MONDAY October 9th
1 Peter 3:21–22
‘. . . resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him’.
This is our third visit to these verses and I want us to consider what else Peter says concerning the ascended Lord and it is this, that angels, authorities and powers have all been made subject to him. In Ephesians 1:21 we read that Jesus is seated in the heavenly places ‘far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come’. Jesus is both the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. He has been exalted to the highest place, and he has been given the highest name. And it is before him that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
A little chorus I can remember us singing back in my Hereford days was this one,
Far above all, far above all,
God has exalted him far above all,
Crown him as Lord at this feet humbly fall,
Jesus Christ Jesus, is far above all.
Psalm 2 records the arrival of Jesus back into heaven, and the psalmist calls him ‘The King of glory’ and states very clearly that he is the LORD, strong and mighty, mighty in battle’ and the death and the resurrection of Jesus was exactly that, a battle that Jesus fought and in which he triumphed. In Colossians we read ‘He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him’ (2:15)
Now, because all angels, authorities and powers are subject to Jesus we who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can be assured of what we read in Romans 8:38-39 ‘For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Why can we be sure, because Jesus is over and above all these things and we are more than conquerors through him who loved us(Romans 8:37).