Wednesday, November 26, 2008

THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT
...Happy Thanksgiving from all of us COT and A1M

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the name which is above every name.”
-PHILIPPIANS 2:9


• Jesus Christ is sufficient for creation (Col. 1:16-17), salvation (Heb. 10:10-12), sanctification (Eph. 5:26-27), and glorification (1 Jn. 3:2).

• So pure is He that there is no blemish, stain, spot of sin, defilement, lying, deception, corruption, or imperfection in Him (1 Pt. 1:18-20).

• There is no other God besides Him (Is. 45:5).

• He is the only begotten Son (Jn 1:14,18).

• All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Col. 2:3), all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Col. 2:3, 9).

• He is heir of all things (Heb. 1:2).

• He created all things and all things were made by Him, through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16-17).

• He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3).

• He is the first-born of all creation (Col. 1:15).

• He is the exact representation of God (Heb. 1:3).

• He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 1:5).

• He is the Son that enlightens (Heb. 1:3), the Physician that heals (Lk. 4:23-24; 5:31), the Wall of Fire that defends (Ex. 13:21), the Friend that comforts (Jn. 15:14-15), the Pearl that enriches (Mt. 13:45-46), the Ark that supports (Gen. 6:18; Rev. 11:19) and the Rock to sustain under the heaviest of pressures (Deut. 32:18; 1 Cor. 10:4).

• He is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high (Acts 2:34; Heb. 1:3; 8:1).

• He is better than the angels (Heb. 1:4-14), better than Moses (Heb. 3:3); better than Aaron (5:1-10); better than Joshua (4:8); better than Melchizedek (7:1-3); better than all the prophets (Eph. 2:20; Heb. 1:1).

• He is greater than Satan (Lk. 4:1-12; Jn. 14:30), and stronger than death (1 Cor. 15:55; Heb. 2:14).

• He is the First and the Last (Rev. 1:17-18), the Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29), our peace (Eph. 2:14), our hope (1 Tim. 1:1), the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn. 14:6).

• He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2), the Captain of our Salvation (2:10), the Champion (Is. 19:20), the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1).

• He is the Man of Sorrows (Is. 53:3).

• He is our song (Ex. 15:2; Ps. 40:3; Is. 12:2; Rev. 5:9,12; 15:3,4).

• He is the Light (Jn. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:5).

• He is the Son of Man (Mt. 20:28).

• He is the Vine (Jn. 15:5).

• He is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:48).

• He is the Door (Jn. 10:7).

• He is both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:10-13).

• He is Prophet, Priest and King (Heb. 1:1-3), our Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:9), our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6; 1 Cor. 1:30), the Rock of Salvation (Ps. 62:2; 89:26; 95:1), the Eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14), the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9), the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6),

• and He is the great I AM (Jn. 8:58).

16 comments:

Unchained Slave said...

Thanks for the reminder of Who our Savior is...

It is very easy to get caught up in the 'things' of the season and forget the 'reason for the season'...

Thanks again,

Shawn Abigail said...

Great post. I'm going through Ephesians with my Sunday School class (ages 12 to 16) and over and over I'm struck that it's all about Christ. My feeble words are insufficient to communicate this truth to them and to have them feel this truth at the core of their being. But I trust the Spirit will use the Bible to open their minds and hearts to the importance of Christ being pre-eminent in all things.

Hessel-Man said...

I very much appreciate this compilation of Scripture on the person and work of Christ. Thanks very much for posting it. Reading over them, I am overwhelmed by the greatness of Christ.

As I treasure these facts about Christ, I'm reminded of a quote I heard in a sermon a number of weeks ago. The quote was by J. Gresham Machen from his book "Christianity & Liberalism". I produce it here, in case it might be of benefit to someone else:
“It is unnecessary, we are told, to have a "conception" of God; theology, or the knowledge of God, it is said, is the death of religion; we should not seek to know God, but should merely feel His presence.
“With regard to this objection, it ought to be observed that if religion consists merely in feeling the presence of God, it is devoid of any moral quality whatever. Pure feeling, if there be such a thing, is non-moral. What makes affection for a human friend, for example, such an ennobling thing is the knowledge which we possess of the character of our friend. Human affection, apparently so simple, is really just bristling with dogma. It depends upon a host of observations treasured up in the mind with regard to the character of our friends. But if human affection is thus really dependent upon knowledge, why should it be otherwise with that supreme personal relationship which is at the basis of religion? Why should we be indignant about slanders directed against a human friend, while at the same time we are patient about the basest slanders directed against our God? Certainly it does make the greatest possible difference what we think about God; the knowledge of God is the very basis of religion.”

