Week 9 – Christ our King – Part 2 - Followup

All Authority Has Been Given To Me

Introduction
In days gone by it was widely held and accepted that governments would fight wars of conquest. The kings of old would fight not merely to preserve their ground, but would fight to increase the boundaries over which they held dominion. This mode of governmental expansionism is often referred to as imperialism. In previous times, this sort of conflict was expected from kings and nations. Most nations sought to expand their boundaries and to press their advantage in the region around them.

For the average citizen of a nation, imperialism could be a double edged sword. If the conquering nation was a brutal one, then freedoms would be diminished, slaves would be made of the conquered lands and the land, its resources and its people would become the right of the occupying government. This was most often the case. If however, as was the case sometimes, the conquering nation was more concerned with the issues of just rule and authority, then a populous might fare better. For instance, the Roman empire conquered many lands in which their form of government, the freedoms that it provided its citizens, the general prosperity of Rome and its system of government were often preferable to the previous order. If in fact you were a Roman citizen you had rights that no other nation would have even understood to be rights.


If you listen to some, in the last few hundred years, empires have given way to nations, somewhat content to live at peace with their neighbors. With a number of very notable exceptions, the old imperial mentalities have given way to a more pragmatic means of cultural expansion and growth. This is true in the case of the United States and in large part for much of what is defined as the “Western World”. This has happened in our nation to such a degree that the idea of imperialism has become an offensive one. So much so the previous administrations decisions to go to war were often characterized as being “imperialistic”. This despite the fact that neither war ever made any attempts to rule over either land or claim its land or resources. It is safe to say that imperialism has become for us in the west a very bad word.

Fallen Imperialism
It is also a fairly simple point to demonstrate that, having been created in the image of God, we have been created in such a manner as to bare certain characteristics of God. For instance, God’s desire to have dominion over His creation is one of the clear teachings of scripture. Likewise, God chooses to share dominion over some aspects of creation with the preeminent member of His created order; Adam.


We have spoken earlier in this series of the image of God given to Adam in Adam’s creative nature. So too Adam was created with a nature to establish for God a dominion. Adam’s children have corrupted this attribute of mankind’s nature into a viscous and bloody history of barbarism and abuse.


Biblically speaking, imperialism is not always such a dirty word. In fact biblically speaking, we find a number of instances where God used the imperialistic nature of godless kings to discipline Israel for her unfaithfulness. We also see at times as God uses wicked kings to crush the nations around Israel.


Righteous Imperialism?
Being that imperialism as an established pattern of mankind’s behavior has such a negative and ugly history, it will come as a surprise to some that I am about to say that Jesus Himself is an imperialistic King. Additionally, that He is bent on the conquering and subordination of the entire created order and very specifically, the pinnacle of all of God’s creation; mankind.


In part due to the relational or “love” language that is used in scripture of God for His people coupled with a very modern approach and understanding to that same “love” language we as Christians, particularly in America have a hard time seeing Jesus as a conquering and mighty King. We would far prefer a gentleman who politely advertises His salvation and then pleads with the lost to come to Him. This rather than “He commands all people everywhere to repent” – Acts 17:30. Or “do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” – Matthew 10:34 and again: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” – Luke 12:50


Finally, in establishing God’s view of sin and wrath relative to man’s view of his own righteousness Jesus says in Luke 13:3 “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” So much for “Why do you run? Why do you hide, I just want to be with you…” as one modern song writer sings on behalf of God.


And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." – Matthew 28:17-20


Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." – Matthew 16:13-19


If Jesus’ kingdom is an imperialistic kingdom, that is a kingdom whose purpose is dominion or the taking of a territory, then we have some questions that need to be answered:


What sort of authority was Jesus’ authority?
Jesus authority was based upon the fact that He is God. Matthew ensures that the context that we see for Jesus words is the worship of Him by the disciples. The disciples have just met Jesus on the mountain to which He had directed them in Galilee. It is very noteworthy what first does not occur. The disciples don’t approach Him as Rabbi and they don’t approach Him as friend, by say: giving Him a hug or something similar. Matthew doesn’t record for us any words that they used in so worshipping Jesus, however it is also noteworthy that they don’t begin to ask Him a lot of questions. The disciples do approach Jesus as God. They respond much like the prophets of old would respond when they found themselves in the presence of God. They worship Him. This word is the same word from which we get our word prostrate, or to lay face down on the ground. In other words, they fall flat on their face before Him. The context here is that the disciples have come expecting to see Jesus the man with whom most have spent the majority of three years of their lives studying under, walking with and whose miracles they have been watching. They have witnessed the man having nails driven through His hands and feet and some among them had prepared His corpse for burial or at the very least watched His lifeless body as it was placed in the tomb. The Apostle Paul in Romans 1 says: and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. His Deity is demonstrated in power by His resurrection and the disciples now see Him much more clearly as God than they did before.


There is no longer between the disciples and Jesus a sense of light heartedness. There is a radical and directed response to Jesus. One that directed at anyone else in all of human history would have been completely inappropriate and sinful; He is their God and they worship Him. They all fall down flat upon their face in prostrate worship. They honor Him as their God and their King. So first we must see that Jesus authority is divine. He is God and the disciples worship Him as such.


It is precisely this context into which Jesus speaks when He says: all authority under heaven and earth has been given to me (18). Jesus draws their attention to the fact that He has been given an authority, a kingdom. This is nothing new to them. He has been saying this since early in His ministry: “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:15. This is nothing new, in that the Holy Spirit has revealed that He is the promised Messiah. We read this when Jesus asks Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter responds: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 16:6. And again remember the word Messiah or Christ and all that it indicates. It means to the disciples: anointed reigning King and it meant a fulfillment of the governing order that God had promised so long ago. The Messiah was the one who would sit on David’s throne forever. Who would reign in all wickedness and triumph over every human authority. This is the one to whom the disciples now place their faces on the ground and give their worship.


