Glory: Glory in Our Rule with Christ
Overview
Glory in Our Rule with Christ
Scripture makes a striking claim about the people of God: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" 1 Corinthians 6:2. The saints are not a special class of super-Christians—they are all whom the Lord has claimed in the waters of Baptism and given faith. Though we remain simultaneously saint and sinner this side of heaven, our rule with Christ is not merely a future hope. By faith, God has already "raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 2:4-6. The risen Christ has made us "a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father" Revelation 1:4-6. Our glorious rule with Christ has already begun.
Two Kingdoms, Not One
We must not confuse our rule with Christ with the ruling powers of this world. Luther rightly distinguished what Scripture teaches as the kingdom on the right—God's gracious rule through the gospel of Jesus Christ—and the kingdom on the left—God's authority exercised through the power of the state. The Augsburg Confession reminds us these "are not to be mingled or confused." The church's commission is to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments; it is not to set up or oppose kings, prescribe laws on worldly matters, or undermine civil obedience. As Luther wrote, Christ rules His people by the Holy Spirit, "without constraint and force, without law and sword," desiring a people who serve Him willingly.
Some appeal to Old Testament Israel as the ideal blueprint for civil government, but Israel was uniquely chosen as the nation through whom the Messiah would come (Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 4:5-8). The mixing of religious and civil law there served that singular redemptive purpose. Once Christ finished His redeeming work, the ceremonial and civil laws were fulfilled. The moral law endures, but the unique theocracy of Israel is not a template to be reinstalled. Jesus Himself refused to adjudicate civil disputes, declined attempts to make Him an earthly king, and declared that the kingdom of God is within—a matter of faith, not legislation.
The Church's Voice and Mission
The Lord has made us priests, kings, and prophets: priests who offer living sacrifices of praise; kings who hold the keys of the kingdom—declaring forgiveness to the repentant and withholding it from the unrepentant; prophets who proclaim the only message the church has been given, law and gospel. The law is mirror, curb, and guide, exposing sin. The gospel announces that in Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven, the tomb is empty, and the world is redeemed.
When civil laws contradict God's moral law, the church must speak—but it must speak as church, with the language of "thus saith the Lord," not as a political action committee. Great damage is done when congregations are identified with a party, a candidate, or a piece of legislation, as though believing in Jesus required a particular vote. Christianity is not defined by ballots; it is defined by what God has done in Baptism and through His Word. Individual Christians, shaped by Scripture, absolutely should be engaged in civil life, and faithful Christians may disagree on candidates and policies. But the church as church must not exchange her prophetic witness for political advocacy. Hearts are not changed by legislation; they are changed by Christ crucified and risen, proclaimed in law and gospel. That proclamation—not political conquest—is how the kingdom of God advances and how, in time, society itself is reformed.
Pastoral Application
- Receive your identity as saint, priest, king, and prophet as a present gift, not merely a future promise.
- Be engaged citizens out of conviction shaped by Scripture, while recognizing that fellow Christians may vote differently in good conscience.
- Guard the church's voice. Insist that her message remain law and gospel, Word and Sacrament—the only tools that change hearts.
- Resist the temptation to believe the kingdom of God arrives through legislation. It comes where Christ reigns by faith.
