King of All the Earth
Psalm 47:1–9
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. Psalm 47:2

From the very beginning God had said that he purposed to bless all nations and all peoples through Abraham and his descendants, particularly through his one great descendant, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And that is what he has done and is doing. He is building Christ’s spiritual kingdom with people from all nations and races.

There were times when the Jewish people thought in exclusively ethnic or nationalistic terms, as nations generally do. They thought that the blessings of God’s kingdom were for them alone. But the psalmist knew differently, and so did that great Jewish theologian, Paul, who wrote that Abraham is “the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well” (Rom. 4:11). And again, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’” (vv. 16–17).

Someone asked me whether the kingdom of God is past, present, or future. It is impossible to describe the kingdom of God as being merely past, merely present, or merely future. It is all of these and more, for it is also internal and external. It involves willing compliance as well as forced compliance. This is because the kingdom of God is God’s rule, and God rules everywhere and all things. The only meaningful question is, Are you a member of that kingdom? Are you a part of it? Am I?

There is only one way to become a willing part of God’s kingdom, and that is by personal surrender to the claims of Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God and Savior of his people. It is to bow before him, for he is the only true “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16).

In this age God is building his kingdom by calling out a people to himself. They are from every imaginable people, nation, condition in life, and race— Americans and Africans and African Americans; tribal people, street people, and sophisticated urban dwellers; working men and men without work; judges and those who have been judged; all types of people. And he is turning them into men and women in whom the kingdom of Jesus Christ is present and in whom his loving, winsome, and upright character can be seen. There is nothing in life more important or more wonderful than belonging to that kingdom.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.