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Lecture Title - Ascension and Ecclesia: Promise-Driven Ministry in a Purpose-Driven Age Often neglected, the ascension of Christ is of considerable consequence not only for our salvation but for the identity and mission of the church. Exploring Ephesians 4:1-16, this lecture will concentrate on the flow of gifts from the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit, through the ministry of his Word, to all the saints. Reversing this flow of gifts, the church is often tempted to imagine that it is building rather than receiving the kingdom. Evidence of this tendency may be discerned in the language of "living the gospel," "being the gospel," "our partnering with God in the redemption and transformation of the world," and other expressions that might encourage an inflated ecclesial ego. What does Ephesians 4 tell us about the source and means of Christ's gift-giving in the world? Is the emphasis on "every-member-ministry" and ecclesial activism placing an unscriptural burden on the saints, weakening rather than widening our mission in the world? Michael S. Horton (PhD Coventry University and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. He has written many books, including The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan Academic, 2011) and Justification: Volumes 1 & 2 (Zondervan Academic, 2018). The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issuesfor the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Wordlay persons and scholars alikefor the sake of tomorrow's church, academy, and world. Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5 Connect with us! https://twitter.com/henry_center https://www.facebook.com/henrycenter/ https://www.instagram.com/thehenrycenter/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehenrycenter