The kingly office is the third office of Christ. A king is a person in whom alone the supreme authority over a nation is vested. Thus, the Lord Jesus is King, and none but Him. This is true in a threefold manner:
(1) as God (being coessential with the Father and the Holy Spirit), He rules over the kingdom of power, to which all creatures belong;
(2) as Mediator He rules over the kingdom of grace upon earth; and
(3) as Ruler over the kingdom of glory in heaven, of which both angels and all the elect are subjects.
Christ, the King of Creation
First, as God, the Lord Jesus has within Himself all majesty, worthiness, honor, glory, and power, even if there were no creatures. Having created creatures, however, He, due to the majesty, ruling power, and actual governing implicit in His Being, is the great and sole King over everything. “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chron 29:11); “The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all” (Ps 103:19). The Lord has no need of servants or of viceregents; however, it is the Lord’s wisdom and goodness to govern all things mediately, and thus to govern one man by means of another. For this purpose the Lord has instituted governments which vary in structure and dignity. Such governments are neither sovereign nor independent, even though they may often imagine themselves to be. They are but insignificant vice-regents (assuming that I may give them such a title, and that such a title is not too high for them) who, on God’s behalf and by His power, must govern according to His laws. This dignity is not acquired by skill, power, or friends, nor does anyone remain in government because of these things. It is the Lord who establishes and deposes kings; He exalts and He humbles.
Christ, the King of His Church
Secondly, God has a special and peculiar people among men whom He gathers by His Word and Spirit and who are referred to by the name, “kingdom of grace.” The Lord has established a special King to rule over this people: the Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator. The church is neither a community without a Head, nor a flock without a Shepherd, nor a nation without a Ruler. Such can certainly not be true, even though it presently pleases Him not to demonstrate His glory and majesty as visibly as He has at other times. Even if it seems that no one is held accountable for misdeeds towards the church—that one can trample upon, extinguish, and destroy the church without retribution—and that the church has neither a Keeper nor a King, Jesus is nevertheless King over His church. He is not a King in heaven only, nor in a distant land, nor in the hearts of His elect only, but He is a King who dwells near and in His church: His own people, that gathered congregation, that visible multitude in the world who have accepted Him to be their Head and King, having sworn to be subject and obedient to Him and to live according to His laws.
Believers, hear this and rejoice; hear this, oh world, and be filled with terror! God “hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church” (Eph 1:22); “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36); “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour” (Acts 5:31); “Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill of Zion” (Ps 2:6); “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His Name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer 23:5-6).
God has established Him in His kingdom and has consecrated Him by anointing (Ps 2:6). As He did not exalt Himself to be High Priest, He likewise did not exalt Himself to be King. Rather, the Father has appointed and consecrated Him to this office by way of anointing (which signifies ordination and qualification), by uniting the two natures in one Person, and by the extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The ministry of His kingly office consists 1) in the gathering of His church, drawing her from the power of darkness and translating her into His kingdom (Col 1:13); 2) in protecting her against her enemies (cf. Ps 72; Jer 23:6); and 3) in governing her by His Word and Spirit. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king” (Isa 33:22).