“Then the end will come, when He (Jesus)
hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies
under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:24-25).
This month, some of us
look forward to watching the big game. The Super Bowl tends to be the most
watched sporting event of the entire year. This year will be a rematch of Super
Bowl 39 with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the New England Patriots.
Regardless of whether you are a football fan or not, it is sure to be
entertaining from the halftime show to commercials that cost at least $5
million, according to Sports Illustrated. So by the end of Sunday February 4th,
we will have a new reigning national champion.
As significant the
reign of the new Super Bowl championship will be, it pales in comparison to the
reign of Christ. Jesus’s reign is greater than any king has ever been or will
ever be. In order to fully understand His
reign, we need to understand King David’s reign as Jesus is said to reign from
David’s throne (Luke 1:32).
The covenant that God
made with David was unconditional; there would be one of David’s descendants on
his throne that would come and rule from it for eternity (2 Sam. 7:12-16). One
important question that needs to be addressed concerning the covenantal reign
of Christ relates to timing. Is Jesus currently reigning? Or will His reign
take place sometime in the future?
The answer to this
question can be challenging to fully comprehend. When we hear of someone
reigning, most times it is in a physical manner such as King Henry VII. Jesus’s
disciples struggled with this for quite some time as can be seen even after
Jesus’s resurrection (Acts 1:6). They expected Jesus to overthrow the Romans,
setup a physical kingdom and rule from Jerusalem which some still expect to
happen today. However, we have to allow
Scripture to shape our thoughts about Jesus’s reign (and everything else that
is talked about in Scripture, otherwise we will miss the original intent of
God’s Word).
Scripture plainly
states that Jesus “must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet”
(1 Cor. 15:25); thus, implying that He is already reigning. In Psalm 110:1-3,
David gets to listen in on a conversation taking place between God the Father
and God the Son, stating that Jesus is to sit on the throne next to God the
Father until His enemies are completely subdued. Jesus referenced Psalm 110
when He was talking with the religious leaders of His day, pointing to the
deity of a certain descendant of David, namely Himself (Matt. 22:41-46). Peter likewise referenced this passage when
he preached on the Day of Pentecost, the day that the church grew to 3,000 in
number (Acts 2:29-36).
There are several other
passages which teach Jesus is currently reigning as well. Jesus said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matt. 28:18). Notice He
didn’t say that He was given partial authority, or that He would be granted all
authority in the future. Rather, since the time of Jesus making that
declaration in Matthew 28, He has been granted all authority as King Jesus. God
the Father speaks of Jesus’ throne lasting forever and ever (Heb. 1:8).
Furthermore, generations after David’s death, his earthly throne would be no
more, thus, his throne that Jesus rules from is in heaven (Jer. 22:24-30; Zech.
6:12-13; Matt. 1:12; Eph. 1:20-21; Heb. 8:4; Rev. 3:21). Thus, Jesus is the
current reigning King of Kings and Lord of lords, and His reign will know no
end (Heb. 1:8). But how is Jesus currently reigning?
There are several areas
that Jesus is currently reigning. First, Jesus is reigning over Satan. Speaking
of Jesus’s first coming, Scripture states, “The reason the Son of God appeared
was to destroy the devil's work” (1 John 3:8). Likewise, Hebrews 2:14 clearly
states that Jesus came the first time “so that by His death He might destroy
him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” This does not mean that
Satan has been completely taken out of the picture for he is still very active
in our world today. However, it does mean that he is ultimately powerless, for
his power is limited and his fate is sealed. Thus, Jesus is sovereign over
Satan.
Second, Jesus reigns
over death. According to 2 Timothy 1:10,
Jesus has already “destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to life
through the Gospel.” Death is a result of sin, yet Jesus reigns over it as
well. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 NLT says, “For sin is the sting that results in
death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over
sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Therefore, as faithful followers
of Christ, we do not need to fear death for Jesus has overcome the grave.
Right in line
with reigning over death is Jesus’s reign over sin (2 Tim. 1:9-10). Thus, we do
not need to be continually plagued by certain sins for with His mighty power,
He gives us the way to overcome it (1 Cor. 10:13).
Third,
Jesus reigns over all of nations of the world. He is the One who sets up kings
and removes others (Dan. 2:21). At the same time, Scripture tells us that we
are to honor and obey those who work for the government, because, unbeknown to
many, they are ministers of God in place for our own good (Rom. 13:1-7).
However, anytime that those in authority impose laws that will hinder following
God, we are commanded to obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). Therefore,
regardless of who is in the White House, Jesus is on the throne.
Fourth,
Jesus reigns over creation. He not only created all things, but also sustains
all things (Col. 1:16-17). “There is an interesting law of science known as
Coulomb’s Law of Electricity. It says that like charges repel, as two magnets
repeal each other. Meanwhile, opposite charges attract each other. But here’s a
great mystery: In the nucleus of the atom, protons are packed together that are
all positively-charged particles. What keeps them from repelling like the
magnets? What holds them together? While there are many theories, secular
scientists don’t know for sure. However, the Bible tells us how. It is Christ
who holds all things together (Heb. 1:3).
Lastly,
similar to Jesus’s reign over creation, He reigns in the lives of all people.
This is especially seen in the lives of believers across the planet as they
faithfully follow Him. And as a result He reigns over the storms in our lives,
working them out for our good in His timing (Rom. 8:28). Furthermore, Jesus
reigns in the lives of non-believers. It is He who forms all people in their
mother’s womb. It is He who ultimately decides the day that they are born and
the day that they die (Ps. 139:16).
Therefore,
“Even now, Jesus is seated on the throne of His father David at the right hand
of God. This means that He is ruler over all and that the kings of the earth
rule only according to His sovereign permission. As such, Christ alone is
worthy of our highest allegiance, and it is to Him that we must render
obedience, even if it means, at times, defying the rulers of this world. Jesus’
kingdom alone is eternal, and His rule is above all others” (R.C. Sproul, Seated
at God’s Right Hand).
In
His service,
Matt
