A CHRISTIAN IS GOD’S KING
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
HISTORY
The elders of the Jewish people (God’s chosen
people of days gone past), in their spiritual blindness said to Samuel,
"Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations…We will have a
king over us; that we also may be like all the nations…Give us a king
that he may judge us, and
go out before us, and fight our battles for us" (1 Sam. 8:4-20).
For five hundred years the Lord had been Israel's
King, and there had been no lack of royal favors as
long as the nation had been obedient to His laws. His provisions had
been amply sufficient and His rulership benevolent. But in the sad history of man it has been demonstrated again and
again that he always prefers the human to the divine - the material to
the spiritual - so now they were asking God to abdicate His throne and
turn it over to a
weak and fallible man.
No wonder Samuel was grieved! His pleas to them
were unavailing and the information he gave as to what it would cost
them in
taxes and servitude to maintain the retinue of royalty fell upon ears
that
were deliberately deaf to the truth. Their cry, "Nay, but we will have
a
king" expressed the willful determination of unregenerated hearts; so
God
and Samuel yielded to their rash importunities and a king was given.
Saul pleased them at first. His gigantic size and
bold spirit caught the popular imagination and great were their hopes
for the
future. But his haughty and disobedient heart led to his rejection by
the
Lord, and David the shepherd boy, a man after God's own heart, took the
crown
after Saul's tragic death. His firm and righteous rule placed Israel
in the forefront of the nations, and God made an oath that "his seed
should endure forever and his throne unto all generations" (Psalms
89:35-37).
David's son, Solomon, raised the nation to the
very pinnacle
of power and glory; but in his latter years, his idolatry brought a
sharp
rebuke from God, together with a stern warning of impending doom
unless
Israel
and
David's seed walked with God. You see, the promise of
the
perpetuation of David's dynasty was a conditional one:
"If
thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of
heart,
and in uprightness…then I will establish the throne of thy
kingdom…forever…But if ye shall at all turn from following me…and will
not keep my commandments…I will cut off Israel out of the land which I
have given them…and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all
people" (1 Kings 9:4-7).
Among the kings who followed Solomon were some
truly good and righteous men; but too often the seed of David followed
the wicked inclination of Israel
into idolatry. However, these few good kings for many years saved Judah
from the captivity that befell the northern kingdom until the
culminating
sins of David's sons finally brought Judah to the vortex of ruin. Of
the
next to the last king of David's seed, Jehoiachim (Coniah), Jeremiah
uttered
these solemn prophetic words, "Write ye this man childless, a man that
shall
not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting
upon
the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah"
(Jer. 22:30).
The wicked Zedekiah soon ascended the throne, and against him came the hosts of Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar
who reduced Jerusalem to an ash heap, burned the beautiful temple
of Solomon and carried Judah
captive to distant Babylon.
The throne of David was vacant! God had given Israel
a king in His anger and had taken him away in His wrath (Hosea 13:11).
But the Lord had not left Israel without hope.
Jeremiah sang the praises of a new king in these words, "Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper…and this is his name whereby
he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. 23:5-6). Israel
was to "abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and
without a sacrifice.” Afterwards, they were to "return, and seek the
Lord their
God, and David their king" (Hosea 3:4-5).
Seventy years of captivity ended and Israel
returned to Judea under Ezra, Zerubbabel and
Nehemiah. The temple was rebuilt and Jerusalem's
walls restored. Although that did not restore David's throne, God's
immutable promise to David was not to fail. Hundreds of years later, in
the days of the mighty Caesars, the angel Gabriel brought to the
startled virgin of Nazareth the never-to‑be‑forgotten announcement,
"Behold, thou shall conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be
great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give
unto
him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house
of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke
1:26-33).
Months later the startled shepherds of Bethlehem
received the amazing news of the new‑born King. He was not born in a
king's palace, among the pomp and glory of royalty; but in a stable and
cradled in a manger. The jealous, murderous Herod unsheathed the sword,
but God preserved the infant King amidst Egypt's
fading splendors, while Herod died hated and detested.
