Understanding Jesus - Part Three of Three

Vivid Christianity
Teaching Christians how to live a "vivid" Christian life.

Part One Part Two

by Dave Root, VividChristianity.com, last modified on 07/06/2024.

Introduction

In this article we'll see that:

Jesus lived His entire life under the Old Covenant, obeying the Law of Moses, before the cross.
Jesus has two completely separate and distinct natures, a human nature and a divine nature, that are united in one person with no mixture and no loss of any of their attributes. Jesus is 100% human and 100% God, both at the same time. His divine nature was veiled or hidden (but not emptied in any way) while He was on the earth before the cross.
Jesus did not use any of His divine power during His life on earth before the cross. Not even once. All of His miracles before the cross were done by the power of the Holy Spirit. He's the perfect human and our perfect role model because we can do what He did, by operating in the power of the Holy Spirit just as He did, through faith (e.g., Matthew 17:19-20, 21:21-22, Mark 9:23, 11:22-24, Luke 17:5-6, John 14:11-14).
Jesus went up to heaven more than once after His death.

If everything at my website (VividChristianity.com), including this article, says what God wants it to say then He will confirm that for you by doing a miracle. See my home page for the details.

On Earth, Jesus Was a Jew Who Lived under the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses

When Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross, He initiated the New Covenant (see my series called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments).

From the time of Moses up until the cross, every Jew in the world was under the Old Covenant and was required to obey the Law of Moses (see my series above). Therefore, Jesus lived His entire life under the Old Covenant, obeying the Law of Moses, before the cross:

"On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required," (Luke 2:21-27)

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law," (Galatians 4:4)

When we understand that Jesus and every Jew He spoke to (before the cross) were all under the Law of Moses, this helps us properly interpret some of the things He said. For example, under the New Covenant we're not required to pay any kind of tithes (see my article called Christians Are Not Required to Pay Tithes), and under the New Covenant we're not required to observe the Sabbath (see my series called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments), yet Jesus told people to tithe, and He explained what was allowed to be done on the Sabbath:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (Matthew 23:23)

"One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them, "If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?"" (Luke 14:1-5)

"Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man's whole body on the Sabbath?" (John 7:23)

My articles mentioned above explain that under the New Covenant we're not required to tithe 10% of our income and we're not required to observe the Sabbath in any way. In the above passages, Jesus was not speaking to Christians (there were no Christians at that point because Jesus had not yet died to atone for our sins); He was speaking to Jews who were contractually obligated to tithe 10% and observe the Sabbath under the terms of the Old Covenant.

The Hypostatic Union

When Jesus took on a human nature, some people believe that He emptied Himself of His divine nature (or some of His divine attributes). This idea comes from Philippians 2:7, which is translated in various ways in these versions of the Bible:

"but made himself nothing [kenoo], taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:7 NIV)

"But made himself of no reputation [kenoo], and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7 KJV)

"but emptied [kenoo] Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7 NASB)

"but did empty [kenoo] himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made" (Philippians 2:7 YLT)

The Greek word kenoo means:

"to make empty, that is, (figuratively) to abase, neutralize, falsify: - make (of none effect, of no reputation, void), be in vain" (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, emphasis added)

"to empty oneself, to divest oneself of rightful dignity by descending to an inferior condition, to abase oneself" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, emphasis added)

Philippians 2:7 (above) can be interpreted as saying that Jesus emptied Himself in order to become human, and therefore some people believe that He emptied Himself of some or all of His divinity while He was human. This idea is referred to as Kenosis, based on the Greek word kenoo in Philippians 2:7 (above).

Other people believe that while Jesus was on the earth, He was (and still is, and always will be) 100% God and 100% human, both at the same time. This view is referred to as the Hypostatic Union, based on the Greek word hupostasis in Hebrews 1:3, which refers to a person's essential being or nature. According to this view, Jesus emptied Himself of self-interest, reputation, and dignity by lowering Himself to take on a human nature and become a servant, and His divine nature was veiled or hidden (but not emptied) while He was on the earth (before the cross). We'll see that the Hypostatic Union view best fits the scriptural evidence, rather than the Kenosis view.

An illustration of the Hypostatic Union

Here's a fictional story to help illustrate Jesus' divine nature and His human nature while He was on the earth (before the cross):

Imagine a guy named Joe. His father is exceedingly wealthy, and Joe is just as wealthy as his father is, and his father's partner is equally wealthy. No one on earth remotely comes close to their wealth. Together they own the biggest bank in the world, and they have unlimited buying power.

