Three weeks ago, I brought to your attention, something special about the Lordship of Christ. It was that His Lordship was enhanced and changed when He completed the work of redemption. After Christ’s exaltation, the Father made Him Lord in ways He was not Lord before. In addition to his original and innate “ontological” Lordship was an added “mediatorial” Lordship.
Then we considered how Adam and David were each promised a specific kind of lordship – dominion. Adam was the head of a race of people – the entire human race, to be exact. When he chose to sin against God, he did so as the representative of all his heirs. And similarly, Christ came into the world as the head of the people whom the Father gave to him. And Christ died paying the sin penalty for all of His people, eternally redeeming them. Then the Holy Spirit added David as another picture of Christ – actually as a father of Jesus Christ. As David was made a king, Christ is a king. As David ruled over Israel and a number of heathen nations, Christ is the true king of his people. But he is also King of all kings and the Lord of all creation. Christ’s special dominion as Federal head and King of kings was given to Him at the completion of His work of redemption. Some of that dominion will be more fully applied during the Millennium and later, but some of it is for this moment and forever.
Even though all things are under God’s triune dominion, I Corinthians says, now that the Son has completed His part of the covenant, the Father “hath put all thing under (Christ’s) feet.” But the verse goes on, “When He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him.” In other words, the mediatorial Lordship of Christ does not overthrow the ontological – eternal – order within the Trinity. In the essential nature of God, there is equality among the Persons, but there is still structure and order.
This evening, let’s consider a number of scriptures which speak about the extent Christ’s new Lordship.
Most of these scriptures speak for themselves, needing little or no comment from me. And I have a lot of scripture. To save time, I will give you the reference and then read them. If you’d like to have those references later, I can either give them to you or you can look them up on the church website. Psalm 72:8-11 – The Messiah “SHALL have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness SHALL bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings SHALL fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.”
Daniel 7:13-14 – “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of MAN came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Having accomplished the Father’s will at Calvary, Christ is and shall always be Lord over His enemies.
Psalm 2: 1-8 – “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed… Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I SHALL give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”
Psalm 110:1 – “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, UNTIL I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”
I Corinthians 15:25, in the midst of that great chapter on resurrection and life to come – “For He must reign TILL he hath put all enemies under His feet.”
Hebrews 10:12-14 – “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
As the eternal Mediator, Christ is Lord over Satan and his Angels, whom He defeated at Calvary.
Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” It was at the cross that this battle took place.
I Corinthians 15:24-25 – “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and ALL authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”
Ephesians 1:20 – “Which (God) wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”
Colossians 2:16 – “And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Notice that this is past tense – Christ spoiled, ripping the heart out of the power of Satan at the cross.
Hebrews 2:14 – “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” In this case, death has not been eradicated, but has been completely stripped from Satan’s hand. And it took place when Christ died at Calvary.
I Peter 3:22 – Christ “is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.”
As the victorious Saviour, Christ is Lord over all judgment.
Matthew 25:31-32 – “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats….” In what capacity is it that Christ shall separate the sheep from the goats? Not as the eternal Son of God, but as the victorious “Son of man.”
John 5:22-27 – “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of MAN.”
Acts 17:31 – God “hath appointed a (future) day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Romans 2:16 – God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:10 – “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
Revelation 6:15-17 – “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 20 :11-13 – “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” I know that the text does not specifically say, but the context shows us that this judge is the one who died on the cross.
Let’s try to remember my point in all this. Jesus Christ has been given a Lordship which He did not possess before His incarnation. One of the effects of the Lord’s sacrifice and His part in the eternal covenant is a Lordship uniquely related to His work at the cross. Romans 14:7-12 – “None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Obviously, Christ is Lord over the salvation of His people.
John 6:37-45 – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”
Acts 5:30-31 – “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Who is the Lord over repentance and forgiveness? The exalted Son of God.
The resurrected Christ justifies the lost, intercedes for them and glorifies them. Romans 8:34 – “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Hebrews 7:25-26 – “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Christ Jesus has been made higher than the Heavens. Christ “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to even to subdue all things to Himself.”
Directly related to Calvary, our Saviour is lord over our day-to-day lives unto the very end.
Romans 14:9-13 – “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”
Philippians 2:5-11 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Ephesians 1:20-22 – “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
Ephesians 4:7-13 – “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
Was it the Father who gave us our commission in Matthew 28 and Mark 16? It was the resurrected Christ.
Who was it who received Stephen upon His death? Was it the Holy Spirit? It was the Glorified Christ. And who is the Lord over the death of all the rest of the saints? Christ “must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” – I Corinthians 15:25-26.
It is has been through the completion of His eternal commission that all this special authority has been granted to the Son of God. Can a man be a true child of God who denies Christ his Lordship?