For our Scripture reading this morning, turn with me to Psalm 2. Psalm 2. Hear now the Word of God. Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His anointed one. Let us break their chains, they say, and throw off their fetters. The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to me, You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise. Be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you be destroyed in your way. for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. For our confessional reference this morning, turn with me to Lord's Day 19. Lord's Day 19, page 26 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. This morning we consider questions and answers 50 and 51 of Lord's Day 19, dealing with that particular article of the Apostles' Creed that Christ sits at the right hand of God. You recall as a congregation that we have considered, in our consideration of the catechism's treatment of the Apostles' Creed, we considered the Savior's path of humiliation, including His life on this earth, His death, resurrection, or the resurrection part of His path of exaltation. That's what we consider this morning as well. And we confess together what we believe. Question 50 asks, Why the next words, and sitteth at the right hand of God? Christ ascended to heaven, there to show that He is head of His church, and that the Father rules all things through Him. How does this glory of Christ, our head, benefit us? First, through His Holy Spirit, He pours out His gifts from heaven upon us, His members. Second, by His power, He defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies. Beloved congregation of Jesus Christ, our Lord, so often when we think of the work of Jesus Christ, we think in terms of what He did. He was born. He lived a life on this earth. He was crucified. He descended into hell. He died, was buried, rose again, and ascended into heaven. He is often referred to on the basis of that which He has done, that which is past. But all too seldom do we talk about what He is doing today. We spend much time talking about His coming down from heaven to earth to serve as a slave, but we rejoice too little in His going up to heaven again as our King, guarding, guiding, and protecting His kingdom's citizens. We make too much of Christmas and too little of His ascension and His reign today. Do we understand, congregation, and boys and girls, this is for you too. Do we understand that everything He did down here, including His crucifixion, His death, His resurrection, Everything He did down here would mean absolutely nothing apart from what He is doing up there, even at this very moment. And as we said a couple of weeks ago, this must be comforting to you and me as believers because where are we? We're still down here. We live in between, beloved. As I mentioned in the earlier service, boys and girls, When we were preparing to leave Michigan, my family and I had to come here. We packed up our belongings and a semi-truck came in and loaded all of our possessions, our furniture and our clothes and the children's toys, everything on that truck. Our family piled into the van and together the semi-truck and our van headed cross-country. We were no longer at home there. We had no home there anymore. We knew that we were coming to a new home here, but we had not yet arrived. For ten days, we were in between. Beloved, as a congregation, we live in between. In between Christ's first coming and His second coming. A couple of years ago, you recall that there was much millennium talk as we were living on the threshold, ending one millennium and beginning another. And the Bible also speaks of a millennium as it speaks of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. There are different interpretations, of course, of that 1,000 year reign. There are the pre-millennialists who say that Christ will come again before that 1,000 years begins and He will then reign for 1,000 years. There are the post-millennialists who say that His reign will begin sometime after His ascension and will end when He comes again and it will be 1,000 years. It may have begun, we don't know. And then what we are, and that is amillennialists, And that means that we believe that when the book of Revelation speaks of this 1,000 years, it's not talking about a literal 1,000 years, but it is symbolic of a full and complete period of time. That 1,000 years symbolizes the time from Christ's ascension to take His heavenly throne until He comes again to judge the living and the dead. He will reign for that full and complete period of time until all things have come to their full development in God's counsel, His plan concerning the world and the church is completely fulfilled. And during this time, as Revelation 20 verse 3 says, points out, Satan is bound so that he should deceive the nations no more. And very simply, that means that he is not able to keep the gospel from being proclaimed and received. He is not able to prevent the coming and the development of the kingdom of God. As Peter makes clear, he is still prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour, but He cannot keep people from hearing and receiving and understanding the Gospel message by the grace of God. We know that Satan would have exterminated the church in her very infancy if he would have had his way, but God's purpose is to gather, defend, and preserve His church forever. And He does that even now even as we are seated here together. He does that even now by the power and authority given to Jesus. So as we consider the Savior's path of exaltation, as we confess it in the Apostles' Creed, we hear this word of God this morning concerning His ruling honor. His ruling honor. Noticing, first of all, the place of Christ's honor. And secondly, the prophet of Christ's honor. Question 50 asks again, Why the next words? And sitteth at the right hand of God. Of course, coming after, He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. The answer again, Christ ascended to heaven there to show that He is head of His church and that the Father rules all things through Him. Now as we said in the beginning, after confessing everything that Jesus did, now we confess something in the present. Right now, He sits at the right hand of God. We're talking here about what we call Christ's session. That which He began to do when He ascended and continues to do today. We're talking about Christ's session of ruling, His ruling honor. You may recall that when Stephen was stoned, he said in Acts chapter 7, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Beloved, that's the place of Christ's honor. At the right hand of God the Father. From there, he exercised the kingship that he rightfully claimed when he was on this earth. In Matthew 26, verse 63, Caiaphas the high priest said to Jesus, Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Of course, we know in order to test Him. In other words, tell us if you are the one that King David speaks of in Psalm 110 when he says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Are you Him? Notice what Jesus answered. It is as you said. In other words, Caiaphas, you've got it right. At least with your speech. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven. In other words, you don't recognize me now as we look at each other face to face. You don't recognize who I am. But afterwards, you will. Our Lord came clothed in weakness, but now rules over all things in power and glory. And when we speak of the right hand of God, we're talking about the designated position of power and authority. The biblical languages, when they speak of the right hand, they're talking about power. It symbolizes power. And sometimes we describe someone as being another's right hand man. Someone who's very important to another. Police officers, we know, are given power and authority on behalf of the state. In the business world, brokers transact business on behalf of their clients. A right-hand man seeks to carry out the will of the one who has given him his authority. The catechism says, the Father rules all things through Him. That is, through Jesus. The older version of the catechism says that Jesus is the one by whom the Father governs all things, leads, directs. God the Father has given His glory to His Son. As Psalm 2 says again in verse 7, He said to me, You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Then in verse 10, Therefore, you kings, be wise. Be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way for His wrath can flare up in a moment. The Son is so much more than simply a right-hand man. He is to be respected and revered even as the Father is because He is one with the Father. The Son acts on the Father's behalf with the authority given to Him. And that means that Jesus Christ carries out the will of His Father. He Himself said in John 4, verse 34, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. And Jesus Himself claims authority and power to do that. Exactly that when He says in Matthew 28, verse 18, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. What is God's will? As you know, we speak of God's will in a couple of ways. We speak of His will of decree, His plan for all things. We also speak of that will being hidden or secret because we don't know what it is until it comes to pass. We also consider his will of precept, his revealed will, the entire word of God, specifically his law. What is God's will? Well, we know from his revealed will that it includes the completion of his church. Now, on the secret side of things, we don't know how he will accomplish all of that. But it includes the completion of his church. And Jesus Christ laid the foundation of the church with His blood, and now from His throne, He builds it up and He completes it. Luke begins writing in Acts these words, The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up, after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen. And that former account of what Jesus began to do and teach, then, is Luke's gospel record. The Gospel according to Luke. That's what he's referring to. And the book called the Acts of the Apostles is about what Jesus was still doing through His apostles and disciples back then. And I believe we can say what He continues to do even today. He is building His church, bringing her ever closer to the eternal wedding feast. And beloved, only He can do this because as the catechism says, He is in heaven as head of His church. Paul says in Ephesians 1 that God 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. People of God, with his unlimited power and authority over all things, Jesus Christ works for the good of His body, the church. Indeed, He is the head of His church, which is His kingdom of grace. And there in His kingdom of grace, His subjects obey Him by God's grace because they do not want to do otherwise. His subjects do not want to disobey Him. But there is also what we can call His kingdom of power, which is outside the boundaries of His church, is over all things, the church is included in His kingdom of power, but His kingdom of power extends beyond the walls of His church. And in the kingdom of His power, He is obeyed because those under His power can't do otherwise. Now, I need to make sure you don't misunderstand this. They can't do otherwise. That doesn't mean, we're not saying here, that the world lives to be obedient to Christ and to serve Him. They don't. But it does mean that whatever the world does, even that which is done against Christ in disobedience to Him, it still must serve Christ's purpose. Now it has been described that the history of the world is the scaffolding of the church. Boys and girls, scaffolding is building equipment. I'm the most familiar with it when I think back to my teenage years of working in the masonry construction business, the bricklaying business. I wasn't the one who got to lay the bricks. I got to do the hard work. The one of carrying the bricks and carrying the mortar. But when the bricklayers were building the brick higher and higher, sooner or later they were not able to stand. They couldn't reach anymore, so we put up scaffolding. It's a temporary structure. For us, a metal structure. We put wood planks on there that the bricklayers could stand on to reach higher, and I would lift the bricks up there in the mortar higher and higher. The higher the building went, the higher the scaffolding went. And just as the Israelites made bricks for the cities of Pharaoh, the world makes bricks for the kingdom of God. And this means, congregation, that world history and everything that takes place in the world is used by Christ to mold and shape His church and prepare her for glory. And this means further that the world continues for one reason, and one reason only, and that is for the sake of the church and Christ's building of His church. Our Lord has power and authority over all things, angels, demons, rulers, and nations. Everything must serve Him and His