One day, Joe takes all of his cash and checkbooks and credit cards and debit cards and house keys and car keys, etc., and locks them in the vault at his bank. He goes into the executive washroom and puts all of his clothes into a locker, and puts on different clothes that make him look like a homeless man. Then he leaves his bank and goes out to live on the streets.

As time passes while he lives on the streets, he learns more and more what it's like to be a homeless person. He has the same type of body as a homeless person, looks like a homeless person, acts like a homeless person, talks like a homeless person, lives like a homeless person, and is as poor as a homeless person.

In every way, Joe is fully a homeless person yet he's also one of the three richest men in the world. He still has all of his buying power, but it's veiled or hidden by being locked away in the vault at his bank. He's not accessing any of his buying power. His investments are still earning money, and all of his automatic transactions and purchases are still taking place, so his buying power is still active and working properly, even though he's not accessing any of it.

On the streets, Joe talks to his fellow homeless people, telling them of a better life. His father's partner is available to help Joe in ministering to homeless people, although he stays out of sight. When Joe encounters homeless people who are sick and are willing to trust him, his father's unseen partner provides the buying power to get medical help for those people. To Joe's fellow homeless people, this is miraculous. Some of them begin to believe that Joe is exceedingly wealthy, and that he is a joint-owner of the largest bank in the world, but most homeless people reject that idea about him.

Here are some points to consider based on the above illustration:

When Joe left his bank and became a homeless person, it was all new to him at first. As time passed, he learned more and more about living as a homeless person.

The analogy is that when Jesus became a human, He started as an infant. As He grew in His humanity, He learned more and more about living as a human.
Joe is fully and completely a homeless person in every sense. At the same time, he is fully and completely one of the three richest people in the world, and his buying power is still doing its work even while he's living on the streets.

The analogy is that while Jesus was on the earth, He was fully and completely human while at the same time being fully and completely God. As we saw in Part One, He didn't stop being God while He was on the earth. His power was still operating (e.g., Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3), even though He was not directly accessing His power on earth. In heaven, Jesus is still fully human and fully God.
While living on the streets as a homeless man, imagine if Joe had gone to his bank occasionally to get some of his buying power so that he could sometimes eat big meals and sleep in nice hotels. If he had done this, then he would not have been fully experiencing homelessness. He would have just been pretending to be a homeless person. In other words, if he had accessed his buying power to help himself or to help others, then his homelessness was not real because he was giving himself advantages that homeless people don't have. In order for Joe to really and truly be a homeless person, he would need to experience homelessness in every sense of the word, just like every other homeless person.

The analogy is that if Jesus had accessed and used His divine power for any reason, then He would not have been fully experiencing humanity. He would have just been pretending to be human. In other words, if He had accessed His divine power to help Himself or to help others, then His humanity was not real because He was giving Himself advantages that humans don't have. In order for Him to really and truly be human, He would need to experience humanity in every sense of the word, just like every other human.
Every homeless person that Joe met had committed crimes such as theft. Joe is fully a homeless person, yet he never committed any crimes.

The analogy is that Jesus is fully human, yet He never sinned. On earth He was our perfect role model because He was the perfect human, but He would not have been the perfect human and perfect role model if He was only pretending to be human. If He had accessed His divine power for performing miracles then He was not our perfect role model because we can't imitate Him by accessing our own divine power. He's only the perfect human and perfect role model if we can do what He did, by operating in the power of the Holy Spirit just as He did (e.g., John 14:11-14, Acts 3:12, Romans 15:18-19).
Notice that if Joe had emptied himself of his buying power somehow (instead of having his cash and credit cards hidden and unused by being stored in his bank vault) then he would no longer be one of the three richest men in the world.

The analogy is that if Jesus had emptied Himself of any His divine power and glory, as the Kenosis view assumes, then He would not have been God on earth. In Part One we saw that Jesus continued to be God while He was on the earth, and therefore the Kenosis view is wrong. Jesus did not empty Himself of any of His divine glory or power, but instead all of His divine glory and power was veiled and unused before the cross.

To summarize, Jesus has two completely separate natures, a human nature and a divine nature, and pastors and Bible teachers sometimes refer to this as the Hypostatic Union. On earth before the cross, Jesus was fully human and did not access or use any of His divine nature or divine power at any time. Instead, He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit just as we're meant to do (as we'll see below). He was the perfect human and our perfect role model.

The Hypostatic Union explains some things that Jesus said and did

Because of the Hypostatic Union, Jesus sometimes spoke from the perspective of His divine nature as in these examples:

"But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."" (John 8:23)

""Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"" (John 8:56-58)

The above statements are only true of Jesus' divine nature.

