I mentioned last Wednesday that I was planning to give a couple of miscellaneous messages here tonight. We will get back to, on Wednesdays, we'll get back to our study in the book of Daniel this Sunday with Daniel chapter 7. But tonight what I'd like to do is have a second miscellaneous message where we study some aspect of Jesus Christ and our relationship to him. And tonight what we're going to focus on is the fact that we as the church are related to Jesus Christ as the body is related to a head. That's one picture that we're going to look at tonight. And secondly, we're also going to see Jesus Christ as our coming king and the king of the world. And I think you'll be very encouraged as you study these things with me tonight to just ponder these things Often we don't think about some of these rich truths in the Word of God, but they are full of wonderful truth for us to consider and grow from in our relationship with Christ, who is our all in all. And as we think of Jesus Christ being the head of the church, I first want to just draw your attention to the word for head in the Greek New Testament. It's the word kephale. Let's all say it together three times. I'm just kidding. Kephale. And it literally refers to a head on a body. There's nothing too deep or mystical or spiritual about this. The term though is used six times in the New Testament in the epistles of Paul. three in Ephesians, three times in Colossians, so six times, and it's used as a metaphor or a figure to describe Jesus Christ's relationship with the church, which is his body. Now, as you study this term kephalē in the New Testament, and it's used dozens of times overall, but it's used these six times as a metaphor for our relationship with Christ, But as you study this term, you'll see that there's a lot of debate as to what this term really means. Some people want to argue that this term means authority or rule, especially those who are complementarian and those who are egalitarian when it comes to the marriage relationship. They want to argue that this term for head or kephalé really means source. And because of the whole feminist movement in our modern culture, away from a biblical model of a husband being the head of the wife and having authority in the home and such, there's been an attempt to redefine this word for head as simply source. And I've read a lot of articles on this. In fact, there are dozens and dozens of articles. I think upwards of over 80 articles just written on trying to define accurately the meaning of this word for head or kephale. And you know, after reading a lot on it, you know, one guy I read had a study where he examined 2,330 some uses of the term in ancient Greek writings and said it always means head in the sense of a part of a body, but when it's used metaphorically, it always means authority. Other people want to argue and nitpick about examples here and there. And after a while, I throw up my hands and I look at the New Testament and I say, it's pretty simple. It just means the head on a body, literally. That's all it means. But when you see how the term is used in the New Testament in certain contexts, the context around the word head provides additional shade of meaning as to how that term head is being used by the writer like Paul who's using an analogy or a figure of speech, literally a metaphor, saying that Christ is head, we are the body as a church. This is the figure the Lord wants us to see. And with that comes the sense of authority and source. Frankly, both are true in the various contexts that we'll see. And so we can skip right over all that great debate in the church today about the meaning of this term. Now it is true biblically that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and we are his body. First Corinthians chapter 12, verses 12 and 13 describe being placed by the Holy Spirit as believers into union with Jesus Christ. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. And that baptism isn't for power in your Christian life, it's for position. It's for your relationship to Jesus Christ. You're placed in him, in union with him. So now you have a relationship with him. You're the body and he's the head and you're connected to him. And this is true for believers no matter where they are seated. Whether you're a believer in Jesus Christ who's part of Duluth Bible Church or some other church, all over the world. As we know that the universal church of Jesus Christ, his body is made up of individual believers and local churches all over the world. Just as we saw or have seen in Revelation 2 and 3, as well as throughout the New Testament, you see various local churches, Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Philippi, etc. And then in the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, you see the seven churches located in modern-day Turkey or Asia Minor. And what's significant is each church is named by its city or locale, and yet Jesus Christ says he is in the midst of each one, walking among the candlesticks, so to speak, showing a vibrant relationship and connection with each church. He's the head directing the body and its members to do his will, and to glorify him. Now what other pictures do we see in the New Testament to illustrate our relationship with Jesus Christ as a church? There are several. Ephesians 2, verses 20 and 21 say, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined and fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And he's describing the church. You see, Jesus Christ is our cornerstone. He guides and he connects all other living stones in this temple that is the church of Jesus Christ. So you're part of something greater. The cornerstone happens to be the most important stone in a construction or a building. It's the first one that's put in place, and once it is in place, all others are aligned in connection to it to determine the straightness of walls and where all the other bricks will be placed. So Jesus Christ is the most important stone in a larger structure, but he's very concerned about how you're connected to him, and he sets the standard for every other brick in the wall, so to speak. And so you're far more important to him than one of these bricks you see lining our auditorium here tonight. And it reminds me of that great hymn of the 1970s, I believe, by Pink Floyd. Maybe it was the 80s. All in all, you're just another brick in the wall. That's the world's point of view. But biblically speaking, of course, you're much more than that. You're connected to Jesus Christ. So that's a metaphor. That's very significant. Here's another one that we've studied