Living Under the Reign of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Today is a very special day in the life of the church. Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, commemorating the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to be presented as king. In our Bibles, this event is called the triumphal entry. Everything about this scene is right out of an ancient king’s coronation ceremony playbook. From the coats on the ground, Jesus riding a donkey, the crowds coming out from the city to greet him, and waving palm branches are all meant to communicate one thing: the king of Israel has arrived.
This is a crucial moment for Israel and the rest of the world. The trouble is that there are some religious and political leaders who don’t recognize Jesus as king. The people in power refuse to acknowledge his authority. They reject Jesus as king, which is all part of God’s plan and sets in motion the final days of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion.
The crowds on that day were dispersed by Friday. The controversy surrounding Jesus that week demonstrated that the people were not ready for the kind of king Jesus is. He came to set up a kingdom that was unlike any other, a kingdom of great cost. Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the cost of following Jesus. We have seen that it is not about convenience or comfort. It is about commitment. Salvation costs us nothing to receive, but when we fully recognize what salvation is not just about pardon from the consequences of our sin, but submission to Christ’s control over our lives, salvation costs us everything. But with that cost, we receive far more.
Today, we are reminded that Jesus is not just going to be king. He already is. We are going to take a look at three key truths about what it means to live under the reign of Christ.
Christ reigns now in his church.
Christ reigns now in his church.
We the church are awaiting the return of Christ to establish his kingdom on the earth. If we are not careful, we can overemphasize the waiting for his return and de-emphasize the fact that Christ is already king today. Jesus is not waiting to be King—He already reigns.
In multiple places, Jesus emphasized that he was already king. He was already in authority. The marching orders of the Church comes from Matthew 28:18-20. We emphasize greatly the responsibility of going and making disciples. But it comes from the foundation of the part that comes right before it:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
The authority over all creation has already been given to Jesus. He’s not waiting to receive it. It is from that authority that we are commanded to make disciples.
He didn’t just claim this after his resurrection when he rose victorious over sin and death. He claimed this in multiple places according to the gospel writers. It is affirmed in Matthew 11:27, John 3:35, 13:3, and John 17:2.
The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the church in Ephesus,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And He put all things in subjection under His 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.
His authority is expressed now in the lives of his people, the church.
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
These are all present realities. We do not live in anticipation of Jesus becoming king. We live in light of him already being king. He rules through his church, which is us. We are already citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world, but will one day be present over this world.
We are already citizens of a kingdom, so we ought to submit ourselves to its authority, Christ. Our surrender to Christ now will be judged in the future and our reward for obedience now will be ultimately rewarded in the future. Following Jesus brings its own satisfaction now, but our reward in his final kingdom will be far greater.
Christ will reign fully over all creation.
Christ will reign fully over all creation.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes on the reality of Christ’s resurrection and its implications for us today and in the future. He draws a comparison between Adam and Christ.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
What we want to see here is that there is a plan to abolish all rule, power, and authority until Christ is ruler over all. Right now, Christ is reigning in the church and using the church as ambassadors to call people to submit to Christ’s authority now before he comes to establish that authority. The establishment of that authority across the whole globe has yet to be realized, but one day we will see Jesus seated on the throne of David where he will reign with truth and justice and righteousness. One day His reign will be fully seen when every enemy is defeated.
The book of Revelation unfolds this hope.
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
We’re not just saved from something; we’re saved for something. Our salvation is not just to pardon us from death and give us eternal life. It is what that eternal life is that matters and what we look forward to. We are a kingdom of priests, and we will reign with Christ on the earth. We are saved for a purpose!
Our lives now point forward to what will soon be fully realized. Right now work is troublesome and tiring. It is hard. The curse of the ground has made work truly laborious. But it will not be that way in Christ’s eternal kingdom. Work will have its purpose. We will understand work as worship. Reigning requires action. It is not passive. But what we do in eternity will be shaped by the fully realized relationship we have with Christ and removed from the power and presence of sin.
Because the future reign of Christ perfect, and our life now prepares us for that life, we should live with hope that what we endure now is not in vain, but training us for a life to come.
Christ is forming a forever family.
Christ is forming a forever family.
The church is more than an institution. The church is not its walls and doors. The church is not its physical address. The church is the people who occupy this space. It is a family formed under Christ’s reign.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
According to passages like John 13:34-35, which calls us to love one another as Christ loves us, and Philippians 2:1-4, which calls us to unity and selflessness, this family Christ is forming is defined by love, unity, and mutual submission.
We experience the kingdom reality now through Christ-centered relationships. As we build Christ-centered community among ourselves, we are then also called to Christ’s mission by virtue of the fact that he reigns now and will reign forever.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
These verses, are the backbone of our mission statement, which is we exist to help people find forever family through Christ-centered relationships. We have received adoption as sons and daughters. We help others find forever family through a relationship with Christ as the foundation, but also involvement in the faith community through participation. To be a part of God’s forever family is to first submit to Christ’s reign, involving oneself in the life of the church, and obeying His call to love and reach others.
We experience the kingdom of Christ within the community of faith, but we also show the world the kingdom by how we live and who we invite in. Because Christ is king, he has commanded us to make disciples. So, Matthew 28:18 provides the reason foe Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Submission to Jesus means aligning our lives and relationships with His mission. The question we should be asking ourselves is who are we building relationships with? Every one of us should be intentionally seeking those who do not believe the gospel and building relationships with them. You heard last week I plan to do this through video game by hosting a tournament. We are going to leverage Faith & Finance classes to that end. We are working on rethinking how we do food bank ministry that will allow it to become more relational. As those things develop, we will need volunteers. I am working on some cool stuff with the school. But as those develop, you should not wait for them to go be faithful today.
Did God bring someone into your life who needs to hear the gospel? Take them out to lunch. Go share in an activity that you both enjoy. Invite them into your home. But when you are present with them, get to know them. As they open up and share their experiences, look for ways to speak hope into their lives through the gospel message. If you don’t personally share an experience they are facing, borrow someone else’s story. Who do you know today who is not walking with God that you can begin being intentional about building a relationship with?
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Because Jesus reigns now and is forming a forever family, we must submit to His authority and invite others into His kingdom through Christ-centered relationships.
Today, we celebrate the fact that Christ is king today. He is not waiting to be king, he is already king. Jesus is King, and His kingdom is already here in the church. As such, we are expected to submit to his authority in every aspect of our lives. This involves letting him have control over all our affairs, investing ourselves in the life of the community of faith, the church, and aligning our lives and our relationships with his mission of pursuing others and inviting them to experience Christ and his kingdom.
What step do you need to take today to move your life more into alignment with Christ’s mission? Let us submit to his authority and help others find forever family through Christ-centered relationships.
