Christ the Alpha and the Omega

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. - Revelation 1:8

    ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’

    Four times in the book of Revelation our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to John and identified himself with these words: ‘I am Alpha and Omega’ (1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). The words contain no deep, hidden mystery. They are simply the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our language the words would be, ‘I am A and Z’. That is, ‘I am the beginning and the ending.’ As John Gill points out, ‘These letters, "Alpha and Omega", being the first and the last of the alphabet, may stand for the whole.’ The meaning of the text is this: ‘I am the beginning of all things and the end of all things, and everything between the beginning and the end.’

    With these words, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending...the first and the last,’ our Savior identifies himself as Jehovah (Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:10-12). Indeed, this is what he says by way of explanation, I am ‘the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ The Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is God over all, was God from eternity, and is to come as God to judge the world. He is now the Savior of all who come to God by him, was the Savior of all his saints in the Old Testament, being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and is to come as the Savior of God's elect, without sin unto salvation.

    This text describes the eternality of Christ, who is, was, and ever shall be. It also speaks of our Savior's immutability. He is always the same, unchanging and unchangeable. What he is, he always was, and shall forever be. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). His Person, his love, his virtue, and his purpose are all immutable. The text also sets forth the glorious preeminence of Christ (Col. 1:18). As it has pleased the Father to give his Son preeminence in all things, it is so. Christ is the beginning of all things, the substance of all things, and the end of all things. Our Savior is himself God, ‘the Almighty’! He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things. The One whose blood and righteousness we trust, to whose dominion we gladly submit, and into whose hands we have committed our souls, is himself God, the Almighty. We have nothing to fear. Our Savior is God. And we are safe in his hands (John 10:27-30).

    When our Savior says, ‘I am Alpha and Omega,' he is describing both his glory and his humiliation

    Without question, these words have reference to the glorious dignity of our Savior's Person and to the depths of his willing humiliation to save us. Christ Jesus is Alpha, the firstborn, the chief, the preeminent One of every creature. As a man, his body was created in time in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20; Heb. 10:5). Yet, he is the One who created all things. Therefore, he is above all things (Heb. 1:1-14).

    The word ‘Alpha’ suggests that Christ is the best. He is better than all who came before him. If you put all others together, he stands head and shoulders above them all as the best. We use the same kind of language today. We say of a car, ‘It is A-1’. That means it is the best of its kind. We say of a craftsman, ‘He is A-1.’ That means he is the best in his trade. Our Lord Jesus Christ says of himself, ‘I am Alpha, I am A-1, I am the best there is.’ And all his people gladly acknowledge that it is so.

    Is he a Son? He is the firstborn Son, the only begotten Son, the eternal Son, and the only perfectly obedient Son. All other sons are made to be sons by faith in him who is the Son (Eph. 1:5). Is he a Prophet? All other prophets stand behind him by an infinite distance and point to him, bearing witness to him (Acts 10:43). Is he a Priest? All other priests of the Aaronic and Levitical orders were only types of him. Their only purpose was to represent Christ until he came. He is the fulfillment of them. He is the great high Priest of our profession (Heb. 9:11-12). Is he a King? Indeed, Christ is a King like no other. He is King of kings and Lord of lords! (Dan. 4:34, 35, 37). Is he the Builder of his church? Then he is the wise Master-Builder. Is he a Shepherd? Then he is the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, and the Great Shepherd. Is Christ a Foundation? Then he is the tried and proven Foundation, the only Sure Foundation. Those who build upon this Foundation shall never fall. Is he a Corner-Stone? Then he is the chief Corner-Stone. Is he a Rock? Then he is the only Rock of safety and refuge, the Rock of our Salvation. Is he Water? Then he is the Water of Life. Is Christ Bread? Then he is the Bread of Heaven. Is he Light? Then he is the Light of the world. Is he a Refuge? Then he is the sure, eternal, saving Refuge for our souls.

    It matters not what title our Lord takes to himself, or what character he assumes, he is in all respects Alpha, A-1. He infinitely surpasses all that may be compared to him, as the sun excels the stars. When the sun arises, the stars fade in its light. And when Christ appears, all others pale into insignificance. He who is best is preeminent, and well deserves the praise and glory of all. Christ is Alpha. Let no flesh glory in his presence! All who know him glory only in him and give glory to him alone (Jer. 9:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:30-31).

    Christ, we know, is also Omega, the lowest and the last, in his voluntary condescension and humiliation. In order to save us, Christ Jesus became the very least among men! This, I believe, is the meaning of our Lord's words in Matthew 11:11. ‘He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest of all.’