He says: All authority under heaven and earth has been given to me (18). In so doing He points them in this statement to the scope of this authority. They have been expecting this triumphant Messianic reign to begin and are certainly expecting Him to in some way initiate the assault on Rome. So Jesus in effect does them one better. He defines the scope of His reign: under heaven and earth. Jesus is defining for them the territory that He has been given. In saying heaven and earth He is demonstrating to them that the conquest which is to begin is much larger than the national boundaries of Israel. In the Gospel of Mark, the 16th chapter Jesus says: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Jesus realm of authority, this territory that is to be won is the entirety of creation. The disciples are about to see this, as the gospel goes forth in power starting in Jerusalem, then to Judea, Samaria and then begins its course with a man named Cornelius (Acts 10) to the utter most ends of the earth. Jesus here is defining the scope of the assault that the church is about to make. Jesus says: Making disciples of All Nations.


There is a beautiful picture, herein that God in His mercy begins to work with a single man named Abraham. Then over time, His covenant blessing and dominion expands to include Abrahams covenant children, in Isaac and Jacob. Eventually, Abraham becomes a mighty nation encompassing a vast population of people, Israel. Yet they were still small and numerically speaking insignificant relative to the number of the sons of Adam that this world has known. Yet finally, as Jesus is about to ascend to the throne set before Him, He changes the scope of covenant conquest to every people group on the earth, to all nations. So we must also see that the territory that Jesus is taking is all encompassing, it involves members of “every tongue tribe and nation” as the Apostle John is witness to when he is given His revelation.


Who are His Soldiers?
Every imperialistic nation that has ever occurred on this earth has had an armed force of soldiers. That is an army to accomplish the capture and subjugation and establish a ruling authority. In fact, when a coup de ta occurs in a 3rd world nation, typically it is done by the force of members of the military. Kingdoms are established by the blood of their warriors. Jesus Kingdom; the church is no different. At Pentecost, Jesus anoints the church in power for the battle which lies ahead. There again, as the disciples begin to speak in tongues, that is in other languages, Jesus is equipping and preparing His army for conquest. In a sense He is demonstrating in power the scope of what they are about to do. The Gospel is about to go to all people groups on the earth. In Matthew 16 when Jesus asks Peter: “who do you say that I am” and Peter responds appropriately, Jesus says some crucial things, for the church. First He says: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. So the kingdom dominion that is being accomplished is the building of Jesus church. As we learned in our previous study, we are being built into a holy temple for God, each one of us a living stone built upon the cornerstone: Jesus. It is this church that He is fashioning for His glory as a kingdom and it is the church which is being expanded. And it is Jesus through His church that is accomplishing this assault on the earth. Jesus founds the church on Peter, and I believe Peter here is representative of the Apostles in general. That Jesus builds the church on the revelation and initial explosion of the Gospel and its reach that He gives to the Apostles.


What Territory is being Won?
Every nation that is engaged in conquest, the taking of territory, must have a territory that they are taking. Jesus in (16:18) continues: “… and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (the church)”. So the territory that is being won here is the territory which, in a sense the devil took all the way back in the garden. Though God in His sovereignty allowed the devil such an awful influence over mankind, in the temptation to sin, in the power with which he ruled over the wickedness of men, this dominion has ended. Paul says of believers and of the “power of the Prince of the air” in Ephesians 2:1 – 2: “and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” So this dominion, marked by this spirit of disobedience is the territory which is being conquered by Jesus and His church. Gates don’t assault something. A gate is a stationary device used in ancient times to protect a walled city or a kingdom. So it is that we see that the church is assaulting the gates of Satan’s dominion. What a joyous promise Jesus gives us here: That in this battle, the gates won’t be victorious. He will, through His church, win the victory over the dominion of Satan and will lead a mighty and a vast people to His victory over sin and death.


So we must see the nature of those whom Jesus is seeking to win for His kingdom as those who are currently in bondage to the prince of the power of the air. There is no seeker sensitive or market based appeal that will break this bondage. Christ in the power of His Holy Spirit must free them. If He does not regenerate them, then there is no strategy or tactic that will break them from the sway of the enemy and from their own wicked flesh.


What are His weapons?
Every nation that is engaged in a war of conquest uses weapons with which to wage war. Jesus too, has given us weapons. Unlike the weapons of an earthly kingdom: the sword, the machine gun or bombs, the weapons are His weapons, they are empowered by Him to accomplish His purpose. Now these weapons are not weapons that would appear to have any strength in the minds of earthly kings. When one desires to bring a people under subjugation, one thinks about military strength. Islam for instance, a very earthly religion, in its corruption of these Biblical concepts could not grasp the necessity of the power of God unto salvation as the means by which people are brought into submission to a king. Therefore, the Islamic notion of the promulgation of its religion and world view is at the edge of a sword we see this with atheistic communism as well. But in stark contrast are Jesus’ words in Matthew 28: “Making disciples”. A disciple is a student who studies under the instruction and leading of his teacher. And again Jesus in Mark 16 says: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel”. Paul describes this weapon in the first chapter of Romans 1:16 when he says of the Gospel: “for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” And again in Acts chapter 1 Jesus says that the disciples are to be His witnesses. That is that we are to testify to Jesus and His completed work. Paul describes this Gospel repeatedly but clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:3 when he says: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Jesus also says in Matthew 28: Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. This is precisely what we find the apostles doing throughout Acts and in their letters to the church. That is proclaiming and expounding on the Gospel. How could our weapons be anything less? The lost don’t need to hear our testimony of transformation. This may be helpful, this may be encouraging for the wavering. But that’s not what they need. The lost don’t need us to attempt to pass legislation which thus prevents them from acting on their nature and violating God’s laws. The lost don’t primarily need us to show them how Jesus can repair the psychological hurts and anguish brought on by the abuses of this current age. They don’t need a weight-loss program built on “success principles” from Scripture. But what they MUST hear and WE MUST hear is the weapon that Jesus has given His church: the Gospel. This is Jesus’ primary weapon of war. And it is His charge, His command to us that we proclaim it. Again, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.


