Will We Rule With Christ? – Short Bible Studies

Man looking into star-filled night. He contemplates ruling with Christ.

(This article is an excerpt of my book, The Coming Kingdom of God.)

God’s purpose for His sons and daughters from the beginning of time was that we would rule with Christ. We will do so throughout eternity with increased capacity under ideal conditions. This is why the question, “Will I get bored in heaven?” is an emphatic no!

Jesus tells us in the passage of Scripture below that He plans for His faithful servants to rule and reign with Him.

And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
“But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers.”
Luke 12:42-46

This story conveys the familiar theme of warning Christians to vigilantly watch for Christ, and to faithfully serve Him until He arrives. As several of the Lord’s stories convey, this one includes the element of a long delay. This brings out the best in some servants and the worst in others.

Free book: Why I Believe Jesus Is Coming Back Soon

Many Christians Unaware God Wants Them To Rule With Christ

The Lord promises that the faithful will be rewarded with rulership over all He possesses. Have you ever thought about how vast that promise is? What it includes? He possesses all of heaven, earth, and the universe–and whatever else He decides to create!

Yet most Christians are unaware of this promised reward to rule with Christ. Among the relative few who are aware, I’ve heard some say things like, “I don’t care about ruling,” or “I don’t want to rule.”

This is disappointing and saddening. However, I understand these Christians don’t understand what they are saying. For instance, people don’t realize they already are in positions of rulership.

God has placed us in charge of our physical bodies, our words, our thoughts, our employment, our relationships, our time, our material goods, our talents, our potential, our opportunities, and we could go on.

We will give an account of all these things because God placed us in positions of rulership over them. Now what sane person would say I don’t want to be in charge of my body or my thoughts or my talents? This present rulership carries over to the new kingdom, only in an infinitely greater way.

Do You Really Not Want To Rule With Christ?

Consider a person who loves music and has practiced thousands of hours to become a skilled musician. Can we imagine that person saying to the Lord, “Nah, I don’t want increased capacity and opportunity to learn heavenly music theory and instruments unknown to the old kingdom?”

“What? Be part of a band or orchestra that travels throughout the new kingdom and put on concerts in honor of the martyrs of all ages? Hundreds of thousands of saints and angels in attendance? The Son of God will be there? Nice, but not interested.”

What about being selected to perform before the Father and Son at a special event? Not for you, right?

Apply this to teachers and speakers and architects and craftsman and scientists and dancers and chefs and gardeners and athletes. “No, I don’t want to teach at the Faith Academy, Lord. And, of course, I don’t want to be its director!”

“Go throughout the kingdom and speak on behalf of God? No, I’ll pass.”

“Be the chief architect for the design of a new city? No thanks, Lord.”

“Take care of the gardens leading up to the region of the throne of God? Not interested.”

“Be the chef in charge of cooking for the twenty-four elders who sit on thrones before the throne of God? Hey, if they’re hungry, they can call Uber Eats!”

“Use my painting or sculpting or organizing or nurturing or carpentry talents for the kingdom of God? Sounds boring.”

Ruling and Reigning With Christ Includes Using Our Gifts For The Kingdom

You get the idea. We are minimizing new kingdom opportunities based upon old kingdom experiences, weaknesses, and failures. Jesus tried relentlessly through His preaching, teaching, and stories, to get His disciples to understand the culture of the new kingdom and to see its possibilities.

The curse of this present world has suppressed our achievements and possibilities to a degree we will not fully understand until we see the new kingdom. Once sin and death are destroyed, the curse is lifted, we receive our new bodies, Satan and his demons are bound, and God the Father and God the Son rule the world, then throughout the eternal ages we will achieve at the level for which we were originally created.

Part of My Ruling With Christ Will Include Writing for the Kingdom

**Sort of look’s like heaven, doesn’t it? You can even see the glory of God in the upper left.**

God has made me a writer. I love this gift and have used and nurtured it. I’ve produced several books. Some fiction; some nonfiction. But I’ve done so under the ceiling of this world’s curse. The sharpness of my mind, the energy level of my body, the distraction of troubles, the availability of time. All set limits on how much and how well I achieve.

But this will not be the case when I carry this gift over to the coming kingdom. And I will have this opportunity. For every gift given in this present life is in some form for the life to come.

At a point after the kingdom has come, if I have been faithful with my writing gift here, I believe I will have opportunities to write there. Perhaps it will be on an ad hoc basis. Maybe it’ll be on a more permanent and regular schedule in an official capacity. Or I may be given autonomy to use my gift for the kingdom as I see fit.

Maybe I’ll continue writing novels. It’s thrilling to contemplate I will have forever to produce incredible works of fiction that inspire, educate, and entertain. And since I plan to learn to play the guitar once the Lord returns and things get settled, I think I’ll kick up my poetry, pick some tunes, and throw out some spoken word on you.

Some may think this is speculation riding a wild horse 30 miles per hour headfirst into a mud pit. But this is only because of unfamiliarity with what the Bible says about the coming kingdom.

Sounds like you need to read my book, The Coming Kingdom of God: A Reference Guide to the Second Coming of Christ.

Could Ruling with Christ Really Include Writing for God in the New Kingdom?

Are there books in heaven? Of course, there are books in heaven. Have you ever heard of God’s book of remembrance?

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.
Malachi 3:16

What about the Book of Life, and the books used against the ungodly on the day of their sentencing to the lake of fire?

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books…And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-12, 15

And what’s the Bible if it isn’t a book? Sixty-six books to be exact. God is into books.

We Should Eagerly Anticipate Ruling And Reigning With Christ

I can say the same of other things in this present world that will continue into the world to come. Animals, nature, food, rivers, celebrations, travel, learning, singing, building, and a bunch of other stuff.

We need to appreciate and imagine the Lord’s promise of giving us rulership over all He has if we’re found faithful when He arrives. Take His promise literally. The gifts you have are waiting to be fully realized, developed, and enjoyed in the coming kingdom.

If you’re faithful now, God will give you “rulership” then over greater gifts and responsibilities that include your present ones. But you’ll be in a perfect environment and will have no curse or sin to frustrate your potential. Even good dreams and ambitions long ago crushed and abandoned may be resurrected and given life in the kingdom to come.

For that is what the life to come is all about. It’s about spectacular renewal. That’s why one of the names used for the coming kingdom by Jesus is the Regeneration (Matthew 19:28).

Unfaithful Servants Will Not Rule With Christ

Last, I will briefly share what Jesus said He will do to His unfaithful servants when He returns. He said He “will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers” (Luke 12:46). We know what the Scriptures say will happen to the unbelievers. They will be cast into the lake of fire.

Please don’t trust in the gymnastics of those who creatively interpret away the clear meaning of the Lord’s threat to unfaithful Christians. There is no such thing as salvation without faith–faith that produces love of and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Nurture and protect your faith in Christ. For if you lose it, the once saved, always saved heresy will not protect you from God’s wrath.

What a tragedy that so many hold to this false doctrine! Don’t let this be you.