As you all know, tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of our nation—July 4, 1776, the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed by the members of the Continental Congress. On that day, our nation declared its freedom from Great Britain, and freedom has been the main characteristic of our nation ever since. We have not always been perfect in our expression of it or in applying it to all people within our country, but freedom has been the driving force behind our nation since its earliest days.
One of the rights that we have enjoyed in our freedom is the right to participate in our own government. We get to vote to select our own elected officials; we can even campaign to become an elected official if we want. Sometimes we also get to vote on amendments to our constitution, or new taxes, or other points of law. It is a tremendous privilege to be involved in our own government in these ways, and we should not take it for granted.
But today I want to talk about another government in which we have the opportunity to participate—that is, the government that Jesus will set up in this world after He returns. The future kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world is a major theme of Scripture, yet you may not know that you and I, as children of God, have the opportunity to serve in the government that Jesus will establish.
I. The Reality of the Kingdom
But before we get much further into this matter, we need to pause for a moment and remind ourselves of a truth from Scripture that rarely receives the attention it deserves. The Bible tells us that there is a glorious future in store for this world, because after Jesus returns to the earth, He will set up a kingdom on this planet that will be characterized by peace and godliness. Jesus will bind Satan to prevent him from doing anything in this world during the duration of this kingdom, and He will remove the curse that God placed upon the earth after the Fall of Man way back in Genesis 3.
This is an amazing truth of Scripture and it gives us so much to look forward to, but we don’t always talk about this future kingdom very much, perhaps because we’re a little hesitant to talk confidently about the Bible’s predictions of the future. When we read the portions of the Bible that tell us about the future—like the Book of Revelation—they seem very difficult for us to understand, so we may feel hesitant to talk confidently about what will happen in the future. But while the details in these predictions may not always be clear, it is not hard to get the basic outline of what God says will happen in the future, so we don’t need to ignore what the Bible teaches on this subject.
One thing that is very important for us to remember about the future kingdom of Jesus Christ is that it will be a literal, physical kingdom on this earth—just as real as the United States exists as a nation today. Sometimes people talk about the kingdom only as some kind of spiritual thing, or we talk about the church today as “the kingdom.” But we must realize that the future kingdom of Jesus Christ will be a literal, physical kingdom, and Jesus will reign from Jerusalem as king over the entire world.
Let me read just a few of the passages that predict this future kingdom. In Daniel 7, we find one prediction that became the source for the title “Son of Man,” which Jesus used for himself many different times. In Dan. 7:13–14, Daniel speaks of a vision that he had in a dream [READ Dan. 7:13–14].
Next, let me just summarize Zechariah 14 for you. That chapter describes a climactic battle in which many different nations will come against Jerusalem to destroy the Jewish people. But during that battle, the Lord will come to earth and defeat these armies. He will then set up a kingdom over all the earth, and all of the people in His kingdom will come to Jerusalem year after year to worship Him.
Finally, let me read from Revelation 20. Revelation 19 describes the return of Christ and the battle that I just mentioned to you from Zechariah 14, and then in Rev. 20:1–4 it says [READ vv. 1–4].
So this is the glorious future that will come to pass in this world—Jesus will return and set up a kingdom for a thousand years. There will be days of tribulation and hardship between now and then, as the Bible says, but we can look forward to Christ’s kingdom with great anticipation. All of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior will live with Him in this kingdom, and what’s more, the Bible tells us that we actually have the opportunity to serve under Him in His government.
II. The Reign of the Saints in the Kingdom
a. The Reality of the Reign
Let me read a few verses that talk about this reality. First, Jesus mentions this possibility a couple of times as promises to the apostles. In Matt. 19:27–28, Peter said to Jesus, “‘See we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Then on another occasion, Jesus made the same point again. In Luke 22:28–30 He says, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you a kingdom, as my Father assigned to me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Now those statements were both made to the twelve apostles, but Paul shows us that the privilege of reigning with Jesus in His kingdom is open to everyone in the church. In Romans 8:16–17, Paul writes, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Notice that Paul says we can be “fellow heirs with Christ,” which means that we can share in the authority that Christ will receive from God during His kingdom.
Then, in 1 Cor. 6:1–2, Paul writes, “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” Notice the thought—the saints will have a position of authority to judge the world. Then in 2 Tim. 2:11–12, Paul states, “This saying is trustworthy, for: ‘if we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.’”
