Trinity Sunday and The Covenant of Redemption

June 15, 2014 in Bible - NT - John, Church Calendar, Covenantal Living, Meditations, Quotations, Trinity
John 17:1–6 (NKJV)
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Today is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday the Church has set aside to remind the people of God that the God we worship is Triune – three Persons in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Later in worship we will recite the Athanasian Creed, one creedal attempt to give expression to God’s Triune nature.
In our Scripture today Jesus prays to the Father and in so doing illustrates the interpersonal dynamic that has existed for all eternity among the Persons of the Trinity. First, we note that the Father and the Son – together with the Spirit, we might add – share glory. Jesus prays, And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. Jesus asks the Father – the Father who declared through Isaiah, “My glory I will not give to another…” – Jesus says to this Father, glorify Me together with Yourself… And note that it is a particular type of glory, the glory which I had with You before the world was. Prior to His incarnation, Jesus existed in the form of God and, though His deity was veiled during His time on earth, now that He has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, that glory has been restored to Him. Jesus was and is God Himself in human flesh.
Second, our text reveals that in eternity past, before the world was, when the Father and Son shared glory, they communed with one another, lived in a relationship of love with one another. Jesus alludes to this eternal communion and communication a couple times. Recall Jesus’ words: I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. The Father gave Jesus a task to accomplish, a work to perform. So when did the Father give Him that work? The Scriptures answer: in eternity past, before the world was, when the Father and Son communed together. But there’s more. Not only did the Father give the Son a task to do, He also gave Him a people to call His own. Jesus prays, I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me…So when did the Father give these people to the Son? Before the world was. As Paul writes in Ephesians, the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
This interaction between the Father and the Son prior to the foundation of the world is sometimes called the Covenant of Redemption or the pactum salutis. Louis Berkhof explains: Now we find that in the [plan] of redemption there is, in a sense, a division of labor: the Father is the originator, the Son the executor, and the Holy Spirit the applier. This can only be the result of a voluntary agreement among the persons of the Trinity, so that their internal relations assume the form of…covenant life. In fact, it is exactly in the trinitarian life that we find the archetype of [pattern for] the historical covenants…(266) God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have dwelt in covenantal life for all eternity and so the way that God interacts with us is by covenant as well, as we will see later today.
As we consider this Covenant of Redemption, that before the foundation of the world God thought of us, loved us, and gave us to be Christ’s own people – apart from any merit of our own; indeed despite the demerit which He knew we would deserve – ought we not to be humbled and awed that the Creator of all took notice of us? As Paul writes to the Thessalonians, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so reminded of the great love which the Father has bestowed upon us, and that He loved us before the foundation of the world and loves us despite our unloveliness, let us confess that we are unworthy His love. Let us kneel as we confess our sins together.

The Ascension of Jesus

June 1, 2014 in Ascension Sunday, Bible - OT - Psalms, Church Calendar, Easter, King Jesus, Meditations, Resurrection
Psalm 110 (NKJV)
A Psalm of David. 1 The LORD said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Today is Ascension Sunday. Forty days after rising from the dead, forty days after Easter, Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. What is the significance of this?
Oft times in history, the coronation of kings was followed by a time of travel – the new king would journey throughout his kingdom and show himself to his people. It was an opportunity for the people to see the new king, pledge allegiance to him, and rejoice in his coronation. But eventually the circuit would come to an end and the king would return to his palace, take his seat on his throne and begin to rule.
It is this narrative that ties Easter and Ascension together. In the NT, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is understood as coronation day. When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, he rose as God’s triumphant King; the ruler over all the kings of the earth. “You are my son,” God declares in Psalm 2, “Today I have begotten you.” And that “today”, Peter declares in Acts 2, is the day of Jesus’ resurrection, the day God crowned Jesus King.
For the next 40 days Jesus showed himself to his people. It was an opportunity for them to see the new king in his glory, to pledge their allegiance to him, and to rejoice in his coronation. But eventually this time came to an end and Jesus took his seat on his throne and began to rule – He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God Almighty, there to rule until all his enemies are subdued beneath his feet. The Father said to Jesus, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
And it is sitting on the throne of His father David, sitting at the right hand of God Almighty, that Jesus continues to reign even now and will continue until he has subdued all his enemies beneath his feet. Jesus is Lord! Jesus reigns! Let the earth be glad and the righteous rejoice! And so we are instructed to pray that God’s kingdom come, his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We are told to pray for the expansion of Jesus’ rule, the full manifestation of His kingship in human history. For as Jesus’ kingship becomes increasingly acknowledged, light and life come in ever greater degrees.

