0888. Our Lord Was Rich

Our Lord Was Rich

"Unto me who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach, among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph_3:8).

Paul had a wonderful grasp of the "exceeding riches of Christ." Riches new and enlarged. Riches which Christ has achieved through His Cross. Riches summed up in the expression, "The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph_1:18).

Just now it is our purpose to seek some slight knowledge from the Word of the riches of Christ in the ages past–the riches which He left when He became flesh.

1. He was rich in His possessions. Col_1:16 : "For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him."

The very heavens and all the planets swinging in them show forth the glory of our Lord. The sun, the moon, and the stars are the work of His fingers. It was of old that He made them.

Therefore let us praise the Lord. Psa_148:1-6 : "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts. Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass."

2. He was rich in glory. Joh_17:5 : "The glory which I had with Thee before the world was."

We have seen pictures of Christ with a halo of glory placed around His head, but who has ever seen the exceeding splendor that God Himself placed around the brow of our Lord in the ages past?

3. He was rich in His oneness with God. Christ Jesus, "being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Php_2:6).

Jesus Christ was God. In the beginning He was with God and He was God. In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead.

4. He was rich in His person. Jesus Christ was, throughout all eternity, the brightness of God's glory and "the express image (the exact expression) of His Person" (Heb_1:3). "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 on the right hand of the Majesty on high."

All the holy attributes that enriched the Person of the Father, enriched the Person of the Son.

5. He was rich in His power. David wrote, "I will sing of Thy power" (Psa_59:16). Our God is the source of all power. When we consider that all things that Christ made are stored with power, we at once begin to grasp the riches of His power. If Christ with His fingers made so many worlds, what may He not do when He throws His whole glorious all-power into His work?

6. He was rich in worship. We catch a little of this when we remember how, when Christ created the earth, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job_38:7).

All the angels of God worship the Son and praise His name. They are all ministering spirits. They serve Him; they do His will.

"For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods." "Oh, come, let us worship, let us bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." "The Lord made the heavens, honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." "Give unto the Lord glory and strength." "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

7. He was rich in His Father's love. Jesus Christ is called God's "only beloved Son." He came forth from the Father when He came to the earth. He and the Father had been, throughout all eternity, "one." There was never one shadow of separation between the Godhead. "The Father loveth the Son" (Joh_3:35).

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR