The Supremacy of Christ — John Piper

Christ’s Eternal Supremacy and Divine Attributes

His nature, the supremacy of his eternality that makes the mind want to explode with the imponderable thought that Jesus Christ never had a beginning. He is simply there, the absolute reality with which we reckon we must rise to the supremacy of his eternality, while all the universe, including this building in your body and this earth and all the galaxies, are fragile, contingent, like a shadow in comparison to the substance of Jesus Christ.

We must know the supremacy of his never-changing constancy, oh, to have virtues that never change, a character whose commitment is constant, yesterday, today, and forever. Let us know the supremacy of his constancy, and let us know the supremacy of his knowledge that makes the Library of Congress look like a matchbox, and makes all the information on the internet look like a 1940s farmer's almanac, and makes all of quantum physics and everything that Stephen Hawking has ever dreamed look like a first-grade reader.

We must know the supremacy of the knowledge of our Lord. We must know the supremacy of his wisdom that has never been perplexed by any problem whatsoever, nor can he be counseled by any person or any being in the universe.

Christ’s Absolute Authority and Providence

We must know the supremacy of his authority. All authority is mine in heaven and on earth and under the earth. No change, all authority, changing times and seasons, removing kings, setting up kings, doing according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

No one can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? We must know the supremacy of his providence, without which not a single bird in the extended reaches of the Amazon forest has ever fallen off of any limb, and without which not one hair turns white or black.

We must know the providence of Jesus. We must know the supremacy of his word, which upholds the universe by the word of his power. All the galaxies, molecules, atoms, and subatomic reality nobody has yet dreamed of down there where no one has yet looked.

Christ’s Miraculous Power and Sinless Purity

We must know the supremacy of his power to walk on water and cleanse lepers and heal the lame and open the eyes of the blind and open the ears of the deaf and cause storms to cease and with two words to raise the dead, Lazarus, come forth, or one word to raise the dead.

In your blood, I said to you, live. We must know the supremacy of his power. We must know the supremacy of his purity. He never sinned. He never sinned. He never had one millisecond of a bad attitude or a sinful lust.

Christ’s Trustworthiness, Justice, and Patience

We must know the supremacy of his trustworthiness. He never breaks a promise. He always keeps his word absolutely without fail. We must know the supremacy of his justice. He will render all accounts settled in the end in the universe either on the cross or in hell.

No injustice will remain when Christ is finished with his supreme justice. We must know the supremacy of his patience. He has endured you and me for decades. He has endured this city and brings the sun.

Can you imagine why the sun rose on this city this morning, this wicked city, this world so full of us-type sinners? And he makes paradise rise in the sky in Minneapolis. What kind of patience are we dealing with here?

Christ’s Obedience, Meekness, and Wrath

We must know the supremacy of his servant-like sovereign obedience, kept every one of his father's commands absolutely and in the end embraced the cross with total willingness. We must know the supremacy of his meekness and lowliness and tenderness.

He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering flax. We must know the supremacy of his wrath. One day it will explode on this world from heaven such that all who have rejected him will call for rocks to crush their brain lest they have to face the wrath of the Lamb.

We must know this when I look at the beheadings and I hear someone ask, where is your supreme Christ? My answer is really easy. He is in heaven storing up almighty wrath in fury to pour out on all those who commit such sins.

That's where he is and you better get right with him and repent or you will all likewise perish. That's not a hard question to answer biblically. We must know the supremacy of his grace which gives to the spiritually dead rebels like us life, wakens faith in hell bound haters of God, justifies the ungodly with his own righteousness.

Christ’s Grace, Love, and Gladness

We must know the supremacy of his love which dies for us while we are yet sinners and gives to the absolutely undeserving the ability for ever increasing joy in making much of him and we must know the supremacy of his gladness.

In the fellowship of the Trinity, infinite power, infinite energy, infinite joy rising spilling over in the creation of a universe and becoming for you one day an inheritance for every struggling saint.

Knowing Christ as the Purpose of Life

We must know this is what we were made for. Press on to know the Lord. When you said last night, Al, if you're not reading substantial theology how do you think you're fighting lust? Get the connection.

We are made to know Christ. We're not made to do little diddly things. We're made to know this massive Christ. This world is a little two second slice and then with him or not forever it's what we are created to know and do and be about.

And when we know him in those ways, we have begun to know the outskirts of his supremacy for time would fail to speak of his supreme severity and invincibility and dignity and simplicity and complexity and resoluteness and calmness and depth and courage.

Christ’s Supremacy Over All Creation

If there is anything admirable, if there is anything worthy of praise in all the universe, it is summed up in Jesus Christ. He is always infinitely admirable in everything and over everything supreme.

Over all galaxies and endless reaches of space, over the earth from the top of Mount Everest 29 ,000 feet up to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean 36 ,000 feet down in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Rim.

He is sovereign and supreme over all plants and animals from the peaceful blue whale to the microscopic killer viruses. He is supreme over all weather and all movements of the earth, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, earthquakes, avalanches, floods, snow, rain, sleet.

He is supreme over all chemical processes that heal or destroy cancer, AIDS, malaria, flu and all the amazing grace of antibiotics and a thousand healing drugs that we do not deserve. He is supreme over all countries and governments and armies.

He is supreme over al-Qaeda and the terrorists and the kidnappings and the suicide bombings and the beheadings. He is supreme over bin Laden and al-Zarqawi. He is supreme over all nuclear threats from Iran and Russia and North Korea.

He is supreme over politics and elections and debates on Thursday. He is supreme over media and news and entertainment and sports and leisure. He is supreme over all education in universities no matter what they teach.

And he is supreme over all scholarship and science and research. He is supreme over all business and finance and industry and manufacturing and transportation. And he is supreme over the internet and all informational systems.

Christ’s Sovereignty and Coming Judgment

As Abraham Kuyper famously said, and many of you know, there is not one square inch on planet earth over which the risen Christ does not say, mine. And I rule it. I am supreme over it. We must know this Christ.

And though it may not seem to you as though he holds such supreme rule now, it is but a matter of very short time until he comes with the glory of his father and all his angels in flaming fire, giving relief to those who trust him and absolutely destroying to the uttermost in everlasting conscious torment those who have rejected him saying, where is your God?