In the previous lesson we see that God has promised David to seat one of his descendants upon his throne and that this descendant would reign forever and ever (2 Sam. 7:6-18). A surface glance at this promise seems to indicate that Solomon fulfills this promise. The only problem to this is that the promise contains the word "forever." Because Solomon was a mere mortal, his reign eventually came to an end; therefore, this promise looks forward to a descendant of David who will reign eternally. One of the major themes of the entire NT is that Jesus is this Son promised to David and that He has firmly and eternally established the kingdom of His father David.

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE APOSTLES

Jesus Fulfills the Promise to David

Although we speak of this covenant as the Davidic covenant, it is not really a new covenant. Rather it is an expansion of the covenant God made with Abraham. The very beginning of time we saw that God made a covenant (agreement) with Eve that HER son would one day destroy the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Later we saw that God got even more specific with that promise in His covenant with Eve. Eve's Son would be no less than a son of Abraham (Jesus). This Son would undo the effects of the curse and restore the blessing of God to the world (salvation).

Matthew One highlights this because when Matthew wants to highlight the 2 greatest ancestors of Jesus, whom does he highlight: "The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1). In this verse Matthew brings together these 2 great covenants, the covenant with Abraham and the covenant with David. David's greatest Son Jesus would ascend not just any throne but the throne of His physical ancestor David in ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.

Isaiah 9:6, 7 says basically the same thing: "For a child will be born to us [the children of Abraham], a son will be given to us, And the government will rest on His shoulders . . . There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom."

With David we see God becoming even more specific about which one of Abraham's sons would bring about the blessing. Abraham's son would also be David's son. After the death of David the OT will describe the rise and fall of the fortunes of the house of David for over 1000 years. With Solomon the dynasty will reach its pinnacle both spiritually with the building of the temple and politically with the expansion of the kingdom from the Nile River to the Euphrates River. From that point on things take a downward turn. The kingdom will be split in half. Within 400 years the house of David will cease to rule over the Jewish people; HOWEVER, David's bloodline does not stop. When Luke describes Jesus' genealogy he especially includes 2 men among Jesus' ancestors: "the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse" (Luke 3:31, 32) and "the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah" (Luke 3:34)?

Acts 2:25-30, especially verse 30, nails down the claim that this promise to David was fulfilled in Jesus: "For David says of Him [Jesus], 'I was always beholding the Lord in my presence; For He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken . . .' [Although the Jews thought that this verse applied to David, Peter proves that it did not by the following argument.] Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he [David] was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne [2 Sam. 7:6-18]."

Not only do the apostles claim that Jesus has ascended the throne of His father David. Jesus also makes this claim: "ALL authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).

The Kingdom of Jesus

God has established Jesus eternally upon the throne of His father David. Right now God's agenda is to make this kingdom a reality (1 Cor. 15:25)"For He [Jesus] must reign until He [the Father] has put all His enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25). Furthermore in Matt. 28:18 Jesus says that the Father has give Him ALL authority; in other words, God has placed Him as king over the kingdom of heaven.

At the present time we are in transition. God has placed Jesus as Lord over all creation; however, at this present time there are many (human and demonic) who are rebelling against the rule of Christ. How do we bring people into the kingdom of Jesus? By fulfilling the Great Commission.

Very few people realize that the Great Commission starts in Matt. 28:18 and not in Matt. 28:19. Verse 18 tells you the goal of the Great Commission; it expresses God's agenda--the entire universe being subjected to the authority of Jesus Christ. According to Matt. 28:19-20 we spread His kingdom and bring others beneath the lordship of Jesus, into the kingdom of Jesus by first evangelizing them (baptizing them) and then by teaching them.

God's plan to exalt Jesus over all creation is not simply God's wish or desire. It is the goal God has set for human and creation history. In fact it is the next great event in the history of the world According to Paul God is going to make sure that every knee bow and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). By this he means not just the knees and tongues of Christians; Paul means the knees and tongues of every thing that has ever been created: the demonic world as well as the Christian world.

From the beginning of human history until the end of human history, it has all really been about Jesus. Jesus is the One God used to create all things (John 1:3). When God created us in His own image, He created us specifically in the image of Jesus, God the Son (Col. 1:15). Jesus is the Son of Eve who will one day crush the head of Satan (Rev. 12). Jesus is the Son God promised to give Abraham, the Son God would use to bless the whole world by saving us. Now we see that Jesus is David's Son who one day will be exalted over all creation. What's even more wonderful is that because we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, He is going to seat us with Him on His throne that we might reign with Him forever and ever (Rom. 5:17; Rev. 2:21; 20:4).

If it really is all about Jesus, then it is time for Christians to start talking about Jesus. Big deal if you talk about God. You can hear the rabbis talk about God in the synagogue and the mullahs talk about God in the mosques. So what's the big deal of talking about God? Nearly everybody believes there is a God. It is a big deal to talk about Jesus. It is time we act like followers of Jesus and not only talk about Jesus but also actually follow Jesus Himself.

Some worry about leaving out God the Father. Don't worry about the Father. Like any good father, God is ecstatic that people focus on His Son Jesus. When Nathan and Molly do well in school or athletics, I don't get upset if everybody congratulates them and says nothing to me. I don't say: "Hey, I bought them their tennis shoes, or I bought them the computer so that they could get on the internet and get smart!" I love it when MY children get praised. In the same God the perfect Father LOVES it when His Son receives glory and honor.

In the same token at the right time the Father Himself is going to receive glory and honor. After God has finished giving all things to Jesus, Jesus is then going to turn and give them to the Father so that now the focus will be on the Father (1 Cor. 15:28). (It is interesting that the Book of Revelation follows this scenario. First, Jesus returns to the earth as a conqueror (Rev. 19); then He reigns upon the earth for 1000 years (Rev. 20). Then and only then, after Jesus has consummated His reign upon the earth for 1000 years, the Father descends from heaven with the new Jerusalem and sits upon the throne of the new Jerusalem. On that day according to Paul, after everything has been subjected beneath the lordship of Jesus, then He will turn and subject all things to the Father so that the Father may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). In fact on that day we shall see His face. All focus then will be on the Father. Yet even though Jesus will give all things to the Father, guess who is sitting on the throne of heaven with the Father? Jesus Himself (Rev. 22:3; 3:21).

Why is the Father doing this for Jesus? Why has the Father made Jesus lord over everything except for Himself? Because Jesus humbled Himself to the greatest extent.

Few of us really appreciate that God humbles us before He exalts us. When I was 15 years old, I was living high on the hog. My younger brother, sister, and I were in London living in a house which overlooked a beautiful park with a golf course and tennis courts. On Sundays we would play tennis for 8 hours after church, hardly breaking a sweat since it was only 70 degrees. I was top in my class in a school of 1,500. I was to be the head boy of the school for the next 2 years. I had already passed one of 8 exams which were necessary to enter a university in England. I was given tons of freedom, being allowed to ride the transportation system all over London with my friends, attending plays and concerts.

Then 1 afternoon I got a call from my dad: "Son, are you ready to move to Houston?" I was stunned. Within a month we were back in Texas, not in Houston though, not in Dallas, not even in Lancaster. We were living out in the country outside of Lancaster. It must have been the hottest summer on record in Texas. I don't think I ever sweated so much in all my life.

Moreover, the school situation had radically changed. I went from being the top boy to being lost in all these other kids. I rode a yellow school bus each day loaded with country kids poorer than dirt. One girl who look like she weighed 300 pounds sat at the back of the bus; she would holler out: "Hey, England; come back here and speak some English to me." I thought I had died and gone to hell. Each night I would bury my face in the pillow and weep. I was so miserable.

As difficult as that experience was though, God used it to introduce me to the most important human relationship in my life, Nancy. If we had NOT moved back to Lancaster, I would have never met Nancy. The bitterness of that year can never match the blessing and joy I've had in my life because of Nancy. Humiliation precedes exaltation.

As great as my humiliation was though, it doesn't even begin to compare with the humiliation Jesus experienced. Leaving heaven for earth alone would have been enough to qualify Jesus as the most humble person ever. Jesus though did more. He hung stripped naked on the cross, beaten, spat upon, humiliated, all because the Father asked it of him. No wonder the Father wants His Son exalted above all creation (Phil. 2:8-11).

