INTRODUCTION
The belief that Jesus is King is widely considered to be a basic teaching of the New Testament (NT). The traditional understanding is that after Jesus’ resurrection “all authority in heaven and on earth” was given to him (Matthew 28:18), and upon his ascension to heaven he took his seat on the throne and now rules as king over heaven and earth.
But if he really is ruling the earth then it is a strange sort of rule, since conflicts, strife, wars, and endless manner of injustice and oppression have characterized life on earth almost continuously since his “rule” began. As a matter of fact, did Jesus not prophesy that those conditions would in fact be the case?
3 “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs…” Matthew 24:3-8.
It is remarkable that neither the Apostle’s Creed nor the Nicene Creed nor the Athanasian Creed mentions that Jesus is King. The Apostle’s Creed states only that he now “…sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty”, and implies that he will function as a king in the future when “…he will come to judge the living and the dead”. Mark Saucy has noted that “…Christ is seldom or never portrayed as king in the art of the pre-Constantinian Christian Church.” (Mark R. Saucy, Exaltation Christology in Hebrews: What Kind of Reign?, Trinity Journal, 14:1 (Spring 1993), p. 41-62). That implies that it was the shift from persecuted church to triumphant church and the rise of Christendom with a “Christian” Emperor that necessitated a new emphasis on Christ as reigning now.
So where, when and how does he exercise his kingship? Does he rule in heaven or on earth? Does he rule both heaven and earth, but from a heavenly throne? How is his reign manifested? How is it observable? Does his reign have a starting point in history? When did Jesus receive his kingship and his kingdom? Are there several stages of his kingship, reflecting the “already/not yet” eschatology so strongly implied by the NT scriptures?
This series of four posts looks at these and related questions using the two principal Reformed Doctrinal Standards – the Belgic Confession (BC) and the Heidelberg Catechism (HC) – as starting points. The approach is to first list the key statements in the BC and HC that appear relevant to the issue of Jesus as King, including the cited scripture texts, then provide quotations of the cited texts followed by a discussion of what the texts do and do not state and how they support (or not) the confessional statements. The final post includes a summary of the main points.
The critiques on this blog of statements and claims in the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism are NOT directed primarily at the original authors of those documents. I believe that the original authors did their best to summarize the main Christian doctrines, based on their concerns and priorities, the extent of their knowledge, and the theological assumptions and paradigms of their time and place. What I am critiquing is the apparent failure of today’s Reformed community to review, update, revise and reform these documents to reflect the current state of knowledge in the various fields of Biblical studies (see also the ABOUT ASKING QUESTIONS page).
PART 3 – THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM (HC) (continued)
Q&A 32. WHY ARE YOU CALLED A CHRISTIAN?
Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in his anointing 2, so that I may:
• as prophet confess his name,
• as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him,
• and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life 5, and hereafter reign with him eternally over all creatures.6
Note 2. Joel 2:28 (Acts 2:17); 1 Jn 2:27.
Note 5. Gal 5:16, 17; Eph 6:11; 1 Tim 1:18, 19.
Note 6. Mt 25:34; 2 Tim 2:12.
To keep the discussion manageable only the statements and text citations considered relevant to the matter of Jesus as King are quoted. Scripture quotations are from the NASB unless otherwise noted. The texts cited in the HC Q&A are quoted in bold font; adjacent verses are included (in plain font) where relevant to help establish the context.
=======================================
Note 2 Scriptures:
Joel 2:28 It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.
Acts 1:5 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”….
Acts 2:17 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words….. 16 …..this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
……. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear…
1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie,and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
———————————————————
Discussion of Note 2 Scriptures
All three cited texts describe the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus poured out on those who called upon his name. Thus Jesus, after his exaltation, and having subsequently been given the Holy Spirit by the Father, then pours the Spirit out directly upon his followers. In Acts 1:5, Jesus says that he will baptize his disciples with the Holy Spirit; he does not say that he will share or transmit the Spirit via his own anointing. As Jesus in Luke 3 receives the Holy Spirit directly from the Father, so – after completing his earthly work and ascending to the Father – he receives from Him the authority to send the Spirit directly onto his disciples.
The effects of the Acts 2 anointing or Spirit baptism is to experience/manifest prophetic visions and utterances (Joel/Acts), and inspired insight into the Scriptures (1 John). Those effects are not described as being mediated through or by Jesus, but by the direct working of the Spirit in the believer. There is no reference in any of the cited Scriptures to priestly or kingly gifts, ministries or empowerments .