Transcript
Good morning. 2s
Let's pray together, please. 4s
Lord Jesus, thank You for the forgiveness You won by submitting to the cross. 8s
Let our lives give thanks to You with willing and happy service, faithful obedience to Your 15s
commandments and courageous witness before the world. 21s
Lead us to live in Your Word so that our hearts and minds may have the answer of Your gracious 26s
gospel. 33s
In Your name we pray. 35s
Amen. 36s
Well, we come to the sixth and final class in this series, Glory. 38s
And last week we took a look at Glory in our witness. 44s
And specifically, we took a look at what faith is not. 48s
Faith is not, as we identified last week, it is not justification. 53s
Faith is not that which is self-willed. 57s
But faith is the hand that receives the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ through the 63s
cross and the empty tomb. 69s
We took a look at how we come to faith through Word and sacrament, how God brings us to faith 71s
And we took a look at the importance of rightly distinguishing law and gospel in terms 79s
of our witnessing. 85s
How in terms of witnessing it can be very easy to mix the two. 87s
Remember what Luther said when you mix the two you get a muddle muddy mess on that. 92s
So we took a look at how we can witness biblically and the rooted in our heritage in terms 98s
of first sharing the law that shows our sin, then share the gospel, showing our Savior, 105s
asking a question that says, does this make sense to you? 114s
Does this make sense to you? 119s
Because that's a loop back opportunity for a person then to loop back and say, you 121s
tell me more about the law. 125s
You tell me more about the gospel. 127s
Or can you tell me more about the vehicles whereby God delivers the victory of the cross 128s
and the empty tomb. 135s
So law, gospel, vehicles, does this make sense? 136s
And then if the person says, yeah, it makes sense, then the question, would you like to 143s
be baptized? 147s
Because that then roots then everything in God's action. 149s
Where we depart from our brother and sister that are more in what's called synergy, 154s
which is our cooperation with God in terms of conversion, Lutherans are what are called 161s
monogists, God's action, God does it all. 166s
Where we depart from our sisters and brothers, for example, like the Baptist, where they would say, 171s
well now all you have to do is accept Jesus. 176s
As we examine once the language becomes now all you have to do, one has moved into the 179s
language of law because a law is what it is we have to do. 186s
And faith is made then the only work that needs to be done. 190s
And so as we glory in our witness, we talked about how can we reflect the biblical witness 195s
of how to do that that's reflected in our Lutheran heritage? 201s
Well today, as we conclude this class, I want to talk with you about glory in our rule with 205s
Christ, glory in our rule with Christ. Let's start in 1 Corinthians 6 chapter, please. 211s
1 Corinthians 6, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans, 1 Corinthians, 220s
1 Corinthians, chapter 6. 227s
In 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 2, there's a very interesting little verse here. 236s
And it's one of those verses that you can, you can as you're studying kind of go on by but say, 242s
what was that? And so I want to focus on it. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 248s
And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 258s
I want to focus on the first part. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 263s
So the first thing we have to ask then is who are the saints? 271s
So how would you answer that? Point yourself, right? 276s
That when the Lord claims us in the waters of baptism, when the Lord gives us faith, 281s
he makes us his saint. And remember, we are simultaneously this side of heaven, 286s
simultaneously saint and sinner. And the sinner part doesn't fall away until we come into the glory of heaven. 293s
So who are the saints then? You, child of God, are a saint right now. So that means at the second 304s
coming as we share the rule with the Lord Jesus Christ. On the last day, 315s
Jesus of course will conduct the final judgment. And in accordance with 1 Corinthians chapter 6, 323s
we join him in that ruling activity. It's an amazing image. Is it not? 331s
By faith, our glorious rule with Christ is already taking place this side of heaven. 340s
Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2. 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians and then Ephesians. 351s
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4. 360s
But God, who is rich in mercy out of the great love with which He loved us, 371s
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace, 379s
you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in 387s
Christ Jesus. So through faith, we have been already raised in that sense to sit in the heavenly 397s
places. So the rule with Christ is not just a future reality, but that rule with Christ 407s
has already begun. Let's see another picture of this. Let's go to Revelation chapter 1, 417s
last book in Holy Scripture, Revelation chapter 1, 425s
verse 4. John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from Him who is and 437s
who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne. 448s
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the 453s
kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood and made us, 460s
to be a kingdom, priests serving His God and Father to Him be glory and dominion forever and 469s
ever. Kingdom means a ruling influence. And so we can glory in our rule with Christ, 479s
not only in that which is to come, but also a rule that has already begun. Let's further get into 489s
this. We must not confuse our glorious rule with Christ with the ruling powers of this world. 501s
You say that again. We must not confuse our rule with Christ with the ruling powers of this world. 512s
