Jesus is King, Why Not Confucius?

Confucius, Buddha, Vishnu, Osiris, Baal, Moloch, Thor, Pan, Zeus, Odin, Krishna, Brahma, Shiva, Allah, Isis, Athena, Apollo, Horus, Aphrodite, Prometheus, Satan and so many more. All of these are worshipped as gods by people on every continent of this globe. But, only one is "King of Kings and Lord of lords ..." says Revelation 19:16. WHO? Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is "the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). Jesus said, "All authority IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH has been given to Me" (Matthew 28:18). Nowhere in the Bible does it mention any of the names I listed above. Satan is the only name that plays a role in dealing with mankind. Did you know Satan has to ask permission to tempt you? He has no authority! We give Satan way too much credit. Look at this verse from Luke 22:31, Jesus speaking: " Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat" (NAS Bible). And consider the book of Job 1:6-22. Satan could not test Job's unwavering faith without God allowing Satan to do so. Although the 21 names above may be "considered" deities by themselves or by others, and maybe some in the 20th century have claimed to be Jesus Christ in the flesh, all have died, or will die, and none will raise from the dead! Satan is a spiritual being, a fallen angel (not a man) and his end is yet to come once everything is fulfilled (Revelation 20:10).

Jesus is my King because 1) He is GOD. 2) He is the Savior. 3) He is the all in all. How can I know this? The Word of God told us, "For in Him (Jesus) lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). Jesus was and is God. Today I'm going to give you scriptural truths why He is all of these to me. Before I begin, keep in mind that none of the names I mentioned when I began this blog ever raised from the dead. They had no power to do so being mortal men but Jesus Christ DID RISE FROM THE DEAD, proving He could only be one thing ... GOD! 1 Corinthians lists six appearances of Jesus after He rose, including 500 people at one time. While the apostles didn't always list how many saw the resurrected Jesus, they sure did mention that He was seen after He rose!

A. Jesus is my King because HE IS MY GOD. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, AND THE WORD WAS GOD." (1 John 1-3) "And we know that the Son of God has come (Jesus), and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). Did you see that, or did you read over it? Jesus Christ is the true God and only He alone is Life eternal! Jesus wasn't just a good man or spiritual teacher during His time on earth, He was both the SON (John 3:16) and God Himself - God in human flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Yes, He was fully man, but He was also fully God (Colossians 2:9). Claiming to be something, as Jesus claimed to be God, doesn't make it true. Where's the evidence that He is God? Jesus' identity isn't based solely on what He said, but on what He did. And He left a lot of evidence that He is God. That evidence includes fulfilled prophecy and many recorded miracles in which Jesus reversed the laws of nature! He also lived His life without ever committing one sin-He was sinless (Hebrews 4:15), something no one else can do or ever has done. Then there's the fact He was crucified on a cross, His flesh experiencing death, yet He raised from death because His Spirit, being God, had power over the grave. Isaiah prophesied before Jesus ever came into the world, "For a child is born to us, A Son is given to us; and the government is upon His shoulder, And His Name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Did you see that one? Hopefully, you did not read over that either ... Jesus will be called "God;" and "Father." Thomas declared it when he touched the nail prints in Jesus' hands (note! this is after Jesus was crucified, proving the resurrection) " MY LORD AND MY GOD." Then we have Acts 2:32 which says God raised Jesus up and in John 10:17 it says JESUS HAD THE POWER to raise Himself. How? Because He was God! The One True God. Now watch this ... Galatians 1:1 testifies THE FATHER raised Him, Romans 8:11 testifies THE HOLY SPIRIT raised Him. Contradiction? OH NO! The only conclusion is that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are ONE ... GOD! See my previous blog titled "The Holy Spirit."

B. Jesus is my King because HE IS MY SAVIOR. I need a Savior because my sins merit eternal death (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23) and I cannot save myself based on my own merits, goodness, or kindness to others (Ephesians 2:8) ...it's God's gift to me and isn't earned by my own works or efforts. Matthew 1:21 tells us Jesus was coming into the world to save us from our sins. It was announced in Luke 2:11 "There is born to you a Savior WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST THE LORD" (emphasis mine). Jesus would be the Savior of us all (1 Timothy 4:10.) Jesus abolished death for all that believe and follow Him, and He brings life through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8-10). The gospel, His WORD, renews our minds! Jesus can bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18), He is our propitiation ... to regain favor for us back to the Father (1 John 2:2). He was sent to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14), and Jesus proved to all of us that He is the Savior of mankind through His sinless life, death, and resurrection. He lives and reigns from the throne in heaven sitting on the right of His Father.

C. Jesus is my King because HE IS MY ALL IN ALL. It's because He is my God and Savior of my soul that makes Him my all in all. Romans 14:9 testifies Christ died, rose, and revived to be my KING and LORD of lords. I want to be His subject. I want to spiritually be crucified with Him (Galatians 2:20) so that I might raise in glorious victory over sin and death as He did (2 Corinthians 5:15). I want to serve Him and be under His rule because He has all authority (Matthew 28:18). In whose arms of the men mentioned earlier would you rather be resting? Jesus rules today (Hebrews 9:15). I want to be a part of His Kingdom because He is God (Matthew 16:18-19; Revelation 1:5-6). Jesus gave all for me and so I want to give all for Him! To Him be all the honor, power, and glory. Everything I blogged today is evident through study and acceptance of God's Word. One day it will be made plainly evident to all. However, one day it will be too late to have Jesus as your King if you have not accepted Him while on earth. Is Jesus your King?

If you are not a Christian, I invite you to enter The Kingdom today.
Hear the Word, Romans 10:17 "Faith comes in hearing by the Word of God."
Believe with all your heart, Hebrews 11:6 "For without faith it is impossible to please God."
Repent and turn from your sin, Acts 17:30 "God commands all men everywhere to repent."
Confess that Jesus IS THE SON OF GOD, Matthew 16:16 "Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God."
Be baptized for the remission of your sins, 1 Peter 3:21 "This water symbolizes baptism, not the removal of dirt, but of a clear conscience toward God."
In closing, I urge you to open a Bible read 5 sentences from Revelation 19: 11-16.
Until next time,
-Pat-