much over the years and that's in John chapter 15 about Jesus Christ being the vine and us being the branches. Christ is our spiritual vine, meaning he's the source of all spiritual production and fruitfulness in our lives as believers as we're plugged into him as branches. Christ said in John 15 verses 4 and 5 to his eleven believing disciples in the upper room that night before he was crucified, he told them, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Now that word abide appears several times in that passage and it means to continue, and I think in the context and in the figure of a branch plugged into the vine, it shows the idea of remaining in dependence upon the source of life where we are placed. And so we need to remain in dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of life in our Christian life for all fruitfulness and vitality, as we'll even see regarding the head of the body tonight. Here's another metaphor. that's common throughout scripture and the New Testament as well, that Jesus Christ is our shepherd. In fact, he's called that great shepherd of the sheep in Hebrews 13 verse 20. He's guiding us. He's protecting us. He's providing for us like a good shepherd does for all our spiritual needs. Even when we can't see him with the physical eye, spiritually we know he's doing this for us. And so these are all metaphors used in the New Testament to describe our spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ as his church. But let me ask you a question. Are they literal or are they figurative? Well, a metaphor is a figure of speech. And so if these are metaphors, they're obviously figurative. They can't be literal. And the reason I say that is because if they're literal, which is it? Is Jesus Christ a shepherd or is he a stone, literally? Well, he can't be both simultaneously. Is he a vine or is he the head of a body? He can't be both, literally. It reminds me of the Gospel of John. As you study John's Gospel, there are seven I am statements in his Gospel where he says, I am the bread of life, I am the door, I am the true vine, et cetera. Now he can't literally be all those things at once, a door and a vine, but all those metaphors are used to picture real, true spiritual realities. And the same is true when it comes to Jesus Christ being a shepherd or our cornerstone or the vine or the head of the body. He's all those things spiritually at the same time, but not literally. And so I want you to understand that it's very important to keep in mind we're talking about a metaphor or a picture here tonight that conveys literal spiritual truth, but not literal physical reality. The second thing I want you to see here tonight about the headship of Jesus Christ from Scripture is that this speaks of his absolute authority over the church. There's no question that head implies authority, both when it comes to the physical head and our bodies, and when it comes to the spiritual reality of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, as we think of use of this term in the New Testament, one very debated passage is 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3, which speaks of the marriage relationship. Paul writes to the Corinthians, and he says, I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Now, this has to rank as one of the least favorite passages today in our politically correct Western society, but it conveys a truth that goes all the way back to the beginning of creation, the order of creation with man and woman, Adam and Eve, where the husband was designed by God as part of his divine plan and divine design to be the head of the woman. And as we'll see, that doesn't imply superiority. It simply implies a different role. Now, that passage spoke of Christ's head being God, namely God the Father. And I ask you, is Jesus Christ equally deity with the Father? Absolutely. Both are equally deserving of our worship, right? And so by Jesus Christ being subject to the Father doesn't mean he's any less than the Father, it just means he has a different role in the plan and design of God. And the same is true when it comes to the man and the wife. There is not less inherent worth to one who is in submission to another. In fact, oftentimes when it comes to submission to a boss, You can have a very crooked and corrupt boss, and the New Testament says, I don't care how corrupt they are, you are to submit to them as unto the Lord because of their position. You don't follow in their sinful pattern, but you are still to show respect and submit to them, because that's the design I've set up between a master and a servant. And sometimes the servant, frankly, is walking in a manner far more commendable than the boss, so to speak. And so this is just the order of design. And that's true then when it comes to the home, that this order of authority within the home is designed for proper function, orderliness, and protection. That's why some have likened this chain of command, so to speak, to umbrellas or spheres of protection. When children are removed from out from underneath mom and dad, they are removed out from under their protection. and the provision God has set up for them as part of his design. When we think of the word head, it's also used in Ephesians 5, verses 22 and 23, where it says, wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. And again, if you can submit to the Lord, you can submit to your husband. But if a woman is not submitting to the Lord, she's going to have a very hard time submitting to her husband. For the husband is head, kephale, of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, kephale." We see that word used twice in this passage. And Christ is the savior of the body. And we know that this is a picture in marriage between a husband and a wife of Christ and the church. That's why 1 Corinthians 11.3 and Ephesians 5.23 can be put side by side. And you can see that Christ submits to God the Father. The man has to submit to Christ. The woman submits to her husband, the man. That's 1 Corinthians 11.3. Then in Ephesians 5.23, you see a similar pattern. The wife submits to her husband, and that's to be a picture of the church's submission to Jesus Christ. God takes headship very seriously. It's part of his design. And so the church is to be in subjection to Jesus Christ. A wife is to be in subjection to her husband. A husband is to be in subjection to Jesus Christ, as Christ is to God the Father. This is all his design. But who else is Jesus Christ the head over? Well, according to Scripture, he's the head over all principality and power. This is amazing to contemplate. Colossians 2 verse 10 says that you as a believer in Christ are complete in him, Jesus Christ, in the context, who is the head, kephale, of all principality and power. And it's speaking there, I believe, of the angelic realm, as there are innumerable angels. They're finite, but they are vast in number, and they are all around us, part of our world and part of the universe. around the throne of God, worshiping God and serving him. And then as far as the demonic realm as well, it speaks of that just a few verses later, Colossians 2.15, in reference to the cross, it says, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, all the thou shalts that we did not do and all the thou shalt nots that we did do, that was condemning us, the law pointed back at us, God took all that and he put it on the cross and it was nailed to his son who paid our debt in full. