Great Things He Has Done

The greatest deception is that we are the commanders of our own destinies. That isn’t to say that we don’t have some say in the direction of our lives, but we naturally have an instinct, a desire to be in the driver’s seat of our own lives. The deception in Genesis 3 was that we could become gods ourselves, and since then we have sought to wear the crown that rightfully belongs to God. We are worshippers at heart. Something will always take center stage in our lives. But the problem is those things cannot carry the weight.

John is writing this book to seven real churches in an area known as Asia Minor, which is now the nation of Turkey. These churches are facing real pressure and real persecution. The opening of this letter follows the customary greeting that virtually every New Testament letter follows and matches closely to the style of writing from that era. As we begin our trek up the mountain, we are going to get a preview of the summit view.

Before the readers are led into the letters to the seven churches, and then the revelation of Jesus, the reader is brought back in to who Jesus is and what he has done. Our view of Christ is central to our understanding of this book.

Let’s read Revelation 1:4-8 together.

Revelation 1:4–8 NASB95

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 the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the 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 the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the supreme ruler of the earth who has redeemed our souls, and therefore, deserves our supreme worship. The customary greeting to the book’s audience and the call to praise bookend the picture of Jesus every Christian must have etched into their minds. So let’s look at who Jesus is and what he has done.

Jesus is our sovereign ruler.

John describes Jesus as three things. First, he is the faithful witness. The question we have to ask is what is he a witness to? John writes in the beginning of his gospel,

John 1:18 NASB95

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus has explained God. He was the fullness of God in man. Look at what he said when he sat before Pontius Pilate.

John 18:36–37 NASB95

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

He spoke the truth in a world full of lies. He revealed to us that there is one way to God, that there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between us and God. We know how to come to God because of the testimony of Jesus.

Secondly, he is the firstborn of the dead. Jesus is the only person to rise from the dead and stay that way. There have been people brought back from the dead through miracles, but they all died again at a later date. But 1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us,

1 Corinthians 15:20 NASB95

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

The first fruits is a harvest term that speaks to the first fruits that grow on a vine or tree. They are the first sign that the plant is bearing fruit, and it is an indication as to the quality of the fruit tat will be produced. Jesus currently stands alone as the only human being ever to rise from the dead to eternal life, and because he is the first fruits, we know there are more to follow.

Colossians 1:18 says,

Colossians 1:18 NASB95

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

Jesus stands in first place of all those who have died, and those who await resurrection.

Thirdly, he is the ruler of the earth. When he was resurrected, he spent forty days with his disciples. Prior to ascending into heaven, he gathered his disciples on a mountain, and in Matthew 28:18, said,

Matthew 28:18 NASB95

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Jesus is not waiting to take or receive authority. He already has authority. On Palm Sunday of this year, I preached a sermon I titled Under New Management. I described the triumphal entry as a declaration that Jesus is king. In the great commission, Jesus is again making that declaration. Jesus is king over the whole earth today, and he is calling all nations to accept his rule.

The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians,

Ephesians 1:18–23 NASB95

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection 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.

Jesus is king over all the earth. He has the right to rule. This is the picture of who Jesus is that Revelation gives us. The ruler who holds the universe together by the power of his word can hold your life together. The ruler of the earth can feel distant unless you look at what he has done.

Jesus is our saving redeemer.

Here, we move from who Jesus is to what he has done. John writes out three things Christ has done, that coupled with his status, makes him worthy of all our worship. The first is that he loves us. It is such a common theme that sometimes we gloss over it. Most of us have heard it all our lives. He loves us. But it should give us pause to consider how he has loved us.

In John’s first letter, he wrote,

1 John 4:10–11 NASB95

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

There are two things we need to take note of. First, God loved us so much that he sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. That word doesn’t make it into everyday conversation these days. It means that Jesus is the means by which the wrath of God is appeased for sin. The judgment that you and I deserve was carried out on Christ because he loves us.

Romans 5:6–8 NASB95

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We were not friends of God when Jesus offered himself up for us. We had not done anything worth the sacrifice Jesus made, but he did it anyway, because as the Son of God, he loves us and desires that none should perish.

Secondly, he has released us from our sins. The scriptures repeatedly describe sin as bondage, that we are slaves to it. The things we think will give us life only result in death. Sin has affected us in such a way that we cannot choose any other way unless we have been reborn.

John 8:31–36 NASB95

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Because Christ took your place, and died the death you deserve, and rose from the grave on the third day, he claims power over sin and death, and extends that same power to all who believe. The things that destroy your soul, he has given you the power to overcome through the Holy Spirit, who calls you to turn from your sin and pursue his design for your life. The promise is that if you do, you will experience life according to his design, which will result in peace, prosperity, and satisfaction beyond measure. You are free from the power sin had over your life.

Finally, he has made us a kingdom of priests. 1 Peter 2:5 says,

1 Peter 2:5 NASB95

you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Then down in verse nine, he says,

1 Peter 2:9 NASB95

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

We are creatures created by an eternal and supreme being made to worship. Human beings have it wired in them that they will worship something. It is the very fabric of who we are. He not only saved us from our sin and freed us from its power, but he set us free so we can live out our true purpose: worship. We are called to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The book of Revelation gives us a picture of redemptive history and its culmination when all of Jesus’ enemies will be made a footstool for his feet. Because of who Jesus is and what he has done,

Revelation 1:6 NASB95

to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus will return. He is coming on the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, which it seems obvious that this doesn’t literally refer to his executioners, but rather his enemies. Some take this to mean the Israel who is left when Christ returns (remember, Israel is ultimately responsible for Christ’s death).

The last verse reads,

Revelation 1:8 NASB95

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Alpha and Omega being the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, God is saying that he is all. We see that in the follow-up, the God who was, is, and is to come. The eternal God has spoken.

So as we begin our journey up the mountain, we do so with a view of who Jesus is and what he was done. But what do we do with that? Your takeaway for today is this.

Because Jesus, the living righteous ruler of the earth has accomplished a great salvation for us, we must prioritize his worship in all we do.

Worship is not what we do for an hour on Sunday morning. It encompasses every activity. It governs how we manage our households. It governs how we show up for work. It governs how we raise our kids. It governs how we manage our finances. It governs how we enjoy leisure. Worship is all encompassing. It impacts everything we do.

Yet, we still have a habit of segmenting our lives into the sacred and secular. Jesus is the boss on Sunday, yet somehow you are the boss the rest of the week. That’s not Christianity. There is still a selfishness in all of us that needs to die.

What is competing for the center of your life? Is it work? Is it money? Is it experiences? Vacations? Consumerism? Family? Leisure? What are you living for? And if Christ and his kingdom isn’t the answer, you have then identified an idol that must be cast down.

May we commit again to proclaim the excellencies of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. While there may be an idol you need to eradicate in your life, what can you celebrate today? Great things he has done. What great things has he done in your life recently that you can give him the honor and glory for?