Jesus Christ - Who He Is

I want to read from Revelation chapter 1, Revelation chapter 1, and read the first eight verses.

So I'll pause and allow you time to find your place. We want to consider what John has to say to us in verse 5 about the Lord Jesus Christ. Beginning to read at verse 1. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place, and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches which 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 from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen. Behold he is coming with clouds and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him, even so, Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. The book of the Revelation can be a confusing book. It can be a controversial book.

It can create conflict because of competing interpretations, and it is often a book that is overlooked and set aside because of those reasons and perhaps others, but it doesn't have to be that way. Yes, there are things in the book that seem mysterious and difficult for us to understand, but there is one thing that is clear and should be missed by no one, and what is that? This book is about the revelation of Jesus Christ.

You say, wow, you need to tell us that? Yes, I do need to tell you that because it's amazing how many people get lost in the weeds and in the details of the book of Revelation and completely miss the person of Jesus Christ, that this book is about him. And John wants us to be aware of that from the very beginning. In fact, the book, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. So the book is given to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ as the conquering King and who will ultimately defeat Satan and death and its forces, and we his people will live and reign with the conquering King forever and ever.

And even when the people of God and the purposes of God seem defeated, all is not lost because in the end, Christ is victorious. You can't miss if you just concentrate on the first eight verses, apart from the title of the book, that this is about Jesus Christ. It begins in verse one, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave, gave to John. There is a blessing pronounced on those who read and hear and do the content of this book in verse three. It's the first of seven Beatitudes to be found in the book of the Revelation. The first there is verse three. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. And then John begins to address the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and that is repeated several times in these first eight verses.

Who is it that is both present, who's both past, present, and future all at the same time? 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. Well, obviously he's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ who says himself there in verse eight, these are the words of Christ.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end says the Lord who is and who was and who is to come the Almighty. And set before us with clarity in these first eight verses is the promise of his return. And notice from John's perspective, John says there in verse one, the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place, shortly take place. That's what John said, that's inspired scripture and it reminds me of what Peter says that a day as to the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.

But again, the promise of his coming over and over again is mentioned. Now tonight before we get into the text and really I'm just going to focus on what is said about Christ in verse five. We see Christ, his person, and his work set before us.

And I don't have time to deal with his work, simply we're going to look at what is said to us about Christ, who he is. And there are three things said about him there in verse five. He is number one, the faithful witness. He is number two, the firstborn from the dead. And he is number three, the ruler over the kings of the earth.

Those three things. And as we look at those three things, I'm going to give you implications of that revelation. Three implications to the first and two implications for the second and a third thing that is said about Christ. But before we get into that, because this message is about Christ, who he is, I want to remind you with a couple of hymns that we sing about the centrality of Christ and the importance of our relationship to him.

Listen to these three stanzas and then the refrain. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. And then the refrain on Christ.

The solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. Edward Mote, the hymn writer of the solid rock. And then just one stanza of this song that we sing, the hymn, "'Tis the Christ." Verse 4, here we have a firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost. Christ, the rock of our salvation, his the name of which we boast.

Lamb of God for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt. None shall ever be confounded who on him their hope have built. Good reminder as we begin this evening and as we make our way into this sacred text this evening, I want you to know that God intends for every believer from John's time to the present to find comfort and encouragement for our earthly sojourn here in the book of the Revelation.

And especially for those who are suffering and facing persecution by reminding us and them that things will not always be as they presently are. Christ will have the victory. Christ will subdue all of his enemies.

Sin and death and the devil himself will be finally and fully defeated. That's the message here of the book of the Revelation. Let me show you a relationship that I think is very very important and too often there's a disconnect and if we miss this connection our hymnody and our worship will be off-kilter.

What do I mean by that? What I mean by that is that doxology is informed by right theology. Too often doxology, praise and worship of God, is not connected to right theology.

But notice how those two things are put together here. Again in verse 5, John is telling us about Jesus Christ, who he is and what he has done. And after he does that we have these words and I'll read verse 5 that gives the detail again of who Christ is and what he has done. And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made his kings and priests to his God and Father. To him, and here's the doxology, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. And those two things must always be connected if we're going to have God-honoring worship.

