Philippians 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Because Jesus was obedient to death, even the death of the cross, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name so that all would bow down to Him and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is the reigning monarch of all the created order. And the New Testament is not shy about letting us know what some of the ramifications of that are in the lives of those who claim to know Him.
Romans 15:30 – I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf
Do we not need to get a grip on this? Here Paul says, “On behalf of the supreme ruling monarch of the whole universe I appeal to you to get together and to pray for me”. Jesus the KING says “get together and pray.” Unless of course you’re too busy, or it’s inconvenient, or you just don’t feel comfortable praying, or you don’t like those people that much…”. What reasons do we give standing before the Ruler of the universe for not praying with others?
1 Cor. 1:10 – I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
The ruling King of the universe says “Be united”. Do we treat this as the incontestable will of the King with whom there is no appeal, no argument against it? Isn’t it much easier to blame others, see their sins as big and ours as small, talk about them behind their backs? It’s not a big deal is it? Depends on who it is that says “be united”. Oh, right. The One who causes the world to continue turning.
1 Cor. 5:4-5 – When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, [5] you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Oh my. The church is told that they are to act on behalf of the ruling king of all when they deal with unrepentant sin in the church. Do we avoid doing this because of the trouble it will cause, or because it is hard, or because it will make us unpopular, cause unwanted ripple effects through the church, stir up a mess of opposition? We are called to assemble in the name of the reigning sovereign of all that exists to deal with sin in the church.
1 Cor. 6:13-14 – “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. [14] And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
You can either use your body to satisfy your temporal, sinful sexual appetites OR you can live as an obedient subject of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But it’s just a little porn, just a movie, just a fling. Dear ones – it is rebellion against your King. It is treason. And we must use everything that our King has lovingly provided to triumph over it.
1 Cor. 7:39 – A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
There we go. Marry In the Lord. Marry a subject of the king. To do otherwise is to court disaster because there will be two kings over the house – and no household can serve two masters.
Eph. 5:10 – and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Get into the Word and in fellowship with others and pray and find out what the uncontestable Ruler of absolutely everything desires. What kind of hubris is it that can claim to know this King and not spend time hearing, studying and doing what He desires? We make a democracy of everything don’t we? This may be the will of the sovereign of all, but hey, somebody might laugh at me.
Eph. 5:17 – Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Understand whose will?
Eph. 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Dad – show the kids who is in charge – King Jesus. Not you. Every rule, every command, every act of discipline is to be carried out upon your children as a subject of the reigning king of all creation. At this point, it is time for the pastor to offer a public apology to his kids – and maybe some other dads should do the same.
There are more. Many more. But the point of the exercise is this. These directives come from He whose will is supreme, who rules as indisputable Ruler over all. Is that how we regard them? Is that what we think of when we come across a command that we do not like or have not obeyed? Sin is treason against the King. And there are too many believers who have Jesus in their pockets like a good luck charm, or their buddy and forget that He just doesn’t fit in there.
A little more on this the next time.
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