Because of the Hypostatic Union, Jesus sometimes spoke from the perspective of His human nature as in these examples:

"On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him." (John 2:1-11)

"When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'" But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."" (Mark 5:27-34)

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mark 13:32)

John 2:1-11 (above) says that turning the water into wine was the first miracle through which Jesus revealed His glory, so before that moment Jesus acted and spoke as a human, as if He had no glory. When He said, "My hour has not yet come," He was speaking from the perspective of His human nature because His divine nature is a Spirit that's not bound by the limitations of time in the physical universe (for more on that, see my article called Our Lives Are Not Predestined).

Mark 5:27-34 (above) says that Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him, and He looked around, asking who had touched His clothes and been healed. Bible commentaries tend to say that Jesus consciously healed the woman, and then He asked her to make herself known, either to establish a relationship with her or to get a confession of faith from her or to correct any mistaken notion that His clothes had magical powers. These explanations all follow a chain of logic that essentially goes like this: Jesus was and is God, and God is omniscient (all-knowing), so Jesus was all-knowing on earth, so Jesus knew that she was going to touch His clothes, so He consciously healed her, and then He asked her to make herself known for this reason or that reason (depending on the Bible commentary).

The error in all of these attempts to explain Mark 5:27-34 (above) is in the assumption that Jesus used His divine power on earth. As we'll see below, and as Mark 13:32 (above) makes clear, Jesus did not use His omniscience on earth before the cross. He didn't use any of His divine power before the cross (this includes the Transfiguration because it occurred as Jesus was praying to the Father; we're never told that it was due to His divine power: Matthew 17:1-2, Mark 9:2-3, Luke 9:28-29). Additionally, when these Bible commentaries say that Jesus consciously or voluntarily healed the woman, this is another wrong assumption on their part. Jesus specifically told the woman it was her faith that had healed her, which is explained in detail in my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today.

Here's another example of the Hypostatic Union. Notice that Jesus' human nature was subject to temptation, just as all humans are subject to temptation:

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

"For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:17-18)

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:14-15)

So Jesus' human nature was subject to temptation, but His divine nature cannot be tempted:

"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone" (James 1:13)

Jesus' human nature was fully human, so He could have sinned if He chose to do so. If it was impossible for Jesus to sin, then He was not fully experiencing humanity. In other words, He was only pretending to be human if He had divine advantages that humans don't possess. Notice that Hebrews 2:17-18 (above) says that Jesus was fully human in every way. The Bible doesn't say that He "could not sin," but instead it says that He "had no sin" and "did not sin" and "in him is no sin":

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin." (Hebrews 4:14-15)

"But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." (1 John 3:5)

Jesus didn't use His divine power to avoid temptations. Instead, He was "tempted in every way, just as we are" (Hebrews 4:15, above). He was just like us, fully human in every way (Hebrews 2:17-18, above). In Part Two we saw that Jesus was not born into the devil's kingdom as a slave to sin because He did not have a human father. However, this does not mean that it was impossible for Him to sin because Adam and Eve were originally not in the devil's kingdom and not slaves to sin, yet they were still capable of sinning.

To summarize, the Hypostatic Union view best fits the scriptural evidence. This view says that Jesus has two completely separate and distinct natures, a human nature and a divine nature, that are united in one person with no mixture and no loss of any of their attributes. Jesus is 100% human and 100% God, both at the same time. His divine nature was veiled or hidden (but not emptied in any way) while He was on the earth before the cross, and He did not access or use any of His divine nature or divine power during that time. Instead, He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit just as we're meant to do. He was the perfect human and our perfect role model.

Jesus Operated in the Power of the Holy Spirit on Earth

Some people believe that Jesus performed certain miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that He performed other miracles using His divine power. Here are examples of the arguments that I've been able to find for the idea that Jesus used His divine power for certain miracles before the cross, and why these arguments don't stand up to scrutiny:

Mark 4:35-41

"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"" (Mark 4:35-41)
Since we're told that the wind and the waves obeyed Jesus, people sometimes assume that Jesus used His divine power to perform this miracle. But recall that miracles also happened in obedience to the disciples' commands, even though the disciples didn't have any divine power of their own. For example, we see sicknesses and infirmities obeying the disciples' commands (e.g., Acts 3:6-7, 9:33-34, 14:8-10, 22:11-13), and we see dead people returning to life in obedience to the disciples' commands (e.g., Acts 9:40), and we see Christians performing miracles (e.g., Acts 8:6-7, 13, 19:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 2 Corinthians 12:12). In fact, Jesus told the disciples that if they have faith then mountains and mulberry trees will obey their command (e.g., Mark 11:22-24, Luke 17:6). So when the wind and the waves obeyed Jesus' command in the above passage, this doesn't prove that Jesus used His divine power for that miracle.
John 1:47-50

