We have looked at seven eternal things that are described for us many times in the Bible; An infinite God, the Word of God, Salvation, life, Inheritance, Glory, Eternal Fire, and Love. There are several other eternal topics in the Bible. Let us now consider Eternal Dominion.
Paul closes out his first letter to Timothy with what the Pulpit Commentary calls, “a magnificent embodiment of the attributes of the living God, supreme blessedness and almighty power, universal dominion, and unchangeable being, inscrutable majesty, radiant holiness, anti glory inaccessible and unapproachable by his creatures, save through the mediation of his only begotten Son.” The Bible, from Genesis 1:1 through to Revelation, places God the Father in supreme authority and control over all creation and everything that has happened since then or ever will happen. “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” (1 Timothy 6:13-16).
When Jesus gave the disciples the great commission, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”(Matthew 28:18). Notice how Paul tells about this in Ephesians 1:20-23. “He (The Father) raised Him (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.“ Jude also acknowledges God the Father as supreme and observes that Jesus Christ is the one through whom God works to provide the blessings of salvation and care of our spirits throughout time. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen“ (Jude 1:24-25).
The power and dominion delegated to Jesus Christ by the Father are evident in creation and in the church which He built. Paul says this of Christ’s work in creation. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). And of the church and the authority within the church, John said, “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen“ (Revelation 1:6).
There is another description of dominion that is not eternal in the Bible. Jesus told the Jews that thought that they were free, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). To be a slave to or under the influence of anything is the same as being in their control or dominion. Paul said people who are not under Christ’s authority, “… both Jews and Greeks are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). The hold that sin has on us will become permanent if we do not turn to God and place ourselves under His dominion. Later in the letter to Rome, Paul says, “Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
The secret to success in staying free from the power of sin and death is to become fully committed as a servant of God, and His Son. In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul recounted his plan to receive eternal life. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:7-11).
Our God is an awesome God; He reigns from heaven above in wisdom, pow’r and love. Our God is an awesome God.
