0962. Reigning

Reigning

"He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness * *; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Act_17:31)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the vindication of everything that Jesus Christ claimed. Of these claims we shall speak of but three.

1. The resurrection is the vindication of the Deity of Christ. When our Lord was upon earth, He set forth claims that astounded both the scribe and the Pharisee. He made Himself "equal with God." He said, "I am the Son of God." He wrought many mighty works which approved His claims.

When the Jews, full of bitterness, sought from Christ some sign which might establish His claim, Christ responded, "There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonah, for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Thus, when Jesus Christ came forth from the grave, He fulfilled His self-imposed test to Deity and was acclaimed once and forever "very God, of very God."

2. The resurrection was the verification of Christ's reign on the Davidic throne. In the Word of God we read the prophecy of Isaiah: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice" (Isa_9:6-7).

This promise which God made through Isaiah, and which was reiterated by many prophets, and re-emphasized by the Angel Gabriel unto Mary, was verified by the resurrection of Christ.

When Peter was preaching on the Day of Pentecost, he attested this fact. He said:

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses" (Act_2:29-32).

The quotation above is lengthy, but very vital.

When Abraham was about to slay his son, his faith never wavered. He accounted that God was able to raise him up. In fact, Abraham knew that God must raise Isaac up should he be slain, because in Isaac and in his seed Christ, Abraham saw the fulfillment of everything God had pledged and promised.

When David prophesied the death of Jesus Christ, he knew that Jesus Christ must rise from the dead. He knew this because God has given him the distinct promise that from the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he should raise up Christ to sit on his throne. Therefore, David, in the Holy Ghost, spake of the resurrection of Christ. He knew that the soul of Christ could not be left in hades; he knew that His flesh could not see corruption; he knew that God must raise Christ from the dead–and that resurrection is abundant proof of the coming reign of Christ upon the throne of David.

The Apostle Paul, in the Holy Ghost, gives a final and conclusive proof that the resurrection is the verification of God's oath concerning the Davidic throne. Paul said:

"Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Act_17:31).

Can any one desire a greater assurance of the coming reign of Christ in the inhabited earth, than that which is given by the resurrection of Christ? The very fact that the Lord is risen indeed assures His Second Coming and His reign on the throne of David.

3. The vindication of the age-to-come blessings. When the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1 speaks of the resurrection of Christ, He speaks of it in connection with the riches of the glory of the inheritance of the saints. This inheritance is assuranced in the resurrection of Christ. Study Eph_1:18-20.

In the 2d chapter of Ephesians, after we are described as having been raised together and made to sit with Christ in the Heavenlies; then, we have thrown before us upon the screen of unrevealed glories and age-to-come blessings, this wonderful promise, "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." All of these riches of grace are made sure to us by the resurrection of Christ.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR