May 9, 1999; No. 2940
Promises spoken by a loved one when he is taking his leave of another loved one are especially precious and cherished. What you promise to your loved ones when you are about to leave them is spoken from your heart and is spoken with their best interest in mind. We say, "I promise, dear, that I will write, that I will call, that I will think of you, that I will count the hours until I return."
Jesus Christ is parted from us. Forty days after He arose from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. He will remain there, in His risen body, until He comes again at the end of the world.
In Matthew 28:18-20, we have His parting words. Those words are begun with the ground of confidence for us. He says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." He tells us that He is going to God's right hand, where the Father will entrust all authority unto Him so that all things will be in His hands. He continued His words of parting by issuing the great commission, giving the task of the church until the end of the world, namely, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Then He concluded His parting words with a precious promise: "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His parting words, drew special attention to the promise. He says, "And, lo," that is, behold, take note, inscribe these words on your memory as ye see Me taken up into heaven from you. Is there anything more wonderful to you? Is there anything more important to you at any moment than this parting promise of Christ, that it might be fulfilled in you? Can you imagine being His child on this earth and these words not being true? Imagine taking your place with Moses in Exodus 33:15 when God, who was provoked to wrath over the golden calf, told Moses to lead the people into the wilderness, implying that He would withdraw His own special presence from them. Moses responded, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." Can you imagine walking through the wilderness to Canaan without the presence of the Savior in His faithfulness and love? You say: Impossible! Then the very best thing we could do would be to huddle in fear and be paralyzed. Can you imagine what it would mean if our Lord were not with us?
Surely the heart of saving religion is walking with Christ. None can call himself a Christian who does not know and feel the need for Christ's presence, the heartfelt and real presence of Christ. If any man be in Christ, and Christ be in you, says the Scripture. Do you know what that means? Do you live out of this parting promise of Jesus Christ: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world"?
The places that you go to - does that show that you know that Christ is with you and that you walk with Christ? The words that you speak and the thoughts that you think - do they show that you live in the light of this parting promise? Do you find perfect comfort in this truth in all of your life, when you are alone, when you are at your wits' end, when you are afraid? If Christ could speak but one word, is this the most precious word that He could ever speak to you now: "Lo, I am with you alway"?
The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking these words of Matthew 28 at the occasion of His ascension into heaven. The ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven was a change in the way that Christ would be present with His church, with His people on earth.
The ascension of Jesus Christ declares that His body, His physical presence, is no more on the earth and will not be experienced on the earth again until He comes again at the end of time. Ascension Day, which we celebrate this week, looks back at the earthly, physical sojourn of God's Son with us on earth, and rejoices in the fact that by His life all of our salvation was perfectly accomplished. For thirty-three years He was present in a body in this world. In infinite mercy the eternal Son of God was pleased to take our nature to Himself. The Scriptures say, "He was made like unto us in all things except sin." He was born of a virgin. He grew from infancy into boyhood, to youth, and to adult years. He ate, drank, slept, hungered, thirsted, wept, felt fatigue, sorrow, and pain. In His body He kept the law perfectly for us. In His body He bore all the wrath of God against our sins. In His body He died for our sins and rose again the third day.
That is full of unspeakable comfort for all of those who have been awakened in heart by the grace of God. Exactly as man, very truly man, He is, according to Hebrews 7, able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. He paid the price for us. It was not an angel. It was not a spirit. It was not a ghost who became our substitute and finished the work of our redemption. No, for the Scriptures declare, "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." The battle fought for us and the victory won for us was the battle fought and the victory won by the God-man Jesus Christ. Therefore, forever let us praise God, that in His eternal love He gave His own Son into this world to take upon Himself our body, a real human body and flesh.
The ascension declares that Jesus Christ, now in His risen, glorified body, is no more on earth but is at the right hand of God. This is deep and mysterious, true. The dwelling place for His body is in the heavens. In Hebrews 6:20 we read, "Whither the forerunner is for us entered" - behind the veil, to appear in the presence of God for us. This means that His redeeming work is done. This means that all that was necessary to accomplish the forgiveness of our sins was accomplished, or Christ would not have ascended. This means that that body which walked upon this earth now is taken to heaven exactly because the work of redemption that He was called to do in that body has been fully accomplished. Therefore, the apostle Peter can say, in Acts 3, that the heavens must receive Him. His work of redemption is completed until the time of the restoration of all things.
