Synod Sermon by Rev Neil M Ross
Matthew 28:18-20. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
It is especially verse 18 that we shall consider: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth”; and more especially the words: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth”. Here we have Christ’s very encouraging statement for His Church in a spiritually dark day, as our day certainly is, when believers “sigh and cry for all the abominations” done in the land.
The scene before us is of Jesus meeting the eleven disciples as He had appointed. They reacted with holy awe – “they worshipped Him” – but “some doubted”. Then “Jesus came”; that is, He drew near to them to confirm that it was indeed He Himself, their Master, who stood before them. He then declared, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” These precious words are also for His Church today. May He graciously bless them to ourselves.
Let us now consider, the Lord helping us, the power that has been given to Christ: first, the nature of it, second, the exercise of it, and third, the duty we have with regard to it.
1. The nature of the power given to Christ. It is His mediatorial power that Christ speaks of. By “power” He principally means authority (for that is the primary idea in the word here). But the term “power” also has in it the idea of might, for one cannot exercise power in the sense of authority if he does not have power in the sense of strength or might. As we think then of Christ’s power, we have in mind His mediatorial authority and might.
Christ, as the Son of God, had no need of power. Being equal with the Father, He is omnipotent. This is shown both by His divine authority (spoken of in Proverbs 8:8: “By Me kings reign, and princes decree justice”) and His might as the Creator (as we see in John 1:3: “All things were made by Him”). However, it was necessary that Christ, as the Son of man, would
1The substance of the sermon preached in Glasgow by the retiring Moderator at the opening of the annual meetings of Synod in May 2014.
have mediatorial authority and might conferred on Him. Therefore we read in John 5:26,27: “The Father . . . hath given Him authority to execute judgement also, because He is the Son of man”, and in Psalm 80:17, “The Son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself”. We see then that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power” (Acts 10:38), and therefore “He was mighty in deed and word” (Lk 24:19). So it is His mediatorial power of authority and might, which the Father gave to Him as the Son of man, that Christ refers to.
That the Son of God should become the Son of man was necessary in order that He would become the Mediator. Therefore, when He is described as the “one Mediator between God and men”, He is at the same time spoken of as the man – “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5).
His appointment to mediatorial authority and might is shown also by His appointment to each of His mediatorial offices of Prophet, Priest and King. His appointment as Prophet was predicted by Moses: “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you” (Acts 3:22). His anointing as the great High Priest is revealed in God’s pronouncement in Psalm 110, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (v 4); and His appointment as King is in the divine declaration: “And over Sion, My holy hill, I have Him King anointed” (Ps 2:6, metrical).
Although our text does not explicitly show that it was the Father who gave this power to Christ, we see it elsewhere in Scripture. Christ often spoke of His being sent by the Father; that is, appointed and commissioned by Him. As He did not usurp the honour of being Priest but was “called of God”, so He did not take to Himself this honour of being the Mediator. His appointment is clear from His own statement, “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father” (Mt 11:27). He delighted in referring to His having been sent by the Father. Even as a boy He said, “I must be about My Father’s business” (Lk 2:49). This also underscores the fact that He came most willingly. “To do Thy will I take delight, O Thou My God that art” (Ps 40:8 metrical).
When was mediatorial power given to Christ? It was given to Him, not only after He rose from the dead, but also prior to that. When Christ said that “all power is given unto Me”, He did not mean, “is now given”, or “is about to be given”, but “has been given”. As the Mediator, He was set up from eternity past. Under the title of Wisdom, He declares, “I was set up from everlasting” (Prov 8:23). In a past eternity, and under the terms of the covenant of grace, He was set apart to have mediatorial power.
However, mediatorial power was also given to Christ after He came into the world, when God anointed Him “with the Holy Ghost and with power”.
Also, when He ascended to heaven, the Father bestowed power on Him: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool” (Ps 110:1). So mediatorial power was given to Christ from all eternity, when He came into the world and when He ascended to glory.
When we try to understand the nature of Christ’s power we have to ask, Who can plumb the unfathomable depths in His saying, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth”? Neither can we begin to fathom the relation of His divine and human natures in exercising universal dominion. His mediatorial power, is immeasurably great and glorious. We glimpse it in these words: “There was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:14). We may see it also in the Father setting “Him at His own 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 world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all” (Eph 1:20-23).
How glorious is His power! Something of that glory is shown by His entry into heaven, which we sang of in Psalm 24 (verses 7,8):
“Ye gates, lift up your heads on high; ye doors that last for aye,
Be lifted up, that so the King of glory enter may.
But who of glory is the King? The mighty Lord is this;
Ev’n that same Lord, that great in might and strong in battle is”
His glorious entry into heaven was His reward for finishing the work that the Father gave Him to do. He “endured the cross, despising the shame”, and did so “for the joy that was set before Him” (Heb 12:2). Having finished the work of atoning for the sins of His people by His death, He entered glory and sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, according to the divine declaration: “Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool”.
Now although He is seated in glory He is not inactive. He is ever exercising the power with which He has been invested.
