When Christians read about the fall of Adam, they don’t realize that the serpent was sent as an angel to help minister and mature Adam and Eve (Hebrews 1:14). Eve’s response demonstrates a level of maturity about his question, as she responds that they may not eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle, nor touch it. At this point Satan chooses to rebel against God, and falls, and attempts to gain control of God’s newly created world, replying, “You will surely not die.”

But what else Christians don’t realize as well is that Adam is standing there during this conversation (3:6b), and he fails to do his duty: guard the garden. Protect it from invaders or danger or attack. Satan contradicts the word of God, and Adam should have acted to defend his bride and the garden. But he doesn’t.

Now fast forward 4000 years, and when the Second Adam is in the garden, and Satan enters it in the personage of Judas to spoil it and win the new world order, acting craftily with a betraying kiss and a pleasant greeting, Jesus defends the garden and his bride. He steps forward and says “Whom do you seek?” and “I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go” (John 18:5–8). Jesus defended his bride, the eleven disciples. He guarded the garden, giving up himself for the bride.

So remember that Jesus is always guarding you, his bride, and has been doing so all your life. And he’s been guarding all the believers around you, all their lives. He loves his bride, he loves you, and he moves to protect you in ways you can’t even imagine. He guards you for good, 24/7/till death. Be grateful by giving thanks that you don’t just have a guardian angel, but a Guardian Lord!

Pentecost is a great time of remembrance and celebration. The giving of the Holy Spirit upon believers in order to be lights and temples in the pagan and unfaithful Jewish culture is worth remembering. Also worth remembering is the beginning of the filling of ordinary Christians with the Holy Spirit upon baptism (Acts 2:38). The text relates that none of those 3000 baptized that day went about exercising extraordinary gifts such as healing, tongues, or prophesying. They were just normal Christians who were temples of Christ filled with his Holy Spirit.

So what did the normal baptized Christians do? Verse 42 says they devoted themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Things you can be doing today in the modern church!

The Apostles’ teaching? We have that recorded in the Acts and the Newer Testament. But are you devoting yourself to their teaching? Are you discussing their teaching in your family and with Christian friends? And are you giving yourself to the fellowship which that devotion creates? At church when the doors open? And linger to fellowship? And attend other outside gatherings and get togethers? The Christian faith is about relationships, not just propositional truth. But you can’t get to know people without being around them!

“Breaking of bread” is probably a reference to the Lord’s Supper, and in those days, daily. So keep up your weekly worship, whether at St. Mark or another church if you’re on the road or vacation, etc. Prayers? Probably those that occur in the liturgy, but there’s nothing wrong with a personal prayer life after reading the scriptures. There’s always plenty to give thanks for—like the Holy Spirit!

We are all familiar with “being in Christ” with regard to our baptism. Romans 6:3–4 makes it very clear: being baptized into Christ means being baptized into his death and being raised to newness of life. We entered into death “in Christ” and “into resurrection” in baptism. That should be a great consolation to every believer: no longer enslaved to sin, but having new life in Christ (6:5–8).

The same is true regarding the ascension of Jesus, which the church observed this past week. We, as believers, also share in his ascension into heaven to reign and rule. Paul implies in Colossians 3:1 that we sit at the right hand of God with Christ, and that being heavenly, we are to be heavenly-minded even as we live on earth. Ephesians 2:6 says it explicitly: “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

So you are an “ascension” person in Christ. You are heavenly bound, by and in faith and finally as part of the Bride of Christ (Revelation 20–22). You are a person who transcends the boundaries between heaven and earth in Christ. Presently, this is all by faith, for faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

But God hasn’t left us without any practice of ascension in this life. Every week, in worship, you ascend as part of the body of Christ into his heavenly presence, gathered around the throne. You are called to heaven, washed for the trip, and then having ascended, you are transformed by his word and meal. For while in heaven, you feed on Christ, that you may become more like Christ! And then Jesus sends you back down to earth to share the good news of his Lordship, and so invite the world to join you next week in our weekly ascension!