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. And don't you like that imagery of the finality of the cross? It's like that song we sing, my sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. But in the process of dying for our sins, verse 15 says, he also disarmed principalities and powers, again, speaking of the angelic realm. We know this from Ephesians chapter 6, where it says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the hosts of wickedness, darkness, and heavenly places. These are the dark demonic spirit beings or angels. And Christ made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it, in his work on the cross. Satan thought that he would destroy Christ and put him to death. He didn't believe that he would be raised from the dead. But in being put to death, Christ also is being sacrificed as a sin offering for all mankind. And God used that. to conquer death, to pay the price of sin which had kept men in bondage from the time that man fell into sin and was deceived by Satan all the way back in the garden and became subject to these demonic hosts, namely Satan himself, especially him. And Christ triumphed over all that. And so, as head, he's head over all these powers and principalities that are part of our world system. That's why as we think of another use of the word head, we see in Ephesians 1 verses 21 through 23, it says that he is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named. Now keep that in mind, especially this time of year with the elections, when you see a name at the head of the ticket. the presidential election. We've got the big names, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And then in the news, you hear about all these world powers, Putin and so forth. And Christ's name is above every name. Not only in this age, but in the one to come. Not only when people running for president of the United States are forgotten 200, 500 years from now, Christ will be the name above all names. Verse 22, and he, that is God the Father, put all things in subjection under his feet, that is Christ's feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. So Christ is head over all things in the universe, every power and dominion, and as a result then, he is also head over the church. And so, The extent of Christ's authority is full. It's absolute authority is the idea. Now, what does Christ's headship of the church not mean? Let's just clarify this for a moment because there's some misunderstanding about this. Some who are more on the liberal end theologically have deduced that because we are the body of Jesus Christ, and we are connected to Jesus Christ, what Christ is, therefore we are. And so they say because he is divine or deity, therefore the church must be in some sense deity. You know, that kind of theologian or pastor or preacher or minister who says, we're all children of God. You have a little spark of divinity in you. We're all little gods. Well, that's blasphemy. That's not biblical. And that's not what it means that Christ is the head of the church and we're his body. Secondly, it also doesn't mean that the church is therefore a continuation of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The incarnation of Jesus Christ occurred while Christ walked the earth. The church is not an ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ. Now we are indwelt by Christ, empowered by Christ, as we saw from John 15, 4 and 5, that's true. But that doesn't mean he's taking up unique residence and taking our flesh and making it part of his own. This again is a distortion of the biblical picture of headship and the body. Here's another statement that's sometimes made about headship and what it means for the church. that Christ's body, the church, now has power to forgive sin and bestow saving grace. That because we're connected to Christ and he has the authority to forgive sin and he can bestow grace, that therefore the church has that power and authority, as though we're little saviors in essence. And that's not true either. That is a usurpation of Jesus Christ's unique prerogatives as the son of God and head of the church. Also, this doesn't mean that Christ's body, the church, shares his authority on earth when it comes to the political sphere. You know, for centuries, you had the Roman church over in Europe imposing itself on the government and the powers that be. And that's why kings oftentimes would tremble in their boots when the pope would, you know, pass an edict or make a statement, that they'd be excommunicated if they didn't do what the Pope wanted, or some church council, as though the church, so-called, had authority politically on the earth, or spiritually. And likewise, this also doesn't mean that one man, such as the Pope, is the vicar or representative of Jesus Christ on the earth. This, too, has been a distortion of what the Bible really teaches. I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, and this was the Authority structure that I was familiar with, a pyramid of power, if you will, and the laity were down there at the very bottom under all that weight of layers of people who thought they had authority, deacons, priests, the regular parish priest, then bishops, then archbishops, then cardinals, and then ultimately the pope over everyone. And sometimes you'll see online a picture like this, which I grabbed off of Google Images, where you have the Pope as one man at the very top, right under the one true God. And what is the imagery that you're given here? That the Pope is the sole representative or head of the church on earth, reflecting the one true God in heaven. You know what this really does? It distorts the biblical image. Because the only head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a