Sit at My Right Hand: Thoughts on Christ's Rule Part I

Quoting from both Psalms 45 and 110, the writer of Hebrews opens his book discussing the Son's kingship. Using the Old Testament, he states the Son's throne is "forever and ever" and He rules with a "scepter of uprightness...love[s] righteousness and hate[s] wickedness" (1:8-9). Although the kingship of the Son is eternal, ("Your throne, O GOD..." 1:8), a hint of the temporal is made in verse 13: "Sit at my right hand, UNTIL I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." In addition, verse 3 tells us that the sitting of the Son occurred "after he [made] purification for sins." So how can the Son rule from His throne for eternity, yet not sit on that throne until He completed the purification for sins? How are we to resolve this eternal/temporal tension in relation to the Son's rule and reign?

Scripture does not leave us groping in the dark. Understanding and resolving this tension centers on the Person and Work of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that the Son is the "exact representation" of God's "being" and that He "upholds all things by His powerful word," a further testimony to His divinity. At some point in human history - about 2000 years ago - God the Son began the work of "making purification for sins." This work, of course, is what is called the Gospel, and has many parts: God taking a human nature (Jesus) and being born through Mary; Jesus obeying the law perfectly; Jesus becoming a curse for His people; Jesus suffering God's wrath; Jesus atoning for sinners' sins, etc. What we discover, then, regarding the kingship of the Son is quite fascinating! The Creator and Ruler of the universe, who holds all things together by His mere word, left His throne for a short time (about 33 years). He lived as one the creatures He created, in a land that He formed, during an historical era that He brought about through His wisdom and Providence. Then, once His purposes for that 33 year journey were completed, He returned to His "natural" abode and "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

But He didn't just sit down. He was invited by God to sit down. Here we see a fuller picture of what those 33 years accomplished. Christ was earning the right to be king. He was meriting the just declaration and invitation of God to rule and reign. To put it another way, the rightful wages of Christ's labor was complete ownership of everything in heaven and on earth. Or, as Jesus said, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18).

The ramifications of this idea - this truth - are staggering. For, if Christ is presently reigning NOW, only waiting for all His enemies to be made a "footstool for His feet," then how ought we to view the governments of this world? What about the great movements from Monarchy to Democracy to Oligarchical Socialism? Is this movement of the worlds' governments a resistance of His rule or an outworking of Him bringing everything under His dominion? Both? Neither? What about the intellectual and political elites intentionally overthrowing "kings" and "tsars" and "dictators"? Have their intentions been to thwart the concept of "king" from collective conscious? And, on a more personal note, if Christ has the right to rule everything and everybody, how ought we to live? What does His rule say about our "freedoms" and "liberties?" Should we fight for "freedom"?

Great truths force us to ask great questions.