Luther talked about the kingdom on the right and the kingdom on the left. 525s
And as Luther looked at Scripture, he correctly understands what Scripture is talking about. He 540s
termed it the kingdom on the right, the kingdom on the left. What's the kingdom on the right? 545s
The kingdom on the right is God's rule through grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The kingdom on the left 550s
is God's authority exercised through the power wielded by the state. So the kingdom on the right 559s
is God's gracious rule through Jesus Christ. And the kingdom on the left is His authority exercised 567s
through the power of the state. In our confessional writings in the Augsburg confession, it says this. 575s
Therefore, the two authorities, the spiritual and the temporal, are not to be mingled or confused. 585s
For the spiritual power has its commission to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. 596s
Hence, it should not invade the function of the other. Should not set up and oppose kings, 604s
should not annul temporal laws or undermine obedience to the government. 612s
Should not make or prescribe to the temporal power laws concerning worldly matters. 620s
See what the Augsburg confession is getting at is the proper functioning of the right and the 630s
left, the kingdom on the right and the kingdom on the left. Luther wrote in a writing called temporal 636s
authority to what extent it should be obeyed. He wrote this, for Christ is a king over Christians 645s
and rules by His Holy Spirit alone without law, all for this reason, that Christ without 654s
constraint and force without law and sword was to have a people who would serve Him willingly. 663s
Let me put it this way. The church has a job to do and the state has a job to do. 673s
The church has a job to do and the state has a job to do. The church shouldn't do what the 683s
state is called to do and the state shouldn't do what the church is called to do. 692s
As we glory in our rule with Christ, the church must be careful not to confuse the rule of Christ 702s
with the ruling powers of the kingdom of the left. Sometimes people will quote from the Old Testament 714s
and claim that God had set up in the Old Testament the ideal government. 728s
And they will claim and they will try and make the argument, it falls apart, 736s
when you let Scripture talk to itself. They will make the claim that we should put that in place 740s
again. So God's government in the Old Testament, they will maintain, is the government then that 748s
should be put into place today. Israel was a one of a kind nation. Let's go to Genesis, the 12th 755s
chapter, please. Genesis chapter 12, verse 1. 765s
Now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to 784s
the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and I'll bless you and make 791s
your name great so that you will be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you and the one who 799s
curses you, I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Why? Because 807s
through this people, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, would be born. So God's plan for Israel was for a 813s
truly unique people and God regulated every facet of life. We see that in Old Testament law. 823s
The laws governed morality, the laws governed worship life, the law, 834s
laws governed society, the laws governed economy and business, army, marriage, divorce, 838s
health, inheritance on, on the list. Let's go to Deuteronomy now. Chapter 4, Genesis, Exodus, 845s
and we'll pick up in verse 5. See, just as the Lord, my God, has charged me. I now teach you 870s
statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. 880s
You must observe them diligently for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the people's 887s
who, when they hear all these statues, will say, surely, this great nation is a wise and 893s
discerning people. For what other great nation has a God so near to it, as the Lord our God is, 899s
whenever we call to Him. And what other great nation has statues and ordinances, 907s
has just as this entire law that I am setting before you today. Let's go to Deuteronomy 13. 911s
So God establishes here his purpose for the nation. It is a spiritual one. God establishes the 925s
laws for the people. It is understandable because of Israel's unique position in the world there that 932s
they would be the nation out of which the Messiah would come. It is understandable that there would be a 942s
mix of religious and civil function. That's what you see in Israel of a mix of religious and civil 949s
function. Deuteronomy 13, verse 12, if you hear it said about one of the towns that your Lord 956s
God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants 965s
of the town astray, saying, let us go and worship other gods whom you have not known, 972s
then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established, 979s
that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town 985s
to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it, even putting its livestock to the sword. 991s
You see the charges that led then to worshiping a false God, well, that is a church matter. 1000s
Isn't it? Executing idolaters is a civil matter. And so what you see then in God's setting up 1009s
of Israel of old is you see a mixing of these two kingdoms. Since God then did that for Israel of old, 1022s
the question then is, is it right to conclude that that is the ideal government for all 1037s
today? And some will advocate that, that there must be a mixing of the two kingdoms and they'll 1044s
appeal to the Old Testament law. And the answer to that is a resounding no. No. 1053s
The purpose of Israel of old was to remain separate from other nations. They were the chosen 1066s
vessel of God through whom the Savior was to come. Once Jesus comes and finishes His work, His 1072s
