Would you turn with me to the
15th chapter of 1st Corinthians? Verse 25. For he. Must. reign. I've entitled this message, He
Must Reign. Now, this is the message that
every unbeliever needs to hear. It's necessary that they hear
this. Psalm 9610 says, Say among the
heathen that the Lord Unbeliever needs to hear this.
But this is also the message that every believer needs to
hear. Say unto Zion, that's the church. That's the believer. Say unto
Zion, thy God reigneth. Now the first phrase of verse
25 is our text. He must reign. But I'd like us
to look at verses 24 through 28 real briefly, and remember
this, Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, equal with God in
His person. In no way inferior to God, because
He is God. He said, He that hath seen me,
had seen the Father. But he is subordinate to the
Father, as the Son is always subordinate to the Father. Let's
keep that in mind as we look at this passage of Scripture.
1 Corinthians 15, 24, Then cometh the end, when he, the Lord Jesus,
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father. when he shall have put down all
rule and authority and power. Now, that doesn't mean he'll
stop being king when he delivers the kingdom to his father. He'll
still be the king of kings and the Lord of lords. But he, as
the son, is always subordinate to the father. And he delivers
to him the kingdom. And this is done as he puts down
all rule and power. and authority. I like the way
that sounds. You know, all opposition to him
is going to be wiped out. He's going to put down everything
that opposes him. It is going to be destroyed. Verse 25, For he must reign. There's a necessity to his reign. For he must reign till he hath
put all enemies under his feet. You see, the Lord said to my
Lord, I'm quoting from Psalm 111, the Lord said to my Lord,
sit thou at my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Verse 26, the last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death. Now, death is certainly the enemy
of life, isn't it? But Christ will one day put to
death, death. there will be no more death. Verse 27, for he hath put all
things under his feet. God has put all things under
the feet of Christ. But when he saith all things
are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted, which did
put all things under him. In other words, God the Father
is not under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
equal to his father. Christ is subordinate to his
father as the father. Is all and he is subordinate
to his father because he is the son. God, the father is not under
his feet. Verse 28, and when all things
shall be subdued unto him, that time is coming. Isn't it wonderful
to think about that? Everything. is going to be subdued
to the Lord Jesus Christ, then He, the Son, will subject Himself to the Father. Let's read it.
And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall
the Son also Himself be subject unto Him to put all things under
Him, that God may be all in all. That's heaven, isn't it? God
is all. in all. Now let's go back to
this wonderful, wonderful phrase. For he must reign. The word must means it's necessary
that he reign. I love the word must in connection
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Does anyone remember his first
words that were recorded. He said, I must be about my father's
business. You know, several times during
his earthly ministry, he spake of how he must suffer. There's a necessity for his sufferings. Listen to this scripture from
Matthew chapter 16, verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus
to show unto his disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. It
was necessary that this take place. It must happen. Now, why
is it necessary? Why was it necessary for Jesus
Christ to suffer under the hands of the chief priests and scribes?
Why was it necessary for him to be nailed to a cross? What's
the necessity of this all about? Well, first of all, it was necessary
because God willed it. God purposed it. And whatever
God purposes, it must come to pass. Him being delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Now, if He was delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you know
what's going to happen? Everything God determined to be done. He
must suffer because it was God's will for Him to suffer. Secondly,
He must suffer and die on the cross because it was You see, he was actually made
sin and the father must punish sin. God's just. He can't let sin go unpunished.
The sins of God's elect became his and he was You know, that's... I don't understand
that. I believe it. I believe it. I
believe it from my head to my toes. I believe that whatever
that... He became guilty and when he
died under the wrath of God, it's because he deserved to die.
The soul that sinneth shall surely die. The sins of God's people
became his. He became guilty. Therefore,
he must suffer the wrath of God. He must be punished. Why was
it necessary that he die? Well, he must save the elect.
Listen to this scripture. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring. And there shall be one
fold and one shepherd. He must save everybody the father
gave him. That's why he had to die for
them. I love that scripture where it says he must need to go through
Samaria. Don't you love that? Why must needs he go through
Samaria? Because one of his sheep's there. And he's always going
to have everybody the father gave him. It's going to happen.
