What Does it Mean that Jesus is Continually Interceding For Us in Heaven?

What does it mean that Jesus is continually interceding for us in heaven? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. You can send us a message through our YouTube channel, and you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. And, Adriel, first up today, here's an email from one of our listeners named Taylor. Taylor says, why do you think it's helpful to share your personal belief on eschatology? Some theology is unwavering in its truth. I understand that, but I'm not sure why it's helpful for you to share that you prefer the amillennial view when there are other interpretations as well.

Hey, Taylor. Thanks for reaching out. I'm guessing you were listening to the broadcast a few days ago.

I don't remember what day it was specifically. Somebody asked me about what my views were with regard to the last days, the end times. One of the things that we oftentimes will try to emphasize on this broadcast is that when we're talking about the last days, the end times, there are a number of different positions that you find throughout church history.

A number of positions that people who believe in the Bible and cling to the authority of scripture can come to different conclusions on. So we want to make sure to reiterate that, that this isn't something that we need to divide over or view others as not a part of the body of Christ because of it. But ultimately, everything in scripture is important, and there is one right way to understand scripture, and so I think we want to strive to open up the text, to understand passages in their context, and then to derive the benefit, what God would have for us as we rightly understand the text of scripture, whether we're talking about the church, whether we're talking about the doctrine of salvation, whether we're talking about the end times, and especially where we live in a day where a lot of people are concerned, are afraid, are wondering about what's coming, what's next, what's around the corner. So it's so important for us to go to the scriptures and to draw out the comfort that God has for us there in his word in places like the book of Revelation, and so that's why I'll share my views while also recognizing that there are faithful Christians who differ with me on some things here. And so I think it's important for us to continue to dig into the scriptures but to be charitable as we do so, and I appreciate you sending me that email and asking that question. I pray that the Lord blesses you. Hey Taylor, thank you so much for being a regular listener to Core Christianity.

Great question, and thanks, Adriel, for explaining that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We have a great Bible study on the book of Revelation, and we'd like to encourage you to get that for a personal study or maybe for a small group or a Sunday school class.

You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation, again corechristianity.com forward slash revelation, and it gets into some of these different views of the end times that Adriel mentioned a moment ago. Well, we do have something else we'd like to tell you about, and with Easter coming up just, oh man, about less than two weeks away, it's a wonderful Easter devotional, and it's absolutely free, and it's called Meeting the Risen Christ. Yeah, get a hold of this resource as Easter approaches and we're thinking about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. You know, it's easy for us to think about this time of the year and, you know, just about getting together with family or maybe go to church, whereas we ordinarily don't, but you know, on Easter Sunday I'm going to go to church. We need to understand the significance, the importance of the fact that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

That's what this resource is going to help you do. We want you to understand this vital core Christian doctrine, and so we've created this resource to help you in that, and it's over at corechristianity.com, yours for free. Again, it's called Meeting the Risen Christ. You know, this resource really gets at the heart of why we do what we do here at Core Christianity.

We'd love to offer you that for free. Just go to corechristianity.com forward slash Easter, again corechristianity.com forward slash Easter and look for Meeting the Risen Christ. Well, let's go to Maxine who's calling in from Mississippi with a question. Maxine, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Oh yes, I've always heard pastors and ministers say during the rapture that the dead in Christ shall rise first and the saints will meet him in the air, but they never say anything about what happened to the lost. So when Christ returns, and right there you're referring to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 where the context is the day of the Lord, and there are some people who will take this as the quote unquote rapture, this believers being caught up in the air to be with the Lord, but different from distinct from the day of the Lord. But the context here really is the day of the Lord, the second coming, the final judgment, and the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 says we don't want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, those who have died, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive and who are left until the coming of the Lord, this is the second coming we're talking about, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord, therefore encourage one another with these words. Now there he's talking about the salvation for those who are in Christ, both those who are in the tombs who are going to be raised, the dead in Christ will be raised first, and then also those who are alive and remain on earth during the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But your question specifically is, what about everybody else?

What's going to happen to them? Well right here in the immediate context of 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul doesn't tell us, but if you go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, I think he gives us a very clear picture Maxine of what's going to happen there. In verse 5, he's talking about the judgment that is coming on the unbelieving world, and he says, This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are also suffering. Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. There he's again referring to what he was talking about in 1 Thessalonians 4, the revelation of Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, inflaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his might when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints. And so you have two things that are happening there Maxine, you have the rescue and vindication of God's people, God's suffering people on earth, but you also have judgment on those who do not obey the gospel, those who reject the truth of the gospel. And so the coming of the Lord is going to be salvation, vindication, rescue for God's children, and it's going to be judgment and vengeance for those who reject the truth.

There's your answer. God bless you sister. I don't want to be one of those, for sure.

Not a pretty picture is it? Me neither, but look, and this is why Peter, in 2 Peter, in chapter 3 where he talks about the coming of the Lord, and some people say, well why hasn't he come yet? And Peter says, God is patient toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth, that all should reach repentance. And so God is right now calling all people everywhere through the gospel to himself, and so we do the same. We say, look, believe on Christ.

Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez. Our phone lines are open.

If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, maybe a question about doctrine or theology, something that maybe confuses you or a concern you have, or maybe something going on in your personal Christian walk, and you're wondering, how does it intersect with what's happening in our culture right now? We'd love to hear from you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

Our phone lines will be open for the next 15 minutes or so, so feel free to give us a call. Let's go to a listener, a voicemail from one of our listeners that came in earlier this week. Oh, hi.

This is Ophelia. And my question is this. In Hebrews 4, 14 to 16, it says that Jesus prays for us. So my question is, in what sense does he pray for us? I pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, you know?

So I just want some explanation on that. In what sense does Jesus pray for us? Thank you. Ophelia, I love this question, and what an amazing thing for us just to consider for a moment, that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, is praying for his people. In heaven, at the right hand of the Father, that he is making intercession. The passage that you refer to in the book of Hebrews chapter 4 is talking about Christ's priestly ministry, the fact that he is able to sympathize with us, that he was without sin, tempted in all ways like us, but without sin. And because he's our high priest, Ophelia, the author of the Hebrews says we can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, because we have Jesus as our mediator. Now, specifically, the author of the Hebrews says that Jesus is praying for us in chapter 7. In chapter 7, it says in verse 25, consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. That is, those who draw near to God the Father, to his throne of grace. Through Jesus, Christ is making intercession. He is praying for us. And in the context there, it seems like one of the things that Jesus is praying for is our sanctification, is for our salvation, our growth in grace, approaching God the Father.

It's our redemption. And that's really what the author of the Hebrews says. He's able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God.

And what an encouragement that is for each of us. By the way, we see this in other places of the New Testament as well. This truth that Christ is praying for us in the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 8, verse 34. Listen to what the apostle Paul said there. Romans chapter 8, verse 34. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, and more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

I just love this. I don't know about you, but I've had people in my life, godly people that I look up to, and when they say, hey, I'm praying for you, it means so much to me. It's just like, wow, to know I have this wonderful saintly woman or man bringing my name before the Lord in their prayer clause, I just think, praise God, I'm so grateful for that. Well, do you know, Christian, that Jesus, the holy, righteous Son of God, prays for you for your sanctification, for your growth in grace, for your protection from the evil one? You think about the conversation that Jesus had with Peter in Luke chapter 22, verse 32, where he says, you know, Satan has desired to sift you. Satan wants to take you out, Peter, but I have prayed for you. And that's what Jesus is doing right now for his people, for you, Ophelia, if you believe in him. And so we give thanks to God for that, that we have Jesus, this wonderful, amazing high priest, through whom we have access to God's throne of grace and this promise that he's praying for us right now, even today.

And so give him thanks for that. Wow, some great words of comfort. Thank you for that, Adriel.

This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder, you can leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day. We try to check our voicemails each day. And the number to call is 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to John calling in from Topeka, Kansas. John, what's your question for Adriel?

Hi, Adriel. Thanks for taking my call. I'm wondering what the good, the bad, and the ugly is about taking communion every Sunday as opposed to once a month. I like this question. Yeah, well, thank you for that.

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, look, I am of the opinion that taking the Lord's Supper weekly with the body of Christ is good and important. I believe it's, and sometimes maybe you've heard me use this phrase before on the broadcast, I believe it's a means of grace.

That is to say it's one of the ways that God communicates his grace, his goodwill to his people, to us, through this sign that Jesus himself instituted for our spiritual nourishment and continued growth. And of course, in the Gospels, it's very clear that Jesus instituted this meal. The apostle Paul also in 1 Corinthians has an extended discussion on the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11. In chapter 11 verse 26, Paul said, Now I know, John, that one of the concerns that people have with frequent communing, with taking the Lord's Supper communion every week is they just think, Oh, is it going to get ritualistic?

Are we just going to go through the motions? That point can be made about just, you know, we could say that about the preaching of the word, about prayer, about singing songs. So I understand that objection, and I also think that it's something we need to be on guard for. You know, we don't want to just go through the motions of worship. And in fact, God, in the Old Testament, in places like the book of Isaiah, rebuked his people for that. And so the fact of the matter is we need to come before the Lord in worship, and in particular in the Lord's Supper, examining ourselves, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. But at the same time, we need to recognize that this is a gift for us as the people of God. Too often we think about the Lord's Supper as something that we're doing primarily. You know, it's my opportunity to think really hard about the fact that Jesus died, and we turn it into this sort of somber work.

Think about it like this. It's God communicating his goodwill, his grace, his gospel to you, so that when you're struggling and wondering, man, is the good news for me as a sinner? Yeah, I've heard it preached. You know, I hear about the forgiveness of sins. I'm pretty sure that God does forgive some people out there, but boy, you know, the pastor doesn't know my sins, my struggles.

Can I be forgiven? Does Jesus invite me to the table? And when we gather around and take the Lord's Supper, you know, surely as we take that bread and that wine by faith, it's as if Jesus himself is speaking to you, saying this is my body given for you. Take, receive, eat, experience my grace, my forgiveness, my love, my goodwill toward you.

