Question:
Please explain John 3:13, specifically the last clause. Could Jesus Christ be on earth and in heaven at the same time?
Answer:
The text reads: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (John 3:13). Some authorities omit the phrase “which is in heaven,” but is it not true? The Lord counts us where our hearts and our affections are, as in Matthew 6:20, 21, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also;” or in Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” And so it is that we are counted as being where we are not, because our hearts are there. Take also that expression found in Ephesians 2:6, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Christ is our Head and the Head over all things to the church, and we are His body, “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” In Him, our Head, we also are sitting in the heavenly places, and in Him, we have a right to count ourselves there, yet we are still here as “pilgrims and strangers” on the earth. Therefore while our Lord Jesus Christ was here upon the earth to save men, His character, His thoughts, His life, and all His abundant blessings which He brought to earth were heavenly, and He was indissolubly linked by living faith to the throne of God.