    How can a man describe the depths of our Lord's voluntary humiliation? He who is God stooped to become a man! (Phil. 2:7-8). In order to save us, the Son of God became one of us! He became what we are, so that we might be what he is. He stooped to become a man, stooped again to become the lowest of men, stooped again to become the servant of men, and stooped again to be made sin and die in the place of sinful men! Behold the depths of his humiliation! When Christ was made to be sin for us, he who is God was forsaken by God as the object of God's horrible wrath! He cried, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?’ Then he answered his own agonizing cry, ‘Thou art holy.’ A holy God cannot look upon sin. ‘But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver him: let him deliver him (if) he delighted in him’ (Ps. 22:1-8). At last, the Son of God stooped to death, death under the infinite, inflexible justice of God for us!

    In the book of holy scripture, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega

    Read Luke 24:27, 44-47, and John 5:39, and learn the meaning and message of God’s holy Word. Christ is Alpha, the Beginning, for the first line of Genesis speaks of him: ‘In the beginning God’ (Gen. 1:1; cf. John 1:1-3). And he is the Omega, the Ending, for the last line of Revelation speaks of him: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all’ (Rev. 22:21). And he is everything between the beginning and the ending. Every book of the Bible, every chapter, every verse, every sentence, every word speaks of Christ. If you could squeeze the whole Volume of Inspiration down to its very essence and substance, you would find Christ, only Christ, and nothing but Christ. Christ is the living Word of whom the written Word speaks. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in moving men to write the Scriptures was to reveal Christ. That is the only purpose of the Inspired Volume (John 16:14). Our Lord said concerning the whole Volume of the Scriptures, ‘They testify of me!’

    The whole message of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The Word of God is like an alabaster box full of spikenard very precious. Break it open, and you smell nothing but the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ, our dear Redeemer. The Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, proclaims one message: The Redeemer is coming! The prophets and the kings, the priests and the judges, the preachers and the singers, the laws and the sacrifices all look one way. They all stand like cherubim over the ark, desiring to see God's Salvation.

    The four Gospels and the Book of Acts all declare one thing: The Redeemer has come! Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record in meticulous detail the incarnation, earthly life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ as the sinner's Substitute. They speak of nothing else. In the Book of Acts, Luke records the works of Christ, the ascended King. As the Book of Revelation is called ‘The revelation of Jesus Christ,’ the Book of Acts might well be called ‘The Acts of Jesus Christ our King.’

    The apostolic Epistles and the Book of Revelation all say one thing: The Redeemer is coming again! From Romans through Revelation, the apostles expound to us the meaning of our Lord's doctrine and call for us to watch for his coming with expectant hearts. Soon, Christ shall appear to gather his redeemed ones unto himself!

    Ransomed sinners rejoice to know that with regard to the holy law of God, Christ is Alpha and Omega

    Christ is the lawgiver; and so he is Alpha, the Beginning of the law. And Christ is the fulfillment of the law. So he is Omega, ‘the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth’ (Rom. 10:4). You and I are neither Alpha nor Omega to the law. We have not met, nor can we ever meet its demands. Who among the fallen sons of Adam would dare assert that he has met the first letter of the law? ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.’ And none of us measure up to the second letter of the law. - ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’

    If you would see the law fulfilled, look not to man, but to Christ alone. He alone honored, kept, and fulfilled the law. Christ fulfilled the law's requirements perfectly as a man. He loved God with all his heart, and loved his neighbor as himself. And in death, Christ savisfied the law's justice, removed the law's curse and penalty from us, and put an end to the law's covenant. Our dear Savior obeyed the law as the Representative of God's elect, and died under the penalty of the law as our Substitute. His obedience has been imputed to all who believe, for righteousness.

    Because we are in Christ, we are not under the law, in any sense whatsoever, but under grace! The plain statements of Holy Scripture unquestionably assert the believer's entire freedom from the law (Rom. 6:14; 7:4; 8:1; 10:4; Gal. 3:13, 24, 25; Col. 2:10-23; I Tim. 1:8-10). Believers look to Christ alone for all holiness and righteousness before God. We have no righteousness of our own, with which to commend ourselves to God (Isa. 64:6). We trust Christ, ‘the Lord our Righteousness’ (Jer. 23:6), who is made of God unto us ‘righteousness and sanctification and redemption’ (1 Cor. 1:30).

    We seek holiness; but we never trust our holiness. We seek to live in righteousness; but we never imagine that we have attained righteousness. We seek virtue; but we never look to our virtue for merit with God. Our only saving, sanctifying righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. As we were made sinners, not by what we have done, but by what our father Adam did, even so we are made righteous, not by what we do, but by what our Representative and Federal Head, the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us (Rom. 5:18-19).

