Ever entertain great thoughts of Christ and you will have great delight in him. A great Savior gives a great sense of security to those who trust him. That sense of security promotes, not licentiousness, but dedication. It produces joy and peace which keeps the heart ever leaning upon Christ. If you would rise above the cares of the earth and the toys of time, you must set your affection on Christ and let your thoughts of him be elevated. Earth diminishes as Christ rises. The way to grow in grace is to let your thoughts of Christ grow.

As we look at Revelation 1:18, my singular object is to set before you the greatness of Christ, our ever living God and Savior. I want you to see him, "high and lifted up." I want, by the Spirit of God, to inspire your heart to
 

May God make Christ glorious in your heart. I have no other desire. I know of no better way to show you Christ's greatness and glory than to give you his own description of his own glorious Being. this is how the glorified Christ described himself to John: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen."

OUR DEAR SAVIOR IS ALIVE! That great God who came into this world as a man, that God-man who lived as our Representative to establish righteousness for us and died as our Substitute to put away our sins, that very same God-man is alive today! And Christ is exactly the same now in heaven as he was when he was here upon the earth. It is true, he has undergone the great change of glorification and exaltation, but he is essentially the same. His nature, his heart, his love, his will, his grace, and his purpose are all unchanged (Heb. 13:8). He who is now the Light of heaven is the same Christ who was born at Bethlehem. He who now sits upon the throne of glory is the very same Christ who stilled the troubled waters, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. He who is now clothed with majesty is the very same Christ who bore our sins in his body on the cursed tree. Meditate upon the characater of our Lord during those forty days between his resurrection and his ascension. Those forty days of his glory on earth will serve as a picture of our Savior's character today. It seems taht Christ made it a point to show us five specific things about himself after his resurrection. By his gracious appearances to his disciples, he seems to have said, "What I am now, I will forever be."

(1.) The risen Christ was loving, tender, and forgiving toward his sinful people. Remember, all had forsaken him. All were, for a time, overcome with sinful unbelief. The only one of our Lord's disciples who seems to have understood and believed what he taught about his death and resurrection at the time was Mary Magdalene who anointed him for his burial. Yet, his love toward his own was unquenched. His forgiveness was free. His tenderness was evident. The Lord first appeared to Mary (John 20:11-17). Then, he sent special word to Peter to confirm his love to his fallen disciple (Mark 16:6-7). He stooped to remove Thomas' unbelief (John 20:26-29). Then, he lovingly restored Peter to his fellowship and confirmed his place among the apostles (John 21:15-19). Believer, that is just the way Christ is today. Our Savior's heart is full of love, tenderness, and forgiveness toward his erring disciples.

(2.) During those forty days after his resurrection, our Lord was constantly with his beloved church. The gospel writers only tell us of specific appearances; but Christ appeared to his disciples whenever they met. When one searched for him, she found him. When two or three gathered to talk of him, he was present. When the twelve met, he was there. When five hundred brethren gathered in his name, immediately he was present with them. This is exactly the character of our Savior today (Phil. 4:4).

(3.) After his resurrection, Christ opened the scriptures and taught his disciples things concerning himself (Luke 24:27, 44-47). Is it not true today? When the Son of God is our Teacher, our hearts burn within us as he talks to us about himself. Blessed is that assembly where Christ is taught and where Christ is himself the Teacher!

 (4.) The risen Christ was full of grace toward helpless, perishing sinners. For the sake of lost, justly condemned sinners, the Son of God sent his disciples into the world to proclaim the glorious gospel of his grace, telling them that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." And he told them to begin by preaching the gospel to the people of Jerusalem who had crucified him! Our Savior is full of grace to sinners!

(5.) Just before he ascended back into heaven, our Lord told his disciples that the success of their labor was entirely dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit, whom he would send upon them (Luke 24:49). This is a blessed word of comfort and assurance. We need never fear failure. We need never look to ourselves for success. The Spirit of God works by us, and he cannot fail!


---

Return to Rich's Home Page of Reformed Theology