_A Summary of the Christian Faith by Henry Eyster Jacobs, D.D., LL.D Copyright, 1905, BY THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA. Chapter XII. Pages 141-159 -------------------- CHAPTER XII. THE STATES OF CHRIST. 1. _Upon what is the distinction in the States of Christ based_? Although he communication of divine attributes began with the personal union, i.e., with the very conception of the human nature, nevertheless they were not only not immediately exercised, but two periods are to be clearly distinguished, one in which their activity through the human nature was, to a great extent, repressed, and an- other in which it is fully exercised. The former is called the State of Humiliation; the latter, the State of Exalta- tion. 2. _What is the origin of the terms_? Phil. 2:8,9--"He humbled himself." "God also highly exalted him." The contrast of the ecclesiastical Latin _Status Exin- anitionis_ and _Status Exaltationis_, is based upon verses 7 and 9. In verse 7, the Vulgate translates the Greek _heauton exenosen_ by _semet ipsum exinanivit_, i.e., "made himself empty" or "made himself of none effect." The former state is, therefore, literally one "of emptying," or "self-renunciation." 3. _Of what is the humiliation or emptying predicated, the divine or the human nature_? Neither without the person. The divine person was humbled, but not according to or in the divine nature, but according to and in the human nature. 4. _But is not the humiliation synonymous with the incarnation_? By no means. For the Son of God remained incarnate, after the humiliation was over. 5. _Did they not coincide in their origin_? Yes, but the incarnation was permanent; while the --------------------End of Page 141-------------------- humiliation was temporary. The incarnation itself im- plies condescension indeed, but no humiliation; although the mode of incarnation chosen by the Son of God in- volved humiliation. Hence we teach that humiliation presupposes incarnation, and that it is a state of the in- carnate Word, the Logos _ensarkos_ not the Logos _asarkos_. 6. _Why do we deny that the humiliation was of the divine nature_? Because God cannot be humbled in His own nature. He assumed human nature for the very end that in that nature, He might experience all that humiliation implied. 7. _But might not the humiliation, or emptying, be a mere hiding (_chrupsis_) of communicated power_? God's hiding Himself in clouds and darkness or in inac- cessible light, is nowhere called an emptying or humilia- tion of Himself. 8. _What passage of Scripture is the sedes doctrinae concerning the State of Christ_? Phil. 2:5-11. 9. _Explain the first part of this passage_. This profound theological paragraph occurs, we may say, almost incidentally, in a most direct practical exhorta- tion. The Philippians are urged in verse 3 to do nothing from motives that would advance the glory of either self or any party or faction with which any one might be iden- tified. Instead of this, "in lowliness of mind, each should esteem other better than himself." To enforce this, the example of Christ is cited, who instead of claiming for Himself the full honor that was His due, kept it entirely in the background. His highest motive was the salvation and elevation of fallen men. The description given is that of Jesus in His humanity, as He lived among His fellow- men, in seeming forgetfulness of self (for this is the meaning of _Kenosis_), intent upon the good of others. "Have, then, this mind in you which was in Christ Jesus, --------------------End of Page 142-------------------- who existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped at" (vs. 5,6). 10. _What then is the meaning of "form of God"_? It does not point to a condition prior to the incarnation, but to one that according to what we have learned (Chap. XI,43-49) continued to exist throughout the entire period in which He had also "the form of a servant" (v.7). It was the incarnate Christ who had existed and continued to exist in the form of God. "Many presumptuously assume 'the form of God' with- out 'existing in' it. Such are the devil, Antichrist and the sons of Adam. This is regarded by God and all angels and saints and even by their own consciences as robbery. But Christ _existed_ therein, and had it from His very na- ture. For Him to assert it was not robbery, for He re- garded it His own natural property" (Luther[*]). The contrast is between actually possessing the divine majesty and glory, and grasping after it by those to whom it does not belong. 11. _What is the meaning of "emptied himself" (v.7)_? It means that He did not assert Himself, or make a dis- play of this majesty and glory. The contrast is between others who from "vain glory" constantly boast of what they do not possess, and Jesus who, like a ruler moving incognito among his subjects, refrains from exercising what He actually possesses. 