The Reigning Christ in the Midst of His Church

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 1:9

Where is God? In the midst of the Church. Connection between Christ and His bride. (Ephesians 5:23)

We are not all free-agent followers of Jesus—He sees us as a part of the collective.

We are still His people, His church, His bride. And right now, that’s where He is...not in the midst of random people, but in the midst of the churches.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Colossians 1:18

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Revelation 1:12-16

Reigning Jesus is not the same as the man from Galilee.

The theological mystery is that Jesus is fully God and fully man. So you can take Him by the hand and access everything His incarnation affords and all He embodies. But He is in a new state.

Reigning Jesus is...

• High, not low. See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
• Glorious and majestic vs. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2
• A household name vs an uncommon name, I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. Revelation 19:11-13
• Son of man vs a man. In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
• Unquestionable vs Challengeable.
• Reigning vs serving.
• Fully revealed vs obscured in parables.
• Calling the shots vs taking the blows.
• Awe-inspiring vs intriguing.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:25-29

Everything that can be shaken will be consumed.

What’s getting consumed?

Our fears about the future.

1. Are you looking? I heard, I looked, I saw.
2. Are you ready?
3. Are you confident? It’s going to get darker before it gets lighter. We know how it ends.
4. Will you stay faithful “in the Spirit” today and tomorrow?