James MacDonald - 10 Reasons to Put Jesus Christ First
Summary:
The preacher emphasizes that Jesus Christ deserves first place in our lives because He is uniquely the firstborn in rank and privilege, revealing the Father perfectly and standing unparalleled among all beings or gods. Drawing primarily from Colossians 1:15–17, along with supporting passages like Psalm 89:27 and Old Testament declarations of God’s uniqueness, he stresses Christ’s full deity as affirmed at the Council of Nicaea. The key takeaway is that recognizing Jesus as supreme Creator, eternal, and the purpose of all things guards believers against false doctrine and gives ultimate fulfillment.
The Meaning of «Firstborn»
In Exodus chapter 4 and in Jeremiah chapter 3, for example, Israel is called the firstborn nation. Was Israel the first nation? No, not close, not close to the first nation. There were whole civilizations that had risen and been destroyed by God by the time that Israel was established when Jacob’s name was changed and the twelve sons were born. They weren’t even close to the first nation, but they’re called the firstborn because under God they were unique in rank and privilege.
Because of this case, Psalm 89:27, speaking of the Messiah, says, «And I will also make him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.» So, it defines the term firstborn, not as it relates to lineage but as it relates to status. This subject matter—I’m teaching sound doctrine here—anybody with me on this? All right, so I’m giving you a doctrinal reason for contradicting anyone who would argue this point with you, and I’ll just labor with it another moment for your instruction.
The Need for Sound Doctrine
I think sometimes I become a little concerned that we prefer inspiration to instruction, and I can’t allow my teaching ministry to gravitate in that direction. I need us to be willing to do the work of learning because it’s the understanding of God’s word that is our foundation and makes us not like children. Ephesians 4 says we shouldn’t be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.
The number of Christians hemorrhaging out of Bible-believing churches is due to those churches not actually teaching truth. They have no discernment between truth and error, and this subject, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, is a massively important cornerstone of the Christian faith.
The Council of Nicaea and Christ’s Deity
At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, I’m about to read you something from more than 1,700 years ago. This was written: «We believe in one God, the Father of all, Sovereign maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made.»
I’ll show you that in a moment. «Things in heaven, things on earth, who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh and became man, suffered and rose on the third day.» «And those who say there was a time when He was not, and those who say before He was begotten, He was not, and that He came into being from what is not, or those that allege that the Son of God is of another substance or essence, or changeable or unalterable, these the Church anathematized.»
To pronounce a curse upon them, anyone who would denigrate the total deity and uniqueness of Jesus Christ is serious business—like serious as serious gets if you’re serious about your faith.
No One Like Him
So, all of that to say that He is unique. When Exodus 15:11 says, «Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in praises, doing wonders?» that’s talking about Jesus Christ. 2 Samuel 7:22 says, «Therefore, you are great, O Lord, and there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you.»
In 1 Chronicles 17:20, «O Lord, there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you according to all that we have heard with our ears.» Psalm 89:8 says, «O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like you, O Lord?» and Jeremiah 10:6 states, «Inasmuch as there is none like you, O Lord, you are great, and your name is great.»
This is just super important—ten reasons to put Jesus Christ first. He shows us the Father; He is unique. So when we sing a praise chorus like «I worship you, almighty God; there is none like you, » there’s another one I like that just sings «there is none like you.» This is a really important theme among God’s people that Jesus Christ is to be held up unparalleled, unprecedented—the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world.
He Is the Creator
At the end, you’ll hear where I got that quote from. He shows us the Father; He is unique. Number eight: He is the Creator. Notice many people do not realize verse 16, speaking of Jesus: «For by him all things were created.» Notice all things—creation shouts the existence of God.
Jesus Christ created the universe; Jesus Christ created the sun. I was sitting in a deer stand earlier this week, looking west and watching the sunset, and it was awesome. I was reminded you can’t see it from here on Earth—we get a sense of somehow some weird notion that we’re big. We’re not; we’re crazy little small.
Do you remember that children’s book called «Horton Hears a Who!»? There are little people down on that speck, and he discovers by the end he can’t believe that. But here’s what you got to understand: we’re that—that’s us in this vast universe.
