13: The Lordship of the Messiah

We are seeking to understand the things done for us in the Christian system. "Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us." As such, "not a bone was broken." Yet, "he died for us." Secondly, he has become our prophet, as well as our priest; and has revealed to us the will of God; the whole will of God concerning us. He is our light, as well as our sin offering. But thirdly, he has been made Lord for us. To make Christ Lord for us, as well as of us — was the final act of the sublime drama of man's redemption from sin. The last secret of the mystery of Christ, which Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, was, "Let all the house of Israel know, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." To make him Lord for us was to invest him with universal authority, so that he might have the power to give eternal life to all his people. Jesus, in one of his prayers, in anticipation of his investiture, says, "You have given him power over all flesh so that he might give eternal life to as many as you have given him." But after his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, he was crowned Lord of angels, as well as Lord of men; and therefore he said, "all authority," or lordship, "in heaven and on earth has been given to me." He is now the Lord of hosts: legions of angels, the armies of the skies, are given to him — for what? So that he might be able to do all for us that our condition requires. It was for us he became a Prophet, for us he became a priest, for us he has been made Lord of hosts, King of the universe, Judge and avenger of all. He is Lord of life, Lord of the Spirit, Lord of all.

We need sacrifice — and therefore we need a priest. We need a Leader, a Light, a Sun of Righteousness; and we want one who can always help us in times of need, when we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with the rulers of the darkness of this world; with wicked spirits living in the air. In Jesus himself, in one of the conflicts, needed an angel to minister to him; we need it even more. Three things are done for us: a sin offering is presented; a lamp of life is placed in our hands; and all the active powers and energies in the wide universe are placed at the command of our King whenever we need them. These are things already done. Hence, the Holy Spirit, and all the angels of heaven are now at the disposal of our Savior: for in him all the promises of God are stored up; all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and all the fullness of the Deity, fully and truly reside in him. All these things, it is true, might be encompassed in one gift — the gift of Jesus as our Mediator; our Prophet, Priest, and King. Still, it is helpful to view the things done for us, separately and distinctly in the Christian system.

Other things are promised to be done for us: but these are the things already done for us, and before we speak of the things yet to be done for us, and done in us, we will briefly consider the things to be done by us, before anything more can be done for us, or done in us.