2. The exercise of Christ’s power. What is the realm in which His power is exercised? He Himself says that it is “in heaven and in earth”, that is, over all things, animate and inanimate.
In exercising His power in heaven, He “doeth according to His will in the army of heaven” (Dan 4:25), “angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him” (1 Pet 3:22). The holy angels are His servants: “Ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure” (Ps 103:21). The exercise of His power in heaven for the redeemed is indicated in the words, He “shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters” (Rev 7:17). To the glorified saints He gives expanding views of the divine glory and increasing experience of divine love. Samuel Rutherford drank of that deep sweet well of love in this world, but his expectation was: “More deep I’ll drink above”.
We see also the power of Christ being exercised “in earth”. Because the Father has “given Him power over all flesh” (Jn 17:2), He rules over all people, low and high, including the most powerful potentiates in the world. In many instances they think that no one will deprive them of their power, but Christ is the powerful Judge who “putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Ps 75:7). To Him is given that glorious title: “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim 6:15).
He rules also over the devils of hell. Satan is a most powerful evil spirit, the “strong man armed”, but Christ is “stronger than he”. The devils recognise Christ’s power. They said to Him on one occasion: “We know Thee who Thou art”, and tried to repudiate His authority with the question, “What have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth?” (Mk 1:24). But Christ maintained His power over them – and continues to do so.
But it is at Calvary especially that Christ’s power over Satan was demonstrated, for He became partaker of flesh and blood: “that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14). O what glorious power is His!
Think also of His power over the physical creation: His power over the stormy sea and the fierce winds, over all the creatures. They are all under His constant control; not a sparrow alights on the ground without His permission. So this is the wonderful truth before us: His power is absolute and universal. The Father “hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things” (Eph 1:22).
But it is “to His body the Church” that Christ is “the head over all things”. His Church is the special realm of the exercise of His power. He exerts His power not only “to”, or on behalf of, His church but also over it and within it. His power is seen at work in the Church in executing His mediatorial offices. It was as Priest that He said about His life: “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (Jn 10:18). When He cleansed the temple and was asked for a sign – that is, of His authority to do so – He answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days will I raise it up” (Jn 2:19), as if to say, I have priestly authority to lay down My life as a sacrifice and to take it up again.
Think also of His prophetic power. As the Prophet He does mighty things. He opens the eyes of the spiritually blind and loosens their tongues by making His Word effective to them. “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it
giveth understanding unto the simple” (Ps 119:130). By His Word and Spirit, He opens the hearts of poor sinners to the truth, as the heart of Lydia was opened to see light in that purest light of His.
It is especially as the King that He exercises His power in the Church. We have a description of this in Psalm 110. As the exalted One at the right hand of the Father, He sends the rod of His strength, the gospel of His grace, out of Zion in order to make sinners His willing subjects. “A willing people in Thy day of power shall come to Thee” (Ps 110:3 metrical). What a great wonder this is – rebellious sinners brought to be humble, loving subjects of the King by the merciful, gracious exercise of His own power!
He also exercises His kingly power in sending out ambassadors with “the rod of His strength”. “We are ambassadors for Christ,” said Paul, “as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). His messengers go forth with the “word of reconciliation” to the ends of the earth. What a priceless blessing it is when He exercises His power in sending labourers into the harvest, commissioning ambassadors to plead with sinners to be reconciled to God!
Again we see His kingly power exercised in bestowing gifts upon men. He has been exalted to heaven, having received “gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also” (Ps 68:18) – not only the gifts of “evangelists”, “pastors and teachers” (Eph 4:11) but also the blessings of pardon and peace. “He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
See also how He exercises His power in building His Church. His promise is, “Upon this rock I will build My Church” (Mt 16:18). This He has been doing and shall do. And His Church shall be preserved. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” because His power is put forth for its protection. We need that preservation collectively and personally – to be “kept by the power of God”. How glorious is Christ’s kingly power! He will continue exercising it until all His subjects are brought to glory. By His might the Church militant shall surely become the Church triumphant; His subjects shall be more than conquerors through Him.
Until that glorious day comes, what will He be doing? He will be exerting His power for the extension of His kingdom. “It from the river shall reach forth unto earth’s utmost end” (Ps 72:8 metrical). Jonathan Edwards said about the divine promise that the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:9): it is “as much as to say, As there is no part of the channel or cavity of the sea, but what is covered with water; so there shall be no part of the world of mankind but what shall be covered with the knowledge of God”. When that latter day glory comes, Christ’s
enemies, who repudiated His authority and tried to rob Him of His power, “shall be made His footstool”.
The final destruction of His enemies will be manifest when Christ employs His royal power in judging the world, for the Father “hath committed all judgement unto the Son” (Jn 5:22). His subjects will hear their King’s wonderful announcement: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34). And so He “shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24).
These few points about the exercise of Christ’s power show, we trust, that it is never dormant. Some rulers cannot wield their power because it is restrained. But the power of “the blessed and only Potentate” shall never be curbed. His power is always active and ever effective. Therefore the kingdoms of this world shall “become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15).
