Jesus Christ - King of What?
The Pfitz-meister has opined:
I keep forgetting that this is a point of theology that Catholics do not share in common with Protestants. For my Protestant friends and readers, then, allow me a brief excursion into the reasons why Jesus Christ is, in fact, King of all nations (including America).
It may be clearest and best understood if I put into a kind of logical flow:
1) God is the Creator of all men without exception
2) Therefore the "rights" of all men are not absolute rights, but are contigent upon God
3) If God has not accorded to Man a particular right, then Man does not have that right, no matter what the secular authorities might say
4) God has absolute rights
5) One of those rights is the right to be worshiped in the manner presribed by Him
6) Therefore all men are bound and obligated - by virtue of their most fundamental creature-Creator relationship to God - to worship Him as He dictates
7) Nations are nothing more than a collection of individuals, all individually bound and obligated to worship God
8) Therefore kings, princes, presidents, etc., are not exempt from this obligation
9) All authority comes from God
10) Therefore all secular rulers have authority that is "borrowed" from God
11) Therefore all secular rulers must use this authority in a way that does not conflict with the rights of God
12) More particularly, secular law must reflect Divine Law
13) Laws are both positive and negative, that is, they command that something must be done, and they prohibit something from being done
14) While Divine Law (and therefore secular law) does not coerce Man to worship God, it does prohibit Man from worshiping falsely
15) Therefore secular law, enacted by secular rulers who acknowledge God's ultimate authority and rule, must prohibit citizens from offending God by false worship
16) Jesus Christ, by His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, has merited from God a kingdom and the right to rule the nations
17) The Psalms and prophets everywhere speak of the Messiah as one to whom "the nations" and "the ends of the earth" are given as His "possession"
18) Therefore Jesus Christ is the ultimate ruler of all nations, and the One to whom alone secular rulers must offer their service
19) For a secular ruler to refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the source of their authority - both in the public and in the private sphere - is a grave abuse of their borrowed authority
20) Those rulers who seek to "break asunder" the "bonds" by which Christ the King has bound them offend God and His Son, and will ultimately be broken themselves - for the "LORD has them in derision." (c.f. Psalm 2)
When we say that Jesus Christ is the King of all nations, we mean that every secular ruler is duty-bound to publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as the ultimate Sovereign of that nation.
That is, all men as individuals are bound to serve God, and their private life is in no way separate from their public life as rulers - it is absolutely wrong and offensive for a ruler to say, in so many words, "My private faith will not affect the way I run this government."
In practical terms? It means that secular rulers must - must - enact laws that are in conformity with God's Divine Law, and must not enact laws that violate the Divine Law.
Divorce, legal contraception, abortion, legalized sodomy (including so-called sodomite "marriages" and "civil unions"), etc., are all in violation of the Divine Law. To recognize Jesus Christ as King, as all secular rulers must do, means abolishing these laws which pretend to give Man "rights" which are not true rights at all.
Some Scripture passages which teach the Kingship of Christ over nations:
"Jesus Christ [who is] the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth." (Rev. 1:5)
"Let all the earth fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!" (Psalm 33:8)
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing." (Rom. 13:1-5)
Note: St. Paul assumes many things with this teaching. He assumes that the authorites in question "have been instituted by God"; he assumes that those who rule are those whom "God has appointed"; he assumes that these "rulers" will be "a terror ... to bad [conduct]"; he assumes these rulers are "God's servant[s]" - which means that they do, in fact, serve God; he assumes that this "servant of God" is "bear[ing] the sword" in such a way that he maintains God's justice, and dispenses God's wrath - which itself assumes that the ruler loves what God loves, hates what God hates, and is wrathful towards those things which incur God's wrath; he assumes, finally, that these rulers "are ministers of God."
In short, there is no room whatsoever in this passage for a purely secular ruler who makes no public acknowledgement of God, or who refuses to allow God's Law to influence the secular law.
"Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way." (Ps. 2:8-12)
"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." (Rev. 19:16)
Indeed - of secular kings, He is the King; of secular lords, He is the Lord. It is their duty - these "rulers of the earth" - the serve Him with the very authority He has loaned to them.
One final thought - I would encourage anyone who reads this to think through whatever counter-arguments they may have. In nearly every single case - if not in every case absolutely - the counter-argument which you intend to raise against the idea of Christ's Social Kingship can be used to promote an entirely Atheistic and Godless society. The very things which you would say are evil - and here I assume that 99% of Protestants who read this abhor sodomy and abortion - must of necessity be granted to Man as his rights, if Jesus Christ is denied Social Kingship.
But we shall see ...
Now, to correct a small misunderstanding.
If what is meant here is that Jesus must become a literal president of the United States and have His face put on the $50 bill, I agree.
But what is a king? Any description which follows as the answer to this question must necessarily be applied, in every perfection, to Jesus Christ. He is, as was said, the King over all other kings. He is the Supreme King. If America is not under His rule, then America must be one kingdom which is not His - but how can that be? How can there be even one corner of this earth that is not claimed as His royal possession?
Caesar ruled over all the ends of the earth, because he spread his empire and conquered many nations - how can it be otherwise than that Jesus Christ has spread His empire as far - and farther - than the ancient Caesar of Rome?
In closing, I will quote again one of my favorite verses which illustrates this teaching. Of all the wicked kings in Jerusalem's latter history, there was one shining exception: Jehoash. And why was his rule a righteous rule?
"And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him." (2 Kings 12:2)
And so it must be for us in America. If our presidents are going to be righteous and God-pleasing rulers, they must listen to "the priest," and conform the secular law to the Law of Jesus Christ, King of all nations.
And for anyone to run for U.S. president and say that Jesus is King of our country is really rather incredible. Jesus is NOT King of any country, and has not been since Israel was a theocracy. While He reigns as absolutely Sovereign over the universe, He has also given authority to the rulers. They receive their power and authority from Him, as the Bible says, but He does not rule those countries. He may rule in the hearts of men, but I don't believe there is a biblical basis for saying that He is the political King of any country.
I keep forgetting that this is a point of theology that Catholics do not share in common with Protestants. For my Protestant friends and readers, then, allow me a brief excursion into the reasons why Jesus Christ is, in fact, King of all nations (including America).
It may be clearest and best understood if I put into a kind of logical flow:
1) God is the Creator of all men without exception
2) Therefore the "rights" of all men are not absolute rights, but are contigent upon God
3) If God has not accorded to Man a particular right, then Man does not have that right, no matter what the secular authorities might say
4) God has absolute rights
5) One of those rights is the right to be worshiped in the manner presribed by Him
6) Therefore all men are bound and obligated - by virtue of their most fundamental creature-Creator relationship to God - to worship Him as He dictates
7) Nations are nothing more than a collection of individuals, all individually bound and obligated to worship God
8) Therefore kings, princes, presidents, etc., are not exempt from this obligation
9) All authority comes from God
10) Therefore all secular rulers have authority that is "borrowed" from God
11) Therefore all secular rulers must use this authority in a way that does not conflict with the rights of God
12) More particularly, secular law must reflect Divine Law
13) Laws are both positive and negative, that is, they command that something must be done, and they prohibit something from being done
14) While Divine Law (and therefore secular law) does not coerce Man to worship God, it does prohibit Man from worshiping falsely
15) Therefore secular law, enacted by secular rulers who acknowledge God's ultimate authority and rule, must prohibit citizens from offending God by false worship
16) Jesus Christ, by His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, has merited from God a kingdom and the right to rule the nations
17) The Psalms and prophets everywhere speak of the Messiah as one to whom "the nations" and "the ends of the earth" are given as His "possession"
18) Therefore Jesus Christ is the ultimate ruler of all nations, and the One to whom alone secular rulers must offer their service
19) For a secular ruler to refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the source of their authority - both in the public and in the private sphere - is a grave abuse of their borrowed authority
20) Those rulers who seek to "break asunder" the "bonds" by which Christ the King has bound them offend God and His Son, and will ultimately be broken themselves - for the "LORD has them in derision." (c.f. Psalm 2)
When we say that Jesus Christ is the King of all nations, we mean that every secular ruler is duty-bound to publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as the ultimate Sovereign of that nation.
That is, all men as individuals are bound to serve God, and their private life is in no way separate from their public life as rulers - it is absolutely wrong and offensive for a ruler to say, in so many words, "My private faith will not affect the way I run this government."
In practical terms? It means that secular rulers must - must - enact laws that are in conformity with God's Divine Law, and must not enact laws that violate the Divine Law.
Divorce, legal contraception, abortion, legalized sodomy (including so-called sodomite "marriages" and "civil unions"), etc., are all in violation of the Divine Law. To recognize Jesus Christ as King, as all secular rulers must do, means abolishing these laws which pretend to give Man "rights" which are not true rights at all.
Some Scripture passages which teach the Kingship of Christ over nations:
"Jesus Christ [who is] the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth." (Rev. 1:5)
"Let all the earth fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!" (Psalm 33:8)
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing." (Rom. 13:1-5)
Note: St. Paul assumes many things with this teaching. He assumes that the authorites in question "have been instituted by God"; he assumes that those who rule are those whom "God has appointed"; he assumes that these "rulers" will be "a terror ... to bad [conduct]"; he assumes these rulers are "God's servant[s]" - which means that they do, in fact, serve God; he assumes that this "servant of God" is "bear[ing] the sword" in such a way that he maintains God's justice, and dispenses God's wrath - which itself assumes that the ruler loves what God loves, hates what God hates, and is wrathful towards those things which incur God's wrath; he assumes, finally, that these rulers "are ministers of God."
In short, there is no room whatsoever in this passage for a purely secular ruler who makes no public acknowledgement of God, or who refuses to allow God's Law to influence the secular law.
"Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way." (Ps. 2:8-12)
"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." (Rev. 19:16)
Indeed - of secular kings, He is the King; of secular lords, He is the Lord. It is their duty - these "rulers of the earth" - the serve Him with the very authority He has loaned to them.
One final thought - I would encourage anyone who reads this to think through whatever counter-arguments they may have. In nearly every single case - if not in every case absolutely - the counter-argument which you intend to raise against the idea of Christ's Social Kingship can be used to promote an entirely Atheistic and Godless society. The very things which you would say are evil - and here I assume that 99% of Protestants who read this abhor sodomy and abortion - must of necessity be granted to Man as his rights, if Jesus Christ is denied Social Kingship.
But we shall see ...
Now, to correct a small misunderstanding.
Even if a ruler or president vows to follow Him and publicly acknowledges Jesus as God, with a commitment to leading as He would have him, that does not make Jesus King of that country.
If what is meant here is that Jesus must become a literal president of the United States and have His face put on the $50 bill, I agree.
But what is a king? Any description which follows as the answer to this question must necessarily be applied, in every perfection, to Jesus Christ. He is, as was said, the King over all other kings. He is the Supreme King. If America is not under His rule, then America must be one kingdom which is not His - but how can that be? How can there be even one corner of this earth that is not claimed as His royal possession?
Caesar ruled over all the ends of the earth, because he spread his empire and conquered many nations - how can it be otherwise than that Jesus Christ has spread His empire as far - and farther - than the ancient Caesar of Rome?
In closing, I will quote again one of my favorite verses which illustrates this teaching. Of all the wicked kings in Jerusalem's latter history, there was one shining exception: Jehoash. And why was his rule a righteous rule?
"And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him." (2 Kings 12:2)
And so it must be for us in America. If our presidents are going to be righteous and God-pleasing rulers, they must listen to "the priest," and conform the secular law to the Law of Jesus Christ, King of all nations.
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