JESUS CHRIST-SUPREMACY
[Jesus
Christ] is the reason, the goal, the aim, the intent, the point, the purpose,
the end, the terminus, the consummation and culmination of every molecule that
moves (Col. 1:16).
Sam Storms
One Thing, Christian Focus, © Enjoying God Ministries, 2004, p.107. www.enjoyinggodministries.com.
Used by Permission.
In Christ, as
a great storehouse, lie all the riches of spiritual wisdom, the massive ingots
of solid gold which when coined into creeds and doctrines are the wealth of the
Church. All which we can know concerning
God and man, concerning sin and righteousness and duty, concerning another
life, is in Him Who is the home and deep mine where
truth is stored... The central fact of the universe and the perfect
encyclopedia of all moral and spiritual truth is in
Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Lamb slain, the ascended King.
I would
propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this
platform shall stand, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed
to avow myself a Calvinist, but if I am asked to say what is
my creed, I think I must reply, “It is Jesus Christ.” The body of
divinity to which I would pin and bind myself forever, God helping me, is
Christ Jesus, who is the sum and substance of the gospel, who is Himself all
theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious personal
embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life.
C.H. Spurgeon
[Jesus
Christ] is tender without being weak, strong without being coarse, lowly
without being servile. He has conviction without intolerance, enthusiasm
without fanaticism, holiness without Pharisaism, passion without prejudice.
This man alone never made a false step, never struck a
jarring note. His life alone moved on those high levels where local limitations
are transcended and the absolute Law of Moral Beauty prevails. It was life at
its Highest.
Thomas Watson
No single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically
sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of
our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry:
“Mine!”
Abraham Kuyper
Every man who
approaches Christ seems to feel the same thing – He is the ideal of that man.
To the artist Christ is the One altogether lovely. To the educator He is the
master teacher. To the philosopher He is the wisdom of God. To the lonely, He
is a brother; to the sorrowful, a comforter; and to the bereaved, the
resurrection and the life. To the sinner, He is the Lamb of God that takes away
the sin of the world.
John H. Gerstner
Theology for Everyman, Moody, 1965, Chapter 4.
The Word of
God became flesh. The Son of God became man. The Lord of All became a servant.
The Righteous One was made sin. The Eternal One tasted death. The Risen One now
lives in men. The Seated One is coming again.
Author Unknown
God's plan
was to bring into being a host of sons and daughters whom He would indwell;
through whom He would live and manifest Himself; and in and through whom Christ
would reign supreme. We are the beneficiaries of that plan. God, in His love
and grace, has made us a part of His plan. But we are not the center of it;
Christ is.
Dan Stone
The Rest of the Gospel, One Press, 2000,
Preface.
Jesus Christ
is not valued at all until He is valued above all.
Augustine
I initially
examined Christianity in order to write a book making a mockery of it… After
extensive research, however, I discovered that Christianity is not a religion
of men and women working their way to God through "good works." Nor is it obedience to a pattern of religious
ritual. Rather, it is a relationship with a living God through His Son Jesus Christ.
To my amazement, I was confronted with a person, not a religion. Here was a
person who made staggering claims about Himself, along with profound claims on
my life. Jesus was so different from what I had expected. Other religious
leaders put their teachings out in front. Jesus put Himself out in front.
Others would ask, "How are you responding to my teachings?" Jesus asked,
"How are you related to Me?"
Josh McDowell and Bart Larson
Jesus, a Biblical Defense of His Deity,
Here's Life Publishers, Inc., p. 9.
The New
Testament exists because the final, complete, decisive, lasting act of divine
salvation happened when Jesus, the Messiah, came into the world. He was the
final Adam (Romans 5:12-21), and the final prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22;
7:37), and the final Israel (Matthew 4:1-11), and the final high priest
(Hebrews 7:23-24), and the final Passover sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7), and
the final manna from heaven (John 6:31-32), and the final suffering servant of
Isaiah 53 (Mark 10:45), and the final Son of Man of Daniel 7 (Matthew 24:30).
His blood was the blood of the promised final new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31
(Luke 22:20). He therefore was the final, decisive Yes and Amen to all God’s
promises (2 Corinthians 1:20).
John
Piper
Abortion: The Innocent Blood of Our Sons and
Daughters, Sermon: January 27, 2008, www.DesiringGod.org. Used by Permission.
In each
case (in Matthew) there is no mere parallel being drawn: there is
eschatological transcendence. That, Jesus, for example, is not merely another
great Solomon: He is “greater than
Solomon” (12:42). Likewise, He is “greater than the temple” (12:6), “greater
than Jonah” (12:41). In the mist of all this, the clear implication is that He
is also David’s greater son (12:3-4);
in fact, this is precisely Jesus’ point in 22:45. Further, He is “Lord even of
the Sabbath” (12:8). Similarly, Jesus is not merely a son of Abraham,
privileged as that is. He is the son of Abraham par excellence, the one in whom
the patriarchal promises reach their goal (1:1). He is not simply a
representative of Israel – He is the true Israel (2:15, 16-18). His name is
“Joshua,” but He is greater than His forebear and brings a greater
deliverance: “for He shall save His
people from their sins” (1:21).
Moreover, it would have been very wrong to erect booths for Moses, Elijah, and
Jesus: these two other men, great as they were, deserve no equal place with
Jesus. “Hear Him” was the word from Heaven (17:5). He is greater than Elijah
and greater than Moses – greater than the prophets and even the law itself.
Fred Zaspel
Taken from "New Covenant Theology"
by Tom Wells and Fred Zaspel, page 94. (c)2002 New Covenant Media, Used by
permission of New Covenant Media, 5317 Wye Creek Drive,
Frederick, MD 21703-6938. http://www.newcovenantmedia.com/home.php
There are two
hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I
suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could
express.
Billy Sunday
All divine
names and titles are applied to Him. He is called God, the mighty God, the
great God, God over all; Jehovah; Lord; the Lord of lords and the King of
kings. All divine attributes are ascribed to Him. He is declared to be
omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, and immutable, the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He is set forth as the creator and upholder and ruler of the
universe. All things were created by Him and for Him; and by Him all things
consist. He is the object of worship to all intelligent creatures, even the
highest; all the angels (i.e., all creatures between man and God) are commanded
to prostrate themselves before Him. He is the object of all the religious
sentiments; of reverence, love, faith, and devotion. To Him men and angels are
responsible for their character and conduct. He required that men should honour Him as they honoured the
Father; that they should exercise the same faith in Him that they do in God. He
declares that He and the Father are one; that those who had seen Him had seen
the Father also. He calls all men unto Him; promises to forgive their sins; to
send them the Holy Spirit; to give them rest and peace; to raise them up at the
last day; and to give them eternal life. God is not more, and cannot promise
more, or do more than Christ is said to be, to promise, and to do. He has,
therefore, been the Christian’s God from the beginning, in all ages and in all
places.
Charles
Hodge
Systematic Theology, v. 2, p. 382.
Wherefore all theology, when separated
from Christ, is not only vain and confused, but is also mad, deceitful, and
spurious; for, though the philosophers sometimes utter excellent sayings, yet
they have nothing but what is short-lived, and even mixed up with wicked and
erroneous sentiments.
John Calvin
In Christ we
have:
A love that
can never be fathomed
A life that
can never die
A
righteousness that can never be tarnished
A peace that
can never be understood
A rest that
can never be disturbed
A joy that
can never be diminished
A hope that
can never be disappointed
A glory that
can never be clouded
A light that
can never be darkened
A purity that can never be defiled
A beauty that
can never be marred
A wisdom that
can never be baffled
Resources
that can never be exhausted.
Author Unknown