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide
at thy house. Now, the only reason he must
do anything is he must do the Father's will. And that's one
of his sheep, and he's going to have it. I love this scripture. John chapter 20, verse 9 says
he must rise again from the dead. He must. He must. Justice demands
it. He made complete satisfaction. He can't stay dead. Because of
who He is, He must rise from the dead. It was not possible
for death to hold Him. And then our text, He must reign. It's absolutely necessary that
Jesus Christ reign. Notice I don't say that He has
the right to reign, He does reign. Not that He wants to reign, He
does reign. The Lord reigneth. Now what is meant by the word
reign? We've read this in the Psalms,
the Lord reigns. He must reign. What is meant
by the word reign? Well, it's where the word sovereign
comes from. Sovereign. He reigns. Now, if you're sovereign, that
means you have absolute control of everything. Anything short
of that is not reigning. When we speak of the sovereignty
of God and we speak of sovereign grace, well, what is meant by
this sovereign grace or the sovereignty of God, the reign of God, the
reign of the Lord Jesus Christ? What is meant by this when we
talk about or when the Bible talks about him reigning? Well,
first, God has a will. There really is such a thing
as the will of God. God has a will, and not only does God have a
will, but He has the power to cause His will to come to pass. Isn't that who He is? If He's
God, obviously, if He has a will, He has the power, He has the
ability to make sure His will comes to pass. With God, nothing
shall be impossible. If He wills it, He's going to
make sure it happens because He's got the power to make sure
it happens. Now, not only does God have a
will, not only does He have the power to cause His will to come
to pass, His will can't be thwarted. He does make His will come to
pass. The idea that God wants a man
to be saved and he doesn't end up being saved, that's foolishness. You've heard preachers talk,
well, God wants everybody to be saved. God wants this man
to be saved. Listen, if God wants you to be
saved, you will be saved. There's no question about that.
That's not even up for debate. The Lord reigneth. His will must
be done. Turn with me for a moment to
Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. Verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there's none else. I am God and there's
none like me. You know, there's no one like
God. There's no one we can compare Him to. I mean, it would be bringing
Him down to compare Him to anybody. He's utterly unique. He's absolutely
independent. He's God. Let's go on reading. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God and there's none else. I am God and there's
none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning. and from
ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, my
counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have
purposed it, I will also do it. That is the reign of the Lord
God. And not only does God have a
will, not only does God have the power to make His will come
to pass, obviously, because He's God, He has the right to do so. I love that passage of scripture
in Exodus chapter, I mean, Matthew chapter 20, when the Lord has
given that parable of the workers in the vineyard. And you remember
how he decided to give the 11th hour worker the exact same pay
as the one who'd only work, as the one who'd work 12 hours.
One worked one hour, one worked 12 hours, and the Lord decided
to give him the exact same thing. And you remember how the scripture
points out, they murmured against the good man of the house, and
they said, this is not fair, this is not right, this is not
just. You've taken that one who's only worked an hour, and you've
made him equal with us. We've borne the burden and the
heat of the day. We've worked like dogs. And you
give this fellow who only worked an hour the same thing as us,
it's not fair. And I love the reply. Can I not do what I will with
my own? Do I not have the right? If I
sovereignly decide to give this fellow who only worked an hour
the same thing as you, what's wrong with that? I can do exactly
what I will with my own. You see, God is on the throne,
and whatever He does, is right and it's right because He does
it. He doesn't do it because it's
right. It becomes right when He does it because He's God.
He gives no account of His matters. He doesn't have to answer to
me or you. None can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest
thou? Give an account for your actions.
Whatever He does is right. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Not only does God have a will,
not only does God have the power to make sure His will comes to
pass, not only does God have the right to make sure His will
comes to pass, He exercises that power all the time. He's always reigning. The Lord reigneth. He exercises
that power so that His will is always done. David said, Our
God is in the heavens in Psalm 15 3. Our God is in the heavens.
He hath done. Not He will do or has the right
to do or wants to do. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. And that's what's meant by sovereignty. God reigns. The Lord Jesus Christ
reigns. He has a will. He has the power
to make sure His will comes to pass. He has the right to make
sure His will comes to pass. And He does in fact make His
will to come to pass. He must reign. Now what's your response to that?
You love it? Or does it make you uncomfortable?
