Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus is the central Person of this revelation.  This passage speaks to His identity, the work He has accomplished on our behalf, and His expectations for us who believe.  It is of vital importance that we understand who Jesus is and what He has done for us.  It is also fundamental that we know what we should do in light of these truths.  This brief passage gives us great insight into these all-important truths.

THE DEITY OF JESUS: John begins the content of his message introducing his initial audience: the seven churches in Asia.  He asks for them to be blessed with grace and peace from Jesus and then tells us amazing and wonderful truths the prove the deity of Christ.  He is eternal because His is, was, and is to come demonstrating that He has always been and always will be.  He was sent to us as a faithful testimony and reveals God to us because He is God.  He is the first born from the dead demonstrating that He is both God and Man because he died.  He was not the first person to come back to life, but all those who were brought back to life from the dead ended up dying again.  Jesus was born from the dead in that He still lives.  He was the first but not the last.  We who believe in Him will also be born from the dead.  He is also the Ruler over all kings and authorities that exist on this earth.  Everyone is subject to Him.  He truly is the Son of God, King of kings and Lord of lords.

THE DEEDS OF JESUS: One of the most amazing truths about Jesus is that He loves us.  It is inexplicable to imagine that He would love sinners like us who have been living in rebellion against Him our entire lives.  He has set us free from our sins by paying the price for our sin on the cross in His own blood.  Through faith in Him we are forgiven and free from our sin.  On top of that amazing gift, He has made us His kingdom.  We are His inheritance, and He rules over us and gives us the privilege of ruling and reigning with Him.  He has made us into a kingdom of priests who are introduced into the presence of God through Christ.  He has completely transformed us from being rebellious and broken to being ministers of His grace with the promise of eternal life in His blessed presence.

THE DEMANDS OF JESUS: In light of who Jesus is and what He has done, there should be a response on our part.  Worship is the obvious response that should flow from us in response to all we have received.  We give Him honor, praise and live to glorify His holy name.  We should have hearts that overflow with gratitude toward the Lord for all He is and does.  We should always be prepared for His return and eagerly look forward to it.  This means living in obedience to the Word of God and recognizing His constant presence with us.  All the nations will see Him and will bow in repentance in His presence because of His glory and grace.  They will recognize that He gave Himself for the redemption of sin.  Many will wail with regret for having rejected the offer of salvation that was given.  Those of us who believe must be preparing for His return by proclaiming the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.  He is the beginning and end of history and of our lives.  Our job is to recognize this truth worship Him because of it and make His name known in the nations.

APPLICATION: Recognize Jesus as King in our lives and know that He has all authority over us.  Be eternally grateful for His love and the sacrifice He made on our behalf to free and forgive us from sin.  Worship and praise the Lord standing in awe of His glory and grace.  Look forward to His return and proclaim the Gospel to the nations.

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