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I have an optimistic and hopeful expectation of the future because I have a hopeful and optimistic expectation of God’s kingdom. His kingdom will overcome all the kingdoms of the earth without fail. God, and everyone in Him through Christ, wins. There’s no hope for any other nation or kingdom. They will all succumb to His rulership and authority. God’s Kingdom is unrivaled.
He began establishing His kingdom in the earth when He sent Jesus, and to the increase of His kingdom there shall be no end. The kingdom is on His shoulders and what capable shoulders they are.
Jesus defeated all the enemies of His kingdom through His death, burial, and resurrection. He forever has all authority and power. He is the preeminent one, there is none greater!! Can I get an AMEN!!
Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
In His graciousness, Christ has chosen to share His authority with us.
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
“Seated with Christ” means we are partakers of His rulership and His authority. We are joint-heirs of everything he inherited. We are powerful ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. We are citizens of Heaven. We are currently in the world, tasked with announcing the good news of the finished work of our king Jesus Christ. And He is seeking to exercise His authority in the earth through His believers.
Our shared rulership over the earth will continue until the resurrection and the restoration of all things. Until then, Christ must reign.
1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
We have been taught that Christ will reign once the end comes, but this passage tells us that Christ must reign UNTIL the end comes. That means He’s reigning NOW and will do so until ALL His enemies are under His feet. Christ has defeated ALL enemies, but they are not ALL currently under His feet.
There is a lot to discuss about that process, but I want to focus on the idea of Christ currently reigning in the earth through you. It’s what God has desired from the beginning.
A Nation of Priests
God has wanted a powerful family representing Him on the planet from the beginning. Look at His desire with the nation of Israel 4500 years ago.
Exodus 19:5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Priests minister, it’s what they do. God wanted to dwell among His chosen people (the Israelites) and lead them in such a way that they were a blessing to the whole earth. They failed, but Christ didn’t fail.
Through Christ, God ups the ante. New Covenant believers are not only the fulfillment of that nation of priests, we are even more. We are priests that minister to the nations AND we are kings that rule the earth with Christ.
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
At this moment, we are ruling and reigning with Him. Unfortunately, we aren’t doing a very good job. What’s it going to take to do a better job of reigning with Him?
Walk in the light / love - 1 John
Bear spiritual fruit - Galatians 5:22-23
Take responsibility for your place in the body of Christ - Ephesians 4:11-12
All of these are done by resting in His finished work by grace through faith. You can not exercise the authority of Christ on this earth through your own strength or effort. We walk by faith, empowered by grace, accomplishing, or proving His will.
“You can not exercise the authority of Christ on this earth through your own strength or effort.”
The more you respond to His love for you by loving others, and rest in His spirit that abides in you, the more you walk in His authority. In other words, the more you trust and obey Him from the heart and allow Him to live through you, the more He will reign in the earth.
Walking In Love
Walking in love toward your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ allows Christ to reign through you in that it testifies that we are His followers.
Bearing Fruit
Allowing His word to abide in you and bear fruit in your life allows Christ to reign in this world by transforming you to reflect His character and glory.
Taking Responsibility for Your Place In His Body
This can be a tricky one because it does take effort. What kind of effort? It’s paradoxical because it’s not the kind of effort you exert by force, it’s by faith. It is the kind of effort that simply shows up and allows Christ to lead you.
Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
You are the laborer the Kingdom of God needs. You labor FROM victory. You labor FROM rest. You labor FROM acceptance. But you labor nonetheless.
Circle back to 1 Corinthians 15:25, Christ must reign until the end. How does He currently reign until the end? Through you. As you yield your heart to Him to bear fruit, walk in love, and take your place in His body.
He has assignments for you. He has a calling for you. Are you actively walking out your assignments from God? Do you know what they are? Do you have a life plan that puts God’s purposes for your life ahead of everything else?
No one can do it for you, not even God. No one can even tell you what those assignments are. That’s between you and God.
But I know this, He is an excellent teacher. He is an excellent leader. He is an excellent communicator. I truly believe that if you will go ALL IN and dedicate your life to His work, you will find that path. It starts with allowing His Word to abide in you. Take time to plant His written Word in your heart. Give the written Word and opportunity to become the Living Word.
You would probably say that following His will for your life is the absolute most important thing to you. But are you daily yielding yourself to Him to allow Him to shape you and guide you in His desires for you?
His kingdom needs laborers. Jesus instructed His friends to pray for laborers. Are you the answer to those prayers? Show up and watch God move in your life. Show up and watch Christ reign through you!!
It’s easier than you think. It starts in your daily life. Stop avoiding the daily opportunities you have to share your faith and pray for people. Stop avoiding kingdom responsibilities. Stop avoiding the hard things God is prompting you to do. It’s easier than you think if you allow His grace to empower you.
Show up and watch Him reign through you!!
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness REIGN IN LIFE through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
