a daily read to Pentecost: day 5

It’s the week leading up to Pentecost, the giving of the Spirit and the birth of the Church.

Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King: the Coronation.

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

“. . . . according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 1:19b-23 (NKJV)

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:8-11 (NKJV)

Reading Psalm 24 through Messianic eyes, one sees Heaven erupt at the return of the King of glory, the Lord Jesus, after His earthly battle with sin and death. The psalmist asks, “Who may ascend into the hill of Yahweh (the LORD)? Or who may stand in His holy place?” The answer reverberates: He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully! Hebrews 4:15 describes Jesus’ earthly existence as one without sin, though tempted in every way as we are. Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus “knew no sin, yet became sin on our behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Isaiah prophesies, “. . . . although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him” (Isaiah 53:9-10).

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”

Isaiah 53:11 (NKJV)

Only Jesus can stand in the Holy Place, because He alone remains perfectly pure. Revelation 4 and 5 describe a scene wherein no one is found worthy enough to answer God’s holy quest and redeem humanity, but behold the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world! One song describes Him as “the darling of heaven,” pure, spotless, free of blemish, the perfect sacrificial choice of the flock. Jesus is the Victor and the angels of Heaven honor Him upon return from earth with supremacy and preeminence.

The Son of God has always reigned in sovereignty over creation. He is co-Eternal and co-Creator, equal to the Father and the Spirit in essence, character and power. He is undiminished in being and transcendence. Yet, God reveals Himself by varying roles through the Persons of Father, Son and Spirit. God the Son made flesh takes on our likeness to accomplish what we cannot, thereby gaining a specific exaltation due His role as the Second Person of the Triunity: God has highly exalted Him. Therefore, He is crowned as King and worthy of our worship, our service, our submission, our lives.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV)