Apostles’ Creed: “…He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty…”

Apostles’ Creed: “…He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty…”

We cannot see Jesus right now.

That’s because, after rising from the dead, Jesus physically left the face of the earth. He ascended into heaven before the eyes of His eleven faithful disciples.

But the fact that we cannot see Jesus should not be a hindrance to our faith.

In fact, knowing that Jesus is in heaven is a great joy and comfort to the Christian for at least two reasons:

First, Jesus sits in heaven as Priest, interceding for those who believe in Him. If you belong to Christ Jesus, He hears your prayers and Himself actively prays to God the Father for you and for your well-being.

Priests in the Old Testament existed to make sacrifices and to pray to God for the common people. But those priests were not good enough for the people of God, since the priests themselves were full of sin.

Pagan cultures all over the world have understood instinctively the need for priests—mediators between us and a holy God in heaven. But the priests of paganism can only mediate between us and false gods.

But thanks be to God, we have a great High Priest, who is Himself the perfect sacrifice, and whose prayers God the Father always listens to; a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and purified all things so that we might draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, and might receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.

Second, Jesus sits in heaven as King, reigning over the entire universe from the throne of heaven. God the Father has given all rule and power and authority to Jesus Christ.

In fact, it was Jesus’ claim that He would be seated on the throne of heaven that the Jews used to justify their condemnation of Him to be crucified. Indeed, if Jesus were not worthy of such power and authority, if He were not the king of the universe, it would have been blasphemous for Him to say what He said—that He would be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

But thanks be to God, He was not blaspheming by claiming such authority. Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ is worthy, and He is seated this very moment at the right hand of God the Father. The martyr Stephen looked into heaven and saw the Lord Jesus seated there, ready to welcome those who serve Him as King, and to condemn those who reject His reign.