Reigning With Christ

Reigning with Christ for paper          Rev. Terry Goerz, Redeemer Lutheran Church

So first let me ask what do we see as the Kingdom of heaven today? At this point I should say that Matthew uses this expression “Kingdom of heaven” throughout his Gospel. Luke uses the expression “Kingdom of God” throughout his. Most biblical scholars agree that these 2 expressions mean the same thing, along with Kingdom of Christ. For Christians today this Kingdom of Heaven or God is the church. The subjects in this Kingdom include all the true Christians here on earth now and all the Christian saints now in heaven. The Church or kingdom on earth we call the Church Militant and the church in heaven we call the Church Triumphant. Jesus Christ rules over this kingdom from heaven at the Fathers right hand.

“which he (God) exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,”  Ephesians 1: 20 – 22

When we see this expression “at the right hand of God” we should not think of it as a place as much as it is a position of authority, as is described of Jesus in this verse. Now interestingly we also see Christians placed with Christ in heaven. “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,”  Ephesians 2:6

That does not mean we are at 2 places at once, rather we should understand this verse to mean that Christians also reign with Christ here on earth. We have been authorized to reign with Christ as the following scripture verses confirm. “if we endure, we will also reign with him.”  2 Timothy 2: 12. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5: 10 “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years”. Revelation 20: 6

The Kingdom we have been made to be is the Church! The first resurrection is being born again in baptism. The thousand years is the whole time between Pentecost when the church was born until the church on earth joins the church in heaven at the end of the age. So Christ rules today on earth through the church or the kingdom.

We see Christ’s ruling activity every day in the ministry of the Church. At each baptism Jesus forgives sin and performs the miracle of making us alive spiritually by putting the Holy Spirit in us. We are “born again”. At each communion meal he is miraculously present in the bread and the wine, again offering forgiveness of sins and also working sanctification in each communicant. Each time the pastor offers absolution after a confession, whether public or private, the miracle of forgiveness occurs through Jesus’ reign. This is a powerful concept for all Christians to understand. We truly reign with Christ today and every day through the ministry of the Church.

We also see the reign of Christ in our own hearts each day. He is there in us through the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us to lead lives and exemplify values that are more and more like Christ. And the reign of Christ is here today in the secular world. God through Jesus Christ is very much in control of the destiny of the whole world. While it may not appear to be so, nothing in all creation occurs that is not a part of His design or will. The destiny of the world will unfold exactly as God has planned and foretold it.

At the end of the age the whole world will see the reigning activity of Jesus when the supernatural events occur in the skies and he returns to earth with all the saints from the Church Triumphant. The bodies of all those saints in the Church Triumphant will rise from their grave as perfected bodies.  And at that time through Jesus’ reigning activity all members of the Church Militant left here on earth will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye to be fully like Jesus, and will rise to meet Jesus in the air. Then at our final destiny, The New Heaven and Earth, we will reign with Christ for eternity. At that time, the end of the age, the reigning activity of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven will be obvious to all as Jesus sits on his throne in judgment and condemns Satan and all his cohorts to the Lake of Fire for eternity.

So while Christians here on earth are performing the tasks related to their ministry in the church they should be proud in what they are doing and feel privileged to participate in the church’s ministry. That includes all of us who participate in the ministries of the church, from the pastor preaching and baptizing, from the parents bringing their children to Sunday school and for baptism, to the secretary and treasurer, to the person who cleans the church building and grounds or creates banners etc, etc. We are not just doing a task, we are reigning with Christ!

Blessings