Walking in Freedom || A Bible Devotional ||

King Forevermore (Pt 1)

Christ's office as a king has always been one of my favorite things to dwell on. (And because it is such a deep and important topic, I am dedicating two parts to it!) He takes care of his people, defends them from death, Satan, and the secular world, and we thank him and serve Him in His glorious majesty. In some ways, He resembled earthly kings, but He is and was the ultimate example of the perfect King.

Think about it. As in the above hymn, Christ was "the One whom angel hosts revere Hung the stars as chandeliers Numbered every grain of sand." But He humbled Himself to the point of death for His people, not for some political purpose but for their eternal life. From ages to ages past, eternally existing as God, the creator of the world, and He decided to become a subject, rejected by men.

Through writing and rereading this first part of the list, I dwelt for a couple of days on each aspect. It is absolutely amazing how much I feel I can appreciate God more when I think about His awesome characteristics day by day. Ask questions, and find them in the revealed Scripture, through a God-fearing minister, or even a godly friend.

The nature of His kingdom: Christ describes the nature of His kingdom when He said to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not form the world" (John 18:36). Christ's kingdom and power comes not from fickle people, but from the steadfast God (Vos, p 372). The earthly governor Pilate may have to submit to the wishes of the people who elected him, but Christ Jesus does not; instead, He chose to put Himself under the submission of earthly authority for a time in order to serve His kingdom's purpose (John 18:33-38).

The response to the temptation and weight of being a king: Unlike King Saul, Jesus always turned to God when He was tempted. Saul, instead of seeking God for help, sought a necromancer –the witch of En-dor– to tell him how to defeat his enemies, the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:8-19). Satan offered Jesus the tempting offer of all the kingdoms in the world, if only Jesus would bow and worship him (The Ministry of Christ, p 71). Christ, despite being tired, weak, and hungry from fasting, adamantly refused and replied that Satan should not tempt the Lord God (Matthew 4:1-9).

The unification of the kingdom: Christ does not seek to unify His people under false worship, instead, He unifies His subjects under the truth of His Word (John 14:6, John 17:17). He wants all of the world "to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4) so that, by their saving faith in Him, they will escape the devil. King Ahab, under the influence of his wife Jezebel, tried to unify his kingdom under the worship of Baal (The Kingdom of God, p 126, 1 Kings 22). However, this false worship only brought famine, humiliation, and eventually, Ahab's death (1 Kings 22:37).

The humbling of King Jesus: Christ, unlike earthly kings, humbled Himself to the lowly status of a servant. Though He deserved the best palaces, embroidered clothing, and precious metals, He served His entire earthly life as the One who would deliver his people from themselves. No earthly king, upon gaining their kingship, would ever give up their status and live for thirty-three years as a carpenter's son. However, that is exactly what Jesus did. In fact, He even knelt and washed His disciples' dusty feet the last time He dined with them (John 13:1-13). He used this act of servitude as a figurative example for them to do so to each other; to serve one another as He served them. As Mark 10:45 states: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The wealth of the kingdom: Never once did Christ seek out earthly wealth. Caesar sought taxes from all of his citizens (Mark 12:13-17). King Nebuchadnezzar, with the creation of a huge gold idol, desired the homage and respect to the idol from all the territories under his domain (Daniel 3:1-3). Christ, however, did not ask for payment for His cures or teachings. Instead, He simply asked the people to "Believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1) for He longed for the priceless salvation, the ultimate wealth, of each of His people.

Because we are walking in the freedom that Christ is the ultimate King, we do not need to worry about our political situation. If you think about it, many people, though they may not say it outright, consider our center of politics (D.C. as an example) to be the only thing that needs to be reformed, and if reformed, Jesus will come back into our lives. Jesus Himself repeats over and over again that He is not the political Savior (either from the Romans of His time or today). What needs to be reformed is the hearts of the people and the broken families who need to hear of the gospel of salvation. We are walking in freedom because, despite everything that happens today, good or evil, we know that the King Eternal is reforming our hearts and minds so that with each passing day, we want to be with Him!

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Sources

Breisch, Francis Jr. The Kingdom of God: A Guide for Old Testament Study. Grand Rapids: Christian Schools International, 1958.

Breisch, Francis Jr. The Ministry of Christ: Through Palestine in Jerusalem to the Ends of the Earth. Grand Rapids: Christian Schools International, 1961.

English Standard Version Bible. (For all verses). Accessed June 19, 2018.  

Vos, Geerhardus. Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments. Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, c 1948.