by Bible League International

Verse of the Day and Devotion

Christ must rule until God puts all enemies under his control.  - I Corinthians 15:25 ERV

Devotion

The Lord God rules and reigns over His Kingdom. Jesus Christ, so the Bible tells us, is presently seated at His right side. (Psalm 110:1; Mark 16:19) From this position of authority, Jesus rules and reigns as well. Indeed, He rules, reigns, and directs the war against all the enemies within the Kingdom. The Lord God says to Him, "If you ask, I will give you the nations. Everyone on earth will be yours. You will rule over them with great power. You will scatter your enemies like broken pieces of pottery." (Psalm 2:8-9)

The war against the Kingdom's enemies has been going on ever since Jesus ascended into Heaven and was seated at the Lord God's right side. Who are the enemies specifically? The enemies are all those who are under the direction and control of Satan and his minions (Ephesians 6:12) and who rebel against the rule and reign of the Lord God and Jesus as a result. '"Why are the nations so angry? Why are the people making such foolish plans? Their kings and leaders join together to fight against the Lord and his chosen king. They say, "Let's rebel against them. Let's break free from them."' (Psalm 2:1-3)

How long will this war go on? It will go on, as our verse for today says, until all the enemies are under Jesus' control. Day by day, more and more, Jesus is taking control of the enemies. True, there have been set backs in the nearly two thousand years since He began to rule and reign. Nevertheless, the general trajectory of His fighting and warring has been victorious. The Church of Jesus Christ has been spreading over all the world and Satan's rebellious regime of darkness has been beaten back. True, Satan will mount one last major rebellion against the Kingdom and the Church, but he will fail. He will fail, never to rise again. (Revelation 20:7-10)

If you are a Christian, then you are a participant in putting all the enemies of the Kingdom under Jesus Christ's control. You are, like the well-known song says, a "Christian soldier." Most of the time, of course, the battles are not actual military battles. Most of the time, the battles are relatively peaceful transitions away from the control that the regime of darkness has been illegally exercising in the various areas of the Kingdom.

However, even if the transitions are peaceful, you are a soldier and you must be ready to fight at any time.