12. _Explain "form of a servant."_ Certainly not the human nature; for this has been ex- alted to the Right Hand of God, since the form of a ser- vant has been laid aside. But it means that "He sought not His own honor and good, but our profit and salvation. It was a willing service, spontaneously undertaken, for the good of others. Such service is indescribable, because the servant and slave is none other than the indescribable -------------------- [*] Erlangen Ed. 8:160. --------------------End of Page 143-------------------- person who is the eternal God, whom all angels and all creatures serve" (Luther[*]). Matt. 20:28--"The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." Luke 22:27--"I am in the midst of you as he that serveth." 13. _"Being made in the likeness of man."_ Like other men, He was conceived and born, was a child and grew in wisdom and stature, was an Israelite among other Israelites, a Galilean among other Galileans, a poor peasant among other poor peasants, with no exter- nal mark distinguishing him among the rest. 14. _"And being found in fashion as a man."_ This refers to the continuance of the state introduced by the preceding clause. "His experience was that of every other man, eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, walk- ing, standing, hungering, thirsting, shivering, sweating, fatigued, working. clothing Himself, sheltered in a house, praying--all things just as others" (Luther). 15. _"Humbled himself."_ That is, He did and suffered that would have been a humiliation, if He had been nothing more than a man. "He did still more and became less than all men, stooped beneath them, and served them with the highest service by giving His body and life for us" (Luther). 16. _"Becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."_ The humiliation deepens. It descends step by step. The Lord of the Law becomes subject to its most minute and extreme requirements. The Prince of Life dies; and His death is no ordinary one, but the shameful death of the cross (Gal. 3:13). 17. _How, then, is the State of Humiliation defined_? It is that in which the Divine Person, according to His -------------------- [*] Ib. p. 164. --------------------End of Page 144-------------------- assumed human nature, abstains from the full use of the divine attributes communicated in the personal union. 18. _Why is this qualified by "according to His assumed human nature_? Because it is only through this nature that He can be humbled and exalted. The Son of God might have come to earth as man, with His humanity glorified, as it will appear on the Day of Judgment, but the humiliation con- sists in the holding of such communicated glory in re- serve. 19. _Why is it limited by the word "full"_? Because He occasionally asserted Himself, as in the working of miracles, and at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 20. _What especially prominent divine attributes are not fully exercised_? _Omnipotence_. For if exercised, His sufferings for our sins would not have been rendered. With a glance He asserted His power, and the band of soldiers sent to ar- rest Him were prostrated. But at once withholding its exercise, He submitted Himself, and laid down His life, which none could take from Him (John 10:18). _Omniscience_. He was ignorant of when the Day of Judgment would occur (Matt. 24:36). _Omnipresence_. John 11:15--"I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there." _His possession of all things_. 2 Cor. 8:9--"Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty, might become rich." Matt. 8:20--"The Son of man hath not where to lay his head." 21. _How long did the State of Humiliation last_? From the first moment of the conception to the last moment in the grace. Phil. 2:8, "Even the death of the cross" is the extreme limit, including of course not simply the act, but the state which followed. 22. _What various stages or grades are enumerated_? --------------------End of Page 145-------------------- Conception and birth, circumcision, childhood, visible life among men, passion, death and burial. 23. _How is the humiliation manifest in the conception and birth_? The former is expressed in the _Te Deum_: "When thou tookest upon thee, to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the womb of the Virgin." The latter, in the poverty of His mother and of His birth-place. 24. _What is involved in the controversy concerning the article of the Creed, "Conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary"_? "They who deny the birth of the God-man of the Vir- gin Mary, will always question also the pre-existence and deity of Christ in general; and therefore also the union and reconciliation of God and man in Him. They who will not leave unchallenged the new birth through crea- tive interposition of a second original man into the old human nature, regard Christianity in general as only the perfecting and not the renovation of humanity. They know only of a gradual improvement of man, but nothing at all of the new creature in Christ Jesus" (Sartorius, Divine Love, p. 138 sq.). 