A number of years ago I was part of a panel discussion at Providence College entitled "Christ the King." The panel included pastors from various denominations and each of us were to answer several questions. The first and main one was this -- What does it mean for you to say that Christ is our King?
We sing a lot of songs that refer to Christ as our Lord. We speak a lot about his kingship in our services. So I thought I would share my answer to the question above and draw a few practical conclusions.
Here was my answer…
The easiest thing to do is to quote the Westminster Catechism Q&A 45 --
How does Christ execute the office of a king?
Christ executes the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.
Let me unpack that just a bit.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate and thus shares the dominion of God over all things as the second person of the Trinity. When speaking about Christ our King, we recognize that in his mediatorial work his kingship operates differently though not independently. It is specific to his role as the Messiah as he executes God’s purpose of salvation. Jesus presently exercises full dominion over all things. He is King of kings, and his kingdom is a kingdom both of grace and of power. In his ascension, Christ ascended to the right hand of his Father and even now rules over all of creation as sovereign Lord (the civil kingdom) and over his church as covenant mediator (Christ’s kingdom). Cf Colossians 1:15-20
The New Testament likes to refer to Christ as the “head of the church” as practically synonymous with “King.” Christ, as Head or King, works all things - his providential and judicial administration of the universe - in the interest of his people, the Church (their protection, purification, and final perfection). Thus in his role as Messiah the kingship of Christ over the universe is subservient to his spiritual kingship. It is incumbent on Christ, as the anointed King, to establish the spiritual kingdom of God, to govern it, and to protect it against all hostile forces. Christ will also hand over this kingdom, in the eschaton once all of his enemies have been defeated, to the Father. Cf 1 Corinthians 15:25-28
This means that:
His kingship is over creation for the purpose of redemption but we must not separate the two. They are two manifestations of his singular rule.
But the kingship of Christ is grounded primarily in the work of redemption -- as such his Kingship as our Messiah extends particularly and peculiarly to his people and over the church.
His kingdom is not of this world, meaning it is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one -- it is administered not by rules or by force, but by Word and Spirit through his appointed means of grace.
His kingdom is both a present reality and a future hope.
His kingdom is related to the church, but not identical with it -- The citizenship of the kingdom is co-extensive with the membership in the invisible church. Its field of operation, however, is wider than that of the church, since it aims at the control of life in all its manifestations.
As the redeemed, we live under his rule even as we live under the rule of our human government.
Practically, then:
I must acknowledge the lordship of Christ over all areas of my life. It is required of me to submit to my King and his directives -- there is no salvation without his lordship.
I must acknowledge the lordship of Christ over his church, of which CRC is a small but integral part.
I must serve my King and his church. In fact, it is a great honour to be called into the King’s service.
I must recognize that his victories -- over sin, death and the evil one -- are given to me through faith in him alone.
It is a great motivation to me to encourage others to join the ranks of those who willingly submit to the King of Kings.
Soli Deo Gloria