Why is it important to affirm that Jesus "ascended into heaven" and that "he is seated at the right hand of the Father"? Pannenberg gives us an important implication of the ascension:A Gentile mission seems to have arisen for the first time as a result of the conviction that the resurrected Jesus has now already been exalted to Lordship in heaven and consequently the news of his Lordship is to be carried to all nations.
Jesus - God and Man (London: SCM, 1968), 71.
That Jesus has been raised and is now the ascended, ruling Lord over all means that he is not only the God of Jewish expectation but also the God of the whole world. It's the ascension (among other things) which drives the gospel to all nations.
Nice one Wolfhart!
2 comments:
sheesh - it was all in Calvin already if you had cared to look. The Lutherans are a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to the ascension.
It even got a look in at Congregation D Thursday chapel!
Greg A!
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