“And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'”
(Rev 19:16 NASB)
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Readers,
David often spoke of the Lord as his God and as his King. He also identified the coming Messiah in terms of a King, and also as Lord and God.
Consider just a few statements from David:
“Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psa 2:12 NASB) — This Psalm is quoted from by the apostles in Acts 4, with regard to Jesus as the anointed King. —
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.'” (Psa 110:1-2 NASB) — Quoted by Peter with a view to Jesus being exalted to the Father as King —
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.” (Psa 45:5-7 NASB) — Quoted in the book of Hebrews with regard to the exaltation of Jesus. —
“Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.” (Psa 24:8-10 NASB) — With a view to the second coming of Jesus as the King of glory —
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A King is exactly who Jesus is
While we readily acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must always keep before us that He is a King and has a kingdom. A King is exactly what Jesus is. And in order for a king to rule, he must have a kingdom.
The term kingdom (basileia) in Greek speaks of sovereignty, or power. In an abstract sense it refers to the power exercised by a king. So the kingdom of God refers to God’s direct ruling power. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of great power.
Now we turn to Jesus. Follow carefully the conversation between Pilate and Jesus. In questioning Jesus, Pilate becomes frustrated. His wife had had a dream about Jesus and warned Pilate not to do Him any harm.
Pilate says,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Some think that Pilate asked this in jest. I don’t believe this is the case. Pilate is too disturbed to be joking around.
The Lord responds,
“Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”
Pilate is confused. He responds,
“I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”
It is here that Jesus begins to explain His kingdom. Listen carefully;
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Jesus says His kingdom is not an arrangement or an adornment to be seen with the eyes. It is not a worldly kingdom.
Then the Lord adds,
‘My kingdom is not of this realm.’
The word ‘enteuthen’ (realm) means His kingdom is not from here, or, on this side.
Pilate responds,
“So You are a king?”
What Jesus says next puts His kingdom rule into its spiritual essence.
“You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Cf. John 18:33-37)
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A kingdom not of this world
Now we come to the crux of the matter. If the kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world,
then His subjects must not be of this world.
The Lord points out that only His subjects are able to hear His voice.
And the Lord says His kingdom is all about truth.
Now we have all the elements that describe the Lord’s kingdom.
(1) His kingdom is not of this world.
(2) His subjects are not of this world.
(3) Only His subjects hear His voice.
(4) His subjects do not fight. (Not in the sense of worldly kingdoms. Their weaponry is not of the flesh.)
(5) His kingdom is about Truth.
What does this tell us up front? It tells us that the kingdom of Jesus Christ cannot be put in religious terms. Religion is what man does. Relationship and reality is what God does for us in Christ.
Hence the dilemma —
If His kingdom is not of this world, and His subjects are not of this world, and only His subjects can hear His voice, and His kingdom is about Truth, and His subjects do not fight, how can we ever expect to recognize His kingdom? How can anyone find it? How can anyone enter into it?
Every born again person knows the answer to this or they would not be born again. The only way to enter into what Paul calls ‘the kingdom of His Beloved Son,’ is to have a personal invitation from the King. And the only way to be born again is to take to yourself Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior and King.
Thus we have the gospel message. Many people are not aware of just how powerful the gospel really is. The gospel is an official message from God’s heavenly kingdom and in the gospel is a personal invitation from the King to His kingdom. The gospel carries in it the voice of the King.
I Have a Message from the King
We were on our way to a village in Honduras near the border of Guatemala. As we were nearing the village, I asked the Lord what He wanted me especially say to the people. He placed on my heart to begin my message by saying, ‘I come to you as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, and I have a message for you from the King.’ That was the first thing that came out of my mouth. A stillness settled over the crowded building. I began sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it happened – An old Indian stood up and began to make his way towards me. Once again I stood amazed at the power of the gospel. The old Indian heard the voice of the King. He was making his way to accept God’s invitation to enter the kingdom of His beloved Son. He was ready to give his heart to Jesus.
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This brings us to the blood of the King
To enter into the kingdom of the beloved Son, you must have an invitation. This is the job of the servant of God and of the Holy Spirit. The invitation is sent through God’s servants in the gospel message.
Jesus said,
“And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (Joh 16:8 NASB)
“…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1Pe 1:2-5 NASB)
Our salvation is in accordance with God’s divine plan and foreknowledge. The Holy Spirit separates us apart to Jesus. The moment we gazed upon Jesus with our heart, the moment we hear Him calling to us, the moment we respond and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and King, at that very moment the Holy Spirit takes of the divine blood of Jesus, sprinkles it on our heart, and we through this sprinkling become born-from-above people who are not of this world. We become the born-of-the-blood children of God, blood bought, blood sprinkled, blood sealed, and forever under the presence of the blood of the King. This is why Peter said that we are of a royal priestly. (Kingly priests are a family of royalty.) Paul said that the one joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Heb 12:22-24 NASB)
Abel’s blood cried our for vengeance against his brother Cain. The blood of Jesus speaks from the finished work of the cross. It speaks of mercy and truth and grace and forgiveness and love and acceptance.‘What can take away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.’
John says,
“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:11,12)
The word ‘receive’ in Greek, is ‘paralambano.’ It means to take someone to yourself or to your heart. We get the idea from the wedding vow, where the minister says, “Do you, Bill, take Susan to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, etc.”
The minister is asking Bill if he will take Susan to his heart and life in holy union. This is what receiving Jesus means. It is a thing of the heart. It is a thing of union. It does require a confession of faith. It has to be stated. This is why the early Christians were known as, ‘The people of the great confession.’
It is important to understand what John says about believing. Our salvation is not based on some emotional experience. It is based on an open declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. Believing in the Bible is something you do with your heart and nut just with your mind.
John says,
“Even to those who believe in His name.”
The Greek word for believe, that is, ‘pisteuo’, means to put faith in a person, to rely on, to trust in, to adhere to. (It is the Greek word that we get our English word ‘glue’.) To believe in His name means to accept who Jesus really is, that is, to believe in the full message of the gospel, and in His authority. We actually believe into life.
What happens when a person takes to themself Jesus Christ? They are born into the kingdom of God’s Son. Paul says a kingdom transfer takes place;
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Col 1:13)
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What about the truth part and the voice part?
Well, I’ve covered this quite a bit. The gospel is a message from heaven. It carries all the authority and power that is needed to cause a person to be born again. This is why Paul said,
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
(Word, or rhema, speaks of a living voice.)
The word ‘Truth’ in Greek, speaks of the reality that is behind an appearance. To realize truth is to become fully cognizant of the Person and Presence of Jesus Christ. Jesus said,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”
When a person is born from above, that birth brings a new spiritual reality into their life. The realness does not go away. It will be there from day, to day, to day.
His voice also speaks of the Lord’s Kingly ministry. The issue of Jesus being our King is very real to a believer. And hearing His voice is also very real. Jesus explained it this way;
“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”
And again,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Cf. John 10)
Where do we go from here?
How about a song. I always love to finish each of my entries with a special song.
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Much love,
Buddy
Views: 17
Bro. Buddy,
Wow. That’s all I know to say, wow. That was so annointed by God. Thank you.
Fran
Thanks Fran . God’s Word is always anointed. Our main concern is in learning h9w to use it properly.
Buddy