The Supremacy of Christ
You may turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter one for our meditation this evening. Prior to the Lord's Supper, I want to speak specifically on verses one to three. A recurring theme in this book for this epistle to the Hebrews is that Christ is superior. Christ is over specifically the prophets and the angels and Joshua and Moses. And the Levitical priesthood, the superiority of Christ, is the conspicuous theme of this particular book. And in the first few verses, we see that. that this revelation that has come through the Lord Jesus Christ is glorious. It is wondrous. It is God speaking to us in these last days. Now, it is important to remember that Christ's supremacy does not imply the uselessness of those things prior. In other words, we're not supposed to begin, or believe, that because Jesus has come in the New Testament and the apostles have spoken to us that we don't need the Old Testament. Well, that's simply not the case. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction and righteousness. But what the apostle is doing, as I said, is exalting and setting forth the glory and the majesty and the excellence of Jesus Christ, our Lord. So what more fitting theme for us as we come tonight to remember our Lord in the Lord's table? Well, I'll just read beginning in verse one. God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, as in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, 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 at the right hand of the majesty on high. having become so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. And again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angel spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. But to the sun, he says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain and they will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak. You will fold them up and they will be changed. But you are the same and your years will not fail. But to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Amen. Well, let us pray. Blessed Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus. We pray now that you would give us grace to receive the good things that your word has for us. Again, we pray forgive us for our sins and it's darkening influence in our minds and in our hearts and help us, God, and have it to eagerly receive the truth of Holy Scripture. Just forgive us, bless us, and strengthen us. And we pray in Jesus' holy name, Amen. Well, as I said, the object of this particular letter, one of the primary themes is to set forth the supremacy of Jesus Christ. I want to make two broad observations with reference to these verses. First of all, God speaks. Notice in verse one, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. That statement right there is a wonderful truth, that the God of heaven and earth has actually spoken to his creatures. The God of heaven and earth who made all things, who sustains all things, actually speaks to his creature. He has spoken in both the Old and the New Testaments. And from this, we can imply that man is to receive that word. When the voice of the Lord thunders forth, the people of God are to respond. We're to listen. We're to give ear. He announces this wonderful statement so that he can then move forward to present Jesus Christ as that one, that final one in whom is word. has come, so that when Jesus comes and his apostles finish writing, we shouldn't look for any extra biblical revelation. God has spoken to us in both the Old and the New Testaments. The next significant event to await us is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be a people of the book. We are to be a people of the word of God. We are to search the scriptures and study the scriptures. And we are to thank our God that he has not left us as orphans in this world, but he has given us his word and he has given us his spirit. So the voice of God is what the apostle highlights here. God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. That is a significant statement. We oftentimes think of the various world religions. Not all of the world religions claim to have the voice of God. There are certain ones to be sure. Islam, Judaism, Christian theism. And then there are the Christian cults, if we might call them that. The Mormons, for instance, claim to have another testament of our Lord Jesus. But the rest of the world religions do not claim to have had God speak to them. That is a unique claim. that must be then searched and looked at by the various claimants. When we come to the Scripture, when we look at the Word of God, when we see the unity and we see the consistency and we see the consequences that a study of Scripture yields, we are taken aback by the glory of the fact that God has indeed spoken to his people. Notice then, secondly, he highlights the supremacy of Jesus Christ. He says God has spoke and then in verse two has in these last days spoken to us by his son. The last days in biblical parlance refers to that time of Messiah, the Messianic age. If you take that phrase from the Old Testament, it is prophesied concerning the first coming of the Lord Jesus. So yes, we are in the last days, but so were the apostles. It is that time frame between the first and the second coming of our Lord Jesus. I know sometimes people stumble on that, or they trip on that, but let's look just for a moment at 2 Timothy chapter 3. So we can verify this, just so you know that what the apostle is highlighting is that the last days are now upon us, the messianic reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in 2 Timothy 3 verse 1, but know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Very often this text is interpreted this way. Look around us. Look at how bad it is. This is the time that the Apostle Paul was writing about. These are the last days. But notice