"When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that."" (John 1:47-50)
Jesus said that He had seen Nathanael under a fig tree, and Nathanael understood that this was a miracle. People sometimes assume that Jesus used His divine power to see Nathanael miraculously, but recall that Stephen saw Jesus in a vision (Acts 7:55-56), and Ananias saw Jesus in a vision (Acts 9:10-14), and Peter saw a vision of birds and animals in a large sheet bound at the corners (Acts 10:9-17), and Paul saw Jesus in visions (Acts 18:9, 22:2-21), and John had visions of the future (the entire book of Revelation), and God said that certain people will have visions (Acts 2:17). Christians saw visions even though they didn't have their own divine power, so the above passage doesn't mean that Jesus used His divine power to see Nathanael under a fig tree in a vision.
John 2:23-25

"Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person." (John 2:23-25)
The above passage (and any similar passage) says that Jesus knew what was in each person, and sometimes people assume that it's because Jesus used His omniscience. Certainly there are passages in which Jesus had supernatural knowledge (e.g., John 1:47-50, above), but so did various disciples as we saw a moment ago under John 1:47-50 (above). Therefore, the above passage doesn't prove that Jesus used His omniscience during His life on earth before the cross.
John 11:38-45

"Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him." (John 11:38-45)
People sometimes assume that Jesus used His divine power to raise Lazarus from the dead. However, the apostles had no divine power of their own, yet they raised people from the dead (e.g., Acts 9:40, 20:9-10). Therefore, the above passage doesn't mean that Jesus used His divine power to raise anyone from the dead before the cross.
John 2:11

"What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory [doxa]; and his disciples believed in him." (John 2:11)
The above passage comes immediately after Jesus turned the water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-10), and it says that this was the first miracle through which Jesus revealed His glory. It would be easy to assume that this means Jesus revealed His divine power through this miracle, but that's not what the above passage says. It says that He revealed His glory, and the Greek word translated as "glory" in John 2:11 (above) means:
"(II) In the NT, spoken also of that which excites admiration or to which honor is ascribed...(C) Of internal character, i.e., glorious moral attributes, excellence, perfection. As spoken of God, infinite perfection, divine majesty and holiness...of Jesus, as the brightness (apaugasma [G541]) of the divine character (John 1:14; John 2:11; Hebrews 1:3)" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, doxa, emphasis added)
So "glory" does not equal "divine power." For example, try replacing that same Greek word doxa ("glory") with "divine power" in these passages:
"So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory [doxa] to God. And he was eaten by worms and died." (Acts 12:21-23 NKJV)

"Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory [doxa] to God," (Romans 4:20)

"A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory [doxa] of God; but woman is the glory [doxa] of man...Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory [doxa]? For long hair is given to her as a covering." (1 Corinthians 11:7-15)

"There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory [doxa] of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory [doxa] of the sun, another glory [doxa] of the moon, and another glory [doxa] of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory [doxa]." (1 Corinthians 15:40-41 NKJV)

"I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory [doxa]." (Ephesians 3:13)

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory [doxa] and joy." (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 NKJV)

"For, "All people are like grass, and all their glory [doxa] is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever." And this is the word that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:24-25)
As we can see, "glory" does not equal "divine power." Therefore, John 2:11 (above) does not mean that Jesus revealed or used His divine power when He turned the water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-10).

Again, when people say that Jesus used His divine power for certain miracles before the cross, their arguments don't stand up to scrutiny.

In fact, the New Testament specifically says that God did miracles through Jesus, just as it says that God did miracles through humans:

"Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed."" (John 5:19-20)

"Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know." (Acts 2:22)

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul" (Acts 19:11)

"I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ." (Romans 15:18-19)

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

"So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" (Galatians 3:5)

The above passages show that God the Father did miracles through Jesus, just as God does miracles through Christians. Those passages also show that miracles are done by the power of the Holy Spirit.

For example, Jesus specifically said that He was casting out demons by the Spirit of God (not through His divine power):

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28 NKJV)

In the previous section ("The Hypostatic Union") we saw even more evidence that Jesus did not use His divine power on earth before the cross. He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit, just as we're meant to do, and this can be demonstrated by following the sequence of events in Luke's Gospel:

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove." (Luke 3:21-22)

"Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry." (Luke 3:23)

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (Luke 4:1-2)

"When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." (Luke 4:13-14)

First we see that Jesus was baptized in water, and then the Holy Spirit descended on Him (not for salvation, but for spiritual empowerment for His earthly ministry). Next, Jesus began His ministry after receiving the Holy Spirit, just as He told the disciples that they will begin their ministries after they receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). We're then told that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. Finally, we see Jesus returning to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So even though Jesus is the Son of God, the above passages tell us that as a human He needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for His earthly ministry. Notice that Jesus was already saved (because He was never unsaved) when He received spiritual empowerment, just as we need to be saved before we can receive spiritual empowerment (see my series called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit).