one-headed church, not a two-headed church. Do we have a Siamese church? A Siamese twin headship? No, the Bible doesn't speak of that. What the Bible rather speaks of is one head, Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd, and then you have under shepherds, plural, who are leading in the church. You have deacons who assist as well and are examples of servanthood. And all believers are spiritually gifted in terms of being a congregation. And we all follow the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ. That's the biblical structure that we see. So what does all this mean that Jesus Christ is the absolute authority as head of the church? Well, what it means is that the church should be in submission to our spiritual head, Jesus Christ. In response to a shepherd and a head who first laid down his life for us, who gave himself body, soul, and spirit for us, in sacrificial love for us, and we respond to his agape love as members of his body, voluntarily, freely submitting to his direction and headship. I want you to think about this for a minute. Think of the relationship between your physical body and your head. Your head gives the command to the rest of your body to do what it should do, right? Like I say to this hand, I want you to be really dramatic as you're preaching. And I say to this hand, be still and hold on to the clicker. And I'm giving commands to the members of my body, and they're responding to every command I give them. Does your body always respond to what the head says to do? Yes, unless, you know, your leg falls asleep or you have an illness. And like I was lying in a hospital bed three years ago and saying to my legs, move, and I couldn't even lift them. They were like, I kept telling my wife, it feels like I have 300 pound legs. In fact, I would fall asleep and I would dream about these giant weights on my legs. So sometimes you have an an involuntary response by your bodily members. But normally, if everything's healthy, whatever the head says to the members of the body, do. No matter how hard you have to exert yourself, Tom, try and lift that 200-pound barbell. I know it's really hard, and it's really a strain, but keep trying. Keep trying. And the bodily members strain, and they do what the head's telling it to do, because they're in submission. because the head is responsible for what's best for the body. It calls the shots. Now think about it. If your body does that automatically, shouldn't we follow by way of a voluntary response willingly to the head who died for us and loves us? Absolutely. So what headship implies, first of all, is authority. But secondly, it implies vitality. The headship of Christ pictures the vitality that he gives to the church for its sustenance and growth. Now, how important is the head to the body? Well, you ever see a head severed from a body and then the body continues to function? Well, it may function in terms of a nervous twitch or something, but it's not gonna happen for very long, right? The body dies without a head. And so the connection of life between the head and the body is absolutely vital. It is the head that provides that life connection to the body. And we see that in the uses of the word head in the New Testament, in Colossians 2, 18 and 19. It says, let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. Hey, you should listen to all the visions I've had. I made a trip to heaven and I saw all this and I wrote a book about it. And let me tell you about the angelic encounters I've had. Man, that's going to be a best-selling book among Christians. vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, which in the context is a reference to Jesus Christ, Colossians 2.10. From whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. So your joints and ligaments are all held together, and in connection with the head, they become nourished. And then they can grow with the increase that is from God and from this head. And notice, how are we to respond? By holding fast to the head. It is easy to get distracted in this world if we're not walking by faith and we're walking by sight. or simply being proud and self-reliant, we can turn to things like mysticism and think, well, it's not enough just to read the Word of God, believe it, respond by faith, and then live according to what it says in an ongoing faith relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe I need something more. Maybe I need to have this angelic encounter that I heard someone talk about on YouTube. Maybe I need some sort of mystical experience. You know, in the context here of Colossians 2, Paul is addressing the isms that plagued first century Christianity and are still around today. Mysticism, there's a lot of that in Christendom. Legalism, asceticism, adding the law to grace or saying, if I just suppress my body enough, Then I'll be spiritual. If I get up at 4 a.m. and pray for three hours to start my day, on my knees, on hardwood floors, with no knee pads, then I'll be super spiritual. That's asceticism. That's what Martin Luther and those monks did in his day, thinking that that would gain them favor with God and make them closer to God, and it didn't. But those are all traps. that Satan throws out, that religion throws out, that our flesh is gravitating towards, and yet Jesus Christ says, I'm sufficient, hold fast to me. That's what you need in terms of a relationship, holding fast to him, and we do this by faith in response to him. That's why in the context of Colossians 2, he had said previously in chapter two, verse six and seven, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. We walk by faith. That's how we hold fast to our spiritual head, Jesus Christ. But again, what other metaphor or picture does this draw us back to as we think of the vitality between the head and the body? Well, it's very similar, isn't it, to the vine and the branches? It's the same idea. Stay plugged into the source of life, dear believer. and he will produce his fruit in and through you. That's the key. Now, as we also think of the head, we have another passage in Paul's writings, Ephesians 4, verses 15 and 16, that speaks of the head. Verse 15, but speaking the truth in love, that we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies. Kind of sounds like Colossians 2.19, doesn't it? According to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This leads to our third point about headship, that the headship of Christ also portrays the unity of the church with him and with one another. That passage spoke of growing up into him, Christ, who is the head. And from him, he supplies what