That is wonderful comfort, is it not? The One on whom God calls us to cast the burden of our sinful souls is the One who has been taken in our body to glory, there to stand as our compassionate Savior. We read in the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, that He is touched with all the feelings of our infirmities because He Himself has also suffered in the body, being tempted. He knows our frame. Who can doubt that all of our needs and all of our cares are in the hands of Him who perfectly knows our state?
But does that truth of the ascension of Christ mean that He is not with us on earth? Does Ascension Day then declare the glorious truth that He has accomplished salvation but, nevertheless, He is gone for now? No! Here is the power of His beautiful promise: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Now, what does that mean? It means that the abiding spiritual presence of Christ is in the heart of every believer. That is even more than the already wonderful truth of the omnipresence of God. God is always present with us. And Christ is God. The Bible is very clear and unmistakable. Think of that. God is everywhere. There is no place in heaven or on earth where He is not. There is no place on land, in air, or in the sea, no continent, no country where God is not present. Enter into your closet, lock the door. Go down into the basement. God is there. Climb the highest mountain, find that place where no one has ever been before - God is there. God sees, God hears, God observes, God knows every action, hears every whisper, sees every look, understands every motive, and reads every thought and secret. We read in Job 34, "His eyes are upon the ways of men, and he sees all his goings." Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place." That ought to make us very humble. There is nothing of us that is not known to God. How we need a Savior, then. And how wonderful it is that He knows all about me and has given His Son to be my Savior.
But that Jesus is present with us means more than just the truth of the omnipresence, of the everywhere present God. It refers to the spiritual presence of the risen, ascended Savior in each believer. Lo, I am with you. I, your Savior. The very One who, in love, took your nature and was crucified, buried, and rose again. I am with you. The very One who arose as the Lord of life, the possessor of the gates of heaven, the victor of all God's people. This one. I am with you. With you. Did you hear that? Not part of Christ. It is not as if Christ is cut up and a little part of Him is given to every believer. No, I (fully) am with you. I am with you, with each one of My children, weak and weary ones, burdened by sin and guilty of conscience before God. No, He is not with the proud. He is not with the self-sufficient. But He is with those who are brokenhearted and downcast. I am with you, says the Savior to each one of His children.
But exactly how is He with us? There are a number of ways. There is, first of all, the real, spiritual presence of Christ in the heart of every true believer who is walking in repentance and faith. Paul speaks of that in Ephesians 3 when he says, "Christ, dwelling in the heart, by faith." This is what our Lord meant when He said that if a man loves Him and keeps His word ( John 14), He shall come unto him and make His abode with him. In every believer, young or old, rich or poor, feeble or strong, pretty or not so pretty, He takes up His abode personally to keep up the work of the Holy Spirit. He guards, He preserves, He sanctifies from the least to the greatest. That is the secret of hope and joy which the believer feels. Do you? This assures our continuing in the faith unto the end. We are weak, we are unstable. But the One who is able to save to the uttermost is with us. Therefore we shall be preserved.
But the Lord means more. He means that there is a real spiritual presence of Christ with the church, which is His body. Lo, I am with you. The reference is not only to the individual believer but to the church represented at that moment by the apostles who were with Him when He ascended into heaven. Later He would say, when He appeared to Saul, who was to become the apostle Paul, on the road to Damascus: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul at that time was persecuting the church; he was persecuting believers. But Jesus said, "Why persecutest thou me?" Not just the church. Because Christ dwells in the church. The church is composed of God's elect. It is gathered under the banner of the truth of God. It is to be faithful to His Word: preach the gospel and baptize. There are many churches which have fallen away from this, become corrupt, departed from the faith. A spirit is in them which claims to be wiser than God. They say, "We need no creed. The Bible is not the truth." But in the church of God, which holds fast to the truth, Christ is there. That is the security of the church. This is exactly what we, as the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, want. We do not want a great name among men at the expense of the truth. But we want His presence, the presence of the ascended Jesus, in the church. And He is present in His Word of truth, and by the spirit of truth. Then the church lives. Even though the church (which holds the truth) may be ridiculed and tossed in the tempest, it will not be sunk. Even though its members may be abused and scorned, yet it shall never be destroyed. "For I am with you always!" Even though the world may rage against this church, Jesus says, "I will be there, for I am with My church."
