The Kingly Office of Christ – from Christian Dogmatics by Francis Pieper

Christ, the Redeemer, also excercises dominion over all the world and the whole universe. Scripture stresses the universal character of the dominion of Christ: “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father” (Matt. 11:27); “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18); “Thou hast put all things under His feet” (Ps. 8:6; Eph. 1:22; I Cor. 15:27); “He
left nothing that is not put under Him” (Heb. 2:8). Scripture itemizes this πavra: Christ rules “all people, nations and languages” (Dan. 7:13-14); He rules all things moving on earth, in the air, and in the sea (Ps. 8:7-8)) He rules over His enemies (Ps. 110:2). Scripture exempts no territory in the universe from the dominion of Christ; the officium Christi regium extends over all relations and situations in the universe.

A Threefold Kingdom
The universal realm of Christ may be divided into a threefold kingdom “according to the diverse nature of the subjects and of their government” (Baier, III, p. 128). In the Kingdom of Power, which embraces the unbelievers (who refuse to accept the Gospel of grace), together with the fallen angels, and the irrational creatures (to whom the Gospel does not apply), Christ rules by His omnipotence (regnum potentiae). In the Kingdom of Grace, which embraces the believers, those who have accepted “the Gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), He rules in grace through the revealed Word (regnum gratiae). And those who were in this life the subjects in the Kingdom of Grace, He will make in yonder life partakers of His unveiled glory (regnum gloriae).

In this sense our dogmaticians say: Regium Christi officium triplex est: regnum potentiae, gratiae, gloriae. Note: The Kingdom of Power embraces the whole universe, all creatures as such. “He left nothing that is not put under Him.” Note again: Only those who believe the Gospel and are justified by faith are members of the Kingdom of Grace. The Kingdom of Grace is synonymous with the Church of God on earth (ecclesia militans). Rom. 5:1-2: “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” Acts 5:14: “Believers were the more added to the Lord” (namely, to the Church). In unbelievers, the children of disobedience, the devil is the ruling power, Eph. 2:2.

Note, finally, that the Kingdom of Glory extends the Kingdom of Grace into eternity. Only those who were membra ecclesiae militantis (Rom. 8:17) will be, and that most certainly, membra ecclesiae triumphantis. Rom. 5:2: “We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” The holy angels, too, are members of the Kingdom of Glory. Heb. 12:22: “Ye are come … unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.

What a glorious subject is here presented to the preacher! Let him not be content with merely enumerating the three Kingdoms and presenting a hasty sketch of them, but in describing them let him – as one of our fathers put it – “pull out all stops.” He must not, of course, pull his own stops, but draw for his catechumens and hearers the rich diaspora of Scripture. Particularly also the regnum potentiae should be described with all the details given in Scripture, and the regnum gloriae should be presented in such a way as to “fill the Christians with the ardent longing to reach heaven.”

The Unity of the Three Kingdoms
Scripture teaches that these realms form a unit inasmuch as they are under one and the same Lord; Christ’s uniform will and purpose directs, and His divine power and majesty controls, all affairs. That is clearly brought out in passages such as Eph. 1:21-23: “Far above all principality … and hath put all things under His feet and gave Him [et eundem, the same] to be the Head over all things to the Church.” It is of great practical importance to keep this unity in mind. It is very comforting to know that the sun, moon, and stars, the air, fire, and water, the devils, and all our enemies obey the will of Christ no less than the Church and the holy angels. It is very comforting to know that Christ rules the universe in the interest of the Kingdom of Grace, or the church. In other words: everything in heaven and earth must serve the one purpose of gathering and preserving the Church. The kingdoms of this world are “the scaffolding used in the building of the Church.” Matt. 28:18-19: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations.”

And, as our dogmaticians remind us, Christ rules in the Kingdom of Grace and in the Kingdom of Glory with the same divine omnipotence with which He rules the Kingdom of Power. An omnipotent King is required to rule the Church and heaven. As to the Kingdom of Grace, Scripture teaches very clearly that the gathering and preservation of the Church is not only the work of grace, but also the work of divine omnipotence. The divine omnipotence operates in creating and sustaining the faith of the individual members of the Church.

Differences of the Three Kingdoms
At the same time Scripture teaches that the three kingdoms differ from one another. Christ sharply distinguishes His Kingdom of Grace from the kingdoms of this world: “My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is My kingdom not from hence,” not of this world (John 18:36). The Church of Christ is in the world, but it is not of this world. That means that although the Church sojourns in this world (John 17:11, 15; I Tim. 2:2, etc.), it does not partake of the nature of the kingdoms of this world; it is not built and ruled after the manner of these kingdoms. Christ shapes and preserves the kingdoms of this world through the ordinances of the civil government and whatever else belongs to this sphere (civil righteousness, external authority, inclusive of the parental authority, in general the arrangement of superiors and inferiors in the domain of social life) but He builds up, maintains, and governs His Church exclusively through His Word and Sacraments by which He creates and preserves faith in the Gospel through the Holy Ghost and for the administration of which He gives His gifts to the Church and has, particularly, instituted the office of the public ministry. (This matter will be fully treated under the “Doctrine of the Church”) Those who resort to other means than the Word and the Sacraments to build the Church are disobedient to Christ’s instructions. And they are acting the part of fools; means selected by human wisdom do not build, but only destroy the Church.

The Doctrine of the Kingly Office of Christ an Article of Faith
Only by faith can we know that Christ is the Ruler of the threefold Kingdom, and faith rejoices in this knowledge. As to the Kingdom of Power, we cannot see with our natural eyes that Christ governs all things. Heb. 2:8: “Now we see not yet all things put under Him.” Rather it often appears “as though not Christ, but the devil were sitting on the throne” (Luther, St. L.
IV:2016). But for that very reason Scripture teaches the regnum potentiae so powerfully and goes so much into detail (the angels and the devils, the enemies of Christ, the irrational creatures, etc.) that we may believe it and put our trust in our all-powerful Ruler.

As to the Kingdom of Grace, the means (the means of grace) by which Christ gathers and preserves it are indeed perceptible, but the Kingdom itself is invisible; it is within the hearts of those who through the work of the Holy Spirit believe in Christ. Luke 17:20-21: “The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation … the Kingdom of God is within you.” It is, according to I Peter 2:5: “a spiritual house.” And yet we know by faith that the Christian Church is a reality, and believing the promises of Scripture, we are assured that in spite of the opposition of the devil (Matt. 16:18), the false teachers (2 Tim. 2:17-19), and the world (John 16:33) the Church will abide.