Monday, November 23, 2009

Who is he, this King of Glory? The Lord Sabaoth, he is the King of Glory


"...for if they had recognised it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." 1 Corinthians 2:8

Jesus Christ is the King of Glory, however He did not come in Glory the first time He was on earth - rather He will come again in Glory at the Second Coming. This is shown very clearly in the letter to the Ephesians where St Paul explains about the humility of Christ which he manifested in His Kenosis (emptying) in the Incarnation and more specifically His Crucifiction.

though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
that 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.

This is one of my favourite quotes from the Bible and possibly even the greatest Christological hymn. We can see that it specifically deals with the humility of Christ and the apparent lack of Glory. However it also shows us how and why Jesus is LORD, because God the Father has exalted Him and bestowed this title to Him.

Jesus came to this world humbly and meekly to establish His Kingdom. However because of His lack of Glory many did not or could not recognise Him.

He came as the Suffering Servant to redeem us from the power of Satan. "He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" Colossians 1:13-14. He accomplished this by His Sacrifice on the Cross and His Resurrection. We as Christians are no longer to be under the dominion or authority of Satan for we now belong to Christ the King!

Christ the King who loves us and sacrificed Himself for us, rules His Kingdom from the Throne of His Cross. To separate Jesus from the Cross even after the Resurrection is to deny its saving power for "we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get over, to the gentiles foolishness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is both the power of God and the Wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:23-24.

Jesus is the Shepherd King of Israel who becomes the Lamb of Sacrifice.
"I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep...
The Father loves me,
because I lay down my life
in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me;
I lay it down of my own free will,
and as I have power to lay it down,
so I have power to take it up again.." John 10

Jesus freely sacrificed Himself for us - the Church. By the same authority that he as Shepherd King laid down his life for His flock, He as Great High Priest unites Himself with the Church as His Bride and sanctifies her
"...just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy by washing her in cleansing water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless." Ephesians 5: 25-28.

The Church is the Bride of Christ however it is also the Kingdom of God. In the way that the Church as Bride is not yet holy or faultless so too the Kingdom of God is not fully realised here on earth. Christ is "Head of the Church and saves the whole body...and the Church is subject to Christ" Ephesians 5, therefore it is clear that Christ as Head and Bridegroom of the Church is also the King and His Kingdom is the Church!
"Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!' or `There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21

Let us then as Christians Worship and Serve Christ the King of the Universe and King of Love on Calvary. Let us reject Satan and all of his empty promises for we know that we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing Ephesians 1:3.

Let us acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our life for He is the Lord of History. HE is the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let him enter your heart today and rule your life, His will be done - not yours!

"Be still and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!" Psalm 46:10

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory. Psalm 24:7-10

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