Themes of the End Times (Inaugurated Eschatology and the Threefold Office of Christ [Part Three: Christ the King])

A. Israel’s King in the Old Testament

Israel’s King was chosen by God [Deut. 17:15; 1 Sam. 16:1-12]
Israel’s King was chosen from the midst of Israel’s brothers [Deut. 17:15]
Israel’s King was to be expert in the Law of God [Deut. 17:18-20]
Israel’s King was anointed with oil, symbolic of the Holy Spirit [1 Sam. 16:13]
Israel’s King was to be a victorious warrior [2 Samuel 8:6; Psalm 144:1, 10]
Israel’s King was to be a Shepherd of the people [2 Samuel 5:2]

B. Expectation of a Messianic King

The Messianic King would be the Son of David [2 Sam. 7:12; Isa. 11:1; Jer. 23:5; Ezek. 37:24-25]
The Messianic King would be the Son of God, and in fact, God himself [2 Sam. 7:14; Psalm 2; 45:6-7; Isaiah 9:6-7]
The Messianic King would meditate on, delight in, and perfectly fulfill the Law of God

The “Law psalms”’ (1, 19, 119) position in the midst of the “King psalms” suggests that the Messianic King is the one who would delight in and fulfill God’s Law; pleas made on the basis of integrity and law-keeping (cf. psalm 15, 25:12-13, 26), therefore, anticipate the plea of the Messianic King for his people, on the basis of his righteousness.

The Messianic King would establish an eternal kingdom and reign forever [2 Sam. 7:13; Isa. 9:7]
The Messianic King would defeat all his people’s enemies [Isa. 11:4; 63:1-6]
The Messianic King would shepherd God’s people [Ezek. 34]
The Messianic King would do what Adam had failed to do, and accomplish God’s design for humanity [Psalm 8:4-6; Hebrews 2:6-9]

C. The King-Work of Christ in the New Testament

Christ’s qualifications to be king:

He was chosen by God [Isaiah 42:1]
He was the Son of God [Luke 1:32, 35]
He became the Son of David [Luke 1:32-33; Mat. 1:1]
He became our brother [Heb. 2:10-13]
He was anointed with the Holy Spirit [Mat. 3:16-17]

Christ’s accomplishments as king:

He perfectly fulfilled and delighted in God’s Law [John 17:4; Heb. 5:8-9]
He overcame the power of sin and the curse of the Law [Gal. 3:13; Rom. 6:12-14; 8:2-3]
He defeated Satan [Mat. 4:1-11, 17; 12:28-29; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14-15]
He destroyed death [1 Cor. 15:55-57; Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:18]
He won an eternal kingdom and sat forevermore on the Davidic throne [Acts 2:32-36; 2 Pet. 1:11]
He became the Shepherd of his people [Mat. 2:6; John 10:11-16; 1 Pet. 2:25]
He won dominion over all things [Eph. 1:20-23]

D. Eschatological Outworkings of Christ’s King-Work

Christ has already won his Kingdom, and is now waiting with certainty for it to spread over all the earth, and for all his enemies to be brought beneath his footstool [Heb. 10:13; Psalm 72:8; Dan. 7:14; 1 Cor. 15:25]

Because of Christ’s victory, he has earned the right to be Lord and Judge of the Living and the Dead; he alone will judge all people on the Day of Judgment [Rom. 14:9, 11; John 5:22, 27]

When all things have been brought into subjection, he will bring his consummate Kingdom to earth and deliver it over to the Father [Luke 22:18; John 18:36; 1 Cor. 15:24-28]

We will reign with him as his brothers and sisters forever, and be the kingdom of priests that God had designed humanity to be [Rev. 1:5-6; 5:10]

E. Points of Application

Sin cannot reign over us [Rom. 6:14]
Satan cannot overcome us [Heb. 2:14-15]
No enemy in the world can conquer us or separate us from Christ [Rom. 8:35-37; 2 Cor. 2:14]
Death itself cannot defeat us [1 Cor. 15:55-57]
We must never worship, fear, or trust in earthly powers [Rev. 2:10]

F. Discussion Questions

1.What kinds of enemies do you fear most: worldly persecution, satanic opposition, indwelling sin, approaching death? How will a better understanding of Christ’s accomplishments as our King help us when we fear any of these enemies?

2.Why is it important that Christ became our brother before he became our Messianic King? Does this embolden us to come to him? Does it give us greater confidence that he can and will help us, no matter what our struggles might be?

3.What kinds of powers/realities in the world are we tempted to fear or worship? How does meditating on the kingship of Christ strengthen us against these temptations?

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