    We trust Christ alone for acceptance with God. With his imputed righteousness, we are complete, perfect, holy, and forever accepted in the Beloved (Col. 2:10). The law demands perfection; but it cannot demand, nor can it have, greater perfection than we have by the imputation of Christ's righteousness. The law demands satisfaction; but it cannot require, nor can it find, greater satisfaction than we offer in the blood of our dear Substitute. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of the law.

    In the whole of God's creation, Christ is Alpha and Omega

    He is the beginning of all things, and the Ruler and Sustainer of all things from the beginning to the ending (Rom. 11:36). Christ is the Alpha of creation, for all things were created by him (John 1:1-3). He brought this world into being by his Divine power. No, this world did not evolve into being from some mystical ‘cosmic boom’ billions of years ago. It would require incredible ignorance, or willful rebellion to God, to imagine such a thing. Jesus Christ our Savior created this universe.

    Christ is the Omega of creation, for all things were created by him (Rev. 4:11). In the end, when our Lord's purpose has been accomplished, it shall be plainly revealed that every creature in God's universe, animate and inanimate, and every event of providence, both good and bad, has served him and has been used by him for the glory of his own great name (Rev. 5:11-14). Yes, all men and angels, either willingly or unwillingly, serve the cause of the Creator's glory. He sees to it (Prov. 16:4). From the beginning to the ending of creation, Christ rules and sustains all things for the glory of his own great name (Col. 1:15-20).

    In all the purposes and covenant transaction of the triune God, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega

    I realize that the thoughts of God, his eternal purposes, his sovereign decrees, and his everlasting covenant are things about which we know only a little. But this much is revealed; Christ is the Beginning of all and the Ending of all, the Alpha and the Omega. In Isaiah 45, we read of God's purposes and decrees, and his sovereign rule of all things. The chapter ends with Christ our God calling upon men to bow to him in faith and obtain eternal life (v. 22), and declaring that in the end all men shall bow to him (v. 23). God's purpose shall be accomplished; and his purpose always has to do with his Son.

    Election is God's choice of some from Adam’s fallen race to eternal life in Christ, and his determination to save them by Christ (Eph. 1:4). Predestination is God's eternal decree to make all of his elect like his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29-30). Providence is his wise, sovereign, orderly arrangement, rule and disposition of all things to accomplish that end (Eph. 1:11). The covenant of grace is God's eternal purpose to save certain people by the merits of his Son and for the glory of his Son (Heb. 10:5-7, 10-17). If you and I could be permitted to read the book of God's eternal decrees, we would see that it is a book written from eternity, sealed with immutability, dyed crimson in the blood of the sin-atoning Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, written from beginning to end with one object in mind; and that one object is the eternal glory of Christ, the Son of God.

    In the whole affair of salvation, Christ is Alpha and Omega

    John certainly has reference to this fact. In the preceding verses, he described the work of salvation, and he ascribed the whole of it to the Lord Jesus (vv. 5-8). Christ loved us in the beginning. Christ redeemed us in time. And Christ is coming for us in the end. In the work of salvation, Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, and everything between.

    Christ is the Alpha of salvation because he called us from death to life by the power of his Spirit (John 5:25). He shall at the last day present all his elect holy, blameless, and unreprovable to his Father by the merits of his own blood and righteousness; so he is the Omega of salvation too (Col. 1:22). And Christ is everything between because from beginning to end, he holds us in life by the power of his grace. Christ held us in physical life until he saved us by his grace; and he will hold us in grace until he brings us to glory. We are in his hands. He cannot be induced by any means, or for any reason, to let us go (John 10:27-30). This is our security! Child of God, lean upon Christ with all the weight of your soul. Cast yourself entirely upon him. He will not fail. He who began his work in you will finish his work in you (Phil. 1:6). He who called you will keep you. Christ was never Alpha, yet without being Omega too.

    In Heaven's eternal glory, Christ will be both Alpha and Omega

    In Revelation 22:13, our Lord announces his glorious appearance with these words, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ When all the promises and prophecies of Holy Scripture are fulfilled, when the mystery of God's eternal purpose has been accomplished, when the judgment is over, when the damned are forever cast into hell and the righteous are forever with the Lord, when the new heavens and the new earth have been created, when time shall be no more, when the eternal glory is begun, Christ shall be Alpha and Omega still!

    He is the Door of entrance, by whose merit we shall enter heaven. He shall be the first and foremost object of our vision in heaven. So Christ is the Alpha, the Beginning of heaven's glory. He is also the fulness, the consummation, and the cause of heaven's eternal, unending joy and reward. So he is the Omega too. From eternity to eternity, for ever and ever, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, our unchanging and unchangeable God and Savior!