I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you." Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. Your shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (Psalm 2:7-9)
Everything changed in the Incarnation: it was a breaking forth of divine revelatory light (Jn 1:9) into the history of humanity which changed forever the relationship between mankind and God, regardless of whether each individual has had the gospel preached to them.
When is the "today" that the Father begot the Son? Not at some point in eternity past - the Father, Son and Spirit eternally co-exist. Rather, the NT writers show us that "today" is marked by the Incarnation - the breaking-in of God's new day for the world. "Today" is the time of Jesus' birth (Heb 1:5-6), the beginning of his public ministry (Heb 1:8, Lk 4:18), his resurrection (Acts 13:33), and his ascension to the throne of heaven (Heb 1:13). And "today" continues as long as the gospel is being preached (Heb 4:6-7).
In his begetting of the Son, the Father bestows on him an inheritance of all the nations, the ends of the earth. The Incarnation is the breaking in of the Kingdom of Heaven upon the Kingdom of this World. In sending his only-begotten Son (Jn 3:16) (or "God the Only-Begotten", Jn 1:18) the Father ushers in a new era for the governments of this world: the Son will rule not only in Zion, the Holy Hill, but also over the nations with a rod of iron.
This is a rod of iron rather then a scepter of gold because fundamentally this earthly rule of Christ is a judgment which comes to break forms and structures of government which do not filful their God-given duties - they are like a potter's vessel to be smashed. This is exactly the imagery God uses through Jeremiah (ch19) to show the elders of his day that they had been remiss in their duties as the government of the city: the vessel may be great at doing a certain job (e.g. worshiping false gods), but if it's not God's purpose that it's fulfilling then it will be destroyed.
So how is this administered in this present age? In Rev 2:27 we find that overcomers (that is the church in the power of the Spirit) share in this judgment with Christ, they are the New People (1Pt 2:10) of the New Day. In the Incarnation, and especially in the Atonement, God judged the world in Christ and thereby reconciled the world to himself (Col 1:20). As the witnessing community in the Spirit, we too speak that judgment to the world, and continue Christ's ministry of reconciliation (2Cor 5:18).
As part of that ministry we will be instrumental in "dashing to pieces" forms and patterns of government which do not serve and fulfil their God-given duties and roles. Human government is enacted through a continual reshaping of forms and patterns through the passing and enacting of new policies and laws. The political witness of the church is to ensure that new policies and laws are not more "christian" but better help the government to fulfil those things for which God holds it responsible.
It is not possible for the church to witness to Christ and be a-political: the gospel is political. We have a responsibility before God to speak to governments (particularly the one we are subject to) as to what is right and just.
Recent Comments