And because Jesus is Lord, because Jesus is God’s anointed king, the only way that we can come to God is by pledging our loyalty to Jesus. He who honors the Son, honors the Father; he who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent him. This morning we have been summoned into the presence of God Almighty; let us kneel as we enter his presence and pledge our allegiance through His Son Jesus.

How Shall a Man be Set Right with God?

April 20, 2014 in Bible - NT - Romans, Church Calendar, Church History, Cross of Christ, Easter, Federal Vision, Justification, Meditations, Resurrection
Romans 4:23–25 (NKJV)
23 Now it was not written for [Abraham’s] sake alone that [righteousness] was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. [Righteousness] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was [crucified] because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
How shall a man be set right with God? Shall we love our neighbor and so please God? Shall we practice the ten commandments and so please God? Shall we beat our bodies into submission and so please God? Shall we live and let live and so please God? Shall we practice jihad and so please God? How shall a man be set right with God?
For nearly two millennia now our fathers and mothers have been celebrating the feast of Easter – the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. On this day, the first day of the week, our Lord Jesus rose bodily from the grave. Why?
Paul answers our question here in Romans. The resurrection presupposes the crucifixion, the death of Jesus. So why did Jesus die? He died, Paul tells us, because of our offenses. In other words, Paul reminds us that we all of us have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. We have failed to live up to God’s standards, failed to love our Creator with all our heart, soul, and strength. Consequently, by nature we all stand guilty before God – estranged from God and in need of reconciliation with Him.
So how shall we be set right with Him? Only through the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. Jesus gave His life, sacrificed Himself, that He might take away our guilt and set us right with God.
And how do we know that Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted by God? How do we know that trusting in Jesus to reconcile us to God isn’t just some pie in the sky hope; some degree of wishful thinking? We know because Jesus rose from the dead. In the resurrection, God has given proof to all men that the sacrifice of Christ has been accepted. Jesus was raised because of our justification. In other words, Jesus was raised to set us right with God.
So what of you? Where have you placed your hope for acceptance by God? Have you placed it in your good works? This hope shall fail. Have you placed it in your sorrow for your bad behavior? This hope shall fade away. Our only hope lies in Jesus, the Lamb of God who was crucified for us and then rose again from the grave that we might be set right with God. So put your trust in Jeus. On the last day, we shall all rise from our graves and stand before our Creator – and the only way we shall endure that interview is if Christ is our Advocate.

Reminded that we can only be reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, let us kneel and seek His forgiveness in Christ.

Epiphany Sunday

January 5, 2014 in Baptism, Bible - NT - Matthew, Church Calendar, King Jesus, Meditations, Politics
Matthew 2:1–2 (NKJV)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Today is Epiphany Sunday, the Sunday in which we recall God’s wonderful mercy in revealing His Son to Magi from the east. The Magi were a powerful class within the Persian Empire – wise men and counselors who were often the power behind the throne or who were on the throne themselves. When these Magi arrive, they cause quite a stir for they come to pledge their allegiance to him who was born King of the Jews. They come to acknowledge that there is a new king born among men and to offer Him their service.
And it is this action of the Magi that continues to instruct us to this day. The Magi remind us that our basic confession of faith is this: Jesus Christ is Lord. In other words: Jesus, the one sent to save mankind from sin and death, is the Christ, the One whom God has chosen, as Lord, Ruler, King. Jesus Christ is Lord. This is what the Magi’s visit announces and it is what troubled Herod so greatly.
But though Herod endeavored to destroy God’s plan, God rescued Jesus and in time made plain that Jesus was His Chosen King at Jesus’ baptism. The heavens were torn asunder and the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and God declared, “You are My Beloved Son! In you I am well pleased!” Jesus’ baptism announced the same thing as the Magi’s visit: Jesus Christ is Lord. Hence, Epiphany Sunday has been associated with Jesus’ baptism as well as the visit of the Magi.

Since Jesus is Lord, our responsibility is to renounce our allegiance to the kingdom of darkness and to pledge our allegiance to the kingdom of light. And as members of the kingdom of light, our further responsibility is to announce Jesus’ Lordship to all the world and summon men and women and children to worship and serve God’s King, Jesus. And even as the Magi came to Jesus, bowed before Him and worshiped Him, so we are called to gather in His Name, worshping Him. So this day, let us kneel before our King and confess our sins to him.

