As we have said, references to Ps. 110 are scattered all throughout the Gospels, the Acts and the Epistles and utilized as a wonderful "power point" that clearly addresses the matter of what the current situation is in God's Big God-Story. It provides for us a simplified construct for understanding the times, spiritually speaking, between the first and second coming's of Christ...and it was written hundreds of years before He came for the first time! This point is illustrated in prominent NT passages like at the end of Ephesians 1.
"That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Eph. 1:19b-23
The Father seated His Son "at his right hand in the heavenly realms" after He was raised from the dead. This is an obvious reference to the language of Ps. 110. It has, not only biblical christology at its heart, but also cosmology, esslesiology, missiology and eschatology. These theological implications and ramifications expounded upon in the NT flow freely from the apostles' divinely inspired interpretations and applications of Ps. 110 and many other OT Messianic prophecies the are cut from the same theological cloth.
One of the largest truths present in this Ephesian passage is how the Father has already exalted Christ "far above" any other powers that be in the heavens or on the earth. And...for us in evangelicalism...it has been easy to say that this would be true "in the age to come", but we haven't understood or communicated well that this is the actual case "in this present age". (Ironically, for the early Christians, Paul had to emphasize that it is true "not only in the present age, but also in the one to come"...just the opposite emphasis that we seem to need.)
The major point is this: Christ is already "reigning" as King of both heaven and earth from His most highly exalted position at the Father's "right hand" in the invisible realm. We are not waiting for Christ to become King of all at His second coming, but He has already been crowned the King of all the kings of the earth (cf. Rev 1:5). Yet, here is the tension: we don't yet see all earthly things fully subjected to Jesus and the New Humanity (the Church) that He inaugurated through His resurrection, but we do, through faith, "see Jesus" in the place of kingly honor and authority with which the Father has rewarded Him...and we know it's just a matter of time before the ramifications of His exaltation are progressively brought fully to pass.
"In putting everything under him (i.e. redeemed humanity...from Psalm 8), God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:8b-9
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