The Voice of the Son - Victory
Psalm 2:7-9
"I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' "
In verses 1-3, we heard the voice of the nations, the voice of rebellion. In verses 4-6, we heard the voice of God, the voice of His wrath. In verse 7-9, we have the voice of God the Son, the voice of victory.
Remember in verse 6, God the Father declared a decree, despite what the kings of earth were thinking about how powerful and sovereign they were, that He will set up His King on His Holy Hill of Zion. Now in verse 7, the Son, Jesus, responds and tells us what the Father said to Him. "I will declare the decree" informs the rebels that God rules His creation on the basis of sovereign decrees. He doesn't ask for a consensus or take a vote. God's decrees are just (7:6), and He never makes a mistake. How good to know that God has decreed the fulfillment of His plan, and that man will not hinder God's working.
Christ speaks in these verses and tells us what the Father said to Him in His eternal decree. "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." When did the Father say this to the Son? Not when He was born into the world, and came out of Mary’s womb, but when He came out of the tomb in His resurrection. Christ was "begotten" from the virgin tomb into a glorious life of resurrection power.
In Acts 13:28-33, where the Apostle Paul was preaching to the Jews on his first missionary journey in Antioch of Pisidia, he quoted from Psalm 2 as he proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “…But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption…” You will recall the Father saying to the Son at His baptism, "This is my Beloved Son" (Matt. 3:17). He repeated this at the Transfiguration where Jesus faced His death on the cross (Matt. 17:5).
Because of His victory over sin and death, Christ is given an inheritance. These verses are quoted again in Hebrews 1:4-5: “Having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"?
Jesus has all the nations as His inheritance because of His faithful work on the cross. However, Satan offered Him these same kingdoms apart from the cross; (Matt. 4:8-10). Jesus could have received the nations without suffering had He yielded to the devil, but then He would have stepped outside the Father's will. (Of course, it was impossible for Christ to sin, but the temptation was still just as real.) Satan will offer these kingdoms to Antichrist, and he will rule the nations for a brief season. (Rev. 13:1-10).
When will Christ receive "the uttermost parts of the earth" for His possession? When He returns to the earth in power and glory; (Rev. 19:11-21). Psalm 2:9 is referred to in Revelation 12:5: “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” And also in Revelation 19:15: “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
The Father has promised the Son complete victory over the nations, which means that one day He will reign over all the kingdoms of the world. Christ's rule will be just but firm, and if they oppose Him, He will smash them like so many clay pots. Jesus is God, Jesus is King, and Jesus is Conqueror.
Today, I believe we can also pray and ask the Father for the nations as an inheritance for Jesus Christ as we share the good news of Christ’s resurrection with them! Will you join me in doing this!
God bless!
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