what Paul says to Timothy in verse five. He says, denying its power and from such people turn away. So Timothy is living in the last times of the last days. It is a time punctuated by wicked men. And so Timothy is given this encouragement to avoid them, to stay away from them, to guard his heart from them. So just so you can see this biblical terminology of last days applies to the time between the first and the second coming of Jesus. Now, let's hone in on the supremacy of Christ. The author gives us seven evidences. for why Jesus is superior to the prophets, why Jesus is superior to the angels will follow. But primarily in verses two to three, two and three, he is demonstrating this glorious revelation that has come through Jesus Christ. And the first is simply this. Jesus Christ is the heir of all things. Notice in verse two, he has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things. We need to understand this of Jesus, the God-man. Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, is from everlasting to everlasting. He is Almighty God. He is autotheos. That means He is God in and of Himself. But when the second person of the Trinity comes into this world and He takes on flesh and He lives in a manner of man, when He ultimately dies and rises again, He is conferred upon with great benefits. He is given great things by His Father. He is the Messiah. He is the God-man. He is the One who does inherit all things. This is why in Psalm 2, the Father says to the Son, Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. This is why in the Great Commission, Jesus says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Why? Because the Father has given them to the Son. It's based on that conferring of benefit, redemptive benefit secured by Jesus, that Christ then tells his disciples to go and to make disciples of all the nations. Christ is the heir of all things. Calvin says the word air is ascribed to Christ as manifested in the flesh for being made man. He put on our nature and as such received this airship and for this purpose that he might restore to us what we had lost in Adam. This is precisely what Peter highlights in Acts chapter two at verse thirty six. After preaching on the day of Pentecost, as he's bringing his sermon to bear upon the people, he says in Acts 2, 36, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He is sovereign. He is the heir. He is the possessor of all things. You could not say that of Isaiah. You could not say that of Jeremiah. You could not say that of Micah, or Hosea, or Ezekiel, or Daniel. As wondrous as these men were, and as used by God as these men were, they are not the heir of all things the way Christ Jesus is. And then when we trace this idea out, we see the benefit and blessing that we now possess by virtue of union with Christ. What does Paul say in Romans chapter eight, verse 17, with reference to the believer? He says we are joint heirs with Christ. Think about that. Jesus is the heir of all things. We are joint heirs with Christ. That means we are blessed recipients of the benefits that God has conferred by virtue of our union with Christ. As we come to the table tonight, we ought to remember that in Jesus Christ, we have everything. There's this idea out there that you give up a lot to become a Christian. Really? Have you given up a lot to become a Christian? Has it cost you? Has it hurt you? Has it deprived you? Has it affected you? Has it stripped you down? No, I know that temporally sometimes, especially if we were in a Muslim world, for instance, we identified with Christ, in certain respects there would be a physical threat upon our lives. We spoke tonight of her. We prayed tonight for Asia Bibi. There is identity with Christ bringing on temporal effects. But I bet if you ask Asia, have you lost anything in your identity with Christ? She would say, what do you mean lost anything? We are joint heirs with the one who has all things given unto him. Brethren, we possess everything in Christ. Now, this isn't a health, wealth and prosperity gospel. Name it, claim it, grab it, look for the camels with gold bringing you good. That's not what I'm talking about. You need to understand what we are. We are joint heirs with the blessed Savior for sinners. That's what Paul says in Romans chapter eight. A second piece of evidence that Jesus is supreme is that he is the creator of all things. Back to Hebrews chapter one, verse two, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. Again, I would guarantee that when you get to heaven, There's going to be a line of people that want to talk to the Apostle Paul. Now, I'm speaking as a man. I don't know that there'd actually be a line. It's not like a deli. Take number five. Now you get to go talk to the Apostle Paul. And aren't there people you'd like to talk to in heaven? Just be honest, right? I think every reformed pastor wants to go talk to Paul. Right? We do. Every reformed believer wants to talk to Paul. He wrote Romans 9. He wrote Ephesians 1. This is Paul. He wrote Romans 8. Don't you want to talk to him? We also want to talk to Isaiah. Isaiah was the one who in the year of King Uzziah's death saw the Lord high and lofty and exalted. He saw the Lord's train fill the very temple itself. He heard the angels cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory. Yeah, you want to talk to Isaiah, don't you? Let's talk to Ezekiel, remember Ezekiel by the river at Kavar. What happens? He sees this beautiful spectacle, God's war chariot coming in the midst of these exiles to communicate a blessed word of encouragement. I mean, Ezekiel saw some amazing things. Daniel, what did Daniel see? Daniel was a dreamer. Daniel was an interpreter of dreams. Daniel was able to function in the Babylonian court and maintain godly fidelity to Yahweh. Certainly we want to talk to him. But as great as these men are, they didn't create the world. This is what the apostle ascribes to the son. This is what the apostle ascribes to the one whom we remember. He is the one through whom also he made the worlds. John chapter 1 verses 1 to 3 highlights this same reality. Colossians 1 verses 15 and 16 highlight the same reality. Philip Hughes says the implication of this doctrine here and elsewhere is the priority of Christ to the whole created order and therefore his pre-existence and co-existence with the Father. Of course, he's supreme over Isaiah. Of course, he's greater than Moses. Of course, he's greater than Jeremiah. As great as wonderful and as beautiful as these men are. Jesus created the world. A third piece of evidence or a third piece of data to substantiate the statement that Christ is supreme is that he is the brightness of the glory of God. Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and Hosea and Amos and Micah and Joel and Obadiah and Nahum and Habakkuk and Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi. None of these men could be described in these terms. You see what the author is doing. God spoke in various ways in times past. Now he's spoken to us in a son. And this son is one unlike are one unlike the prophets, but one very much like the father says who being the brightness of his glory. Turn back for just a moment to John chapter one. You should sometime in your own study, compare John chapter one, Colossians chapter one and Hebrews chapter one. It's very profitable, very wonderful, very excellent. It's beautiful the way these apostolic authors ascribe. The glory are ascribed to the glory of Jesus Christ. Notice in John one one in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. There is creation without him. Nothing was made that was made in him was life and the light was the light of the life was the light of men and the light shines in the darkness of the darkness did not comprehend it. Notice in verse fourteen and the word became flesh. What word? That word identified in John one, the one who was in the beginning, the one who was with God and the one who is God. Notice in verse fourteen, the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. How do you think John wrote this? Worshipful. heartily, joyfully, delightfully. He wasn't just plugging away at M.S. Word there. Cut and paste and just move things around and just highlight the deity and glory of Christ. This Word, who was in the beginning, who was with God, distinct from the Father, and yet was God, perfect in unity with the Father, this one became flesh. This one tabernacled among us, or dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. We looked upon his beauty. We gazed on his majesty. We saw his splendor. How do you think John wrote this? He's writing it in worship and praise and adoration. There's lots of times in the Apostle Paul where he just goes off into doxology. He's speaking about the glory of Christ or he's speaking about the beauty of sanctification or salvation, rather. And then he begins to praise and glorify God. This is how we ought to take this. We beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This one is the brightness of the glory of God. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What a great statement that is. It is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness. Notice how Paul parallels salvation with creation. Did man cooperate in the creation of the world? I know we like to think that we did, but we didn't. God spoke and it was. Creation is monergistic to the core. God alone works. Right? Not synergism. God didn't make us and then we brought the mountains to pass. No, God undertakes himself to make this world. Paul uses that as a parallel with reference to being remade, with reference to being born again. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You didn't stumble onto the gospel. You didn't make a good decision for Jesus. You didn't exercise your free will. The God who spoke to darkness and caused this world to come into being spoke to the darkness of our hearts and raised us from the dead. He is the brightness of the glory of God most high. He exceeds the prophets. He exceeds Moses. He exceeds Joshua. He exceeds the Levitical system. He is God himself. That's the point of Hebrews chapter one. That's the next piece of data. The fourth evidence, the fourth piece of the pie. He is the express image of God. Notice in Hebrews one three, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, the new American standard translates it the exact representation of his person. When you see Jesus, you see the father. Isn't this what Christ said in the upper room? Show us the Father. Jesus says, when you've seen me, or if you've seen me, then you have seen the Father. Go back to 2 Corinthians 4. Second Corinthians, chapter four, verse four, whose minds, the God of this age, this is pick up in verse one, just so we can paint the context here. Second Corinthians, four, one. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully to love the integrity of a faithful gospel minister, not a narcissist. Not engaged in his Twitter feeds and in his Facebook statuses that simply promote himself. No, that's not the apostle Paul. Paul says we have renounced the hidden things of shame. We're not walking in craftiness. We don't handle the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, notice, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. How do you escape the biblical testimony, the weight of biblical testimony that Jesus Christ is God? You can't do it. You can run, you can hide, you can try to deny, you can fabricate a new world translation of the Holy Scriptures, you can interpret it, you can do whatever you can, but you can't escape the deity, the glory, the majesty, the excellence, the godhood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle is setting that forth. Turn to Colossians 115. Colossians 115. Again, I hope these texts are reminders to you. I hope that your heart is being encouraged and warmed. I hope that you are again sucking the sweetness out of this gospel flower as we come to the table tonight. Let us remember why our beloved Lord Jesus is supreme. Colossians 115. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. for by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. This is peculiarly applicable to this church in Colossae. What was happening in Colossae? The Colossian heresy. They were succumbing to this whole idea that there was this gradation of principalities and powers that they were answerable to. They began to approach things in an ungodly manner, an almost pagan manner. That's what the Apostle is saying, is that Jesus is over all these things. Jesus has sovereignty over all these things. You don't appeal to angels. You don't appeal to principalities. You don't appeal to powers. You have the sovereign Lord Jesus. He is the one you go to, and it is Him in whom you are complete. It says all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. And he who is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. He is the express image of God. The fifth piece of data, Hebrews chapter one, verse three. He is sovereign over all things. I know we like to use that word in reformed churches, don't we? Sovereignty, everything's sovereign, right? No, not everything's sovereign. There's one sovereign, our glorious God. Man likes to try to be sovereign. Man likes to try to be the captain of his own destiny. Man likes to try to take the reins of the universe into his own hands. But there is one sovereign, and it is God Most High. And in these last days, in this messianic age, in this messianic era, Jesus Christ is the one who holds those reins. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. We saw it this morning in Philippians, chapter two, verse nine. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every, every, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that God or that Jesus is glorious to, I'm sorry, the glory to God, the father. And here specifically notice in Hebrews chapter one, verse four, it says, I'm sorry, verse three, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power. That's a statement of sovereignty who upholds all things. God. The Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. The idea here is not only support, but movement, he always and inevitably accomplishes that which is his particular purpose. We see it in Colossians 1, verse 17 says, in him all things consist. You know, if Jesus stopped for a moment, this whole world would just implode. You can't even speak of it like that. Jesus keeps everything going, upholds all things by the word of his power. Again, Isaiah the prophet doesn't do that. Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, none of these prophets are able to, with comprehensive sovereignty, uphold all things by the word of his power. The sixth piece of evidence is verse four. And upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, he is the Savior as well. He is the Savior. He himself did this as priest and sacrifice turned to Hebrews seven, verse twenty seven. Hebrews 7, beginning in verse 26, for such a high priest was fitting for us who is wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this, he did once for all when he offered up himself. Notice the statement or notice the gradual procession of statements in Hebrews chapter one, verses three and four. He is the brightness of the glory of God. He is the express image of this person. He is the exact representation. And he by himself purged our sins. What's he saying? Saying the one who created everything, the one who upholds everything, is the one who is put to death on a cross at Calvary. Colossians 1, the same idea is present. We read up to verse 17. If we were to continue, we'd see something amazing. In verse 19, it says, for it pleased the father that in him all the fullness should dwell. Colossians 2, 9, it says, in him, in Jesus, all the fullness of the deity dwells bodily. It's amazing stuff. I think sometimes we get not hardened. I hope that's not it, but we've heard it a lot. I know I've spoken on Hebrews one before. Some of you may even have notes in your Bible where we've covered these things on a Wednesday night, we've covered these things on a Sunday night or a Sunday morning. In some respects, it sort of becomes old hat, doesn't it? Do you realize what we're saying? You realize what the apostle is setting forth? You realize that he's saying that God, the second person, comes down into this world, having created the world, having sustained the world, dies for sinners. Colossians 120, by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. Absolutely amazing. When you thought cross in the first century, you didn't think peace. When you thought cross, you thought shame. You thought degradation. You thought criminal. You thought the most heinous form of execution ever. And yet what the apostle says is that Jesus has made peace through the blood of this cross. The United Nations doesn't make peace this way. Various nations do not make peace this way. No one enacts peace this way. But God reconciles sinners through the death of his most precious son. Again, something that may be old hat, a Gordon Clark quote on Colossians 120. He says, now, when we pause to consider, this is staggering. What's staggering? The preceding verses, Colossians 115 to 17, The preceding verses have described Christ in transcendent terms. If you were here last week, you'll know that transcendent means He's removed. Right? Christ is sovereign. He's over. He is in the heavens. He is locally present at the right hand of the Majesty on High. This is where Colossians 1.15-18 puts Him. He says the preceding verses have described Christ in transcendent terms. He