·English

by  Gerrit Scott Dawson

Jesus Ascended
For Jacob
Heart of the Lion
Loyal to the Death
Heart for the Lion of Judah
Jesus Ascended
The Meaning of Christ's
Continuing Incarnation
GERRIT SCOTT DAWSON
P&R
P U B L I S H I NG
P.O.BOX877.PHILLIPSBURC . NEW JERSEY 08865-0817
T&T CLARK INTERNATIONAL
A Continuum imprint
LONDON NEW YORK
First published in Great Britain in 2004 by
T&T CLARK International / Handsel Press
Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
The Tower Building
11 York Road
London SEl 7NX, UK
www.tandtclark.com
First published in the United States in 2004 by
P&R Publishing Company
P. O. Box 817
1102 Marble Hill Road
Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
USA
www.prpbooks. com
Copyright © T&T Clark Ltd, 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
any information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers or
their appointed agents.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dawson, Gerrit Scott.
Jesus ascended: the meaning of Christ's continuing incarnation/Gerrit Scott Dawson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87552-849-X (alk. paper)
1. Jesus Christ-Ascension. 2. Incarnation. I. Title.
BT500.D33 2004
232.9'7-dc22 2003064787
ISBN 0 567 082210 (T&T Clark)
ISBN 0 87552 849 X (P&R Publishing)
Typeset by BookEns Ltd. Royston, Herts.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Permissions ix
Foreword by Dr Douglas Kelly x
PART I Why Recover the Ascension? 1
Introduction 3
The Story 4
A Continuing Incarnation 5
How to Use This Book 10
1. The World Is Too Much With Us 13
A Letter to the Angel 14
As the Pastor Sees His Flock 18
Voices From a Comparable Age 21
A Current Study 23
The Antidote 25
PART II Toward a Concise Theology of the Ascension 29
2. The Ascension as Public Truth 31
Public Truth 35
When Did Jesus Ascend? 36
How Did Jesus Go? 37
Where Did He Go? 39
What Kind of Body? 42
If Jesus is in Heaven, How Can He Be With Us? 44
vi Contents
What Kind of Space? 46
How Does the Ascension Cause Us to Regard Jesus
Now? 50
3. The Triumph of Jesus 53
Jesus Glorified in Scripture 57
The Ascension as Enthronement 60
The Victor's Procession in the Fathers 61
The Stronger Strong Man 63
The Glorious Entrance 65
Who Was Set Free? 69
Reason For Celebration 70
4. The Ascension and the Person of Christ 73
Urgent Challenges 74
Biblical and Patristic Texts Relating the Ascension
to the Person of Jesus 77
Simultaneous Presence 82
The Ascension and the Pledge 87
The Glory Secured 89
5. Union with Christ: The Head and Firstfruits 93
Gregory of Nyssa and the Exaltation of Humanity 97
Our Ascended Head 101
Augustine and the Whole Christ 104
Firstfruits 108
Chrysostom and the Celebration of the Firstfruits 110
PART III The Present Implications of Jesus Ascended 115
6. The Priesthood of Christ in the Power of the
Holy Spirit 117
The High Priest in Israel 119
Jesus the High Priest 122
The Offering and the Intercession 125
Worship and the Priesthood of Christ 134
The Priesthood and Our Prayers 138
7. Citizens of a Far Country 143
Three Errors to Avoid 146
Contents vii
Withdrawal from the World 147
Creating the Kingdom Here on Earth 148
Conformity to the World 150
The Place of Tension 151
Citizens of Heaven 153
Yet Citizens of Earth 155
Augustine's Vision 157
8. Spiritual Ascension 163
Deification or Humanization? 166
What Prevents Us? 169
The Quest to Ascend Spiritually 172
Renunciation 174
Clothing According to Our Station 177
Means of Grace: The Lord's Supper 179
Whatever? No, What of It! 181
Summary 182
9. Models for Recovering the Ascension in the Life
of the Church 185
Model One: Use of Core Research 186
Model Two: Teaching Series 191
Model Three: Thirty-Day Prayer Guides 195
Model Four: Christ in the Marketplace 198
Model Five: Retreat for Mission Planning 200
10. Three Concluding Images 205
Staying in the Ship and Staying the Course 207
Investing Against All Odds 209
Notes 211
Appendix: Prayer Guides 227
Morning Prayer I: Ascending into Heaven 229
Evening Prayer I: Ascending into Heaven 232
Morning Prayer II: Citizenship 234
Evening Prayer II: The Living Way of Hebrews 237
Select Bibliography 241
Index 251
Acknowledgements
The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Lenoir,
North Carolina has graciously and willingly participated in this
quest to recover the doctrine of the ascension as a vital agent in
transforming the church. They have come to Bible studies,
listened to sermons, experimented with prayer forms, and allowed
me to take them into the deep waters of this exploration. I am
grateful for their trust, their patience and their willingness to take
risks in thought and life.
Thanks to Dr Douglas Kelly for encouraging me, inspiring me,
and shaping me over the last six years. Theology always leads
him to worship, and he passes that on to his students and friends.
I am grateful, too, for my colleague in ministry, Robert Austell,
and his help in everything from theological debate to formatting
the text. My secretary, Evelyn Creason, enabled me to find time for
this work while still tending the church. The Lorraine and Harper
Beall Evangelical Study Center in Lenoir offered a lovely week of
peaceful space. And, of course, my wife, Rhonda, is the very
backbone of my life, my constant inspiration, my true theological
partner and the reason I can ever move forward in ministry.
I am eager to hear from readers as you begin to recover the
ascension in the life of your local church and particular ministry.
Please feel free to contact me.
Gerrit Dawson
[email protected]
Glen Lorien
Pentecost 2003
Permissions
1 All Scripture quotations in this publication are from the Holy
Bible, New International Version ® NIV, © International
Bible Society, 1973, 1978, 1984. All rights reserved.
2 Excerpts from Miracles by C. S. Lewis, © C. S. Lewis, Pte Ltd,
1947, 1960, reprinted by permission.
3 Excerpts from Space, Time and Resurrection by Thomas F.
Torrance reprinted by permission of Handsel Press, 62 Toll
Rd, Kincardine, Alloa, Scotland.
4 Excerpts from The Deity of Christ and Other Sermons by John
Calvin reprinted by permission of Old Paths Publications,
Willow Street, PA.
5 Excerpts from He Ascended Into Heaven by J. G. Davies
reprinted by permission of Lutterworth Press, Cambridge.
6 Excerpts from The Holiest of All by Andrew Murray reprinted
by permission of Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA.
7 Excerpts from Ascension and Ecclesia by Douglas Farrow
reprinted by permission of T&T Clark International and
William B. Eerdman's.
8 Excerpts from Royal Priesthood reprinted by permission of
T&T Clark.
9 Excerpts from Calvin's New Testament Commentaries re-
printed by permission of William B. Eerdman's Publishing
Company.
10 Excerpts from Institutes of the Christian Religion by John
Calvin, Battles translation, reprinted by permission of
Westminster/Knox Press, Louisville, KY.