Christians Are Kings
For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:9,10, KJV)
It is one thing that the Lord loved us and cleansed us from all sin. It is quite another that we have been made kings. We now have royal blood flowing through our spiritual veins—the blood of Christ, the ruler of kings. It is beyond understanding what the scripture says about this. But by faith, we must say, “Amen. Lord, I am a king.”
Otherwise, we deny the Word of our faith and call God a liar. Isn’t it ironic that, rather than accept our place of kingship, we would rather act unassuming and claim no such greatness for ourselves? But the Lord is the reason that we are kings. It is not of ourselves. We have been made kings by the royal and effective blood of the Lamb.
The Apostle Paul appealed to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 4:8), saying, in essence, I wish that you were kings that we could get alongside and rule with you. But, for now, you are not ready to be kings, because you are too worldly. Though Paul did not live like a king from the world’s viewpoint, he viewed himself as a king, a king with the promise to be with God and reign for all eternity. Paul wanted the Corinthians’ perception of themselves—and therefore their behavior— to line up with the reality of their spiritual identity. What exactly does this fact—that believers are kings— mean for us today?
Far from puffing up our pride, it should greatly humble us that we have such great standing and responsibility before the King of kings. So what does a king look like? Let’s look at some kingly traits that we should be striving to reflect: Kings have authority (rule, reign). Kings walk nobly, although humbly (at least, they should). Kings use justice and righteousness to establish their kingdoms. Kings need wisdom to govern the people. Kings fight battles to protect their homelands. Kings use counselors in their planning. The King’s actions affect the nation. As the king goes, so does the nation. Let’s take a closer look at the first of these characteristics.
How Does a King Reign?
A king rules and reigns over his kingdom. The Word plainly says that the saints will reign over the nations (2 Tim. 2:12, Rev. 5:10, Rev. 20:6, Rev. 22:5). It also says that we shall judge the world and angels (1 Cor. 6:2,3). Now that is authority. We will even have authority over heavenly beings!
In her biography, one former witch shared how she could see a powerful and glorious authority when believers would walk by her. Unfortunately, she learned not to fear them because they did not realize the authority they had and therefore were no threat to her. What a tragedy! As kings reigning in God’s kingdom, we are to serve and protect the “lands” (homes, families, work environments, neighborhoods) God has given us. When believers are not wielding their spiritual authority, Satan has free reign. It is a bit like marauding invaders coming into the kingdom and plundering the king’s lands and his people while the king sits oblivious on his throne. If only the king had used his royal authority to unleash the royal army to protect his people! Instead, the kingdom is plundered just outside his walls.
Believers have God-given authority to reign until He comes. In Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He then transferred this authority to us and commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them all things. His promise is to be with us always, even to the end of the age. Jesus would not have given us such a difficult task without also giving us the authority to achieve it.