purpose. Every knee must and indeed one day will bow before Him. We may not always see and understand how this can be the case, but it's true. In fact, we might even be tempted at times to question. To question the truth of this. To ask if Jesus really has always been in control. Was Jesus really governing when James was put to death by Herod? Was He really in control when Stephen was put to death by stoning, by that ravenous crowd? When Peter was imprisoned to be put to death. When John was exiled to the island of Patmos. When Nero tried to destroy the church. Was Jesus really in control? When laws giving people rights are really giving them the right to despise the church and hate his gospel and his people, is Jesus governing? When the labor of his kingdom is hindered and when the Antichrist fully attacks, which He will, as Scripture says, when He fully attacks the church, will Jesus still be in charge? Is He governing when we experience death or deadly disease or the trials and difficulties of life? The answer to all of these is yes, definitely. Christ's reign is real. And it's also really a matter of faith. and through faith we believe that indeed all things work together for good for those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose. Psalm 2 reminds us that when nations and rulers bring His plan forward by rising up against Him, He laughs. The Lord scoffs at them and it's not as if it's some big joke. That's not the meaning of this laughter. But His laughter turns to burning anger. But our Lord laughs. The Pharaohs and the Neros and the Hitlers and the Husayns and the Bin Ladins of the world because in their every effort to destroy the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ is using them, in fact, to build up His kingdom and His church. Again, we may not always, if ever, understand this, but it's true. And our comfort, beloved, is that when the church lives in the midst of the world's flames, as the church lives in the midst of the world's flames, she will not be destroyed, she will not be consumed. when the last brick is laid, when the last shingle is nailed down in that building called the church, the scaffolding will be torn down and destroyed forever as that which Christ has built will stand firm forever. And this is our confidence by which we can sing, I know how firm and sure Thy wondrous grace is founded, established in the skies by love that is unbounded as Thy celestial throne shall never sway, no never, so shall thy truth endure forever and forever. That's a versification of Psalm 89 which we find in Psalter Hymnal 172. The world does not recognize Christ's place of honor nor His rule and that's why in vain they plot and they take their stand and take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. In vain they work to break away from and to throw off Christ's power. Yet as God's people, we are called to be a living, visible demonstration to give proof to the world that Jesus Christ reigns. To do this by a life of evidence, by humbly bowing before the scepter of His Word. The Caiaphas of the world, indeed, beloved, must see the reign of Christ spread from sea to shining sea in the hearts and lives of His people. The church is the Lord's palace, and in that palace, Christ is King. Boys and girls, you know that in a palace, everything operates by the order of the king. The king makes the rules. The king enforces the law. And the same is to be true in the church. All belongs to the king. And Christ says of all of life, of your life, and my life, and every detail of our lives, He says, it is mine. And therefore, when I call you for worship, this is where you are to be. And when I say keep the Sabbath day holy, you are to turn from the world's activities and concentrate on me and my glory and my worship. When I say love your neighbor as yourself, your selfishness is to become selflessness. When I say that you shall have no other gods before me, that includes yourself. Do not set yourself up before me. Do not follow your own desires before my commandments. It's only when we bow before the forgiving grace of God that as God's children we then enjoy the profit of Christ's honor, the benefit of His rule on our behalf. Question 51. How does this glory of Christ, our head, benefit us? First, through His Holy Spirit, He pours out His gifts from heaven upon us, His members. Second, by His power, He defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies. The head wants what's best for the body. Christ wants and gives what is best for His body, the church. And we must understand that the catechism here is talking about present blessings, blessings right now, and it's talking about the church militant. Children, we also confess that we believe a holy, Catholic, or universal church. We believe that such a thing is true, that it's real. And that universal church includes Adam, all the way to the very last believer who shall ever live, and everyone in between from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. But that church universal is also split up, we could say, into the church triumphant, those who are no longer with us. The saints who have already gone to glory and they enjoy the blessing of heaven as well as deliverance from all enemies right now. There is also that portion of the church called the church militant. We think of the word military and war and fighting, and the church militant is that portion of Christ's true church here still on this earth fighting for the sake of Jesus Christ. And they receive Christ's blessings of the pouring out of His grace and the protection of His power. Again, first, through His Holy Spirit, He pours out His gifts from heaven upon us, His members. The King gives kingdom blessings to His kingdom citizens. Jesus Christ continues His redeeming work by pouring out His heavenly gifts upon His people. And these are the blessings of salvation realized and enjoyed already in this life. Christ's heavenly gifts administered by His Holy Spirit, of course, are too many to count. But we can talk about a few of them. He has given to us the gift of His Word and the preaching and the exposition of His Word, but also the understanding of His Word. He's given to the church the gift of office bearers, the elders to shepherd His flock, the deacons to administer mercy and teach us as a congregation to be merciful. He's given to us the gift of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. With the eye of faith, we can see the heavenly gifts