he sovereign authority of Christ may be viewed either as necessary, or as official. Viewing Him as God, it is necessary, inherent, and underived: viewing Him as Mediator, it is official and delegated. The subject of our present inquiry is the Mediatorial Dominion of the Son; not that which essentially belongs to Him as God, but that with which, by the authoritative act of the Father, He has been officially invested as the Messiah. It is that government, in short, which was laid upon His shoulders -- that power which was given unto Him in heaven and on earth.
In proceeding to the consideration of this interesting and momentous subject, the first thing which claims attention is the necessity of Christ's kingly office. "For He must reign till he hath put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25).
1. The kingly office of Christ is necessary to the fulfillment of God's gracious purposes respecting the elect. The right of dominion over all things necessarily belongs to Him as God. Had his kingdom embraced nothing but the material and moral worlds, generally considered, there should have been no room, because no need, for the mediatorial rule, all the purposes of His government being perfectly subserved by His essential control as God. But there is something else than the material and moral world, generally considered, under the government of the Almighty. Man, having broken the original moral constitution under which he was placed, and become liable, in consequence, to judicial displeasure and punishment, and God having determined to rescue a number of the human family from the fearful consequences of such a state, that this might be done honorably and successfully, it became necessary that the government of these, and of others on their account, should be committed to Him who was chosen to be their Saviour.
2. Indeed, to complete the mediatorial character itself, such an office was requisite. Jesus, the chosen of God, is of course a perfect Saviour, But this He could not be without being invested with regal dignity and power. The work given Him to do, supposes Him to be so invested. It is salvation; and what is that? It is not merely, as we are apt to suppose, paying a ransom, by which the claims of the divine moral government shall be satisfied; it is not merely making announcement that such satisfaction has been given and accepted, and offering redemption to the guilty on this ground. These are certainly important and essential parts of salvation. Still they do not, in themselves, constitute salvation; if there were nothing more, not a single sinner could ever be saved. The ransom must be applied as well as paid; the offer must not only be made, but accepted; and to secure this the Mediator must be invested with regal power.
The purchase of redemption having been effected, the ransom for sin paid, the decease at Jerusalem accomplished, what step does He take next? Does He surrender all further concern in the salvation of men? Does he abandon all mediatorial actings, and retire to the Father? No. Follow Him in His ascension to heaven;
see Him presenting His petition. "Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee." This is how the Father salutes Him as He enters the heavenly places not made with hands. "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." As if He had said to him -- Thou hast established thy right to that rebel world: I surrender the government of it into thy hands; go through it and find out thy redeemed: gather them from the four winds of heaven: for this purpose promulgate laws, issue commands, appoint servants, subordinate whatever exists to the gracious and magnificent ends of thine appointment."
3. The kingly dignity of the Mediator is necessary, as a reward of his obedience unto the death. Never was service so meritorious, whether we consider the sacrifice made or the end contemplated. Should not such service be rewarded? "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:26)
If men, who have been faithful over a few things, are to be rewarded by being made "rulers over many things," surely it is due to Him who, "as a Son, has been faithful, like Moses, over all his house," that He be made "ruler over all."
4. Nor is this dominion less requisite to counteract the opposition made to the work of man's salvation by its enemies. "For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet." That a work of such grace and benevolence as that of man's salvation should provoke hostility, seems strange; but it is not more strange than true.
Are these enemies to meet with no resistance? Is the kingdom of the Messiah to fall a prey to their rapacious hatred? Certainly not. It is the prayer of every saint that they may meet with a signal defeat. The honour of the Saviour Himself demands their final overthrow, and the Word of God assures us that such shall be the ultimate issue of the contest.
To the accomplishment of this work, investment with regal power and authority is indispensable. In this capacity it is that Jesus encounters His enemies. It is not on the white horse merely, but on the red, the black, and the pale, that He goes forth conquering and to conquer, and bearing back with him from the field of battle the palm of victory. Nor is there anything in this at variance with His general character as Mediator. The saviour of his people, and the conqueror of their foes, are not incompatible features.
5. The kingly office is not less necessary to meet the needy circumstances of Christ's own people. They are all of them, by nature, rebels, enemies to Christ, both in their minds and by wicked works. By nature all are carnal, sold under sin. It is not possible, such being the case, that they should embrace of themselves the overtures of reconciliation, accept without hesitation the offers of mercy, and acquiesce with cordiality and esteem in the terms of salvation. No; they treat them with despite, they spurn them from them with scorn. They must be reconciled -- they must be made willing -- their imaginations must be brought down.
"The Lord is our king, and He will save us" (Is. 33:22). §
William Symington was a Covenanter pastor in Scotland in the last century. This column is an excerpt, with slight modifications, from the first chapter of his book which is also entitled Messiah the Prince.
