Thursday 5 June 2014

Our Eternally Powerful King

"Your throne is established from of old; 
you are everlasting."
(Psalm 93:2)

The psalmist writes this Psalm to celebrate God's sovereign kingship over the world. It is difficult for us who live in a democracy to understand what it is to live under a king. In a democracy we have the right to vote and decide who governs and in extreme cases we can overthrow a ruler with force when he or she abuses their power. Also in a democracy whoever is in government has a defined period in office. Their time in rule is temporal. But with God his power is absolute. We have no say in whether he rules over us. God does not need our approval to rule over us. Whether he is accepted as King or not this does not change in the slightest the fact that God is king over all his creation.

John Macarthur wrote,

"Nothing is more powerful than the Lord;
nothing is more steadfast than his reign;
nothing is more sure than his revelation."

There are several aspects about God's Kingship which can be gleamed from this Psalm:

1) The extent of God's kingship is over all that he has created. Whether it is in the remote jungles of the Amazon amongst primitive tribal peoples, or in New York amongst the hustle and bustle of busy city life, God is King. From east to west, north to south, from Africa to Antarctica, all continents and all peoples are under the kingship of God. 

2) God's kingship is absolute. That is he rules over the world such that all things happen in accord with his perfect will. This is true of mountains, or the smallest organisms able to be seen under the microscope and it is true of the wealthy billionaire or the poor beggar, the powerful or the weak, the enslaved or the free.

3) God's kingship is one of complete freedom. He is free from human interference and influence and he is free from human pressure. God decides what ever he chooses and what he chooses is always carried out in the world without the slightest amount of constraint or consideration given to human approval.

4) God's kingship is eternal. There has never been a time when he has not been King and there will never be a time when he stops being King. God's kingship has no beginning and it has no end for it is intrinsic for God to be king for it is in accord with who he is and who he has revealed himself to be. God will continue to be king even when the new heaven and the earth come to full consummation under his mighty power.

5) God's kingship is above all other rulers and governments on earth. They all receive their authority from God without which they could never exist, they all receive the ability to govern without which they cannot govern, and they can all be terminated whenever God chooses.

Daniel wrote,

"He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings,
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding."
(Daniel 2:21)

6) God's Kingship is administered through his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world as the fulfillment of all the line of kings that are written of in the Old Testament. All the authority, power and wisdom of the Father was in him. And after he had conquered sin, death and the power of satan he raised himself from the dead and ascended to the right hand of his Father where he now reigns over all.

7) God's kingship is one of righteousness and benevolence. Unlike the rulers and governments of the world that often act with deceit, cruelty and abuse, God rules in truth, grace, and justice. because God's rule is righteous the Christian can know that he has a King who always has his best interests at heart and who rules and governs all things not only in accordance with his divine will but also for the good of the Christian. This King will never turn on his children. He will never throw them out of his kingdom. Instead he promises to protect them, care for them, and save them.

8) Ever knee will one day bow and acknowledge God as King. For some this will be to their eternal joy and for others this will be to their eternal misery, but all will come to bow down before God as the rightful and eternal King.

 

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