Jesus Reigns, and We Will Reign with Him

“Western Christianity has often adopted one of the most damaging values to true Christian faith — the pursuit of comfort and ease. Christ is frequently presented as the answer to our problems or the fulfillment of our needs. Yet Paul understood the Christian life as one of continual struggle, suffering, and hardship — to bring glory to Christ. Christ brings to the believer the supernatural ability to persist, to endure, and to respond with, joy and thanksgiving (Col. 1:10–12).”

We can maintain this Christ-focus of our lives in our trials — the receiving of God’s goodness for His glory and the giving of praise for His glory. It is then in suffering we are to remember that Christ’s kingdom is going to be shared with us: “And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17). We will reign over all the world with Jesus Christ; in this we have great hope and peace for the path God has set before us on this earth. We have hope.

There are many ways to rejoice in this future inheritance. The Bible says we will have eternal pleasures at the right hand of God (Psalm 16:11). We can rejoice that only the Trustworthy and True will be on the throne, that we will be given gifts and treasures beyond our current comprehension because we will be found “in” Christ, that is, in union with Him. We can also understand that our suffering prepares us for eternal joy, as we gain more and more Christ-focus.

Needless to say, we are not on a perfect world. But one day, we will know what it is to be co-heirs with Christ who reign with Him, as the Scriptures say. What joy and gratitude issue from these truths, as we really meditate upon them!

Our suffering here certainly prepares us to appreciate the glories of the life to come. And surely, it will be a life found in, through, and with Christ. For, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

He is the Head of the church, and one day He will be the visible King on the throne of David. And the scepter of His kingdom will be righteousness (Hebrews 1:8). Take heart, that Jesus reigns and we have the hope of reigning in righteousness with Him. Bless the Lord! It all hinges on Him.

Source

Larson, Knute. I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon. Vol. 9. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.

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Lianna Davis is author of Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude and Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss. She is also a contributor to We Evangelicals and Our Mission with Cascade Books. Lianna is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She lives in Illinois with her husband and daughter. You can learn more about her writing at her website.