How do I know though that Jesus really has ascended the throne of David? How do I know for sure that Jesus as David's Son is truly Lord over the universe? By the very fact that I who believe in Jesus have the Holy Spirit living in me. Think back to the time when Samuel chose David to be the next king of Israel. What did he do to David? He CHRISTened him with oil; he anointed him with oil; he messiahed him with oil (christen, messiahed, and anointed all mean the same thing). What happened next? The Holy Spirit came upon David. Well, whatever else is true about this Son of David, it is definitely true that He is One who has the Holy Spirit within Him in a dramatic way. Now go back to the baptism of Jesus. What happened there? The Holy Spirit rested upon Him in a dramatic way so that from that time onward everything He did was in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Well, Jesus did not receive the Holy Spirit so that He could lavish it upon Himself. As the CHRISTened One, as the MESSIAHed One, He received the Spirit so that He would pour it out upon His followers. On the day of Pentecost the point of Peter's sermon is this:
"The reason that we are able to speak in tongues is that the Holy Spirit is living in us. Why did we receive the Holy Spirit? Because we have believed in Jesus. That proves that He indeed is the Christ, the One God has exalted to the place of Lord over the universe."

The Reality of the Lordship of Jesus in Our Lives

It is one thing to speak about the lordship of Jesus in general; it is quite another to speak of His lordship in our own lives. Read the following questions and ask yourself if Jesus is lord in these areas of your life.

AREAS IN YOUR LIFE	ANSWER YES OR NO
Is Jesus Lord over your thought life?	Yes or No (circle one)
Is Jesus Lord over your time?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over your finances?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord of your marriage?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over the way you treat your kids?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over your perspective in life?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over your tongue?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over your sex life?	Yes or No
Is Jesus Lord over your entertainment?	Yes or No

Is Jesus Lord over our relationships? There are so many marriages ending in divorce that something drastic needs to be done in the area of marriage relationships. How about this? Wives, why don't you treat your husbands the way Jesus wants you to treat them? Husbands, why don't you treat your wives the way Jesus wants you to treat them? I swear that if we all do this, then marriages are going to last and not end up in the trash can.

How about parenting? I am by no means a great dad; however, I am a better dad than I would be since Jesus is in my life. Dads, when you've wronged your child, why not ask that child's forgiveness? "Oh, I can't do that! Dads don't do that!" Well, jerky dads don't do that. Your kid knows when you do wrong. They are just going to find out if you are like Jesus and would ask their forgiveness, or if you are going to be a jerk and refuse to ask their forgiveness.

Moreover, many of us parents are destroying our families because of children's sports. Many parents have the attitude that if their kid is not going 24/7, then they have failed as parents. The truth is that one of the best things you can do for your children is to sit down and have supper with them. Talk with them about their day. Actually engage in real conversation. All this other stuff is a sorry substitute for real relationships.

Entertainment? I'm sorry, but we let our kids watch movies they should never, ever be allowed to see. I know some Christian ministers who claim they are going to watch Brokeback Mountain so that they can understand the culture they are ministering to. Baloney! You think Jesus would pay $6+ to watch a movie which trashes heterosexual relationships and which presents 2 men in pretty explicit sexual situations? I don't think so.

What about our time? We don't have time for the things of God. Many people think that I think they should be in SS and worship every Sunday. I don't. I just think that they should be in SS and church on the Sundays Jesus wants them there. He may want them somewhere else on that day. Fine; so be it. That's none of my business. It's between them and Jesus. I just trust that Christians are taking the lordship of Jesus seriously and that they are going to be in Bible study and worship whenever Jesus wants them there.

One of the hardest things we've had to encounter as a family has been over entertainment. People who profess Jesus will show movies to children/youth or take them to movies which offend Jesus tremendously. Either we don't care Jesus is offended by them, or else we are so ignorant about Jesus that we don't know they offend Him. Ask yourselves when you see certain movies, "Would Jesus sit through this movie, or would He get up and walk out?" If He would walk out, then you need to follow Him OUT of the movie theater.

Take these questions very seriously. The old statement is true: "If Jesus is not lord over all, then He is not lord at all."

I'm sure at this point several of you are beating yourselves up, feeling that a pile of guilt has fallen all on top of you. You need to stop that. What you need to do is find out whether or not you are growing in your relationship with Jesus. Are you further along in your journey with Jesus than you were 3 years ago? Are you headed in the right direction? C. S. Lewis states that even if 2 men are at the same point on the road that starts with Satan and ends with Jesus, if these 2 men are facing different directions, they could not be further apart. The questions asked above are simply for the purpose to help you find out whether or not you are further along in your relationship with Christ, or whether or not you are regressing in your relationship with Christ. That overall is the point. But take this point seriously. Jesus does.