Jesus’ work in his ascension can be understood according to the threefold office as prophet, king and priest.1Calvin, Institutes, Book 2 Chapter 15; Battles ed., 494-503.
An ‘office’ is a position of authority or service, typically one of a public nature.
Even in his ascension, the power of Christ, his kingship, is exercised through his atoning sacrifice.
Prophet
Christ is the ultimate teacher and revealer of God’s grace and truth.
As the Word of God, the ascended Jesus continues to reveal God to human beings (John 1:1-18; 14:25-26; 15:26). By his Spirit he empowers the preaching of the gospel of himself (John 16:1-15).
Clement of Rome called the gospel the sceptre by which Christ now rules over the nations and over all history.
That’s an arresting image. Not a sword, not a crown — a message. The instrument of his government is the announcement about himself.
And the body of Christ, the ones gathered in his name, are equipped to proclaim the word and teach the Scriptures until he comes to judge and renew his creation.
King
The Old Testament pictures ‘the LORD sitting on his throne’ (1 Ki 22:19), signifying his holy, absolute and unchallenged rule of the world (Psa 2:4; 47:8; 99:1; Isa 6:1-4).
Psalm 110:1-7 portrays the Messiah taking his appointed position alongside the LORD, seated at his ‘right hand,’ sharing in God’s own kingly rule ‘in the midst of enemies’ — and doing so as Mediator, Priest and Judge (cf. Mal 3:3).
Christ is the supreme, spiritual king who governs and protects his people.
But notice how he ascends the throne. He does so as the slain Lamb of God (Rev 5:1-14). Even in his ascension, the power of Christ, his kingship, is exercised through his atoning sacrifice.
The Lamb and the throne are not two separate images. They are one.
Priest
The Letter to the Hebrews is a chief text here.
Jesus is truly God and truly man, our perfect mediator between us and God and God and us (Hebrews 1 and 2). He is our elder brother who prays for us at the right hand of the Father (Heb 2:11-18; 7:25; 9:24; Rom 8:31-35; Luke 22:31-32).
But Jesus’ ongoing intercession for us is also expounded in the Johannine material. The work of sacrificial mediation is ongoing, though the sacrifice was once for all:
‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1).
‘Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us’ (Rom 8:34).
‘For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself’ (Heb 9:24-26).
Hold those two things together, because it’s easy to collapse one into the other. The sacrifice was once for all — never repeated, never supplemented. The mediation goes on continuously.
Which Changes How You Pray
The continuing advocacy of Christ before the throne of God is the basis of our prayers.
When we pray, we are joining in his prayers for us.
Can we understand Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in John 17 as a prayer he continually prays for us now? The practice of praying through Jesus Christ reflects this aspect of the work of the ascended Christ (Jude 1:25; Heb 13:21; 1 Pet 4:11).
There’s real comfort in that reordering. Prayer isn’t a solitary attempt to get God’s attention. It’s stepping into a conversation already under way — one in which someone is already speaking on your behalf, and has been since he sat down.
Continuation, Not Replacement
Christ’s session at the position of supreme honour and power is therefore both the outcome and the heavenly continuation of the lordship, the prophetic work, and the priesthood which he began on earth through his life and death.
As our High-Priestly King (Heb 2:17), seated on the throne of the universe, he intercedes for his people (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25) until — by final judgment — all that stands opposed to him yields to the full and consummated implementation of his absolute dominion (Heb 10:13).
Nothing was abandoned at the ascension. Prophet, King and Priest: each office begun on earth, each carried into heaven, each still being exercised right now.
[1] 2Calvin, Institutes, Book 2 Chapter 15; Battles ed., 494-503.