Sermon on Lord’s Day 19 Q&A 50, 51⤒🔗

50. Q. Why is it added, And sits at the right hand of God?
A. Christ ascended into heaven to manifest Himself there as Head of His Church,[1] through whom the Father governs all things.[2]
[1] Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:18. [2] Matt. 28:18; John 5:22, 23.

51. Q. How does the glory of Christ, our Head, benefit us? A. First, by His Holy Spirit He pours out heavenly gifts upon us, His members.[1] Second, by His power He defends and preserves us against all enemies.[2]
[1] Acts 2:33; Eph. 4:7-12. [2] Ps. 2:9; 110:1, 2; John 10:27-30; Rev. 19:11-16.

Scripture Reading: Eph 1:15-23; Psalm 110

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 96:1,2
Psalm 110:1,2
Hymn 32:1,2
Psalm 97:1,4,5
Hymn 35:1,2 3,4,5

Beloved Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In this big world of important people and impressive developments, we feel so insignificant, so unable to make a worthwhile contribution. It bothers us. For it’s in us to think that the church should have more influence in this world, should be able to affect society more strongly, make a positive and appreciated contribution. But we’re all busy with our own responsibilities, and the world is not interested in what the church has to offer…, and so the faithful church finds herself sidelined from society, her contribution negligible. We don’t like that, that state of affairs gets some of us down…, and we find ourselves looking for ways and means for the church to be more meaningful in today’s society….

I put to you this afternoon, brothers and sisters, that this thought tackles the matter from the wrong angle. Certainly it is necessary for the church of Jesus Christ to be contemporary, to know too what goes on in the world of today. And it is necessary for the church membership to live the Christian life day by day and to speak the Christian faith as opportunity presents itself. But it is not so that the church needs to strive to be a mover and shaker in the world. That role belongs to the Head of the Church, the Lord of lords and King of kings. And –though the media do not report it- He is the Mover and Shaker of today’s world. For the benefit of the church.

I summarise the sermon with this theme:

Our Saviour controls the entire world for the benefit of the church

1. The fact of the Saviour’s sovereignty
2. The purpose of the Saviour’s sovereignty
3. The evidence of the Saviour’s sovereignty

The fact of the Saviour’s sovereignty←⤒🔗

From that mountain near Bethany, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended from earth into heaven. Upon His arrival in heaven, what did Jesus do?

Last week, with LD 18, we could learn of Jesus’ high priestly work for us in heaven; Jesus has entered the Most Holy Place for our benefit, with as result that we are able freely to pray. With LD 19, now, we confess that our Lord is not only high priest in heaven for us; He is also King. That’s the notion captured in the phrase, "and sits at the right hand of God."

That Jesus at His ascension in fact sat down at the right hand of God is the plain teaching of the Bible. I think, for example, of Mark 16:

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God vs 19

Paul echoes that reality in Col 3:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God vs 1

The question that needs our attention now is this: what is meant by the phrase, "sits at the right hand of God"? The Bible uses the phrase to capture primarily the notion of power, of authority. Consider the words of Ps 110. Says the psalmist:

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! vss 1f

We know well what is symbolised by making your enemies your footstool. To have your feet resting on your enemy is to say that you are in control of them, you are lord over them. That’s precisely the point of the phrase, "sit at My right hand"; God would give to David’s Lord authority, power over His enemies so that He rules over them (vs 2). That is why at the end of the same psalm this Lord at God’s right hand is described as executing kings in the day of His wrath, as judging the nations (vss 5f).

Christ at His ascension into heaven sat down at the right hand of God. That’s to say: God gave to Him a place of power and authority. God has placed both the people of God as well as the enemies of God under the control of the ascended Christ. Here is fulfilled the word spoken by the Lord just before He ascended: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:18). It is as Peter explicitly says after the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost:

Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ’

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ Acts 2:33ff

You hear it: Peter quotes Ps 110 on the day of Pentecost, and claims that this psalm is fulfilled in Jesus’ ascension –fulfilled how?- by Christ being made "Lord". See there, brothers and sisters, what His sitting at the right hand of God really means: Christ is crowned Lord of lords and King of kings.

We’re accustomed to thinking that God the Father is sovereign over all, not God the Son. We confess in LD 9 that God the Father Almighty controls all things so totally that leaf and blade, rain and drought, food and drink, health and sickness, indeed all things, come not by change but by His fatherly hand. And so it is. With LD 19 we acknowledge that God has crowned His Son to be Lord of all, and that’s to say that leaf and blade, rain and drought, food and drink, health and sickness, indeed all things, come from His hand. No, the two thoughts do not contradict. It is fact that Father governs all, indeed, but He is pleased to do so through the Son. Authority has not been transferred from the Father to the Son so that now the Father sits idly by; rather, the Father has mandated the Son to govern the world in the Father’s name. That’s the point of the Catechism: "Christ ascended into heaven to manifest Himself there as Head of His Church, through whom the Father governs all things."

What we confess here, brothers and sisters, is no small thought. We’ve learned from Scripture that your Saviour and mine has received all authority, He is the means by which the Father governs all the world. So: Pres Clinton is a servant to the King of kings, the Saviour of the world, your Lord Jesus Christ. Pres Yeltsin is equally a servant to the Saviour of the world, your Lord Jesus Christ. Some weeks ago, TIME magazine ran a whole series of stories about the persons it considers to have been the principle movers and shakers of the century now drawing to its close. They mentioned some very influential names, persons who have well and truly set their stamp on our century – Adolf Hitler, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Nehru Gandhi, to name a few. But TIME did not report that every mover and shaker was himself moved and shaken by the Mover and Shaker, your Saviour, Jesus Christ. God has crowned Him Lord of lords and King of kings, and the result is that every influential figure of our century has been and remains but a tool in His sovereign hands.

TIME magazine doesn’t know that. But you, congregation, do know it, for your God has told you so. And I put to you, beloved, that this reality gives enormous comfort for the church. It’s a fact that the people of God today feel sidelined in the world, and not a little threatened by the world. That is part of the reason why some people of God feel need for the church to do more, for the church to become more influential in society as a whole. But let it be clear, congregation: the church of God, though much hated and attacked by the devil and the world, is not threatened by the world. The Saviour who bought the Church with His own blood is today the Lord of lords! Before His coronation in heaven, He battled on the cross of Calvary against the powers of hell and smote them; by the end of the three hours of darkness Satan and his demons had to acknowledge defeat. By that triumph over the devil, our Saviour delivered God’s own from Satan’s power; we were set free from Satan’s bondage, and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13). That very same Son of God –precisely because of His triumph on Calvary- was taken into heaven and there crowned by God to be Lord of lords; He received that throne at God’s right hand, was made Master even over the devil and every demon, yes, Master over authority and government and strongman Satan can raise up on this earth. Make no mistake: the evil one serves as footstool for your ascended Redeemer! So too every ungodly ruler on this earth serves as footstool for your Saviour, the Head of the Church. Truly, this is no small thought! This is some highly exciting material – especially when we’re given to getting a bit down because we see so little influence from the church in this world.

The purpose of the Saviour’s sovereignty←⤒🔗

I move on to our second point this afternoon: the purpose of the Saviour’s sovereignty. To what end does He rule over kings and princes, economic developments and juridical rulings, the arts and the media, tornadoes and earthquakes? To answer that question I’m going to ask you first another question. That’s this: does this sovereign Lord love all men equally? Is your Saviour neutral to all men so that He treats them all the same? Or is there a prejudice in the way He governs, a bias favouring some people over other people?

I learn from Scripture that Jesus Christ laid down His life not for all men but only for those whom the Father has given to Him (Mt 1:21; Jn 17:6). Precious to the Lord of lords are the people God has given to Him, those for whom He laid down His life. And those whom the Father has not given to Him are not precious to Him; they are in fact His enemies who are described in Ps 110 as forming His footstool. Sure, He makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust alike, and the just and the unjust alike benefit from the peace and the economic prosperity the Saviour grants in a given country. But the fact that He causes His sun to shine on the just and the unjust alike does not at all mean that the Lord of lords loves all men, let alone loves them equally. He simply does not.