was the creator in whom all the fullness dwells, the heir of the universe for whom it was created. Now, when the creator of heaven and earth, the creator himself, voluntarily suffered on the cross for our sins, we can only stand in awe and worship. That's a great statement. You can write that one down in your Bible. It's good commentary there on verse 20. And this creator voluntarily offers himself for our sins. All we can do is stand in awe and worship. That's the point. That's what I'm trying to get out to us tonight. It's kind of difficult. I don't know why I'm fumbling so much tonight. I don't know if I'm tired or what, but I hope you get the point. He is the Savior. This one who is specified in these sorts of language is the one Who saves us from our sins and the seventh piece of data, the seventh piece of the seventh evidence is the fact that he is the exalted King. Notice verse three, 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 at the right hand of the majesty on high. That verse three is packed. You want to memorize a good verse about Jesus and his glory, memorize one three in Hebrews. A lot going on in that verse. We could spend a long time just unfolding and unpacking and looking at each of these particular statements. It's absolutely amazing. Notice what it says, though. After he has purged our sins by the sacrifice of himself, what then happens? He sits down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Absolutely amazing. See, the Levitical high priest never sat down in the Holy of Holies. Once he sprinkled that blood, he got right out of there again. He didn't sit down. He didn't get comfortable. He took off all of this priestly regalia. He went in linen that one time of the year, that day of atonement. He took the blood. He went in there. He poured it on the mercy seat. He got out right away. Jesus, however, sits down at the right hand of the majesty on high. What does this evidence? One, that he is finished with the task of redemption. One, that he has completed the work that the Father has entrusted to him and given to him. And two, that he has now taken his rightful position at the right hand of God Most High, where he is the exalted king over all things for the church. You see, when the apostle wants to set forth the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ in this passage, he highlights that he is the heir of all things, the creator of all things, the brightness of the glory of God, the express image of God, the sovereign governor over all, the savior for sinners, and the one who now possesses absolute authority. and sovereignty at the right hand of God Almighty. Calvin said, as then he ought to be loved on account of his redemption, so he ought to be adored on account of his royal magnificence. You see, these two things develop throughout the book. The fact that he is priest, the fact that he is king. Here we see the fact that he is profit. That's a great way to sort of summarize this segment or this section. We see the same thing in the book of Revelation. Jesus is mentioned in his threefold office as prophet, priest and king. Jesus is mentioned here in his threefold office. as prophet, priest, and king. A. W. Pink says, it is to be observed that in verses two to three, the Holy Spirit has briefly set forth the three great offices of the mediator. First is prophetic. He is the final spokesman of God. Secondly, his kingly, his royal majesty upholding all things and that by the word of his power, which affirms his absolute sovereignty. Third, his priestly, the two parts of which are expiation of his people's sins and intercession at God's right hand. It is not just a theological construct imposed upon the Scripture. It is exegetically arrived at. Christ fulfills these offices. Where Adam failed as a prophet, priest, and king, the second Adam is successful, and he has won for us everlasting life. He has won for us joint airship with himself. He has won for us the very blessing and benefit of heaven itself, and he has secured this through his death at Calvary. What a Savior we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you don't know Christ tonight, here's what you need to understand. Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is the Savior. And the Bible says, all those who believe on me, I will certainly not cast out. Not me, Jim Butler, but Him, Jesus Christ. You believe the truth as it is in Christ, and you will have everlasting life. You believe on him. See, tonight the issue isn't should I take the bread and wine? The issue is, should I, yes, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? So you shouldn't take bread and wine. You shouldn't take these elements if you're not a believer. It's a church ordinance. It's for the people of God. It's a time for us to remember in a tangible way what Christ did on behalf of His sheep, what Christ did on behalf of His people. It is given to the church as a time to remember, as a time to preach corporately the glorious death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unbeliever, believe. Believe on Jesus. Look to Him. Find mercy in Him alone. That's the issue of the day. And believer, feed upon the Lord of glory, feed upon his life, feed upon his blessing, feed upon what he has done for us in the gospel. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for our Lord Jesus. And thank you so very much for all that the scripture sets forth concerning him. We thank you that the God who created the God who governs is the God who comes into this world to die and to rise again. We just pray, Father in Heaven, that You would just cause us to appreciate again our Lord Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit. Grant us grace as we approach You. Grant us joy and thanksgiving as we consider these manifold blessings. And we pray this now in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.