=======================================
Note 5 Scriptures:
Galatians 5:16-17 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Ephesians 6:11 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore,take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
1 Timothy 1:18-19 18 This command I entrust to you,Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.
———————————————————
Discussion of Note 5 Scriptures
The three cited scriptures deal with resisting sin and the devil, but no connection is made with kingship either explicitly or implicitly. Rather this activity is simply what is expected of any disciple. Note that the cited texts make reference to the Holy Spirit’s power, the armor of God (picturing the believer as a soldier rather than a king) and prophecies made not by Timothy but by a third party for Timothy’s benefit.
The doctrine that all disciples share in the Messiah’s anointing and therefore function in someway as prophet, priest and king is not supported by the cited texts. To my knowledge Scripture does not explicitly teach that doctrine. What Scripture does clearly teach is that Christ is the Head of the church, that believers collectively are His body and individually are members of that body, and that each member receives differing gifts and graces by means of the baptism or anointing of the Holy Spirit acting directly in and on the believer. The several lists of such gifts in Scripture include prophecy and abilities typical of the prophetic, but not priestly or kingly functions.
The basic argument of the HC here seems overstated: surely to confess his name, to present oneself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him, and to fight against sin and the devil are activities characteristic of all believers empowered by the Holy Spirit within them. There is no necessity to invoke any supposed prophetic, priestly or kingly anointing derived from Christ. Why does the HC do so? Is it a result of giving priority to its systematic theology rather than the text of Scripture?
=======================================
Note 6 Scriptures:
Matthew 25:34 31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’….. 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when…?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
2 Timothy 2:12 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal;but the word of God is not imprisoned.10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. 11 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
———————————————————
Discussion of Note 6 Scriptures
The cited scriptures clearly support the teaching that we will reign with Jesus in the age to come. This is not a matter of dispute, as all relevant texts agree on this key doctrine. It is obvious (but unstated in the HC) that before we can reign with him, Jesus must himself first enter into his reign. Note that the cited texts and their contexts illustrate this doctrine as clarified further below.
-
- Matthew 25:31–34: 31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. …34 “Then the King will say….
Jesus will not sit on his own throne – which according to Luke 1:32 is the throne of David – until he comes again to earth. Then he will finally enter fully into his kingship. This is emphasized in Matthew 25:34 where he is called “the King” – i.e. Jesus comes from heaven as “the Son of Man”, but after he has taken his seat on his throne, only then is he designated “the King”.
The same wording occurs in Matthew 19 where Jesus explains that he will take his place upon his throne as part of the “regeneration” or “rebirth” of Israel, and he further promises the twelve disciples that they will then share in his kingly rule over Israel – specifically over each of the twelve tribes:
-
- Matthew 19:28: 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The scriptural basis for Jesus’s statement in Matthew 19 likely was Psalm 122 which refers to the thrones of the house of David:
Psalm 122:5 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord – An ordinance for Israel
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
The Matthew 19 and Psalm 122 passages are strongly linked not only by the common theme of a restored throne and house of David, but also by the common words “tribes”, “Israel”, “thrones”, and “judging/judgment”. The eschatologically orientation of Psalm 122 has been ably argued by David Mitchell, who has shown that not only Psalm 122 but the entire group of the Psalms of Ascent presents a picture of a restored Israel going up to celebrate the Feast of Sukkoth in the days of the Messiah (David C. Mitchell, The Message of the Psalter, JSOT Supp. 252, 1997, pp. 114 – 127).
Note that the 2 Timothy 12 passage emphasizes that Jesus is the descendant of David which implies that he inherits David’s throne – thus the reign in which we are to share will be based on his reign on the throne of the King of Israel. Note also that the the precondition for reigning with Him is that of “enduring” and “not denying” – typical perhaps of what it means to live as a disciple in this age, or even acting as a prophet, but hardly characteristic of being a king.
One of the key aspects which the HC fails to recognize is that the scriptures identify two thrones: the throne of Jesus the Messiah the Son of David which (as demonstrated above) is on earth, and the Father’s throne, which is in heaven:
-
- Ps 103:19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.
That the Father and the Son each have their own throne is demonstrated in Revelation 3:21:
-
- Rev 3:21 21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Pro Sola Scriptura