Trinity Fellowship

Ascencion Day reminds us that Christ has defeated the dragon and cast him down from the heavenly places (Rev. 12). The war rages on, however, since the fallen dragon continues to attack the saints on earth. Jesus's reign is a reality which is already fully acknowledged in heaven, and which must be increasingly acknowledged on earth. The ascended Priest-King is taking His earthly claim through the work of His church, as we conquer sin, tear down strongholds, and disciple the nations. Ascension means that Jesus has cast the dragon down and allowed us to share His heavenly victory on earth. He is trampling Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20).

The Puritan Cotton Mather, seeing how the sincere faith of previous generations had turned into complacency and indifference in his time, remarked that "Faithfulness begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother". Wealth can rightly be interpreted as a blessing from God, but so often it corrupts through its false sense of pride and self-sufficiency. Christ has been pressing the point that the kingdom is not for the wealthy and the powerful, but for little children who trust and desire to live for the glory of Another. The Lord has shown that when His law is correctly understood, it does not give us a sense of accomplishment, but drives us to the fountain of God's grace. May we all see what the rich young man could not see – that eternal life is worth dying for, and that whatever we lose for the sake of the kingdom will be paid back a hundredfold.

In His all-wise providence, Christ extends His teaching on creation, maleness, femaleness, marriage, and the one-flesh union into its natural end – the goodness and blessing of children. The Lord Jesus's teaching is pro-creational in every sense. Children are a blessing. Children are an inheritance. Children are the fruitful crown of the woman's womb, and the continuation of a man's dominion after his strength is gone. When others see a nuisance, Christ sees a blessed hope. Jesus, the unmarried man, is here surrounded by His children, blessing them like Jacob before He departs in death. The blessing of these children is not automatic, however; it is a stewardship. Children are to be instructed to discover the delight in God's law and in His gospel. While these little ones are ultimately in God's hands, we must press into the joyful and expectant task of shepherding their hearts towards Him, in the home, in education, and in our worship.

Like Jeremiah, Jesus is warning the people of Judea about divorce. In the time of Christ, this is an exceptionally charged issue due both to the controversy between Herod and John the Baptist and to the different schools of thought among the Jewish leaders. Jesus is not content to merely answer the question as asked, but takes the opportunity to go back to the Bible, back to God's original plan at creation and affirm the beauty, truth, and goodness of a lifelong one-man, one-woman, one-flesh bond. Marriage is under attack again, being assailed by the lies of feminism, sexual freedom, comfort, self-centredness, and ease. As always, the people of God are presented with the choice between the spirit of the age and the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth is able to sanctify us no matter where we've been, and He shows us that marriage is good, that it is worth the cost, and that it is a fitting picture of how God began His creation and how He will gloriously consummate it at the return of His Son.