Jesus: Always the Same

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to preach on the last Sunday of 2015. While I was thinking and praying about what God would have me preach, I started to think about how so much has changed in 2015, which sometimes makes me worry about 2016. That got me to thinking that so much changes in this world all the time, and so what I really need--what we all really need--is something stable on which we can stand and place our hope. We need an anchor in an ever-changing world so we can rest. That led me to preach from He. 13:1-9 because there in v. 8 we are given one of the most profound and central statements in Scripture: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." I needed to hear that as one year ended and another began, so perhaps you do too. If you would like to listen to the sermon, you can here, or you can read the transcript here.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to magnify Christ in your heart and mind to the glory of God.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Solus Christus: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent. Last Sunday we began to look directly at the Christmas story itself, and we read from Mt. 1:18-25 and Lk. 2:1-7. For today’s Advent devotion we’re going to continue to look at the Christmas story itself:

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Mt. 2:1-12)

Before we move on to the second reading for today, I’d like to talk about this one a little. R. C. Sproul once wrote:

In the tiny land of Palestine, two kings were alive at the same time and at the same place. One of the kings was about seventy years old; the other king was an infant. The big king was evil; the little king was pure. The big king was rich and powerful; the little king was stricken by poverty. The big king lived in an opulent palace; the little king lived in a stable. The little king’s mother was a peasant girl; His adopted father was a carpenter. (Christ in Christmas)

Of course, the “big king” to whom Sproul refers is Herod. He was the king of Judea at the time of Christ’s birth, yet he was only that because Rome had made him so. He didn’t deserve to sit on that throne, the “little king” did. That’s why Herod was troubled by the Magis’ revelation that the prophesied King of the Jews had been born—he knew in his heart that he did not deserve the throne. As the story above goes on to say, when the Magi never returned to Herod, he went on a rampage killing all the infant boys in Bethlehem. We know, however, that the “big king” didn’t succeed in defeating the “little king.” In fact, if it weren’t for the story of the “little king,” the “big king” would’ve disappeared from history altogether. No one except perhaps a handful of historians would have ever heard the name “Herod” if it weren’t for this story of the “little king” recorded in Scripture. This story reminds us that even the most powerful men in the world can’t stop the plan of God. Herod had the power to slaughter hundreds of children on a whim, yet he couldn’t stop the plan of God. He couldn’t stop the “little king.” Nothing can.

Our next reading for today is from Lk. 2:8-20:

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 

How should we celebrate Advent and Christmas? Well, from the story of the shepherds we can learn a few things. First, the angels only proclaimed the good news to the shepherds. This is remarkable considering the reputation of shepherds during this time. They were a despised cast of people in society and so mistrusted that their testimony was not admissible in legal proceedings. Yet, the angels went to them to declare the birth of the Messiah. They didn’t go to the rich of Bethlehem or even King Herod. They went to the shepherds. A modern equivalent might be the angels going to the homeless of a big city and using them as witnesses to the most affluent of that city. As we saw last Sunday, God breaks the molds of this world in many ways with the advent of Jesus, and this is yet another example. Second, the shepherds became bold witnesses for Jesus. They knew their reputation in society but they didn’t care. They knew the people needed to hear the good news, and they were going to tell them, even if no one listened or believed them. I doubt you and I are as mistrusted in society as shepherds were at the time of Christ, so why aren’t we as bold in sharing the good news as they? Third and finally, the shepherds glorified and praised God for what they’d seen. They not only shared the news with others, they praised God for it. We should praise God for sending Jesus every day, but Christmas and Advent should especially remind us that He is worthy of our praise for He sent Jesus to become poor so we, by His poverty, might become rich.

Today, let Advent remind you of God’s sovereign, unstoppable plan of redemption. He’s still working that plan and no king, president, dictator, or nation can stop it. He’s also working a plan in your life and nothing, not even your gross disobedience or detrimental mistakes, can stop His sovereign work in your life. Also remember that good news which Christmas proclaims if worthy of sharing and praise. Tell your friends what Jesus has done for you and praise God for His work in you right in front of them. Let them see your worship and show them the glory of our Lord and Savior in it. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Covenant of Kingdom

The next covenant at which we need to look for this week of Advent is the covenant God made with King David: the so-called “Davidic covenant” or, as some call it, the “covenant of kingdom.” We can read about this covenant in 2 Sa. 7:12-17, 1 Chr. 17:7-14, and Ps. 89, but since the Samuel and Chronicles passages are parallel passages and Ps. 89 is a little long for a devotion, we will use Chronicles as our meditation for this day of Advent:

³ But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan….
⁷ “Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, ⁸ and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, ¹⁰ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’”

