Let’s talk for a few moments about the single most important man that ever walked the face of the earth, Jesus Christ. He is indeed the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. His title is validated by several Scriptures. 1 Timothy 6: 15 says “he is the blessed Potentate, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords”. Revelation 17:14 says “for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful”. Revelation 19:16 tells us “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.
Those of us who know Him in the pardon of our sins know who He is. But, according to Romans 14:11, and Philippians 2:10-12, the day will come when everyone will recognize Him for who He is and give Him the honor that He so richly deserves.
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Rom. 14: 11
Philippians 2: 10 – 11 states: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So, how did Jesus Christ achieve such High Honor? He accomplished this unprecedented status through humble obedience to His Heavenly Father. Let us briefly review the story of how Jesus went from the cross to a crown.
God, our Heavenly Father, created mankind so that we could have fellowship with Him. He put Adam, His little created man, in a beautiful environment and gave Him an appropriate wife, Eve. Man was meant to live forever. The two of them were privileged to fellowship with God, dress the Garden of Eden and, most importantly, love God. That love was to be demonstrated through their simple obedience to God. But they were tricked by Satan; they disobeyed God and had to be banished from the beautiful Garden of Eden. Adam was told that he would live by working hard and his wife had to bring forth children with tremendous pain. But the worst result of their disobedience was that death, the eternal separation from God, entered into the life of mankind. Man was doomed to death. And, just as it was true for Satan, the evil one who deceived man into disobeying God, Hell and the Lake of Fire were man’s ultimate destination.
But our good God developed a Plan of Salvation for His little mankind because He loved us. Although the “wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23, His plan was that a worthy vessel would die in the place of man. God looked for a worthy vessel and the only person that He could find was Heaven’s Best, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, in obedience to His Father, agreed to die on an old rugged cross so that death would not be the ultimate destination of mankind. He hung, bled and died, descended into Hell, took the keys to death, Hell and the grave from Satan, then ascended back to His father. As a result of His obedience, He earned and was rewarded the title, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He went from the cross to a crown. “…for the gift of God is eternal life.” Romans 6:23.
But the story does not end there; there are implications for us. When Jesus bought our salvation with His own blood, it meant that mankind no longer had to die spiritually or to be eternally separated from God. It is each man’s responsibility to repent for all of the sins that he or she has committed. It does not matter what those sins may be, or what wrong things anyone has done, when we sincerely repent, God will forgive us. Once an individual repents and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, we then request to be given the power to live like God requires, through the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Then, just as Jesus did, we take up our personal cross and live clean and holy lives. Living for the Lord and bearing our cross may not be easy, but with the Power of the Holy Ghost we can do it!
When we accept Jesus, we are even promised that we will be greatly rewarded for our holy living. Just as Jesus went from the cross to a crown, we also will be able to receive crowns. The Bible speaks of five distinct crowns that the overcomer will receive once we enter Heaven. They are the imperishable crown, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, the crown of glory, and the crown of life. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 tells us about the imperishable crown. This crown will not become corrupt or fall apart. The crown of rejoicing is found in 1 Thess. 2:19 “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” The third crown, the crown of righteousness, is presented in 2Tim 4:8. “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” The fourth crown, the crown of glory, is presented in 1Peter 5: 4. “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” The fifth crown, the Crown of Life, is identified in Revelation 2:10. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
When we get saved and remain faithful unto God unto death, these crowns are awaiting us. Just as Jesus went from the cross to the crown we are also able to go from the cross to the crown. Let us also remember there is also so much more awaiting us in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:9 tells us the following: 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
God is a great rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Heb. 11:6.
