Throughout the entire Bible, the theme of Jesus Christ’s Kingship is prominent. His authority is apparent from the beginning of time when He as the Word of God “was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). When the Bible closes, it ends on a triumphant scene: “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3-4).
This theme is not a light matter. We believe the words of this book are true, so when it says that this universe is under the rule of a King who is very involved in the matters of His kingdom, it should have an impact on how we live. In fact, it should have a transformative, life-changing effect on us.
So how does this change the way we live every day?
If Christ is King, we have nothing to fear. From a worldly perspective, our lives are full of uncertainty and reasons to be fearful. But if Christ is the King and we are His subjects, we must understand that nothing can happen to us or harm us outside of His will. When sorrows and trials come our way, we can be confident that it is for our good under the sovereign direction of Jesus.
If Christ is King, His opinion of us is the only one that matters. It can be all too easy to get caught up in how we appear to those around us, especially in our social media inundated lives. But if we live under a King, it doesn’t matter how the world perceives us… as long as we’re living in surrender to His rule.
If Christ is King, our sins are serious. In my personal experience, sin was always presented to me as something on the level of being rude to a very good friend. But that is far from the truth. Jesus isn’t just a good friend whose feelings are hurt when we “make mistakes”. No, He is a King, and if He is a King then our sin is treason of the highest degree. We cannot miss this or gloss over it, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. There is nothing more disgusting or vile than sin. But thank God that our King is also our Advocate!
If Christ is King, Satan is under His authority. One of the beautiful truths we see in the book of Job is that Satan himself is subject to the will of Heaven’s King. No doubt, Satan has a measure of authority and a degree of power, but these are borrowed and used only as God allows. If Christ is King, surely we must feel the greatest security as His subjects in the knowledge that our most powerful enemy is leashed like a dog to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.
If Christ is King, we must obey Him. The simplest things are often the hardest things. It can be easy to accept that our King will provide for and protect us. It is relieving to think that our King has our best interests at heart. But when it comes to obedience, all too often the old nature of sin stirs up rebellion in our hearts. We do have ways to combat this, and they are weapons forged by the King Himself. We have the Church, where we sharpen one another like swords for war. We have prayer and meditation that invigorate our minds. We have the Scriptures, the words of God Himself that are more beneficial than food. These are the culture of Christ’s Kingdom, and if Christ is our King we will live in the way that He decrees.