The Vastness of Creation
Do you know that the sun itself is so massive that it could hold inside it how many planet Earths? Thirteen million Earths can fit inside the sun, and that’s just one star. A larger star, Betelgeuse, has a radius of 100 million miles. That means its size is larger than our orbit around the sun. That’s a star.
There are two stars in our galaxy, which has hundreds of billions of stars, and astronomers now number the galaxies in hundreds of billions—all moving in orbits with one another. I often say it’s a choreography that staggers the mind to begin to think of the complexity of all of that, and here we are on our little speck of dust.
Thoughts on Creation and Evolution
I don’t believe in evolution; I don’t want to argue about it. I don’t think that it is entirely clear and obvious, as though some on one side or the other are clearly idiotic. I resent, honestly, the rancor and vitriolic rhetoric around this subject. I don’t think it’s right; I don’t think it’s befitting sons and daughters of Jesus, for sure.
But I’ll just say this: Genesis 1 says that God created the universe—Jesus, we now know—in six days. I don’t think those were hard-working days; I think He put in 40 hours a week. I think He was already done having declared it good with His feet up before breakfast every morning.
All right, I believe what the scripture says that He spoke and the worlds were formed. I believe that’s nothing for the God of the universe. I believe that when it says six days, it means six literal days. And my main reason for that is that the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible.
In the Ten Commandments, it tells us that we should work for six days, and on the seventh day we should rest. It gives its rationale, saying, «For the Lord created the earth in six days.» So if the day doesn’t mean day, then we should work for six ages and then just have retirement—but no rest until then.
Grace in Disagreement
That would just make nonsense, and I don’t believe the Bible makes nonsense, nor do I believe that those who consider some of the scientific evidence compelling are foolish. I’m just trying to state with grace what I believe. I do also believe that the vast majority of the scientific world, looking at the evidence, is guilty of what Romans 1 challenges all of us about—that we suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
I really believe that the driving force behind evolutionary science can be demonstrated as a desire to suppress the reality of a Supreme Being to whom we must account and a desire to elevate science and man, with man as the measure of all things. I see them as very contrary, competing ideologies.
But wherever you fall on all of that, there are many Christians who would at least hold to a supernatural establishment or creation of the universe. Rather than arguing about what is in Genesis, all Christians must agree with Colossians 1, which says, «By him all things were created.»
Now whatever you believe that means, whatever processes you may defend that you believe He used, if you don’t see Jesus Christ as the source of all that is, at that point, you’re denying the scriptures themselves.
He Is Supreme
Now it’s pretty awesome to think of this: He shows us the Father; He is unique; He is the Creator, and this: He is supreme. In the second half of verse 16 now, He is supreme: «For by him all things were created.» And then, «in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him.»
And the last two words say them: «and for him.» That’s just awesome. Some people have a hard time with that—they’re like, «Who does He think He is creating all things for Himself?» That kind of sounds kind of selfish. Well, if you did it, it would be, but you couldn’t do it.
The problem there in that kind of thinking is that it really betrays a sense that Jesus Christ is just a couple of rungs up on the ladder. Jesus Christ is not us a couple of rungs up on the ladder; He is another of a very different kind.
Created for Him
I am temporal and finite; He is transcendent and eternal. I’m still here drawing another breath this moment because of Him, which I’ll show you in a moment. Jesus Christ is not some exalted human at the top of the ladder of existence; He’s not even on the ladder—He made the ladder. All right?
You got to get it in the right category: we exist for Him, and we find our greatest joy in discovering that. Jesus Christ has His greatest delight in us when we have our greatest delight in Him—that’s why this was all made.
Far from exalting Himself by creating us for Himself, He is giving us the greatest opportunity at the fulfillment we were created to experience by teaching us that we are created for Him.
Several years ago, Forbes Magazine invited scholars from around the world to contribute to its anniversary edition, and they had scholars write essays answering this question: «Why, talking about the human race, are we so unhappy?»
The supposed greatest minds in the world wrote an incredible group of essays that agreed about nothing really except this single point: they all agreed with the quote, «We are a troubled civilization because we have lost our moral and spiritual center.» Of course, our moral and spiritual center is Jesus Christ.
