Jesus is Sending
About this series:
Throughout 2023 our Sunday teaching series has been on The Kingdom Of God. During the five summer Sundays we’ll take a break from that series as we ask, “What is Jesus doing now?”
Christians tend to focus, understandably, on what Jesus has done - in his life, death and resurrection - and on what he will do - return. But the Christian faith has always understood Jesus to have a current ministry too, as the New Testament explains that he ascended not only because his work was done but also to continue his work (though now from his exalted, ascended, victorious position at his Father’s right hand). So we’ll do well to spend these weeks considering this often-neglected facet of the Bible’s teaching, helping us discover the implications of Jesus’ ascension. One writer goes so far as to say, ‘The continuing reign and life of the enthroned Christ is the theological core and narrative heart of Acts and the basis for the rest of the New Testament’ (Patrick Schreiner).
So, having ascended, what is Jesus doing now? He is reigning, praying, advocating, sending and waiting (this is not an exhaustive list). ‘He leads not in heaven a life of mere glory, majesty and blessedness, but a life of office, love and care also’ (John Owen).
Jesus is reigning: he sat down to reign, ruling all things according to his word and his will.
Jesus is praying: from his position as conquering king he is interceding for us.
Jesus is advocating: his presence in heaven witnesses to the eternal effectiveness of his death and resurrection for us.
Jesus is sending: sending the promised Holy Spirit to empower his people with his presence.
Jesus is waiting: he is awaiting the day of his return, the defeat of his enemies and the celebration of being united with his bride in the new creation.
About this talk:
Scripture: Acts 2:32-33
Specifically, Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit. In John 14, 15 & 16 Jesus teaches his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. In all three chapters, he is referred to as “the Spirit of truth” who will lead them into truth (ch 14), who will testify about Jesus (ch 15) and who will glorify Jesus (ch 16). The Spirit will be sent by the unity of the Father - “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name” (14:26) - and the Son - “but if I go, I will send him to you” (16:7). This ‘dual sending’ is expressed in 15:26: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father - the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father - he will testify about me.”
Later, after his resurrection, Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit was sent - “what my Father has promised” (Luke 24:49). And just a few days later, on the Day of Pentecost, they were all baptised in the Holy Spirit. After spilling out onto the streets, Peter explains, “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”’” And he explains it in terms of what Jesus is now doing: “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”
To the disciples’ amazement, Jesus had said it was for their good that he would return to the Father - for their good because forgiveness of sins would then have been won by him through his death and for their good because he would then pour out the Spirit on them, the streams of living water promised in John 7:37-39. And in Acts 2 he is doing exactly that - he has ascended to send the Spirit.
Thereafter in the book of Acts we have a number of further examples of the Father and the Son sending the Spirit, described with a variety of phrases: the Holy Spirit is poured out, the Holy Spirit fills the believers, they received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit came on them, they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has been filling God’s people ever since. Firstly, every child of God is indwelt by the Spirit - “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9); and every child of God is empowered by the Spirit for the life God has called them to. So the New Testament speaks of being filled with the Holy Spirit in terms of God’s love being poured into our hearts, of knowing our sonship, of being empowered for mission, of being gifted for service, of growing in Christlikeness and of leading us into all truth.
One of the most remarkable privileges of every child of God is to be a temple of God - to have the very power and presence of God living within, experientially bringing to life the truths in God’s word and empowering us to live the life God has called us to. I’ve only ever been in one ‘revival,’ in the US in the late 1990s. The story of those remarkable events was written up and then summarised in this way: ‘God’s presence was tangible at last.’ That’s something to pray towards.
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