King

I was what they call "raised in church," but it took me a long time to realize who Jesus was.

I mean, like any children's pastor's kid, I knew that Jesus was "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), but I think that throughout my childhood, I had only a vague understanding of what that meant. As a third-grader, even a highly-churched one, I really only understood Jesus as the Savior...which is, of course, a foundational truth. I didn't really get it yet that Jesus' main objective was not rescuing us, at the last moment, from the grasp of that big mean monster, the devil (who actually does not have authority to put people in hell...or really any authority at all). He actually had a much bigger plan than that.

Jesus' mission--as He stated Himself--was to simply do what He saw His Father doing and bring heaven to earth. His assignment was to lay aside this sin nonsense so we could be reconciled to Him, and then to call us into the real business: restoring the world to a beautiful, heavenly order.

For a long time, I only really saw Jesus on the cross. It has only been over the past few years that I have begun to look into the empty tomb. Yes, He died; but He didn't stay dead. He rose again. And not only did He rise, He brought us back to life with Him. He is no longer a suffering servant; He is a powerful king.

We in the Church should no longer be third-graders worried only about "getting saved." Yes, that's important, but it's only the beginning. We should move into greater maturity and adopt a kingdom mindset. But in order to do that, we have to catch a revelation of who the King really is.

If you're struggling to understand the identity of Jesus, just read about Him in His own words as He addresses the churches in the book of Revelation (chapters 2 and 3). In the letters that He dictated to John, He introduces Himself in these ways:

 Fear not, I am the first and the last....
I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades....
...him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands...
...the first and the last, who died and came to life....
...him who has the sharp two-edged sword....
...the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze....
....him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars....
....the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...
....the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation....

Now, I don't know very much about the stars thing, and there's a lot of theological discussion about the lampstands and whatnot, but all I have to say is, if somebody is holding a star--not to mention seven--in his right hand, he's probably a pretty powerful guy. And the inferno eyes alone would intimidate anyone, even without the two-edged sword. And don't forget all the keys. What with the stars and such, He must be very good at holding many things at once. But, you know, the Bible does say that "in him all things hold together."

In fact, let's just look at that passage, too.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.--Colossians 1:15-19

I think that pretty much sums up the totality of Jesus' authority. If it is not visible or invisible, He didn't make it. If it was not on heaven or earth, then it has not been reconciled to Him through Him.

Yes, if you are a believer in the gospel today, this guy saved you. But He did so much more than that. He bought back your sonship or daughtership, and He is now in authority over everything in your life--and that means everything. Unless your problems, storms, pain, sin, or failure are neither visible nor invisible, He is Lord over them.

Not only is He Lord over your life, He loves you with a fire that cannot be tamed. He doesn't use the two-edged sword to kill you, but rather to protect you. He opens doors that no man can shut, and He shuts doors that no one can open, in order to make the path clear for YOU. AND, not only that, but He shares His authority with you. What other king does that?

Jesus is not running around putting out the devil's fires. He is actually seated at the right hand of God, completely obliterating the devil with one breath of his mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). I like to think the breath comes from His laughter, so in love and in joy He is to have married us, the Church, His bride.