To summarize, Jesus did not use any of His divine power during His life on earth before the cross. Not even once. All of His miracles before the cross were done by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we've seen, He's the perfect human and our perfect role model because we can do what He did, by operating in the power of the Holy Spirit just as He did, through faith (e.g., Matthew 17:19-20, 21:21-22, Mark 9:23, 11:22-24, Luke 17:5-6, John 14:11-14).

Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death

Notice that Jesus was physically on the earth forty days after His resurrection, and then He physically ascended up to heaven in front of the apostles:

"After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19)

"While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven." (Luke 24:51)

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."" (Acts 1:1-11)

"Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)

The above passages show that Jesus physically ascended up to heaven in front of the apostles forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:1-11, above). Pastors and Bible teachers and Bible commentaries tend to refer to this as the Ascension (with a capital "A"), and many of them wrongly assume that this was the only time that Jesus went up to heaven after the cross.

The Ascension was the moment when Jesus physically left the earth and went back into heaven, and He won't return to the earth until the Second Coming (see Acts 1:11 above, and see my article called The Second Coming for the fascinating details).

But what we're about to see is that Jesus went up to heaven on the day that He was resurrected, and then He came back to the earth later that same day, which was forty days before the Ascension.

For example, notice what happened on the night before Jesus was crucified:

"It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father." (John 13:1)

Just before the Last Supper, on the night before Jesus was crucified, He knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. However, the time had not yet come for the Ascension because it was about forty-three days away at this point.

To put this into perspective, imagine that today's date is August 10, which is forty-three days before the beginning of the fall (autumn) season according to the calendar. If I tell someone that the time has come for fall to begin, or that now fall is about to begin, they'll think I'm crazy because on August 10 we're still in the height of the Texas summer heat and fall is forty-three days away. Again, in the above passage the time had not yet come for the Ascension because it was about forty-three days away at that point. Instead, Jesus went to the Father on the day that He was resurrected (Sunday), and we'll see that He returned to the earth later that same day.

Notice what He said to the disciples during or after the Last Supper on the night before He was crucified:

"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe." (John 14:28-29)

In the above passage Jesus said that He was going to the Father and then coming back to the disciples, and then they would believe the things He said about Himself. When did He come back to the disciples and they believed these things? On the evening of the day that Jesus was resurrected:

"On the evening of that first day of the week [Resurrection Sunday - the day that Jesus was resurrected], when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."" (John 20:19-22)

Therefore, on Resurrection Sunday (the day that Jesus was resurrected from the dead) Jesus went to the Father and then returned to the earth that same day, just as He said He would (John 14:28-29, above).

The conversation between Jesus and the disciples that started at the time of the Last Supper (on the Thursday night before His crucifixion) is recorded in John chapters 13 through 16. Here's another thing that Jesus said during this conversation:

"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:5-7)

The above passage tells us that on the night before Jesus was crucified, He said that now He was going to the Father. He was not referring to the Ascension because that was still about a month and a half away. He was referring to the time of His crucifixion and resurrection. Then Jesus told the disciples that unless He goes away, the Counselor or Advocate or Comforter or Paraclete (referring to the Holy Spirit as in John 14:26) will not come to them. Jesus went away to the Father and returned to the earth on the day that He was resurrected, and that's why He was able to personally send the indwelling Holy Spirit into the disciples (by breathing the Spirit into them) on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:22, above). For a better understanding of what happened when Jesus breathed the Spirit into the disciples, see my article called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Part One.

Here's another part of that same conversation:

"Some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying." Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy."" (John 16:17-20)

The above passage says that on the night before He was crucified, Jesus told the disciples that in a little while they will no longer see Him because He was going to the Father. Then after a little while they will see Him again and their grief will turn to joy. When did the disciples see Jesus again, and when did their grief turn to joy? On the day that Jesus was resurrected (John 20:19-22, above). When Jesus said that He was going to the Father and then returning to them, and their grief will then turn to joy, He was referring to Resurrection Sunday, not the Ascension.

Here's another part of that same conversation:

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy...I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:22, 28)

The above passage tells us that on the night before He was crucified, Jesus said that now was their time of grief, and now He was going to the Father. He also said that they will see Him again and rejoice, which happened on Resurrection Sunday as we saw a moment ago. "Now" refers to the time of His crucifixion and resurrection, not the Ascension.

