The Exaltation of Christ — Walter Chantry

Psalm 110 and the Exaltation of Christ

But of the Messiah who was to come. And in this psalm will be yielded to you upon meditation great wealth of instruction and great wealth of blessing and encouragement to your heart. Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast to do of thy youth.

The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen.

He shall fill the places with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way. Therefore shall he lift up the head. Last week we observed in verse 1 an amazingly full verse of scripture which is the very foundation of all that the scripture has to say concerning the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Concerning his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, his session at God's right hand and his return to receive his church unto glory with himself. There is in the verse an intimation of the Trinity as the first person speaks to the second person.

There is a clear statement concerning the deity of Jesus Christ. David calls him, My Lord. He is more than the son of David. He is the Lord of David. There is also a clear statement concerning the exaltation of Christ, which we must understand from the scriptures to be an exaltation in our nature.

For deity cannot be exalted. He is Lord over all, blessed forever, amen, but as man and as the son of man, Christ was exalted to the Father's right hand. He was exalted as our head, as the representative of his church, not as the representative of all men, but as the representative of those who believe on his name.

As such, he has received at the right hand of the Father blessings which are intended for the church. Those blessings which he receives, he dispenses to his people. The greatness of Christ's kingdom is described so very fully in this verse.

We see the heavenliness of it. He is seated at the Father's right hand. We see the glory and the dignity of it, for he was invested into the office by the great God who created all. The Father said to him, Sit thou on my right hand.

Christ did not grasp after the office, but the Father invested him with it. We see the power of his kingdom. He is seated at the right hand of God, the right hand being a symbol of power. Those who are seated at the right hand share in the power of the one beside whom they are seated.

It shows us that his kingdom is eternal. He is seated at his Father's hand until every enemy is made his footstool. When the last enemy shall be put down, Christ shall still be reigning. It is an eternal kingdom.

It is a victorious kingdom, for every enemy shall be made his footstool and shall be put under him as a sign of submission, as a sign of his victory and glory. A great foundation text in the scripture for the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Christ's Present Session and Reigning Authority

In weeks to come, we hope to look more at what this psalm has to say about the reign of Jesus Christ and what it is for him to be king, seated in the heavens. Suffice it today to note that Jesus Christ is now reigning at God's right hand.

We spoke last week of his session at the right hand of God, and this was a new word to some of you. The word session simply means to be sitting, being seated. It comes from the Latin word that means to sit.

So a session is simply a sitting. But it has come to mean more than that. We talk about a session of the Congress. Congress sits down not to relax, but in order to take up its authority and to do business.

Jesus Christ did not sit down at the Father's right hand to retire from the business of saving his church, but rather to assume the authority by which he will complete that work. He is in session at God's right hand as Congress is in session.

The court is often called into session to exercise judicial authority. So Jesus Christ is in session. He is seated. He is sitting for a period of time, but not to relax, not the kind of sitting that you do when you come home from work tired at night and flop down and just want to relax.

Christ is seated in order that he might be busy about the work that the Father has given him to do. For it is only by the Son, Jesus Christ, that God the Father is going to subdue all of his enemies. It is not, as some commentators have tried to bring this verse to say, it is not that Jesus is sitting there waiting for the Father to bring the enemies under his feet.

It is that Jesus Christ himself is given that glorious power and that wonderful majesty by which he himself will subdue all things to himself and then deliver them up to the Father. He is in session to reign.

He is in session to do a great deal of work. Session then may be described as sitting for a period of time to exercise certain authority. Jesus Christ, after his resurrection and ascension, entered into his session at God's right hand.

Christ the King and Priest at God's Right Hand

Today, because we come to the Lord's table, we're going to note something unique about this authority of Jesus Christ at God's right hand. Looking at verse 4, the psalm opens by the words of God the Father at the coronation of Jesus Christ and what glorious words they were, and how the angels must have thrilled to hear the Father say, sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

But here in verse 4, David also had the privilege of overhearing the ordination of Jesus Christ as a priest. The word of verse 4 tells us, the Lord has sworn and will not repent. And here are the words of God swearing, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus Christ in his session at God's right hand is active as a priest. This is a unique idea to the Jews, for it was forbidden for any king of Judah to hold the office of priest. There was one who tried it in the days after David, Uzziah by name.

You remember that the king came into the temple and wanted to take the censers out of the hands of the priest and go into the holy place himself and offer up a sweet fragrance to God. He wanted to do the work of priest and the priest warned him against it.

And yet he was presumptuous to go into the presence of God when the Lord had forbidden it and he was smitten with leprosy for the rest of his days. Not even allowed to come as the normal Jew into the house of God, for he had the dread disease of leprosy.

