What Is Christ Doing Right Now? His Present Intercession¶
A Plain-English Summary¶
Most Christians know what Christ did — he died on the cross. Fewer think carefully about what Christ is doing right now. The answer the Bible gives is striking: he is actively working on our behalf in heaven. This study investigates exactly what that work looks like, what he is asking for, and what difference it makes.
The Pattern Starts in Isaiah¶
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah described the coming Servant of God with two distinct statements in a single verse (Isaiah 53:12). The first verb — "he bore the sin of many" — is in a completed form. Done. Finished. The second verb — "he makes intercession for the transgressors" — is in an ongoing form. Still happening.
This shift from completed to continuing is deliberate and carries real theological weight. The Servant has finished bearing sin; he has not finished interceding for sinners. That combination — a finished sacrifice paired with a continuing ministry — is the backbone of everything the New Testament says about Christ's present work.
Isaiah 59:16 adds another layer. God looked at the world and was appalled that there was no one to intercede, no one to stand in the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God. The Servant of Isaiah 53 fills exactly that vacancy.
Five Ways the New Testament Describes It¶
The New Testament does not use a single word for what Christ does in heaven. It uses five different terms, each revealing something the others do not.
Active petitioning. Hebrews 7:25 says Christ "ever lives to make intercession" for those who come to God through him. The Greek verb here (the same one used when Jews lobbied the Roman governor Festus on a legal matter) means pressing a case, not passive standing. It is deliberate, active advocacy.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." — Hebrews 7:25
Visible presence before God. Hebrews 9:24 describes Christ entering heaven "to appear in the presence of God for us." This is a different word — one that means to be shown or manifested. Just as the Old Testament high priest's visible presence inside the Most Holy Place with the blood was itself an act of mediation, Christ's ongoing appearance before God — as the one who was crucified and rose — is itself intercessory. His presence speaks before he even speaks.
Legal advocacy. 1 John 2:1 calls Christ our "advocate" — a word drawn from courtroom language. A parakletos was someone called in to stand alongside the defendant and argue their case. Romans 8:33-34 frames it in exactly those terms: who shall bring a charge? who shall condemn? The answer is that Christ's advocacy overrules the accusation.
"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins." — 1 John 2:1–2
Covenant administration. The New Testament calls Christ the "mediator" of the new covenant six times. A mediator does not stand on one side — he stands between two parties to reconcile them. The new covenant he mediates includes specific promises: forgiveness of sins, and God writing his law on the heart. Christ's ongoing mediation keeps this covenant in force.
Priestly service. Hebrews 8:2 calls Christ a "minister" of the heavenly sanctuary — a word that in Greek means an official public servant actively carrying out a function. This is not an honorary title. He is currently serving.
What He Is Actually Asking For¶
Several passages give us specific content.
Defense against condemnation. Revelation 12:10 calls Satan "the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night." Zechariah 3 shows the same pattern in the Old Testament: Satan standing to accuse the high priest Joshua, and God rebuking the accusation, removing the filthy garments, and restoring the priest. Romans 8:34 places Christ's intercession as the direct answer to the condemnation question. His defense is not based on the believer's record — it is based on his own completed work.
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." — Romans 8:34
Advocacy when believers sin. 1 John 2:1 is remarkably specific: "if any man sin, we have an advocate." The advocacy is triggered by post-conversion failure. The point is not to excuse sin — the verse says "I write this so that you will not sin" — but to address it when it happens. The advocate's credentials are his own righteousness and his identity as the one whose sacrifice satisfied the requirements of God's justice.
Spiritual protection and growth. John 17 records Christ's extended prayer to the Father before his arrest — a prayer that functions as the model for his ongoing heavenly intercession. He prays for believers to be kept through God's name, protected from the evil one, sanctified through truth, unified with one another, and ultimately glorified. If this prayer reveals the shape of what he continues to do in heaven, then he is presently advocating for our spiritual protection, our growth in truth, our unity, and our final destination with him.
Practical help at the right moment. Hebrews 4:15-16 connects Christ's high priesthood directly to daily life:
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." — Hebrews 4:15–16
The result of approaching the throne is mercy — for past failure — and grace — for present need — delivered as "timely help," which means help matched to the specific moment, not a generic blessing. He helps in temptation because he has been tempted. That is not pious language; it is the basis of his qualified sympathy.
The Relationship Between the Cross and the Intercession¶
This is one of the most important things to get right. The sacrifice and the intercession are not two different works — they are two phases of one work.