In this covenant God promises to establish David’s throne forever, which would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ (cf. Lk. 1:32). This covenant, like the others, does not annul any of God’s previous covenants but rather builds on them and reveals more about the covenant of grace. Each of the kings that followed David would be judged according to the covenant of law, and when the kings or the people broke the law, judgment came (eventually culminating in the Babylonian Exile). Yet, the covenant of kingdom isn’t merely regulated by the covenant of law, but is also based upon God’s covenantal refrain (like the previous covenants). Ezekiel discusses God’s covenant with David in terms of the covenantal refrain: “And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.” Here, as a covenantal representative, David substitutes for the people of God. He belongs to the Lord; so all the people belong to the Lord. They will be His people, and He will be their God. Furthermore, God’s promised fellowship with His people finds even greater fulfillment in the glorious, permanent dwelling of the Temple (cf. 1 Kgs 6; 2 Chr. 7). So, like the previous covenants, the covenant of kingdom doesn’t replace the others but supplements and builds upon the previous covenants. In doing so, it also reveals a little more about the Messiah: He would be an eternal King who sits on the throne of David. And, a thousand years after God made this covenant, the angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus fulfills it:

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk. 1:26-33)

It’s Jesus’ kingship (as fulfillment of this part of the covenant of grace) that makes our salvation possible, as Paul tells us in Colossians:

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)

Jesus is King—King of this universe and King of believer’s lives—because He sits on the eternal throne in the eternal kingdom promised to David in the covenant of kingdom. Believers are now citizens of this eternal kingdom and in it we find redemption and the forgiveness of sins from its King.

On this day of Advent remember that you might be a citizen of the United States of America or another earthly country, but if you belong to Jesus, you are first and foremost a citizen of His kingdom, in which there is salvation and of which there will be no end! America, Britain, Russia, and all the other countries of this world will fall, but Jesus’ kingdom is eternal. Thank God for qualifying you and transferring you to Christ’s eternal kingdom so you can have redemption and the forgiveness of sins (cf. Col. 1:12-14). Remember that Jesus—the eternal King who sits on David’s throne—is King of this universe and your life. Remember that because He is the eternal King, you can know that there are no ultimate terrors or surprises in this universe for He controls it all. You can also know that your life has no ultimate terrors. We live, work, and even die under Christ’s kingship. As our eternal King there is nothing that can befall us, which isn’t under Jesus’ complete control. Praise Him as your King and rest in His kingly sovereignty.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Throughout this past week we’ve been looking at the story of redemption and the offices and attributes of our Redeemer. We started in the beginning with creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the first promise of redemption in Ge. 3:15. Then we looked at how God prophesied that His Messiah would be a prophet, a priest, and a righteous judge. In today’s devotion, we’ll see that He is also our King—the King God promised to David that would rule on an everlasting throne:

⁷ “Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel... ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” (1 Chr. 17:7, 11-14)
²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk. 1:26-33)

God promised David that one of his offspring would be the King whose throne would be “established forever.” Then, a thousand years later, the angel Gabriel told Mary that her son—the “Son of the Most High”—is that eternal King God had promised to David. This King, however, is unlike any other king this world has ever known. In fact, He’s so different that the Magi (the Wise Men) almost missed Him. When they followed the Bethlehem star in order to find the king of the Jews and worship Him, they went looking in Herod’s castle expecting to find a king like all other earthly kings. Jesus’ kingship, however, goes far beyond any earthly idea of king in two very important ways. Let’s read what Paul says about His kingship in Col. 1:9-17:

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

This is obviously a theologically dense passage whose depth we cannot exhaust at this time (here is my sermon on it if you want a more detailed explanation), but in it Paul shows us that Jesus the universal King (vv. 15-17) and our personal King (vv. 9-14). In those two ways His kinship goes far beyond any earthly idea of king. His universal kingship is absolute; you can’t not be under it. He’s the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, so everything in it is in Him, through Him, and for Him, and He controls it all with absolute authority. His personal kingship, however, is over those whom God has “qualified” (the good news of the gospel!) through the work of redemption that He accomplished in Jesus. Did you hear that? God qualifies us—those who have faith in Jesus—through Jesus’ work. We don’t qualify ourselves. We can’t work to qualify ourselves. We don’t come under Jesus’ personal kingship by anything other than God’s unmerited gift of grace.

