The incomparable Christ

This weekend Sunday is Palm Sunday. Easter 2014 is on us. We continue to meditate on Christ ; the incomparable Jesus of Nazareth.

Indeed, who can we compare the Lord Jesus with? Jude Lomotey’s song “Mokomoko be” (there is none other) celebrates well the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

In the first century, Jesus of Nazareth answered the question  who God is and what He is like  once and for all.   Through His life and ministry, Jesus  demonstrated what God wanted human life and community to be. He brought healing and restoration everywhere He went. 

He introduced the forgiveness and light of the everlasting kingdom of God into the present age. There is no one else like Him. He is the incomparable.

The Apostle Paul uses the following passage which is probably an early Church hymn to present the uniqueness of Christ: 

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.   He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.  Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and on earth. 

He made the things we can see and the things we can't see–kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him.  

He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.  

Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first to have risen from death, so he is first in everything.  For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,  and by him God reconciled everything to himself. 

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross,” Colossians 1:15-20 says.

Firstly, Apostle Paul teaches that Jesus Christ is the visible image , the exact likeness, and true representation of the invisible God. “Jesus Christ is not only equal to God” (Philippians 2:6); “He is God”(John 10:30,38;12:45;14:1-11). 

He is God who has become man. He  reveals God to us. 

Secondly, this Bible passage  teaches that it was Jesus Christ who created both Heaven and Earth. 

“Through Jesus Christ God created everything. Things in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see.”  ( Col 1:16 NLT) 

Thirdly , the passage teaches that Christ is the unique Son of God; and not one of the intermediaries between God and humankind as the false teachers were saying. 

In fact , Jesus  Christ  is the firstborn of all creation; that is, “ he existed before anything was created and is supreme all over  creation” (Col 1:15b NLT). 

First born here does not  mean He was created .No! It is a title  used from the Old Testament  which indicates “supremacy of rank and priority in time” (see Psalm 89:27). 

Jesus Christ is first in everything! Indeed, in Christ “ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col 1:19).

Fourthly, this Bible passage  teaches that  the way of salvation is through Jesus Christ alone; “through Christ, God reconciled everything to Himself. 

He made peace with everything  in Heaven and on Earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Col1:20; see also 1:27-28). 

Jesus Christ alone is fully sufficient for our knowledge of God, salvation, and  for living a fully functional life, abundant life, and victorious life. 

Here is the  incomparable Jesus . A song writer captures it as follows:

“There is none Holy as the Lord

There is none beside Thee

Neither is there any God as our God

There is none Holy as the Lord                                                                                                                                                        

Thou art worthy oh Lord

To receive glory, honour, and power

For Thou has created all things

And for Thy pleasure they are and were created” 

He is Jesus “Tumi Wura”- that is, the source and end of all power. 

He is supreme; and He is sufficient to satisfy  more than anyone else or any other spiritual power, our need for good success in our home life and in our  work, our good health, and our sure protection. He is most capable to guide us to the end.

No wonder we are to,  in response to Jesus,  surrender to Him and follow Him fully; love Him with all our heart, our soul,  our mind, and our  strength .

 Jesus Christ is supreme over all creation. Indeed Christ is first in everything. And so in our thought, behaviour and goals, the Lord Jesus Christ must always occupy the first position.

So we sing with the crowds in Jerusalem: “ Hosanna , blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our Father David. Hosanna in the highest!” 

And if we fail to sing, for  whatever reason, it will not change the truth about Jesus being  supreme. He is able to raise stones into  choirs  to praise Him (because He is God the creator). (Luke 19:38-40)

Jesus is God, Creator , Sustainer, Revealer, Redeemer, Reconciler the most exalted One,  and more. He is indeed  the incomparable Christ. 

(The author is a leadership development and cross-cultural ministries consultant , an International conference speaker and  former general director / CEO of Scripture Union Ghana, 

Email:  ghanajesuscrusade@gmail.com / sughanaho@gmail.com )