The Incomparable Christ

The Returning King of kings

Before I begin, my considerations on the topic of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, are far larger and more grand than 20 minutes or so can do on a Sunday morning.  Every passage in Scripture shows an aspect of the glory of God the Son, now our risen Christ.  Every song we have sung gives honour to Him.  Take Communion, for example.  He instituted this observance of the ancient emblems of the Priesthood of Melchizedek of Bread and Wine, and explained the symbolism to us before we truly understood their meaning.  It has been said that all of Scripture, in some way, often in symbolism and analogous metaphor, speaks of Christ.  The Apostle Paul certainly agreed.  Speaking of the common experience and provision of God for the children of Israel in 1 Cor. 10:4, he says, “…and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.”   

There are other passages which we could read and reach the same conclusion.  The Apostle John tells us that Jesus is the creator of the universe, and everything that has ever come into being was made by Him.  In his gospel, John says in 1:1-3, “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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”  Do not overlook these verses; John is telling us that this “Word” is in fact God.  Some use this verse to challenge that Jesus is the same God as Jesus by rewriting the verse to read “a god.”  This is incorrect in the Greek text.  Allow me to explain. 

This is John 1:1 in Greek:  “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.”  I know, I know, it’s all Greek to me.  Bear with me.  I had an interesting experience at my front door last year.  A couple of young men came to my door with a rewritten bible while I was preparing the online Bible study I have on most Thursdays.  It reminded me that some people have rewritten Scripture to write their own opinions into it.  A particular translation translates this verse as, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was [a] God.”  Right away, you see the issue.  They claim that there is more than one God, but we know that isn’t correct.  So here is the Greek, taken from the Byzantine Greek Unparsed Text. [Explain articles in Greek.]  Because an article is used, it is the definite article, so it should not be “a” God, but THE God.  That would render this verse as “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and that God was the Word.”  That respects the Greek-to-English word order and the use of the definite article, according to my translation work.  Beloved, this is precisely what places Jesus in the category of “beyond compare.”  This is important because we need to be sure about what the Scriptures SAY so we can understand what God said in that Word, unlike a pair of young men who randomly rang my doorbell on a Wednesday.  Don’t worry, I was kind.  I’m not here to teach Greek Grammar, but would you agree that this is important?  If you don’t see it, I will try to explain it plainly and clearly now.   

John continues his explanation of why this matters.  John 1:4-5 read, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  This God, who was God from the beginning, is called the Word.  This Word has life in Himself.  If you have studied the attributes of God, you will know that this is referred to as the aseity of God, which means that He can stand alone without any need for relationship or interdependence.  And that life was the light of men, and the darkness did not overpower it, from the sense of the Greek.  A bit further into the chapter, John tells us in 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  This Word, who was God from the Beginning, and was with God at the beginning, literally became human.  He became one of us.  Wait, I hear you say.  God is so far above us and superior to us that we are like ants in comparison.  I don’t think that is a wide enough gap for an accurate comparison, but it will do.  You are correct.  The logical question is why such a being as the Word, who was God, would want to limit Himself as a human being, emptying Himself of all His glory as God, and expose Himself to comparisons with paltry and unworthy people and concepts.  I will explain. 

In our Scriptures, right at the very front of our Bibles, on the left side of the book in English, we have an explanation.  God had created a new class of beings called humans.  They were a binary arrangement of sorts, coming in both male and female, unlike what any of the angels had seen to that point.  These humans?  They were created in the very image of God.  This is not to say that God created a bunch of little mini-me creatures that looked and acted like Himself, but they had a certain…well…for lack of a better word, I will call it character, although there was a great deal more to it than mere character.  He put them in a garden, gave them a job, and set them to work tending the place.  He gave them one rule:  Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I know, what a complicated name, but it is utilitarian, we are to know what it is from the name.  They broke that rule.  Another creature, called a serpent (perhaps having the form of a dragon), played word games and tricked the woman into eating from that tree.  Because misery loves company, she gave some of the fruit to her husband, and because misery loves company, he ate it.  I think we’re all familiar with the story.  However, God was not caught by surprise.  The confrontation was brief, and God spoke what theologians call the protoevangelium, the Latin term for the first gospel promise in the Bible.  Let’s look at that. 

Speaking to the serpent, who after this became a snake, God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen. 3:15)  According to this promise, God became a man so that God would one day reverse the effects of that curse and restore the world.  The Reader’s Digest version of this is that man chose his own needs and desires above his love for his creator, and it is the same thing we still deal with today, even as Christians, at least to an extent.  Enter the Word who was God, who became flesh, full of grace and truth.  His mother, as instructed by Gabriel, an angel who stands in the presence of God, named Him Jesus.  Here begins the invalid comparisons we all make.  He was a man like us. He had brothers and sisters, like some of us do. He had an occupation (carpenter). He had friends. He made enemies (the religious Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, to name a few).  Everything that we go through in life, He also experienced for Himself as a human.  He was also simultaneously God, the Creator of the universe, perfectly controlling Himself with a purpose, so He could redeem us from the penalty that in all the countless and innumerable number of people who had lived before Him and who would come after Him, none but He was able to pay the price for our violation of God’s standard.  How do I know?  It was His own standard.  He was human, the first requirement for paying the price.  He had no sin in Himself; the second requirement to be able to pay the price for original sin was met only in Him.  Now, which one of us can say that?  Nobody, not ever. 