But tell me, then: who is going to benefit particularly from the Saviour’s rule? Those whom He loves, or those whom He does not love? Those for whom He has laid down His life, or those for whom He has not laid down His life? It’s clear: if Jesus Christ loved so much those whom the Father gave to Him that He laid down His life for them, then today too He will do what He can for the benefit of those for whom He died on the cross long ago! You see, congregation, you cannot separate Christ’s sovereignty today from His work on the cross long ago. Very much on purpose do I speak in this sermon not of Christ being sovereign, but of your Saviour being sovereign. The very same One who two thousand years ago bought a people for Himself, is today the Ruler over all the world, with principalities and authorities subject to Him. Invariably, His rule is going to favour the redeemed over the damned! More: His rule is specifically directed to the benefit of the people for whom He died! This is precisely the apostle’s point in Eph 1. He tells us that God has

seated [Christ] at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Then he adds:

God "put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" vss 20ff

That’s to say: God has placed all things under Christ’s feet, God has made Christ head over all things for the benefit of His church! Make no mistake: the Lord of the world is your Saviour, and He rules with a bias in favour of His church. The King of kings is not neutral, but He directs the film industry for the advantage of His church, He directs the tectonic plates under the earth for the advantage of His church, He causes a tornado to drop into East Fremantle for the advantage of His church. No, do not ask me for details to explain how this all fits together, do not ask me how Hollywood benefits the church, how Turkey’s earthquake benefits the church. I am too limited, and so are you, and so we can’t see the big picture, can’t understand why God does what He does in this world, does to my neighbour, does to me. But I believe that my Saviour is sovereign, and I believe –because He says so- that He rules with a distinct bias in favour of His church.

Let no one, then, congregation of the Lord of lords, think in terms of the church being insignificant in this world. It may well be true that the church’s contribution to the salvation of the world is little. But that is no surprise! What is your own contribution to your own salvation?! Then why should the church seek to be influential? It is the Head of the Church who is influential in this world; He is the Mover and Shaker of this world, and His every move is directed to the benefit of His Church. What’s reported in the newspapers revolves around the church! Talk about influential! But the influence comes not from you or me; the influence comes from the Head of the Church, your Saviour.

So: Australia’s present peace and economic prosperity is the work of our ascended Saviour, Jesus Christ. Why does He grant this peace and prosperity in Australia? Is it because He loves all Australians, and simply wants them all to live comfortably, and that’s it? Not so, for Jesus Christ does not love all Australians. But He does love the Church for which He laid down His life! And He rules over all in Australia for the sake of His church (Eph 1:22). Is that to say that Lord grants this prosperity so that we might live comfortably? Is that Christ’s motive? True, He does not mind that His people live in comfort; God has given His entire world to us to enjoy. But that’s not why He grants peace and prosperity. Recall what Jesus said to His disciples just before He ascended to that throne at the Father’s right hand. Jesus said this, Mt 28:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… vss 18f

Notice the direct connection Jesus has placed between His having received all authority and the mandate He gives for mission work (see also I Timothy 2:1-4). He says: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…." As sovereign Lord in Australia, our Saviour grants peace and economic prosperity, and as a result there is opportunity for His church to involve itself in mission work. Does He grant the prosperity simply so that we can live comfortably? Absolutely not, beloved. Out of the whole human race God has given a certain number of people to Christ, and He has laid down His life to ransom these people from Satan’s power. This same Christ Jesus is crowned ruler over the entire world so that He might gather into His Church all those given to Him by the Father. For the benefit of these elect persons – and we do not know in what tribe or nation these elect are- it is His will that His church makes disciples in all nations. In today’s prosperity and peace, Jesus gives to us now opportunity to do precisely that.

