When you die, you will probably be remembered by relatives and friends for a number of years. You may even be one of those few per­sons spoken of for a few hundred years, if your accomplishments were worthy enough.

But your immediate influence over the course of history will cease when you die. Your ideas may live on, but you will not have any control over what other people will do with those ideas.

When Mohammed died, he ceased to have control over the direction of the Islamic faith. When Hitler died, he could no longer di­rect the activities of the German army.

When Robin Williams recently died, he could no longer be in­volved in entertainment. His acting work still lives on in video re­cordings. But he will no longer be producing any new material, and he has no control over what is done with his old material.

Now, if we were to think of Jesus as being like Mohammed or Robin Williams in this way, we would be seriously mistaken.

Continuing Control⤒🔗

Many like to think of Jesus as someone who may have had some good ideas; but he is no longer around and has no control over what people do with his teachings.

But Jesus Christ was unlike any other man that has ever existed. He was and is the eternal Son of God. And as such, he continues to have direct control over history.

Unlike Hitler, Jesus still controls the army he left behind, even now in the 21^st century. Unlike Robin Williams, Jesus' life work did not stop. And unlike Mohammed, Je­sus did not give up direct control of the religious movement that he started.

Jesus not only rose from the dead, he not only ascended into heaven, but he is at this very moment seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He is at this very moment living in heaven as Lord over all.

That is why this man, who spent all of his brief earthly life confined within a relatively small area on the other side of the globe, continues to be relevant today in Australia, and everywhere else on earth.

Complete Control←⤒🔗

How far does Jesus' influence extend? As Ephesians 1:22 says, “And he (God the Father) put all things under his (Christ’s) feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.”

All things. Jesus has control over everything. He is the absolute King.

And notice, we are not just talk­ing about the future here, but the present. We are not saying that Jesus is going to be the absolute ruler over everything, just as soon as he comes back and gets rid of all sin and death. No, he is Lord even now. He is in control even now.

Even now, in the midst of all the suffering that goes on in the world, in the midst of all the strife and sin­ning, Jesus Christ is absolute King. This is the present reality. This is the most ultimate reality in the en­tire universe.

What is going to happen in the future is that his Lordship will be recognized by everyone and everything. When he returns, every eye will see Jesus as he is: the one absolute Lord.

But again, we must stress that right now Jesus has the authority to be the King over creation. At this point in time he has the right to rule as the one who gained the victory over sin. He has the power given to him by the Father to have control over the whole universe.

Nothing is out of his jurisdiction. You don’t need a passport to enter the territory of another King, because there is no place in the universe outside of his control. God put all things under his feet.

Control of the Church←⤒🔗

There is one aspect of that Lordship over the universe that especially stands out. Ephesians 5:23 draws attention to it: “Christ is the head of the church, his body.”

Christ is Lord over the weather. Christ controls the nations of the world. Christ controls all the stars and all the planets. But all of this is secondary to Jesus being head of the church.

Now hold on a minute! Would­n't that be over-estimating the importance of the church? By saying that we first think of Christ as head of the church, aren't we in effect tooting our own horn?

Not really. It’s not about us, but it’s about Him.

Ephesians 1:23 describes the church in two ways. It says that the church is the body of Christ, and it says that the church is the fullness of Christ.

The church is the body through which Christ works out his pur­poses here on earth. The church is the hands by which Christ toils in this world. The church is Christ's feet, which travel all across the globe to bring the good news of the gospel. The church is the mouthpiece through which the gospel is proclaimed. The church is what the world is going to see when it sees the salvation activities of our Lord. We are the ones who have the Word of God. We are the ones who are called to live out that Word of God. We are the body of Christ.

And the church is the fullness of Christ. The church is that which manifests the fullness of Christ here on this earth. The church is that body which is filled with Christ, filled with his power.

Think of a police officer. He has a special role given to him by the government. As an agent of the government, he is given the power of the state, and sometimes he is called to use that power. You might say that he is partially the fullness of the government mani­fested out on the street.

