The Reign of Christ over This World.
“What
will it profit a person to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul?” (Mt16:26; Mk 8:36; Lk 9:25.)
“World,”
of course can mean the physical universe. “World” is also used in the Bible to
refer to the collection of forces of opposition to God. “Worldliness.”
Anti-God.
So
what if a person gains everything this world has to offer – riches, pleasures,
honors and respect, power and authority over others, self-satisfaction – all of
it! But if you lose your soul, your personhood, your life? If you end up apart
from God by your own choice? That’s Hell. You’ve given your soul to the devil.
Jesus says your soul – destined for eternity – is worth more than the whole
world. But you’ve tossed it away.
So
let’s look at what Jesus, the Truth, tells us about this world. First, He’s not
of this world (Jn 8:23, 17:14). The world doesn’t know the Father (Jn 17:25)
and doesn’t know the Son (Jn 1:10). The world’s rulers do not know Christ (1Cor 2:8), and His Kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36). He even says the
world hates Him (Jn 7:7, 15:18).
But
even still, Christ entered into the world (Jn 3:17, 9:39, 10:36, 16:28, 18:37).
God took on human flesh in Christ Jesus to take away the sin/sins of the world
(Jn 1:29, 3:16; cf. Mk 2:10) (Catechism 295-301, 337-349). God so loved those
in the world that He came to give them the real life that is eternal, sharing
in God’s life (Jn 3:16-17; 1:12; 6:33; 2 Pet 1:4). He came also for judgment on
the world (Jn 9:39, 12:31), and to save the world (Jn 12:47). Christ Jesus brought
redemption to the world (Mt 18:11; Jn 12:31, 15:18, 16:8-11, 17:9) and is the
light of the world, banishing its darkness (Jn 1:9, 3:19, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). He
is the Bread of Life, the Eucharist which gives life to the world (Jn 6:32-35,41, 47, 50-51, 53-58).
No
matter how fallen mankind has become, no matter the extent of a person’s
sinfulness and worldliness, Jesus came to snatch us from the devil’s grasp. His
power is from God (Mt 28:18), not from the “prince of this world” (Lk 4:5-8) who
has no power over Him (Jn 14:30).
Had
the world’s rulers (human and demonic) known and understood what Christ was
about, they would not have crucified Him (1 Cor 2:8). In the crucifixion, the
world was judged (Jn 12:31), was overcome (Jn 16:33), and the ruler of this
world, the devil, was and is being cast out (Jn 12:31) and destroyed (Heb2:14).
Christ
now has been given power over all flesh and the power to give that eternal life
(Jn 17:2). Following His Resurrection and through His Ascension,
Christ left the world to return to the Father (Jn 16:28) where He is glorified
and glorifies the Father (Jn 17:1, 5). He is no more in the world (Jn 17:11).
From God’s “right hand” (Ac 2:33, 5:31, 7:55-56; Eph 1:20), He directs the
course of history (Rev 5:9). He is raised above “all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every named, not only in this age [this world,
this present darkness] but also in that which is to come [the new creation, new
Heaven, new Earth], and He [the Father] has put all thing under His [Christ’s]
feet” (Eph 1:21-22; cf. Phil 2:9; Heb 2:8).
That
is where Scripture tells us we are going. The world will reach its goal and
perfection when it has been renewed and transformed into “the new heaven and
the new earth” in the fullness of God’s kingdom, which is at the end of this
world (Catechism 1043).
Have hope! Don’t let the battle discourage you. Jesus reigns. He will win for us if we entrust ourselves to Him.
Dibby Allan Green
Dibby Allan Green has a BA in Religious Studies (Westmont College, 1978) and MA in Theology (Augustine Institute, 2019), is a lay Catholic hermit, and a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.