Explanation of the Creed – Part 6
Explanation of the Creed – Part 6
And ascended into the heavens:
God neither ascends nor descends, for He fills all places. He is in the heavens, He is on the earth, and He is between them. No place is void of Him. He is in the heaven to which it is said that He ascends, and He is always on the earth from which He ascended to heaven; He never departs from it.
So what does the word ascended mean? It does not mean that He ascended in His divinity, but that He ascended in the body (which is united with the divinity). This ascension is the one mentioned in Acts 1:9. From a theological perspective, the phrase He ascended marks the end of the phrase He emptied Himself.
From now on, we shall no longer see Him in the body of His humility, but in His glory. Even this body that ascended, ascended glorified. And when we rise in the likeness of the body of His glory, we will behold that same body which defied all the laws of earthly gravity in His ascension, which entered through closed doors, and which we will only see in His transfiguration—in His light and spirituality. At His second coming, He will come in His glory, for He ascended.
And sat at the right hand of His Father:
This phrase may have been taken from the vision of Saint Stephen, who said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56).
From a theological standpoint, God has neither right nor left, for He is infinite.
However, the word right hand symbolizes power and righteousness, as it is said: “The right hand of the Lord has wrought strength; the right hand of the Lord has exalted me.” (Psalm 117).
This means that the Lord Christ sat—that is, rested—in the power and righteousness of the Father. He no longer bears the appearance of weakness that came with His self-emptying, such as being struck, spat upon, or crucified, and so on.
The phrase His Father here refers to His divinity as the Son of God, whereas the earlier phrases concerning His sufferings and crucifixion refer to His humanity as the Son of Man—this humanity being united with the divinity without separation.
And He shall come again in His glory:
The Creed here speaks of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and declares that He will come in His glory, as mentioned in Matthew 25:31:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him…”
And it is also said: “And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30).
To judge the living and the dead:
This means that His coming will be for judgment, not to reign for a thousand years on earth as some sects believe.
It is clear that His coming will be for judgment, as mentioned in Matthew 24:31:
“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The same is found in Matthew 13:40–41:
“So it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness…”
And in Matthew 25:31–46 there are many details about the judgment carried out by the Lord at His second coming, ending with the words: “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Also, in John 5:28–29:
“All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
It is likewise clear that the Second Coming is for judgment, from the Lord’s words in the Book of Revelation:
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12).
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