Saturday, May 30, 2009
Psalm 110:1-2 The LORD said to my lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
CHRIST OUR KING (IV)
So that we might never be offended with the outward appearance of Christ's kingdom, we must also know: "Rule in the midst of Your enemies!" Our King does not only have enemies without, but also within. Enemies live and move among His believers. Antichrist will sit in the temple of God, that is, he will rule and bear office in the Church. In their pride the enemies loudly boast of the name Church and under this name persecute the truth with their lies. They have every appearance of great wisdom and strength. The Church patiently endures their enmity and has every appearance of being weak and helpless. You must know: our King rules right in the midst of His enemies. He rules in His own way. He does not give His believers weapons to defend themselves bodily against these enemies. For not even the dreadful nuclear weapons of destruction can defeat Satan. Against Satan we need the godly power of our King. He rules over him with a strength our reason cannot understand. We need never fear. Our King rules!
Rather than be offended with enmity, we must expect it in Christ's kingdom. Where His kingdom is, there will also be His enemies. Should the world become our friends, then is Christ no longer our Friend. Having Him as our King, we will have enemies. But we have Christ. He already has all enemies underfoot. Let the devil and his own rage and storm. They cannot harm us. Were it not for Christ's kingly power, no Christian could ever continue to live and preach the Gospel in the midst of Christ's enemies. We are under our King's protection. We already have the victory over the tyrants of sin, death, hell. In spite of every enemy, He will safely bring us where He now is!
