One of the titles that we have for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is that of King. We generally think of a King as one who orders around his subjects and underlings in a peremptory manner. However, when we begin to dig deeper into what kind of King Jesus is, we get a very different picture. In this article, I would like to share a few thoughts about the kind of King Jesus Christ is.
Proverbs 28:12a says, “When the righteous triumph, there is great elation” (NIV). There is great rejoicing when righteous leaders are victorious. As God’s citizens, we can rejoice today because our King—Christ himself—has triumphed. He is a victorious and righteous King—indeed a Good King!
A Great King of Hope—the Lifter of our Head!
Sometimes I work with a child and perhaps that child has done something wrong and is ashamed. Perhaps the child is shy or has experienced some kind of defeat. What invariably happens is that the child places his head down; the child’s whole countenance—head, eyes, face, and mouth—points downward. I sometimes proceed to lift up the child’s head.
The same thing can happen to us as children of God. Perhaps for whatever reason our countenance is downcast. Our encouragement level is depressed. In those times we can remember Psalm 24:7-10, which describes the triumphal return of our King to the city and its corresponding effect upon his citizens:
Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory. (NIV)
Who is this King—this Jesus? Mighty and victorious, He is the great King who lifts up our head, lifts up our countenance, and gives us hope even amid difficulty. This hope is one that is firm and secure, an eternal anchor to our soul; this King gives real hope that makes a real difference in our outlook—every day of our lives! He is a King who fights victoriously for His people—He is mighty in battle!
You can imagine what it must have been like for a victorious king to return to his city. Rejoicing, the people would lift up the city’s gates and doors to receive their king with great adulation. My question to you is “What are your gates? What are your doors? What are you letting into your city? Who are you letting into your heart?” With the doors of your eyes, your ears, your mind, and your heart—with your entire being, let in King Jesus. Receive this King with unadulterated rejoicing. This King is the Lifter of Your Head. He gives us true hope amid all of our difficulties!
Psalm 25:15 shows how this King can lift up our head when we are facing trials: “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” So often when going through tribulation, we are tempted to look down and get immersed in the problem. We focus on the trap, the mess we have gotten into, and do everything we can to extricate ourselves from that situation. God’s Word counsels us to do the opposite: to lift up our head and fix our eyes not on the problem but on our King—Jesus—because He is the only one who can free us from the trap.
A Victorious King Who Gives Gifts!
Not only is he a victorious King—a conquering King who wins great battles on our behalf, Jesus is also a different king. Upon his return from The Great Victory, instead of being showered by his people with gifts, this King gives his people gifts! Normally, upon return from a victorious battle, a conquering king would parade through the city streets with his prisoners in tow and the people would bestow him with gifts. Well, this King Jesus returns with captives in his train, but instead of being showered with gifts, he does things in reverse—He gives gifts to his citizens. He gives gifts to his children. He gives important gifts to you and to me.
Ephesians 4:7-8 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’”
When King Jesus returned from his great victory over Satan and all the spiritual principalities that are now defeated foes, He gave his people gifts. And these grace gifts are for a purpose!
Why does He give us gifts? Why does this King Jesus give his children gifts? What do all children want to do? In our school’s first and second grade classroom, there is a place where the students can measure their height to see how tall they have grown. They are able to see how much they are growing throughout the course of the year. Of course, children want to grow up; they want to grow up physically and in every other way. They want to grow up physically, mentally, spiritually, relationally; in short, they want to become more and more mature.
In the same way, God gives us his children gifts so that we can grow up—so we can grow to maturity in Christ. He desires us to grow up spiritually as a Body into the full stature and character of Christ. Jesus—the Great King—uses grace gifts, or equipping gifts, to do just that. He calls us to use our gifts for His use—to help us to grow.
Ephesians 4:12-13 says that God gave us gifts “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Far from an individual focus that so oftens occurs when we receive material gifts, these equipping gifts are for a community focus—to build up the Body of Christ! In other words, these grace gifts make us others-focused as opposed to self-focused. These equipping gifts help us to reach the goal Christ has for us together as a Body—to be unified in the faith and in knowing Christ.
As we mature in Christ, we will show the balance of Christ’s character—full of grace and truth. We become fully grown in Christ and are not easily shaken like infants because we hold firmly to the sound Word of God. And all of the members of the Body are used in order to enable this process of growth to occur. “The whole body . . . grows . . . as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:16). In the Kingdom of God, growth occurs as the whole body—not individual parts of the body—grows together in love.
The King asks us today: What gift have I given you? Are you using it to build up my Body? I encourage you to understand that we grow as we also help our brothers and sisters in Christ to grow. This Great King Jesus has given us special gifts, and He calls us to use them to help others to grow up into Christ. This King is a different King—He is the Lifter of our Head and He gives us gifts for a purpose—to build up the Body of Christ—all for His glory! Indeed, we serve a great King!
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