Christmas Does not Belong to your Family

December 25, 2013 in Bible - NT - Mark, Children, Christmas, Church Calendar, Church History, Ecclesiology, King Jesus, Worship
Mark 3:20–21, 31-35
Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when [Jesus’] own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”… Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
What is Christmas? It is the public celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. On this day we celebrate that the eternal Word of God, the only begotten Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity joined Himself to human nature and was not only conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary but was born of her and manifest among men. He was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger. He was proclaimed by angels and worshiped by shepherds.
Christmas is intended to be a joyful affair – thanksgiving for the gift of forgiveness and new life and light that God has given to men. The angels announced, Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. For the shepherds this was glorious news. They longed for the glory of God and so went and worshiped the Christ Child.
But for those who will not give glory first to God and only then to one another, Christmas is not an occasion for celebration. Christmas divides: the shepherds celebrate; Herod plots and plans. Christmas announces that there is a new King and that His Name is Jesus and that all men and nations are called to worship and serve Him. It announces that peace with God comes only through the sacrificial death of this King who reconciles us to God. It insists that goodwill is the fruit of His reign, the product of His Spirit at work in the lives and characters of men and women and children.
And so we read our text today: Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Jesus’ words often shock us. Who is your mother, Jesus? She is Mary – that woman who bore you in her womb, who carried you on her knee, who fed you at her breast. She is your mother! We remember her every Christmas; we have memorialized her in song, in statuary, in painting. We see her in our minds’ eye, bending over the manger, caring for the newborn child. Who is your mother? How can you ask such a question?
But Christmas cuts. Christmas divides. And at this time Mary, even Mary, appears to have been wavering in her loyalty to her son; his brothers, who did not yet believe in Him, were petitioning her to control him – “He’s gone too far, mom! We’ve got to protect the family name! Let us go speak with him.” And so Jesus asks, Who is My mother and who are My brothers?

You see there is a reason that it is profitable to have a Christmas service every year. Having a Christmas service reminds us that Christmas is not ours. Christmas does not belong to me; it does not belong to my family; it is not a nice family tradition. Christmas belongs to the Church, it belongs to the people of God, it belongs to the family of those who say, “Jesus is Lord!” Christmas summons us to consider our allegiance: Is Jesus your Lord or do you worship some other god? Christmas calls us to declare with the angels, Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.

Awake and Sing!

December 22, 2013 in Bible - OT - Isaiah, Christmas, Church Calendar, Eschatology, King Jesus, Meditations, Singing Psalms, Worship
Isaiah 51:9-11 (NKJV)
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. AreYou not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent? 10 Are You not the Onewho dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? 11 So the ransomed of the Lordshall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
In our passage today Isaiah calls upon the Lord to fulfill His promise to rescue His people Israel from exile; indeed, not only to rescue His people Israel but to rescue all the peoples of the earth. The nations that sat in darkness needed the light of God. And so Isaiah cries out to God to fulfill His promises, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord!”
Isaiah calls to the Lord’s mind His previous acts of deliverance and implores Him to act again. “Was it not You, Lord, who acted to destroy Egypt? Was it not You who dried up the Red Sea? Who made the depths of the sea a road for Israel to cross upon? Yes it was You, Lord, who did this.” So Isaiah calls upon this same Lord, the Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, Yahweh, the Creator of all men and nations, to fulfill His promises, “Awake! Awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.”
And this, brothers and sisters, is what we pray in Advent. During Advent we recall the cries of our fathers like Isaiah and issue cries of our own. We rejoice because God answered Isaiah’s cry by sending our Lord and Savior Jesus to rescue the world from sin and darkness. But we not only rejoice that God has fulfilled Isaiah’s prayer, we also lift up prayers of our own. For the Lord has yet to fulfill all His promises. He has yet to fill the earth with the knowledge of His name, yet to spread justice to all the ends of the earth, yet to bring history to a close in the return of Christ and the resurrection of the just and unjust. And so we are instructed by our Lord Jesus to cry out, “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” In other words, “Awake! Awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.”
One of the chief ways that we issue this cry is in our singing – we praise the Lord who has acted and beseech Him to act yet again. Note that Isaiah’s vision of God’s redemption in Jesus is filled with singing. “So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing.” Because God has answered Isaiah’s cry to “Awake!”, we ought to sing and praise the Lord, to come to Zion with singing. And even as Isaiah, remembering the Exodus from Egypt, remembering God’s past deliverance, petitioned the Lord to rescue Israel again, so we cry out in song for the full revelation of Christ’s kingdom.
So how ought we to sing? Isaiah models and instructs us. Note that his cry to God is filled with passion, conviction, entreaty, hunger, longing, joy, and delight. “Awake! Awake!” he cries. Then he describes our singing, So the ransomed of the Lordshall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. May God make it so and fill us with joy and peace in believing and in singing.

