Theological term
Covenant Mediator
33 sermons · All terms
The Ascension of Jesus Christ
The ascension of Jesus Christ is not a theological footnote but the capstone event that confirms the completion of His atoning work and inaugurates His present reign at the right hand of the Father. Working through Acts 1:9–11, this sermon establishes six observations: the ascension followed Christ's finished atonement, was visible and bodily, was glorious in the Shekinah cloud, sets the pattern for a literal and visible second coming, and resulted in His enthronement as Messiah-King over all nations. The enthroned Christ is the ground of Christian perseverance, bold prayer, and the church's missionary commission — and He is the only refuge for sinners who will otherwise confess Him as Lord on the day of judgment.
Comfort, Security, and the Presence of the Lord
Zechariah's first three night visions, received on a single night in February 519 BC, address the doubts of post-exilic Israelites who interpreted the quiet of the nations as evidence that God had abandoned them. The visions in turn announce comfort (God's zealous covenant faithfulness to Jerusalem), security (the craftsmen who beat down every horn that rises against God's people), and the promised presence of God dwelling in the midst of a city whose walls are replaced by the Lord himself as a wall of fire. These prophecies find their fullest fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose messianic reign gathers Gentiles from every nation into the covenant people, and whose presence in the church is the primary reason the congregation assembles on the Lord's Day.
The Throne Room
Revelation 4–5 answers the suffering and persecution catalogued in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3) by drawing back the curtain of heaven to reveal the throne room of God. Chapter 4 grounds worship in the doctrine of creation, while chapter 5 grounds it in definite atonement — the Lamb who was slain has redeemed a people to God by His blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The vision presses the church to respond to earthly trial not with despair but with humility, worship, and mission, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has already prevailed.