THE CURRENT REIGN OF JESUS -- Tomorrow: CHRIST'S
(1 Corinthians 15:25)
God's kingdom is always progressive, never digressive. It always goes forward, never backward. Noah received more revelation than Adam. Abraham received more than Noah. Moses received more than Abraham. The prophets were given more than Moses. John the Baptist rose higher than all the prophets, and Jesus sent the Apostles out with even a greater message. This is the manner of the Kingdom over which the Lord Jesus now presides.
This principle is declared repeatedly in the Word of God. "They go FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God" (Psa 84:7). "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed FROM FAITH TO FAITH: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17). "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He INCREASETH STRENGTH" (Isa 40:29). "But they that wait upon the LORD shall RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa 40:31). "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that SHINETH MORE AND MORE UNTO THE PERFECT DAY" (Prov 4:18). "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from GLORY TO GLORY, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor 3:18). "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is RENEWED DAY BY DAY" (2 Cor 4:16). " . . . the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, INCREASE WITH THE INCREASE OF GOD" (Col 2:19).
In His matchless parables Jesus revealed the manner of increase and expansion that characterizes His Kingdom. "Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, IT GROWETH UP, AND BECOMETH GREATER THAN ALL HERBS, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it" (Mark 4:30-32). "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, TILL THE WHOLE WAS LEAVENED" (Matt 13:33).
What the Lord manages grows and expands, whether it is perception, a person, or the great work of salvation itself. Since Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient, God does not move those in His favor to lower levels. They "grow" (Eph 4:15), "increase" (2 Cor 9:10), and "abound" (Phil 1:9). Their borders are expanded (Ex 34:24; Deut 12:20), and their tent enlarged (Isa 54:2). That is the manner of the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.
This situation is apparent to all who have been given eyes to see (Deut 29:4). The tabernacle upon earth has been replaced by a "greater and more perfect tabernacle" (Heb 9:11). The wisdom of Jesus supersedes the wisdom of Solomon (Matt 12:42). The preaching of Jesus is "greater" than that of Jonah (Matt 12:41). Grace is greater than law (Rom 6:14), and faith is greater than works (Rom 9:30-32). What we have in Christ transcends all that was before, and there are no exceptions.
It only remains to establish the superiority of a spiritual kingdom. It is not possible for God to conclude the history of this world by returning to the principle of an earthly kingdom, with an earthly king and earthly exploits. If this is to be the case, the central work of God would return to the realm of types and shadows, after having established a "better covenant," built upon "better promises" (Heb 8:6). After being exalted to the right hand of God, Jesus would have to come lower in order to reign in the flesh upon the earth. The earth is an inferior domain, and a reign upon it is inferior to one in heaven. If "the heavens do rule," what purpose is served by Jesus returning to reign in the earth, in the domain of flesh and blood?
It will take something more than clever interpretations of Scripture to establish that such a thing is even possible, much less that God has declared that is what will happen. Such a procedure is at a variance with the outworking of Divine purpose. To conclude the history of the world
by Jesus returning to dwell among men in the flesh, fight a bloody battle, and sit upon an earthly throne, would require a digression in both His Person and reign. Those who insist that He is going to do this, need to rethink their position. They greatly dishonor Jesus by teaching such things, for they require the sudden cessation of the upward trend of the Kingdom of God.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the increasing nature of Christ's Kingdom. Grant me grace to be an exhibit of the real nature of Divine dominion.