given in daily bread and a cup of cold water. We enjoy the heavenly gift of unity in the Spirit with all of those who trust in Jesus alone for salvation. There is the gift of peace and comfort from His Word. When children love the Lord Jesus, and in the Lord honor, love, and demonstrate faithfulness to their parents, then that is a heavenly gift. There's so much more. To know His strength in your weakness. To know His riches in your poverty. To have your countenance anointed with His peace and comfort in times of mourning and affliction. To trust Him in days of sorrow and loneliness. To deny oneself. To be able to forgive. To endure adversity. To enjoy peace and contentment. To enjoy the blessing of a Christian family and Christian friends. All of these. And so many other things are heavenly gifts. Of course, often we don't see these things as gifts until God has purified us and drawn us closer to Himself through these gifts. And it's true that we might not always experience certain gifts all the time. God gives to us according to our nature, our need, and our circumstance. For example, He doesn't give grace to die when we do not have to die yet. While we live, He gives us grace to live so that our living is to His honor because only when our life is Christ, as Paul says, will our dying be gained. Our Lord pours out His gifts in abundance. And beloved, from these gifts, fruits are to come from His people. Fruits of trust and obedience and service. But we also enjoy the protection of His power. Second, by His power, He defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies. A most wonderful heavenly gift. You see, there are still enemies. Spiritual enemies. The church triumphant has been delivered from these enemies, but not you and I completely yet. Eternal peace does not come completely until all of His enemies are put under His feet. Satan is bound, we know, but only in part, and there are still our other two sworn enemies. Remember the three, the devil, the world, and our own flesh? There's still the world and our flesh besides the devil. And we are often tempted to give in to the lusts of the flesh, beloved, especially with materialism that will not allow us to give generously to the Lord with our time, with our talents, with our money, with our priorities. Oftentimes we're so busy saying, I deserve this, I deserve that, I deserve, I deserve. I deserve. We are tempted with the secularism of the world, which wants to make us one with the world, enjoying what the world enjoys, doing what the world does, so that the distinction of the antithesis is completely wiped out. And we are tempted by Satan to doubt the gospel of Jesus Christ and to doubt our salvation by grace through faith, especially in low times in our lives. That's when Satan tries to strike. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone who defends and keeps us safe, preserves us against all enemies of His cross. And this is for those who enjoy fellowship with Him. Those who enjoy the fellowship of His body. And just as the arm hangs limp with no strength, when the nerve to the head and the brain no longer functions, without fellowship with Christ and His salvation and Lordship, we are helpless, without strength, not able to fight, not able to be militant, Beloved, what comfort and assurance belongs to those who enjoy the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus Christ by the grace of God. That as He reigns and rules over all things, even at this moment today, He secures forever the salvation and blessing for which He fought, for which He is victorious. As He reigns over and governs all things from heaven, He continues to prepare His people for heaven. And this is to be the foundation of our confident obedience as churches and believers. This is why our faith and obedience is not in vain. Our confidence is that when the rest of the world sees only the authority of the so-called world leaders, we know that in truth, this world is under the authority of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Indeed, Paul speaks of the ruler of this age, speaking of the devil. And the world is under the leadership of the defeated one. The one who is destined to lose because our king cannot fail. Our king is victorious. As God's people, we can live in the comfort of this confidence for the future. That even though we don't know what the future holds, as they say, we know who holds the future in the palm of His hand. Our confidence is that Christ rules and His cause will not be defeated. It cannot be defeated because He is our mighty fortress. As God's people, we are called to faith and obedience in Him who alone rules with honor and with all authority and power. And what a blessing it is, isn't it? That we are called to serve the one who has our best interest in mind. He issues His royal summons commanding repentance and allegiance and promising forgiveness full and free to all who call upon Him in truth. Again, verse 12 of Psalm 2 says, Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way. For His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. Beloved, God's people are built secure forever for in His kingdom, never to be removed. They are blessed forever who take refuge in Him. But those who despise His kingship and who spurn His rule, who take their stand against the Lord's anointed, will be destroyed in the way. One day, the scaffolding of the world will be torn down and destroyed. But the church shall live forever. with Christ, her head. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, thank You for this blessed truth. This necessary and maybe even for some, if not all of us, a timely reminder that Jesus Christ, even though He is out of sight, He is not to be out of mind because He is active. also active on our behalf. His work on earth has been completed and now He works to apply His work to prepare for our eternal glory. We pray that as we live and walk this earth, we may do so in the joy of that truth, of that salvation, that we might recognize indeed that we are pilgrim strangers in a desert wasteland, that this world is not our home, that indeed we are in between. We look forward to arriving at the place of our citizenship in heaven one day. Give us strength, O Lord, as the world continues to try to influence and to mold us and shape us after its will. Continue, O Lord, to mold us and shape us after your will and your will alone. We thank you for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.