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The Kingship of Christ in The New Covenant
The Old Covenant promised The Prophet who would come as the Messiah (Deuteronomy 18:18). Jesus is The Prophet who has come (John 1:45, Acts 3:22-23, and Acts 7:37). All of the Old Covenant sacrificial system and priesthood pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice of Christ who would lay down His life perfectly for the sins of His people who never have to offer sacrifice again (Hebrews 10:11—14). He is our high priest as foreshadowed by the Old Covenant (Hebrews 9:11). In the New Covenant, we must give attention to the reality that Christ is not only our prophet and priest, He is our king! The same text which speaks of Christ’s perfect sacrifice also says that He has “sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. (Hebrews 10:12-13). Christ is reigning now, He is conquering now, He is taking dominion now, He is building His kingdom now, and if we are to be faithful to Him we must realize the totality of His role as our priest, prophet, and king!
The Local Church Pursuing Sanctification
The local church consists of born-again Christians who have been made new by the power of Christ. We have been made holy, we have been counted righteous, and we are the redeemed saints who have been forgiven of our sins. Our gathering together week by week is pointedly distinct from anything else in this world. Every local body specifically gathers in order to worship Christ through the preaching of His Word, singing praises to His name, petitioning Him in prayer, partaking in the Lord’s Supper, observing the ordinance of baptism, and fellowshipping together around the Scripture. It is for the praise of Christ and the encouraging of each other in the Lord which is why we gather. We have been made holy before God by the power of the Gospel, therefore we worship the Lord!
The Joy of Discipline
Our culture today celebrates laziness, sinful feelings, emotionalism, and a lack of overall discipline as being that which is good. Many parents raising their kids apart from the biblical worldview often do not instill a work ethic into them. Countless are relying more and more on the welfare state to care for their daily needs. Those who “feel like a man trapped in a woman’s body” are encouraged to mutilate their physical appearance to match their faulty emotions. Concepts such as denying yourself, disciplining your body, and working hard for the glory of God are eroding from our society as the influence of biblical Christianity has waned.