This course will seek to raise the enthusiasm of preachers, academic theologians, and the whole people of God about the much-neglected event of the ascension of Jesus, and about his offices as Prophet, Priest, and King. Through renewed focus on these essential but oft-eclipsed elements of the New Testament witness, we will refresh our understanding of the glory of the ascended person of Jesus, his works, and the implications of these realities for many aspects of theology and Christian life.
In this course, we’ll consider comforting truths about the power of Jesus, our High Priest, and his empathy for his suffering people. We’ll discuss Jesus’s engracing of Christian worship and prayer in the life of the church, the work of the Spirit on earth in tandem with the Lordship of the Son in heaven, and the current presence and anticipation of the kingdom at his second coming. We’ll also take a fresh look at theological controversies related to the doctrine of God (including the God-man), the atonement as celebrated—or even, on one account, completed—by the ascension, and the nature of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper.