Christ Has Ascended On High Ephesians 4:7-16
1) To Take Captivity Captive 2) To Build Up His Body
No one stays anywhere forever. Eventually we all leave to go somewhere else. The question is, why do you leave? Say you’re on vacation. Why do you leave it? Because time has run out and you need to get back to regular life. What about work, why do you leave? Because it’s a certain hour o’clock or you’ve finished what you need to get done. Say you want to hike Picacho Peak after driving by it to and from Phoenix. Why might you turn back early? Because you didn’t bring enough water, you’re afraid of heights, or you’re not physically fit for the strenuous trail. Maybe you just leave because you wanted to. Like when you went to the movies to watch a warm and fuzzy romantic comedy and you instead see the title screen for a scary supernatural horror movie.
We’re celebrating Christ’s ascension today, when he visibly left earth and returned to his home in heaven. It is one of the oldest festivals in the Christian church. Yet, what are we celebrating? Why did Jesus leave? We celebrate our Savior’s victory over sin as signaled with his ascension to heaven. As we dig into Ephesians chapter 4, we learn two reasons why he has ascended on high. First, to take captivity captive. And two, to build up his body of believers.
1) To Take Captivity Captive
This may seem too simple, but in order for Christ to ascend, he first had to descend. Jesus did that when he was born in Bethlehem and put aside the full and frequent use of his divine power and glory for 33 years. There was a reason to this self-humbling: to be our Promised Savior. Jesus tells his disciples what all that entails in today’s Gospel, “This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47 EHV) The Christ must suffer in the place of sinners so he could pay the price we racked up with our wrongs. So Jesus did on the cross. The Christ must rise from the dead on the third day to show that Christ has conquered death itself. So Jesus did on Easter. Repentance and forgiveness must be preached to all nations so they may benefit from what the Christ has done for them. Thankfully, the Christian church has done that, bringing the news all the way down to us in southern Arizona.
Ephesians chapter 4 tells us another result of Jesus’ ascension. Quoting from Psalm 68(:18), Jesus’ ascension also takes the captivity of sin, death, and the Devil into captivity itself. The sins that once stained our souls and brought us guilt are now taken away by Jesus’ forgiveness. We are holy pure and sinless in God’s own sight. Death once loomed over us spelling a cold and final end. But now, it’s changed to be a grief full entrance into heaven. Plus, our bodies will be raised to life on the Last Day and eternally reunited with our souls. The Devil our old, evil foe means us deadly woe. Yet his reign of terror ended when Jesus said, “It is finished!” Though roaring like a hungry, wounded lion, his days are numbered. He’s also no match for those who resist him standing firm in the faith.
When you see Jesus ascending into heaven, do you see a victorious departure? Those who win aren’t the ones who leave. It’s the defeated, the losers, who scurry away in disgrace. 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead, he visibly left us when he ascended into heaven. And who remains behind in his absence? Our former captors: sin, death, and the Devil! It seems like they have won the fight! And Jesus’ ascension is more like a shameful retreat or disgraceful defeat.
Perhaps Jesus’ ascension seems to be too soon, that 40 days weren’t enough. Sure, Jesus died on the cross. But sin, death, and the Devil are still around, plaguing us every day and tearing Christians away from Christ. Did Jesus’ death and resurrection just weaken them? If they were actually defeated, shouldn’t our lives be great and wonderful, free from sin, death, and the Devil?
Let’s remember what Jesus’ ascension actually signals. It signals the completion of his mission to be our Promised Savior. Jesus didn’t come to make our lives a fairy tale. That’s what heaven will be like. Rather, Jesus came to be our Savior who frees us from our sins so that heaven will one day be our home. He did that by fulfilling everything that was written about him in the Old Testament. He died on the cross to pay the price of our sins. He rose from the dead to confirm its payment. He brings us joy by sharing his victory with us.
His ascension also takes captivity itself captive. To take someone captive doesn’t mean that you get rid of them. Rather, that you render them powerless. So, Jesus does with sin, death, and the Devil. With Jesus’ gift of forgiveness, our sins are canceled and remembered no more. With Jesus’ promise of heaven and bodily resurrection, death is nothing more but a sting. With Jesus’ almighty power, the Devil is confined to his violent death throes. With faith in Jesus as our Savior, we stand victorious with him over our former captors of sin, death, and the Devil.