Reminded that we are yet in need of the Lord’s mercy, that the Lord has exhorted us to sing and pray for the full arrival of His Kingdom, let us confess that we are often complacent and do not cry out to the Lord to fulfill his promises.

Why Celebrate Christmas?

December 15, 2013 in Bible - OT - Esther, Christmas, Church Calendar, Church History, King Jesus, Meditations
Esther 9:20–23 (NKJV)
20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, 21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, 22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,
So why celebrate Christmas? The rationale is supplied by the passage before us in the book of Esther. About 2500 years ago God in His kindness delivered our fathers from the plotting of the wicked Haman. Though Haman was determined to slaughter our people, man, woman, and child, God rescued them from his machinations. God worked a marvelous deliverance – these were the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies… the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday. No more fear only delight and thanksgiving.
So what did our fathers and mothers do? They celebrated, of course – they feasted, thanked God, rejoiced in God’s goodness, shared presents with one another, and gave gifts to those in need even as they had been in need. Listen to the text again: Mordecai formalized the feast of Purimthat they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
And so let us argue from the lesser to the greater. If our fathers and mothers celebrated their deliverance from the plottings of wicked Haman, ought not we to celebrate the birth of Christ who through His mercy have been delivered from the plottings of Satan himself? Jesus took on human flesh and was born in order that he might fight against the Evil One and deliver us from his evil intent to destroy us and ensnare us in wickedness and deceit; to hang us from his gibbet. The birth of Christ is the arrival of our Deliverer.
So what ought we to do? Why celebrate, of course! We ought to feast, thank God, rejoice in God’s goodness, share presents with one another, and give gifts to those in need even as we all were in need. Had not Christ come to rescue and deliver us, we all would have perished miserably in our sins. We all would have continued in rebellion against God, hateful and hating one another. We would have continued to despise the Lord Most High, to disregard His law, to endure the burden of our sins and the shameful, degrading lusts that once dominated our lives. But now…but now, we are free! Free from sin! Free from the fear of death! Free to delight in God and obey His laws! Free to love and be loved! Free to rejoice!  So ought not we to celebrate?

Yet how often we take God’s gift of life through His Son Jesus for granted! And this is why we need reminders, why God in His kindness has given us the Lord’s Supper and why our fathers in their joy gave us the gift of Christmas – that we might ever have Christ before us and rejoice in His goodness toward us. And so reminded of our call to celebrate, rejoice, give thanks, and share, let us kneel and confess that we are often ungrateful.