25. _How is the humiliation manifest in the circum- cision_? It was the solemn act by which Christ formally declared and assumed the obligation to fulfil the entire law on man's behalf, and "by which God the Father removed the intolerable yoke of the Law from the human race and placed it upon His incarnate Son." "For with respect to His own person, He was not under the Law; but by cir- cumcision He was made under the Law for us" (Gerhard). Gal. 5:3--"I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law." Rom. 2:25--"For circumcision indeed profiteth, if them be a doer of the Law." --------------------End of Page 146-------------------- 26. _How in His childhood_? He lived in a despised village among rough neighbors, and amidst narrow and contracted surroundings; was contemptuously called "a Nazarene," by the more culti- vated of His race and nation; was subject to Mary and Joseph, although their Lord (Luke 2:51); learned the trade of Joseph and worked with His own hands for a livelihood (Mark 6:3), and submitted even to unjust and harsh rebukes (Luke 2:48). 26. _How in His visible life among men_? Answered above, 15. 27. _How in His passion_? In its widest sense, this embraces all the afflictions and sorrows He endured, His temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4; see Chap. XI:25), the slanders, reproaches and plots of adversaries (Matt. 12:24; John 7:1; 8:6; 9:16, 12), hunger, thirst, fatigue, poverty, etc., beginning with the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem and the flight into Egypt. In its narrower sense, it is the extremity of suffering which He experienced at the very close of His life (Matt. 20:18,19). 28. _Were His sufferings only bodily_? They pertained to both soul and body. He suffered as He foresaw them in the future (Matt. 12:50) and par- ticularly as the crisis approached (Luke 22:44; Matt. 26:38; Mark 14:33). The ingratitude of the Jews, the treachery of Judas, the cowardice of the disciples, the de- nial of Peter, the false accusations, the ridicule and in- sults of the soldiers and of the rabble, all inflicted deep wounds. 29. _What was the culmination of these sufferings_? The sense of God's wrath which found expression in the complaint that He was forsaken. Matt. 27:46--"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Nevertheless this was tempered by the word "my," de- --------------------End of Page 147-------------------- claring an inner consciousness, beneath the seeming sepa- ration, of His union and communion with God. This word, was "a witness of His triumphant faith, standing the test of the extreme death-struggle" (Van Oettingen). 30. _How did this suffering differ from that endured by others, so as to add to its intensity_? He bore the sins of the world (John 1:29). Others are sustained and consoled by the assurance of the sym- pathy and vicarious sufferings of Christ. He faced the storm in all its fury alone, except so far as His union with the Father and the Spirit afforded Him comfort. 31. _What of His bodily sufferings_? No part of His body escaped. Gerhard's hymn, "O Sacred Head now wounded," and Bernard's "Salve caput cruentatum" dwell on this. "Thorns pierce the divine head; paleness, saliva and blood mar His countenance; His eyes are almost ruptured by the fists of His enemies; blows descend repeatedly on His cheeks; His ears are tortured by horrid blasphemies and reproaches; a kiss is imprinted on His mouth as a sign of betrayal; chains bind His hands, and nails pierce them as well as His feet; His shoulders are burdened with the cross; His back and breast and arms are torn by the scourge; His tongue is tortured by thirst and the bitterness of the myrrh; His side is pierced by a spear; His whole body already a mass of wounds is stretched and tortured on the cross" (Quenstedt). 32. _What must be particularly observed in connection with these sufferings_? They were not merely such as seemed to be endured, but were true and real (Is. 53:4). They were borne volun- tarily, not by constraint or force (Heb. 10:7). They oc- curred not accidentally, but in accordance with a divine plan (Acts 2:23; 4:28). 33. _What was involve din the death of Christ_? --------------------End of Page 148-------------------- The dissolution of the natural union between His soul and body, but not of the union between the divine and human natures. 34. _What is the meaning of Christ's dying words, "It is finished"? (John 19:30.)