Who is Jesus - Day 7 - Jesus the Exalted King

Do we not love to think of Him in royal glory now as He is, at God's right hand, as King set upon the Father's throne, one day soon to sit upon His own throne and to rule to the ends of the earth? I believe that we really lose if we fail to grasp this side of truth. There is real blessedness in dwelling upon His Kingly, royal authority. So we are told in Colossians, "God hath delivered us from the power (or authority) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love;" a sphere in which divine love, as expressed in the Son of God's bosom, reigns and controls. So He is King. When Pilate asked Him, "Art thou a king, then?" He says, "I am;" and we too can speak of Him, think of Him with joy, as King now upon the Father's throne. All things are beneath His sway, not yet visibly, but faith owns Him as Ruler and Lord.

Not only in the midst of Israel will this be so, but "unto the ends of the earth." He will reign without a rival then. Jubilant songs will be sung in His honour. Kings will bow down before Him. His name shall be the national hymn of every tribe and kindred. He, He whom we know and love, He who has died for us, He shall be great! Where is the Christian whose heart does not throb with exultation at the thought?

Jesus, the rightful King of Israel, was rejected by Israel and crucified. God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to His right hand. In that glorious place He is crowned with glory and honour, as Hebrews 2:9 tells us. He received the victor's crown. In Revelation 19:11-16 where Jesus is depicted coming in power and glory He has on His head many crowns, the emblem of kingly or imperial dignity.*

The first fact is the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. His glory in the heavens lies far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. There God the Father has conferred upon Jesus of Nazareth the highest dignity and glory. He Whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain is in that place of ineffable glory. The Man Christ Jesus, the One Who was crucified, the One Who was in the grave, is now at the right hand of the throne of God, and all power is given to Him in heaven and in earth.

The blessed Lord Jesus took the very lowest place, but God has given Him the very highest. He made Himself nothing, but God has made Him everything. He said, “I am a worm and no man,” but God has set Him as Head over all. He went into the very dust of death, but God has placed Him on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

Let it be known to all that our Saviour and Lord sits upon the throne on high!—that the Holy One whose wonderful grace brought Him into the deepest depths of sorrow, is now anointed with the oil of gladness, and graces the throne of the greatness and majesty above. Downward He descended to the stable—to the manger to the waters of Jordan—to the hunger and thirst of the wilderness—to the rejection, scorn, spitting, mocking and smiting—to the thorny crown, and to the darkness and abandonment of the cross of shame; but upward He has ascended as the risen Man to the pre-eminent place!—to the throne of God!—to the crown of glory and honour!—to exaltation above all the heavens! Having glorified God upon the earth He is glorified in God on high! Jesus the One who once died for our sins is now alive for evermore and sits enthroned, therefore grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life! Grace is triumphant!

And now we turn our eyes to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and there we see Jesus, crowned with glory and honour. Yes, the One whom Simeon looked upon, a lowly Babe at His mother's breast, the One whom John saw crucified and dead upon a cross, we see now in the highest place in the glory. God has raised Him from the dead and set Him there. Every Christian heart thrills at the thought of His exaltation, and yet that glory that has received Him has not made Hint more glorious. It was the only place in the universe that was worthy of Him. His disciples anticipated the throne of David for Him, and He shall have it, in due time, with every other throne, but there was only one place that was worthy of Him when He came forth from among the dead, and that was the Father's throne on high. The diamond is put in a golden setting, but its setting does not increase the value of the gem, it is the only fit setting for it; so it is with Jesus, whose Name is now above every name, and who is crowned in heaven with glory and honour, He is in His right setting there. God has said to Him, "Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool," but He is not inactive there, but having passed through all suffering He is the fully-qualified Captain, or Leader, of God's many sons. I should like to deepen the desire within to follow Him, and to awaken and stir up a holy enthusiasm for Him in the hearts of those He has saved.

