JESUS CHRIST, the BEGINNING and the END

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (Rev 21:6). "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Rev 22:13).

Devotion 11 of 20

PREEMINENT IN EVERYTHING

Jesus possesses the preeminence in ALL things! That is why God raised Him from the dead, placing all power in His hands. "And He is the Head of the body, the church: WHO IS THE BEGINNING, the firstborn from the dead; that IN ALL THINGS He might have the preeminence" (Col 1:18). There is nothing that occurs anywhere that is not managed by the Lord Jesus Christ. "Angels and principalities and powers" have been made subject to Him (1 Pet 3:22).

Jesus is presently maintaining all created things, assuring that their purpose is fulfilled. As it is written, "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and UPHOLDING ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF HIS POWER, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb 1:3). The precision and consistency of the creation are owing to the Lord Jesus Christ. The failure of Satan to overthrow the purpose of God is due to our Savior. He is still frustrating the ungodly in their purposes (Isa 44:25). He still manages all of the temptations of the righteous, so that they do not exceed their ability (1 Cor 10:13).

God has exalted Him to be preeminent in everything, and He is. If men fail to see this, it is only because of the hardness and blindness of their hearts.

Some see Jesus as generally idle at this time. They are looking for a future time when He will begin to rule, and start to reign. But God has already exalted Him. That is not something to occur in the future. Jesus has already "destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the devil" (Heb 2:14), and plundered "principalities and powers" (Col 2:15). Do you imagine He is having difficulty with man, "whose breath is in his nostrils" (Isa 2:22)?

The exalted Savior, preeminent in all things, is presently sustaining His people, feeding, leading, and tutoring them -- while they are in a world controlled by Satan, who operates under Jesus' authority. It takes a reigning Monarch to do that! That is, of course, precisely why Jesus was exalted--to bring "many sons to glory" (Heb 2:10).

God has scheduled a day when He will unveil the glorified Christ to the entire world. He will then show what Christ is right now. Hear the Spirit affirm the truth. " . . . until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who IS the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone HAS immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen" (1 Tim 6:15-16, NKJV).

The salvation of God, and the grace that "brings" it (Tit 2:11), will confirm this to the heart of every believer. The person who has been persuaded that Jesus has the preeminence in all things may thus speak: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me" (Heb 13:6).

There is no point at which Jesus ceases to be consummate or foremost! No earthly circumstance can be found that reduces Him to a secondary position! All that compete with Him are destined to eternal judgment and perdition. However strong that may appear, it is not an overstatement!

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ I pray You will open my eyes to see the exceeding greatness of the power that is toward those who believe. Show me Your Son!

-- Tomorrow: THE PURPOSE FOR CHRIST'S PREEMINENCE --