John 7:39
“By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
Acts 2:33
“Having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you now see and hear.”
1 Corinthians 15:47-49
“The first man was of the earth, made of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
Malachi 4:2
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”
Reflection
Jesus ascends to heaven to be glorified.
His glorification was not a mere ceremonial event. It was the moment when the Son of Man, having conquered death and completed redemption, returned to His position in the heavenly realm as the Sun of Righteousness.
It is through His glorification that the Holy Spirit is released to envelop us in our heavenly dwelling.
The Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus was glorified. Why? Because the Spirit’s function is to clothe us with our heavenly nature, to connect us with the essence of God, to activate our heavenly body.
So that, as He is heavenly, we too may be heavenly.
The Holy Spirit did not come merely to comfort us or give us moral power. He came to transform us into the image of the heavenly One, so that we may operate from the same nature with which Christ now operates in His glory.
Therefore, entering into the Spirit and receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit is much more than speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues is one manifestation, but the true fullness of the Holy Spirit is being clothed with our heavenly dwelling place, being connected to the Heavenly Realm where the throne is, being transformed to operate as heavenly beings on earth.
What Jesus longed for most was His glorification.
For He knew that once glorified, the Spirit would be poured out, and that Spirit would transform His disciples into heavenly beings capable of exercising the same rule He exercises from the throne.
When He is glorified, He is established as the Sun of Righteousness over all the earth.
He is no longer just the carpenter of Nazareth. He is the supreme Light who rules from the heavenly Realm, illuminating all creation, exercising divine rule with absolute authority over heaven and earth.
Meditation for today:
Have I been clothed with my heavenly dwelling place by the Holy Spirit, or do I only have superficial manifestations? Do I recognize that the fullness of the Spirit is meant to transform me into a heavenly being, just as Christ is heavenly?
Prayer
Father, I acknowledge that Jesus ascended to be glorified and to unleash the Holy Spirit, who envelops me in my heavenly dwelling.
Fill my life with the Holy Spirit, not only for outward manifestations, but to be transformed into the image of the heavenly One.
That as Christ is heavenly, I too may be heavenly, operating from the realm where He reigns as the Sun of Righteousness over all the earth.
Amen.