For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25-27).
How would it affect the way you react to things if you recognized everything as being under Jesus’ authority? How would it change your attitude? How would it liberate you to be a lifestyle worshipper, even in the most frustrating of circumstances?
This passage came alive to me a couple of days ago. It contains a present-tense reality and a future anticipation. The future anticipation is that one day Jesus Christ is going to present all things – including all enemies – under His authority to the Father. And the last enemy, Paul says, that He will destroy is death.
So until then, what?
He reigns. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and all things are in subjection to Him. And just as death appears to have the last word but doesn’t, so also the evil in this world may appear to have the last word and ultimate authority. But that simply isn’t true.
This presents some interesting questions, such as how does Jesus reign? What is our role as believers in that reign? And since the last enemy to be destroyed is death, obviously His reign is not limited to tangible things or people or characters. So what else does He have authority over? In other words, what if ALL THINGS really means ALL THINGS?
Depression? Yes. Sickness? Yes. Poverty? Yes. Rejection? Yes. (Fill in YOUR blank)? Yes.
Now… if He reigns over these things, then why do they appear to have such power over us? It’s either because:
1. we have not exercised His authority,
2. He sovereignly uses those things for a larger purpose in our lives, or
3. we are not submitting our own authority to His.
What if we voluntarily aligned ourselves under His authority? What if we chose to exercise our authority – really His authority – over the various situations we find ourselves in, knowing that the biggest enemies are not other people or the world, but those that can get inside our head and cause discouragement, despair, or deceit?
Making it Practical
The other day somebody made the mistake of driving their car in front of mine. They didn’t do anything wrong, mind you – just drove their car and made me wait a bit when I was on a mission to get somewhere. They made it through the red light. I didn’t.
So I’m sitting at the light, and this verse pops into my head: “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
“Yeah,” I replied to nobody-but-God. “And just before that – traffic lights.”
“And,” the Spirit gently whispered, “aren’t traffic lights part of those ‘all things’ that are under My feet?”
It was the simplest of transactions. A simple acknowledgement.
It. Was. Worship.
“Lord, I recognize that as being under your feet. You reign over that.”
My attitude instantly changed. I even felt it on a physiological level.
I got to the traffic light’s evil twin – Walmart (and the pharmacy at that). More frustration. Same spiritual transaction: “Lord, I recognize that as being under your feet. You reign over that.”
Again, a dramatic change – physically and emotionally felt instantly.
Did you know that the Bible says you and I are “seated with Christ in the heavenly places?” Ever wonder what that means? A whole lot more than traffic lights and Walmart, for sure.
But when I worship Jesus as the One who reigns over all things – including the frustrating things, the frightening things, the attacking things, the desperate things – all things – it is as if I am assuming my place with him there in the heavenly places. And for a precious few seconds, I am reigning with Him, even while I drive the little blue truckster to the next stop.
What if that was God’s purpose all along – to teach us to reign by giving us on-the-job training?
So how are those lessons coming for you?