Today I’m going to share on “Schooling for Ruling, Training for Reigning.” Everything we go through in life prepares us for the level of authority and rulership delegated to us in the age to come when we will rule and reign with Christ.
In Revelation 3:21, Jesus said, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” This is a promise and invitation for those who overcome, including you. Jesus said this to the Church of Laodicea, the last of the seven churches in Revelation, which had to overcome lukewarmness, apathy, and lethargy. Jesus said to them (and us) that those who overcome will sit with Him on His throne.
What an invitation and privilege to sit with Jesus on His throne! This can only happen because He overcame our sin. We don’t earn salvation, but we do qualify for the level of authority we will have in His kingdom in the age to come. Jesus said, “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (see Luke 12:48). He also said that some would rule over cities, depending on how well they stewarded what they were given (see Luke 19:11-27). Then, in Revelation 20:4, we see this being fleshed out in the age to come, when saints who had been beheaded for their witness reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Our current spiritual position is seated with Him in heavenly places. However, in the age to come, our flesh and our bodies will catch up to what has already taken place in our spirits. This life is for preparation. It is schooling for ruling and training for reigning. Everything we are going through is to prepare us for our assignments in this life and in the age to come. We must be more consciously aware of what we will do in the age to come.
Before Mary gave birth to Jesus, an angel said to her, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:31-32). Jesus was called the Son of David. Why was David highlighted as the king Jesus’ reign would be like?
Interestingly, the first description of David in the Bible is when Samuel told Saul, “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people” (see I Samuel 13:14). This is quite a statement God made about David, especially considering the mistakes he would make.
Yes, David made mistakes in his flesh, but he repented. We need to recognize the difference between sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. David committed adultery, then to cover it up, he committed murder. Obviously, those were terrible sins, and yes, sin is sin. Saul also sinned but committed a sin of the spirit when he consulted a witch to try and get revelation from the other side after Samuel died (see I Samuel 28). Also, Saul had rebellion in his heart toward God. The point is, much of the church would have kept Saul and thrown out David, but the reality is God saw both their hearts.
Under the old covenant, if you did not commit a physical act, you were not actually committing sin or violating the law. However, Jesus said in the new covenant, our thoughts also matter. For example, Jesus said, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (see I John 3:15). So, the new covenant went beyond the old covenant. While the old covenant only modified external behavior, the new covenant’s goal was to change the heart.
David was known as a man after God’s own heart. We may look at our past sins and think we are too messed up to love the Lord. However, He has already loved us. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (see Romans 5:8). God loves us even when our love for Him is weak. Then, when we repent, He can help our love grow stronger. When we repent and tell the Lord we want to change, our efforts and desires through God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit empower us to become more obedient. That is our expression of love. God’s love language is us spending time with Him, having our hearts postured toward Him, and wanting to obey Him in every word, thought, and deed.
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