The Present Reign of Christ

Members of the church militant dwell in the blessed kingdom of God, subject to the reign of Christ over the covenant community that is mediated by His Word (Col. 1:13–14). These members of the visible church are members also of the invisible church if they have more than a profession of faith, if they truly possess saving trust in the Lord Jesus. Such individuals persevere in faith until the end and at their deaths join the church triumphant, enjoying the bliss of the intermediate state of heaven until the resurrection (2 Cor. 5:1–10; Phil. 2:12–13). Those who never come to saving faith, however, are not a part of God’s blessed kingdom but are still included in Christ’s sovereign rule over the cosmos. Dying in sin, they pass into the intermediate state of hell, where they remain until the last day, when Jesus raises all people from the dead and casts unbelievers into the lake of fire (Matt. 10:28; Rev. 20:11–15).

Note that Jesus is King over all whether one is part of the blessed kingdom of God or merely a citizen of the cosmos subject to His sovereign rule and control. We must keep this in mind as we move from our look at personal eschatology, what happens to us after we take our last breath, to general or cosmic eschatology, which concerns the events of the last days of the present created order. Whatever else we might say, we are not waiting for Christ to become King or for His blessed kingdom to come. At present, He is ruling over all, bringing His enemies under His feet, as Paul tells us in today’s passage (1 Cor. 15:25). The full manifestation of Jesus’ blessed kingdom is still to come, but our Lord inaugurated it in His first coming and reigns over it until its consummation at His return.

The Son of God has been sovereign over all from all eternity, and since His ascension He has been reigning over His mediatorial kingdom as the God-man. He has been exercising His power for the sake of the church, standing as the one Mediator between God and man (Eph. 1:22; 1 Tim. 2:5). This reality determines how we will approach important eschatological (last-days, final, ultimate) texts on the millennial reign of Christ such as Revelation 20:1–6 that describe the rule of Jesus over His kingdom. If Jesus’ reign has already begun, then it is not something for which we are waiting. We are waiting only for the boundaries of His blessed kingdom to reach their full extent, for all its citizens to be received through faith in Christ.