Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Heaven and Earth are Joined Together

The Ascension and Pentecost join heaven and earth together.
~ N. T. Wright
This was a comment Wright made recently at the 19th annual theology conference at Wheaton —“Jesus, Paul and the People of God: A Theological Dialogue with N.T. Wright” — which you can listen to here.

At the Ascension, Jesus went up to the throne of heaven at the right hand of the Father, the place of ruling and reigning. He ascended in His full humanity as well as in His full divinity. He ascended in a human body, made of the substance of earth, and He will never cease to exist in just that way — fully human, with spirit, soul and body. He sits on the throne of God in human form and reigns over heaven and earth, now and forever. A part of earth is now a part of heaven, and that is a marvelous mystery.

At Pentecost, ten days later, the Father poured out the Holy Spirit on the Church. God Himself now dwells in every believer in Jesus the Messiah by His Spirit. A part of heaven is now a part of earth — a part of us — and that, too, is a marvelous mystery.

Heaven and earth are now joined together.