Luke 1:32-38
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her," Luke 1:32-38.
In the previous message from Luke 1 we looked at the Hypostatic Union. This is the biblical fact that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. Jesus Christ is the Son of the Highest. Even the devils have no choice but to confess this (Luke 8:26-33). "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble," James 2:19. The devils and his angels know without a doubt who Jesus Christ is, yet all of them will spend eternity in hell suffering the wrath of Almighty God. Examine yourself to make sure you have more than just an intellectual knowledge of who Jesus Christ is or you will find yourself with the devils for eternity. A saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is also a transforming knowledge. He makes us a new creation when He saves us, and He works on us until He takes us home.
"And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David," Luke 1:32b. This was prophesied and promised to David in II Samuel 7:12-13. Notice "the Lord God" shall do this. God is Omniscient, Omnipotent, Sovereign, etc. and that which He has ordained to come to pass will come to pass. Nothing and no one can stop or alter this. Jesus Christ was as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Christ is the Son of the Highest, and He is also in the royal line of king David; truly God and truly man. The Lord God "shall give" unto him the throne of his father David. He who has authority can give, and none can stop Him. Jesus Christ was David's physical descendant through Mary's line, and He is the rightful Heir to the throne of His father David through his legal father Joseph. Christ is in the royal line of David.
The question is asked, Is this really that important to know? "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," Romans 10:9. Which Lord Jesus will you confess with your mouth? Without knowing the Jesus Christ of the Scriptures, you cannot be saved. These truths are eternally important to know. We actually trust the Christ of the Scriptures to save us.
"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end," Luke 1:33. "Shall reign" means literally to exercise supreme authority at a royal level, to reign over, to be king over. Notice in this verse it says the house of Jacob, not the house of David. "Over the house" means family, lineage, posterity; descended from a head or ancestor. The house of Jacob is also known as the nation of Israel. Is our text telling us that Christ will only rule over the house of Israel forever? What about us Gentiles; where do we fit in? Are we second class Christians, or do we have to convert to Judaism? Is Israel and the church one and the same? How many kingdoms are there in this world, even now? There are a lot of questions coming from one verse that most people just read over. This is another reason it is so important that we go verse by verse through the Scriptures. Let us look at some verses regarding some of these questions.
Everyone whom the Lord has saved He has saved by grace through faith. There is no other way. The Old Testament saints trusted in the coming Saviour by faith, we trust by faith in the Saviour Who came. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ," Ephesians 4:4-8. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise," Galatians 3:28-29. Christ died for His church (Ephesians 5:25). "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God," Romans 2:28-29. Turn also to Romans 4:11-16, and read Romans 9-11.
Christ does not have multiple folds; He has one fold, the church. The church are the people of faith. The church are those whom the Father hath given to the Son, from before the foundation of the world. Turn to John 6:37-40; 8:56; 10:14-16; 17:2. Christ is the Head of His church. There are no second class Christians, we are all one in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ died for all who have and will believe, this includes those from the Old Testament. There are only two kingdoms in this world; Christ's Kingdom, and satan's kingdom. You are in one or the other, there is no middle ground. When Christ saves your soul all of your sins are forgiven; past, present, and future. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins," Colossians 1:12-14. Our faith is in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Our faith is not in our heritage, the church, our works, our feelings, our words, or our experiences.
God the Father places us in the kingdom of His dear Son by His free grace. We are given eternal life in place of eternal death. Kingdoms of the earth will rise and fall, but Christ's Kingdom will have no end. It is an everlasting Kingdom. Has Christ saved your soul? He saves the best and worst of sinners. No one has done too much wrong for Christ to save them and our best before God is filthy rags. Look unto the Jesus Christ of the Scriptures, and be saved. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