On this day of Advent, remember that the universal King became poor and was born in a stable, so that He could accomplish redemption and forgiveness of sins and bring those who repent and believe under His personal kingship. Remember that the King of the universe—the Son of God in whom “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” —became a lowly, frail, fragile human like you and me. Remember that He lived in this world with all its pains and miseries, and He went to the cross to die for the sins of His people. What other king would ever do anything like that? Could ever imagine an earthly king doing anything like that for his people? No, and that’s because Jesus is a very different kind of king. You won’t find this kind of king in a castle ruling an earthly empire. He’s ruling and upholding the universe itself, and He lives the hearts of His people through the Holy Spirit.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent. Last Sunday we began to look directly at the Christmas story itself, and we read from Mt. 1:18-25 and Lk. 2:1-7. For today’s Advent devotion we’re going to continue to look at the Christmas story itself:

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Mt. 2:1-12)

Before we move on to the second reading for today, I’d like to talk about this one a little. R. C. Sproul once wrote:

In the tiny land of Palestine, two kings were alive at the same time and at the same place. One of the kings was about seventy years old; the other king was an infant. The big king was evil; the little king was pure. The big king was rich and powerful; the little king was stricken by poverty. The big king lived in an opulent palace; the little king lived in a stable. The little king’s mother was a peasant girl; His adopted father was a carpenter. (Christ in Christmas)

Of course, the “big king” to whom Sproul refers is Herod. He was the king of Judea at the time of Christ’s birth, yet he was only that because Rome had made him so. He didn’t deserve to sit on that throne, the “little king” did. That’s why Herod was troubled by the Magis’ revelation that the prophesied King of the Jews had been born—he knew in his heart that he did not deserve the throne. As the story above goes on to say, when the Magi never returned to Herod, he went on a rampage killing all the infant boys in Bethlehem. We know, however, that the “big king” didn’t succeed in defeating the “little king.” In fact, if it weren’t for the story of the “little king,” the “big king” would’ve disappeared from history altogether. No one except perhaps a handful of historians would have ever heard the name “Herod” if it weren’t for this story of the “little king” recorded in Scripture. This story reminds us that even the most powerful men in the world can’t stop the plan of God. Herod had the power to slaughter hundreds of children on a whim, yet he couldn’t stop the plan of God. He couldn’t stop the “little king.” Nothing can.

Our next reading for today is from Lk. 2:8-20:

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 

How should we celebrate Advent and Christmas? Well, from the story of the shepherds we can learn a few things. First, the angels only proclaimed the good news to the shepherds. This is remarkable considering the reputation of shepherds during this time. They were a despised cast of people in society and so mistrusted that their testimony was not admissible in legal proceedings. Yet, the angels went to them to declare the birth of the Messiah. They didn’t go to the rich of Bethlehem or even King Herod. They went to the shepherds. A modern equivalent might be the angels going to the homeless of a big city and using them as witnesses to the most affluent of that city. As we saw last Sunday, God breaks the molds of this world in many ways with the advent of Jesus, and this is yet another example. Second, the shepherds became bold witnesses for Jesus. They knew their reputation in society but they didn’t care. They knew the people needed to hear the good news, and they were going to tell them, even if no one listened or believed them. I doubt you and I are as mistrusted in society as shepherds were at the time of Christ, so why aren’t we as bold in sharing the good news as they? Third and finally, the shepherds glorified and praised God for what they’d seen. They not only shared the news with others, they praised God for it. We should praise God for sending Jesus every day, but Christmas and Advent should especially remind us that He is worthy of our praise for He sent Jesus to become poor so we, by His poverty, might become rich.

Today, let Advent remind you of God’s sovereign, unstoppable plan of redemption. He’s still working that plan and no king, president, dictator, or nation can stop it. He’s also working a plan in your life and nothing, not even your gross disobedience or detrimental mistakes, can stop His sovereign work in your life. Also remember that good news which Christmas proclaims if worthy of sharing and praise. Tell your friends what Jesus has done for you and praise God for His work in you right in front of them. Let them see your worship and show them the glory of our Lord and Savior in it. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Covenant of Kingdom

The next covenant at which we need to look for this week of Advent is the covenant God made with King David: the so-called “Davidic covenant” or, as some call it, the “covenant of kingdom.” We can read about this covenant in 2 Sa. 7:12-17, 1 Chr. 17:7-14, and Ps. 89, but since the Samuel and Chronicles passages are parallel passages and Ps. 89 is a little long for a devotion, we will use Chronicles as our meditation for this day of Advent:

³ But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan….
⁷ “Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, ⁸ and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, ¹⁰ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’”

