"And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~ Matthew 28:17-20
Here we are at the final section of this series, at the encouragements that God gives to His soldiers in the faith. We have discussed the mission and the means to fulfill it, but why should we care? What motivates us to leave our comfortable living for possibly long millennia of sacrificial evangelism and discipleship? The reason why is because of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Resurrection was the future of the whole creation made manifest in the Anno Domini and the hope of the Christian proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In His Great Commission and in His Scriptures, Jesus gave us exceeding great and precious promises regarding His successful reign at the right hand of the Majesty on high, offering us numerous encouragements throughout the entire sacred canon of Scriptures.
Our pastors gave us three of the most prominent encouragements at the end of their second paragraph:
1. Demonstration (The Subjection of Life and the Nations)
The first encouragement is the promises of God regarding the joyful and willing submission of people from every group from all the seven continents of the world. (Psalm 2:7-8; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 67; Psalm 72:11, 17; Psalm 82:8; Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 61:11; Isaiah 66:18; Daniel 7:13-14; Haggai 2:7; Mark 11:17; Luke 2:10-11; Revelation 7:9-10) These promises extend to every area of life, especially the political powers. (Psalm 2:10-12; Psalm 72; Psalm 148:11-13; Psalm 138:4-5; Isaiah 11:1-10; Isaiah 62:1-2; Isaiah 65:17-25; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 8:3-6; Zechariah 9:9-17; Zechariah 10; Zechariah 12-13; Revelation 21:24) This does not come to pass by revolution or political change but by the word of God.
But we must confess as the writer of Hebrews that "now we see not yet all things put under him." (Hebrews 2:8) We see now that political leaders are disregarding the law of God for a more secular version, that the science academies are religiously opposed to anything that sounds like a supernatural explanation, that the entertainment industry is fervent in pushing for godless ideals in the culture, that many churches are caught up in various emotional pursuits and some others for no biblical reason are hostile and bitter towards each other. But we do see the atonement of Jesus on the cross for our sins; we see that by the cross He destroyed him that had the power of death, the devil.
It will all come to fruition at the resurrection of the dead; there God will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is because of this that we know, as Paul wrote, that our labor is not in vain. Not one cup of cold water to one of His thirsty disciples will go to waste.
2. Dominion (The Authority of Jesus over all)
In Jesus' preamble to the Great Commission, He declares a statement that fundamentally transforms the perspective of the world: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18 ESV) Not complacent to just be a teacher of first-century Jews, He assumes His role as the Lord of the universe of all ages and of all nations.
What is His domain? First, He states that His authority rests in heaven: the realm where God reigns with joyful submission; the name of Christ is honored perfectly in that place. We do not have to worry if God the Father is going to stand beside His Son in the ministry of saints. Second, He states that His authority is supreme above all governments of any kind, whether it is political, legal, ecclesiastical, patriarchal, local or regional, organizational, etc. As Jesus answered Pilate's assertion of power, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above:" (John 19:11) Thus, we can say with Peter to anyone, "We ought to obey God rather than men."
But the fact that the Lord Jesus is above all means that He has all! He has the right to oversee any decision that anyone makes. We therefore are called to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:5) Now some may object, "But that verse could be talking only about private thoughts in an individual Christian's mind." But, even if so, when you are thinking about how certain groups ought to act or respond, you are called to bring even those thoughts (Remember! Every thought!) to the law of Christ; so how should those groups act or respond, under obedience to Christ?
“There is not one part of our world of thought that than can be hermetically separated from other parts, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!” ~ Abraham Kuyper
3. Defense (The Presence of Christ with us)
After giving His commission, Jesus concluded with an encouragement: "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 ESV) Jesus did not just step back in His Ascension and watched like an observer what transpired. He, being one essence with God the Holy Spirit, is actively involved with His bride; we see that all through the book of Acts and in the book of Revelation. How can Jesus do this?
He can because He is God; and God is three persons. God the Father is our Leader and Provider; He makes all the decisions that effect our response and He sees to our needs. God the Son is our Shepherd and Advocate; He gives us rest, renewal, guidance, protection, provision, and family; He intercedes on our behalf before God the Father as our High Priest. God the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Defender; He brings His words to our attention for peace that passes understanding and defends us from false teaching that disgraces the name of Christ. Thus, Jesus can lead His Church and inspect His professing churches.
