King of Israel and King over all the earth
In the Old Testament (the oldest part of the Bible that is mainly about the people of Israel), God is often called “King”. Let me quote a few examples:
- “Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.” (Psalm 5:1-2) - “You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!” (Psalm 44:4) - “Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.” (Psalm 74:12)
In these Psalms, the Lord is called to rescue. Since He is Israel’s King, they ask Him for salvation from their enemies or other problems they are facing. However, the Lord God is not just the King of Israel, like other nations have their own kings. “For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth…. God reigns over the nations.” (Psalm 47:2; 47:8) Since God has created the earth, including us humans, He is the rightful Ruler over all nations. Sadly, not all people recognize Him as such.
Jesus as King of the Jews and King of the universe
When an angel announced Jesus’ birth, he told Mary: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33) “The house of Jacob” is a synonym for the people of Israel, who were descendants of Jacob.
When Jesus grew into an adult, some people indeed recognized Him as King of the Jews. Others mocked Him for this claim, since He did not have any political power. Still others accused Him of rebellion against the Roman government. Indeed, when Jesus was crucified, “over His head they put the charge against Him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’” (Matthew 27:37, compare Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:18). The Jewish people as a whole rejected Jesus as their King. They had Him killed.
However, this is not the end of the story. To the contrary! Jesus conquered death. He rose victoriously. By dying and rising from the dead, He also conquered His greatest enemy, Satan. Satan had laid claim to this world, since he lured humanity into rebellion against its Creator. But Jesus has slain him. This will become more and more visible throughout history. “Then comes the end, when He [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25) So, Jesus Christ is not just the King of the Jews (which they rejected), but King over all nations.
Who is King: God or Jesus?
In the first paragraph of this article, I claimed that God is King over all the nations. In the second paragraph, I quoted some verses attributing this title to Jesus. At first, this may seem contradictory. However, it is important to remember that Jesus Christ is God. There is no meaningful difference between saying “God is King” and “Jesus is King.” This is already visible in the verses from 1 Corinthians 15, which state that Jesus will deliver the kingdom to God the Father. Let me quote a few more verses that show this:
- “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” (Revelation 1:4-5)
- “There were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.’” (Revelation 11:15)
- “They will make war on the Lamb [Jesus], and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)
- “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
What does all this mean for our lives here and now?
Acknowledging God and/or Jesus as King is not just an abstract confession of faith. It means accepting Him as having ultimate authority over your life. He has the final say — not you or other people. The Lord Jesus says this in John 14:21, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
For many Christians, this is a difficult learning process. It is sometimes hard to discover exactly what God wants (although the basics are very clearly described in the Bible: to love God above all and your fellow people as yourself). But it is especially difficult to accept and carry out God’s will, because it sometimes goes directly against our own wishes and desires. We see this struggle described, for example, in Romans 7:14-26. Paul writes how he longs to do good, yet repeatedly falls for sin and evil. He exhorts his readers: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:12-13).
This conscious decision to accept God’s will not only meets with resistance in our own hearts, it also clashes with many modern cultures which place great value on freedom of choice and following your feelings. Christianity is countercultural in this respect, which can lead to misunderstanding and irritation. But it can also be an opening to share something about your faith: Why do you think God’s will is so important? Why do you choose to put Him in charge of your life?
Our attitude towards human kings / authorities
God’s Kingdom is taking shape more and more. Eventually He will create a new earth, on which He will have full dominion in every sense. Till then, His followers live in earthly kingdoms (or democracies, or other government structures). For this, the Bible gives us clear and practical advice: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by Him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:13; Romans 13:1-2 Also instructs us to obey governing authorities.)
So, having God as your King does not mean that you ignore human governing institutions. It means that you acknowledge the Lord God as the ultimate, supreme Ruler whom you obey above everyone else. When human authorities tell us to do something that goes against God’s commandments, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) For more thoughts on this topic, read our article “How should we relate to wicked rulers?”
What are the consequences if you do not accept God as King?
God has a right to your life because He made you Himself. You cannot accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior without giving Him control over your life. If you reject God and Jesus as King over your life, there will be horrible consequences. Jesus describes this in a parable, a story that illustrates something about His Kingdom. “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.” (Luke 19:12-15)
After speaking with his servants, the king passed judgment on the citizens who rejected him. “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.” (Luke 19:27) This is “only” a parable. We cannot literally apply every detail of the story to Jesus’ kingship. But the warning message is clear: If you reject Jesus as King, things will end badly for you. Do you take that warning seriously?