Now if you find your only hope in Him, you love it. And if you
are not comfortable with it, it's because you're not comfortable
with Him. He reigns. As the God-man, Jesus Christ
reigns. I love to think of the reign
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love talking about this. He
must reign. He demonstrated His reign in
creation. when as an act of His will, He
created the universe. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. He showed
His sovereignty there, doesn't He? I mean, He willed something to
happen, and you know what? It happened. Just as an act of
His will, He reigns in creation. He reigns over this physical
universe. I love to think of the fact He
controls the weather. What manner of man is this that
even the winds and the sea obey Him? I'll tell you what manner
of man this is. The God-man. Did any of you notice that beautiful
full moon on the way to service this evening? You know who put
that moon there? The God-man. And it's there according
to His will and His purpose. He reigns in the physical universe. He reigns in the plant kingdom. He reigns in the animal kingdom.
He reigns. He reigns over this physical
universe. He reigns over angels. He reigns over demons. You know,
demons could not make a move without first asking his permission. That's his reign. You know, we
talk about the devil, and I'll tell you what, when I talk, it
scares me to talk about the devil. Even when I was thinking about
talking about this, I thought, I just don't, I don't even want to mention
him, mention him. I don't want to be, you know, I don't want
to, I don't want to be exposed to Satan's temptations and so
on. And we're taught to pray, deliver
us from the evil one. And I'm praying, Lord, deliver
me from the evil one. But let me tell you this about
the devil. He's God's devil. He's on God's chain and He can't
make a move without God being in control of it. The Lord reigns. He reigns over
angels. I love that phrase in Timothy
where they're called the elect angels. The ones that didn't
fall, they're the elect angels. He reigns over all men. Thou
has given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal
life to as many as Thou has given Him. All flesh. He reigns over
unbelievers. They don't know it, but He's
reigning over them. They're all going to be made
to bow to Him. You know, everybody's going to have to bow to Christ.
You may do it now, you may do it later, but bow you must. The cry of the natural man is,
we will not have this man to reign over us. You've got no
choice. He must reign. Isn't that wonderful? He must
reign. He reigns in Providence. Everything
that takes place in time is simply because He willed it. The lot
is cast into the lap, and that's what we would call luck. That's
what we would call chance. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. He reigns, and
He reigns most especially in salvation. I love to think of
His reign and salvation. Now, in every aspect of salvation,
Jesus Christ reigns. Now, when you begin, where do
you begin? Well, let's talk about election.
The Bible teaches election, doesn't it? God chose who would be saved
before time began. You know what the Lord said? John 15, verse 16, He said, You
did not choose Me, but I chose you. Don't you know that's so?
How does your heart respond to that? You know it's so, don't
you? You didn't choose me, but I chose you and ordained you.
He reigns in election in this sense. Election is we're chosen
in Him. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before Him. He reigns in election. He
reigns in justification. I love the parable of the Pharisee
and the Publican. Now, what's justification mean?
It means not guilty. Not guilty. Now, that Pharisee,
He prayed, God, I thank you that I'm not as other men are. I fast
twice in the week. He talked about all the good
things he did and so on. And then this poor publican,
back in the back, he wouldn't even come up. He stayed back
in the back and he'd beat on his breast. He wouldn't so much
as lift up his eyes to heaven, but cried, God, be merciful to
me, the sinner. That's his own confession of
what he was, the sinner. And our Lord said, I tell you. And when he says it, That's the
authority. I tell you that that man went
down to his house justified. Now, if Christ says He's justified,
you know what? He justified. He's not guilty. He reigns in justification. He
reigns in justification in this sense. He declares us to be justified.
His righteousness is our justification for God. Is He guilty? No. Perfectly
righteous. He never sinned. That perfect
obedience of His is counted to every believer. So He reigns
in justification. He reigns in redemption. He redeemed
us with His own precious blood. He put away the sins of all of
His people. He reigns in regeneration. If
you're born again, it's because He gave you life. As the Father
raises the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens
whom He will. He reigns in preservation. We're
kept by His power through faith and through salvation. He reigns
in glorification. You know, when I'm brought into
heaven, this is a wonderful thought, when I'm brought into heaven,
I'm going to be perfectly conformed to what? The image of Jesus Christ. He reigns in glorification. And this is the great fact, He
reigns. He must reign. He must reign. It is absolutely
necessary that He reign because of who He is. He's God. You know, to talk about God,
the best definition of sovereignty is God. What do you mean by sovereignty? God. That's what he reigns. He reigns. He has complete control.
