Lines 39 – 40 of the Athanasian Creed describe Christ’s current heavenly session, where He reigns over all things and intercedes for His Church, until the Day of His return.

Portion from the Creed

He ascended to heaven;
    He is seated at the Father’s right hand;
    from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Athanasian Creed, lines 39-40

Explanation from Scripture

The best way to handle this portion of the Creed is simply to go line-by-line with the relevant Scriptures

He ascended to heaven. Having returned from the underworld, Jesus ascended first to earth, in a bodily resurrection that lasted forty days (Luke 24; Acts 1:3).

What’s important to remember is that He also ascended bodily into heaven. His disciples saw His body carried up into heaven in a cloud (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9).

Christ, in heaven, has a body: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Notice it says dwells, not dwelt.

This is important—indeed, critical—for us to understand: Jesus is our Man in heaven. Yes, He is fully God. But He has gone into heaven as a glorified man, to represent humans before God: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). What He is doing on behalf of His people we’ll develop next.

He is seated at the Father’s right hand. We read of Christ in Hebrews 1:3 that, After he had provided purification for sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high (EHV). Likewise, we read in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame—that was the means by which He atoned for sin—and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (NKJV).

Now, we need an explicit reminder here. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed: And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was (John‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). God the Son, remember, is coeternal with the Father, and equal in glory and majesty. He’s not asking for a restoration to divinity, for His divinity has not been diminished by His Incarnation. Rather, John Calvin’s comments here are most helpful:

He now declares that he desires nothing that does not strictly belong to him, but only that … the Divine majesty, which he had always possessed, may now be illustriously displayed in the person of the Mediator, and in the human flesh with which he was clothed.

Christ, then, having finished His work for our justification by His life, death, and resurrection; and having sent the Holy Spirit to His Church for our sanctification; has now gone to the right hand of the Father as our Mediator. And this is His ongoing work, which will culminate in the glorification of His people. He is carrying out His work on behalf of His people—the fullness of God clothed in true humanity, fulfilling God’s eternal purpose.

There are two dimensions of Christ’s ongoing work at the Father’s right hand.

The first dimension has to do with guiding and guarding His Church. And that not as a faceless mass of humanity, but down to each individual saint, for He says: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (John‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬); that is, He knows each of His sheep by name (cf. 10:3). And elsewhere, He assures us: See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands (Isaiah 49:16 NKJV). As Mediator between God and man, Christ preserves His people that the Father has given to Him (John 6:37-40, 44; 10:16, 27-30; 17:6).

This is why Christ ever intercedes for His people: It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

The Son, clothed in His humanity, is always praying to the Father on behalf of His sisters and brothers, that our faith would be preserved, just as He did for Peter on the night Peter denied Him: But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail (Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Likewise, His High Priestly prayer in John’s Gospel reflects His ongoing prayers for His people: I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours … Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me … keep them from the evil one … I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me (John 17:9, 11, 15, 20 NKJV).

Christ’s continued intercession to the Father for His saints assures us that we will be preserved until the end, kept safe for the glory to come. For the author of Hebrews tells us: Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

The second dimension of Christ’s ongoing work at the Father’s right hand is cosmic in scope, as it involves the redemption of heaven and earth. That is why we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13 NKJV).

For it is not only for the redemption of His people that Christ works, but for the redemption of all creation.

Why must He carry this out clothed in human flesh? Because humanity was the crown jewel of His creation, made by God to represent Him and steward the creation in faithfulness: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). And again, it says: You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet (Psalm 8‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

But it was because of man’s sin that the creation was subjected to futility, and is now in bondage to corruption (Romans 8:20, 21 NKJV).

And so, just as we see with sin’s effects on humanity: only a human can atone for human sin; but only God can put forward a sufficient sacrifice to make atonement, and so it must be the God-Man Christ who makes atonement; in the same way, it is fitting that man ought to rectify the trouble he has wrought in the creation, but God alone is able to redeem it. So now, Christ works from heaven as the God-Man, to make perfect what man ruined.

Moreover, it is fitting that the Son does this work of cosmic redemption, for: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). And then again, as if to elaborate, we read in Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (NKJV). And then, as if to certify this truth by a third witness, Hebrews 1:2 declares that God made the worlds through the Son (NKJV).

And again, it is proper that the Son, as the God-Man, in the Person of Jesus Christ, should redeem the cosmos in the garments of humanity; for as God made man in His image and likeness, so the Son is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). And again, Hebrews testifies that Christ the Son is the brightness of [God’s] glory and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3 NKJV). And John adds his testimony as a third reliable witness, that: No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

So it is as God, through whom and for whom all things were made; and as sinless Man, the pure image of God; that Christ is working to renew and perfect all things.

And so, at the Father’s right hand, Christ reigns over history, over every creature and every molecule and atom, to bring all things to their perfect end, which God declared from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Thus, He sent His Apostles out into the world under His power and authority, saying: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

Yes, His authority over all things is perfectly joined to power to accomplish all things, for Scripture also says that in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:17 NKJV); that He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3 NKJV); and that He is able even to subdue all things to Himself (Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

So what is Christ the Son doing with this power? Well, as He guides all things to their perfect end, which He declared from the beginning; He is also defeating His enemies, and ours.

Indeed, this is central to the Son’s work, for when God first declared the Gospel to the fallen parents of us all, it was His word of judgment against the great dragon who was cast out of heaven, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9 NKJV). For God said to that ancient dragon: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel (Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). The Son was always to come as the Seed of the woman—born of a virgin—to trample the devil underfoot. So St. John testifies that: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

And so David foretold: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). That is, the Father gives all authority to Christ, the Son, the God-Man, to rule at His right hand until all of His enemies and ours—the old serpent Satan, and His seed, the demons and wicked humans—have been completely conquered. And we read that: He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death … then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭25-26, 54‬-‭55‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

All of this is ultimately for the good of His people, the Church. This is why Christ reigns with all authority and power at the Father’s right hand. St. Paul reveals this to us in Ephesians 1:20-22, when he says God raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church (NKJV).

When it says God gave Him to be head over all things to the church, this cannot mean that He is only head of the Church, for we already that Christ said: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. So it must mean that His authority in heaven and on earth is for the good of the Church; that it is through Him that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

And that good towards which God is working all things together is the glorification of His people, their utter salvation, when God shall reveal His true sons and daughters in resurrection (Romans 8:19, 23); and make us dwell forever with Him in the new heavens and earth (Revelation 21:1-5).

He will come to judge the living and the dead. The final judgment will mark the end of the Son’s heavenly session, as He will again come from heaven for the eternal redemption of His people, and the eternal condemnation of their enemies: Satan and his demons; the unbelieving world; and Death itself.

For Christians, the return of Christ should not fill us with dread, but with great comfort and joy. So Jesus Himself teaches us in Luke 21:27-28: Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near (Luke‬ ‭21‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

We will have more to say about the return of Christ and final judgment in the next post. For now, note that it says Christ will be seen coming in a cloud. Again—this indicates that He still has a physical body that can be seen, and will be seen when He returns. The Incarnation is forever. This is confirmed by angels in the first chapter of Acts. After His disciples saw Him taken up into heaven in a cloud, two angels appeared and told them: This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven (Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). He ascended with a human body in a cloud; and He will return with a human body in a cloud.

Likewise, St. Paul testified to the philosophers of Athens that God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). The Man whom God has ordained is Christ the Son, still clothed in glorified humanity. Indeed, Christ Himself declared this in John 5:22: For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son (NKJV).

This all means that the Judge of all living and dead, before whom we must all appear (2 Corinthians 5:10), will have a human face.