_ That, with His death, all prophecy is fulfilled, the types and shadows of the ceremonial law have reached their end, the work for which He had been sent to earth in ac- cordance with God's eternal decree is at last completed, all the penalties alloted to sin and sinners have been en- dured, the rage of His enemies against Him and His people has found its limit, and, above all, redemption is now perfected. "Hence the propitiatory sacrifice which Christ made for us on the altar of the cross is not im- perfect, or insufficient or only half obtained, but is perfect, complete and absolute" (Gerhard, in "Harmony"). Heb. 10:14--"By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (See also Chapter XIV, 14-16.) 35. _What place had the burial of Christ_? It attested the truth of His death, and consecrated the grave as the resting place of believers. 36. _Define the State of Exaltation_. It is that in which Christ, according to His human na- ture, fully exercises the communicated attributes of the divine nature. 37. _Has it its stages or degrees_? Yes. In this respect, it is like the State of Exalta- tion. The definition, strictly taken, belongs only to its culmination (1 Cor. 15:27,28), although relatively true at the very first stage or grade. 38. _When did the State of Exaltation begin_? With the quickening or union of soul and body in the grave. --------------------End of Page 149-------------------- 39. _What confessional difference is there on this point_? The Reformed Church regards "the descent into hell" as a part of the humiliation; the Lutheran Church, as we shall see, regards it the first grade of the State of Exal- tation. 40. _What determines this difference_? The fact that the Lutheran Church regards 1 Peter 3:18,19 as the _sedes doctrinae_, and the Reformed Church Acts 2:27. 41. _Why do we not regard the latter passage as refer- ring to the descent_? Because the true meaning of the passage is, as A. R. V. translates: "Thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades," not "_in_ Hades," as it has been misinterpreted, but "unto Hades." The thought is: "My soul shall not be delivered over to the power of death." There is no reference here to any "descent." 42. _What appears prominently in 1 Peter 3:18,19_? The fact that the descent occurred after the "quicken- ing," or reunion of soul and body. "Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." 43. _What is the confessional definition of this article_? It is guarded with the greatest caution and earnestly warns against laying importance upon speculations as to details. "We simply believe that the entire person, God and man, after the burial descended into hell, conquered the devil, destroyed the power of hell, and took from the devil all his might. We should not, however, trouble ourselves with sublime and acute thoughts, as to how this occurred" (Formula of Concord, 643). "How this occurred we should reserve until the other world, where not only this point, but also still others will be removed, which we here --------------------End of Page 150-------------------- simply believe, and cannot comprehend with our blind reason" (p. 522). 44. _Could the preaching to the spirits in prison have been a preaching of the Gospel_? No. The word in the Greek is not the word for "preaching the Gospel," _euaggelizo_, but _kerusso_, which means simply "to publish" or "proclaim." Undoubtedly, this might mean to "proclaim the Gospel," if the thought were expressed in other parts of Holy Scrip- ture. There is no warrant, however, for believing that any opportunity for hearing the Gospel will be given after death. If it were so, then, since the Gospel would be preached to the large majority after death, and under circumstances rendering the appeal even more forcible than in this world, where the veil of sense conceals the realities of the world to come, this life could not be called the "accepted time," "the day of salvation," the period of grace (2 Cor. 6:2), when all men everywhere are com- manded to repent (Acts 17:30). It would be only a pre- paratory dispensation, the portal or vestibule to that which is to come. (See Chapter XXXV, 17.) 45. _But is there not a reference to a preaching of the Gospel to the dead in the immediate context to 1 Peter 3:18,19,viz., in 1 Peter 4:6, "For to this end was the Gospel preached even to the dead"? This does not mean that the Gospel was preached to them since they have died, but that those now dead once heard the Gospel just as those to whom the Apostle was writing. In verse 5, there is a reference to the day of judgment, when "the living and the dead" are to be judged. As this refers to a judgment of those now dead after they have been quickened, so in verse 6, "dead" means those now dead, while they lived on earth. They who had heard and believed the Gospel are chiefly in mind. The day of their deliverance is here foretold. --------------------End of Page 151-------------------- 46. _Why is there a special allusion to the antediluvians as those to whom Christ preached_? Their open defiance and ridicule of Noah as a preacher of righteousness was typical of those who, in Peter's days, "mocked" preachers of the Gospel (2 Peter 3:3,4). The discomfiture of the antediluvian mockers when Christ proclaimed His victory in the spirit world, was typical of the fate of all who similarly array themselves against His cause. 