Fridays with the Heidelberg

So there I was, sitting in a room with 4 pastors present as well as 1 in Indiana tapped in via speakerphone. The occasion was my ordination examination. If I were to list my top 5 most nervous moments, this day would surely make the cut. Overall, the 2 hours (which seemed like 7) were relatively painless. However, there was one question that I was asked where I was literally unable to provide an answer.

The question dealt with the two natures of Christ. Is He presently in human form? If so, how is He present with us in Spirit?

...Silence ensued
...Crickets began to chirp
...Heart rate increased

I could have prevented this if I would have taken better notes on “the hypostatic union” in Systematic II (I knew that 8 am Monday morning schedule was a bad idea!), or I could have read through Lord’s Day 18 in the HC.

Today’s section reveals to us in a clear and helpful way the two natures (divinity and humanity) in the one person Jesus Christ, the God-Man.

Christ ascended into heaven, and He is presently at the right hand of the Father interceding as our Mediator. Moreover, Romans 8:9 teaches us that as believers we have the Spirit of Christ. Kevin DeYoung explains, “The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, proceeding from the Father and the Son. So where the Spirit is, there the Son is also.” So Christ ascended into heaven and is with us until the end of the age.

Observe;

Lord’s Day 18

46. Q. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SAYING, “HE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN”?
A. That Christ, while His disciples watched, was lifted up from the earth to heaven and will be there for our good until He comes again to judge the living and the dead.

47. Q. BUT ISN’T CHRIST WITH US UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD AS HE PROMISED US?
A. Christ is truly human and truly God. In His human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment.

48. Q. IF HIS HUMANITY IS NOT PRESENT WHEREVER HIS DIVINITY IS, THEN AREN’T THE TWO NATURES OF CHRIST SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER?
A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ’s divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity He has taken on, but at the same time His divinity is in and remains personally united to His humanity.

49. Q. HOW DOES CHRIST’S ASCENSION TO HEAVEN BENEFIT US?
A. First, He pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of His Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, His members, to Himself in heaven. Third, He sends His Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.