2) To Build Up His Body
The 40 days after Easter were wonderful for Jesus’ disciples. They got to enjoy good times with him, be assured that Jesus is indeed their risen Savior, and receive specific guidance or instruction from him as needed. But the longer Jesus stayed, the longer it would be for the Holy Spirit to come in power to build Christians up. So, Jesus ascends into heaven to build up his body of believers.
Our theme for worship today is how Christ’s ascension means he is closer than ever. Though visibly absent, he’s close in any number of ways. One is his omnipresence, present everywhere as only God can be. He’s also connected to each Christian as a body’s head. Every body has a head that governs and directs what its body does. Every body is made up of multiple parts like arms, legs, organs, and supporting ligaments. Though each part of the body is different, they’re all important for one’s health and under the same head. So it is with Christ and Christians. Christ is the head who governs and directs his body. Christians are his body who, though uniquely blessed and gifted, all work together and are equally connected to Jesus.
As our head, Jesus brings us to spiritual maturity, to the measure of the fullness of Christ. He does this through the public ministry, those whose full-time service to God consists of sharing God’s Word. We hear what these positions looked like when these verses were written: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers. In our day, we see this public ministry as pastors, teachers, and staff ministers. The purpose of the public ministry is to build up the body of Christ, to train us up for the work of serving. What does this service look like? Simply said, loving God and loving our neighbor in line with God’s Word.
How built up are you? How trained are you for the work of serving? Have you spiritually matured to the point of a full-grown adult? Or do you sometimes feel like a little child who is lost at sea, tossed by the waves, and blown around by the winds? We can easily be confused by all the teachings out there. We are bombarded by competing truths and brands of Christianity all claiming to be the right one. How do we sort fact from fiction? Look on the internet and you’ll find anything anyone has said. We can’t fall back on our thoughts and feelings because they’re not always reliable. We can’t follow the crowd because there are wellrespected people with large following who say opposing things.
Has your spiritual maturity been stunted because of tricksters and their cunning ways? Suppose someone were to ask you to play a game of dice. What you don’t
know is that the dice are loaded, determined to roll to your demise. Sadly, that’s how some people use God’s Word. They find a golden opportunity, help themselves at other’s expense, and do it all in the guise of building up Christ’s body. Who gets the worst of it? Christians like you and me who are led astray from God’s Word and fighting against Christ, our head.
Ask anybody and they’ll tell you: it’s better to be fully mature than halfway there. Thankfully, our Savior brings us to this maturity. He gives us the means in his Word where he speaks to us today. Whenever we open this Word, our ascended Savior is close to us through his very own words. To help us get into this Word, Jesus has instituted the public ministry: our pastors, teachers, and staff ministers whose full-time service to God is sharing God’s Word with people in all the ways it applies. This all comes together under the Head’s direction as Christ governs, directs, and causes the growth of us, his body. We grow towards the purpose he trains us for: to reach unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to the measure of the fullness of Christ, and to engage in the work of serving. And we do all this closer to our ascended Savior than ever before.
Closing Encouragements
At first glance, Jesus’ ascension into heaven looks anything but a victory. But that’s why he returned to heaven, because he has completed his mission to be our Savior and thus taken the captivity of sin, death, and the Devil into captivity itself. Though we are still afflicted by them, our Savior renders them powerless through faith in him. Jesus’ ascension also signals how he builds the body of believers which he heads. Through his Word and those he calls to apply it to our lives, we mature in faith and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ and naturally show it through the work of serving.
As you see Christ ascended on high, rejoice that our Savior has completed his mission and freed you from your former captors. Dig into God’s Word and listen to those who share it so you can mature to the measure of the fullness of Christ. Look to Christ, your head, as you function as a part of the body of believers who’s uniquely gifted and blessed. And do it all with full knowledge that, though Christ has ascended on high, he is closer to you than ever before. Amen.