esurrection. Hence it is written (Acts
1:3), that "He showed Himself alive after His Passion, by many
proofs, for forty days appearing to them": upon which the gloss says
that "because He was dead for forty hours, during forty days He
established the fact of His being alive again. Or the forty days may
be understood as a figure of this world, wherein Christ dwells in His
Church: inasmuch as man is made out of the four elements, and is
cautioned not to transgress the Decalogue."
_______________________

SECOND ARTICLE [III, Q. 57, Art. 2]

Whether Christ's Ascension into Heaven Belonged to Him According to
His Divine Nature?

Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's Ascension into heaven
belonged to Him according to His Divine Nature. For, it is written
(Ps. 46:6): "God is ascended with jubilee": and (Deut. 33:26): "He
that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper." But these words were
spoken of God even before Christ's Incarnation. Therefore it belongs
to Christ to ascend into heaven as God.

Obj. 2: Further, it belongs to the same person to ascend into heaven
as to descend from heaven, according to John 3:13: "No man hath
ascended into heaven, but He that descended from heaven": and Eph.
4:10: "He that descended is the same also that ascended." But Christ
came down from heaven not as man, but as God: because previously His
Nature in heaven was not human, but Divine. Therefore it seems that
Christ ascended into heaven as God.

Obj. 3: Further, by His Ascension Christ ascended to the Father. But
it was not as man that He rose to equality with the Father; for in
this respect He says: "He is greater than I," as is said in John
14:28. Therefore it seems that Christ ascended as God.

_On the contrary,_ on Eph. 4:10: "That He ascended, what is it, but
because He also descended," a gloss says: "It is clear that He
descended and ascended according to His humanity."

_I answer that,_ The expression "according to" can denote two things;
the condition of the one who ascends, and the cause of his ascension.
When taken to express the condition of the one ascending, the
Ascension in no wise belongs to Christ according to the condition of
His Divine Nature; both because there is nothing higher than the
Divine Nature to which He can ascend; and because ascension is local
motion, a thing not in keeping with the Divine Nature, which is
immovable and outside all place. Yet the Ascension is in keeping with
Christ according to Hi