Doxology must be grounded and rooted and informed by right theology and theology about the person and work of Jesus Christ because that is what we have to sing about. That's what the saints will be singing about throughout all eternity in glory. Worthy is the lamb who was slain. So that's a part of what is set before us here.

So our text is very easy to follow. It tells us three things about Jesus Christ, who he is. And again, I've said this already twice, let me repeat it. Jesus Christ, number one, the faithful witness. Number two, the firstborn from the dead.

And number three, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the faithful witness?

Well, the construction of the sentence here, the phrase, puts the emphasis on the adjective, and that is on faithful. He is faithful as a witness. And this is the theme in the book of the Revelation. Have it mentioned here in verse five of chapter one. It's mentioned again in chapter three in verse 14, where we have to the church at Laodicea, verse 14 of chapter three, and to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, of the Laodiceans write, these things says the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

Revelation 3, 14, and then Revelation 19, 11, that same emphasis. John says, now I saw heaven open and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. As we reflect in our day on the lack of integrity and faithfulness of those in leadership, whether that would be in corporate America, or in the sports world, or in politics, or even in the church, this is a refreshing reminder. How refreshing and reassuring it is to be reminded that the one who is the head of the church is faithful and true.

That's who he is. He is faithful and true. But further, the question, in what sense is Jesus Christ a witness? Well, our Lord throughout the Gospel of John sheds light on this with many statements about himself and his work, and I'll just draw your attention to two of them.

John 1 verse 18 says, no one has seen God at any time, the only begotten who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. Now this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am the Christ.

So John is talking about himself there, but he speaks of Christ as the witness. Notice also in John chapter 18 and verse 37, before Pilate's court, verse 35, Pilate answered, am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me, what have you done? Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king, for this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. In this description of Christ, there is contained something related to his office as priest. Jesus, who was with the Father from all eternity, and with the Father he enjoyed intimate unbroken fellowship and communion with the Father. The Father revealed all things to him, showing that most intimate relationship that Jesus had with the Father.

And the question is, who better to come forth as a witness to the Father and to his will than the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who knows the Father in such intimate ways. He has come from the Father as a prophet and as a faithful witness to reveal the great purposes of God in the gospel. Jesus Christ was faithful and true in the discharge of his responsibilities given to him by the Father, especially that particular work to come as the Word of God.

In his life and teachings, in his death and in his resurrection, and even now in his continuing ministry at the right hand of the Father on high, speaking through his spirit and through his word, Jesus Christ has revealed all that the Father gave him to reveal and all that you and I need to know in order to have eternal life and to know how to live our lives upon this earth. His perfect life and the miracles that he performed all served to certify that everything he said and did were absolutely true and trustworthy. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the faithful witness. He was faithful to witness and reveal the Father in his will, and he continues to do that. He's faithful, he's trustworthy, he's true, he's reliable, he's dependable, he's sure, consistent, and unwavering as a faithful witness. What are the implications for us that Jesus Christ is faithful as a witness? Well, we can have this same kind of commitment to the cause of Christ.

What is that? Being faithful. Why? Because the cause, the cause is based entirely upon the life and work of the faithful witness, Jesus Christ.

And therefore we can place the entire weight of our never-dying soul upon him who is the faithful witness. The message will never change. Why? Because he's faithful.

He'll never let us down. Why? Because he's faithful. The message will never disappoint.

Why? Because he is faithful. Our eternity is secure because he is faithful.

All he said that he was going to do, he will do. The faithful witness says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And when trials come and we are tempted to draw back, he is a great source of strength and as the hymn writer has expressed it, when all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. And if you build your life on the faithful witness, the Lord Jesus Christ, your life will be like a man who built his house on a solid rock. We can build our lives on him with great confidence and hope.

What is the second implication? That Christ is the faithful witness. Well, he is the living Word. The Word of God is trustworthy because it has been revealed by him who is the Word and the faithful witness. And when you are tempted to turn to the world for answers, when you are tempted to turn to academia, remember that the Word of God is reliable and trustworthy because its author, the one who has revealed the Word to us is himself, the faithful witness.