He gives us a second weapon in this verse. It is directly tied to the first. That is the covenant seal of baptism. I have agreed not to speak in this study of particular aspects of my interpretation from the Bible of the covenant seal of baptism. So I will leave it at this: that the early church, throughout Acts, made a huge deal of baptism. We don’t read of conversions in Acts whereupon those converted aren’t then subsequently baptized. Could it be that so few people actually come to faith in the person and the working of Jesus Christ that we are so unfamiliar with seeing it actually take place that we have almost forgotten it as a cherished and a prized gift? To be brought into the covenant family of God, the church. Have we forgotten what it is to make a public confession of our need of the washing of our sins and to be joined with Jesus death so as to die to our sins?

So we must see that the primary weapon of this conquest is the proclamation of the Gospel. Our tank, our battleship, our jet fighter is nothing less than the Holy Spirit empowered good news that Jesus died to satisfy the wrath of God for all who would believe.


Now there are some who would say, what about prayer? That’s a weapon! And it is! Absolutely, but the primary weapon that Jesus has ordained to accomplish His purpose as He takes dominion over this fallen and wicked world, IS the good news. Without the proclamation of this Good News, our prayer is rather like a foot soldier crying out to his general: Please attack the enemy! And yet, the general Himself, as He prepared to ascend to His mighty throne gave us our marching orders: Make disciples, proclaim the good news, teach them to observe what I commanded you and baptize them. We are, if we are truly His church, an imperialistic army that is seeking to accomplish the will and the purpose of our great King.


What greater privilege could He have given us, then to enter in to this effort with Him? That He would take His enemies and reform them and set them into action on His behalf. What greater privilege could we ask then to be included in this most victorious of causes? If you are in Christ today, and He is your King and you have bowed your knee to Him, then you have been given such a glorious gift: to take this Good and gracious News to a wicked and undeserving world. To take the blood of Jesus to those for whom it was meant.


Where is our King in all of this?
Jesus says: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So He has given us, the church the scope of His authority as God and King. He has given us His charge to go out and assail the gates of hell, this dark and wicked age, to win many to Him. He has given us the weapons and the tools of conquest: the Gospel, baptism in the name of the Triune God and discipleship in His word. So He and His completed work are the subject of that which we are to proclaim, but He doesn’t leave us alone. What a glorious promise He gives us here: “I am with you”. He says: BEHOLD, look and see, I am with you, always! Jesus says that He is building His church and His church is assailing this wicked world with the Gospel. And it is He, through His Spirit and the power of His Spirit that is accomplishing this. He is with us. He is the power behind the proclamation of His Gospel. As Peter, an uneducated fisherman proclaims Jesus in power to the Jews at Pentecost and then in the temple and then before the Jewish council, Jesus is with Him. As Stephen speaks the Gospel to those wicked men who would shortly stone him, including one who would be used mightily of the Living Christ, Jesus is with Him. As Peter is thrown repeatedly into prison for the Gospel, Jesus is with Him. As the saints of old were fed to the lions for roman sport because of their proclamation of the Gospel, Jesus was with them. Again He is with us as we seek to faithfully accomplish His charge, this in power, giving us hope, sanctifying us and sending us out.


So we have seen Jesus as our Savior. The one who took away our sins and justified us, that is He made us right with God. We have seen Jesus as our Sanctifier as He regenerated us by the Spirit, as He causes us to walk in newness of life and His glorious image into which we are being transformed. We have seen Jesus as the power of the resurrection, the one who will one day lead us to glory as we are raised to everlasting life. We have seen Jesus as the one who will restore all of the created order to glory under His dominion. And now we have seen Jesus as our King, the founding member of the church and the one whose banner we raise high as we, the church, go forth to the nations.


We must see that Jesus is with us. We must see that His kingdom must and will be victorious as He destroys the kingdom of darkness and leads many sons to glory, through His church. Let us do away with lesser Christianity. Let us do as we are commanded and pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send more harvesters. Let us do away with a small gospel and take Jesus in by His word and sacrament and through prayer and behold Him as glorious, that we might take Him out in the good news that is power of God unto salvation, for all who believe.


Come Lord Jesus!

Week 8 – Christ our King – Part 1 - Followup

The Chief Cornerstone


Introduction
It seems like every generation from Adam forward is doomed to take that which is rightly God’s or rightly defined by God and twist. Consider, in our modern times, the push for homosexual marriage. God grants us a huge blessing in the provision of the relationship of marriage. Indeed God was not bound to give us this great gift. Yet, not content with this gift, we have to twist God’s order, preferring rather, the perversion of man to the blessing of God. Consider, Adam and Eve themselves. They were more than occupants of the Garden of Eden, they were king and queen. They richly shared in God’s abundant providence for them, through-out the Garden and yet it wasn’t enough for them.


So too the Israelites when given the opportunity, preferred the bondage, slavery and brutality of Egypt to the freedom of being God’s covenant people for the sake of Leeks, Onions and Garlic (Numbers 11:5). You would think that those who had seen God part the Red Sea; those who had tasted of God’s provision in manna; whose eyes had witnessed the destruction of the entire Egyptian army and the slaughter of the first born and each one of the plagues having been poured out by the hand of God, would desire God’s way and not elevate man’s way. These same people were given God’s decrees in the Mosaic covenant. His meticulous and lovely Law was given to them on Sinai. He had established an order like no other. This order was orders of magnitude more humane, more gracious, more just than all other known to man. Yet they preferred the capricious genocidal wickedness of the tyrant Pharaoh in exchange for a bite of meat.


