Jesus is King. Let’s start there, because that’s the truth the world most desperately needs and most fiercely resists. Not “Jesus was King.” Not “Jesus will be King.” Jesus is King—right now, forever, unchallenged.
This declaration isn’t a religious slogan or a bumper-sticker sentiment. It’s a reality that reshapes everything—politics, culture, personal identity, and eternal destiny. And throughout history, those who have proclaimed this truth have faced opposition from powers that claim authority for themselves.
But truth has a way of breaking through.
The Biblical Foundation: Christ’s Present Reign
Scripture doesn’t present Jesus’ kingship as a future hope only—it declares His present reign. Consider these foundational texts:
Matthew 28:18: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Not some authority. Not future authority. All authority—present tense, already given. When Jesus spoke these words after His resurrection, He was declaring a transfer of cosmic power. The kingdom had arrived in His person.
Ephesians 1:20-22: God “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His 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 age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet.”
Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He is now above all principality and power. All things are now under His feet—though we await the full manifestation of what is already true.
1 Corinthians 15:25: “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.”
He must reign. Present, continuous action. Not “He will reign someday” but “He is reigning now until the completion of His work.”
Why This Declaration Shakes the Powers
Say it out loud: Jesus is King. What happens?
Throughout history, this confession has provoked opposition. Why? Because the kingship of Jesus challenges every competing claim to ultimate authority. It exposes the limits of human rule. It reminds both rulers and rebels that they are accountable to a higher throne.
“Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6).
Psalm 2 depicts the nations raging and the rulers plotting against the Lord and His Anointed. They want to break free from His rule. They find His authority constraining. “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us” (Psalm 2:3).
But God’s response? He laughs. He holds them in derision. And He declares: “I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
Governments can pass laws. Corporations can craft policies. Media can spin narratives. Cultural elites can redefine morality. But none can dethrone Christ. His kingship isn’t symbolic—it’s reality. And every knee will eventually acknowledge what is already true.
The Early Church: Dying for a Declaration
The modern church has sometimes reduced “Jesus is King” to a nice phrase for hymns or social media posts. But the early Christians didn’t die for poetry. They died because they declared, in the face of Roman power: Jesus is Lord—not Caesar.
The Roman confession “Caesar is Lord” (Kyrios Kaiser) was more than political loyalty—it was religious worship. Emperors were deified, temples were built to them, and incense was burned in their honor. To refuse this confession was treason.
Christians couldn’t comply. Their confession was “Jesus is Lord” (Kyrios Iesous). Not alongside Caesar. Not subordinate to Caesar. Instead of Caesar. This is why they were thrown to lions, burned as torches, and crucified along Roman roads.
When Paul wrote, “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9), he wasn’t being poetic. He was issuing a revolutionary fact in a world that demanded allegiance to Rome. Every name includes Caesar’s name. Jesus is above.
The Thread Through Scripture
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points to one reality: Jesus is King. The entire story builds toward His coronation:
Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
From the patriarch Jacob, a promise: a ruler from Judah who would command the obedience of nations. Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
2 Samuel 7:12-13: “I will set up your seed after you… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
God promised David an eternal throne. No merely human descendant could fulfill this—only one who lives forever. Jesus, Son of David, reigns without end.
Psalm 2: God’s warning to kings and rulers who resist the Messiah’s rule: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way” (Psalm 2:12).
Psalm 110:1: “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'”
The most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. David’s Lord—a figure greater than David himself—seated at God’s right hand, reigning until victory is complete.
Isaiah 9:7: “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.”
A kingdom that never stops growing. A peace that never ends. A reign that continues forever.
Daniel 7:14: “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.”
Every nation, every language, every people—serving the Son of Man. Universal and everlasting dominion.
Revelation 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The climactic revelation: Jesus returns as the ultimate King, the supreme Lord, before whom all other claims to authority bow.
History is His story. Every ruler, empire, movement, and ideology will bow—because Jesus is King.
What This Means for Us Today
If Jesus is King, several implications follow:
1. No human authority is ultimate. Governments, employers, cultural institutions—all have limited, delegated authority. When they command what Christ forbids or forbid what Christ commands, we obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). This doesn’t mean anarchy; it means accountability. Human rulers answer to the King of kings.
2. No ideology deserves absolute allegiance. Political movements, philosophical systems, cultural trends—none can claim the loyalty that belongs to Christ alone. Christians may engage in politics, but their ultimate citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We hold earthly affiliations loosely because we hold Christ tightly.
3. No fear is final. If Jesus reigns, then cancer doesn’t have the last word. Economic collapse doesn’t have the last word. Political chaos doesn’t have the last word. Death itself doesn’t have the last word. The King has conquered, is conquering, and will conquer.
4. The Great Commission makes sense. Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations because He has all authority (Matthew 28:18-20). We don’t evangelize hoping Jesus might eventually win. We evangelize because He has already won, and we’re announcing the victory.
The Call to Boldness
“We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
This is not the time for soft declarations. This is the time for boldness. The kingship of Christ is not a private opinion to be kept in church buildings. It’s a public fact to be proclaimed in every sphere of life.
In a world of competing claims—ideological, political, religious—the Christian confession stands firm:
- Jesus is King over governments—they rule under His authority.
- Jesus is King over media—truth belongs to Him.
- Jesus is King over education—all knowledge finds its coherence in Him.
- Jesus is King over business—economics serves His purposes.
- Jesus is King over entertainment—culture reflects His glory or rebels against it.
- Jesus is King over my life—my plans, my identity, my future belong to Him.
The Coming Consummation
It doesn’t matter whether people acknowledge Him today. It doesn’t matter how fiercely they try to suppress His name or marginalize His followers.
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. That’s not optional. That’s inevitable. The only question is whether we bow now in worship or later in judgment.
The king who was crucified outside Jerusalem rose from the grave. He ascended to heaven. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He is reigning now. And He is coming again—not as a suffering servant but as the conquering King.
Until then, we live as citizens of His kingdom, ambassadors of His reign, heralds of His victory. We declare what is true, live according to His rule, and await His appearing.
Jesus is King. Say it with your life. Say it with your words. Say it with your worship.
Because one day, every voice in the universe will say it together.
References
Scripture quotations from the New King James Version. Key passages: Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Isaiah 9:7, Daniel 7:14, Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 1:20-22, Philippians 2:9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:25, Revelation 19:16.