Finally, we find a clear promise in Revelation 2:26–27 where Jesus says, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.”
What an amazing thought—that Jesus will share His authority with us in His kingdom; that He will allow us to serve in His government! So one of us may be the governor of Kansas someday during Jesus’ kingdom! I don’t know exactly how all of that will play out, but in some way, we can share in a part of Christ’s authority.
b. The Condition for the Reign
Now you may have noticed that several of those verses I just read had conditions attached to them. Jesus told the disciples that they would rule because they had left everything to follow Him and had been with Him through trials. Paul wrote that we would be fellow heirs with Christ provided that we suffer with Him and if we endure in serving Him. And in Revelation, Jesus said He would give authority to the one who keeps His works until the end.
These conditions tell us that serving in Jesus’ government is not a guarantee for all Christians. We will all live in the kingdom to be sure, but ruling in the kingdom is a reward for obedience to Christ in this life. Think of when a new president is elected in our country. Usually the president rewards his most loyal supporters with some kind of role in his government. Apparently, Jesus will do a similar thing when He sets up His government in this world.
I believe this truth is described well in a parable that Jesus told in Luke 19:11–27. Why don’t you turn there with me? This parable gives us an idea of how Christ will set up His kingdom after He returns. Let’s read through it, and I’ll offer some explanation as we go.
[READ v. 11]
Here we find the reason that Jesus told this parable—His followers thought He was getting ready to set up the kingdom immediately, but as Jesus would teach them through this parable, there was going to be some time yet before He set up the kingdom, and the way that they lived during that time would have important consequences.
[READ vv. 12–14]
Now apparently, Jesus was using an actual event from history as the background for His parable. A very similar event had taken place just a few decades before Jesus’ spoke this words when one of Herod the Great’s sons—named Herod Archelaus—had gone to Rome to seek approval to rule over a portion of Israel. Some of the people who lived in that area followed Herod Archelaus to protest his rule over them. But, for our study today, the important thing to note is that the master gave his servants a task to accomplish while he was away.
[READ vv. 15–19]
The first two servants that we encounter had both faithfully served their master while he was away—the first one had more to show for his efforts, but they were both faithful. As a result, they were both rewarded accordingly with positions of authority and leadership in their master’s new kingdom. They were given the right to rule over a number of cities as the representatives of their master.
[READ vv. 20–23]
Now we can see that Jesus did not intend for the master in this parable to be an exact description of Himself. Remember—He was using an actual historical event to make a comparison about what His kingdom will be like when He establishes it. Notice what happens to the unfaithful servant…
[READ vv. 24–26]
This unfaithful servant had been given the same amount of money as the two faithful servants, which means that he had the same opportunity to serve the Master as they did. That money represented an opportunity to have authority over a small part of the Master’s possessions, but he did nothing with his opportunity. As a result, in his master’s new kingdom, he would not be given the opportunity to have authority over any portion of his master’s territory. That’s the meaning of v. 26—those who have been faithful in their opportunities to serve will receive more and greater opportunities to serve, but those who have not been faithful will have their opportunities to serve taken away from them.
Now please notice that this unfaithful servant was not thrown out of the kingdom or beaten or executed or anything like that. He simply lost the opportunity to reign over a portion of his master’s kingdom. And when we remember that this parable was meant to describe what Jesus’ kingdom will be like, this should be a very sobering lesson for us. If you and I are not faithful to serve Jesus today, we will lose opportunities to serve Him in His kingdom! What a terrible loss! This is very much like what Moses experienced when he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land—because he was unfaithful in something that God asked him to do, he lost the opportunity to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Now we may be tempted to think, “What’s the big deal? I’m still saved; I’ll still live in the kingdom even if I’m not reigning with Jesus.” My friends, how dare we cheapen something that Jesus considers to be a precious reward! How dare we take it so lightly! The Lord Jesus holds out to us the opportunity to play a role in His government over this world; if we treat that as an insignificant opportunity, we do so to our own loss.
As Paul wrote in Romans 8:16–17, we are children of God, and as such we have an inheritance from Him—we have a place in His Son’s kingdom and in the new heavens and the new earth following that. But we also have the possibility of being rewarded with a greater inheritance—the opportunity to share in Christ’s authority over this world. How sad it will be if our opportunities to serve the Lord in His kingdom are taken from us because we are unfaithful to Him in this life. So let us strive to be faithful, that we might receive greater opportunities for faithfulness in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
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