What Is Jesus Doing Now in Heaven?

By Al Felder

Many people often think about the birth of Christ, the ministry of Christ, the cross of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. All of those deserve deep attention. But another question matters greatly and is sometimes overlooked: What is Jesus doing now in heaven?

The answer is not that He has simply finished His work and withdrawn into inactivity. The risen Christ is not absent in the sense of being uninvolved. He is alive, exalted, reigning, interceding, and serving as the perfect High Priest for His people. The same Lord who came into the world, died for sin, and rose in victory, is now carrying out His present work from heaven.

That truth matters because Christianity is not built only on what Christ did in the past, nor only on what He will do in the future. It also rests on what He is doing now. The believer does not belong merely to a Christ who once lived. He belongs to a Christ who lives and reigns at this very moment.

Jesus Is Reigning at the Right Hand of God

One of the clearest truths Scripture gives about Christ’s present work is that He is reigning.

After His resurrection and ascension, Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God. That language speaks of authority, honor, and royal rule. He is not waiting to become Lord. He is Lord. He is not merely destined for authority someday. He possesses it now.

This means the world is not outside His rule, even when it appears chaotic. Nations rise and fall, powers rage, and men resist the will of God, but above all of it stands the enthroned Christ. The One who was mocked, rejected, and crucified is now exalted in glory.

That should strengthen the faith of every believer. We do not serve a defeated Savior, a forgotten martyr, or a powerless symbol. We serve the reigning Son of God. Heaven has already declared what the world often refuses to admit: Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus Is the Head of His Church

Christ’s present reign is not abstract. It has direct meaning for His people, because He is the head of the church.

The church does not belong to human leaders, councils, traditions, or institutions. It belongs to Christ. He purchased it with His own blood, and He now rules over it. He is not merely the founder of the church in a past historical sense. He is its living head in the present.

That means the church must look to Him for direction, identity, truth, and authority. It cannot rightly be shaped by the world's changing wisdom. It cannot belong to men in any ultimate sense. Its life and order must come from the One who reigns over it from heaven.

This also means believers are never abandoned. The church is not left on earth to survive by memory alone. Its Lord is alive and active. He governs His people through His authority and continues to sustain the body that belongs to Him.

Jesus Is Our Great High Priest

Another vital part of Christ’s present work is His priesthood.

Under the old covenant, the high priest represented the people before God. But those priests were mortal, imperfect, and temporary. Their ministry pointed beyond itself. Jesus is the fulfillment. He is the great High Priest who has passed into the heavens.

This matters because we still need a mediator. We still need one who stands for us before God. We still need someone who can bring us near. Jesus is doing that now.

He does not minister from an earthly sanctuary made with hands. He ministers in the true heavenly reality to which the old system pointed. His priesthood is not weak, passing, or flawed. It is perfect. He is sinless. He is alive forever. He never needs replacement.

That means the believer’s confidence before God is grounded not in personal worthiness, but in the priesthood of Christ. Our hope is not that we have become good enough to stand on our own. Our hope is that we have a perfect High Priest in heaven.

Jesus Is Interceding for His People

Closely connected to His priesthood is His present intercession.

Jesus is not passive toward His people. He intercedes for them. That does not mean He is pleading with an unwilling Father, as though the Father must be persuaded to show mercy. Rather, it means that the saving work of Christ remains constantly effective and present on behalf of those who belong to Him.

The One who died and rose now stands as the living guarantee of the believer’s access to God. His intercession means that the work of redemption is not left behind in the past as mere memory. It remains living, active, and effectual through the person of the risen Christ.

This brings great comfort. The Christian is not left to navigate weakness, temptation, suffering, and need alone. The Savior who knows our frame and understands our condition is actively representing His people in heaven.

When believers pray, they do not pray into emptiness. They come to God through the interceding Christ.

Jesus Understands His People Because He Became Man

The present intercession of Christ is especially precious because the One in heaven is the same One who truly became flesh.

He knows what it is to live in a fallen world. He knows hunger, grief, weariness, opposition, and suffering. He knows what it is to be tempted, though He never sinned. He knows what it is to be misunderstood, rejected, and afflicted.

That means His present priestly work is not cold or distant. It is full of understanding. The Lord in heaven is not detached from the weakness of His people. He is the incarnate, crucified, risen, and exalted Christ.

This matters deeply for the struggling believer. When we suffer, He understands. When we are weary, He understands. When we face temptation, grief, confusion, or pain, we do not come before One untouched by human sorrow. We come before the One who entered it and overcame it.

Jesus Is Sustaining His People

Christ’s present work also includes sustaining His people.

The church continues because Christ lives. Believers endure because Christ is faithful. The hope of the saints is not maintained by human strength alone, but by the power and faithfulness of the living Lord.

This does not mean the Christian life is effortless. It does mean that the final security of God’s people does not rest on the instability of human ability. Christ is not merely watching history unfold. He is preserving, strengthening, and governing His people according to His will.

That is why believers can endure suffering, remain faithful in trial, and continue in hope. Their life is bound up with the living Christ. The same Lord who died for them now lives for them.

Jesus Is Preparing for the Final Consummation

Christ’s present work in heaven is also connected to what is still to come.

He is reigning now, and He will return. He is interceding now, and He will appear again. He is gathering His people now, and He will bring all things to their appointed end in the Father’s time.

This means the present ministry of Christ is not disconnected from future hope. His reign now guarantees His return later. His exaltation now points toward the final public manifestation of His lordship. The One seated at the right hand of God will one day be revealed openly as Judge and King before all.

So when we ask what Jesus is doing now in heaven, part of the answer is this: He is carrying forward the purpose of God toward its final completion.

Jesus Is Not Absent from the Life of the Believer

Some people speak of Christ’s ascension as though it means He has gone far away in a sense that leaves believers spiritually alone. But that is not how Scripture presents His heavenly session.

Though Christ is bodily in heaven, He is not absent in the sense of being disconnected from His people. He reigns over them. He intercedes for them. He hears their prayers. He rules His church. He sustains their hope. He remains present to His people in covenant faithfulness and power.

That means the Christian life is lived under the living care of a present Lord. He is not merely the subject of memory or doctrine. He is the reigning Christ, active now.

Why This Matters So Much

This truth matters because believers need more than a past event to remember. They need a present Savior to trust.

It matters because prayer is not a religious exercise directed into silence. It is access to God through the living Christ. It matters because the church is not orphaned on the earth. It is ruled by its exalted head. It matters because weakness does not leave the believer cut off from grace. The High Priest in heaven understands and intercedes.

It also matters because this truth gives courage. In a world of instability, hostility, temptation, and sorrow, believers can lift their eyes above earthly conditions and remember that Christ reigns now. The One who loved them and gave Himself for them is alive and active for them at this very moment.

Conclusion

What is Jesus doing now in heaven?

He is reigning at the right hand of God. He is serving as the head of His church. He is our great High Priest. He is interceding for His people. He is sustaining the saints. He is carrying forward the purpose of God toward its final completion. And He is doing all of this as the risen and exalted Christ who once became flesh for our salvation.

The Christian faith does not rest only on what Jesus did. It also rests on what He is doing now. The Savior who died for His people lives for them still.

Reflection Questions

1. Why does it matter that Jesus is reigning now rather than only in the future?

2. How does Christ’s present priesthood strengthen the believer’s confidence before God?

3. What comfort comes from knowing that Jesus intercedes for His people?

4. Why is it important that the One in heaven is the same Christ who became flesh and suffered on earth?

5. How should the truth of Christ’s present reign and intercession shape prayer, faith, and endurance?