A General Introduction to the Mediatorial Kingship of Jesus Christ

In illustrating the power of God which is to believers (1:19), Paul points to the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God (1:20). Expanding upon this exaltation, the scope of Christ's universal and comprehensive rule is unfolded. Paul points to Christ, the mediator and God-man, as ruler over all things for the Church. The key to identifying this rule as mediatorial, that which belongs to him as a reward for his redemptive work and not that rule which belongs to him essentially as the second person of the Trinity, is the fact that Paul explicitly states that all things have been "put" under his feet and that he has been "given" as head over all things. Such language is improperly used of the Son essentially since sovereign rule belongs to him inherently by virtue of his divinity. All this means that Christ as the God-man has been appointed by God to rule over all things in the interest of his Church. This teaching of Paul here about the exaltation of Jesus, along with other texts in Scripture, provides the theological foundation for the doctrine of the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ over all of life.