I believe Jesus Christ was truly resurrected from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven.

I believe Jesus Christ was truly resurrected from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven. This confession stands at the center of the Christian faith because Christianity does not rest merely on moral teaching, religious sentiment, or spiritual symbolism, but on the historical and redemptive work of God in Christ. Jesus truly died on the cross, bearing the wrath of God in the place of sinners, and He was truly buried. Yet death could not hold Him, because He had no sin of His own and because His sacrifice fully satisfied the justice of God. His resurrection was not a private spiritual experience or a metaphor for hope, but the bodily raising of the crucified Christ from the grave. In the resurrection, God publicly vindicated His Son, declared His sacrifice accepted, defeated the power of death, and inaugurated the new creation promised in Scripture.

The resurrection also proves that Jesus is who He claimed to be. If Jesus had remained in the grave, His claims to divine authority, messianic kingship, and saving power would have been empty. But because He rose, His words are confirmed as true. The apostles preached the resurrection not as an optional doctrine but as the foundation of the gospel. Paul makes this clear when he says that if Christ has not been raised, Christian preaching is vain, faith is futile, and believers are still in their sins. The resurrection is therefore essential to justification, assurance, and hope. Christ was raised as the victorious Savior, and all who are united to Him by faith share in His life. His empty tomb is the believer’s confidence that sin has been paid for, Satan has been defeated, death has been overcome, and eternal life has been secured.

I also believe Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, where He now reigns at the right hand of the Father. The ascension is not the absence of Christ, as though He withdrew from His people and left them alone. Rather, it is His royal enthronement. The risen Christ ascended as Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, He continues to rule His church by His Word and Spirit. As Priest, He intercedes for His people on the basis of His finished sacrifice. As King, He governs all things for the good of His church and the glory of God. His ascension means that the crucified and risen Savior now possesses all authority in heaven and on earth.

The ascension also gives the church great comfort. Jesus is not merely remembered by His disciples; He is alive, reigning, and actively interceding for them. He is the believer’s Advocate before the Father, the Mediator between God and man, and the Head of His body, the church. Because He ascended bodily, Christians also have assurance that their own future is bodily and glorious. The destiny of the believer is not escape from creation into a vague spiritual existence, but resurrection life with Christ in the renewed heavens and earth. Where Christ has gone, His people will follow.

Finally, the resurrection and ascension point forward to Christ’s return. The angels told the disciples that this same Jesus, who was taken up into heaven, would come again in the same way. Therefore, the Christian life is lived between the ascension and the return of Christ. We do not wait in fear or uncertainty, but in faith, obedience, and hope. The grave is empty, the throne of heaven is occupied, and the King is coming again. To confess the resurrection and ascension of Jesus is to confess that His saving work is complete, His reign is present, His intercession is ongoing, and His victory will one day be seen by all.