The Heir of all things
As kingdom citizens it is important for us to understand the rulership. That is, who are the ones in authority, what is their scope of power, how are we to relate to them, how do they relate to us. God, Yahweh, established himself as king, established his standards and set apart his citizens. But from beginning there was a person and a role already established who came to the forefront later on. See this mighty king, has a son and that son was to be the symbol of hope for mankind from the moment mankind’s disobedience separated us from closeness with God.
Following Adam and Eve’s failure at the hand of the tempter, God was handing out his judgement and the tempter, the enemy was no exception. Even in this we see the sovereignty of God being exercised over the enemy of our souls. He turns to the foul serpent and says:
“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15)
In his judgement on the tempter, he instills hope for mankind. He sets up the ongoing battle between light and darkness and alludes to his redemptive plan. That he would send his son to set us free from the power of darkness and strike a blow to the evil one.
This son, Jesus, means so much to us as Christians. He is the one whose name we carry, he is the one who gave us an example of how to live up to the standards of the kingdom. His very message was that of the kingdom, that it is near to us and that he is the only way in.
In Luke 1:33, we see the introduction of Jesus to his mother. The woman who would bear him, thus fulfilling prophecy. In this announcement Jesus’ place in the kingdom is clearly presented.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. – Luke 1:33
He has been given a position: Son of the Highest set upon the throne of his father (again alluding to the fulfillment of prophecy)
He has been given authority: To reign
The status of this position and this role is made clear: there will be no end to it.
The king of kings, establishes his son as the way to Him. He understood that the standards of his kingdom were impossible for us to keep, but he could not compromise his standards, regardless of how much he loves us. So he sent his son, who sharing his father’s heart towards us, did not think it folly to pay the price for our citizenship. His willingness to rescue us, at the cost of his life established him as heir of all things; our intercessor our advocate.
‘God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.’ (Heb 1:1-3,8)
The king established His son as ruler over us. In His kindness He gave up his own son to the cruelty of evil men, so that we could have a king and a high priest who is no stranger to the struggles of being human, but who is also well acquainted with the power to overcome these struggles to the keeping of the standards of the Kingdom of Yahweh.
He is king overall, he has established a kingdom and a people of his own. Within this kingdom he gives a sense of identity, purpose, a clear standard of living, blessings and hope. With this he helps us combat the view of ourselves brought upon us by sin and disobedience; a loss of purpose, and in its place, shame and doubt, hopelessness and suffering. Where we find ourselves constantly fighting to create a kingdom of our own and failing.
Jesus came to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. That it is near to us, in us and for us. He clearly established himself as the way, as the authorized messiah. As the one to establish God’s kingdom in us and for us. His death paved that narrow way to life eternal, a path never to be broken or enveloped in darkness again. Glory to God!
This is another aspect of what it means to be royalty, we have a king and high priest who loves us and stands up for us, having given us everything we need for life and Godliness. We don’t have a king who is far from us as some may claim, but God our father and king, in His wisdom and because of His love, gave us His son, so that His kingdom would no longer be far from us, distant and uncertain. Through the heir of all things, we have access to the king and His glorious kingdom.
Wow, I’m really hoping all of this is making sense to you and exciting you the way it’s exciting me. More and more I am honoured to be able to call myself a citizen of heaven. Not because of anything I have done, but wall because of the grace, mercy and love of it’s ruler-ship. We move toward wrapping up the kingdom citizen’s series in the next two weeks or so. If you haven’t read it from the beginning. Check out the first post in the series here.
Be a blessing
If this was helpful to you, why not share it with someone else. You can also subscribe to get posts delivered directly to your inbox… along with other specials for subscribers only. Or you can simply like and follow us on Facebook for regular updates and connection.
Click to Subscribe
Kelly is the founder of Royalty Press United. Author of the Gemstone Royals fantasy series, Twist of Faith and Crossroads. Counseling psychologist, proud Grenadian and devoted follower of Christ.