This Prince of the House of David grew to manhood,
not in a royal palace, but amidst the rustic scenes of lowly Nazareth;
working in a carpenter shop to supply His temporal needs. At the age of
thirty, hearing the call of the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan,
He left His humble home in Nazareth,
and in the presence of the curious multitude, received His baptism
while God from heaven acknowledged His royal Son. Anointed by the Holy
Spirit, He
began the PREPARATORY work of organizing His kingdom. Calling to His
aid twelve
apostles to be His ambassadors, He set forth in that memorable Sermon
on
the Mount the righteous principles that shall ever guide His people in
holiness
and peace (Matthew 5-7).
The proud and haughty Sanhedrim, pledged to the
literal restoration of David's throne (as many Jews and Gentiles today
blindly seek), watched with jealous eyes, His every move. When His well meaning friends sought to take Him by
force and make Him a king, He declined the proffered crown. His was not
to be a kingdom of this world (John 18:36).
Going everywhere doing good, His popularity among the common people
grew with amazing rapidity while the
emissaries of Satan (the Jewish leaders) plotted His destruction.
The inevitable clash between these two forces
brought forth from His divine lips the most scathing denunciation of
all time, and He pronounced the verdict of heaven against the chosen
people: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof" (Matt. 21:43). The moody Caiaphas decreed that this “one man
should
die" for the decaying nation; and so His doom was sealed (John 11:49-50). Brought to trial and
accused
of sedition, the weak and wavering Pilate gave the world's unanimous
verdict,
"I find in him no fault at all" (John 18:38). But political pressure
taking
precedence over justice brought forth the sentence of death. So Israel
crucified their One and only King! He died with this royal
inscription over His
head, "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (John 19:19).
With crushed spirits His disheartened disciples
laid Him in a borrowed tomb; while the weeping women, having no hope,
prepared sweet spices for His permanent burial. Three days later the
powers of Satan were shaken when death was conquered and the entombed
King broke the bars of the grave and came forth triumphantly from the
dead. The fear‑shaken
disciples could scarcely believe the electrifying news of the exultant
women
as they obeyed the angel’s command, "He is risen" (Matt. 28:5-7).
Through
death He was the ultimate conqueror, NOT the conquered, and His abashed
enemies
hid themselves behind a veil of falsehood.
For forty days the risen King lived and walked
among His disciples, instructing them in things pertaining to the kingdom
of God. Finally from the
summit of Mt. Olive He ascended from earth amidst the clouds of heaven
to receive the royal crown and a seat upon the throne of glory (Acts
1:9-11). The angelic host escorting Him on His coronation parade to
heaven, greeted the angels at heaven's gate with these stentorian
words, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in" (Ps. 24:7, 9).
The gates are opened and the new Sovereign, clothed with the radiance
and glory of God, is brought before the "Ancient of days…and there was
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations,
and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed"
(Daniel 7:13-14). The diadem of power is placed upon his brow and
angels,
principalities and powers are made subject unto Him as God the Father
issues
this decree, "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool”
(Ps. 110:1).
Today Christ sits upon David's throne, which is
God's throne, in the highest heavens. There He rules with a rod of love
His NEW chosen people – Christians - the saved and redeemed from every
nation under heaven. While "all authority is given unto him in heaven
and in earth" (Matt. 28:18), He shares with His disciples the
rulership and glory of His kingdom. Listen to this royal decree, "To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my
Father
in his throne" (Rev. 3:21). This cannot refer to rulership after the
judgment, for His rulership ends then; but to rulership now in His
kingdom, for "He hath made us unto our God to be kings
and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10).
CHRISTIANS ARE KINGS
We now have come to the most important thought of
this lesson. Christians are kings - Kings with
Christ!