47. _Did this proclamation of Christ's victory extend also to the saints of the Old Testament, who died in faith of the promises fulfilled by His death and resurrection_? The Roman Catholic Church teaches that by this preach- ing, they were released from the so-called _limbus patrum_ and transferred to heaven. Of this, however, Scripture says nothing. As a matter of speculation, we may regard it probable that the proclamation of victory announced to one class to their terror was made to another class, to their joy and triumph. We dare not think of those who departed in faith as until then "in prison." 48. _According to which nature did Christ make the descensus_? The Divine Person descended into hell, according to the human nature. 49. _What, then, are the grades of the State of Exalta- tion_? The Descent into Hell, Resurrection, Ascension and Session at the Right Hand of God. 50. _What is the Resurrection_? The act by which Christ brought forth from the sepul- chre His body, and by various tests and at various times showed Himself alive to His disciples, as a proof of His divine authority, an evidence of the completion of His work of Redemption, and a confirmation of faith in the future resurrection of the dead. --------------------End of Page 152-------------------- 51. _Was the resurrection an act peculiar to the Son_? All three persons of the Trinity were active, as in all external acts of God. Eph. 1:20 declares that the Father raised Christ from the dead (cf. Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). John 10:17, Christ says that He takes up His life of Himself. In Rom. 8:11 it is said that the Spirit raised up Jesus from the dead. 52. _When did Christ rise from the dead_? On the third day, as Scripture repeatedly declares and the Church confesses. Jewish computation counts each day during which He was dead as one, whether it be the whole or only a part. There was one day, and parts of two others, the Jews reckoning their time from sunset to sunset. 53. _What were the characteristics of His resurrection body_? (a) It was a true body. Luke 24:39--"Handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and blood as ye see me having." To prove this "He ate before them" (v. 43). (b) It was the same body which He had before, with the print of the nails, and the scar of the spear (John 20:25,27). (c) It was a glorified body. Phil. 3:21--"Who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory." 54. _What is meant by "a glorified body"_? Since in the passage just quoted, it is declared that the resurrection body of believers is to be fashioned after that of Christ, and in 1 Cor. 15:42-44, there is a description of the resurrection body of believers, it follows that that of Christ possesses in the highest degree what is there de- scribed. All is summed up in the expression a "spiritual body." "A spiritual body," however, is not a body which is transformed into spirit. For there is a contrast between the body in the present life, as a "psychical" or soul body, and in the resurrection as a "spiritual" body. But since --------------------End of Page 153-------------------- the "psychical body" is not body that is "soul," but one that has the properties of the soul (cf. above, Chap. VII, 13), the spiritual body is one that has the properties of the spirit. The reference is to a higher grade of endowments than those which we know now. In virtue of this, even before His death and resurrection, Christ walked upon the waves of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14:25), and after the resurrection, entered a room, even though the doors were closed (John 20:19), and vanished at will (Luke 24:31, or suddenly made His presence known (Mark 16:12). (See Chapter XXXVI, 12-16.) 55. _How do you explain the possession of these en- dowments as in Matt. 14:25, even before the resurrection_? In virtue of the personal union, they were possessed throughout the entire State of Humiliation, although not ordinarily exercised. But with the State of Exaltation, they are freely exercised. 56. _Does this same principle obtain in applying the terms "glorify" and "glorified"_? Yes. During the State of Humiliation, in one sense, Jesus, according to His human nature, was "not yet glo- rified" (John 7:39; 17:2,5), i.e., He did not exercise the honor and power that were His. But, in another sense, He was glorified, whenever He permitted them to shine forth, as in His miracles (John 2:11). Because in His body dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9), it had these spiritual properties from the beginning, but their use was kept in abeyance and reserved for the State of Exaltation. 