redeeming work, all of those civil laws, those ceremonial laws, those political laws are no more. 1081s
It's no more. The moral law still maintains, right? Because we see the moral law in the new 1093s
Testament. But all of the laws here that God has established is no longer. 1099s
Nowhere does God ever say in Scripture that the government of the mixing of the two kingdoms 1107s
that He established to be mixed for a unique purpose is the blueprint that should be carried forward 1116s
in the establishment of the ruling powers throughout the world. To make a theological case falls 1125s
apart with the witness of Scripture. Also, one can look at how Jesus regarded civil affairs. 1135s
To say a time I won't go into the into the verses, but I'll just I'll just give you some for your 1147s
own study. In in loop the 12th chapter, Jesus refused to resolve a legal matter that had come before 1152s
He just didn't, He refused to resolve it, but He warned the man of the potential spiritual 1159s
issues. In John the 6th chapter, they wanted to make Jesus king, Jesus absolutely resisted that. 1166s
It wasn't His purpose to become a political leader. In loop the 17th chapter, we read that the 1174s
kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. It is within people. It is a matter of faith. It is 1182s
spiritual. In John the 18th chapter, we see Jesus not becoming involved in civil affairs. 1191s
Here's the main point again. We must not confuse our rule with Christ, which has not only future 1200s
implications and also present reality. We must not confuse our glorious rule with the ruling powers 1210s
of this world. So what does that mean then? What does it mean then to glory in our rule with Christ that 1222s
has already begun? The Lord Jesus makes His church priests kings and prophets priests kings 1232s
and prophets. Priests have the ability from Him to offer living sacrifices and willing praise. 1256s
So God brings forth from us. We are made His priests and He brings forth from us that willing 1266s
praise. He makes us to be kings. We hold the keys of the kingdom. Pastor Malone, I talked about 1272s
this in her devotional this past week. What's the key of the kingdom? The keys of the kingdom are 1281s
the abilities declared to those who repent that their sins are forgiven, to declare to those who 1288s
don't repent that their sins are not forgiven. So we're priests to give praise. We are kings in 1293s
that we hold the keys to the kingdom and we are prophets. Law and gospel is the only message 1301s
the church has. It's the only message that the church has. What's the law? The law is the mirror. It 1312s
shows our sin. It's the curb that God establishes and says, don't cross these bounds here. Things will 1322s
not go well for you and it is a guide. So it's a mirror, a curb and a guide. What's the gospel? 1331s
The gospel is the pronouncement that in the name of Jesus Christ our sins are for 1341s
given. Christ is born on the cross. The tomb is empty. The sacrifice has been accepted. The world 1348s
is redeemed. If the government passes laws that are opposed to God's way as reflected in his 1354s
moral law, the church should speak because if the church doesn't speak to that, then it can be 1369s
interpreted that the church goes along with that. But the church must stick to its message of 1380s
law and gospel. The church then must stick to its aim, which is what? The salvation of souls. 1393s
Not the reforming of society. Now does it change heart and a changed soul? Will that impact society? 1413s
Sure. But what's the goal of the church? Is it to pronounce the gospel to change the heart so 1428s
that people come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or is the goal of the church to become involved 1437s
with issues on the kingdom on the left so as to affect the reformation of the world? 1445s
The church is to proclaim law and gospel, a minister, word and sacrament, the kingdom on the left, 1460s
that's the state and the civil authority. There is great danger when the church starts to be 1468s
identified as a political movement. The church should do what the church is supposed to do, the state should 1480s
do what the state should do. Where it gets dangerous is when the church becomes identified 1490s
with a party, with a candidate, when the church starts advocating for legislation, when the church starts saying, 1501s
if you are a Christian, therefore you would vote for fill in the blank. Because now the church 1517s
is not using the language of the church, which is what? Law and gospel. It's the only language we've 1526s
got. Now the church has moved into reforming based upon political action. And so when the church 1536s
as a church says, we are now going to vote for, and if you truly believe in Jesus, you would vote for 1552s
this person. That's really dangerous, really dangerous, because the church is not acting anymore 1563s
as the kingdom on the right, it's acting on as the kingdom on the left. It has departed from 1571s
her language and her role. We glory in the rule of Christ by being the prophetic voice. 1579s
Not the voice that says, you should vote for or again this piece of legislation. You hear the 1592s
difference? That when the church becomes identified in that case, we have then entered into the realm 1600s
of politics. And what was Jesus' response to affairs of the civil government? Never got into it. 1610s
Didn't get into it. How did reform of society occur? What we can see historically through the 1619s
church, we see the reform of society occurring as the church is faithful in proclaiming law and 1624s
gospel and living out prophecy. What has happened particularly in the last several decades of the 1631s
church, what you see is the church thinking that it can change hearts by law, that we can usher 1640s
in the kingdom of God if we just get these laws passed. And it's the church acting as if by 1652s
