Resurrection And Ascension

Si ergo Dominus legem mortuorum servavit, ut fieret primogenus a mortuis, et commoratus usque in tertiam diem in inferioribus terrae; post deinde surgens in carne, ut etiam fixuras clavorum ostenderet discipulis, sic ascendit ad Patrem: quomodo non confundantur qui dicunt inferos quidem esse hunc mundum, qui sit secundum nos; interiorem autem hominem ipsorum derelinquentem hic corpus, in supercoelestem ascendere locum? Cum enim Dominus in medio umbrae mortis abierit, ubi anima mortuorum erant, post deinde coporaliter resurrexit, et post resurrectionem assumptus est: manifestum est quia et discipulorum ejus, propter quos et haec operatus est Dominus, animae abibunt in invisibilem locum, definitum eis a Deo, et ibi usque ad resurrectionem commorabuntur, sustinentes resurrectionem: post recipientes corpora, et perfecte resurgentes, hoc est corporaliter, quemadmodum et Dominus resurrexit, sic venient ad conspectum Dei. Nemo enim est discipulus super magistrum; perfectus autem omnis erit, sicut magister ejus. Quomodo ergo magister noster non statim evolans abiit, sed sustinens definitum a Patre resurrectionis suae tempus, quod et per Jonam manifestatum est, post triduum resurgens assumptus est, sic et nos sustinere debemus definitum a Deo resurrectionis nostrae tempus, praenuntiatum a prophetis, et sic resurgentes assumi, quotquot Dominus ad hoc dignos habuerit. Sanctus Iraeneus, Contra Haereses, Liber V, Cap XXXI.

If, then, the Lord observed the law of the dead, that He might become the first born from the dead, and remained until the third day in the lower places of the earth,' 1 then, after rising in the flesh, so that He even showed the print of the nails to His disciples, He thus ascended to the Father, how must these men not be put to confusion, who allege that 'the lower places' refer to this world, and that their inner man, abandoning the body here, rises to supercelestial place? For as the Lord went away in the midst of the shadow of death, where the souls of the dead were, and then after arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up, it is manifest that His disciples also, for whom the Lord did these things, that their souls will go away into the invisible place given to them by God and there remain until the resurrection, patiently awaiting that event, then after receiving their bodies, and rising whole, that is bodily, just as the Lord arose, they shall come thus into the presence of God. 'For no disciple is above the Master, but every one that is perfect shall be like his Master.' 2 Therefore as our Master did not instantly fly away but patiently awaited the time of His resurrection chosen by the Father, which even through Jonah was made manifest, and after three days rising was taken up to heaven, so even we should patiently await the time of our resurrection chosen by God and foretold by the prophets, and so, rising, be taken up, as many as the Lord shall judge worthy of it. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, from Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 31 1  Eph 4:9 2 Lk 6:40