the body needs. And then the body ministers to itself. Then you see the one another is there. So there's a connection between Christ and one another. And all this is for the building up of the church. Are we endeavoring to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? being of one heart and one mind together, striving for the faith of the gospel. I've said before that we shouldn't look at people, even leaders, and say, well, I'm of so-and-so, I'm of so-and-so. We really are on one team. It's Team Jesus, not Team Tom or anybody else in leadership. Now, how does this truth of the unity between Christ as head and his body, how does this impact you when it comes to the trials that you will face in life, because you're going to have them. They're designed by God for our spiritual growth and good. Even though we want to live a carefree life and have it be smooth sailing and all coasting downhill, God says, nope, you're never going to grow spiritually that way. I'm never going to be able to transform you into the likeness of my son without trials in your life. So I'm going to lead you through trials. But I want you to know that as you go through trials, I am with you. Always. That's why Christ said to his apostles with the Great Commission in Matthew 28, 18 through 20, after he says, go into all the world and disciple all nations. Well, that's an easy task. But keep this in mind, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. That's where the power would come from to fulfill that impossible task. From the God of the impossible, as we heard about from Scott on Sunday, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," Matthew 28, 20. That's how Matthew's gospel ends. And when it comes to trials and suffering, keep in mind that Jesus Christ is integrally connected to you, dear believer, and you to him, so that what you go through, he goes through. What you feel, he feels. Your pain pains him. He is sympathetic to you, Hebrews 4 says, as a great high priest. This was the truth that Paul came to realize when he was saved on the road to Damascus. Acts 9 verses 4 and 5 says he had this encounter with Christ. He heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. I'm sure this was a shock to him. He thought he was persecuting Christians who were serving a fictitious Messiah. And it turns out he was alive, risen, real, guiding their life, head of the church. So that when Paul persecuted a Christian, he was persecuting Christ. And you know, later in Acts, I put down a couple more references for you to look up. Paul comes to this realization too, that as he's going through physical suffering in trials for Jesus Christ, guess who's with them? Christ. So you always have not merely a co-pilot in life who's going through the trials of life with you. You have the real pilot who's captaining the ship, so to speak, or flying the plane. It's Christ. And Jesus doeth all things well, as the song says. Now another key passage when it comes to the headship of Jesus Christ is Colossians 1 verse 18. It says, and he is head of the body, the church, we've seen this already, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that word firstborn means first in rank, that in all things he may have the preeminence, the preeminence. And here's our last point when it comes to the headship of Jesus Christ, that ultimately, This reminds us of the priority or preeminence of Christ within the church. Think through what headship means so far. It means his authority, it means vitality, it means unity, and it means priority. Very simple and yet very profound. If Christ is head, that means he's the one who's honored above all else, first and foremost. And how does this then relate to our Christian life? Well, what it means is the Christian life is all about who? What is the purpose of your life, dear believer? It is to magnify Jesus Christ. Paul said that in Philippians 1.20, that all he wanted was for Christ to be magnified whether he lived or died, because the purpose of his life was Philippians 1.21, for me to live is Christ. I happened to see this last week just Looking at some old books on my shelf, a book from about a hundred years ago by one of the co-founders of Dallas Seminary with Lewis Baird Schaeffer. This guy's name was W.H. Griffith Thomas. And I thought, oh yeah, I haven't read this book in a long time. Pulled it off the shelf. Its title was Christianity is Christ. I thought, what a great title. I need to go back and read that again. But that says it all. So how are you relating to Jesus Christ as your spiritual head? Knowing now what headship implies in the passages we've seen. But we shift now from the picture of Jesus Christ as our head in the present as part of relating to him as the church. And by the way, that relationship will carry on into eternity. But we also see that Jesus Christ is our coming king. And this is the second picture I want you to contemplate here tonight. Jesus Christ is our coming king. And I'm going to go through this a little more quickly for time's sake. This one. The first thing I want you to see is that before Christ's crucifixion, he promised to come again and established his kingdom at his return to the earth. Are we living in the kingdom right now? And is Jesus Christ your current king or is he The future coming king. Think about that. Biblically, at his first coming, he didn't set up the kingdom. Now, there are theologies in churches today that say that the church is a spiritual form of the kingdom. And right now, Jesus Christ is reigning in your heart. That's how he's reigning as king. And you know what? You just can't support that biblically. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Trying to make a profound spiritual truth, you know, something so simple a kid in Sunday school perhaps could understand. That is not what the Bible teaches though. He didn't set up his kingdom at his first coming. He's not reigning as king right now over the church. In fact, When he was being crucified, or about to be crucified, the night before his crucifixion, he referenced an Old Testament passage and said, you're going to crucify me, the Messiah, and I am the Christ, but the kingdom is coming when I return. He's put on trial, Matthew 26, 63 to 65. And as a sheep before his shears is silent, so Jesus was as well, verse 63. And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power coming on the clouds of heaven. And by the way, he's referring to Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14. Then the high priest tore his clothes. saying, he has spoken blasphemy. What further need do we have of witnesses? He agreed. He is the son of God and son of man. Now, it's interesting. He asked him, are you the Christ, the son of God? And notice how the Jewish leaders equated the statement son of man from Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14 with the phrase son of God and Christ or Messiah. You see, it took the Son of God coming from heaven as Messiah, becoming a man, becoming incarnate, to fulfill his mission as Messiah in dying for mankind. And who did Jesus Christ more often identify with in his statements? Son of God or Son of Man? He more often referred to himself as Son of Man. That was his preferred term. And as we're going to see in Daniel 7 this Sunday, that this statement of Jesus Christ, is a definite affirmation that he is full deity, even though he uses the phrase son of man. Because that son of man, when he comes back, has the full authority of God to be worshiped, to be served, to be obeyed as God himself. That's the meaning of the phrase in that passage in Daniel 7. So is Jesus Christ currently reigning over the church as a kingdom? No, he is not. When we come back with him at his second coming to the earth, then he will set up his kingdom on the earth, and he hasn't done so yet. We know that the church is probably coming towards the end of its duration on the timeline of God. Two thousand years now, this dispensation has lasted longer than all previous dispensations. It's going to end with the rapture. We'll be in heaven with the Lord. For at least seven years, well, seven years of tribulation are going on on the earth. Then we come back with Jesus to the earth. When he comes back, he sets up his kingdom that'll last a thousand years initially, and then after the great white throne, it'll continue on into eternity. It's an eternal kingdom with a 1,000-year front porch, so to speak. And so he hasn't set up his kingdom yet. In the present age, Jesus Christ is not technically reigning as king over the world or the church, but he is at the right hand of God, the Father. And that implies that he has all divine authority and sovereignty. In fact, when Jesus gave the great commission to the disciples to go into all the world, preach the gospel, make disciples, he gave them this encouraging little nudge, parenthesis, that all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, one of the great therefores in scripture, in light of that wonderful truth. that you serve the one who has the highest authority in the universe, go therefore. Because there are going to be those in government, there are going to be those in synagogues, there's going to be those in mosques, there's going to be those in churches professing my name who will tell you not to do this. And I pull rank over all of them and I'm still telling you to go. And you are to obey God rather than man. Christ has all authority. That's why being at the right hand of God was clearly understood, even by the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day, as a statement to be equal in deity with God the Father. And so he's at the right hand of God currently, though his promised kingdom has not yet been established on the earth. Now, as we think of a king and a kingdom, was Jesus Christ a king? at his first coming? Yes, he was. But he didn't have a kingdom yet in terms of it being established or set up. And I think the example of David in the Old Testament is very helpful here for a comparison. As you think of young David, remember he was anointed by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. And though he was anointed to be king, There was a long period of time in which he wasn't actively reigning or exercising his kingship because Saul was still on the throne. And it wasn't until Saul got done persecuting David and Saul died that then David could finally begin to reign. And as a parallel, it's true that Jesus Christ was the king at his first coming. He's the rightful heir. He bears that title. He definitely is king. but he doesn't have his kingdom yet over which he's reigning on the earth. It hasn't commenced yet. And so that parallel, I think, is very helpful. But how does God's eternal kingdom differ from Christ's mediatorial kingdom? Let me just give you a few key differences here. First of all, the mediatorial kingdom is, excuse me, the eternal kingdom of God is present. It's ongoing all the time. Throughout all of history, it's in essence God's sovereignty. Psalm 103 verse 19 says His kingdom rules over all. That was true in the Old Testament. It'll be true right up until the second coming of Jesus Christ. The eternal kingdom of God is His sovereign rule all the time, including the present. But the mediatorial kingdom is yet future. It has not come yet. That's why even at Jesus Christ's first coming, When the disciples talked to him, he said, well, pray like this. He didn't say pray this prayer, by the way. Pray like this. Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed or literally be holy is your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, the kingdom hadn't come yet. The kingdom of the heavens had not come down to the earth yet, and that's what the the Jewish disciples were praying for. By the way, that's why it says in the epistle to the Hebrews, by the way, for the church today, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom, yet future, which cannot be shaken, let us have grace. He doesn't say to them, because you have received a kingdom, which cannot be shaken. It hadn't been given yet in the first century. It still hasn't been given yet. It is still to come. It's still future. So that's the first distinction. The eternal kingdom is present and ongoing all the time throughout human history. It's basically God's sovereignty. But the mediatorial kingdom is yet future. Secondly, the eternal kingdom, of course, is eternal. But the mediatorial kingdom is temporal. In duration, the universal kingdom of God is eternal. whereas the mediatorial kingdom is temporal in its beginning phase of 1,000 years, but then after that it will be unending into eternity, as we'll see more in Daniel 7. Here's a third distinction, that the eternal kingdom is one which is universal, whereas the mediatorial kingdom will be earth-based, at least initially, and then there'll be a new heavens and new earth. But you know, a lot of people in the church today think of the kingdom of the heavens, or the kingdom of heaven, and they think heaven is the kingdom, or the church is the kingdom, or they think of a heavenly kingdom, as though there's not gonna be the kingdom of God on the earth ever. But Jesus Christ came to just establish this sort of