Immediately after the above conversation, Jesus prayed to the Father and said:

"Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." (John 17:11 NKJV)

Once again, on the night before He was crucified Jesus said that He was just about to go to the Father.

Continuing His prayer, Jesus then said this to the Father:

"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them." (John 17:13)

Once again, on the night before He was crucified He said that now He was going to the Father. "Now" refers to the time of His crucifixion and resurrection, not the Ascension.

All of these passages tell us that on the night before Jesus was crucified, He repeatedly said that He was returning to the Father now, not in forty-three days at the Ascension. Jesus went to the Father and then returned to the earth on the day He was resurrected, and that's why the disciples were able to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit at the time of their salvation on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:22, above).

For further confirmation that Jesus went to the Father on Resurrection Sunday, notice what He said to Mary Magdalene on the morning of Resurrection Sunday:

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance...she turned around and saw Jesus standing there...and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher"). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"" (John 20:1, 14, 16-17)

Some Bible commentaries

say that Jesus was telling Mary Magdalene that the familiar physical contact that people had had with Him has come to an end, and that now our contact with Him needs to be through the Spirit, so it's improper for her to embrace Him. However, the Bible doesn't say anything like that, and Jesus never said anything like that, so this is just an unsupported assumption that those Bible commentaries are making.

In fact, Jesus explained exactly why Mary Magdalene should not hold on to Him in John 20:17 (above). As some commentaries

point out, Jesus was telling Mary Magdalene not to detain Him by clinging to Him because He had not yet gone to the Father. The concept of not detaining a person from doing something conveys a sense of urgency, so Jesus was not saying, "Don't cling to Me and detain Me because I'm ascending to My Father in forty days." Instead, Jesus was saying, "Don't cling to Me and detain Me because I'm ascending to My Father imminently." This explanation of His statement to her is a much better fit with the context than any other explanation because Jesus then told her to go inform the apostles that "I am ascending to My Father" (John 20:16-17, above). This is in the present tense, indicating that His going up to the Father was imminent on the morning of Resurrection Sunday (the day that He was resurrected from the dead).

Consider that Jesus spent time with the apostles on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:19-20), and He appeared to the apostles a number of other times (John 20:24-21:25) and ate meals with them (Luke 24:36-43, John 21:9-15) over a period of forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:1-3), and then He physically rose up to heaven at the Ascension in full view of the apostles (Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6). Jesus had plenty of opportunities to tell the apostles about the Ascension, so on the morning of Resurrection Sunday there was no need for Mary Magdalene to be sent off to tell the apostles about the future Ascension (which was forty days away). Instead, the context and the present tense and the sense of urgency in not detaining Him all indicate that she was sent off to tell the apostles that Jesus was going to the Father that very day.

The only explanation that fits all of the facts is that Jesus went to the Father on Resurrection Sunday and returned to the earth that same day. Then forty days later He physically ascended to heaven in full view of the apostles, which we refer to as the Ascension.

For even further confirmation that Jesus went to the Father on Resurrection Sunday, notice that during His earthly ministry, sometimes the disciples were not able to understand what He was talking about. Here are some examples:

"At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him." (John 12:16)

"Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."" (John 13:7)

"(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)" (John 20:9)

When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of Resurrection Sunday, He opened their minds so that they could understand Scripture:

"While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost...Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:36-37,45)

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."" (John 20:19-22)

Jesus did not open their minds to understand Scripture before His death and resurrection because without the indwelling Holy Spirit we cannot understand the things that come from God:

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)

This means that unsaved people cannot understand the spiritual truths in Scripture, as this prominent mainline Bible commentary points out:

"Since only spiritual people are able to receive spiritual truths, it follows that the man without the Spirit, an unregenerate person, would not and could not receive the message of wisdom regardless of his intellectual abilities or accomplishments" (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1 Corinthians 2:14)

Before Jesus died and was resurrected, the disciples did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit and therefore they sometimes could not understand what Jesus was talking about. But on the evening of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus opened their minds so that they could understand Scripture (Luke 24:36-37,45, above). This was possible because they were now saved and they had received the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22, above), which allowed them to understand spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:14, above). All of the evidence that the disciples received salvation on Resurrection Sunday is described in detail in my article called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Part One, but the point here is that the disciples were able to receive salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit on the evening of Resurrection Sunday because Jesus had already gone to the Father and then returned back to the earth. When Jesus said that He must "go away" before the Holy Spirit can be received by people (John 16:7, above), He was referring to Resurrection Sunday (the day He rose from the dead), not the Ascension (which was forty days after Resurrection Sunday).