God establishes via the wisdom of Moses’ father in law; Jethro, the order of Judges in Exodus chapter 18. God codifies the Law. Moses and the order of Judges, seek His face for wisdom and justice and God is in a real sense their King. So much time went on for the Israelites. Moses grows old and dies, having only glanced across the valley at the promised-land from the top of mount Nebo. The system of Judges implementing the laws of their heavenly King, God Himself continued. God sent them Judges and Prophets. But as with all other fallen men, the Israelites grew tired of God’s ways. They wanted a king according to their order, their desires. They longed for one who would rule over them as the nations around them. God warns them in 1 Samuel 8 of the cost of this King. He makes it abundantly clear to Samuel that it is not his authority that they are rejecting, but God’s. He warns them of the wicked tyranny that was to come at the hand of their unrighteous king. And so He gives them the wicked king Saul. Saul’s heart is quickly led away from the order of the true King of Israel: God. God allows Saul to accumulate for himself wicked deed on top of wicked deed. In so doing God demonstrates to Israel and in fact all of mankind the outcome of man’s kings.


Wicked Kings and Thrones
Saul is by no means the last of the wicked kings of Israel. However, Saul is replaced by the hand of God and His choosing of the young shepherd: David the son of Jesse. David is anointed king of Israel in the 2nd chapter of Samuel. God makes a promise to David, that He would establish David’s throne forever. He says: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:16 Again David speaks of the Lord’s promise to him and prophesies the Lordship of Christ in Psalms 110: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” David is not entirely faithful to God. In fact his sin is grievous and ugly. Similarly, Solomon sits on the throne after David and yet is also wicked. In fact, all of the kings that follow David, in the line of David, comprise a rogue’s gallery of mostly tyrannical, faithless wicked men.


History records few kings who weren’t tyrants. In fact, even, often and especially the kings in Christendom were immoral men and brutal tyrants. In part due to their often unchecked power and due to their fallen nature as fallible men, these rulers and authorities abounded in the wicked treatment of their subjects and in their own personal, incredible immoralities. In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, using the name of Jesus, in their zeal banished all Jews from Spain.


Mans Wicked and Lesser Government
Daniel says of God: He removes kings and sets up kings – Daniel 2:21. Paul says “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God”- Romans 13:1 God does raise up kings and authorities as His instrument of protecting the world from slipping into utter murderous chaos: “for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:4. Paul nor Daniel is insisting that as God allows kings to establish their kingdoms and reign for a time, that these kings represent the order that is God’s perfect and wonderful righteous reign. Though David was sinful, in David’s throne we see a glimmer of hope for those who have suffered the consequence of unrighteous authority, however.


Fallen men often believe that if only we were able to establish the right order here on earth, then everything will be made right and we would live, well governed, in peace. Most, if not all revolutions, at least in the modern era are rooted in the notion that it is possible to setup the ideal, or at least a more ideal, form of government in the current order of things. Few are less than incredibly murderous and tragic marches toward tyranny, where the end of idealism is the same, but more brutal and tyrannical an order than the first. Communism in modern times has given us example after example of this, as the rallying cry of its foot soldiers is always justice for and the benefit of the people. Then quickly the very government that was intended to bless the people soon becomes the instrument by which the people are even more brutally repressed.


Even the American form of government, probably the most successful at preventing tyranny, has vast and profound problems and will no doubt, not last forever. In fact, our founding fathers assumed the wickedness of men and so as a means of enforcing the more objective view of the people over the view of unrestrained leaders, they built a form of government in which revolution was an ongoing process. One in which leaders good and bad were always subject to removal, through the process of democratic elections.


And just as all forms of government and all previous crowns, so to even the American form of government will one day meet its destiny on the scrap heap of history. No matter what man’s best intention in placing himself on the throne of government, he is bound to fail. This is directly because of our sinful nature.


The Promise
So it is that God makes a promise to David. Though Israel had chosen the wickedness of an earthly king, God sent them a fallible and weak, yet anointed king in David. But David himself was not the fulfillment of God’s promise. David was actually merely a shadow of the one who was to come. Though David was a man after God’s own heart: 1 Samuel 13:13 “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people” David was a fallen man, like his father Adam and each subsequent generation, he was bound for the grave and would make tragic and sinful mistakes. God’s promise to David was far bigger than any earthly king could ever bare.


The promise made to David is really a promise made to the entire world. In the same way that Israel had lived out much of its existence as a nation under the hand of wicked kings, so too has all of mankind. We have, as a part of our nature submitted to and sought after lesser kings. In contrast to these wicked rulers and kings, God makes a promise to send a far different king. And with this king a far more significant kingdom. During the season of advent, we observe the first candle bearing in mind those who looked forward to the birth of Jesus, in regard to the Salvation that He would bring, but also, in His kingly reign.


A King on the Throne
In Acts chapter 1, as Jesus is preparing to ascend to the right hand of the Father, the disciples who had waited all of their lives and whose entire culture was based upon the anticipated coming of the Messiah, the King who would restore the glory of Israel during the time of David, ask Him: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”


Peter had put words to it in Matthew 16 when Jesus asks him: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This Greek word here is the same word as the word used in Psalms 2 (Meshiakh – Messiah – Anointed one): “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed” Peter, as the disciples all knew, understood that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to David and to Israel.


In fact, the charge against Jesus by the Jewish council before Pilate was that He was: “saying that He Himself is Christ, a king.”