That is why it is not at all a negative thing that the Free Reformed Churches of Australia are involving themselves in three mission fields. None else than our Lord Jesus Christ has put Lae on our path as a place for mission work, for there are people in Lae for whom Christ had laid down His life. And none else than our Lord Jesus Christ has put Mr Jacob on the path of the Mt Nasura church to do mission work in India, for there are people in India for whom Jesus Christ has laid down His life. And none less than our Lord Jesus Christ has put Frank on our path for possible mission work in China, because there are people in China for whom the Lord has laid down His life. Sure, three projects will cost money. And exactly for that reason the Lord has given the economic prosperity our country now enjoys. Your wealth and mine is not given to us so that we can all go travelling, nor so that we can all have a big house and a boat. Your Saviour and mine gives us economic prosperity in our country for the benefit of the church. Christ would gather into His church all those whom the Father has given to Him, and for that reason He grants the peace and prosperity we enjoy today – so that we may involve ourselves deeply in mission work. So it is for us to get ourselves involved, deeply, use our resources for the reason it’s given. It is for us to follow where the Head of the Church leads. And as to tomorrow, and the finance mission tomorrow requires, it’s for us to trust that the Lord of lords –He is sovereign, is He not?- will continue to supply the means required to gather His people into His church. Let’s make no mistake: if we do not see the purpose for the prosperity the Saviour today grants, if we shall use our prosperity for our comfort, the Head of the Church will … spew us out of His mouth… (Rev 3:14ff). But His church gathering work around the globe shall continue.

In a word: it is for us to work concretely with the confession we make Sunday by Sunday that at the right hand of God sits our Saviour.

The evidence of Christ’s sovereignty←⤒🔗

Now the final point: can we see evidence of His sovereignty in this world? It is to be clear to us, congregation, that the evidence of our Saviour’s sovereignty is not obvious for the eye of sinful man to see. That is not because the evidence is not there, for it is. That is rather because the eye of sinful man is too darkened by sin to see that evidence. One needs the eye opened by the renewing work of His Holy Spirit to see the evidence of His lordship.

And see: what evidence is there of His lordship? In a world where every person is by nature hostile to God, where none is righteous and none seeks for God (Rom 3:10f), there is a church, people who believe in Jesus Christ the only Saviour, flee from sin and pursue righteousness, love the true God and their neighbour as themselves (Belgic Confession, Art 29). In a world where every person is by nature out for himself, there is a church, people who love one another, are patient with one another, live in peace with one another, show kindness to one another, etc. O true, there is so very much need for further growth in love for one another, for more patience with one another, etc. But the beginning is there! How come? Is that because these people are by nature so nice to each other? Is that because office-bearers work so hard? Make no mistake: that fruits of the Spirit appear among men, that there is love in the congregation and patience with one another and gentleness and kindness and so on are evidence of the work of the Lord of lords. Before you very eyes, brothers and sisters, is evidence plain and simple that the Saviour is King on high! That you may believe in Jesus Christ, that I may believe in Jesus Christ, is itself the encouragement we need to acknowledge in today’s society that our Saviour is Lord of all.

Exactly because that evidence is there, let us open our eyes to see the evidence around us of the Saviour’s sovereignty. He rules over all for the benefit of His church, sovereignly He has brought you and me –and our children too- into His church, and let that be enough. Sure, we’d like to see more joined to His church, but let us not stare ourselves blind at the growth that to us seems to be so little; let us instead fix our gaze at the Saviour who sovereignly gathered us into His church in this world, yes, and directed world history to bring us together in Kelmscott.

But if the Head of the Church rules the world for the sake of the church, it is not for us to think that we have to gather Christ’s church. Certainly, we need to engage in mission work, but we need to remember that we are no more than tools in the Saviour’s sovereign hands. He will bless as He sees fit. Equally, office-bearers need to labour in the congregation with preaching and teaching, with admonitions and warnings, but office-bearers too cannot change hearts; they are but tools in the Saviour’s sovereign hands. Again, congregation members need to look after one another, admonish one another as the need might be…, but it’s for each of us to remember that the ascended Christ alone can change a heart. To put pressure on each other just will not do; the Saviour is sovereign, and He will change the hearts of all those given to Him by the Father – at His time and in His manner.

Channel 9 News did not report Christ’s hand behind the earthquake in Turkey, nor behind the oil spill in Sydney harbour, nor behind Mr Bogucki getting lost up north and the authorities spending so much to find him. The authorities of the world do not know either that it was Christ who brought Frank & Jian-Hui out of China, the Saviour who brought Jian-Hui’s mother to Hamilton for His own divine reasons. The world doesn’t know it, but you and I do. So it’s for us keep this glorious reality in mind both as we read the church bulletin and as we listen to the news.

Let it be fixed in our minds: whatever He lets happen in this world is geared to the well-being of His church. Amen.