But that Jesus is with us means something very wonderful also personally. How this promise ought to be the source of personal holiness. Think on those words. Lo, I am with you always. Do you see the folly of any hypocrisy in your confession? We can fool others for a time: parents, elders, fellow saints. There is no big trick in that. We can wear the cloak of Christianity while we inwardly cleave to sin, to lies, and to pride. We can pull the wool over the eyes of people. But does not Christ see us through and through? It is easy to deceive ministers, parents, fellow Christians. Sometimes we see them only on Sunday. They do not follow us around day after day. But our Savior is with us morning and night. And He cannot be deceived. Lo, I am with you always! That is a motive for true holiness.
How His words of being present with us ought always to check our sin and curb our sinful lusts. Children, youth, young men, have you ever said these words: "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." When my father and mother do not see me, when my husband does not see me, when my wife does not see me, Christ does.
It was exactly this knowledge of a present Savior that preserved Joseph in Egypt. You remember the story of Joseph - sold as a slave into Egypt, tempted by Potiphar's wife, refusing the temptation. Why? He said this: "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" He knew that God was present with him. Child of God, do you live in the consciousness that the ascended Christ, the enthroned Christ, has said, "Lo, I am with you always"? Did you think about that when you sat down before the TV program which was filled with profanity and sexual uncleanness, the movie which was filled with shameless ungodliness? Do you think about that in the places where you go? Do you think about that concerning the music you listen to? What about the way you conduct business in your office? Do you think that that is not exposed to the eye of Christ? The way you conduct business, the way you run your business, is it something that Christ is pleased with? When you go to heaven, can you picture Christ enjoying to do what you are doing right now? Can you picture yourself doing what you are doing in heaven with Christ? Can you picture yourself with Christ in heaven speaking about friends and brothers and other people the way you do now? Do you think He would listen to the same music that you do now? Let this word spur you to holiness! Let us strive to please Christ who is with us.
But how this word ought also be for us a word of comfort. Are you in the way of trial? Is your name slandered? Are you falsely accused? He who is at the right hand of God is with you, He knows. And He will be your advocate. Do not fear. Are you in ways of sorrow, loneliness? Are you deprived of a husband? Do you feel abandoned? There is no place where you can be alone. Not if you are a child of God. Christ is with you. He is the One who has sworn: "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
From the moment of the ascension, down through the ages, every moment, even in the last hour when the trial against the church burns its hottest, even unto the end of the world. Never a moment, never a true believer, never a true congregation, from whom Christ will be parted until the end of the world.
There is no mistake about the meaning of those words! They refer to the time when visibly and bodily Christ will return, at the end of the world, at the end of time. The one, visible return of Christ at the end of the age - the day of His appearing. This world has not yet done with Christ. There are many who talk of Him as One who is long gone. They swear and they cuss with His name. They mock His truth. They ridicule the truth that the world is going to end by the return of Jesus Christ. But hear the word of God: He is coming. This same Jesus who, 1,900 years ago, in lowliness was despised and crucified - He is coming again to raise the dead, to judge all men. Then the wicked shall be condemned to the fire of His judgment. The world shall be destroyed and the new heavens and the new earth will be made. Then we shall see Him whom we believe. Then we will take the words of the queen of Sheba to be our own: The half was never told me.
Do you long for the day when He shall return? Hear His promise: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Do you know that? Then yours is great comfort. Then your prayer each day will be: Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank Thee for the promise of Him who is true and faithful, who said: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Amen.
Last Modified: 17-Jun-1999