Lesson for January 20, 2019
The Doctrine of Christian Royalty
The Royal Family of God
A royal family is a family of a king. Since our King is Jesus Christ, this means we are royalty. Jesus Christ is a sovereign King as a member of the Godhead, possessing all the attributes of divine essence. As the manifest Person of the Trinity, Christ wears the crown of divine royalty. He is the only Person of the Trinity ever seen. (John 1:18, 6:46; I Timothy 6:16; 1 John 4:12) His royal title is “Son of God.” The members of His divine royal family besides Him are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit with Whom He has eternal and infinite coexistence.
The Virgin Birth introduced the humanity of Christ into the world, at which point Jesus Christ became Jewish royalty. He is descended from lines of two of the sons of David and Bathsheba. The line of royal descent from Solomon ends with Joseph being listed in the book of Matthew. The line of royal descent from Nathan, given in the book of Luke, comes down to Mary, Jesus’ mother. His royal title is “Son of David,” and His royal family is the entire dynasty of David. As Jewish royalty, Christ will fulfill the Davidic Covenant at the Second Coming.
As a result of Christ’s resurrection, ascension and session in Hypostatic Union, He received His third royal title. By virtue of His strategic victory in the Hypostatic Union, Christ became royalty as the strategic victor in the Angelic Conflict. By the humanity of Christ remaining inside the prototype Divine Dynasphere, He remained sinless, which qualified Him to go to the Cross and be judged for our sins. As a result of His saving work on the Cross, Christ became the victor over Satan and the fallen angels. His victory was confirmed by His resurrection, ascension, and session to the right hand of the Father, where He received His third royal title: “King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright Morning Star.” The “many crowns” of Revelation 19:12 refers to this third title. Revelation 19:16, “He has a royal title written on His robe, `King of kings and Lord of lords.’”
When Christ received His third royal title, He had no royal family to accompany it. A third royal family had to be formed. Therefore, God the Father interrupted the dispensation of Israel and inserted the Church Age for formation of a royal family to accommodate Christ’s third royal title. The mechanic for the formation of this royal family is the baptism of the Spirit, begun on the Day of Pentecost, which enters all believers of the Church Age into union with Christ. Some results of the baptism of the Holy Spirit are the new spiritual species for the use of maximum divine power available, the creation of a royal family to complement Christ’s strategic victory, and the provision of equal privilege for the royal family for the execution of the Protocol Plan of God. When the royal family is completed, it will be resurrected, at the Rapture of the Church.
Definition and Description of the Royal Family of God
The Royal Family of God is defined as every Church Age believer, regardless of gender, race or societal classification. (Colossians 3:11) All distinctions are erased at the point of salvation and we become one in Christ. Whatever we were before, we are now Royal Family of God. This is a permanent royalty that will last forever. Our royalty is eternal and secure since it is related to our relationship with Jesus Christ. This means all Church Age believers are in full time royal service for Christ as royal priests and royal ambassadors.
Every member of the Royal Family of God has equal privilege and equal opportunity for the execution of God’s plan, will, and purpose for his life. Under the Doctrine of Election, every believer has the equal privilege of his royal priesthood, and the equal opportunity of logistical grace support. Under the Doctrine of Predestination, every believer has the equal privilege in Christ by means of the baptism of the Spirit, and equal opportunity from life inside the Divine Dynasphere.
The Nomenclature for the Royal Family of God
- “Church” – emphasizing the function of the Royal Family of God during this dispensation.
- “Body of Christ” – emphasizing the utilization of the same divine omnipotence used to sustain the humanity of Christ during the Hypostatic Union.
- “Temple of the Holy Spirit” – emphasizing the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit.
- “Bride of Christ” – emphasizing the Royal Family of God after the Rapture.
The dispensational time of the Royal Family of God is the Church Age, which provides a rebuttal argument against Satan in the appeal trial of the Angelic Conflict. It therefore provides an invisible impact on human history, unique to the Church Age. As goes the Church Age believer, so goes human history; this phenomenon is true only during the Church Age. The Church Age is the only dispensation having both a Royal Family of God and a new spiritual species.
The plan for the royal family of God is not the ritual plan of the dispensation of Israel. That has been superseded by the Protocol Plan of God which calls for maximum utilization of divine power by the Royal Family of God. The Protocol Plan of God is related to an unprecedented provision in human history – the indwelling of all three members of the Trinity, making our bodies a temple. The Protocol Plan of God provides the believer with two royal commissions:(1) The Royal Priesthood by which we represent ourselves before God and (2) The Royal Ambassadorship by which we represent God to all mankind.
The Protocol Plan of God has three categories of spiritual adulthood: (1) Spiritual self-esteem,(2) Spiritual autonomy and (3) Spiritual maturity. The Protocol Plan of God has three unique systems of suffering for blessing:(1) Providential preventative suffering for spiritual self- esteem, (2) Momentum testing for spiritual autonomy and (3) Evidence testing for spiritual maturity. The Protocol Plan of God has ten unique Problem-Solving Devices: Rebound, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the Faith-Rest Drill, Grace Orientation, Doctrinal Orientation, A Personal Sense of Destiny, Personal Love for God, Impersonal Love for all Mankind, Sharing the Happiness of God, and Occupation with Christ.
