Chapter One
Study 1
The Incomparable
Christ
Revelation 1:1-20
The last full eclipse of the sun that I experienced took place on a
beautiful sun-drenched day with the backdrop of a cloudless, deep-blue
sky. As the eclipse approached, an increasingly eerie sense of
gray began to envelop the beauty of the day until finally Chicago was
covered with semi-darkness. I have often wondered since then if that
is not exactly what happens to our lives when lesser things eclipse the
brilliance of Jesus Christ. The dullness and dimness of our perspective
may very well be directly in proportion to how preeminent the incomparable
Christ is to us.
As I watched the eclipse, I found it interesting that the sphere that
was created to be reflective of the sun and lend the sun's light to the
night misplaced itself and instead of being reflective became an impediment
to the light. God has given us myriad things as instruments to
reflect his grace and glory, but these somehow get misplaced and
instead of reflecting him get in the way of him. Our treasures, our
friends, our plans, and our dreams-all have a way of slowly becoming
more important to us than Christ. Like the sun to our galaxy, Jesus
Christ is the entity of incomparable worth and value to us. He is, as
Paul proclaimed, the one who in all things must have the preeminence
(Colossians 1:18).
1. What are some things in life that capture your attention or
make your day or strike a sense of awe, anticipation, and
wonder in your heart or preoccupy your heart or fill you
with gratitude?
Where does Christ place on your list, and why? If he is not
on your list, why not?
2. Read Revelation 1:1-11. In what ways are our lives blessed
when we read, hear, and do God's Word (v. 3)?
3. What enrichments do grace and peace bring to your life (v.
4)?
In what ways do you receive them from each member of the
Trinity?
4. In light of the incomparable credentials of Christ, what significance
do the terms assigned to Christ in verse 5 have?
5. Contemplate the reality that this Christ has a personal relationship
with you. List the ways in which his active love
toward you-his act of liberating you, cleansing you, transferring
you into his kingdom (Colossians 1:13), and giving
you a privileged position as a priest to God-makes a difference
in your life (vv. 5-6).
6. What would change in your life if you lived in the constant
awareness that Christ was coming to take you home (v. 7)?
7. In what ways is Christ the Alpha and Omega in all of time
and eternity (vv. 7-8)? In your life?
Think of the most powerful and awe-inspiring persons of
influence that you know or know of. How do they compare
with this claim of Christ?
8. If you were to think of the community of believers around
you as fellow Christians in terms of suffering, submission to
Christ, and a non-negotiated faithfulness to Christ, what difference
would it make in your actions and responses to one
another (v. 9)?
9. How do you reconcile the mistaken notion that Revelation is
an obscure, mystical, difficult-to-understand book with the
fact that it was written to real, common folk in busy population
centers where churches were struggling to maintain
their purity and focus on Christ (v. 11)?
10. When you think of Christ, what thoughts and images come
to your mind?
Read the description of Christ in verses 12-6 and visualize
his strength, power, grandeur, and all-compelling presence.
What is your response to this passage?
11. Given Christ's claims in verses 17-18, why do we have nothing
to fear?
Memory
Verse
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him; and all the people of the
earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. "I am
the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and
who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
-Revelation 1:7-8
Between Studies
Take time to list the specific ways in which Christ has worth and
value to you. Use this list as a guide in your prayer time to focus your
heart and gratitude to the Lord for the experienced reality of his presence
in your life. As you make this prayer list a habit of your heart,
meditate on the tendencies in your life to have lesser things eclipse his
grandeur and glory, and envision how you would handle those occasions,
persons, or experiences differently if Christ really were to be
held by you as the incomparable treasure of your life.
(Continues.)
