HOW INDIFFERENCE AFFECTS JESUS
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev 3:14-22)
THE STAGGERING PROMISE, #2
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Rev 3:21).
Presently, the Lord Jesus is seated with His Father in His throne. A time is coming when the Lord Jesus will, in some sense, have His own throne – when all of His enemies shall have been publicly subdued. Here, we are on most holy ground, and must walk with caution, not allowing flesh to intrude with fanciful explanations. The Spirit pulls the curtain back, giving us a glimpse of this time, in the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians. "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (verses 24-28).
We dare not venture opinions on this text, but receive it as it stands. Jesus will transfer the Kingdom back to God the very God Who gave it to Him. When He returns the Kingdom, it shall have been perfected, cleansed from all defilement, and readied for eternal responsibilities. "All things in heaven and in earth" will have been united together as God determined (Eph 1:9-11).
The Lord Jesus Himself "will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him." His subjection will not be like that of a slave – that is not the intent of these words. The idea is that He will be identified with the redeemed, and together with them shall carry out the will of God. There is a purpose on the trestle board of eternity, and it has not yet been fully divulged.
There will be glorious enterprises in which the redeemed will participate. Here and there we receive a hint of them. "To Him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, FOREVER AND EVER (world without end, KJV). Amen" (Eph 3:21). " But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, THAT IN THE AGES TO COME He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:7). Who can forget some of the provocative promises regarding these things: "Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, HAVE AUTHORITY OVER TEN CITIES. . . . You also be OVER FIVE CITIES" (Luke 19:17-19). "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will MAKE YOU RULER OVER MANY THINGS. Enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt 25:21).
There has been far too much minuscule thinking about "the world to come," and the role of the redeemed in it. Our hearts and minds can be enlarged concerning these things. Here is a promise that will contribute to that enlargement. Let me state it once again: "He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne" (AMPLIFIED).
The Lord Jesus will share His throne with the redeemed of all ages. He will lead them forth in endeavors that require all of their ransomed powers, and for which they will be fully equal. Here, I will rest my case, although there is much more that could be said. I encourage you to contemplate the greatness your salvation and the exceeding great reward that awaits you.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, help me to make war on small thinking.
-- Tomorrow: CONCLUSION TO SERIES --