On
this Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is King now, even though
we look forward to His coming again in glory to reign on the earth, when earth
and heaven become one. Today we will be
looking at two questions from the Westminster Catechism in connection with
Ephesians 1 that remind us what it means that Christ is our exalted King, and
what it is He is doing now, even while we wait for His return.
On Ascension Sunday, the parallel
Sunday to today, we celebrate Jesus’s return to heaven after His resurrection,
noting that the importance of that event is both the promise of His return, the
promise of His giving of the Holy Spirit, which was fulfilled on Pentecost, and
the fact that when Jesus ascended, He did so in bodily form. This wasn’t just a spiritual ascension, but a
physical one. When Christ came down to
earth, He was incarnate—God in flesh.
When He ascended, He took flesh to heaven. Flesh made divine. And now He is seated at the right hand of the
Father, the promised place of rule. The
end of Ephesians one tells us that this place of rule is far above all earthly
and spiritual powers. And His rule is
not just temporary but throughout all eternity.
No one can ever usurp Christ’s reign.
He will have no successor. No
coup can overthrow Him. His term won’t
expire. The Westminster Catechism tells
us that it is from this position that Christ, “gathers and defends His Church, and subdues their enemies.” This is how Ephesians 1 ends. When it says in verse 22 that God put all
things in subjection under Christ’s feet, that means even the enemies of the
Church are subdued. Then we hear Christ is the head of the Church, His body,
and that the Church is the fulness of Christ.
The Westminster Confession describes
our exalted Christ as having all fullness of joy, glory, and power. Jesus has all of His divine glory
restored. Notice the word “glory” is
used 4 times just in Ephesians 1. Our
adoption as sons adds to Christ’s glory.
And not only do we glorify Him, we share in His glory. He is the summation of all things.
The Confession goes on to tell us
that Jesus “furnishes His ministers and people with gifts and graces.” My Catholic friends use the term “graces”
frequently. I think most of the time, we
protestants tend to think of “grace” as a singular, though big thing. “Graces” isn’t used in Scripture, though God
does display grace toward us in many ways.
But we can think of spiritual gifts and abilities as “graces”
plural. The term spiritual gifts is
based off the word grace. Grace is
“charis” and spiritual gift is “charismatos,” which does appear in the plural
form many times in Scripture. So what
are some of these graces the exalted Christ extends to us? Grace is the favor
of God upon us. Ephesians 1:6 says that
it is through the Beloved—Jesus—that God freely, generously bestowed grace upon
us. In verse 7, Christ graces is
described as having riches, one of which is the forgiveness of our
trespasses. We break God’s laws a lot,
but Christ forgives us again and again. Knowing God’s will is a sign of God’s
grace in our life. The gift of wisdom is
grace. Having purpose in life is a gift
of grace, and that purpose is found in Jesus Christ. Jim and I attended the Carteret County Young
Life banquet this week at the invitation of one of my friends. I was so encouraged to see these high
schoolers so enthusiastic about this organization and about the difference
Jesus is making in their lives. We got
to hear from a few students. Having a
sense of identity and purpose is huge in everyone’s life, but it is a huge deal
for teenagers. This is the age where
they are desperately trying to figure that out.
So to hear a couple of testimonies from teens who found their identity
in Christ was good to hear. Everything
about our salvation is grace. Sharing in the riches of Christ’s inheritance
with other saints is grace. The Holy
Spirit who gives us spiritual gifts and works through us is a sign of
grace. We are to use our gifts of grace to
minister to others, to live for Christ.
A big role that Christ our King
plays is to intercede on our behalf.
Christ prays for us. We know that
Christ acts as advocate before the Father interceding for our sins. Christ also prays for us to not fall prey to
the enemy or be tempted. I was reminded
this week of how at the Last Supper, which we will celebrate shortly, Jesus
said to Peter according to Luke 22:31-32, after exposing the fact that Peter
was about to deny Him 3 times, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32But I have prayed for
you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back,
strengthen your brothers.” Yes, the
“you” in verse 31 is plural. It wasn’t
just Simon that Satan had asked to sift, but all the disciples. And we know that they all fled except
John. But Jesus prayed a special prayer
for Peter in particular. The “you” in
verse 32 is not only singular, but the informal singular—the kind of speech
reserved for close friends and family.
“I prayed specifically for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail,
and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Even though Peter was going to fall away
along with the others, even though he was going to commit an even graver sin by
denying Jesus, Jesus prayed for him. He
prayed in advance that Peter would repent, which Peter did, and Jesus set him
up to be the leader of the others and to encourage them. I wonder how Jesus has
prayed for us in our times of failure. I wonder what temptations we have been
able to resist because Jesus prays for us.
Everything that comes to us must pass through the Father and the
Son. Even Satan has to ask permission to
mess with us. Romans 8:34 says that our
ascended Christ intercedes for us, so that no one can bring any charge against
us, and so that nothing can separate from the love of God. In question 55 the Westminster Catechism says
that Christ’s intercession brings us “quiet of conscience.” We can have internal peace because we can be
sure that Christ prays for us. Hebrews 9
tells us that Christ’s sacrifice has far more power to give peace to our
conscience than the bloody sacrifices of cows and goats because as Hebrews 9:24
says, “Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a copy of the true
one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” And in Hebrews 4:16, as summed up in question
55, we can confidently come before the throne of grace and receive mercy and
grace to help in time of need. Our King
also acts as our Great High Priest. His
gift is grace abundant.
We
live in troubled times. If all we do is
watch the news, we will be constantly discouraged and fearful, but when we
remember that Christ is on the throne, we can have a different outlook. No matter what happens, we don’t have to fear
because God is on the throne. I heard a
talk on fear on the radio this week. As
the cohosts were dialoging, they talked about how we find courage not by
avoiding the things that are scary but by trusting God is with us as we go
through them. Jesus said, “I will never
leave You nor forsake you.” He sees us
from His throne. We must remember that
He is in control, that nothing comes to us without His permission. We must remember that He cannot be
overthrown. We have been given grace
after grace, grace that enables us to live fruitful and full lives. When we feel abandoned, we can remember that
we are accepted in the Beloved, that Jesus intercedes for us. He knows us by name. Jesus is not a weak King. He is a strong ruler over all things in
heaven and earth and, as the Bible says, “under the earth” as well.
