Forty Days of Kingdom Revelation

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:1-3)

The forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension to His throne in heaven — what an unusual time for Him and His disciples — are full of world-changing significance. Like everything else in His ministry, they were about the kingdom of God. He began His ministry announcing that it was now at hand. He went about preaching it and teaching it by parables and discourse. He demonstrated it by healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons and raising the dead — and sent His disciples out to do the same. He taught them how to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done!” He announced that the kingdom was within them.

After the resurrection, He declared that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Surely, that is about the kingdom of God, the rule and reign of God coming to earth and the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven. It was in that context that He commissioned His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all the things Jesus had commanded them. This is all about the kingdom of God.

Before He ascended to His throne in heaven, He told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise of the Father. They asked Him if He was restoring the kingdom to Israel at that time. He answered that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons which the Father placed in His own authority. Instead, He gave them this — and I believe it is where the answer to their question is really found: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This power and this witness are all about the kingdom of God, testifying and demonstrating that Jesus is King and His kingdom is now in the world — in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and extending to the ends of the earth. These forty days between Resurrection and Ascension were about preparing the disciples to receive His kingdom and manifest it by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom of God has come into the world. The resurrected Christ has ascended to His glory and the Holy Spirit has come upon His people. His purpose is to bring forth the evidence of who Jesus is and manifest His kingdom, heaven on earth, here and now.

Ascension: Receiving Us Unto Himself

In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)

Some Christians, when they hear the word “mansions,” think of large estate houses, one for each believer. Then they begin to speculate, even fantasize, about what their houses will look like. But that misunderstands what Jesus was saying. The Greek word for “mansions” actually refers to abodes, rooms, dwelling places. Jesus was not talking about a bunch of houses scattered across the countryside; He was speaking of one house only — “My Father’s house.” It is a house of many abodes, enough for everyone who receives the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus told the disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Many Christians think He was talking about the Second Coming, that Jesus is now busily preparing our place in heaven with Him, and that one day He will come and take us there.

But that, I believe, is a misunderstanding also. Jesus is not preparing a place for us — He has already prepared it. We are not still waiting for Him to receive us to Himself — He has already received us. The coming He spoke of is not the second coming, but the resurrection. Don’t get me wrong — I do believe that there is a Second Coming, but that is not what Jesus was talking about here.

When Jesus spoke these words, the crucifixion and the resurrection were still future, although they would very shortly come to pass. It is by these great acts of redemption, salvation and victory that Jesus has prepared a place for each one who comes to faith in Him. He has not only cleared the way for us, but He is Himself the way (John 14:6). He died, was buried, and on the third day God raised Him from the dead. On the evening of that third day, Jesus came to His disciples and received them to Himself:

So Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)

Jesus so thoroughly identified Himself with the disciples that He gave them His peace and commissioned them with the same commission He had received from the Father. The He gave them His Spirit. They were now dwelling in Him; He was now dwelling them.

This giving of the Spirit is something Jesus had spoken of only days before, in John 14-16, in the context of His going to prepare a place and coming again to receive His disciples. Now it had been fulfilled.

He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

On the fortieth day of His resurrection, Jesus told the disciples to wait in the Jerusalem for the promise of the Father — the Holy Spirit coming upon them in power. The Spirit of God had been in them, but now He would be on them. After leaving this instruction, Jesus ascended to heaven.

The apostle Paul clearly understood that Jesus has prepared a place for us and received us to Himself, for he wrote that God “has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). This may seem hard to understand, but if God says that is where He has seated us, then that is where He has seated us. It is not a future expectation, but a present reality. This is the place Jesus has prepared for us, and He has received us to Himself, for we are seated there in Him.

Are you abiding in the abiding place Jesus has prepared for you? If you have received Jesus, Jesus has received you. Contemplate what it means to be presently seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, in the place of ruling and reigning with Him.

Ascension: The Name of Jesus

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

The sequence of Jesus’ redeeming work is: incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, exaltation.

• Though He has always been fully divine, the Son of God became a bondservant (God is love; love gives and serves) and took on human flesh.
• He humbled Himself, even to the point of death on the cross, where He took on all our sins, sicknesses and bondages.
• God raised Him from the dead in victory over all the works of the devil, even death ( 1 John 3:8: Hebrews 2:14).
• Forty days later, as the disciples watched, Jesus ascended to heaven, where God has highly exalted Him above all things, and given Him the name which is above every name.