With that in mind, thank you for helping us to grow in the knowledge of God and thus to treasure Him more.

Grace and peace,
Steve H.

Shawn said...

Wow another Shawn. I might have to change my login

Shawn said...

Steve,

Thanks for this compilation. Blessings in the Lord

SB said...

this reminds me of one of your songs

i appreciate your music and i still have some of your sermons on the Supremacy of Christ from thegracebridge

thanks for many years of ministry Steve

donsands said...

Amen! Jesus Christ is sovereign! Unto Him be all glory, honor, and praise!

Bhedr said...

What a great post. I trust you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Alan E. Kurschner said...

Happy Thanksgiving Steve.

Terry Rayburn said...

Dear Steve, family and fellow bloggers,

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving Day.

Terry, Michele, and Michael

Joel said...

Amen on all counts!

Rob Singleton said...

Steve,

What are your thoughts on churches that are relevant, contemporary, postmodern (or whatever other 10 cent word is attached to churches today) and yet conservative in their theology and doctrine?

I am the pastor of Southbrook Church (www.southbrookchurch.com) and I feel we are such a church. I graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary about 12 years ago and while attending their I led Young Life. The combination has shaped me into a man that pastors this kind of church.

I like a lot of what you write, and would love your thoughts. Check out this post and tell me what you think, http://www.robsingleton.net/2007/11/18/what-a-weekend/

Keep up the great work!

In Christ,

Pastor Rob

SJ Camp said...

Rob:
Thanks for your comment here and for the links to your site and your church's site too. Looks great!

The short answer to your question is yes; it is possible to be contemporary (not postmodern) and not compromise biblical truth. Those two worlds can come together in glory to the Lord in ministry.

I have been writing here lately on the burden of recovering a reverence for God in ministry. Out of my study so far, there are four key things that I would humbly offer to you that I think should be the over-arching governing concerns for any church:

1. Are we glorifying God in all that we do? From the Sunday School to the music to missions to fellowship groups, to outreaches, to mid week services and our Sunday Worship. Is He preeminent in all that we do?

2. Do we honor the Word of God as our final authority pertaining to matters of life, godliness, church polity, etc.? AND, do we therefore look to it, not to the culture, not to the times, not to the latest methods or trends to direct and guide our worship, service and fellowship in Christ?

3. Is the Lord regarded as holy as we approach Him in ministry? Or do we treat Him with a casual, cavalier attitude? It is never a funny thing to come into the presence of the living God; but a fearful thing. There should be joy and rejoicing in our worship to Him, but our worship should never led to carnality. (cp, Psalm 2:11).

4. Do we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord; AND ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus' sake? This is key; this is where the wheels usually fall off the biblical wagon. Keep the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Church priority number one in your preaching (Christ and Him crucified, risen and coming again.)

(cp, Lev. 10:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:1-7; 1 Cor. 9; 1 Cor. 2; 1 Cor. 15).

When these four key areas breakdown, then usually pragmatics will win the day as they did in Spurgeon's day during the downgrade controversy.

Hope this helps to encourage you brother and I thank you for the honest question. Just remember: it's not about us; it's all about Him - AND, you don't go liberal by reading your Bible.

Grace and peace to you...
Yours for the Master's use,
Steve
Col. 1:9-14

jasonk said...

So, I was riding my bicycle to work today, as I do three or four days each week, and since it can take up to two hours each way, I listen to my ipod as I ride. Recently I pulled out some recordings of what I call "classic" Christian music. As I was riding along, listening to some great songs, these words flooded my ears, and my heart: "I face so much, it steals away the will to make the time to serve or pray, and there are days I don't take up Your cross and follow You." I found myself praying and worshipping and repenting all while pedaling along at 17mph, and on the eve of Thanksgiving, I was thankful, first for the Lord, Who is faithful, even when we are faithless, and second, for music that the Lord uses to convict my heart, and speak to my spirit, reminding me of where I need to be.

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Steve! May God bless you all greatly!

In Him,
Karen

Anonymous said...

Steve:

Thank you for this post. This morning I am making the rounds to my daily blog destinations to thank the bloggers for their work that helps fill my daily lunch hour with edifying information and commentary.

But primarily, I thank and praise God for the Body of Christ.