CHRIST’S KINGSHIP

Rev. John Morrison

Introduction

The Kingship of Christ is referred to in the following passages: Psalm 2: 6, Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion; Psalm 132: 11, The Lord has sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne; Daniel 2: 44, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever;  Luke 1: 33, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end; John 18: 36, Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. There are other relevant passages but these suffice.

The kingship of Christ in defined in the Westminster Larger Catechism Q/A 45: Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws and censures, by which he visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace on the elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God and obey not the gospel. 

His Kingly office extends to three spheres, the visible church, the invisible church and the world. The most import of the three is the invisible church. Every member of the invisible church was elected to eternal life from eternity, and for such Christ suffered, died and rose again.  Some of its members are in glory, others are at present in the world who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, others are in the world who are His but have not yet been effectually called, and also all they who  are His in the generations following.

The Nature of the Kingship

In dealing with Christ’s Kingly office, it has to be made sufficiently clear that as the second Person of the Trinity  coequal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, He  has original right in having dominion over the whole universe. However, that authority is different in a number of ways from His mediatorial Kingship, because He is invested with the latter, and it is exercised as the God-man (Theanthrpos), and consists of His Kingly rule in the world, and indeed in the Universe - for all power has been given unto Him in heaven and in earth- restraining and overcoming the enemies of His church, ordering all things to His glory and their good. This rule extends to the Day of Judgment.

Christ’s spiritual kingship is established in the hearts and lives of His people, and administered by the Word and Spirit, and the government of the church. But He who is their King is also the Head. The following passages refer to the Headship: Eph 1: 22 – 23;   And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all; Col 1: 18, And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. The citizenship of the Kingdom is co-existent with the invisible Church’s membership. A distinction has to be made. The former is more extensive than the latter because ‘…it extends to life in all its manifestations.’ The visible church is the external organisation of the Kingdom. Within the visible church membership there are both the Kingdom’s citizens and others though professing to belong to Christ  are ignorant of His saving grace.

The spiritual character of the  kingdom applies to both the Old Testament and the New. It was somewhat obscured by the ceremonial law,  in comparison with the  New Testament. Regarding the latter there are frequent references in it to the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven – these are employed interchangeably and mean the same. The Premillinarians view the kingdom of God as the universal kingdom, and the kingdom of heaven as Christ’s mediatorial kingdom. But this distinction is incorrect. This is not a natural kingdom. Jesus reminded Nicodemus that it is not possible  to enter into it but by the rebirth. John 3: 1 –8; and this subject is also dealt with in Luke `17: 20 –21, And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God  should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or Lo there! For the kingdom of God is .within you.   Some are of the view that the present kingdom will become the  ‘……. future kingdom imperceptibly….’ This however is not the teaching of Scripture according to Matt 24: 21 – 44; 1 Thess 5: 2- 3;  and 2 Pet 3: 10 – 12. Although the kingdom is more extensive than the church, it is through the church that it can extend.

This article will be continued shortly. The second part will focus on The Duration of Christ’s Kingship.