Where else? Where else are you going to go to find faithful advice and counsel and guidance that is better than what you can find in the Bible? Where else will you receive counsel that is motivated by love and not tainted at all with self-interest? And one third implication that Christ is a faithful witness is that the Gospel is trustworthy because it is revealed to us by this faithful witness. Jesus did not come to be served, but he came to serve.

He came to accomplish the salvation of sinners. The message of salvation that he preached and accomplished is completely reliable and trustworthy. You can trust and rest the entire weight of your eternal soul on the witness of Jesus Christ because when he says, if you believe in me, you will live. You will have eternal life. You can trust that.

You can believe that. He lived and he died and he rose again to verify and to certify that he is the faithful witness. And every blood-bought child of God can say with Paul, with utmost confidence, I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Secondly, the text tells us that Jesus Christ is the firstborn from the dead. The firstborn from the dead.

Again, we're going to answer the question, what does that mean and then what are the implications for our lives? Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18 says, he is the head of the body, the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20 tells us that now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. So when the Bible speaks of Christ being the firstborn from the dead, it does not mean first literally to have risen from the dead, for we have the record of others who were raised from the dead before him. Lazarus in John chapter 11 is one example.

The widow of Zarephath's son in 1 Kings is another. Now this concept of firstborn or first fruits from the dead refers to the fact that Jesus Christ is the first part or the principle part or as Paul says there in Colossians 1.18, the preeminent part of the whole that is to follow. Jesus himself said, I am the resurrection. Not only that I am myself the resurrection, I have raised myself from the dead, I will raise my people.

I am the resurrection. And what I think we are to learn from this is when we think about the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are to think that he is to have the preeminence. He is to have first place in our thinking about the resurrection.

That is, it's all because of him, it's all by him, it's all through him, and it's all for him. Anyone who will ever be raised from the dead will be raised through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. He is the firstborn or the first fruits because he was the first to be raised to immortality, unlike others who preceded him in time who were raised only to die again. Jesus Christ was raised to immortality, never to die again. So he is the firstborn from the dead, and by rising to immortality and thus conquering death, and in canceling the sin of death that was against us, he is guaranteed that one day all who have placed faith in him will also be raised to eternal life.

So what are the implications of this truth for our lives? Well it gives us great comfort that we can serve him without fear, even to the point of death, knowing that our resurrection is as sure as his, because it's sourced in him, promised by him. Death has lost its sting. The fear of death should no longer grip the people of God.

This frees us to greater usefulness in service to him. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. O death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And the implication therefore is verse 58. Therefore, based on this, therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It really can be our perspective as we live our lives. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. It really is gain, to die. I wonder how much we believe that, how strongly we believe that.

Or has this world and all its stuff become too precious to us? The challenge is to live for him with purpose and determination, because the fear of death has been taken away. What awaits us is heaven with Christ in all its glory.

And to say that that is gain seems to be such an understatement. A second implication to the fact that he is the firstborn from the dead is the surety, the reliability of the gospel. If Jesus Christ was a false witness, if Jesus Christ was just a man and not God incarnate, he would not have been able to raise himself from the dead.

The Father would not have given him the stamp of approval by raising him from the dead. But Romans 1-4 says this, Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Therefore, the message declared in his person and work is a message worthy to be believed and by all who hear it. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness and the firstborn from the dead is also, according to John 1-5, or the Revelation 1-5, he is the ruler over the kings of the earth. The ruler over the kings of the earth and that is expressed very well in Daniel chapter 4. Daniel 4, listen to verse 34 and 35. This is from the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar. And at the end of the time, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me and I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, no one can restrain his hand or say to him, what have you done? So says God through Nebuchadnezzar. According to Daniel 4, 34 and 35, he's the sovereign ruler of all the earth. He's the sovereign ruler of all rulers, of all the kings, of all presidents and senators and congressmen and all who are in places of authority.