57. _Why was the stone rolled away from the door of the sepulchre_? Not because its presence prevented the coming forth of Christ, for, as He penetrated walls with His resurrec- tion body, He could with equal ease have penetrated the sealed rock, but in order to afford His disciples and the --------------------End of Page 154-------------------- faithful women a sure proof that the tomb was empty. There is nothing in the record to show that the resurrec- tion was subsequent to the rolling away of the stone. 58. _Why has the resurrection of Christ such promi- nence in the preaching and teaching of the Apostles_? (a) Because our Lord appealed to it as the test of the truth of His claims (Matt. 16:21; 17:9; John 2:19), and to the early Christians it was the greatest of all proofs of His divine authority, and especially of His Godhead (Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:14-19; Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:33, etc.). (b) Because it attested the perfection of the righteous- ness acquired by Christ's mediation. He was man's sub- stitute. As such He bore man's sins and died, the just for the unjust. If death had held Him fast, it would have bound us. But as death cannot hold Him, we are free; He has satisfied the law; and His righteousness procured for us surpasses all the powers of death. Rom. 4:25--"Who was delivered up for our trespasses, and raised again for our justification." i.e., just as our sins cause His death, so our potential justification, or the full provision He has made for our justification, caused His resurrection. (c) Because it is the pledge of our own resurrection. 1 Cor. 15:20--"But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first- fruits of them that are asleep." 2 Cor. 4:14. (d) Because from it flows the applying grace of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 6:4--"That like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life." 59. _What place does the resurrection of Christ have in Apologetics_? "The resurrection of Christ is a fact. It is the fixed point to which the threads of all Apologetics will ever be attached. Apologetics will always have to start from the resurrection of Christ. He is historically proved by it to be the personal miracle. The awakening of Jesus from --------------------End of Page 155-------------------- the dead is the great miracle which contains and carries those mighty deeds performed by Him and recorded in the Gospels, as also those which were done in His name. In short by His resurrection, He is declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness; in Him the world is fully overcome, and God is glorified. From this, too, the existence of a living and life-giving God is proved. From ignorance of the power of God, Paul and Jesus in common, explain the denial of a resur- rection (1 Cor. 15:39; Matt. 22:29)" (Auberlen). A Church historian whose free criticism of Christianity has deservedly been subjected to the criticism of scholars who have followed him, viz., F. C. Baur, correctly affirmed that the energy and enthusiasm which imparted to the early Church its aggressive force and made it victorious was "the conviction that the resurrection of Jesus was the most fixed and incontrovertible certainty." 60. _What is the Ascension of Christ_? "The visible and glorious triumph of Christ as victor, raising His body above the clouds, and then, in an in- visible way, extending it above all heavens, so as to oc- cupy His Kingdom unto the end of the world, and every- where, in a heavenly manner, afford us aid" (Calovius). 61. _May it not have been a mere disappearance as, in Gen. 17:22, God is said to have gone up from Abraham_? No, for the disciples saw him depart by a visible and local motion (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9), in virtue of the endowments of a glorified and supernatural body, as He entered upon a higher degree of the use of His Majesty than He had exercised during the period between the Resurrection and Ascension. "It was a true and real as- cension, the body being raised above the earth. See Acts 1:9. Nevertheless it is not to be excessively scrutinized or defined according to the natural mode, so that the pres- ence upon earth of the body which was raised to heaven is --------------------End of Page 156-------------------- denied. For it is not only in heaven, but we read in Eph. 4:10, that 'He ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things'" (Baier). 62. _What is the heaven which Christ entered_? Not the visible, astronomical heaven, which is its sym- bol, but the state or condition within which the glory of God is most fully displayed. John 17:5--"And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." 