While Jesus has all authority from eternity as God, he was given all authority as the Mediator. We call this his mediatorial dominion. He received this dominion on the basis of his death and resurrection, to the end that he might save, lead, and protect God’s elect and restore God’s reign over a fallen world (John 17:2, Matt. 28:18, 1 Cor. 15:24-26). It is in this second sense that he was “given” all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). His mediatorial dominion is universal - he calls everyone to submit, he aims at the total restoration of the world, he powerfully works in all things as supreme ruler, and he will come as the judge of all. As the Mediator, he is appointed "the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world" (WCF 8.1).
All things are put under his feet. He is raised far above all rule and authority, and above every name that is named. All those who bear authority, whether angels or men, ought to do so in subservience to the King of kings. Christ is the “ruler of kings on earth” (Rev. 1:5). He is given, as head over all things, to the church. “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). It is a comfort to the church to know that our king is the rightful king and the one who rules over all. He exercises his universal kingdom of power for the sake of his kingdom of grace, his willing subjects under his protection and government (the church). As the Mediator, he is appointed "the Head and Savior of his church" (WCF 8.1). Blessed are those who take refuge in him.
I have written about the kingship of Christ before (see here). Sometimes I encounter the idea that the universal mediatorial dominion of Christ is something unique to the "Reformed Presbyterians" (a.k.a. the Covenanters, e.g. RPCNA), a particular subset of Presbyterianism. But while they may emphasize the doctrine more, and may hold to some unique applications of the concept, the doctrine is a common one in mainstream Presbyterianism. For example, it can be found in the writings of Charles Hodge (Systematic Theology, vol. 2, p. 600), A.A. Hodge (Outlines of Theology, p. 428-429, Evangelical Theology, p. 223-289), James Thornwell (“Relation of the State to Christ”), R. L. Dabney (Systematic Theology, p. 550-551), John Murray (“The Christian World Order”), and Robert Letham (Systematic Theology, p. 586-590).
As Theanthropos [God-man] and as Mediator, all power in heaven and upon earth has been committed to his hands. … It is in virtue of this dominion over the universe that Christ is called Lord of lords and King of kings, i.e. the Sovereign over all other sovereigns in heaven and on earth. (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2, p. 600)
Christ has been made mediatorial Ruler over the universe, and especially on this earth RULER AMONG THE NATIONS, in order that he may make all things in all worlds work together to the accomplishment of his redemptive design. (A.A. Hodge, Presbyterian Doctrine Briefly Stated)
William Symington’s book Messiah the Prince is a classic presentation of this doctrine by a Reformed Presbyterian, and Princeton Seminary professor A.A. Hodge wrote a review heartily commending the book when it was republished in 1881. "No subject is of more vital, practical importance, and none is more neglected among us, than the relation which the Lord Jesus, and the revelation of His will recorded in the Christian Scriptures, sustains to human governments, civil and social laws and their administration, and above all to the great department of national education. We heartily commend this work of Dr. Symington to all who desire light upon this subject." An American edition of the book was published in 1884 by the National Reform Association (of which A.A. Hodge was a member) through its Christian Statesman Pub. Co., and its preface noted only two minor differences with the book's applications of the principle: “the adoption by the state of the creed of the church, and the bestowal upon the church, by the state, of direct pecuniary support.” The book is worth reading, whether in its full form or in its modernized abridgment.
In the Dutch Reformed world, we also find Abraham Kuyper speaking in this way in “Sphere Sovereignty.” He argued that the all-encompassing sovereignty of God is delegated to Christ. Christ has this sovereignty not only by virtue of being God, but also as the Christ. “This, then, is total sovereignty, extending over all things visible and invisible, over both the spiritual and the material, placed in the hands of a Man. This is not one kingdom among others, but the absolute kingdom. … This is the Messianic sovereignty once foretold by the prophet…” It is later in this talk that Kuyper’s most famous quote appears: “O, no single part of our thought world is to be hermetically sealed from the other parts. There is not an inch of the entire domain of our human life over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not proclaim: ‘Mine!’”
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