Someone might object that even His mediatorial kingdom is unlimited because as king He rules over all things for the glory of His kingdom. Even unbelievers will finally bow to Him in their condemnation. But His rule over the wicked only has to do with them as they stand in relation to Him as Savior and to His elect as the redeemed. All who remain in unbelief will bow, but they will bow as conquered enemies of Christ and the Church. The subjects of His mediatorial kingdom are the elect of God, chosen, redeemed, and called from among men by the grace of God, and bear the name of saints. Therefore, the title and character of Christ with respect to them is "King of saints" (Rev. 15:3).

This kingdom was put into His hands to rule and administer. It is a delegated government given Him by His Father based on His having fulfilled all righteousness for His sheep. It is a kingdom He earned by redeeming God's elect (Isa. 9:6-7; John 17:1-4). His responsibility as king is to save all whom the Father had given Him. When this is completed, He will deliver the kingdom to the Father, perfect and entire, that God may be all in all. This is the kingly office of Christ our Mediator.

I. CHRIST IS KING IN FULFILLMENT OF THE PURPOSES, TYPES, AND PROPHECIES OF GOD.

The appointed Messiah was to be a king: By God's appointment - (Ps. 2:6; 45:6; Heb. 1:8; Luke 22:29); According to the types of the Old Testament - Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1); David (Ps. 89:3-37); Solomon (Matt. 12:42); According to prophecy - (Gen. 49:10; Isa. 32:1; Dan. 7:13-14; 9:24-25); In fulfillment of prophecy - The Jews expected the Messiah to be a king (Matt. 2:2; 3:2; 4:17; Luke 1:32-33). Christ claimed to be a king in fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 25:40; 27:11,29,37).

II. HIS QUALIFICATIONS AS KING.

A. His Deity - He could not be our mediatorial KING unless He is God. The extent of His power shows that He is God (Matt. 11:27; 28:18; John 17:2). No mere man could rule over the entire universe and give salvation to whom He pleases. He is our Savior-King, our sovereign Savior. The nature of His rule shows us that He is God. His rule is an internal, spiritual rule over the minds and hearts of people as well as outward. He makes His people willing in the day of His power. He puts His law in their "inward parts." Under the Old Covenant, God ruled Israel, but it was an outward rule over rebellious people. In the mediatorial kingdom of Christ, all shall know God as Father through Christ and willingly bow to His rule (John 6:44-45; Heb. 8:10-11).

B. His humanity - To be our mediator and king, He had to identify with us in our name and in our nature. He had to become incarnate in order to meet the conditions of our salvation and merit the kingdom. Just as our High Priest had to be taken from among men, our mediatorial king had to be taken from among men. Remember, His mediatorial lordship is founded upon His fulfilling the duties of His priestly office. He had to be our Redeemer, our Savior, in order to be our king.

C. His accomplishments - The accomplishments of His priestly duties qualified Him to be our king (Jer. 23:5-7; Acts 2:36; John 17:1-4). The Kingdom of Heaven is established upon His righteousness (Matt. 5:20; 6:33). His kingship (lordship) is the direct fruit and effect of His establishing the righteousness of the law for His church to enable God the be just and Justifier.

III. HIS DUTIES AS KING. Notice His several duties as our Mediator and King:

A. To bring all of God's elect into the kingdom (John 17:2; 6:37-40; 10:16). As our King He sovereignly brings us under the sound of the Gospel and sends the Holy Spirit to give us life and bring us to faith and repentance (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). He brings us out of the kingdom of darkness and brings us into (Col. 1:12-14). He brought the thief on the cross into His kingdom (Luke 23:42-43). His lordship, His kingly office, is directly related to His bringing all of God's elect into the kingdom. If He should lose even one, it would destroy His lordship.

B. To rule over them on earth, externally by His Word and internally by His Spirit working in us as justified sinners so that we grow in grace and knowledge and have our hearts continually established with the absolute certainties of His grace. He uses His appointed means: the ordinances, the continual preaching of the Gospel and study of His Word, prayer and fellowship.

C. To protect and preserve them and bring them to final glory (2 Tim. 4:14-18; Jude 1:24-25), by the use of the same means.

D. To return for His church and glorify them with Himself (1 Tim. 6:14-16; 1 Thes. 4:16-18).

E. To conquer His enemies (Phil. 2:5-9; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).

IV. THE NATURE OF HIS KINGDOM.

(1) It is spiritual, not earthly (John 18:36) - This is where the Jews made a vital mistake. They were looking for an earthly kingdom. But who are the subjects of His kingdom? SPIRITUAL ISRAEL, all who believe the Gospel.

