This installment of the four part series appeared in the July, 1976 edition of The Christian Courier. It was written by Wayne Jackson. The paper was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California and was edited by Jackson.
In this series on the "Views of Christ" we have thus far discussed the Lord's eternal existence, His manifestations in Old Testament theophanies and His incarnate form as Jesus of Nazareth. A further phase of the Savior's work is His present reign as our King Mediator at the Father's right hand.
CHRIST OUR KING - The prophets of the Old Testament foretold the coming of the Messianic King and the establishment of His kingdom. David was informed that after he had gone to be with his ancestors in death, a regal "seed" would arise from his lineage and the "throne of his kingdom" would be forever established (II Samuel 7:12-16). Isaiah told of the approaching kingdom of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7) and Daniel focused upon its arrival in the days of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44). Prior to her conception of baby Jesus, the virgin Mary was informed by the angel Gabriel, "...you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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 1:31-33).
Though Christ did not actually commence His reign as King until after he made purification of sins and ascended to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3; cf. Luke 19:12; Ephesians 1:20-22) He was nevertheless a potential king from the time of His birth onward. (*Note: The Roman emperor Caligula appointed Herod Agrippa I as king over the territories of Philip and Antipas though Agrippa did not actually commence his reign until sometime afterward. "He was a 'king' for some time before he actually possessed a kingdom." (H.E. Dana, The New Testament World, p. 101.) After showing that the newborn Jesus was a legal descendant of King David, the apostle Matthew records the visit of the Gentile wise men from the east, who came inquiring, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2). When the Lord entered Jerusalem on Sunday of that week which culminated in His death, He was introduced to Jerusalem's population with a prophecy from Zechariah (9:9), "Behold, your King comes to you!" (Matthew 21:5). And when the Christ was asked by Pilate, "Are you the King of the Jews?" the Master responded, "It is as you say", meaning, "it is just as you say, to be sure, certainly" (J. H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, p. 374).
THE NATURE OF THE REIGN OF CHRIST - That the reign of Christ was to be spiritual and heavenly (as opposed to political and earthly) is clearly evinced in the Scriptures. In the first place, the Lord plainly declared: "My kingdom is not of this world..." (John 18:36). The kingdom was not received the Savior until after He went to the "far country" i.e., Heaven (see the parable of the pounds, Luke 19:11ff; cf. Daniel 7:13-14). Moreover, the prophet Zechariah prophesied regarding Christ thusly: "Behold the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both" (Zechariah 6:12-13). This passage positively affirms that Christ will function as priest and reign as king on His throne simultaneously. According to Hebrews 8:4, Christ could not act as a priest while on the earth for He was not descended from the priestly tribe (Hebrews 7:14). Since the Lord could not be a priest on earth, and He is priest and king jointly, it follows necessarily that His reign as king cannot be earthly in nature. It is heavenly, and the dispensational dogma which argues for a return of Christ to reign upon the earth for 1,000 years is grossly erroneous.
The gospel of Matthew, written especially for Jews, gives considerable emphasis to the reign of Christ. The Greek word for kingdom is basileia, and Matthew's narrative literally rings with the announcement that the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth heralds the impending arrival of the "kingdom of Heaven." The phrase "kingdom of Heaven" occurs 33 times and the similar expression "kingdom of God" is found in four places. John the Baptizer, the Lord Himself and the twelve proclaimed the approaching reign of the King of kings (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7).
Though the kingdom of Christ was in a preparatory state during the Lord's personal ministry (cf. Matthew 11:12; 12:28) it did not exist in fact until the day of Pentecost some fifty days after His death. Jesus had promised that the kingdom would come with power (Mark 9:1) and that the power would accompany the reception of the Spirit (Acts 1:8). It is well known of course, that the Spirit came upon the apostles upon Pentecost (Acts 2:4), hence it is evident that the kingdom of Christ, or the Lord's reign commenced on that day.
It is also revealed in the New Testament that being submissive to the reign of Christ is equal to being a faithful member of the spiritual body of Christ, the church. For instance, in His nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus taught that the "new birth" consisting of being born of "water and the Spirit" enables one to "enter the kingdom" (John 3:5). This is simply receiving the Spirit's message (the gospel) and being immersed in water; the very thing that Paul declares puts one into the "one body" (I Corinthians 12:13), which is the "church" (Colossians 1:18). Those in the church therefore, are those who in humble obedience (Hebrews 5:9) have submitted themselves to the reign of the Lord Jesus. It ought to be correspondingly clear therefore, that the popular denominational notion that "church membership is not essential to salvation" is equivalent to suggesting that submission to the reign of Christ is not a prerequisite to salvation. Our Lord is reigning now (I Corinthians 15:25). His unshakable kingdom is available to all who will repudiate the world of darkness (Hebrews 12:28; Colossians 1:13).
As earlier indicated, the territory of Christ's kingdom is not marked by geographical boundaries. Jesus taught that the, "kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). The Lord reigns over the hearts of those who submit to His sovereign will. Since the domain of the Master's reign is the human soul, all of those who are wise will seek to cultivate those spiritual qualities required of the kingdom's citizenry (see Matthew 5:3, 10, 19, 20; 7:21; 13:41; 18:1-4; 19:14, 23-24; 21:31). Seeking the kingdom should be the foremost thrust of one's life (Luke 19:14). And to those who say, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14), it would be better that they had never been born!
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