And those who are in a place of authority only have authority because it has been given to them by him. He puts down who he wills, he raises up who he wills, the sovereign reign of Christ and we need to see his purpose that drives and motivates all that he does and is doing in the affairs of men. All of history is an expression of the sovereign reign of Jesus Christ in redemptive history. In other words, all that Jesus Christ is doing in the world is the exercise of his sovereign reign in and for his church. It is in reference to his church, its expansion and its victory and its purification. Christ is ruling and reigning through his church. What are the implications that Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth?

Well, there's two implications that I want to speak to. Number one, the implication for gospel labor and missions. What guarantees the success of the great commission? Matthew chapter 28 and verse 18, Jesus said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and earth, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them and baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I will be with you even to the end of the age. All authority has been given to Jesus. Therefore, no government will ever frustrate the gospel purposes of our God. We heard this morning, reference to the gospel in the explosion of the gospel in the country of China from a million to a hundred million. The government couldn't stamp that out, couldn't frustrate the purposes of God. No government will ever frustrate the gospel purposes of our God. The ruler over the kings of the earth will be worshiped by people from every tribe, every tongue and of every nation. The second implication is that this truth brings great comfort and hope because whenever men rise up to oppose the church, the gospel and those who have given themselves to proclaim it, they are under the authority of Christ who is the conquering king.

And that's why John could say right on the heels of this, the ruler over the kings of the earth, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests to his God and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So as I've come to the end of this message tonight, let me ask you, which is dominating your life right now as we find ourselves on the first Sunday of February 2021, what's dominating your life? Is it COVID? Is it the economy? Is it the world of politics?

Is it your job, your family, whatever? It's easy to get caught up in the trials and troubles of this world, but our life needs to be rooted and grounded and our lives need to be given to the purposes that are revealed in the word of God, centered in the person of Jesus Christ. He's worthy of our lives. He's worthy of our service. Where else can you give your life and have confidence that it will matter?

It won't be a failure. It will contribute to the success that God has guaranteed in his word. I saw something this morning that was quite interesting to me. I thought of it as a metaphor. I won't say who. Where I was sitting I noticed as the preaching was going on, I noticed a particular person getting really engaged in the preaching.

About halfway into the preaching, he had a long sleeve shirt on unbuttoned his shirt, rolled up his sleeves. This is getting serious. I'm engaged here. That's the way we need to be. We need to be fully engaged. We need to be ready.

Roll up our sleeves. Put our shoulder to the plow with confidence and faith believing that our efforts will not be in vain. To be steadfast, unmovable, bonding in the things of the Lord for your labor are not in vain in the Lord. So Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and what, according to John 1.5, the ruler over the kings of the earth. If he's the ruler over the kings of the earth, he's ruler over your circumstances. He's ruler over whatever it is you're going to face this week. He's ruler over whatever looms and threatens and brings fear and concern and worry in your life. He's ruling over that.

He's got good purposes in it. You can trust him. You don't need to be a coward. You don't need to be in fear.

You don't need to worry. You can embrace whatever it is with confidence and trust. Listen to this hymn that I think brings the message to a fine conclusion. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what thou art. I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee and thy beauty fills my soul, for by thy transforming power thou hast made me whole. Oh, how great thy loving kindness, vaster, broader than the sea. Oh, how marvelous thy goodness lavished all on me.

Yes, I rest in thee, beloved. Know what wealth of grace is thine. Know thy certainty of promise and have made it mine.

Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus, I behold thee as thou art, and thy love so pure, so changeless, satisfies my heart, satisfies its deepest longings, meets, supplies its every need, compass me round with blessings thine is love indeed. Ever lift thy face upon me as I work and wait for thee. Resting neath thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth's dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father's glory, sunshine of my Father's face, keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with thy grace.

Shall we pray? Father, thank you for the revelation of Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving him to this world. Thank you that he came in flesh and walked among us. Thank you that he lived a perfect life. Thank you that he gave his life vicariously on the cross for sinners. Lord, I thank you for John the Apostle and for you giving him this revelation that has been preserved for us that we might be reminded of Jesus Christ, of who he is, that he is, as John has revealed him to us, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. And we say with John and with all the saints throughout the ages, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.