Hello friends, Denny Prudhoe here with a lesson on the Kingship of Christ. The Shorter Catechism asks the question, How does Christ execute the office of a king? Answer, Christ executes the office of a king in subduing us to himself, in ruling over us and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all of his and our enemies. The Lord Jesus Christ is the king and ruler of all. as I have it here on the white board. Christ is Lord of all. And in the Great Commission, the Lord Jesus Christ says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. it would be impossible for us to follow the command of Jesus Christ and make disciples of all the nations if Jesus Christ was not Lord of all and if he did not possess all authority in heaven and on earth. A good understanding of this comes to us in the Lord's Prayer, or the prayer which Jesus Christ teaches us. Part of it says we are to pray like this, Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. You see there's a simile, your kingdom come as it is in heaven. In other words, the rule in the reign of Christ is to be manifested on the earth as it is already manifested in heaven. There is one kingdom And the kingdoms of this world, as you see, I have in quotes here, the kingdoms of this world are in rebellion against Jesus Christ. This is the problem. And they are seeking to set up so-called kingdoms in opposition to Jesus Christ. But the Bible does not teach that there are two kingdoms in opposition to one another, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, and it's kind of up in the air as to who's actually in control of the situation, whether the devil will rule and reign, or Jesus Christ will rule and reign. No! That's not the picture at all. Jesus Christ, we are told, is in the process of bringing all of his enemies under the footstool of his feet. He is the King and Lord of all of creation. And we are praying that his kingdom will come, that is, it will be manifested in the earth as it already is manifested in the world. And of course the Bible does speak about the age to come and this present age. We are living in this tangible and physical world and the age to come is that age to which we hope to attain and when you and I die and pass from this earthly dwelling our souls will be made perfect and we will ascend into heaven and participate fully in the age to come in perfection you see and the age to come is impinging upon this world the age to come is entering into this world. How so? Through Christ and the Gospel, and through the proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord, Jesus Christ is subduing men to himself, and women, and young people, and children, and he is restraining and conquering all of his and our enemies, and he is bringing men and women under the footstool of his feet. His kingdom is coming into this world as it is in heaven. But while we are in this world, we recognize the church has certain prerogatives, and the church has a certain form of government that is outlined in the Bible. The power of the Church is, as the Westminster Divines tell us, ministerial and declarative. That is, you and I are servants of Jesus Christ in this world, and we are to be servants of others in this world, and we are to declare the power of Christ, the kingship of Christ, and the good news of the gospel. That's our privilege, and Jesus Christ has given us the power to do so. Civil power, on the other hand, is quite different. The civil authorities have the power of the sword and the civil authorities have the power to go out and physically detain individuals to question them, to put individuals who have broken the law, to put them in prison, and if necessary, to execute them. This is civil power. It is the power of the sword. But in each case, whether you're in civil government or whether you are in the church, the civil authorities and the church authorities, the members of civil society and the members of the church are under obligation to recognize that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all. go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." This does not mean that simply the people of the world are to be discipled and the rulers of this world are to be excluded. No! The rulers of this world are to be given the gospel of Jesus Christ and they are to be told that it is their responsibility to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we are in the business of establishing a theocracy in the world, no. there is a proper realm or sphere for civil government, and civil government properly operates in that sphere under the kingship of Christ, and the civil authorities must recognize that they are ministers of Christ, that they are given their power and authority to act ultimately by Jesus Christ. I had a very strange thing happen to me on the way to my ordination in this regard. I had to write a paper for an association in the Congregational Church in which I was originally ordained and In part of the paper I said that the Apostle Paul explains that the civil authorities are ultimately appointed by Jesus Christ, and the civil authorities come under the power of Jesus Christ. And the very gracious minister in the Congregational Church who was mentoring me said to me, well, I think I'd take that part out of your paper. I don't believe the Apostle Paul was correct in making his statements about civil government. Well, you and I do believe that the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was correct in stating that the civil authorities are ministers of Jesus Christ and ultimately owe allegiance to Jesus Christ and so the church operates having ministerial power and declarative power, and the civil authorities operate having the power of the sword, but each are responsible to Jesus Christ. And as they, the civil powers, visualize themselves as being members of kingdoms which are in this world and autonomous. They are in rebellion against Jesus Christ and in the end Jesus Christ will subdue them to himself. The kingdoms of this world as Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15 state, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Certainly this is the case. And then the text goes on to say, Hallelujah! This is This is the origin and the text upon which the Hallelujah Chorus is based, you see. What a wonderful thing this is. And so you and I are to pray, O Lord Jesus Christ, let your kingdom come in the earth as it is in heaven and subdue your enemies to yourself. Restrain and conquer your enemies and bring them under the footstool of your feet and we recognize our Lord Jesus Christ that since all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto you we must proclaim not only to our neighbors and other individuals in the world but to those who are in leadership positions that you are the God of all, and that Jesus Christ is the King and the Lord of all, and that all men and women everywhere have it as their responsibility to bow to Jesus Christ as Lord. And when this is the case, when this is the case, and Jesus Christ is recognized as the King and the Lord. There will be peace on earth as it is in heaven. Thanks for listening.