Page 48 - Bible Doctrines II w videos short

Section 8: Current and Future Work of Jesus Christ

8.1 Connect.

Forty days after the resurrection of Christ, His disciples watched Him descend into the clouds
and go back to heaven. He has been gone for more than 2000 years. Have you ever wondered
what He has been doing during all that time? He is seated at the right hand of the Father. But
what is He currently doing?

Everyone is interested in their future. God has shared with us what is going to happen in the future.
Almost 1/3 of the Bible is prophetic. We know that Christ is coming soon. We know that He will call His
Church to a great marriage supper. We know He will come and become Israel’s Messiah and will rule
and reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years. We know He will be victorious over sin and Satan and
will destroy all His enemies. We know He will judge the world for their wickedness and that a time of
great tribulation is just around the corner. All these things have been declared by God in the past that
will take place in the future

Today we will look at the present and future work of Jesus. Let’s find out some of His activities.

8.2 Objectives.

1. Students should be able to identify and summarize the current work of Jesus Christ as
revealed from the Scriptures.

2. Students should be able to identify and describe the future work of Jesus Christ as
revealed from the Scriptures.

8.3 Jesus’ Current and Future Work.

Current Work

Multiple theologians such as Ryrie, Chafer, Walvoord, and others have admitted that the
subject concerning the current work of Jesus Christ has been overlooked in the majority of
study and writing. We know His current work is strongly connected to His past work.
Walvoord said that “At least a dozen important aspects of His present ministry were contingent
upon the fact of His resurrection.” Notice that by current work, we mean anything that has
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been done or is being done following His resurrection.

The Sending of the Holy Spirit
The coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers was not a new idea. The Holy Spirit was promised in
the Old Testament. So, New Testament passages about the coming of the Holy Spirit are developmental
in nature. They are building the discussion from the Old Testament passages.

Joel prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit hundreds of years before the occurrence of the actual
event (Joel 2:28-32). In that passage, Joel reminded the people of Judea that the disaster of an invasion
of the locust that left their lands bare was a judgment of Jehovah (Joel 1:1-12). Further, he stated that in

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