This analogy falls short, but still, in a similar sense, you could say that the church is the fullness of Christ. The church as the people of God is filled with the power of Jesus and it is called to demon­strate that power and use that power.

Do you see why Christ being the head of the church is so important? The church is the agent through which Christ works out his pur­poses for history. Christ uses the church and dwells within it and gives it power in order to further his plans. In other words, Christ dem­onstrates his Lordship over all things by being Lord over the church and using it to be the agent through which he works. Christ shows that he is Lord over all by being Lord over the church.

Control For the Church←⤒🔗

Quoting Ephesians 1:22 again: “(God the Father) gave him as head over all things to the church.” In the original Greek, the grammar of the words “to the church” can suggest the idea that Christ is Lord over all things for the advantage of the church. Christ is Lord over the universe for the sake of his people.

Christ is Lord over the universe for the sake of you and me, for all who belong to God's people. As Romans 8:28 puts it, we know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Jesus works for the good of those who have been saved by grace through faith, and who look forward to when he shall return and take them home.

When you think about it, the im­plications of this fact are rather overwhelming. If Christ is Lord over all for the sake of the church, then it follows that everything that goes on in the universe goes on for the sake of the church.

Think about this: everything going on around has the purpose of serv­ing the good of the people of God. The universe continues to run for our sake. It is because of the Christian church that Christ contin­ues to work in history.

Have you ever thought of going up to your local member of parlia­ment and saying, “The only reason the nation of Australia continues to exist is because God is working for the good of those who belong to him”?

Have you ever thought of going to the United Nations and declaring to all the world that the only reason humanity still exists is because Je­sus is working on behalf of his peo­ple?

Sounds rather impressive, does­n't it? We might almost get big heads thinking about how impor­tant we are. Hey, we Christians, we're the reason why this world hasn't destroyed itself. It's be­cause of us that God lets the world continue going.

Of course, swelled heads should not be the result of knowing that Christ rules for the sake of his church. In the midst of all this, we must remember that God is not working for our good because we are worth it in and of ourselves. And he is certainly not working for our good because we are any bet­ter than those who are not Chris­tians. But he is working for our good solely because of the love and grace that he bestows on us without our deserving. And we are here solely for the purpose of giv­ing honor and glory to him. So ulti­mately, you have to say that Christ is Lord of the universe for the good of the people of God, in order that God may be praised. All glory be to him!

Comforting Control←⤒🔗

It’s very assuring to know that Christ as Lord is working in and through us, and for us. We know that ultimately, nothing can take us away from God’s love in Christ, because Christ is in charge, and he’s working for our good. Christ will defend us and keep us safe from all enemies. The devil is out there prowling like a lion, just waiting to devour us, but Jesus is Lord, and so he protects us. He keeps us. What incredible joy and confidence this inspires in us, to know that we are safe, be­cause Christ is in charge, not the devil. Jesus is Lord. He is King. And this king protects his ser­vants.

You know, the apostle Paul in Ephesians 1 prays that the Ephe­sians may know the glorious hope that belongs to the people of God, the hope that can come because of the immeasurable greatness of the power of the Lord. That is the hope that can belong to us as well. We can have hope and assurance be­cause we know how great is the power of the God whom we serve. We have comfort because we know that Jesus is not just in heaven passively watching what is going on here on earth, but using his power as Lord of all creation for the good of his chil­dren. You and I, as God's peo­ple, have that comfort.

We might not always under­stand how this all works. When we hear of the persecution of Christians and the advancement of evil, we wonder how this could be consistent with Jesus being Lord. How is what’s happening lately to Christians in Iraq for the good of the church? We might sometimes think that we have a better idea as to what would be best for God’s people.

But, ultimately, we trust that it is Jesus who is in charge. And he sees the big picture in a way that we never could. He will continue God's plans, and he will work out God’s promises. He will continue to work through us and for us, for God’s ultimate glory.