Notice that John 12:16 (above) says that the disciples did not fully understand the things that had been written about Jesus until after He was "glorified," and John 7:37-39 says that the Spirit was not yet given to anyone since Jesus had not yet been "glorified." We've seen that the Spirit was given to the disciples on the evening of Resurrection Sunday, and then they were finally able to understand Scripture. This is because the glorification in John 7:39 and John 12:16 (doxazo in the Greek) refers to the time of His crucifixion and resurrection as this Greek dictionary explains:

"In Joh 7:39, "because that Jesus was not yet glorified" refers to the passion and the resurrection of Jesus which was going to make evident to all that He was indeed God incarnate, all that He claimed to be." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, doxazo, emphasis added)

"See Joh 12:16, "These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him." This refers to the definite time of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ when He proved His words about Himself which the disciples had found hard to understand." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, doxazo, emphasis added)

To summarize, Jesus went to the Father on the day that He was resurrected and returned to the earth that same day, and that's why the disciples were able to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:22, above). This is a very important point to understand because it has a very significant impact on when the disciples received salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the reason why they had a "baptism" of the Holy Spirit approximately fifty days later on the day of Pentecost (see my series called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit).

Misunderstanding this one key point--that Jesus went to heaven on Resurrection Sunday and returned to the earth that same day--has caused multitudes of Christians (e.g., most mainline and evangelical denominations such as Protestants and Baptists) to be led astray down a path of "cessationism" and away from the proper "charismatic" view of the New Testament. It's impossible to obey the commands that Jesus gave us in the Great Commission if we hold the cessationist view, which says that miracles, healings, and the so-called miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased or died out during or shortly after the first century. The New Testament is completely charismatic after the cross, and all Christians today are members of the same New Testament church that was born on the day of Pentecost. We're meant to be seeing miracles and divine healings, and we're meant to be using all of the gifts of the Spirit that God wants to give us (see my article called All Gifts of the Spirit Are Available Today and the free PDF of my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today). If we're not using all of the spiritual gifts that God wants us to use then we're not properly obeying God. Cessationists wrongly believe that some spiritual gifts have died out, so they're not even trying to use all of the spiritual gifts that God wants to give them. This is disobedience to God, and the apostle Paul said that cessationism is a very specific sign of the "terrible times in the last days." It's a lie from the devil and a form of last-days apostasy (a falling away from proper beliefs) as explained in scriptural detail in my article above.

There's also another issue to consider. In Part One we saw that Jesus descended to hades on the day He died, and then He took the spirits of the dead righteous captives with Him when He went up to heaven from hades. Those people were in the paradise section of hades because they were righteous, but since they were righteous then why weren't they allowed to go straight to heaven after they died?

On the surface, the obvious answer would be that they weren't allowed into heaven because Jesus had not yet died to atone for their sins. However, the author of the book of Hebrews tells us that there's more to it than that:

"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:11-14)

"When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep." In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." (Hebrews 9:19-23)

The above passages tell us that in the Old Testament (e.g., Leviticus 16:1-34) the high priest was required to sprinkle blood on the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies because the Law of Moses required that nearly everything be cleansed with blood. Then we're told that Jesus (as our High Priest) entered the tabernacle or sanctuary or Most Holy Place in heaven and purified it with His blood.

Therefore, not only did the righteous captives in hades need to be cleansed with Jesus' blood (as in Hebrews 9:13-14, above), but also the tabernacle in heaven needed to be cleansed with Jesus' blood before anyone could enter it. As we saw in Part Two, the devil was created as the highest of all of the angels in heaven, but he rebelled against God and took many of the angels with him in his rebellion. This took place in heaven, bringing sin into the heavenly sanctuary, which is why the tabernacle or sanctuary or Most Holy Place in heaven needed to be purified with Jesus' blood.

The implication of all of this is that at some point after Jesus died He went up to heaven in order to purify and cleanse and consecrate the heavenly sanctuary, which needed to be done before He went down to hades to take the righteous captives up to heaven. This means that He made two trips to heaven and back after His death and before the Ascension.

In fact, it's possible that He made more trips between heaven and earth during the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension. For example, here are all of the appearances that Jesus made to people after His resurrection and before His final Ascension to heaven (some of these are the same event recorded in different places):

He appeared to Mary Magdalene and another Mary near His tomb, then they went on without Him (Matthew 28:8-11).
He appeared to the eleven apostles at a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-17).
He appeared to Mary Magdalene, then she went on without Him (Mark 16:9-10).
He appeared to two disciples, then they went on without Him (Mark 16:12-13).
He appeared to the eleven apostles (Mark 16:14).
He met up with two disciples on the road to Emmaus and spoke to them for awhile, and then He disappeared from their sight after they sat down for a meal (Luke 24:13-31).
He appeared to Simon (Peter) (Luke 24:34).
He appeared to the eleven apostles and other disciples who were with them, and ate with them (Luke 24:33-49).
He appeared to Mary Magdalene, then she went on without Him (John 20:1-18).
He appeared to the disciples while they were in a locked room on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:19-23).
A week later He appeared to the disciples while they were in a locked room (John 20:26-29).
He appeared to some of the disciples while they were out fishing in a boat, and had breakfast with them (John 21:1-13). This was the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead (John 21:14).
He appeared to the disciples over a period of forty days before the Ascension (Acts 1:3).
He appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the apostles, and after that He appeared to more than five hundred disciples at the same time, and then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:3-7).