“and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” – Isaiah 9:7


They knew that Jesus was to reign in righteousness and justice forever. They knew that Jesus would assume the crown of David, and establish it forever. Unlike David’s descendants before Him, He would establish a throne of righteousness.


They knew that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to His people. He was the humble King fulfilling Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”


At His birth the angel Gabriel confirms that He would be the Messiah, the one who would sit forever on David’s throne. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." – Luke 1:32


A Kingdom Established
In Jesus was the Kingdom that was established upon the throne of David. It was established and inaugurated during Jesus ministry here on earth. Jesus says in Mark 1:14: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” This kingdom is established in Jesus founding of the church. As Paul said in Colossians 1:18, And He is the head of the body, the church. Jesus in this verse in Mark ties the truth that the Kingdom has come down to man in His coming to earth in the flesh directly to the gospel. It is truly good news, for those under the reign of unrighteous governments, who would believe that Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God amongst men, by way of His death and resurrection. The good news, that is what “Gospel” means, is that the promise that God made so long ago has come to pass in Jesus. That He came and established a kingdom. Three times in Matthew, the Gospel is described as the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. In fact, the last of these this phrase is found in Matthew 24: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” So it is that the kingdom of righteousness is established in the person and the work of Jesus.


The disciples in Acts chapter 1, have yet to see that what is about to take place is the expansion of Christ’s reign and authority in His kingdom. They still see a small kingdom. One that is restricted to the physical land boundaries of Israel. They don’t see the explosion which is about to happen. We are going to cover in our next session, Jesus imperialistic conquest of all of mankind, but it is important to see that as Jesus is resurrected from the dea d, all authority is His and He therefore inaugurates the ensuing conquest of the earth through His body, the church. He tells them that shortly, power would come upon them in the form of the Holy Spirit, to equip them for the conquest that was to come. Then He gives them the scope of that conquest, He says: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ – Acts 1:8


Read 1 Peter 2:1-11


We need to go back in time. We need to travel all the way back to Genesis chapter 11.


Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.


Reversing Babel
In Genesis, Moses describes for us the wickedness of mankind in his glory-seeking and self-serving attempt to unify. Man is for all intents and purposes a single people. They share a single language, but they are disordered and not quite a single nation and they desire to come together in this twisted unity to avoid being dispersed and to “Make a name for themselves”. And God’s response to this also tells us of their hearts, to accomplish whatever they desire. They are attempting to establish a unified order, as it were to abandon any need for God’s providence and to order things in such a way to no longer have any need of Him. And Peter here demonstrates for us that what has occurred in Jesus and His kingdom is the undoing of this very curse. We were indeed many different and often conflicting peoples. We were scattered across the earth, we came from many different languages and cultures. We were the consequence of the curse that was poured out on the people when they were scattered and their language was confused. As Peter says in verse 10: Once you were not a people. But now you are God’s people, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. In so doing Peter shows us how Jesus by His act of giving us, His people, His blessed mercy destroyed the boundaries that were inflicted in the curse at Babel. HE joins us and we become a mighty nation. Where the tiny and wicked hopes of the occupants of Babel to rule and to reign to build failed, in Jesus our King, He has and is building us into a nation, not for our purposes. Not so that we would receive blessing, though we do, infinite blessing. But so that we become a people who rather than being radically committed to ourselves are the possessions of our mighty king: Jesus. And that in this nation, our objective would be to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus. These excellencies are NOT personal triumphs rewrapped in words about Jesus. They are however, the glories of His kingdom in salvation, in wrath and judgment to come and in the final resurrection. So this glorious nation, built upon and rooted deeply on the foundation stone, the king of the nation; Jesus is called in direct reversal of Babel, to proclaim not its independence, not its unity and solidarity to accomplish what it desires, but to proclaim the wonders and the glories of its founding and preeminent member and king. This living stone: Jesus.

And though the rulers of Babel, selected solid stones, capable of providing ultimate structural strength and integrity for their city their stones failed, because they were cursed by God. SO it is that God placed in Zion, the city of David a stone, His stone. And just like the builders of Babel rejected God as their center, their founding member and King. So too, the Pharisees and most of the religious of Israel rejected this stone. They didn’t want God as their king, as the rock upon which they built their nation. But God in His grace, placed His Son right in the heart of that apostate city. This so that those who would reject Him would stumble on this very stone and be put to shame. But for those of us who have believed, this wonderful living stone, became the foundation piece, the very king of this nation.


Peter builds on this analogy, of Jesus as cornerstone. He wants us to see that we, those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, are being built into the very temple of God. This is the nature of the kingdom: that God would dwell with man. We see this nature in the great consummation as we spoke of it last week: Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. – Revelation 21:3 This is the analogy, that Jesus, the firstborn of the resurrection, the preeminent member, the founder and originating point of the church is the one upon Whom each one of us as living stones are being built. And just as no temple was built on radically misshapen and malformed stones, so too Jesus is forming, that is con-forming us by the Spirit into the same glorious shape as our King. He is doing this so that this temple might bring Him ultimate glory. This holy nation is the same one that Abraham, the writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 11:10, was looking forward to as he became a sojourner and headed out into the desert.

And just as the nation being built at Babel was committed to accomplishing a name for themselves so too, this nation our nation is and ought to be radically committed to bring glory to a name. The same name that is above every name: Jesus the Messiah, the reigning and conquering King.

But this temple, that is being built, requires a priesthood that is an order of priests who serve the God seated at the center of this temple. Just like the priests of the Mosaic covenant who were consecrated, or set apart for service in the temple and called holy, we too are priests, from the least to the greatest. But unlike the Levitical order of priests, who were consecrated by the blood of animals, we have been consecrated, or made holy, or made clean by the blood of the founding member of this priesthood; Jesus. You see we always tend to get it backwards, we’d like to think that the temple was made for us. We draw false analogies and assume that the temple was made with us at the center, when in fact this temple, this kingdom, this dominion, this church was created to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ.

Citizens of the Kingdom

Finally, this nation is defined and formed by those who are like newborn infants, longing for the pure spiritual milk, that by it they might grow up into salvation. We must be those who have and are tasting of God’s good gift of grace, in salvation and in His word. We must be those who are taking in the spiritual milk and longing and hungering to filled with more. This is the defining characteristic of those in this holy nation, we are those who have taken Christ’s gifts in the word and tasted of His goodness, and truly taken it in. Additionally, Peter exhorts us those who live as sojourners and exiles. That is as those who belong are citizens of another nation, Jesus kingdom. This fact makes us sojourners and exiles, for a time. We long for the full consummation and arrival of this Kingdom and our King. But Peter says that we are to live as those who are exiles, where the ways of this fleshly world are always assaulting us. Our own flesh, longs for leeks and onions and longs to taste at times of the sin that we left behind. These passions are waging war on Jesus nation and we are to fight. We have received, and are receiving His mercy. We were called out of darkness into His marvelous light (9), let us do away with lesser things and press into this kingdom, into our glorious King.

Week 8 - Part 1 - Christ our King - Preparation

For most of us in the United States, the idea of a king is at the very least a foreign idea. But for many of us, predicated on our history and a cultural antipathy of most forms of authority, we reject the idea of a king. It is an offense to us, to imagine bowing down for to any man. The American experiment was first and foremost an assault on a particular form of government. We as a people rejected the authority of King George, of the British crown in fact.



When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, we as a people were declaring our independence from the British form of government; a monarchy. In so doing, the nature of the contents of the Declaration dealt entirely with the issue of how people are to be governed in light of certain facts. We are all familiar with Jefferson’s brilliant words, in the second paragraph of the declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” We are less familiar with the next sentence: “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Jefferson’s point was a direct assault on the notion that had driven the British and most European kings for many years: The divine right of kings. (for more information on this doctrine please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_right_of_kings)


This form of government taught that kings of Christian nations had a right to rule over their subjects based upon an understanding that God had instituted governments among men to defend, protect and provide for Christendom (anyone living in a ‘Christian’ nation). This doctrine taught that these kings derived their right to rule over their lands from God Himself and thus were not subject or bound to the will of the people. Jefferson, a deist (distinctly not a Christian man), along with many others could not abide a king who was not accountable to the people. We are all familiar with the American Revolution.


Our founders built this nation on the idea that we had no king but Jesus. I whole heartedly agree with this notion, as a patriot. Nonetheless, in so doing, we forever banished a cultural artifact that is critical in understanding, the Biblical concept upon which Jesus’ throne was built. That is the idea of a sovereign authority, whose authority is not derived from men, but from God. In the 8th chapter of 1 Samuel, the people of God reject the authority of God’s kingly reign and demand for themselves a king, like the nations around them. So it is that God sends them an earthly king. He details the tyrannical rule and authority of the king that he will send.


Your homework is to read 1 Samuel 8:1-22 and think on what it means to have a king.

Week 7 – Christ our Healer – Part 2 - Followup

The Trumpet Call

Introduction
The sweet smell of the new blossoms on the trees and the powerful rich and organic aroma of each one of countless billions of plants now sprouting forcefully and yet gracefully through the soil or producing fresh shoots filled the early spring air. It seemed rightly as though all of creation had been touched by the finger and blessing of God. Not the hardest hearted bully could walk to school on a morning such as this and miss the distinct aroma of life. Weeks earlier, the snow had been thick and heavy. We had joyfully missed school that day. But now it seemed as though the heat of the sun was baking off the lifelessness of a long and cold winter. But there was something even sweeter in the air, at least for most kids on their way to school on mornings such as these. Just as each sunny morning brought a seemingly more invigorated nature, so too each morning brought with it the excitement that soon, no matter how much homework Mrs. Baxter wanted to give us, she couldn't. We were to be set free. So even homework took on an air of joyful anticipation as the days quickened to meet the summer break. I spent much of my time day dreaming about my grandparents' cabin in the mountains west of Denver. We would be there soon. It seemed sitting there at my desk that I could smell the wonderful aroma of coffee, bacon and an early morning cigarette. It seemed as though I could see the smiling face of my grandmother as she was preparing breakfast for us. And I could hear deep in my heart the joyful gurgling and babbling of the creek behind the cabin.

Dominion Marred
You will recall Genesis chapters 1 – 3. God makes covenant with His creation, with Adam and Eve. God implements between them what has been termed: the covenant of works. In this covenant God granted Adam and Eve dominion, or rule and authority over the garden of Eden. The Lord grants provision to them. He says: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden” (2:17) The Lord grants dominion when Moses tells us: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (2:15) It is impossible to separate the created order from man and his dominion. Adam was as the father of mankind also the caretaker and the ruler over creation. For instance, the Lord assigns to Adam the task of the naming of all of the creatures. David referring to this dominion in Psalms 8 says: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” The Bible tells us that this dominion was first given to Adam in the creation.


For those of us who have never worked or lived on a farm we find it difficult to understand the significance of the dominion that man was given. In part due to the advancement of our civilization we have lost such a close relationship to the earth. We don’t typically work in the fields to bring home the food and provision that we need to live. So it is very difficult at times for us to see that there really is a relationship between man, as caretaker and the created order.