63. _What was the end of the Ascension_? First of all, His glorious triumph (Eph. 2:15). Then although, according to his promise, never absent on earth until the end of the world (Matt. 28:20), nevertheless He withdrew His visible presence, that He might send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7), prepare abodes in heaven for believers (John 14:2), and train them to believe in Him as though absent. John 20:29--"Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." 1 Peter 1:8--"Whom not having seen ye love; on whom though now ye see him not, yet believed, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 64. _What exhortation and consolation are given by the Ascension_? The exhortation. Col. 3:1,2--"If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God," etc. The consolation. John 17:24--"Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." 65. _What is the Session at the Right Hand of God_? It is manifest that neither "Right Hand," nor "sitting" can be taken literally. To localize the "Right Hand" is in conflict with God's spirituality. The Right Hand of God is declared to be omnipresent. Ps. 139:7-10--"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I --------------------End of Page 157-------------------- make my bed in Sheol, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me." 66. _What is meant by referring various organs and parts of the human body to God_? The eye and ear symbolize His knowledge and care. Ps. 34:15--"The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." The finger symbolizes the union of power and wisdom. Luke 11:20--"If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you." The arm, His omnipotent power. Luke 1:51--"He hath shewed strength with his arm." The feet, His absolute dominion and sovereignty. Ps. 8:6--"Thou hast put all things under feet." The arm and right hand are frequently united to indi- cate power in various manifestations. Deut. 5:15--"Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm." Ps. 89:13--"Thou hast a mighty arm. Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand." The Right Hand denotes, therefore, the power and majesty of God in the very highest degree. Ex. 15:6--"Thy right hand, O Jehovah, is glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Jehovah, dashes in pieces the enemy." Ps. 18:35--"Thy right hand hath holden me up." 21:8--"Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee." Hence it is called "the Right Hand of Power" (Matt. 26:64), "the Right Hand of Majesty" (Heb. 1:3), "the Right Hand of the throne of Majesty" (Heb. 8:1), "the Right Hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). 67. _Coming back to question 64, what, then, is meant by Christ's sitting at the Right Hand of God_? It is the full participation of the human nature of Christ in God's reign over all things in heaven and earth. Christ, the divine person, according to His human nature, exer- cises fully the sway over all things which belonged to --------------------End of Page 158-------------------- Him in the human nature, as well as the divine, from the first moment of the personal union.[*] 68. _Is it synonymous with "reigning"_? Not exactly. It is reigning with a certain end in view. For this, be it noted, is a stage of His Mediatorial Office, and is directed towards the salvation of men. It is the administration by Christ, according to His human nature, of the three-fold Kingdom, of Power, Grace and Glory, the application of redemption. 69. _How is this declared in our Confessions_? "He ascended into heaven, that He might sit on the Right Hand of the Father, and forever reign and have dominion over all creatures, and sanctify them that believe in Him, by sending the Holy Ghost into their hearts, to rule, comfort and quicken them, and to defend them against the devil and the power of sin" (Augsburg Con- fession, Art. III). -------------------- [*] As contrasted with other statements in which the Reformed seem to antagonize Lutheran teachers on this subject, reference may be made to the admirable explanation of Calvin on Eph. 1:20. "This passage clearly shows what the Right Hand of God means, viz., _not any locality_, but the power which the Father conferred upon Christ, in order that, in his name, the latter should administer the government of heaven and earth * * God is said to have raised Christ to his Right Hand, because he made him associate in the government, and through him he exercised all his power * * In as much as the Right Hand of God fills heaven and earth, it follows that the Kingdom, as well as the power of Christ is universally diffused. Hence they are in error, who, from Christ's sitting at the Right Hand of God, endeavor to prove that Christ is only in heaven." --------------------End of Chapter on Page 159-------------------- This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by William Alan Larson and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (260) 452-2123 Fax: (260) 452-2126