ENTHRONEMENT

There's an important line in the Apostles Creed that says, "and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come..."

This creed is thought to have been an early baptismal formula recited by those joining the church as a succinct summary of doctrinal knowledge important for a new Christian to embrace. Of all the things that are not said in the creed, why is this information given such a vital location?

Christ being seated at the right hand of the Father is one of the nine saving events that make up the work of Christ revealed in Scripture. The events in order are as follows:

1. Incarnation

2. Sinless Life

3. Death 

4. Resurrection

5. Ascension

6. Enthronement (or Session)

7. Pouring out the Holy Spirit

8. Intercession

9. Return (or Parousia, the Second Coming)

Each of these events is a unique part of the way Jesus Christ saves his people. 

The first three represent his humiliation. Christ gets low. God on high leaves his throne and takes on flesh. He goes all the way to the point of an unjust sin-bearing death on a Roman cross, a punishment of shame and rejection.

The next three represent his exaltation. Christ goes high. He defeats death by stepping out of the tomb on the third day. He ascends back to heaven as the high priest who presents his own blood as the atoning sacrifice in the heavenly temple. Having completed that work, he sits down.

Christ sitting down is important for Christians to consider. No less than fifteen times is this idea repeated in the New Testament, but its roots are in the Old Testament Psalm 110:1.

The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool."

Sitting at the right hand of God is kingly language. It is an enthronement of God's Messiah. Royalty puts their feet up on a footstool. It is so their enemies, bowing before them, may only look up and see the soles of the feet of the king who defeated them.

It is also the language of rest. After work is complete, the worker sits down to rest. The enthronement of Christ signals that his work is complete, but which work? It is his work as a priest. His sacrifice was a once-for-all atonement for all his people. This is pointed out in Hebrews 1:3 when it says, "After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..."

So, Christ being seated tells us about both his kingly and priestly work (or offices, as they are often referred to). Does it also tell us about his prophetic office? Let's compare two passages on this topic.

In Luke 4:16ff. Jesus came to his hometown synagogue and served as a reader. He unrolled the scroll and read from what we know as Isaiah 61:1-2. "He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives...to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The custom was for a rabbi to explain something of the passage they read, so it says that when Jesus sat down everyone's eyes were "fixed on him." He gave a simple explanation: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Did you see Jesus' posture? He sat down to give the explanation, and in giving it, he said the prophecy was fulfilled. The speech was complete. The work here also was done, at least this particular work.

But there is another picture of Jesus at the right hand we must compare.

In Acts 7, after Christ has ascended and the New Testament church was born, Stephen proclaims Christ to his fellow Jews. He is doing the work of a prophet explaining how the whole Old Testament points to Jesus as the Messiah. The leaders of the Jews are enraged and prepare to murder Stephen on the spot. At that point he looks up and has a vision of Jesus. He describes it in Acts 7:56:

And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

 Here Jesus is at the right hand, but he is standing. In every other mention in the New Testament of Jesus at the right hand he sits. Should we make anything of this? If so, what?

When Jesus was on earth, when he came and read and explained to the synagogue, he completed one part of his prophetic task. He let his hometown know in so many words that he is the Christ. The words of Isaiah's prophecy were fulfilled so he sat down. In Acts, Jesus is in heaven, the work of prophecy now is left to the church, it is a work commissioned by Jesus and empowered by his Spirit poured out. 

Christ empowers the church for the prophetic work of proclaiming Jesus as the risen king. To that end, it makes sense to me to see him standing as he prepares to receive Stephen as the first martyr killed for proclaiming the truth about Jesus.

The prophetic task is not done. We need the power from our enthroned prophet par excellence to help us as we speak. All the other references to Jesus sitting at the right hand in the New Testament exist in the realm of his kingly enthronement or completed priestly sacrifice.

If the Bible points this enthronement out as separate from his ascension, so should we. That's why it gets its own line in the creed, and why we should consider what it means for us today as we stand and speak of the finished work of Christ.