The spiritual assets of the Royal Family of God are contained in our Portfolio of Invisible Assets which God the Father prepared for each of us in eternity past. These assets include escrow blessings for time and eternity, and much more. The objectives of the Royal Family of God are to advance to spiritual maturity, to receive the conveyance of escrow blessings on earth, to pass evidence testing, and to receive the conveyance of our escrow blessings for the eternal state. All these are summed up in the phrase, “to glorify God.” The Scriptural declaration of our royalty is found in I Peter 2:9, “But you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
The Setting of the Royal Family
The first coming of Christ occurred in the dispensation of Israel. This included Christ’s birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session. Ten days after the session, the Age of Israel was interrupted in order to insert a new dispensation into history for the purpose of calling out a royal family. Jesus Christ was royalty by birth, by deity, and by His spiritual victory on the Cross. The spiritual royalty of Christ occurred as a result of His spiritual victory over Satan on the Cross and His acceptance by God the Father at the Session. Being seated at the right hand of the Father, He has a new title, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Therefore, as the God-man, He is a new type of royalty: superior, permanent and spiritual royalty. Thus He must have a royal family to share His reign. The Age of Israel had to be interrupted in order to introduce a dispensation in which the specific objective is to form a royal family for Christ. “The Church,” “the body of Christ” and “the bride of Christ” are synonyms for the royal family.
Biblical Documentation for the Royal Family
- The book of Ephesians emphasizes the position of the royal family.
- The book of Hebrews emphasizes the priesthood of the royal family.
- The book of Romans emphasizes the objectives of the royal family.
- The book of Colossians emphasizes the lifestyle of the royal family.
The Formation of the Royal Family
The royal family is formed by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation. This is the work of God the Holy Spirit which began at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost to the eleven disciples and about 200 others. The Holy Spirit entered those believers into union with Christ. Everyone celebrated by using some temporary spiritual gift such as healing, miracles, or tongues. But these gifts all ended with the completion of the Canon of Scripture.
At salvation, the Holy Spirit enters us into union with Christ which makes us royal family. The baptism of the Spirit is identification with Christ as royalty. (John 14:20; Acts 1:5, 2:3, 11:15-17; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 2:12) The result of the baptism of the Spirit is positional truth. Positional truth means the believer is positionally with Christ at the right hand of the Father. We are accepted positionally as royalty just as Christ is accepted as royalty. We share all that Christ is and all that Christ has as royalty, being in union with Him. Positional truth belongs to all believers regardless of their spiritual status or level of spiritual maturity.
Because the baptism of the Spirit is not an experience, our royal status is not seen or felt in any experiential way. It becomes manifest to others only when we reach spiritual maturity and manifest the character of Christ. Because the baptism of the Spirit is a sovereign work of God, our royalty is not progressive. We cannot improve it by anything we do. Therefore our royalty is not related to our human ability, our good deeds, or any other human works. Since God is eternal, all that He does is eternal in nature. And since the baptism of the Spirit is a work of God, it is also eternal in nature. Therefore since we become royalty by the work of God, our royalty is eternal in nature. There is nothing we can say or do to become “non-royalty.” Realization of our royal status can occur only through the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine.
The Royal Family Relationship
The spiritual royalty of Jesus Christ is unique. He is spiritual royalty at the right hand of God. As the victor of the Angelic Conflict, Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union was alone at the right hand of the Father. Therefore the Father interrupted the Jewish Age to insert the Church Age, the dispensation of the calling out of a royal family for Christ. The royal family on earth is called “the body of Christ” and in Heaven is called the “bride of Christ.” After the Rapture of the Church, the royal family is prepared in Heaven as the bride of Christ during the Tribulation, and then returns with Christ at the Second Coming as His bride.
The Church Age will last only as long as it takes to complete the royal family.
The Sign of the Royal Family: the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
God the Holy Spirit indwells us as a sign of royalty according to I Corinthians 6:19-20. The Holy Spirit also indwells the believer’s body to provide a temple for the indwelling of Christ and so that we can never be demon- possessed. When we sin, we are still indwelt with the Spirit. Therefore we are still royal family even though out of fellowship with God. As long as you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit you are royalty. You are indwelt forever, therefore are royalty forever.
The Security of the Royal Family
Our security as royalty is based on the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are sealed by God the Holy Spirit at salvation. This is a guarantee of our status as members of the Royal Family of God forever. Our security is also based on the character of God. God is perfect. His plan is perfect. There is no sin or evil we can commit that is greater than the grace of God. God the Holy Spirit has put His seal on us. We are “sealed until the day of redemption,” the Rapture.
The Objective of the Royal Family on Earth
The first objective of the believer is to take in doctrine on a consistent basis until he begins to have a personal love for God. This develops spiritual self-esteem. Next, the believer must continue to grow spiritually by the intake and application of doctrine until he has developed spiritual autonomy, the virtue of impersonal love toward other members of the human race. Then he must pass the momentum tests: people testing, thought testing, system testing and disaster testing. Finally he must reach spiritual maturity, where he is blessed by undergoing evidence testing, thus becoming a witness against Satan. At maturity, we receive our blessings which were deposited in escrow in Christ in eternity past. (Ephesians 1:3-14) These blessings glorify God to the maximum. Then God may test us concerning these blessings as evidence against Satan. This is the objective of the royal family while on earth.
The Royal Family in Eternity
After the Rapture, every member of the royal family will possess a resurrection body exactly like Christ’s. It will be minus the sin nature, human good, and evil. Then the royal family will be evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ with regard to their attitude toward Bible doctrine and their advance to spiritual maturity. Members of the royal family who reach spiritual maturity will have great rewards for all eternity and will be blessed to a greater extent than those believers who failed in time. These eternal rewards will glorify God for all eternity. Next, the royal family will return with Christ at the Second Coming to observe His victory against Satan and all the fallen angels in the Armageddon campaign. Finally the spiritually mature believers of the royal family will rule with Christ during His millennial reign and throughout all eternity.