In this covenant God promises to establish David’s throne forever, which would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ (cf. Lk. 1:32). This covenant, like the others, does not annul any of God’s previous covenants but rather builds on them and reveals more about the covenant of grace. Each of the kings that followed David would be judged according to the covenant of law, and when the kings or the people broke the law, judgment came (eventually culminating in the Babylonian Exile). Yet, the covenant of kingdom isn’t merely regulated by the covenant of law, but is also based upon God’s covenantal refrain (like the previous covenants). Ezekiel discusses God’s covenant with David in terms of the covenantal refrain: “And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.” Here, as a covenantal representative, David substitutes for the people of God. He belongs to the Lord; so all the people belong to the Lord. They will be His people, and He will be their God. Furthermore, God’s promised fellowship with His people finds even greater fulfillment in the glorious, permanent dwelling of the Temple (cf. 1 Kgs 6; 2 Chr. 7). So, like the previous covenants, the covenant of kingdom doesn’t replace the others but supplements and builds upon the previous covenants. In doing so, it also reveals a little more about the Messiah: He would be an eternal King who sits on the throne of David. And, a thousand years after God made this covenant, the angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus fulfills it:

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk. 1:26-33)

It’s Jesus’ kingship (as fulfillment of this part of the covenant of grace) that makes our salvation possible, as Paul tells us in Colossians:

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)

Jesus is King—King of this universe and King of believer’s lives—because He sits on the eternal throne in the eternal kingdom promised to David in the covenant of kingdom. Believers are now citizens of this eternal kingdom and in it we find redemption and the forgiveness of sins from its King.

On this day of Advent remember that you might be a citizen of the United States of America or another earthly country, but if you belong to Jesus, you are first and foremost a citizen of His kingdom, in which there is salvation and of which there will be no end! America, Britain, Russia, and all the other countries of this world will fall, but Jesus’ kingdom is eternal. Thank God for qualifying you and transferring you to Christ’s eternal kingdom so you can have redemption and the forgiveness of sins (cf. Col. 1:12-14). Remember that Jesus—the eternal King who sits on David’s throne—is King of this universe and your life. Remember that because He is the eternal King, you can know that there are no ultimate terrors or surprises in this universe for He controls it all. You can also know that your life has no ultimate terrors. We live, work, and even die under Christ’s kingship. As our eternal King there is nothing that can befall us, which isn’t under Jesus’ complete control. Praise Him as your King and rest in His kingly sovereignty.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Throughout this past week we’ve been looking at the story of redemption and the offices and attributes of our Redeemer. We started in the beginning with creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the first promise of redemption in Ge. 3:15. Then we looked at how God prophesied that His Messiah would be a prophet, a priest, and a righteous judge. In today’s devotion, we’ll see that He is also our King—the King God promised to David that would rule on an everlasting throne:

⁷ “Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel... ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” (1 Chr. 17:7, 11-14)
²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk. 1:26-33)

God promised David that one of his offspring would be the King whose throne would be “established forever.” Then, a thousand years later, the angel Gabriel told Mary that her son—the “Son of the Most High”—is that eternal King God had promised to David. This King, however, is unlike any other king this world has ever known. In fact, He’s so different that the Magi (the Wise Men) almost missed Him. When they followed the Bethlehem star in order to find the king of the Jews and worship Him, they went looking in Herod’s castle expecting to find a king like all other earthly kings. Jesus’ kingship, however, goes far beyond any earthly idea of king in two very important ways. Let’s read what Paul says about His kingship in Col. 1:9-17:

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

This is obviously a theologically dense passage whose depth we cannot exhaust at this time (here is my sermon on it if you want a more detailed explanation), but in it Paul shows us that Jesus the universal King (vv. 15-17) and our personal King (vv. 9-14). In those two ways His kinship goes far beyond any earthly idea of king. His universal kingship is absolute; you can’t not be under it. He’s the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, so everything in it is in Him, through Him, and for Him, and He controls it all with absolute authority. His personal kingship, however, is over those whom God has “qualified” (the good news of the gospel!) through the work of redemption that He accomplished in Jesus. Did you hear that? God qualifies us—those who have faith in Jesus—through Jesus’ work. We don’t qualify ourselves. We can’t work to qualify ourselves. We don’t come under Jesus’ personal kingship by anything other than God’s unmerited gift of grace.

On this day of Advent, remember that the universal King became poor and was born in a stable, so that He could accomplish redemption and forgiveness of sins and bring those who repent and believe under His personal kingship. Remember that the King of the universe—the Son of God in whom “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” —became a lowly, frail, fragile human like you and me. Remember that He lived in this world with all its pains and miseries, and He went to the cross to die for the sins of His people. What other king would ever do anything like that? Could ever imagine an earthly king doing anything like that for his people? No, and that’s because Jesus is a very different kind of king. You won’t find this kind of king in a castle ruling an earthly empire. He’s ruling and upholding the universe itself, and He lives the hearts of His people through the Holy Spirit.

By His Grace,

Taylor