So it is that Adam was given this order. But as the Bible makes absolutely clear and as we have discussed previously, Adam violates the covenant. He disobeys God’s command to him in the garden. This wickedness would plunge mankind and as we’ll see all of creation into the curse of sin and death: “because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man” Romans 5:17 and again: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” - Romans 5:12

Read Romans 8:16 - 30

Two Adams Compared
We must see Adam as the father of all of mankind. We MUST see that Adam and the covenant cursing that he bore was handed down from generation to generation. We must also see that the first man Adam was NOT divine in nature. And the Bible describes for us two primary characters as rulers of mankind and of creation. The first is Adam, he’s the father of all mankind. Paul says: “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust” – 1 Corinthians 15:47 He brought sin into the race of man. We all, like it or not, bear his genetic markings and bear the weight of the curse. The Bible describes him in prototypical form. That is to say, that he is the prototype for all of his descendants. Adam is the one from whom all subsequent generations have inherited all of their characteristics. We must see this.


We must also see that in the same way that Adam was the prototype for all of mankind in the fall, so Jesus, in His resurrected humanity is the prototype for all who have been born again into and under His dominion. “The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” – 1 Corinthians 15:45.


Resurrection is About The Image of Christ
We also have to see, as we did in week 1, that we are being transformed and the objective of the resurrection is to transform us into the image of Christ. We were the image of Adam. Now, we are being transformed, and this transformation will find its completion in the resurrection. To our text:


“And those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (8:29a)


If our prototype was Adam and among the inheritance that we received from Adam were death and sin then what Paul here speaks is critical for the believer. We were predestined to be REMADE or conformed (to take from one state and bring to another) into the image of Jesus, the second Adam. The end result is that what will define us in the resurrection is the image of Christ. We will have inherited the distinguishing characteristics of the second Adam. If you are in Christ today, despite your struggles and your failings, you will one day be transformed fully into the image and likeness of Jesus.

Firstborn among many brothers
We will be conformed to Jesus image. This: “in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (8:29). We will be conformed so that Jesus will be the first born of the resurrection, the prototype of all who are to come. This verse speaks to the purpose of our transformation and our conformation in Christ. The reason for this is that the human attributes of Jesus, in His perfected state must be transmitted to all who have been adopted as sons by the Father. Jesus was the first to be resurrected to everlasting glory. His resurrection is to be followed by the resurrection of all who are adopted sons of God. “you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"” (8:26). In Colossians 1:18, Paul says: “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” Jesus becomes the first one in the order to come: the final restored consummated kingdom. Not only is Jesus the first in order, but He is the preeminent one, the one with highest significance. Just as Adam was the preeminent figure in our earthly linage, Jesus becomes the defining member of the church. He is the “beginning” and this word here means the originating source. It is as though Jesus was the single drop of water that breached the damn that is the created order in its current cursed state. And it will be on that day when He returns, that the damn of sin and death will burst giving way to an absolute flood as our bodies take on the immortal and glory filled image of our older brother.


We will share as Heirs
Paul says (16) “if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”. Jesus was resurrected and ascended to His state of glory. In the same way if we, by the salvation of Jesus have been given the destiny of the image of Jesus so too we will be resurrected and bear His glory. Paul continues “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (18) So the “Glory” the dignity, or the inherent honor that is in Jesus resurrected humanity will also be given to us. It will be given to us, because now that we are in Christ we are heirs with Christ, receiving full benefits as sons and daughters of God. If you are in Christ today, you are an heir with Christ and on that last day a glory awaits you in Jesus, that He enjoys even now in the presence of the Father.


Creation Groans
But it wasn’t only mankind that was subjected to the curse. All of creation was likewise subjected. Paul says: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (20). Paul makes it clear that it was God who subjected the creation to the curse, when he says: “but because of him who subjected it. Paul also makes it clear that the restoration of all of creation is directly bound to the resurrection and the glory that will be bestowed upon the sons of God. That as the end of this current order occurs, in that twinkling of an eye, all of creation will be restored. It is of profound significance that Paul refers to the glory of God as freedom” to us. It is significant because once all is made right, we will be truly free. Free from bondage to the flesh, free from all bondage to temptation and free to live an existence completely in accord with the holiness of God. We will be free from Adam’s limitations and so too will nature be set free from the limitations of the curse.


It is almost impossible for us to imagine what creation would be like free from the friction of the constant presence of disease, death, predation and the sufferings that so characterizes creation in this order. Paul says “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (22). It’s not that creation has an awareness of the glories that await as Jesus makes all things new, it is that the very order of nature itself in death and birth and suffering could be described metaphorically as a woman who is in the travails of labor. Each contraction brings intense and unimaginable pain. Each contraction proclaims the eminent birth, but the eminent pain as well. When Lori would give birth, she would reach a point of suffering where she would just wish that it would all stop. She would wish that we could turn off the labor and just go home. So too creation has been undergoing the brutal and painful suffering that the curse brought from Adam and will until the day that Jesus raises His people from the dead. And the cry of all of creation in disease, suffering and death, much like the travails of labor proclaim and sound out the longing for the return of Christ in glory to restore all things.


“and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (23) In the same way Paul says, we who have been given the first fruit of the fullness that is to come in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, also groan inwardly as we suffer. That is to what Paul is referring. That this life of suffering, this life of brutality of struggle and strife is driving us like labor towards the eminent birth, the redemption of our bodies. And we have been given the Holy Spirit as He has taken up residence in us, as a foretaste of the glory to come. We behold Christ as glorious. He reveals to us Jesus as Lord and Savior. So it is that He, the Spirit proclaims to us these truths, and creates in us this longing. But He’s the first fruits of the relationship that is to come. It tells of the glorious truth, that God will dwell with His people “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. – Revelation 21:3. Just as we have become the temple (same word as dwell) or the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, so too He will dwell with us, just as He did with Adam.


He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. – Revelation 21:4


On that day all of death and the curse of death, both on man and creation will “pass away”. Indeed all of the former things will pass away. All suffering and sadness will be done away with.