And yet there was one who was to come who would be both a king and a priest. Turn to Zechariah chapter 6 for just a moment and notice if you will the prophecy concerning the Messiah, that he was to exercise the duties of a priest while upon the throne.

Prophet Zechariah chapter 6, looking at verses 12 and 13. Zechariah 6 verse 12. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory. Not only was the Messiah who was to come, the root, the branch out of the root of Jesse. Not only was he to build the temple, but he was to be the very glory of the temple, for he was the Lord himself.

There was no need for a Shekinah to come upon the temple in Christ's days, for here was God with us, Emmanuel. He had the glory himself. He shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne.

A priest upon the throne, a great description of Jesus Christ today. He is seated upon a throne at God's right hand, and he is a priest upon the throne. A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Moses said nothing of priesthood concerning the tribe of Judah, and Moses said nothing concerning kingship of the tribe of Levi. So we look back in the history of the scriptures to the great man Melchizedek, who was both king and priest.

Thus is Jesus Christ called a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Thus David harks back to the time when Abraham himself, the promised seed of God, paid vows to Melchizedek and reminds the Jews that there was another to come, Jesus Christ, who was to be both king and priest as he was.

Notice that in Jesus Christ there is both the omnipotence to help those who are weak, and there is the ability, the merit of a priest to help those who are guilty. In Jesus Christ, who holds a double position and serves in a double office, there is the dignity to receive from you a double portion of faith.

He has the sovereignty to rule you, and he has the sacrifice which can cleanse you from sin. O sinner, today as you come to the table of our Lord, look at Jesus Christ as both king and priest. In preparation for the Lord's table, think of the eternality of Christ's priesthood.

The Eternal Priesthood of Christ

We could liken him to Melchizedek in many ways, but let us think upon his being a priest forever. We read in Hebrews 7 that the other priests could not continue forever in their office, for by reason of death they had to give up the office and pass it on to another.

Even the family could not continue in the office of priest forever. Remember Eli of old, who had wicked sons, and God took the priesthood from them by destroying them all. And even the whole tribe of Levi has now given up the priesthood.

Some people, some Christians even, get excited about the restoration of sacrifices in Jerusalem. The old priesthood has ended. There is no longer any use for it. Jesus Christ has superseded them as priests.

Though the Levites were priests and could minister to the people of God for a number of years, that has ended. But never will that be true of Jesus Christ. Notice, God has sworn. God has taken an oath.

O Christian, when you read in the Bible of God taking an oath, does it not make you tremble? When God takes an oath in that commandment, God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Does it not make you tremble to think of the times you've taken his name in vain?

God has taken an oath regarding Jesus Christ, and he does not swear by himself in unimportant matters. But in the important issue of life and the glorifying of his grace, he swore that Christ should be a priest forever.

Not for time only, but forever will Christ continue to be a priest. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he breathed the words, it is finished. But he was not saying that his work as priest was finished.

The sacrifice that he offered was finished in its offering. The shedding of blood was finished. But when a priest in the Old Testament finished offering his sacrifice, his work was not done. On the day of atonement, a priest would go into the temple and slaughter a goat.

But he was not finished when the animal was sacrificed. He took the blood of the animal and entered into the Holy of Holies, the place where God's presence was dwelling. And he sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat.

He went into the presence of God with the sacrifice that God's wrath might be appeased and that the people might be accepted in his presence. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having once offered a sacrifice, has no need to offer more year by year, as the Roman Catholics heretically teach.

Christ's Once-for-All Sacrifice and Heavenly Intercession

But having once offered up a sacrifice, our Lord Jesus Christ entered into the Holy of Holies, not made by man's hands, but into that holy tabernacle made by God himself, into the presence of the living God.

And Christ himself being the sacrifice, dwells this day in the presence of God to bring forgiveness to his people for whom he died. The body which we remember to be broken as we come to the Lord's table, that body is in the presence of God.

And the sacrifice being itself brought into the holiest of all, reminds God of the merit and brings blessing to his church day by day. Look in Hebrews chapter 9 at verse 24, the great statement concerning Christ entering the Holy of Holies after he had offered up the sacrifice on the cross.

Hebrews 9 .24, Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, not into the holy place of the temple over in Jerusalem, for these are figures of the true holy places. But Christ is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

For yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entered into the holy place every year with the blood of others, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father in behalf of his people. He is seated as the priest who has offered the sacrifice to now appease God for those for whom he died, to bring to the Father's remembrance the blood that was shed, the body that was broken, the perfect sacrifice that must succeed in his presence.

Coming to Christ for Forgiveness and Salvation

Oh, God ordained him to this end. Let me ask you this morning, how do you expect your guilt to be taken away? How is it that you expect to stand in the presence of God in the last day and have him forgive you for your sins?

Have you gone to Jesus Christ as a priest? Have you secured the services of this priest, Jesus Christ? He is the only one who has been ordained by God. No wonder those who trust in thee, sacrifices that are made by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, or by the archbishops of Canterbury, or by any others return day after day and constantly hoping that more sacrifices will be offered for them.

Here is one who offered a perfect and acceptable sacrifice once, and he ever liveth in the presence of God to bring for his people a perfect salvation. Have you gone to Christ to make him your priest?

Have you secured his services in the presence of God? No wonder they said in the New Testament, he that hath the Son hath life. For only he that hath the Son hath a priest to stand in the holiest of all.

Other priests may enter into ornate temples in this world, but none other enters into the heavenly place where God himself dwells. Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, all Christian today, he has the merits of his blood spilled before his Father on your behalf.

Sinner, if you have not the Son, then you have not a priest who is able to bring a sacrifice into the very presence of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a priest forever, and as a priest forever, he is one who is able to give everlasting life to his people.

What a sorrow must have come upon the hearts of the Jews who look to one priest or another as the great priest of their faith. When Levi died and others of the priests died, how they must have mourned that the priest who had so often pled their cause before God had now died and passed on.

But in Jesus Christ there is no need to look for another, for he ever liveth. Think of it, Jesus Christ this day, continuing as a priest in the presence of God. And as a priest this hour, he is able to give oblation.

As a priest this hour, he is able to bring forgiveness for sin. Boys and girls, if you pass by Jesus Christ, whom you've heard in Sunday school and church, there will be no other priest to whom you can go.

He has made God's priest forever. He is the last one who has been sent to offer mercy. He is the only and the last one who offered up a sacrifice acceptable to God. Jesus Christ is the only and the last one who is offered away to eternal life.

He is the only door and the last door, the only hope and the last hope. You've heard of Jesus Christ, and here this morning you hear of God's oath. God swore that he would be the priest. Have you passed by Jesus Christ and refused to plead with him for mercy and forgiveness?

Have you heard the gospel year after year and day after day and refused to come to him and ask him to be your priest? Oh, I know that your heart is guilty this morning, sinner. I know that every one of you who sits here has been condemned by the commandments as one who deserves the wrath of God.

God has sworn that he will not hold that man guiltless that takes his name in vain by pretending at worship, by pretending to be holy, by speaking blasphemously of his name. God has sworn that the man who is guilty will die.

The soul that sinneth it shall die. How will you escape the very word and promise of God except you come to the priest whom God has appointed, the priest who alone is able to give a glorious and full salvation?

Thou art a priest forever. Jesus Christ is the priest today. Oh, I would plead with you to come to Christ, you who have heard the gospel and who have not done so. Cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask him to be your priest.

Ask him to plead on the merits of his blood to forgive you for your sins. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ this day to give you that assurance of sins forgiven which he alone is able to give. The Lord has sworn and he will not repent.

He will not repent and say that your prayers are sufficient. He has sworn that Christ is the true priest and forever he will not repent and make an exception for your prayers. He will not make an exception for your sincerity.

He will not make an exception for your good works or for the way that you've tried so hard. God has sworn and will not repent. Here is a priest ordained of God to give salvation. And if you come not to God by him, you cannot come to God.

There is only one God and only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Is he your mediator today? If he is not, then you have no right to come to the table. You have no hope of coming into eternity and into the presence of God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was offered up a perfect sacrifice and then ascended to heaven to sit at God's right hand, to be a perfect priest and to continue in that office. He is in the office which men in all generations have longed to see, the office which is able to cleanse them from sin, deliver them from the power of sin, and make them once again pure and likened to God, to grant eternal life.

Jesus is called the desire of all nations. Like his Melchizedek he ministers as a priest not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. He is a priest for men of every nation, tongue, and people. He is a priest to all who come unto God by him.

Come to the Lord Jesus this day. And Christian, will you not be encouraged by this verse as you come to the Lord's table and you remember the body broken and the blood that has been spilled? Will you not today take courage to know that Jesus Christ is on a throne that shall never be overthrown and is a priest who can never be pulled off his position in the office of priest?

Will you not take courage and remember that there was not only the past historic act of his dying, but there is the present intercession for us? He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him because he ever liveth to make intercession with us.

Only as by faith you look to Jesus Christ the priest is there blessing in the ordinance of coming to his table.