3. Our duty with regard to the power of Christ. Among our many duties, we must constantly remember that Christ has conferred power, in the sense of authority, on the officers of His Church. We see this in the commission He gave to His disciples: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”. In conferring authority on His Apostles as officers in the infant New Testament Church, He has also given authority to succeeding officers of the Church, whether ministers or elders.
Their delegated authority embraces at least the two main aspects of the work of the Church: preaching and ruling. Officers of the Church must therefore employ this authority. For example, ministers are not to shun to declare all the counsel of God, nor are office-bearers to be remiss in using the keys of the kingdom given to them by the Head of the Church, imposing discipline upon wrongdoers and restoring penitents.
David Dickson, in commenting on our text, says, “the community of ministers and teachers and rulers in this portion of God’s Word is in contradiction from the body of those who are . . . taught and governed”. They therefore have obligations to each other. Those who teach and rule must take heed to the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made them overseers, especially that they would feed it. Those who are taught and governed are obliged to remember those who have the rule over them, who have preached to them the Word of God; they are to obey them, and follow them insofar as they follow the Lord.
In verses 19 and 20 of our text we see that the disciples were directed to
engage in the supreme task of preaching the gospel. As Christ says in another place, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). So we today are to be calling sinners to “repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Furthermore, we are always to aim at the primary objective of making disciples. “Go ye therefore and teach [or, disciple] all nations”, is what Christ commands. We are to strive prayerfully, by the preaching of the Word, to bring sinners to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Christ, as the disciples did, so that they would be at the feet of Christ learning of Him. This is to be our great aim: that society would be Christianised, and that needy sinners would be Christians in the fullest sense.
We also learn from our text that our duty is to admit to the Church, formally and solemnly, by the sacrament of Baptism, those who profess faith in Christ, together with their children. By “those who profess faith in Christ” we mean at the least those who make a credible profession of believing the doctrines of the Christian faith and performing Christian duties, and whose conduct does not contradict that profession. Of course, if a person makes a profession of saving faith, and that profession of saving faith is confirmed or accredited by godly conduct, then he or she may receive the privilege of partaking of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Another duty is not only imparting fundamental truth, but also “teaching them,” says Christ, “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (verse 20). Therefore we are to have constant recourse to “the word of Christ” because the “all things” He has commanded are to be found only there. Our doctrine, worship and practice must be strictly in accord with His word. The principle, for example, that what is not expressly forbidden by Scripture is allowable in the worship of God is certainly not found in the Word of God. We are to abide by Holy writ.
It is deplorable when the Church of Christ drifts away from His word. The Scottish Church has been drifting away for many decades by enacting various Declaratory Acts. In justifying the Church of Scotland’s proposal to allow ministers to perform so-called same-sex marriages, a former Moderator of the Church said recently that his Church has a constitution in which there are Acts Declaratory which allow such breadth of opinion. But when opinion and practice go beyond the bounds of the Word of God, it is too broad and it is offensive to the holy eye of God.
Another responsibility we have is to reach out to all nations. As a branch of the visible Church we have endeavoured to go to “the regions beyond”. Our founding fathers were concerned to establish a foreign mission. In the providence of God, John B Radasi was brought into our Church, became a
minister of the gospel and went back to Africa to establish our mission in Matabeleland (as it was then). Therefore, having obtained help of God to continue to this day, we are yet to keep on with this vital work.
One last duty: we are to take encouragement from this precious promise of the Head of the Church, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world”. What encouragement is here! His continuing presence by His Spirit in His Church will mean that there will be strength for His servants. Paul felt his need of strength and received the promise, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Christ says to His Church today: “I will be with thee,” which is as much as to say, “I will strengthen thee”.
Also, when He who has all power is present in His Church, His appointed means of grace will be effective – His Word will be effective and the witness of the Church will be effective. The weapons of her warfare will be “mighty through God to the pulling down of [Satan’s] strong holds” (2 Cor 10:4). The gospel will be “the power of God unto salvation” to sinners – to Jews and Gentiles worldwide. It was a blessed day that came to people in Thessalonica, when the gospel came to them not “in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” (1 Th 1:5). How much we need such manifestations of the power of Christ! May He make His work and power appear even in our day as He did in days of old. “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old” (Is 51:9). His power is not dormant, as we noted, but we desire that it would be put forth in an extraordinary manner and measure as in the past.
Let us then be pleading, “Come, Lord Jesus!” God promised to do great things for the Israel of long ago, but at the same time He declared, “I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them” (Ezek 36:37). Let us pray, as the Psalmist did, “It is time for Thee to work, O Lord” (Ps 119:126). He has indeed determined specific times for the extraordinary display of His power, but it is our duty to plead, “O come for our salvation; stir up Thy strength and might” (Ps 80:2 metrical).
Christ encourages us also to be up and doing. He states, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. . . . Go ye therefore. . . .” It is as if He was saying, I have been commissioned and therefore I commission you; I have been given power and therefore I give power to you. May He give us grace always to heed and act upon His commission: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”