Tuesday, November 6, 2012
1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
CHRIST TO LEVEL ALL AUTHORITY
I don't know about your house, but lately we've been flooded with calls from candidates for office. It doesn't seem like you can pick up the phone, switch on the TV, or check your email without getting blitzed by some campaign ad. In fact, while I was typing out this paragraph I got a recorded call from Dr. James Dobson telling me that voting is important.
We exist in a world of authorities. There is the president and the government in Washington, DC. There are police and doctors. There are teachers and parents. No matter who you are, authorities exist above or below you.
But when Christ returns, all this will come to an end. The apostle Paul tells us, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that when Jesus returns He will destroy all dominion, authority and power. Every human being will stand on level ground before God the Father.
This leveling of all authority won't stop at human authority either. Paul tells us that even death will be leveled, stripped of its authority on that last day.
Even more remarkable than this is the fact that after Jesus Christ has leveled all dominion and authority and handed their power back to God the Father, even Christ, insofar as He is truly human, will stand subject to God the Father.
Let us keep this in mind as we exercise any authority that we have been given by God. Parents. Bosses. Teachers. Pastors. One day we will have to hand that authority back to God, and stand before Him in judgment. Without the gift of Christ's forgiveness, we would be condemned for the misuse of our authority, or we would be condemned for our rebellion against authority. Thank God that Christ's righteousness covers our sins today, and will cover us when Christ returns.