political vote, one can bring about the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God? But the kingdom of 1664s
God is God's reign and rule in our hearts. That's a matter of faith. It's not a matter of legislation. 1672s
So for decades, for decades, the church had put all of her marbles in trying to influence 1684s
politicians in Washington with regard to issues that they wanted adopted. And you started getting things, 1693s
for example, like voter guides that said, the Christian position is terminates. Now wait a minute. 1703s
I don't see anything in scripture that says the Christian position is terminates. I don't see 1715s
anything in scripture that says the Christian position is small government. I don't see anything 1723s
in scripture that says the Christian position is large government I don't see any of that. 1731s
and the church changed her language. 1739s
And when the church changed her language 1743s
and put all of the emphasis in terms of, 1746s
we will have the kingdom of God on earth 1749s
if we can just replace, 1751s
and here's the target list of politicians, 1754s
if we can just replace them, 1758s
we will get the kingdom of God in place. 1760s
And what happened? 1763s
The church put all of her efforts 1765s
into that instead of doing what? 1767s
Proclaiming Christ crucified and risen 1772s
that changes the heart. 1776s
You see, there are Christians across political parties. 1779s
Christianity isn't confined to one political party. 1783s
You can't reduce everything down to one issue 1788s
and say, ah, because on this particular issue, 1793s
this political party believes this, 1798s
therefore, then this is the Christian party. 1799s
There is no Christian party in the United States. 1802s
There is none. 1806s
It was never established that way. 1808s
But the danger in the rule of Christ 1811s
that we see in Scripture, that we already share, 1815s
is that the church understands that as meaning 1819s
worldly powers in place, 1827s
and they understand it in terms of the kingdom of the left. 1830s
And once the church starts saying, 1836s
here's legislation that we think you should pass. 1840s
Instead of saying, 1846s
thus saith the Lord on this issue 1848s
to which Scripture absolutely addresses. 1851s
That then is functioning as the kingdom on the right. 1857s
Once we move into acting like the kingdom on the left, 1863s
trying to pass legislation, trying to advocate for who to get elected, 1867s
all of that we've moved into the left. 1873s
Now, can individual Christians, 1876s
out of their conviction, born of Holy Scripture, 1878s
should they be involved in politics? 1881s
You bet. 1883s
And should that be expressed, 1886s
as we look at the totality of issues, 1888s
can Christians disagree on things, 1890s
on who to vote for? 1893s
You bet. 1894s
Can one still be a Christian 1896s
and vote opposite of however you voted? 1899s
You bet. 1902s
Because your Christianity is not defined by your vote. 1905s
It's not. 1910s
Your Christianity is defined by what God has established 1912s
and brought you into relationship through the waters of baptism. 1916s
Now, can your understanding of Scripture, right? 1922s
Will that influence how we vote and how we act? 1928s
Sure. 1931s
Is that part of the decision making process? 1931s
Absolutely, it should be. 1933s
As individual Christians, 1935s
should we be involved in the political process? 1936s
Absolutely. 1939s
But should living word say, 1940s
here's the legislation we all want to advocate for 1947s
and we've got a petition in the back for you to sign. 1949s
Should I preach a sermon that says, 1955s
if you don't vote like how I vote, 1960s
that's a sin. 1965s
But that's where the church in some quarters has got 1968s
to wear the rule of Christ instead of the expression 1971s
of priest, king, and prophet has become. 1978s
Here's my politics, 1983s
and these are Jesus' politics, 1985s
and therefore they must be your politics. 1988s
And when the church is identified politically 1993s
of which it is increasingly occurring. 1998s
And when people act as if the church should act 2003s
as if the kingdom of the left is the way to affect 2007s
societal change that all of us would like to see happen. 2012s
And we abandon the very means that changes the heart, 2017s
which is law and gospel, 2021s
when the church starts to act like this. 2022s
Watch out. 2028s
Because then it falls apart. 2031s
And then you have people listening to the gospel, 2034s
I got a quid here, I'm going to be at the opening hymn. 2038s
Then you've got people listening to the gospel 2042s
while at the same time are seeing a message 2048s
that goes forth that says, 2055s
and if you are a Christian, 2056s
of course you'll vote for so-and-so. 2058s
And they say, well, wait a minute, 2060s
if that's the case, 2063s
and what's just happened, 2065s
50% of the people have just said, 2067s
forget that, forget that. 2069s
We're all Christians. 2074s
Can we disagree on our politics you bet we can? 2076s
Should the church identify her rule with Christ 2080s
as synonymous with the rule of worldly powers? 2085s
No. 2090s
It has terrible, terrible consequences for witness. 2092s
The church does not tell the ruler how to rule. 2099s
The church simply proclaims law and gospel. 2104s
And that law and gospel affects hearts. 2111s
Our emphasis is on proclamation and law and gospel. 2118s
And not on legislation. 2123s
Well, we've gloried in Christ's cross our union with God 2129s
in humility, in tribulation, and witness, 2131s
and our rule with Christ. 2134s
And I pray this has been a blessing to you. 2136s
Next week, Pastor Maloneck is going to start a class 2138s
called Around the World. 2141s
And she's going to take a look at various religions, 2143s
how it compares to Christianity, 2145s
and why the triune God is the only true God. 2148s
And so that will be from March 20th to March 24th. 2153s
And I commend that class to you. 2158s
Blessings. 2160s