O the Preciousness of Christ!

By Patricia Newman

Unto you therefore which believe he is precious. 1 Peter 2:7

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Psalm 45:2

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Isaiah 28:16

Resolved, by God's grace, to start the new year by meditating on Scripture every day. The word of God is pure treasure to the redeemed, being our light, our counsel, our nourishment, our satisfaction, our armour, our protection, our peace, our comfort, our justification, our sanctification, our hope, our assurance, our joy, our praise.

I have been led to start my new year ruminations by meditating on the preciousness of Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 2:7, the Bible says, "unto you therefore which believe he is precious." Jesus Christ is WORTHY, infinitely so. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Treasure of heaven, the Joy of the earth. Christ is beyond compare!

The saints' very salvation is wrought not by payment in gold or silver but by the infinitely precious blood of Jesus. The sinless One became sin for us, "that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He left the glories of heaven and descended to us, taking on flesh. Teaching and preaching on God's kingdom, He demonstrated the Father's love to the unlovely. In incomparable humility and perfect obedience to the Father's will, He sojourned among sinners and, at the appointed time, with face set as flint, Jesus went to the cross to save the unworthy. In Isaiah's messianic prophecy we read:

He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:3

But God the Father highly esteemed Him (This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:17) and exalted Him and gave "Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Now that the light of the glorious gospel has mercifully shone in our hearts, we esteem Him. How we esteem Him! We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to God. In Him we have everlasting life. Christ is the "Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel." Hallelujah!

We are seated in heavenly places with Him, and through Him God bestows on us the riches of His grace. Because of Christ our blessed hope, the future of His saints is glorious! The Father's very ordination is that the redeemed will be conformed to the likeness of His beloved Son. Hallelujah! Oh the preciousness of Christ! Precious to the Father, Who delights in Him. Precious to the Holy Spirit, Who exalts Him. Precious to His Church, who worship and adore Him. Precious to each individual saint as their Kinsman Redeemer and Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Grant, O gracious Father, that we continually abide in Christ, bearing spiritual fruit for the glory of His holy Name. Thank you that through Christ the saints escape the spiritual corruption of the world. Thank you that we overcome through the blood of the precious Lamb of God and the word of our testimony. May we love Him with all our heart, with all our mind and all our strength, joyfully serving and obeying Him all our days. All praise be to the precious Name of Jesus!

Immortal honours rest on Jesus’ head;

My God, my portion, and my living bread;

In Him I live, upon Him cast my care;

He saves from death, destruction, and despair.

He is my refuge in each deep distress;

The Lord my strength and glorious righteousness;

Through floods and flames He leads me safely on,

And daily makes His sovereign goodness known.

My every need He richly will supply;

Nor will His mercy ever let me die;

In Him there dwells a treasure all divine,

And matchless grace has made that treasure mine.

O that my soul could love and praise Him more,

His beauties trace, His majesty adore;

Live near His heart, upon His bosom lean;

Obey His voice, and all His will esteem.

                                                         William Gadsby, 1773-1844