He must reign because he deserves the honor. He must reign because
who can stop him from it? None can stay his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? He must reign because his kingdom
is eternal. It never had a beginning and
it will never end. We read in Luke 1.33, And he
shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there shall be no end. All earthly kingdoms shall fall.
You know, I'm thankful to be in the United States of America,
aren't you? I'd rather be here than anywhere else. Thank God
for this privilege to be in this country. I'm mighty thankful
for this country. But this country, if the Lord
doesn't return back, it's going to fall, just like every other
society has, just like every other government has. It's going
to fall. You know that. I mean, anything
that men... It's going to change. It's going to fall. Something's
going to happen. That's not going to take place with His kingdom.
His kingdom is eternal. Therefore, He must reign. He
must reign because the Father has decreed it. Listen to this
Scripture from Psalm 2, verses 6-8. This is God the Father speaking. And He says, Yet have I set my
King upon the holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou
art my Son. This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee
the heathen for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Now, I've got a question for
you. Is it possible for God to decree something and not come
to pass? Of course not. That's not possible. He says, I've spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. There is a necessity to his reign
because God has decreed it. I have declared the decree. That's
God speaking. Thirdly, he must reign because
justice demands it. You know, there is such a thing
as justice. God is just. And justice demands
that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns. It's the only right thing.
Anything else is wrong. And God's in control. God is
just. He's going to make sure it happens.
He must reign because the very justice of God demands it. He
must reign because all power belongs to Him. He said, all
power is given unto Me. in heaven and
in earth. If he has all power, obviously
he reigns. Do you know how much power you
and I have? Zero. You know how much control you
and I have? Zero. You know how much power he has?
All. You know how much control he
has? All control. He reigns. Now, in conclusion, if he must reign, and he must. Scripture says that, doesn't
it? He must reign. If he must reign, then all of
his enemies must be subdued. There's a necessity to that.
It's going to happen. You see, his enemies don't stand
a chance. They don't stand a chance. I
mean, this is talking about a battle that cannot be won. All of his
enemies will be subdued. Secondly, if he must reign, And
this is something I hope we get a hold of this. If He must reign,
and He must reign, He must reign. If He must reign, then we have
no legitimate reason to worry about anything. Why do we worry? Well, while
we're worrying, we're not really believing at that time that He
must reign. Because if we really believe
that He reigns, All is well. All is well. If He must reign, and He does, what a Savior we have to trust. What a glorious Savior. What
a powerful Savior. Paul said, I know whom I believed
and I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've
committed to Him against that day. He's able, because of His
power, He's able to save me without my help. Now, is that great or
what? That's the gospel. That's good
news. He must reign. If He must reign, then our efforts
to preach the gospel are not in vain. Never. Never. Listen to this scripture from
1 Corinthians 15. Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding, in the work of the Lord, for you know that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord. He must reign. Now what a reason,
and I need to hear this, what a reason for joy and optimism. You know, if you really believe
He reigns, you can't help but have a positive attitude, can
you? He reigns. What a reason for joy. What a
reason for optimism. He reigns. Let the earth rejoice. The Lord reigneth. Let the earth
rejoice. Now, let's close with this scripture,
Isaiah 52. This is quoted in Romans chapter
10. Verse seven. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation,
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. The watchman shall
lift up their voice. With the voice together shall
they sing. For they shall see eye to eye
when the Lord shall bring again Zion. You know, all of God's
people see eye to eye on this, don't they? The Lord reigneth. That's gospel, isn't it? That's
good news. Thank God for His reign. Let's pray together. Lord, how we thank you that you
reign. Lord, we're so happy that you
reign. Lord, give us the grace to believe at all times that
thy son must reign and does reign. Deliver us from looking to ourselves,
enable us to look wholly to him and teach us what it is to trust
the Redeemer. Lord, give us grace to walk by
faith and not by sight. Bless this message for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's blessed name, we
pray. Amen.