For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth...Eph 5:9
Winter 2001 Volume 2, Issue 1 |
Inauguration or Coronation? |
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On January 20th of this year, George W. Bush will be officially inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States. No doubt, the event will be covered by every major television network and will be the feature of every newspaper. Yet an even more important event in the life of every human being took place two thousand years ago; the coronation of the King! Unfortunately, however, many fail to see the significance of the kingdom of God and what it means for their lives. Indeed, when it comes to their spiritual lives, many continue to prefer inaugurating a president instead of coronating the king. God Made Jesus King When asked by Pilate if Jesus was a king, He responded, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world..." (John 18:37). In the preceding verse, Jesus had already affirmed, "My kingdom is not of this world...". In a kingdom, all authority resides in the king. Such is the case in Jesus as He declared in Matthew 28:18, "All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Furthermore, the Bible tells us that all things are under His command ( Eph 1:21-23). We Must Make Jesus King Of Our Lives Man has always sought out leadership and continues to do so even now. Sadly, many have rejected the leadership of God and have turned to leaders who would guide man down the path of destruction. Jesus declared in Matthew 15:4, "...if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Since Jesus has been made king by God, then we have an obligation to make Him king of our lives. We make Jesus king of our lives by becoming obedient to His Word. Paul wrote in Romans 6:16-18, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." That "form of |
doctrine" which makes us servants of the King is His law; ie. the Gospel. It is upon obedience to the Gospel that we become citizens of that heavenly kingdom. We Must Serve Jesus As Our King A president, after being chosen by the people, is inaugurated to serve the citizens of the country. A king, however, is crowned by rite of birth, and the people serve Him. Being God’s only begotten son (Acts 13:33), Jesus is the king of that heavenly kingdom who is to be served by all mankind. Hebrews 5:9 plainly declares, "he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Yet there are many who refuse to submit themselves under the rule of Jesus. Instead, they inaugurate their ministers, their creeds and manuals, and their conventions and councils to carry out their own will. Paul declared that those who would do such, "serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Rom 16:18). Additionally, those who would promote the philosophy of a "social gospel" would have the church serve man rather than the church serving the Master. Jesus said in Matthew 10:24, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." The citizens of the kingdom of heaven must submit to the laws and rule of the king; Jesus our Lord.
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