Steady Plodding and Ordinary Time

October 28, 2013 in Bible - NT - Luke, Church Calendar, Church History, Liturgy, Meditations
Luke 13:18–19 (NKJV)
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
As 21st century Americans who profess the Christian faith, we can often be tempted to muddle our Christianity with our Americanness. This temptation to mistake our broader culture for Christian piety is not unique to us, but the particular ways in which our culture influences us are unique. One way our American culture affects our conception of Christianity is our love affair with that which is spontaneous or new or different. We tend to grow tired of, what we call, the “same old thing” and have a hankering for some new fad to bring life back into our Christian walk.
But what Jesus articulates for us in his parables of the kingdom is that the way the Holy Spirit works both in our individual lives and in the life of His Church is better pictured by the growth of a tree than the lighting of a sparkler. Sparklers, of course, are fun and exciting – they burn bright and shed their fire on all around them. But sparklers soon burn out while trees, planted and taking root, slowly grow over time; growing almost imperceptibly, soaking up the nutrients in the soil and increasingly displaying the glory of their Creator.
This steady, slow, natural growth is the way Christ typically works in the lives of His disciples. Normal Christian growth involves long periods of steady plodding – plodding that brings prosperity but plodding nonetheless. Steady plodding. Few sprints; mainly marathons. A long obedience in the same direction.
You may not know, but the last five months in the Church Year are called “ordinary time.” It is a time of year when there are no special feasts and celebrations; we’re in the time of the Spirit’s work in the Church. After the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, the Spirit began working in the Church, gradually transforming the people of God into the image of Christ. Hence the color of this period is green, a color of growth.
One thing that you may have noticed, if you’ve been here a while, is that for these last five months we have used the same greeting, the same words of confession, and the same version of the Creed. For five months. Why have we done this? There’s no biblical requirement that we do so. We could have changed them weekly, monthly, periodically – as we have done in the past. God has left these things to the wisdom of church officers. So why have we kept the Call to Worship, the Confession, and the Creed the same? To highlight that the course of our Christian lives is only occasionally interrupted by unusual acts and works of God. More typically God works in our lives through steady plodding, slow growth, gradual transformation – through what theologians have called the ordinary means of grace: the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Very soon we’re coming upon changes – moving to a new building, entering a new church year when Advent arrives and we’ll have a different Call to Worship, a different Confession, a different Creed. Before we change, I wanted to draw to your attention the fact that for these last five months these have been the same. Perhaps you noticed; perhaps you’ve wondered if this is ever going to change. And perhaps you’ve thought the same thing about periods in your own life and spiritual development. And the message of Jesus is that He is at work growing His kingdom and even growing you.

Reminded that Jesus’ work in our lives is often gradual, like the growth of a tree, we are alerted that often our hankering for something spontaneous or new or different is not an impulse of our Christian faith but our Americanness. And this reminds us that we need to confess our fickleness to the Lord and ask Him to enable us to practice a long obedience in the same direction. So let us kneel as we confess our sins together.

Ascension Sunday

June 10, 2011 in Bible - OT - Daniel, Church Calendar, King Jesus, Meditations

Daniel 7:13-14 (NKJV)
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

Today is Ascension Sunday. On this day we celebrate the moment when our Lord Jesus Christ, having taught the disciples for 40 days following his resurrection, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Ascension Day was actually last Thursday – 40 days since Easter. However, we haven’t yet reached the point of celebrating Ascension Day during the week and so celebrate it on the Sunday following.

But why celebrate this event? What’s so important about the Ascension? Daniel answers these questions for us. In chapter 7 Daniel has a vision of various animals who would rule the kingdoms of the earth in the years and centuries to come. He sees Babylon as a lion with eagle’s wings; then comes Medo-Persia, a bear with three ribs in its mouth; next comes Alexander the Great and Macedonia symbolized by the speed and agility of a leopard with four wings; finally comes Rome, a great beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, having iron teeth with which it devoured all other kingdoms.

As Daniel was meditating on these visions and wondering what they might mean – for from his vantage point in history he didn’t know what we know of the rise of these kingdoms – as he was wondering what this might mean, something even more startling happened. Suddenly a Son of Man, a Son of Adam, appeared – not a beast but a man. And this Son of Man came up to the Ancient of Days, the Ruler and Judge of all, the one who raises up one kingdom and puts down another. Note that the Son of Man is not here coming down to earth but up to the Ancient of Days – this is not a reference to the Second Coming, in other words, but to the Ascension. The Son of Man came up to the Ancient of Days and what happened? The Ancient of Days gave the Son of Man dominion, glory, and a kingdom – in other words, He made the Son of Man King, Ruler.

And here’s the question: Ruler over what? Over just the land of Israel? Over just the people of God? No. Ruler over all the nations of the earth – listen to Daniel: “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.” The dominion that the animal kingdoms had for a time exercised over the earth is replaced with the rule of the Son of Adam. In the Ascension Jesus enters upon His duties as the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He begins to reign from the right hand of God and the first thing He does, on the day of Pentecost, is pour out His Spirit upon His people to enable them to carry the message of His reign throughout the earth.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus reigns, let the earth be glad! Jesus reigns, let the nations rejoice! The rule of the beasts of the earth, the governmental principle that might makes right, has come to an end to be replaced by the rule of the Son of Adam and the exaltation of justice. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

Reminded that Jesus is Lord of all, Ruler of all, and that it is Him that all men, nations, and languages are to serve, that it is Him we are to proclaim as King of kings and Lord of lords, let us confess that our nation refuses to honor Him and that we Christians frequently fail to bear witness to Him. Let us kneel as we confess.