(Revelation 1:4-6)…..4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him beglory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Again, we are looking at (Revelation 1:4-6) for todays devotion. What is it that is brought to our attention? The seven Spirits that are before His throne. Isn’t that interesting? I can’t recall ever hearing a sermon preached where this verse was ever used. But I have come to learn that three views of what is being presented in this verse. These views are…….
- A reference to God Himself, where He is spoken of under the representation of a seven-fold Spirit where seven then would be the number of completion. The thought then is that is represented by the fulness (complete) Spirit.
- A reference to the Holy Spirit ad His seven-fold ministry described by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 11:1-3).
- A reference to the lamp-stand (Menorah) which held “seven lamps,” making reference to the Holy Spirit (Revelation 4:5) (Revelation 5:6) (Zechariah 4:1-10).
Notice, that what is being presented to us in the greeting of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the trinity of the God head. Don’t miss it, it’s wonderful! We see God in “who is and who was and who is to come.” We the Holy Spirit in “and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” We see Jesus in “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” Do you see it? This whole Revelation, which comes to us with grace and peace is from the whole Godhead. Wow!
It is Jesus who is the faithful witness. He is faithful because His testimony is one on which there can be complete reliance. He is entirely worthy to be believed because all things that He has heard from the Father (God) He has faithfully made known to us (Revelation 3:14) (John 3:32) (John 18:37). Give the Lord praise! Why? Because we can trust everything that He has declared to us in His word. He is the faithful witness. As God’s faithful witness, Jesus bears witness to the Father’s plan to save all who believe in him as Lord and Savior. In addition, he testifies about what it means to live in righteous submission to the Father’s will. But Jesus’ witness doesn’t end with explaining God’s truth. The Greek word for “witness” is martys, the root of our English word “martyr.” Jesus has not only testified about God’s truth; he has verified his verbal witness by giving his life for us. John uses the term “faithful witness” here to remind his readers, who were experiencing doubt in the midst of persecution for their faith, that Jesus is the faithful witness in speaking truth and in giving his life.
He is also the first born from the dead, (Colossians 1:18) states, “And He 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.”Now, Jesus Christ was not the first person ever raised from the dead, but the first to rise and not die again. Others raised from the dead include: The son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-23), the Shunammite woman’s son (2 Kings 4:32-37), the young man laid in Elish’s grave (2 Kings 13:21), the widow’ son (Luke 7:12-15), Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:49-55), Lazarus (John 11:43, 44), Dorcas (Acts 9:37-40) and Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12). Certainly Christ’s resurrection is the glorious event of God’s Scripture. For it was at Christ’s resurrection that Jesus’ divine sonship as the God-man was manifested (Romans 1:4).