An aside on the nature of Christ's kingdom

Aside—The origin and rise of the inheritance of Christ, along with a description of the nature of all his kingdom. This is rather long, occupying around 25 pages. I will shorten it a bit.

When God made man, he gave him dominion over the whole lower world, making him the heir, viceregent, yea, his very substitute on earth. Even the heavenly things (sun, moon, starts) were in a certain way a part of this inheritance, since they were ordered by God to serve him.

The other part of God’s creation, the angels were made independent of man, so that one or the other might fall without either of necessity falling. But man having fallen, he also fell from his heirship and dominion over the earth, so that the world was no longer under subordination to him, but directly under the government of God. Man had no sovereignty any longer. A great part of the angels also fell, leaving things in the following condition: one branch of the kingdom of God being utterly cast out of the order that it was placed in by sin, and the other no completely overthrown, but in the constant danger of so being. So God thought it good to make one new kingdom out of both of these two disordered members, and to appoint one common heir, head, ruler, and lord to them both. This was the Son, and so Eph. i.10—He gathered together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.

Here is the interpretation of the whole thing, preserved as Owen wrote it:

God the Father, in the pursuit of the sovereign purpose of his will, hath granted unto the Son as incarnate, and mediator of the new covenant, according to the eternal counsel between them both, a sovereign power and authority over all things in heaven and earth, with the possession of an absolute proprieter, to dispose of them at his pleasure, for the furtherance and advancement of his proper and peculiar work, as head of his church.

Christ is given “all authority in heaven and earth” so that he might in all things protect and bring forth is people, to save them and secure them for himself for all time. It is truly glorious!

This is the kingdom intimated in the first promise in Genesis iii, that his victory over Satan was to be accompanied by rule, power and dominion. It was confirmed to Abraham, that he would be heir of the world. Balaam in Numbers saw that the Star of Jacob had the sceptre in his hand. The kingdom was revealed more fully to David, that his son would reign forever, a theme which he greatly expanded in the great Messiahnic psalm, Psalm ii. Then when Christ is born, he is hailed as Lord by angels and the Magi. Many other places in the NT declare him to be king of all things.

Everywhere in the Scriptures it is asserted for comfort of the church and the terror of her enemies. Listen to Owen here:

This, I say, is the spring of the church’s glory, comfort, and assurance. It is our head, husband, and elder brother, who is gloriously vested with all this power…an abiding, everlasting rule and dominion over the whole creation. And it is but a little while before he will cast off and dispel all those clouds and shades which at present interpose themselves and eclipse his glory and majesty from them that love him.

Now then, to show this, we will examine each aspect of his kingdom. For each aspect, we will show how Christ gloriously exercise authority over it for the good of his Church.