mystical, spiritual, allegorical form of the kingdom, and that is not true. there will be an earthly rule of Jesus Christ, and it will be through a human mediator, namely the Messiah. So the eternal kingdom of God is his direct rule of his sovereignty in the present, throughout all ages, whereas the mediatorial kingdom is something that is yet to come, that'll come with the second coming of Jesus Christ, and it'll be mediated through the Messiah himself, Jesus Christ. And how does all this fit with all the isms that are out there when it comes to the millennial views? Well, amillennialism teaches that there is no technical millennium, hence the word awe in front of millennial, that there is no literal 1,000-year kingdom. This was perpetuated through Augustine who allegorized Bible prophecy and it became the predominant view from Augustine to the present in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and many Protestant churches. But it is not based on a literal interpretation of scripture, and it has problems. It basically says that the church right now is a spiritual form of the kingdom, and the kingdom is God ruling in your heart right now. Another view that is different is that the kingdom hasn't come yet, but we're going to usher it in. by all our evangelism and our attempt to convert the world. We're gonna bring in the kingdom and then Jesus will come after we've expended all effort. I just find this view really hard to believe. By the way, is the present age progressing? Do you see the kingdom more and more established on the earth? Is it getting better or is it getting worse? This one is probably the least likely to be believed, the hardest to believe. And then there's the premillennial view that says the church age will end with apostasy and there'll be the tribulation. Jesus Christ comes to the earth before he sets up the thousand-year kingdom and then eternity begins. And I think this view best fits scripture. In fact, it was the predominant view of the first three centuries of church history before Augustine. shifted everything, and the church entered the dark ages, and amillennialism prevailed. So that's just a little bit of history, but let me just now give you some reasons why I believe that the kingdom is not in the present, and the king hasn't come yet. Though Jesus Christ is the coming king in title and position, he's not yet reigning over the promised Davidic kingdom on the earth. Why? Well, here are five simple reasons, and there could be more, but these are just a few that I thought of. First of all, Christ promised or prophesied kingdom, rule, and throne were promised to be on the earth with his throne headquartered there in Jerusalem. We see that in Isaiah 2, 2 through 3, Zechariah 14. That's why in Luke 1 verse 32, It speaks of Jesus being the son of David, who would rule as a descendant of David, and thus on the throne of David. And Jeremiah 23.5 says very clearly that the Messiah's rule as son of David will be earthly. Do you see that happening today? I don't. In fact, Jerusalem right now is a hotbed of division and contention. among different religious and ethnic factors or factions. Secondly, both before and after the beginning of the church in Acts 2, the kingdom is viewed as yet future. Remember in Acts 1, verses 6 and 7, the disciples ask Jesus after his resurrection, but before his ascension and the birth of the church, they say, Lord, are you at this time going to bring the kingdom in for Israel? When are you going to bring that kingdom? Now that you've died, now that you've risen, is now the time? And he says, it's not for you to know the times that the Father has set. And then when you come to Acts 14, verse 22, Paul tells the church that we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. In other words, keep persevering, because we haven't entered the kingdom of God yet. which tells you the kingdom of God was not set up. In Paul's day or the first century, the first century church did not believe they were living in the kingdom. And then Paul uses a bit of biting sarcasm in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 8. And he says, I'm out here suffering for Jesus Christ. You guys are fat and sassy and living it up. You're reigning without me. Are we in the kingdom? And you know, that bit of sarcasm would only be true and biting and applicable if they weren't in the kingdom yet. That's the whole point. In fact, 1 Corinthians 15 verses 23 through 25 say emphatically the kingdom hasn't been set up yet. And that's why he says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4.1, I appeal to you, Timothy, in light of the coming kingdom and appearing of Jesus Christ. The kingdom hadn't come yet. And so Timothy was to live in light of that coming kingdom. So that's a second proof that the kingdom isn't present yet. Here's a third one. The prophesied kingdom conditions don't match present conditions. Think about this. It says in the Old Testament in Zechariah, Let's just go there for a minute. I'll have you look at a couple of these passages. Let's go to Isaiah 11. A great chapter, by the way, on the Messiah. Isaiah 11 and verse 9. It says, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. And by the way, what was the holy mountain? Jerusalem. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. So we have missionaries today that are trying to reach tribes that have never heard about Jesus Christ, who have no knowledge of the Lord. Is verse nine being fulfilled in our day? Absolutely not. but it will be in that future kingdom time. And the key is gonna be verse 10. In that day, there shall be a root of Jesse, Jesus Christ, a descendant of Jesse and David, who shall stand as a banner to the people, for the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place shall be glorious. So we have a great commission today to go into all the world, and yet this passage says, in that future day, the whole world's gonna know about the Lord. Jesus Christ is going to take over CNN and Fox News and all the media outlets. And it's going to be broadcast everywhere as to who the true savior of the world is. So that's very different from what we're seeing here today. You know what else is very different? It says that in the future kingdom, that peace and justice will prevail upon the earth and people will do righteously. And the Lord Jesus Christ is gonna oversee this. And yet, what do we see with the church? Described even in the first century, we see the church at Laodicea with Jesus on the outside knocking to get in. Let me in, I wanna have fellowship with you. That doesn't sound like these kingdom