Lord’s Day 19
Q50. Why the next words: and sits at the right hand of God?
Christ ascended to heaven to show that he is head of his church, and that the Father rules all things through him.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Ephesians 1:20–23
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set at his own right hand in the heavenly , Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all under his feet, and gave him the head over all to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
Colossians 1:18
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all he might have the preeminence.”
Matthew 28:18
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
John 5:22–23
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
Ascending into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God are not the same thing, since one can occur without the other. This article, which concerns Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, differs from His ascension into heaven in three specific ways.
1. The purpose of the ascension is expressed in this article, because Christ ascended into heaven precisely so that He might sit at the right hand of God.
2. Christ sits forever at the right hand of the Father, but He ascended into heaven only once.