A new Kingdom implies a new Sovereign. And this new Sovereign is Lord of all. Our excerpts in this series are from the book, The Gospel of the Kingdom. Here’s a reading from pages 29 and 30:
“Second, the coming of the Kingdom of God means that a new Sovereign has appeared, Whose claims and purposes must be reckoned with by all men. The people of Thessalonica immediately recognized that Paul and his associates ‘practiced’ another King, and that His name was Jesus. They also understood that this allegiance put the Christians at odds with the dominant worldview of the day; they ‘opposed’ the doctrine of Caesar by proclaiming Jesus as Lord and insisting that all should submit in loving obedience to Him.
“Again, the rule of a King descended from Judah, whose reign would prevail over all the nations, was foretold as early as Moses (Genesis 49.1, 8-12 – here, the word, Shiloh, means literally, ‘Him Whose it is’). Further, Isaiah (Is. 9.6, 7), David (Ps. 110), and the sons of Korah (Ps. 45.2-7 – cf. Heb. 1.8, 9; Rev. 6.1, 2 and 19.11-16) saw the coming of this new Sovereign, as did the prophets Micah (Mic. 5.2-5a) and Zechariah (Zech. 9.9, 10). It is the uniform testimony of the New Testament that Jesus Christ fulfilled these hopes and reigns now as King of kings and Lord of lords.
“The new era of the Kingdom of God has been realized precisely because a new Sovereign reigns over the entire cosmos, bringing His Kingdom to reality on earth as it is in heaven.”
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
1. What do we mean when we say that Jesus Christ is Lord? Lord of what?
2. How can we know what Jesus our Lord expects of us His citizens?
Forward today’s podcast to a friend and invite them to read and discuss with you as you discover the important implications of the coming of Christ’s Kingdom. The Good News of Jesus is that He had triumphed over death and transferred us into His new eternal Kingdom. Order your copy of The Gospel of the Kingdom by going to The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