At the name of Jesus, every knee must bow and every confess that He is Lord. This, too, is part of our salvation, for Jesus has not been glorified in His divinity only, but also in His humanity. He is the God-Man who reigns forever and ever. This does not take anything away from God, but honors and glorifies Him.

It is not only at the coming of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue confess; but it is at the name of Jesus. Certainly we look for His return, and the completion of all things in Him, but our job at present is to lift up and glorify His name. For that is what will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess His eternal lordship.

Do you know the God-Man who reigns forever? His kingdom is breaking into the earth, and His reign is the completion of our salvation. The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the death, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). His glory day will become your glory day, too.

Ascension: The Gifts of Christ

But to each one of us grace was give according of the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended” — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:7-16)

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor and teachers — these are known as the “ascension gifts” of Christ to His Church. He Himself is the embodiment of all these things, and because He has ascended to heaven, He is able to multiply these things in His body, the Church, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ loves the Church. At the ascension, when God exalted the Lord Jesus, “He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The Church is the fullness of Christ — it is all about Him, and He fills it with every good thing. These ascension gifts are given to equip the body to do the work of the ministry, to bring the body of Christ to unity and maturity, operating in love and truth. For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), and the purpose of God is to conform us to the likeness of Christ in these things (Romans 8:29).

All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ are part of His body, and He takes very good care of His body. Every believer is joined to each other. Each one has a part to play and a contribution to make, that the whole body may be built up in love.

Ascension: The Revelation of Glory and Power

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know … what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:17-22)

The ascension of Jesus Christ to His throne at the right hand of the Father is the revelation of God’s glory and power. It is the same power God exercises toward us and on our behalf. In fact, this great power is actually at work in us.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

The same power by which Jesus has been raised from the dead and exalted to heaven is also at work in us in the same way.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

The ascension of Jesus into heaven, where He rules and reigns forever, is also our ascension into glory, where we are seated in Him in the heavenlies, where we rule and reign with Him. It is the revelation of His power and glory, both to us and in us.

Ascension: The Promise of Greater Works

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave your orphans; I will come to you. (John 14: 12-18)

The ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Father is the promise that those who believe in Him will do even greater works than He did. For His absence in one form means His greater presence in another form — that is, by the Holy Spirit. He did not leave us orphans, without His divine presence. No, He asked the Father to give us another Helper, the Spirit of truth, to dwell in us forever. Notice that He dwells, not just with us, but in us.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, to teach us all we need to know:

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 things that I said to you. (John 14:26)

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-15)

This will always be about the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the truth (John 14:6). “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). The Holy Spirit takes what belongs to the Lord Jesus (and all that Father has belongs to Him) and declares it to us.

The Holy Spirit also brings an endowment of power (Luke 24:29; Acts 1:8). The exercise of this power must always be about truth — about Jesus the Anointed One and the ministry for which He was anointed (see Luke 4:17-21). It must also be about love and obedience to Jesus. For in the same place He gave the promise of greater works, He also said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Jesus ascended to heaven so He could give the Holy Spirit to all those who believe in Him. The Promise of the Spirit is also the promise of greater works in Jesus’ name. It is conditioned upon faith, but it works according to love (faith works through love; Galatians 5:6) and obedience, so that when we move mountains it will always display the purpose of God and change the world for the better.

Ascension: The Promise of the Spirit

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 8:37-39)

This coming Sunday is Ascension Sunday, the seventh in the Easter season and the last before Pentecost. The glorification of Jesus is His ascension into heaven, and it is a very important part of our salvation: Jesus died on the cross for our sins; He was resurrected for our victory; but in His ascension, which happened 40 days after His resurrection, He took His place on the throne of heaven, where He rules and reigns forevermore. His kingdom is now being established on earth, even as He taught His disciples to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!”

But what does this have to do with the promise of the Holy Spirit? The answer is that Jesus could not give us His Spirit as long as He was still on this earth in bodily form. For at the Last Supper, 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)

Before He ascended, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem:

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now … You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:4-5, 8)

The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the endowment of power from heaven are the rivers of living water Jesus talked about. They spring forth from the inner man to manifest the kingdom of God in the earth. They are the sign that King Jesus now reigns on His throne and His kingdom is breaking forth into all the world.

If you believe in Jesus, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit belongs now to you, for the King is on His throne and the Promise of the Father has been fulfilled. If you would like to experience the power of God in your life and see it change the world, pray this prayer:

Father, I receive Your Spirit, and I welcome the rivers of living water into my life. Let them flow from me to manifest Your kingdom, Your power and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.