the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
1 Peter 2:7
‘He is precious!’
Read Psalms 73:1-28
This is not some far-fetched, fanatical notion. It is a fact. God the Holy Spirit has caused it to be written in the volume of inspiration as the truth of God. It is confirmed by the history of the church from Abel to Malachi, from John the Baptist to John the beloved. It is confirmed by those martyrs who suffered imprisonment and death from Stephen to Polycarp, from Latimer and, Ridley to Bunyan. The blood of God’s saints cries out from the ground, from the dungeons of Rome and from the torture chambers of the pope’s Inquisition: ‘Christ is precious.’ And it is confirmed by the experience of all who truly believe. From their inmost soul, God’s elect all agree: ‘He is precious.’ This is faith’s estimation of Christ.
When we think of our Savior’s glorious person, we say, ‘He is precious.’ He is the God-man. Jesus Christ is himself God Almighty, the eternal son of the eternal Father. The brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of his person is Christ. And he is man, the perfect man, ‘holy harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners’. He is precious in himself, intrinsically precious. He is the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley, the fairest among ten thousand. He is altogether lovely. Who can compare with this glorious person? He is precious.
And when I recall what he has done for my soul, I am overwhelmed with his love and grace. Beholding Christ as my redeeming Substitute, my heart is constrained to say, ‘He is precious.’ In love he chose us and became our Surety in the covenant of grace. He lived upon the earth, in conformity to the law of God, to accomplish our righteousness. And he died in our stead upon the cursed tree, putting away all our sin. For us, he arose and assumed the throne of universal dominion. Behold, your crucified, risen, exalted, reigning Redeemer and know this: ‘He is precious!’
Is Christ precious to you? If he is you are a true believer. If he is not, you do not have the faith of God’s elect.
