The Hope of the Believer . . .

RECOGNITION OF THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS (5)

W. Carl Ketcherside 

Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified. - Acts 2:36

Jesus was made Lord for us as well as of us. The first enables Him to bestow upon us every blessing we need as His citizens, the second to require obedience of us as willing subjects. Since the ultimate in blessing is eternal life, by being given all authority, including that over life and death, He can freely give us life. In His prayer for oneness He declares, "Thou has given Him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou has given Him."

The rule of Jesus is one of conquest. There are two great powers locked in unceasing combat. These are referred to as "the dominion of darkness" and "the kingdom of God's beloved Son" (Col. 1:13). While the earth is the present theater of war, all created beings in the universe are engaged in the strife. Not all of these are terrestrial beings, that is, flesh and blood. Some are celestial, others infernal. "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of the present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).

Just as there is a hierarchy of unholy angels, so there is a hierarchy of holy angels. Thus Jesus has been given all authority in heaven, as well as on earth. He can direct the host of heaven, the legions of angels, in the titanic conflict. God "raised Him from the dead and made Him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come" (Eph. 1:20, 21).

The reign of the Messiah, as Lord will end in certain victory. "For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." When the Son has completed the task, under the authority bestowed upon Him by the Father, He will deliver the kingdom to the Father again. "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power." This will not be the end of the kingdom of heaven, for there will always be a rule of God. It will only end the Christocracy, the rule of God's anointed, a reign created and inaugurated for a certain purpose. "When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be everything to everyone" (1 Cor. 15:28).

While the ultimate victory of virtue over vice, and of truth over error, is assured, those who enlisted under the banner of Jesus can help or hinder, by their attitude toward Him and each other. The latter will generally be affected by the former. When the citizens of the kingdom work together in harmony, the fortunes of the kingdom will be advanced in their area. When we appropriate and squander the resources available for conquest of the enemy in tribal warfare, the Cause of the Prince of Peace will suffer reverse and reproach. For this reason "a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called" is described as one in which each person "with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, (is) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1-3).

Lack of harmony among the disciples of Christ stems from lack of honoring His Lordship over our lives. Unified purpose in promoting the interests of the kingdom, is not something which we can take or leave. It is an order of the king, a command of the Lord. We either do what we are told or defy divine orders. It is not a question of whether we should maintain unity or not, as soldiers in His army, but rather whether we will obey or disobey the mandate of our Sovereign.

Our immediate concern is the schismatic state of the disciples of Christ, and that concern is deepened by a firm conviction that it exists contrary to the purpose of the Lord. He has been coronated in heaven by the Father but has not been coronated in our hearts. We are divided from one another because we have not drawn closer to Him. Our opinions and speculations have been more important than His words. We have spent more time debating about His nature than in imitating His life.

If we are to undo our divisive state we must begin with a mutual recognition of the common ground upon which all may stand to survey the prospect for coming closer together. This can only be found in an acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord. We are separated because we had the will to divide, we can only unite when all bow to a superior will which will lead us together. That Jesus is able to overcome barriers, remove obstacles and unite those who previously were at enmity with each other has been clearly demonstrated in what He did with Jews and Gentiles.

"For He is our peace who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph. 2:14). Certainly our sectarian chasm is no wider than the one which Jesus spanned by His blood. Lord, show us the way!—published posthumously