The Lord’s Return
So it is that all of creation, including us, groan and long for the day when that sky opens up and Jesus returns. The Lord, on that day will say: “Behold I am making all things new.” – Revelation 21:5


Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. – Matthew 24:31


in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.


For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. – 1 Thessalonians 4:14


Oh what joy will fill the hearts of those who will be raised on that day. Imagine, as the trumpet blast is sounded and the Lord appears with power and His great glory. Imagine as the sound of the horn draws the dead from the ground. Imagine as all of creation is restored and He gives life to our dead and dying bodies. Imagine as we rise to meet Him in the air. Imagine as the war against sin in our flesh is won once for all. Imagine as all suffering and shame is done away with. When I think of the trumpet blast, I imagine it sounding like the clearest sound. Unencumbered by the frailties of human fashioned trumpets the sound will be the most magnificent and pure sound that has ever befallen our natural ears.


The Consummation of the Kingdom
Not only will Jesus do away with all suffering and pain, but all dominion, will be given to Jesus.  The writer of Hebrews says: of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. (1:8)


The glory of the resurrection is most clearly seen in Jesus seated upon His throne as Lord and king over all of creation. As all of the creation that was at one point in such rebellion to Him are now made completely subject to Him. Jesus victory over sin and death accomplishes the dominion that Adam could not accomplish. In this way, Jesus name is lifted higher than any other in all of history. The name and legacy of Adam fade quickly as what Paul spoke of in Philippians 2:9, comes to pass: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In that final day, the name which the Father bestowed upon Him, Jesus (God saves) will be lifted high. Paul calls it the name above all names. The name which is highest in honor and privilege that name alone will cause all of the sons and daughters of Adam to fall on their knees and to confess, that Jesus is Lord and king.


Again the writer of Hebrews says: “Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (2:5-10)


Here the writer of Hebrews is quoting Psalms 8 in regard to Jesus. So it will be that all things will be placed under Jesus’ feet and under His subjection. And that even though we don’t see all things in the created order under His feet in complete dominion currently, we will one day see all things placed under His feet. This is absolutely hopeful for us. First, in that He tasted death on our behalf. Second, that in Christ’s kingdom and order, there will be nothing wicked whatsoever. There will no longer be the consequence of human sin. And because Jesus’ work was completed on the cross, he says: “should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” He will one day bring many sons and daughters to glory. If you are in Jesus, this is true of you. And as Jesus, the founder of the church, the glorious Savior, Sanctifier and Restorer of all things leads His people to final victory, we will see Him crowned and at the center of all things. The one to whom all glory and honor will be given. In our current day, so many would like us to believe that we are the center of our Christian experience. But if the work that Jesus began on Calvary is driving to a restored order in which He is directly at the center of all things, to be worshipped and lifted high, then shouldn’t our focus be on Him and what He has done and what He will do? Since, as Paul said earlier, we have the first fruits of the Spirit, shouldn’t we His people seek His glorious throne by faith? Shouldn’t we His people take up the holy cry “Maranatha” “Our Lord Come!” 1 Corinthians 16:22? And again, Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!


It is then that we see that the every cry of our heart is not entirely directed to His return in glory, to the resurrection and His completion of this age of suffering. So we should seek the forgiveness of the Lord as we are perpetually allowing the things of this earth to cloud our heavenly view. We should seek and know that His completed work on the cross; that His blood is sufficient to cover over even these sins.


Maranatha!

Week 7 - Part 2 - Christ our Healer - Preparation

The sweet smell of the new blossoms on the trees and the powerful rich and organic aroma of each one of countless billions of plants now sprouting forcefully and yet gracefully through the soil or producing fresh shoots filled the early spring air.  It seemed rightly as though all of creation had been touched by the finger and blessing of God.  Not the hardest hearted bully could walk to school on a morning such as this and miss the distinct aroma of life.  Weeks earlier, the snow had been thick and heavy.  We had joyfully missed school that day.  But now it seemed as though the heat of the sun was baking off the lifelessness of a long and cold winter.  But there was something even sweeter in the air, at least for most kids on their way to school on mornings such as these.  Just as each sunny morning brought a seemingly more invigorated nature, so too each morning brought with it the excitement that soon, no matter how much homework Mrs. Baxter wanted to give us, she couldn't.  We were to be set free.  So even homework took on an air of joyful anticipation as the days quickened to meet the summer break.  I spent much of my time day dreaming about my grandparents' cabin in the mountains west of Denver.  We would be there soon.  It seemed sitting there at my desk that I could smell the wonderful aroma of coffee, bacon and an early morning cigarette.  It seemed as though I could see the smiling face of my grandmother as she was preparing breakfast for us.  And I could hear deep in my heart the joyful gurgling and babbling of the creek behind the cabin.

As the days draw nearer, well aware that we don't know when, we as the redeemed in Christ have been given the most sacred hope of the resurrection.  And for those who are in Christ, the whisperings of that day in nature, in civilization and in the church, are much like the blossoms on the trees as we look forward to that glorious day, when sin and death finally meet their end and life everlasting takes shape within us and before our very eyes.  As an adult, I look forward to summer, but no longer with an eager anticipation.  We who have been given freely the blood of Christ, those who have been given the blessed hope of the resurrection have a day, much like the end of school, which we look longingly towards.  For those who aren't in Christ, that day isn't joyful, but terrifying.  But for us, when that trumpet blows its sweet heavenly call, it won't fall painfully on our ears.  That call will be matched by the most dramatic and wonderful event in all of nature and in all of our history as sons and daughters of Adam (barring one).

Your assignment this week is to sit down to a spiritual meal.  Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
and then ponder that day, do you smell the blossoms on the trees?

Have a glorious week reflecting on Jesus gift of resurrection!