I kind of like the OP but was Christ "accepted" back into heaven or did He ascend back into heaven.
Maybe I am just arguing over semantics, if so forget it! But 'accepted' really seem to portray what was happening then wrong!
When asked by Pilate if He was a king He boldly explained that He was a king, but that His kingdom was not of this realm. So yeah, a heavenly kingdom is what Jesus was over, but if so then was the KING OF KINGS "accepted" back into His kingdom or was He expected back into His Kingdom? I think He was expected back, per that plan of God, and I also think there was rejoicing upon the completion of His task, as set forth by His Father.
Which brings me to another concern in the OP - but maybe I am over concern about this:
It kind of goes to Rom 10 where it is written to not say in our hearts 'who will ascend into heaven' for that is to bring Christ down.
What I am wondering about, and perhaps it is not a concern in this case, is are we considering Him to be in some far off place called heaven?
Didn't He also say that He would never leave us? And also He said something about the Kingdom of God being in our midst.
So while I recognize that He did ascend into heaven and to again sit on His throne - The throne of God - with His Father, I also and more importantly consider that Kingdom to be in my midst! Even to the point of being able to talk to Him and any time.
Ok - maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, so to speak, but is not the real mountain of God found within me? So if indeed He was accepted into any place, that place is in my heart, right?
It is not like the King is "accepted" back to His Kingdom, in my way of thinking. He was always the King!! So I see Him coming back to His throne as like that of a conquering hero! And so I view me as the one who needs to accept Him even as my conquering hero, hoping that He will take of His rightful authority in my life. And I think He must have to some extent - maybe only to the extent I let Him - because I do hear from Him and instructions He gives to me, at least when I decide to listen to Him. And I hear those instructions coming from inside me. So if He is in heaven and on the throne next to His Father, He Kingdom and throne must be somehow in me, because that is where the instructions come from, right?
So what was Paul actually meaning when he wrote:
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory" Colossians 3:4.
Was it some point in the future, or was Paul talking about NOW?
Is not Today the day He appears to us and talks with us, giving us the words of God which He, The Word of God, owns?
So it is not just that we are in Him, but also that He (and His Kingdom) is within us also, right?
Jn 17:21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may [fn]believe that You sent Me.
Rev 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),
Rom 10:8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
So while I do think it nice to view me as being part of the Kingdom of God and under the King, I more often think of the Kingdom of God, including the King, as being part of me and in me. That is where I find the King and His Kingdom - in my midst.
So the Word of God is found in me by me, and Jesus said His words were spirit and were life. So for me and my perspective, I don't so much look to heaven as I look inside me for heaven.
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