(2) It is a righteous kingdom (2 Pet. 3:13). Remember, it is established upon His righteousness, and none shall enter this kingdom but those who are righteous in Him (Ps. 24).

(3) It is a peaceable kingdom in that all His subjects are at peace with God (Rom. 14:17).

(4) It is an eternal kingdom (Ps. 145:13; Dan. 4:3; 2 Pet. 1:11).

V. WHAT IT MEANS TO BOW TO HIS KINGSHIP, HIS LORDSHIP.

Most people think of bowing to the lordship of Christ as a matter of one who has already received Him as Savior finally getting busy for the Lord and seeking to reach great heights of personal holiness and improvements in character and conduct. They say, "He's your Savior, but is He your Lord?" This is wrong because you cannot receive Him as Savior without receiving Him as Lord and visa-versa. He cannot be one and not the other. The first saving view we have of Christ is as He is our High Priest, our Savior, and if we trust Him as our Savior, we will bow to Him as our Lord. Others claim that bowing to His lordship is a matter of bowing to God's absolute sovereign right to save or damn whom He will. They claim that a person has bowed to Christ as Lord when they admit that God is absolutely sovereign. The problem with this is that many have admitted that God is absolutely sovereign, that He saves or damns whom He will, but they have never savingly bowed to the Lordship of Christ. How is this possible, and what is it to bow to His Lordship?

Remember, the Lordship of Christ refers not to His essential sovereignty, even though that is included, but it is first and foremost His mediatorial Lordship as He fulfilled all conditions of the salvation of His sheep and established a righteousness for them that secures their salvation and final glory. You cannot separate Christ's Person from His finished work, His righteousness. You cannot separate Christ Lordship from His righteousness. The establishment of righteousness as the only ground of salvation is the theme and ground of His Lordship!

We know that sinners must bow to the Lordship of Christ. All who hear the Gospel are commanded to bow to the Lordship of Christ. But what does this mean? It means to come to saving faith and true repentance from former idolatry and dead works. When we come to believe God's promise of salvation conditioned on Him alone, and to plead His righteousness as the only ground of salvation, and repent from all efforts at religion and morality aimed at the ground of salvation, and turn from the false god who accepted such dead works, then, we have bowed to the Lordship of Christ! You cannot reconcile the god whom you worshiped, the christ whom you served, before the Gospel, with the true God and His Christ. You cannot serve two masters, two Lords! Salvation requires bowing to Christ's Lordship!

We truly bow to Christ's Lordship when we see the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. This is when we begin to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, to fear God with that reverence and respect of His redemptive character that comes in salvation. Sinners may come great lengths in character and conduct, and they may agree that God is absolutely sovereign and can save or damn whom He will. But apart from seeing the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ, they will never savingly bow to the Lordship of Christ.

There are several aspects to bowing to Christ's Lordship: (1) Humility where a sinner sees that God cannot save him, justify him, sanctify him, or bring him to final glory based on anything other than the imputed righteousness of Christ. It arises from Holy Spirit conviction by the preaching of the law and the Gospel. The convinced sinner sees and knows that God cannot be just to justify him based on character and conduct, and he sees and admits that all his efforts before saving faith were dead works and fruit unto death. (2) Assurance where a sinner sees that God can and will save him, justify him, sanctify him, and bring him to final glory based on the imputed righteousness of Christ. This arises from God-given faith, where a sinner, having been convinced of sin and of righteousness, expects God to save him and bless him based on the finished work of Christ, His righteousness alone. (3) Subjection to the judgments of the law of God. This is where a believing sinner sees that all who are either ignorant of or not submitted to the righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel are, without respect of persons, lost and their deeds are evil, and that all who are submitted to Christ's righteousness revealed in the Gospel are, without respect of persons, saved and in God's favor. This is what keeps believers from speaking peace to unbelievers and motivates believers to have fellowship with their brethren. (4) Obedience to God's revealed will where justified sinners seek to follow Christ, obey Him, and become conformed to His image in their character and conduct as they are motivated by grace and gratitude to God for free salvation.

We see then that bowing to the Lordship of Christ is the same thing as submitting to His righteousness as the only ground of salvation (Rom. 10:1-3). It is believing on His name, being convinced that He has met all conditions to secure my whole salvation, and that I do not need anything else to recommend me unto God. If Christ had not established this righteousness, He would have no kingship or kingdom. Humility, assurance, subjection, and obedience all spring from saving faith and true repentance. That is why any sinner who claims to believe God's Gospel but who refuses to admit that everything before hearing and believing this Gospel was dead works and acts of open idolatry, has not bowed to the Lordship of Christ.