“I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.” Isaiah 43:15
What is it about a “King” that is so very important to understand, especially in our relationship with the Heavenly King? It is His absolute power and authority, our submission to it, and our appropriation of it. The effects of Christ’s reign in the heart are monumental in the measure, as the hymnwriter put it: “…and as His kingdom doth increase, so shall His ever-deepening peace.” Because of the very real submission to the work and will of the King, there are very tangible and real effects, with blessings of, and from the King. How then are we to see Christ as our King, and live in a right relationship with Him, that His reign should be established, increase, and spread, being consolidated in the hearts of men?
It is in the gospel of Matthew that we see Christ so very clearly as King. The admonition to the believer, because of this, is that we should, “…seek first His (Christ’s) kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33) Here, the Lord Himself lays out before His disciples a priority, and essential, in our relationship with God, where He is the Absolute Monarch, and we are His servants. It is not enough to have just a knowledge of the truths concerning Christ’s kingdom, and its laws, although these truths are essential if we would know the truth of the King. The call to the disciples, and to the believer today, is not just to conform to truth, but to know the God of the truth, in particular concerning His power, or as Paul put it, “…the power of the resurrection.” This power is not just a power sought, and realized at the moment when the saved soul departs to be with Christ at death. It is also as Paul put it to the Corinthians, the power of Christ may resting upon me, known day by day.( 2 Cor. 12:9) Paul’s point here is that Christ is known by His very presence and power working in the heart.
In Paul’s letter to Ephesian believers, he writes: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church.” (Eph. 3:2) What is the Holy Spirit seeking to impart to every believer in the body of Christ? It is that our King is the God of power and might, who gives strength, and who communicates His power by the indwelling Spirit to the heart and soul of the believer according to the truth of His word and will. The believer in Christ has been created IN CHRIST to KNOW the power of Christ, and this beyond his capacity to fully understand and grasp, but certainly to an extent that exceeds all expectations. The question is whether the believer has a true, balanced, and practical vision of this power afforded him? And secondly, is the believer is so clearly rightly related to the King in the worship of Him, and submission and surrender to Him, that Christ is certainly able and willing to give His power beyond measure for the extension of His kingdom and reign in the hearts of men? What then will the King do in response to such faith?
The message of the Gospel is one of “glad tidings.” This is because of the One who in response to faith, communicates the blessings of the King, and the kingdom, and this to be seen and known by men, that many will come to Christ, and His kingdom diligently sought. In so many cases in Scripture, we find that the King is merciful and gracious, willing to save the sinner, even the nation. He is willing to pour upon us from high, His Spirit, the wilderness becoming a fruitful field, His peace bestowed according to HIs righteousness. Blessings abound when He gives us a clear vision of Himself, and we surrender absolutely to His will.
Dear Father, Grant Thy abounding grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.