Basic HTML Version
389
one with which He is invested. It does not pertain to a new realm, one that was not already
under His control as Son of God, for such a realm can nowhere be found. It is rather, to speak in
the words of Dick, His original kingship, “invested with a new form, wearing a new aspect,
administered for a new end.” In general we may define the mediatorial kingship of Christ as His
official power to rule all things in heaven and on earth, for the glory of God, and for the
execution of God’s purpose of salvation. We must distinguish, however, between a regnum
gratiae and a regnum potentiae.
A. THE SPIRITUAL KINGSHIP OF CHRIST.
1. THE NATURE OF THIS KINGSHIP.
The spiritual kingship of Christ is His royal rule over the
regnum gratiae, that is over His people or the Church. It is a spiritual kingship, because it relates
to a spiritual realm. It is the mediatorial rule as it is established in the hearts and lives of
believers. Moreover, it is spiritual, because it bears directly and immediately on a spiritual end,
the salvation of His people. And, finally, it is spiritual, because it is administered, not by force or
external means, but by the Word and the Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth and wisdom, of
justice and holiness, of grace and mercy. This kingship reveals itself in the gathering of the
Church, and in its government, protection, and perfection. The Bible speaks of it in many places,
such as, Ps. 2:6; 45:6,7 (cf. Heb. 1:8,9); 132:11; Isa. 9:6,7; Jer. 23:5,6; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 6:13; Luke
1:33; 19:27,38; 22:29; John 18:36,37; Acts 2:30-36, and other places. The spiritual nature of this
kingship is indicated, among others, by the fact that Christ is repeatedly called the Head of the
Church, Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:19. This term, as applied to Christ, is in some cases
practically equivalent to “King” (Head in a figurative sense, one clothed with authority), as in I
Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 5:23; in other cases, however, it is used in a literal and organic sense, Eph.
4:15; Col. 1:18; 2:19, and in part also Eph. 1:22. The word is never used (except it be in I Cor.
11:3) without the implication of this organic conception. The two ideas are most intimately
connected. It is just because Christ is the Head of the Church that He can rule it as King in an
organic and spiritual way. The relation between the two may be indicated as follows: (1) The
headship of Christ points to the mystical union between Christ and His body, the Church, and
therefore belongs to the sphere of being. His kingship, however, implies that He is clothed with
authority, and belongs to the judicial sphere. (2) The headship of Christ is subservient to His
kingship. The Spirit which Christ, as the Head of the Church, imparts to it, is also the means by
which He exercises His royal power in and over the Church. Present day Premillenarians
strongly insist that Christ is the Head of the Church, but as a rule deny that He is its King. This is
tantamount to saying that He is not the authoritative Ruler of the Church, and that the officers
of the Church do not represent Him in the government of the Church. They not only refuse to
admit that He is the King of the Church, but deny His present kingship altogether, except,
perhaps, as a kingship de jure, a kingship which is His by right but has not yet become effective.