Christ is committed to the very end; He will not back down or abandon the Church in her ministry but will be as fresh and bold to Christians at the last day as He was to His first-century disciples. Thus, we can entrust to Him the future of our children, our church, and our legacy. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah 42:4)
References:
Kuyper, Abraham Sphere Sovereignty
Our pastors gave us three of the most prominent encouragements at the end of their second paragraph:
1. Demonstration (The Subjection of Life and the Nations)
The first encouragement is the promises of God regarding the joyful and willing submission of people from every group from all the seven continents of the world. (Psalm 2:7-8; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 67; Psalm 72:11, 17; Psalm 82:8; Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 61:11; Isaiah 66:18; Daniel 7:13-14; Haggai 2:7; Mark 11:17; Luke 2:10-11; Revelation 7:9-10) These promises extend to every area of life, especially the political powers. (Psalm 2:10-12; Psalm 72; Psalm 148:11-13; Psalm 138:4-5; Isaiah 11:1-10; Isaiah 62:1-2; Isaiah 65:17-25; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 8:3-6; Zechariah 9:9-17; Zechariah 10; Zechariah 12-13; Revelation 21:24) This does not come to pass by revolution or political change but by the word of God.
But we must confess as the writer of Hebrews that "now we see not yet all things put under him." (Hebrews 2:8) We see now that political leaders are disregarding the law of God for a more secular version, that the science academies are religiously opposed to anything that sounds like a supernatural explanation, that the entertainment industry is fervent in pushing for godless ideals in the culture, that many churches are caught up in various emotional pursuits and some others for no biblical reason are hostile and bitter towards each other. But we do see the atonement of Jesus on the cross for our sins; we see that by the cross He destroyed him that had the power of death, the devil.
It will all come to fruition at the resurrection of the dead; there God will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is because of this that we know, as Paul wrote, that our labor is not in vain. Not one cup of cold water to one of His thirsty disciples will go to waste.
2. Dominion (The Authority of Jesus over all)
In Jesus' preamble to the Great Commission, He declares a statement that fundamentally transforms the perspective of the world: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18 ESV) Not complacent to just be a teacher of first-century Jews, He assumes His role as the Lord of the universe of all ages and of all nations.
What is His domain? First, He states that His authority rests in heaven: the realm where God reigns with joyful submission; the name of Christ is honored perfectly in that place. We do not have to worry if God the Father is going to stand beside His Son in the ministry of saints. Second, He states that His authority is supreme above all governments of any kind, whether it is political, legal, ecclesiastical, patriarchal, local or regional, organizational, etc. As Jesus answered Pilate's assertion of power, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above:" (John 19:11) Thus, we can say with Peter to anyone, "We ought to obey God rather than men."
But the fact that the Lord Jesus is above all means that He has all! He has the right to oversee any decision that anyone makes. We therefore are called to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:5) Now some may object, "But that verse could be talking only about private thoughts in an individual Christian's mind." But, even if so, when you are thinking about how certain groups ought to act or respond, you are called to bring even those thoughts (Remember! Every thought!) to the law of Christ; so how should those groups act or respond, under obedience to Christ?
“There is not one part of our world of thought that than can be hermetically separated from other parts, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!” ~ Abraham Kuyper
3. Defense (The Presence of Christ with us)
After giving His commission, Jesus concluded with an encouragement: "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 ESV) Jesus did not just step back in His Ascension and watched like an observer what transpired. He, being one essence with God the Holy Spirit, is actively involved with His bride; we see that all through the book of Acts and in the book of Revelation. How can Jesus do this?
He can because He is God; and God is three persons. God the Father is our Leader and Provider; He makes all the decisions that effect our response and He sees to our needs. God the Son is our Shepherd and Advocate; He gives us rest, renewal, guidance, protection, provision, and family; He intercedes on our behalf before God the Father as our High Priest. God the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Defender; He brings His words to our attention for peace that passes understanding and defends us from false teaching that disgraces the name of Christ. Thus, Jesus can lead His Church and inspect His professing churches.
Christ is committed to the very end; He will not back down or abandon the Church in her ministry but will be as fresh and bold to Christians at the last day as He was to His first-century disciples. Thus, we can entrust to Him the future of our children, our church, and our legacy. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah 42:4)
References:
Kuyper, Abraham Sphere Sovereignty
I think these truths are needed to create a vibrant life-purpose for our individual, family, church and political lives. Thank you for this post and the entire series!
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