Great Expectations (3)

Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19.27, 28

The new world
We mentioned earlier that the problem with many Christians is that they have a too-distant vision of the Christian life. They have postponed much of the excitement and transforming power of faith to the “then and there” of eternal life. In the “here and now” they mostly count on feeling assured of salvation to keep up their hopes for after their lives have ended. Surely, they insist, living forever in glory with the Lord will be the culmination of all the great expectations our Lord holds out to us.

The culmination, yes, but not the sum total.

We must be very careful to hear the Lord concerning what He promises. How He answered Peter concerning when to expect what he sought in his question is extremely important. Hear Jesus again, “in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne…” When these two conditions are met, then what Jesus promises will begin to be realized.

When is the “regeneration”, and when will Jesus be seated on His glorious throne?

Jesus says that when the age of regeneration begins, then the great expectations He holds out will be available to all who have left everything to follow Him. That will also be the time, Jesus explains, when He takes His seat at the right hand of God.

Now the Scriptures are abundantly clear that this era has already begun. Jesus has ascended to glory and is seated at the right hand of God. The work of regeneration – of saving lost souls – has been going on for 2,000 years.

We live in the age of regeneration; we live in the period of history over which Jesus rules from His throne in heaven. We live, here and now, in the age of full faith and great expectations.

The rule of the Lord
We know this is true because the Scriptures teach that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God and taken His seat there, on His glorious eternal throne (Ps. 110, Col. 3.1-3; Heb. 1.3). From His throne on high Jesus is building His Church, advancing His Kingdom, gathering His elect, and putting all His enemies under His feet. The rule of King Jesus is established, and His Kingdom is advancing on earth, as it is in heaven, as believers seek it in every area of their lives.

Indeed, all who follow Jesus are instructed to make this great unseen reality – Christ exalted and ruling – the orienting vista of all their daily experience (Col. 3.1-3). We are even assured that we ourselves have, in a certain sense, been seated there with the Lord Jesus (Eph. 2.5, 6)!

What a glorious privilege! What a commanding perspective from which to look out on our everyday lives! What assurance such hoped-for things affords, and what an abundance of Spirit-filled evidence flows from the lives of all who live in the light of such unseen things (Heb. 11.1; Jn. 7.37-39).

Our own experience
We also know that the time for Jesus’ great expectations has arrived because we ourselves have experienced the regenerating power of the Gospel. We may not know the answer to every unbeliever’s objections to Christianity; we may not be able to articulate all the nuances and subtleties of the Christian worldview; and we undoubtedly all still have a long way to go in our sanctification; but, like the blind man of John 9, this much we know: Whereas once we were blind, now we can see. Once we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and now we are alive, truly, really, gloriously alive because of Jesus. Once we were without hope, without purpose, without peace, and without joy, and now we have Jesus, Who is our all in all.

No one can deny or take from us the utter reality of the regeneration we have come to know through the Gospel.

Jesus is on His throne, and the age of regeneration is well under way. And in this glorious time, we have left everything in order to ascend to this new perspective and follow Jesus. What, then, are the great expectations Jesus holds out for us now?

For reflection
1.  How did you come to the “regeneration” and Kingdom of Jesus Christ?

2.  How do you experience the regenerating work of Jesus in your life?

3.  How would you explain to someone else how to enter into “the regeneration”?

Next steps: Get with another believer and talk through your answers to the three questions above. Begin praying that God will give you opportunities to share your experience of Jesus with others.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Great Expectations, is Part 2 of a 10-part series, Full Faith. You can download Great Expectations by clicking here. Your gifts to The Fellowship of Ailbe make this ministry possible. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Subscribe to The Week, T. M.’s daily insights to worldview issues, by going to the website and, when the pop-up appears, put in your email, click on The Week, then click to update your subscriptions. You’ll be sent an email allowing you to add The Week to your free subscriptions.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.