Our opposite neighbor has a ritual every work day when arriving home after work. He and his wife arrive home around the same time. They use a gas stove. He puts on a pot of water and once the water boils they sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and chat about their day’s experiences. Their work for the day is done and they sit down together. The Psalmist, king David sees into the future and gives a prophecy about Jesus’ finishing His earthly work, retuning to heaven and sits down.
1) Where is king David now?
Ac 2:34 For David did not ascend to heaven
does this mean David is not in heaven even though he was one of God’s greatest servants and certainly the greatest and most important king over a United Israel. This sentence in verse 34 is not excluding David from heaven! Look at the verse … “David did not ascend to heaven”. Jesus ascended in bodily form, David did not. His soul is in heaven with God but his body was buried at death. The soul of all true believers goes to God when the body dies. The body does not ascend as Jesus’ did. The reception of a new body, a spiritual body will only happen after the Judgment.
2) Look at what king David records in Psalm 110.
Ps 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
Peter quotes Psalm 11 verse 1 exactly and
yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
(1) Notice the two words LORD and Lord. LORD is God’s covenant name … Yahweh whilst Lord is Adonai. Both names are God’s names. Both means Lord except LORD is God’s covenant name for His people Israel. However, both names being God’s names means that the One (LORD) who “said” to “my Lord” are both God. God the Father (Yahweh) said to David’s Lord, God the Son (Adonai), reveals the Father speaking to the Son. It might sound very technical but we need to see the dimension of God as Trinity here.
(2) What does the Father (LORD) say to the Son (Lord)? “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” There are three things coming out of this sentence.
(a) Sit. Why does the Father tell the Son to sit? Because His earthly work (rescue mission) is completed. You will recall that after God created, He rested from His creating.
Ge 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Although the text does not say God sat down, the idea of rest means ceasing from the activity of creating. Jesus completed His earthly work of the New Creation (the redemption of souls transformed from spiritual deadness to spiritual life known as the New Birth). He sat down. He rested once completing the New Creation. The concept of “rest” and “sit” do not imply idleness. It means ceasing what they were doing because what they were doing is completed. As wonderful and as beautiful as the Creation itself is so is the New Creation. When you consider the decrepitness, the ugliness of the lost soul because of saturation in sin, evil and wickedness … the transformation into a saved soul, cleansed of all past, present and future sin and guilt, indwelt by the Spirit, credited with Jesus’ righteousness with a passion for God and the things of God … is nothing short of wonderful and beautiful!
(b) At my right hand. The meaning here is “a place of honor and status”. To grasp these two concepts one needs to understand that “right hand” implies equality within the Godhead.
Heb 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
The status is God and as God there is honor! As His people we ought to remember that because of Jesus’ status, He requires we honor Him … and we do this by committing ourselves to practical holiness.
(c) Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Father will make the enemies of the Son His footstool. Who are the Son’s enemies? Naturally these enemies are the same enemies as that of the Father and Spirit. Firstly there is satan, the arch enemy of God. He led one third of the angels to rebel against God and was cast out of heaven. He tried to destroy God’s plan for men in the Garden of Eden, but he was unaware of God’s election of a body of souls for eternal salvation. He tried to foil God’s plan for the Son in the desert by his failed plans to get Jesus to submit to Him through temptation. He then thought his master plan came together through Judas betraying Jesus leading to Jesus’ crucifixion in another garden. But as the Father chose souls for salvation, so He chose a rescue plan which included Calvary! God incarnate was predestined in the Council of Glory before creation! The evil one used the fallen angels to execute his malicious plans against God, His people and all people. Every religion, government and institution throughout all time that is anti the true God are His enemies. In one way they are already Jesus footstool because of Jesus victory at Calvary, empty Tomb and Rising to take back His life. But on the other hand, once Jesus stands as Judge, condemning all evil souls and beings (satan and his demons) to hell, casting them into the eternal fire that never burns out … is His footstool. Although Calvary was to deal with the sin and salvation of the elect of God, it was also victory over His enemies … but on that terrible Day of Judgment, the final victory will be manifested … and final … and the New Heavens and New Earth, the Home of Righteousness will be ushered in for all God’s Saints.
3) The assurance of Jesus’ credentials!
Ac 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The men of Israel needed to know that this One they knew as Jesus was actually God incarnate … the Godman … and for their benefit they needed to know that the Jesus they crucified has been “made” or declared to be Both Lord (Adonai) and Christ (Messiah). They needed to know that He is Emmanuel, God with us whose is Jesus who saves. (Matthew 1:21 & 23). Jesus is God! O Lord our God, how majestic and glorious You are in Your God-ness and Trinitarian-ness.
Thank You that Your mission is accomplished, successful and for all those You chose before the creation of the world. Help me Lord to love and appreciate Your salvific grace. Amen.