It is for this reason that the collection of books we now call the Bible is, in some way, all about Him.  An Old Testament reading tells us a few of the offices, titles, and names that will apply to him:  Wonderful Counsellor!  Mighty God!  Eternal Father!  Prince of Peace!   Our readings tell us of a day when He will rule the universe from His seat on Earth!  Psalm 110:2 says, “The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’”  And all of this brings us to our sermon text this morning, on the very day He takes back Earth from the forces of darkness and sets up that kingdom in Jerusalem, assuming I am reading the text correctly. 

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” 

Everything in this verse can ONLY be said of Christ.  There will come a day when our incomparable Christ will rule the Earth in glory with all of His power.  Darkness will not be able to stand before Him.  All of His people, chosen, the Apostle Paul tells us, from before the foundation of the World, will be with Him, and they will zealously serve Him with a love that He first had for all of us before time began.  Psalm 110:3 says, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.”  That is to say, they will cover all of creation and nourish and refresh it.  There will come a day for the redeemed saint that we will not be able to do enough for our Saviour and Lord!  And we will love it and Him!  The really crazy part of this is that He will love us in the same way!  To us who believe, He is already beyond all others.  There is no way to compare Him to anyone else in the world.  For example, I love my wife.  I know she loves me.  We will love Him more, and that is something I find difficult to imagine.  He will be our One True King.  We will be His purchased people. 

As difficult as it may seem to understand, there are people who do not want this, and they do not want it for us or Him.  I hear and read about it in the news, in books, and in online articles; I see it in television shows, and in remarks made to me personally (though not very often).  To them, I am a fool.  I suppose I am, but I am still His fool, and that is a big difference from one who fools themselves.  I mean, who could object to such a loving Saviour? 

Apparently, many people do.  The most extreme opponents of God seem to think, forgive me, I am only quoting here, that God Himself is a maniacal psychopath who gives genocidal orders to wipe out entire people groups.  What do you say to someone who thinks that?  My grandmother said that the truth is always the best policy.  Yes, God did those things.  When you understand that these things were done in defense of humanity itself, it changes the picture a little.   

To be honest, the first response my brain thinks of in these cases is how God responded to Job.  In Job 38:4a, God answers Job’s challenge to God’s authority and reasoning.  He says, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”  Why?  We become so proud and lifted up because we perceive God as having done something we consider wrong.  We must remember that we are the ones who have violated God’s holy standard.  He doesn’t owe us any answers or explanations for His actions!  He has a perfect understanding of everything, and WE DO NOT.  How is it that we can presume to judge God for His actions?  Beloved, I thank God that I survived my own period of stupidity to tell you that we cannot.  We have no answers, and no right to offer our non-solutions to the ruler and creator of the universe.  We are redeemed sinners at best.  Our response should be like Job in Job 40:4—“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?  I lay my hand on my mouth.”   

Instead, we should see our Saviour as incomparable to all others.  It is by His work that we are all here this morning.  If Christ did not die on the cross, no sacrifice for our sins was made.  If Christ did not rise from the grave by His own power, we are still in our sins; the sacrifice was not sufficient.  But it is sufficient because He did rise from the grave.  Even better than that, He is coming back to get us all.  We will all meet Christ face-to-face as loving family.   

Our sermon text this morning is just moments before He returns to Earth.  We see Him on His magnificent white warhorse, riding at the head of His armies.  Did you realize that the only weapon John sees in this passage is the sword that comes out of Jesus' mouth?  [slide 2]  I trust that’s a metaphor, by the way, or there will be a very uncomfortable dining experience.  When we considered this text in our online Thursday night study, we examined everything it said about Him, phrase by phrase.  Everything that is in this description, except the part that names Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, is taken from the Old Testament directly, and we considered those passages also.  What we discovered is that our Jesus, the one who is incomparable to us, who is so great and loving and kind, is almighty God, and He is the same God that called for judgment upon entire populations because of their own sinfulness.  The same God on the left side of our Bible, the God of the Old Testament, is also the same God at the very extreme right-hand side of our Bible, in the New Testament.  He is still omnipotent.  He is still omniscient.  He is still omnipresent.  He is still coming to judge the world.  His very name is still, “He is.” 

Friends, we need to decide to follow Him.  We can, if we desire, abandon that loving God and meet with Him when He comes in war and not peace.  What we saw in our Thursday Bible Study in Revelation 20:1-6 is that there are consequences either way.  Good choices lead to good actions, which in turn lead to good and beneficial consequences (reigning with Him for eternity as priest and king, for example).  Bad decisions lead to poor actions, which in turn will lead to devastating consequences (conscious, eternal suffering in hell, for instance).  It is a certainty either way.  Our incomparable Christ is coming back regardless.  We will stand before Him in either case.  You now have the opportunity to turn to Him in repentance and faith.  Don’t waste it.  We do not know when our time for making decisions is done, and I don’t mean to jar you, but we are all running out of that time.  You can turn to Him in a desire to be done with your sin, to be done with yourself, and let Him take care of it for you, or you can try to do it on your own and fail.  The choice is now yours.  Make it wisely. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for sending our Lord Jesus to die in my place on the cross.  I ask for forgiveness for any sin that stands between my soul and You.  I ask that you clean it away by the sacrifice of Christ on that cross.  I ask in His precious name, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Help me now to follow you instead of my own way.