John writes in Revelation 1:5b-6,
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
There is so much here for which to glorify Christ.
He loves us. How amazing and undeserved is His love! We were, in fact, ill-deserving, worthy of His wrath, not His love. And yet, from eternity past, His affections were set on all we who would believe in Him. And He loves us still. Indeed, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35).
He has freed us from our sins. Before we trusted in Him, we were slaves to sin. But because He paid our ransom, we have been set free from our sins, thanks be to God!
He shed His blood for us. The ransom price was His own life. A life for a life. Christ laid down His life to free us from our sins.
He made us a kingdom. Not only did He free us from the domain of darkness, but He also welcomed us into His own kingdom, and indeed, we are His kingdom.
He made us priests. Whereas in the Old Covenant, people had to go through priests to have access to God, in the New Covenant, we're all priests with direct access to God. In Christ, we are able to offer up spiritual sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) and pray directly to Him with no mediator or intercessor except Christ (Hebrews 4:16).
For all this, and for countless other reasons, "to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." His rule and reign we'll ever sing; all glory be to Christ!
This article was originally published at https://www.fbclakes.org/post/all-glory-be-to-christ-revelation-1-5b-6 on December 27, 2022.
Ed Romero (MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor at First Baptist Church of the Lakes in Las Vegas, NV. He is husband to Megan and father of one.
Note: The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of other contributors on this site.