You may look upon yourself as a small and very insignificant person;
but
according to the royal decree of Christ, you are a King! The church's
greatest
shame today is that many, far too many, look upon themselves as
nobodies
‑ just peons. But if you have been saved by the blood of Christ you are a king. We will now list our royal advantages:
We
Are of Royal Birth
We are born, "NOT of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). Truthfully we sing "I'm the child of a
king." Paul said, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,
that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:16-17).
God is my Father and Christ, the great Monarch of heaven, is my
Brother. All
the advantages of royalty are ours if we will avail ourselves of that
which
our Father has provided. Thousands of people miss the best in life, in
the
church, because they do not understand the exalted dignity and honor
of
their relationship to God. We are princes of the royal blood. Let our
conduct,
our thinking, and our planning be that of kings.
We
Have Royal Garments
Ancient kings were clothed with purple and fine
linen. Their expensive, expertly tailored clothes set them apart from
the multitudes. A Christian has no business wearing the soiled garment
of unrighteousness (Eph. 5:3; 1 John 1:9; 5:17). Let
us be clothed like kings! Apart from Christ, our righteousness is but
"filthy
rags" (Isaiah 64:6); but when He clothes us with the garments of
salvation,
and covers us with the robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10), we can walk
in
dignity in the courts of kings. Each day as we grow in grace we will
heed
Paul's command, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 13:14). To be "clothed with
humility"
(1 Pet. 5:5), shows our kinship with Him who was meek and lowly in
heart.
It is said that "clothes make the man." That certainly is true
spiritually.
A king clothed with soiled tattered garments commands no respect from
his
subjects; but a Christian clothed with purity and holiness is respected
by
even the emissaries of Satan.
We
Are Given Royal Food
The prodigal son in his degradation fed himself
with the husks the swine did eat (Luke 15:16).
Coarse, unpalatable food! But God's children may each day eat "royal
dainties" (Gen. 49:20) from the Father's bounteous table. Upon that
royal table are found the richest viands from the storehouse of the
King. The milk and meat He provides contain all the vitamins necessary
for spiritual health and strength. "As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby: If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Pet.
2:3-4).
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out
of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). We should say with the saint of old,
"I
have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). Most Christians starve in the
midst of plenty. The Manna that gives eternal life is treated with
indifference by those who claim to love it best. A neglected Bible is
Satan's greatest joy. It is true spiritually as well as physically
that a man is what he eats;
and unless you eat daily of the royal food at the royal table, you will
bear
little resemblance to the King.
We
Exercise Royal Rulership
We do the work of kings! We rule by divine right,
and the domain of that rulership is in our hearts. Solomon said, "He
that ruleth his spirit (is better) than he that taketh a city" (Prov. 16:32). Most people are slaves. They
permit Satan largely to dominate their lives. It is he who says, "Thou
shalt and thou shalt not." Every Christian should draw up a
Declaration of Independence from Satan's power. In it we should
resolve that with God's help we will make
something grand and sublime of the NEW life God gave us - that we "no
longer
should live the rest of (our) time in the flesh to the lusts of men,
but
to the will of God (l Peter 4:2).
How few there are who fully realize the unseen
power of Satan over their lives, preventing them from rising to
heights of real power and usefulness in the kingdom
of God. We fritter and
fiddle away
precious hours and days in frivolous time‑consuming things that benefit
no
one but Satan; thereby we rob God and ourselves of a heritage of
usefulness and power. We must not be like the dumb driven cattle; we
must be heroes with something attempted, something done that befits the
life of a king.
A greater king than Paul never wore the crown of
real Christian rulership. Of himself he said, “But I keep under my
body, and
bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached
to
others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27). He controlled self that he might live for
Christ;
and in so doing he was a real king. Again, he said, "I can do all
things
through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13). No weakling was Paul, for he had a real
mission
in life and he made each day count. May we heed the divine admonition,
"Hold
that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Rev. 3:11).
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