Notice that in every mention of Jesus after His resurrection, the implication is that He only stayed with people a short while each time (because later He appeared to some of the same people again). Also, notice that we're never told what He was doing between His appearances. There's no indication that He was traveling and preaching and healing like He did before the cross, and in fact on the night before His crucifixion He told the disciples that "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me" (John 14:19). This indicates that He was not traveling and preaching and healing after the cross because He said that the world will not see Him. So where was He? Since He wasn't out preaching and healing then it's possible that He was off on His own in prayer for days or weeks at a time. But there's another possibility as well.

Since we've seen that He made two trips to heaven and back, it's possible that He made other trips to heaven in between His appearances during the forty days before the Ascension. We can't prove that He made any other trips to heaven and back, but we also can't discount the possibility.

Notice that if He made trips to heaven and back, these are not separate "comings" of the Lord. In the First Coming, Jesus came to the earth as a human baby and lived on earth until He was in His 30s (e.g., Luke 3:23). Then He died on the cross and was resurrected, then He made two or more short-term trips to heaven and back, then He bid farewell to the earth when He rose up to heaven in full view of the disciples. At the Second Coming, He will return to live on earth for 1,000 years (see my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part One).

As Bible commentaries

point out, the apostle Paul was caught up to heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4), and they say that in this passage he used the same Greek word for "caught up" that he used for being "caught up" at the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (see my article above). He wasn't sure if he was physically or spiritually caught up to heaven, but since a mortal man made a short-term trip to heaven and back, we should have no theological problem with Jesus taking short-term trips to heaven and back during the forty days before the Ascension.

Back to Part Two.

For the glory of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh, was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.

Dave Root
home page and email: https://www.vividchristianity.com

"Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3)

"Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist - denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:22-23)

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God." (1 John 4:15)

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." (2 John 1:6-7)

"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

Modification History

07/06/2024 - Added an update in the Introduction section.
04/19/2024 - Slightly modified the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
03/21/2024 - Slightly modified the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
01/05/2024 - Modified the last bullet point in the section called "An illustration of the Hypostatic Union." Renamed the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven at Least Three Times after His Death" to "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
09/22/2023 - Slightly modified my closing comment under John 2:11.
07/10/2023 - Added a paragraph about 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 at the very end of the article.
07/08/2023 - Added John 2:11 in the section called "Jesus Operated in the Power of the Holy Spirit on Earth."
07/06/2023 - Added a comment about the Transfiguration in the section called "The Hypostatic Union explains some things that Jesus said and did."
01/19/2023 - Added a link to my article called "Our Lives Are Not Predestined" in the section called "The Hypostatic Union explains some things that Jesus said and did." Added a link to my article called "How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Part One" in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
12/14/2022 - Slightly modified the section called "The Hypostatic Union."
10/28/2022 - Added some more comments about cessationism in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
09/27/2022 - Modified the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
08/28/2022 - Added an analogy concerning the Texas summer heat in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
08/25/2022 - Added a link to my article called "All Gifts of the Spirit Are Available Today" in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
07/29/2022 - Added Colossians 1:15-17 in the section called "An illustration of the Hypostatic Union." Modified the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
07/23/2022 - Modified my closing statement.
04/27/2022 - Deleted the section called "When Jesus Emptied Himself, What Was Emptied?" because it unnecessarily repeated some of the information concerning the Hypostatic Union.
04/14/2022 - Changed the title of my book because I discovered a couple of existing books with "Healing Is for Today" in their names.
02/01/2022 - Added John 14:19 in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
11/03/2021 - Made the font size a bit bigger and added a fish symbol as a favicon (which is displayed in the browser tab).
10/16/2021 - Added 1 Peter 4:5-6 in the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
09/08/2021 - Modified the section called "Jesus Went Up to Heaven More than Once after His Death."
06/28/2020 - Reorganized the sections in this series.
03/30/2020 - New series that combines several of my previous articles.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (R). NIV (R). Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. (Emphasis added.)