Every passage about intercession is anchored to the completed cross. Hebrews 7:25 describes the intercession, then 7:27 establishes the once-for-all sacrifice underneath it. Romans 8:34 lists the death and resurrection before listing the intercession. 1 John 2:1-2 names the advocate and immediately calls him the propitiation — the one who made atonement. Hebrews 9:24 says Christ entered heaven "by his own blood."
The pattern is consistent: Christ offered himself once; his ministry continues always. The "once for all" language in Hebrews (hapax, ephapax) always describes the sacrifice — never the ongoing ministry. The offering is unrepeatable. The application of its benefits is continuous.
The blood itself is described in present-tense terms. Hebrews 12:24 says the sprinkled blood is currently "speaking." 1 John 1:7 says the blood "cleanses" — an ongoing action. The sacrifice was completed at a moment in history; its power is not exhausted by that moment. It continues to cleanse and speak. Christ's presence before God as the crucified and risen one is itself the ongoing "presentation" — his very person, bearing the marks of the finished work, stands before God on our behalf.
Two Intercessors, Working Together¶
Romans 8 presents a remarkable picture: two intercessions happening simultaneously.
In verses 26-27, the Spirit intercedes within believers. We do not know how to pray as we ought; the Spirit translates our inarticulate need into prayer that is perfectly aligned with God's will.
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." — Romans 8:26–27
In verse 34, Christ intercedes in heaven — defending against condemnation.
The two intercessions address different problems. The Spirit takes our weak, unclear, inarticulate prayers and makes them effective. Christ takes the accusation against us and answers it. Together they provide complete coverage: help from the inside, defense from above.
What the Old Testament Picture Adds¶
The high priest in Israel burned incense before God every morning and evening — perpetually, without interruption. Psalm 141:2 equates this with prayer: "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense." Revelation 5:8 makes it explicit: the incense in heaven represents "the prayers of the saints." Revelation 8:3-4 adds that the incense is offered alongside the prayers — something is mixed with our prayers before they ascend.
The most vivid single image comes from Numbers 16, when a plague was consuming the people. Aaron grabbed a censer with fire from the altar and incense and ran into the congregation. He "stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed." Fire from the altar (the sacrifice) plus incense (intercession) produced atonement that stopped destruction. That is the typological picture of what Christ does: standing between the condemned and the living, interposing himself, grounded in the sacrifice.
The Hebrew word for "perpetual" (tamid) that described the incense service reappears in the Greek New Testament as the word "always" (pantote) used in Hebrews 7:25 for Christ's intercession. The perpetual earthly service foreshadowed a perpetual heavenly one.
Practical Effects¶
The study identifies several concrete outcomes of Christ's ongoing intercession:
- Open access to God. The Old Testament high priest could enter the Most Holy Place only once a year. Now believers can "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Heb 4:16) and "enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Heb 10:19) — not just priests, not just once a year, but anyone, at any time.
- No condemnation. Romans 8:1 and 8:34 connect directly: because Christ intercedes against every charge, "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."
- Complete salvation. Hebrews 7:25 says Christ is able to save "to the uttermost" — fully, completely, all the way — those who come through him.
- Help in temptation. Because Christ was himself tempted and suffered through it, he has a permanent capacity to help those currently being tempted (Heb 2:18).
- Ongoing cleansing. The blood "cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7) — present tense, continuous action, not only at the moment of first belief.
- Boldness before God. Where the Old Testament system produced caution and distance (even the high priest could not enter the inner sanctuary whenever he wished), Christ's intercession produces freedom to approach with confidence.
What This Means for the Series¶
This study is central to the atonement series for a structural reason: the priestly framework is the only atonement framework that does not end at the cross. The debt-payment picture ends when the debt is paid. The curse-bearing picture ends when the curse is absorbed. The purification picture ends when the cleansing is accomplished. But the priestly picture extends forward into an ongoing ministry.
That means the atonement, understood through the priestly lens, is not merely a past event to be remembered — it is a living, present reality being applied by an active high priest. The cross is the foundation; the intercession is the ongoing superstructure. Every benefit the sacrifice secured is being actively administered right now.
This shapes how subsequent studies in the series must handle themes like judgment, the sanctuary, the work of the Spirit, and the new covenant. In each case, the question is not only "what did Christ accomplish at the cross?" but also "how is that accomplishment being applied through his present ministry?" The two questions belong together. Christ is not a retired savior. He is an active intercessor, and the benefits of what he did are reaching believers because of what he is still doing.
Based on the full study: atone-11-christs-intercession, completed 2026-05-05