He Is Our Purpose
He is supreme. And then, this: He is our purpose. «By him all things were created”—see it there in heaven, on earth, visible and invisible. I meant to mention that under supreme, Ephesians 1 uses that same little coupling of words—visible or invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities.
Ephesians 1 adds principalities or powers, and the idea here is that all authorities across the entire universe have to bow to Jesus Christ. He is supreme. Just think of who that includes—who does that include?
That includes all politicians: someday Barack Obama, George W. Bush and his dad, Bill Clinton, Hillary, whether she’s there as a president or the wife of a president—God knows. All will bow before Jesus Christ: every Mick Jagger, Madonna, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, LeBron James.
I’m just thinking of all the greats; you know—depending on what year you’re preaching the sermon, what list of greats you’d pick. Greats come and go, you know, like socks and sock styles.
Unrivaled Forever
Did you know that bright, striped socks are kind of in style now? I’m 100% not on board, I’m going to ride that one out. I will secretly laugh at you. Come on, hands up—who’s got colorful socks on right now? Apparently, our church are late adopters in this trend.
My point being, so many things come and go; it’s hot, it’s cold, it’s hot, it’s cold; they’re up, they’re down, they’re up, they’re down. It never changes, and as people fall into the ash heap of human history—so-called greats, Jesus Christ stands alone, unrivaled, unparalleled.
He is supreme, and He is our purpose. That is, „All things were created through him and for him.“ All right, number five; counting down—are you with me? This is going to come quick now because there’s not as much text to comment on.
He Is Eternal
Verse 17: „He is before all things.“ Jot this down: He is eternal. He is eternal; that’s what it means when it says „he is before all things.“ Actually, these two words are emphatic in the original language: „He is.“ That’s really the essence of it.
He is, and there never was a time when there was nothing. Once there was just one—back, back, back, back, back into eternity past, before Genesis 1, beyond space, beyond time—one-dimensional God. And Jesus Christ was there; He is eternal.
The Bible says, as I’ve taught you, that with the Lord a day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is a day. I take the Bible very literally; I believe that Earth history may actually be less than 10,000 years.
Appearance of Age in Creation
I don’t believe personally, with all the dating and all the rest of it, that God created the Earth with the appearance of age. Why would He do that? That’s so confusing. Well, I don’t believe that when Adam and Eve were born, they were little infants that grew up; they were born as adults.
How many people believe that Adam and Eve were not created as infants? Right? So they were born with a certain age, and I believe God did the same to the mountains and to the trees that were there. I think if you had chopped down a tree in the Garden of Eden, you would have seen rings.
All right? That’s not evidence of sin or decay; it’s evidence of growth and life. I think all the evidence of growth and life was in all of creation, and I think some of those things have still been in their exact place since creation happened.
I believe as scientists dig into them, it’s like cutting down an original tree; they see the rings and apply age to it, which is not in reality telling the truth. So I acknowledge the existence of that evidence but would suggest that possibly it is being misunderstood.
He Was Here First
For that reason, I believe that the entirety of human history is like a week and a half to God. We think this has been going on forever; we’re trapped in time, and it’s all moving in slow motion for us. But we studied last summer about the God of here and now who knows the end from the beginning, takes it all in, in a moment, and Jesus Christ is part of that.
We live in a world that’s governed by „I was here first, “ right? I don’t know how it works with your family, but who gets to hold the remote in your house? Trust me when I tell you when I’m in the room, I have the remote unless I make what we call a fatal error.
If you turn it off at the wrong time, flip the channel at the wrong time, if we’re watching a sports program—we’re behind, and you blow it—that’s a fatal error; you have to give up the remote immediately. But there’s probably more than you wanted or needed to know, but I generally get the remote.
Why? I said to my kids, „How come you get the remote?“ „I was here first.“ If you’re in line at McDonald’s and someone walks in and steps in front of you just as you start to order, how many people have a problem with that? Yeah, and you know why you have a problem with that? It’s because you were there first.
That’s kind of a universal principle. I was here first. People are like, „How come Andy and James get to pick a lot of the worship songs we sing?“ „We were here first.“ Actually, I don’t pick worship songs anymore; they don’t even ask me, is the truth—but I used to. I could again if I really had to.
All of that to say this: as it relates to the universe, Jesus Christ was here first, and it is His program and it is His plan.