Now this in a measure belonged to His glory and He had a certain kind of joy from such fittingness, not indeed that He then began to derive joy from it when He ascended into heaven, but that He rejoiced thereat in a new way, as at a thing completed. By ascending into heaven Christ acquired no addition to His essential glory either in body or in soul: nevertheless He did acquire something as to the fittingness of place, which pertains to the well-being of glory: not that His body acquired anything from a heavenly body by way of perfection or preservation but merely out of a certain fittingness. And since the nature assumed by the Son of God remained a creature, as is clear from what was said above ( III:2:7 III:16:10 III:20:1), it is not unbecoming if some movement be attributed to it. That which is best and possesses its good without movement is God Himself, because He is utterly unchangeable, according to Malachi 3:6: 'I am the Lord, and I change not.' But every creature is changeable in some respect, as is evident from Augustine (Gen. And consequently it was not fitting that Christ should remain upon earth after the Resurrection but it was fitting that He should ascend to heaven. But whereas our dwelling-place is one of generation and corruption, the heavenly place is one of incorruption. Now by His Resurrection Christ entered upon an immortal and incorruptible life. I answer that, The place ought to be in keeping with what is contained therein. On the contrary, Are the words of our Lord ( John 20:17): 'I ascend to My Father and to your Father.' But He did not ascend into heaven immediately after rising again, for He said after the Resurrection ( John 20:17): 'I am not yet ascended to My Father.' Therefore it seems that neither should He have ascended after forty days. xiv), Christ's body was in no way changed after the Resurrection.

But it would have been more beneficial for men if He had tarried always with us upon earth thus He said to His disciples ( Luke 17:22): 'The days will come when you shall desire to see one day of the Son of man and you shall not see it.' Therefore it seems unfitting for Christ to have ascended into heaven. Further, the Son of God took human flesh for our salvation. Therefore it seems that Christ should not have ascended into heaven. But it was no better thing for Christ to be in heaven than upon earth, because He gained nothing either in soul or in body by being in heaven. Further, whatever is moved, is moved on account of something better.

Therefore it was not fitting for Christ to ascend.

Consequently, He has His good without movement. For the Philosopher says (De Coelo ii) that 'things which are in a state of perfection possess their good without movement.' But Christ was in a state of perfection, since He is the Sovereign Good in respect of His Divine Nature, and sovereignly glorified in respect of His human nature. It would seem that it was not fitting for Christ to ascend into heaven. Whether it was fitting for Christ to ascend into heaven? Did He ascend above all spiritual creatures?Īrticle 1.Did He ascend above all the corporeal heavens?.According to which nature did it become Him to ascend?.Did it belong for Christ to ascend into heaven?.

Ascension of jesus