III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
III. The Kingly Office of Christ.This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.[pg 776]Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
This is to be distinguished from the sovereignty which Christ originally possessed in virtue of his divine nature. Christ's kingship is the sovereignty of the divine-human Redeemer, which belonged to him of right from the moment of his birth, but which was fully exercised only from the time of his entrance upon the state of exaltation. By virtue of this kingly office, Christ rules all things in heaven and earth, for the glory of God and the execution of God's purpose of salvation.
(a) With respect to the universe at large, Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of power; he upholds, governs, and judges the world.
Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€
Ps. 2:6-8—“I have set my king.... Thou art my son.... uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessionâ€;8:6—“madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feetâ€;cf.Heb. 2:8, 9—“we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we beheld ... Jesus ... crowned with glory and honorâ€;Mat. 25:31, 32—“when the Son of man shall come in his glory ... then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nationsâ€;28:18—“All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earthâ€;Heb. 1:3—“upholding all things by the word of his powerâ€;Rev. 19:15, 16—“smite the nations ... rule them with a rod of iron ... King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.â€
Julius Müller, Proof-texts, 34, says incorrectly, as we think, that“theregnum naturæof the old theology is unsupported,—there are only theregnum gratiæand theregnum gloriæ.â€A. J. Gordon:“Christ is now creation's sceptre-bearer, as he was once creation's burden-bearer.â€
(b) With respect to his militant church, it is a kingdom of grace; he founds, legislates for, administers, defends, and augments his church on earth.
Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€â€œThrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.
Luke 2:11—“born to you ... a Savior, who is Christ the lordâ€;19:38—“Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lordâ€;John 18:36, 37—“My kingdom is not of this world.... Thou sayest it, for I am a king.... Every one that is of the truth heareth my voiceâ€;Eph. 1:22—“he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in allâ€;Heb. 1:8—“of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.â€
Dorner, Glaubenslehre, 2:677 (Syst. Doct., 4:142, 143)—“All great men can be said to have an after-influence (Nachwirkung) after their death, but only of Christ can it be said that he has an after-activity (Fortwirkung). The sending of the Spirit is part of Christ's work as King.â€P. S. Moxom, Bap. Quar. Rev., Jan. 1886:25-36—“Preëminence of Christ, as source of the church's being; ground of the church's unity; source of the church's law; mould of the church's life.â€A. J. Gordon:“As the church endures hardness and humiliation as united to him who was on the cross, so she should exhibit something of supernatural energy as united with him who is on the throne.â€Luther:“We tell our Lord God, that if he will have his church, he must look after it himself. We cannot sustain it, and, if we could, we should become the proudest asses under heaven.... If it had been possible for pope, priest or minister to destroy the church of Jesus Christ, it would have been destroyed long ago.â€Luther, watching the proceedings of the Diet of Augsburg, made a noteworthy discovery. He saw the stars bestud the canopy of the sky, and though there were no pillars to hold them up they kept their place and the sky fell not. The business of holding up the sky and its stars has been on the minds of men in all ages. But we do not need to provide props to hold up the sky. God will look after his church and after Christian doctrine. For of Christ it has been written in1 Cor. 15:25—“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.â€
“Thrice blessed is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is in the field when he Is most invisible.â€Since Christ is King, it is a duty never to despair of church or of the world. Dr. E. G. Robinson declared that Christian character was never more complete than now, nor more nearly approaching the ideal man. We may add that modern education, modern commerce, modern invention, modern civilization, are to be regarded as the revelations of Christ, the Light of the world, and the Ruler of the nations. All progress of knowledge, government, society, is progress of his truth, and a prophecy of the complete establishment of his kingdom.
(c) With respect to his church triumphant, it is a kingdom of glory; he rewards his redeemed people with the full revelation of himself, upon the completion of his kingdom in the resurrection and the judgment.
John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.
John 17:24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my gloryâ€;1 Pet. 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto himâ€;2 Pet. 1:11—“thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.â€See Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, preface, vi—“Rev. 1:6—‘made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father.’â€Both in the king and the priest, the chief thing is power, influence, blessing. In the king, it is the power coming downward; in the priest, it is the power rising upward, prevailing with God. As in Christ, so in us, the kingly power is founded on the priestly:Heb. 7:25—“able to save to the uttermost, ... seeing he ever liveth to make intercessionâ€.
Watts, New Apologetic, preface, ix—“We cannot have Christ as King without having him also as Priest. It is as the Lamb that he sits upon the throne in the Apocalypse; as the Lamb that he conducts his conflict with the kings of the earth; and it is from the throne of God on which the Lamb appears that the water of life flows forth that carries refreshing throughout the Paradise of God.â€
Luther:“Now Christ reigns, not in visible, public manner, but through the word, just as we see the sun through a cloud. We see the light, but not the sun itself. But when the clouds are gone, then we see at the same time both light and sun.â€We may close our consideration of Christ's Kingship with two practical remarks: 1. We never can think too much of the cross, but we may think too little of the throne. 2. We can not have Christ as our Prophet or our Priest, unless we take him also as our King. On Christ's Kingship, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, IV, 2:342-351; Van Oosterzee, Dogmatics, 586 sq.; Garbett, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, 2:243-438; J. M. Mason, Sermon on Messiah's Throne, in Works, 3:241-275.