The Primacy of Jesus

Jesus is first. There is no salvation without Jesus. There is no approach to God apart from Jesus.

Culture warns us to be tolerant of other beliefs and other faiths. That’s fine as long as we never take Jesus down from his position as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:14;  Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16).

According to a recent survey, many people believe there are many paths to God. While there may be many ways to faith, that faith must pass through Jesus Christ. When we declare our faith in Jesus and wear the name “Christian” we declare our adherence to His teachings above all others. Jesus comes first.

Consider,

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Or,

 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

Another,

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  who gave himself as a ransom for all…”(1 Timothy 2:5-6)

And just one more,

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

The Bible confirms, even demands, the primacy of Jesus Christ. Any attempt, no matter how well intentioned, to remove him from his unique spot is doomed to fail. This shift from the uniqueness of Jesus is nothing new. Paul had to deal with some in the Galatian churches who were drawn to another gospel:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9).

We love all men, we have Jewish friends, Muslim friends and friends who practice pagan religions. All are welcomed and all can be saved – but only in Christ Jesus. As followers of Jesus let us shout his message of salvation to all men and may we never cower in the presence of tolerance. Jesus reigns!

2 comments On The Primacy of Jesus

  • What else is interesting is that the old testament points to Jesus continually, and even the early church fathers read the old testament, knowing that it was pointing to Jesus. I phrase I heard, that puts some things in perspective: “The New Testament is a commentary for the Old Testament”.

  • That’s a fine point James. And it works both ways. Notice how Hebrews uses so much of the Old Testament to explain Christ and his work. The Old Testament is so rich.

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