- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
CHRIST THE KING.
By Evan Hopkins.
We know that Christ is our King by the crown that God has put on His head, by the throne on which He is sitting and by the sceptre which He holds. Already Christ is King. We do not see all things put under His feet yet or the visible display of His glory, the outward manifestation of His kingdom. But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, we see Jesus crowned. He is King, crowned with glory and honour. He is the King of Glory, and that brow which men once crowned with thorns the Father in heaven has now crowned with glory. As the reward of His sufferings, of His obedience and of His death, God has set a crown upon His head.
He is upon the throne. All men do not yet acknowledge Him. The kingdoms of this world have not yet become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Yet we know that He is not only exalted far above all principalities, power and might, and every name that is named, He is enthroned, He is sat on the right hand of the Majesty on high. That is His present position. He is on the throne, the place of royal dignity, the place of Divine acceptance, the place of supreme power. He is King and He holds the sceptre, although all do not acknowledge His sway. The gift of dominion has been bestowed upon Him, and He has told us that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matt. 28 v18).
As King, He has triumphed, He is victorious in the fight, He has vanquished the enemy. Our Jesus has fulfilled all righteousness and has obtained His kingship. Jesus is crowned and is seated on the throne. He has finished the work of atonement, the sacrifice is accepted and our sin is purged. “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1 v3). The government is upon His shoulders, the administration of the economy of grace is committed into His hands. He carries the burden. He is responsible for the government. He conducts and controls all events. All things are in His hands.
The Conquering King.
He is the King, the conquering King. He has overcome all our enemies, as He has told us, “I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne”. Every enemy that can possibly meet us He has vanquished, Satan, death, hell, the world. “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16 v33). He has triumphed over all our enemies in His cross, or rather in Himself. Now it is His will that He should bring us into His victories. Just as Joshua, when he vanquished the five kings, brought the captains of the men of war and made them put their feet upon the necks of those kings, so our King, our conquering King, would have us step into His triumphs, His victories and walk at liberty.
Not only has He vanquish Satan and the world, but there remains another enemy still. He can conquer self. It is only this King that can conquer self. If you would know the blessedness of walking in triumph, you must be willing that He should lead you, and be your conquering King. You must let Him have His way with you. Paul wrote, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ” (2 Cor. 2 v14). Our real victories are His victories over us. We conquer when He leads us as our conquering King.
The Ruling King.
He is not only a conquering King, He is a ruling King. He will not only reign when all enemies are put under His feet, He reigns already. “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15 v25). Not only on His throne, but in our heart. It is there that He would reign as King. It is there that He would wear the crown, and sit on the throne. In our will, in our affections, in all our actions, it is there that He would reign. We know Him as Jesus, and we know Him as the Christ, but do we know Him and acknowledge Him as Lord of all? We will never know what it is to have real rest of soul until we are willing to commit the whole government of our being into the hands of Christ the King.
The Coming King.
He is not only the conquering King, the ruling King, He is the coming King. “Look, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1 v7). He will come to reign in righteousness. This is the hope of the Church. We are waiting for this Jesus, who was rejected, whom the world despises and had crucified but who God has exalted, this same Jesus will come again in majesty and glory. He will come with and for His saints, His throne will be established and He will reign gloriously.
Then He will be acknowledged as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2 v10-11).
THE EDITOR’S LETTER.
My Dear Friends,
It is wonderful to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is on the throne, in spite of all we see in this poor sin torn world where so much is going wrong and there is so much suffering. He is alive for evermore and is pleading for us and our world at the Father’s right hand. God is still working His purposes out. Jesus has won the victory and the day of His return is drawing nearer. He reigns as King in our lives and circumstances. He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and of His kingdom there will be no end.
As we seek to live for Him, and make Him known to others, may we know the indwelling and enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
King Jesus is alive and victorious. Hallelujah!
Yours in His powerful Name,
Michael Metcalfe.