And so I think knowing that, right, I mean, again, we can just go through the motions, and that's on us. The problem is not worship or the Lord's Supper. The problem is, I think, are our hearts, which can oftentimes be cold to the things of the Lord. And so we have to check ourselves when we come to worship and when we take the Lord's Supper. But we need to receive it for what it is, which is communion with the very body and blood of Jesus Christ.

In fact, let me give you one more verse. It's what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, the cup of blessing that we bless, verse 16. Is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? This is more than just a mere remembrance.

This is communion with the very body and blood of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and through faith. And so I would say, man, we should want that. And it's a wonderful thing to get that, you know, week in and week out.

And that's my view. God bless you, brother. Hey, John, thanks so much for your call.

Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. By the way, we're going to record a second program today after our live program goes off the air. So we'll be taking calls for another 40 minutes or so.

If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, feel free to give us a call for the next 40 minutes. Here's the phone number. You might want to jot this down for future reference. It's 833-843-2673. You can spell it out on your phone.

That's 833-THE-CORE. And one more reminder, we have that free Easter devotional available to you. It's called Meeting the Risen Christ by Pastor Jonathan Landry-Cruz. What a great devotional for Easter. You can find that by going to our website today at corechristianity.com forward slash Easter. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash Easter. Let's go to Jackie calling in from St. Louis, Missouri. Jackie, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Yes, thank you for taking my call. My question is, when Jesus died and went to hell to preach to the prisoners in hell, who were they exactly? Yeah, you're bringing up a passage in 1 Peter chapter 3 beginning in verse 18.

And let me just read it. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. Now the spirits in prison there, the they there in verse 20 is referring back to them and it ties it together with what was happening in the days of Noah. Some people have taken this to mean that Christ preached through Noah. And you go back to chapter 1 in verse 11 of 1 Peter and it talks about the spirit of Christ being in the prophets. And so some throughout the history of the church, St. Augustine was one of those who took that view. Others will say this is preaching that took place after Jesus' death in the spirit in which he is going and giving people a sort of a second chance of salvation and delivering the Old Testament saints.

Now that is not my view. I think there are other reasons to reject that view when we take the whole of the New Testament together. A third way that I think this can be taken, I think this is the way that I understand it, is that really what's happening here, the preaching is not offering these spirits in prison another chance of salvation. What it is, is Christ proclaiming his victory. This is the vindication of the Lord who had just been crucified, proclaiming his victory over the imprisoned spirits. And again, you see more about this in Jude 6. And there specifically it's talking about these evil and angelic beings, if you will, that were rebellious in the days of Noah. So you have Christ proclaiming his victory over the grave and over the powers of hell. That's what's happening. After Jesus dies, it's him proclaiming his victory and then rising again from the dead. So that's my view.

Those are some of the other views that are out there on 1 Peter 3. And I trust that that was helpful for you. God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. You can always email us your questions.

Here's our email address. It's questions at corechristianity.com. Here's an email from Carl and he says, Regarding a believer's sanctification, how will our spiritual growth and maturity now impact our experience in eternity? Will there be a difference for those who diligently apply God's means of grace compared to those who do not? This is a great question. I mean, sometimes the way this is asked is with regard to rewards in heaven. You know, are some Christians going to have a better experience in heaven than others because of how faithful they were here on earth? And of course, you know, in the New Testament, you do have the language of crowns and commendation.

And you see this in the parables as well. What exactly that's going to look like, friend? We don't have a lot of clarity.

We do know. I mean, one thing I always want to say is in the presence of the Lord, nobody's going to be bummed out. It's not going to be like, oh, man, I'm in the bleachers because I was a pretty, you know, miserable Christian. And, you know, the real faithful people, they get the front row seats, you know, at the heavenly feast, that kind of.

No, I think we're going to live together in perfect love and joy. And we're going to be commended by the Lord, we're told. You know, that language of well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.

There isn't going to be a commendation. How that's going to affect our eternal state, if you will, if that means, you know, the level of blessing that we experience. That's a great mystery, I think. And so, you know, when the New Testament talks about being in the presence of the Lord, we have some pictures, you know, the imagery of feasting, the imagery of joy, the wedding supper. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, you know, the things that the Lord has prepared for those who love him. It's going to be above and beyond anything we could even imagine. And so I think that's what we're left with. It's something that we look forward to, that we anticipate, but it's hard to say this is exactly what it's going to be like.

And so I don't want to speculate too much. I just think it's something that one, we all want to look forward to. And two, we should be encouraged in light of the goodness of the Lord. Not just in what we're looking forward to, but in what he's already done in justifying us, in washing away our sins.

We should be encouraged to pursue him with all of our might, to draw near to him. And sometimes that's how we talk about sanctification. Justification is the once-for-all definitive act of God whereby we're accounted righteous solely because of what Jesus has done.

Sanctification is the work of God's Spirit in our lives over time, making us more and more into the image of Christ. And so we praise God for that. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar. Or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.