conditions. Or we see in 2 Timothy 3.1 in Paul's day, that in the last days perilous times will come for men shall be lovers of themselves and this and that. In fact, he says in verse 13, that false teachers and deceivers will grow worse and worse throughout the church age. That doesn't fit kingdom descriptions at all. The church is not the kingdom, unless you've got a really warped view of what the kingdom really is. But I think the Lord's description of the kingdom is far better in Scripture. Here's a fourth reason. And though the word king appears 122 times in the New Testament, It never says in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is the king of the church. Now isn't this a pretty simple reason? Just look up all 122 references to king, king, kings, et cetera. You will never find Jesus called the king of the church. So those who do believe that have believed it due to a theology such as amillennialism. Here's a fifth reason why Jesus Christ is not presently reigning. over a kingdom through the church, and the only reference to Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the epistles, 1 Timothy 6.15. In fact, let's go there. This will probably be the last passage I'll have you turn to. 1 Timothy chapter 6. It's really warm in here, isn't it? I'm glad I wore that t-shirt under my Shirt here tonight, I'm extra sweaty. 1 Timothy 6, notice what it says in verse 14, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless, until the Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which he will manifest in his own time, this appearing of Christ, he who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. So there you have a reference to Jesus Christ being king, but yet the kingdom isn't set up yet. He's a king in waiting, the rightful heir, and he's going to bring his kingdom with him when he comes back to the earth. But notice the connection between his appearing and the arrival of this kingdom. And that's why as you study the only other references to the king of kings and lord of lords throughout the New Testament, you see in Revelation 17, 14 and 19, 16, that that phrase is used in connection with the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is not presently reigning as king over all kings in an earthly kingship that's yet to come. Now here's the fourth truth about the coming king and his kingdom I want you to keep in mind that I think is a wonderful truth and very encouraging. That God promises church age believers that we will reign with Christ as vice regents in his kingdom. Do you know that? that as the bride of Jesus Christ, you're going to be sitting on the platform with the king himself as a vice regent, because you're the queen, so to speak, as part of the church. That blows my mind. What an amazing privilege. And it's also true, based on several passages, that we not only will be kings and we will reign, but to the degree that we were faithful to Jesus Christ, he's going to reward us as an incentive to greater faithfulness, to have a greater sphere of influence or reign in that kingdom. So there are degrees of reward, and all that's tied in to serving him. We get to reign regardless because of our position in relationship to Jesus Christ as his bride, But it is true there's greater privilege with greater faithfulness. So both position and condition are found when it comes to this future kingdom. But you're going to rule there. You say, well, how's that going to be possible because the earth is going to be, you know, at the end of the tribulation when the kingdom is set up, you know, and all the unbelievers are going to be purged from the earth, there's not going to be many people left. Well, remember those who lived through the tribulation who hadn't been resurrected and gotten glorified bodies yet. They're believers, but they will procreate, and their descendants will then populate the earth, and under the idyllic conditions of the millennium, there'll be a population explosion. The curse will be lifted, things will be like the Garden of Eden, in terms of paradise, and nature's gonna take off. and people will populate the earth. And those are going to be the people that you and I are going to have the administrative privilege of reigning over with Jesus Christ. That's your future, dear believer. But you know what else is in your future? Not only the second coming to the earth, but also, first of all, a blessed hope. Don't lose sight of the fact that Jesus Christ is coming for us, and he's our blessed hope. I hope that's the hope you're holding on to in these dark and contentious days. Yes, he's coming to set up his kingdom at his second coming, but before he does that, there's the rapture of the church, and I'm looking forward to that. Once he comes back and establishes his kingdom, he'll be the prince of peace, will have conditions on the earth that are very different from how they are now. No more wars, but peace will prevail. There'll be justice on the earth. You won't have factions arguing about, we didn't get our rights. What about equality? We won't have a department of equity and inclusion and diversity. Everything will be taken care of by Jesus Christ. It'll be perfect righteousness and justice. By the way, Israel will be secure. And Christ will be ruling and reigning from a throne in Jerusalem. And the world will no longer be anti-Semitic officially. because the king himself is Jewish and an Israelite. Nature will flourish. We won't have to worry about climate change. In fact, Isaiah 11 says that the lamb is going to lie down, the child will lie down next to a viper's den, and animals will not be devoured by lions. Amazing. This is what we have to look forward to with the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. Our spiritual head, and our coming king. Isn't that something to look forward to? Isn't that encouraging? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word tonight. What wonderful rich truths it contains and just pointing us to your son and how he is sovereign over all. He loved us and gave himself for us. We have this amazing relationship that will persist not only through the present, not only through the time of tribulation, Even though we'll be in heaven at that time, not only through the thousand years, but into eternity, you have such a good plan in store for us. And we praise you and thank you for that tonight. And it's all because of your amazing grace. So we give you the thanks for all this and pray that this would just deeply impact us now as we live our life, as we go forth from this building tonight. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.