The Supremacy of Christ in Creation and Being

John 1:1-4 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Romans 1:20 – “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Colossians 1:15-18 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

Everything that surrounds you, every one of your friends and family, your own body, your very life, was created and given to you by Christ.  Most of us pay lip service to that idea, but never really rest on that, and meditate on what that means.  We take our lives for granted.  We believe that the world owes us things like fairness, happiness, and justice.  The truth is, we are not our own.  God, as creator, has the right to use what He has created for whatever ends He chooses.  We can fight against that, but that is reality.  None of us chose to be born, none of us chose to be formed, none of us gave ourselves life, and none of us chose when/where/and to whom we would be born.  Those things were given by God, alone.  Thus, as our creator, and the giver of all things, Christ is infinitely more valuable that any of us are.  He alone is supreme.  No one can rise to make a claim for anything in His presence, because He has given all things.

If that hasn’t rocked the secular humanist back on his heels, things are about to get worse.  From birth, we spit in the face of God.  Every thought, every intention of man’s heart is self-centered.  We were made to worship God as our creator, and every one of us chose to instead worship ourselves – to delight in making much of ourselves instead of God.  So not only does God have a right to deny us fairness, happiness, and justice – now the most just and fair thing for God to do is display His infinite worth through pouring out his wrath on those who deny Him worship.

That is the position of every one of us in front of Jesus Christ.  You have no hope.  There is nothing you can do, to appease God.

The Supremacy of Christ in Salvation:

Romans 7:24-8:1 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 1:7-10 – “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will,according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” 

Ephesians 2:4-10 – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 

Why do I put these two together?  Because people do not understand their position before God, and until they do, they will never understand God’s purpose in salvation, and they will not truly delight in Christ.  If you are saved, Jesus Christ alone saved you.  There may have been a means by which God accomplished it, by bringing the gospel around you, through a powerful sermon, etc, and there was definitely a response on your part, but unless God acted on you first, you never would have seen the glory of Christ and delighted in Him.  ie, you did not choose God, apart from God choosing you first, and acting to unveil your eyes, give you a new heart, and give you new affections for God that previously did not exist.

Some of your natural reactions will be, well why doesn’t God save everyone?  That is a man-centered argument, arguing for the worth of man above the glory of God.  God is both just and merciful, and each person will glorify Him for eternity either as an object of His infinite mercy, or as an object of his infinite justice and wrath.  God is not accountable to me, I am accountable to Him.  Praise be to God, that He was chosen to show His mercy through His Son, that whosoever believes on Him would be saved.

My question for today, after reading all of the scripture above (nevermind what I say – look at what God says), is how much of your theology, and your views on God are centered on your own experience instead of God’s purpose for His Glory?  Do you have a right understanding of God’s supremacy, or are you trying to exalt man into the place of God, to judge Him?  Lastly, if by grace you have been given eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, does your worship center only on Him?  He alone is good, He alone can save, He alone can accomplish His will on Earth.  Will you set your affections on Him, and seek to exalt Christ at every turn?  Will you Delight yourself in the Lord?  If you do, you will not be infinitely satisfied in eternity, if you do not, eternity might be very different from what you’re expecting.

Grace and Peace,
Adam