Fourthly, then His rightful place on earth will be the throne, for He comes not to suffer, but to reign. As the true David, He will occupy His own throne, for all things are to be subdued by Him unto Himself, before He delivers up the kingdom to Him who is God and Father, "when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power, for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." (1 Cor. 15:24-25.) He will establish, too, His ancient people in their hoped-for earthly glory, when all the promises shall be made good to them. And who but one who is God could take possession of all things, and subdue all things to Himself? We read, therefore, "But unto THE SON he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Heb. 1:8-9.) Thus, in millennial glory, when THE SON — the Messiah — takes His kingly place of power, and reigns before His ancients gloriously, our attention is again called to contemplate Him in His eternal Godhead. Fellows, or companions, He will doubtless have; but here, as in all things, He must have the pre-eminence. It is unquestionably the millennial times in which we here behold THE SON; for it is characterised by righteousness, according to the scripture, "A king shall reign in righteousness." Now God is preaching grace, and bearing with this evil world in marvellous patience and long-suffering, but when THE SON sits on His own throne, He will wield the sceptre of righteousness, for, as we have observed, righteousness will characterise His kingdom, not grace. It will be manifest that He loves righteousness, and hates iniquity; and, because He is eternally divine, will be able to subdue all things unto Himself. Then He "will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." (1 Tim. 6:15-16.)

It will be therefore evident to the reader that Christ can be in no sense said to be King of the Church. To it He stands in a closer relationship, even that of Head; for believers now are united to Him by the Spirit of God, and are consequently members of His body. True, He is a King "as to title, though at present He is a rejected King; and it is as true that the believer owns no authority but His; but it is a confusion of dispensations to aver that Christ is now reigning as King. He will do so; but it will not be until He comes forth in the manner described in the last paper. At the present moment He is sitting at the right hand of God, and there He will continue to sit until His enemies are made His footstool. Then He will appear, and proceed to put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. (1 Cor. 15:24-25.) This is the kingdom — the kingdom as so explained — that falls to be considered in the present paper. The kingdom of heaven exists now (Matt. 13), so also the kingdom of God (John 3); and believers are said to be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13), but the reign of Christ as King is confined to the millennium. Thus Mary was told concerning Him, that "the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." (Luke 1:32.) It is obvious that this promise has never yet been fulfilled; for when He was presented to the Jews as their Messiah they would not receive Him, and finally cried, "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:15.) But every word of God must stand, and thus He will yet be the King of Israel, and not only of Israel, for as Son of man He inherits still wider glories, "and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." (Dan. 7:27.) Israel will be the centre of this universal dominion, and it will be through them that He will govern the nations upon the earth.

It will be therefore evident to the reader that Christ can be in no sense said to be King of the Church. To it He stands in a closer relationship, even that of Head; for believers now are united to Him by the Spirit of God, and are consequently members of His body. True, He is a King "as to title, though at present He is a rejected King; and it is as true that the believer owns no authority but His; but it is a confusion of dispensations to aver that Christ is now reigning as King. He will do so; but it will not be until He comes forth in the manner described in the last paper. At the present moment He is sitting at the right hand of God, and there He will continue to sit until His enemies are made His footstool. Then He will appear, and proceed to put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. (1 Cor. 15:24-25.) This is the kingdom — the kingdom as so explained — that falls to be considered in the present paper. The kingdom of heaven exists now (Matt. 13), so also the kingdom of God (John 3); and believers are said to be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13), but the reign of Christ as King is confined to the millennium. Thus Mary was told concerning Him, that "the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." (Luke 1:32.) It is obvious that this promise has never yet been fulfilled; for when He was presented to the Jews as their Messiah they would not receive Him, and finally cried, "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:15.) But every word of God must stand, and thus He will yet be the King of Israel, and not only of Israel, for as Son of man He inherits still wider glories, "and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." (Dan. 7:27.) Israel will be the centre of this universal dominion, and it will be through them that He will govern the nations upon the earth.