The Preeminence and Superiority of the Son

I get easily discouraged in worship services sometimes. Our songs and services seem to be ordered around us making much of ourselves - how we are going to worship the Lord, how we are going to obey him, and how great it is that we are redeemed. Now, you may object, how are any of these things bad? Well, they aren't bad at all in and of themselves and seen in the correct light, but they are most definitely by-products of the ultimate reason for creation and our existence. Does the Father love us? Certainly. Did he go through great pains and make unfathomable sacrifices in order to reconcile us sinners to himself? Unquestionably. But why? Is it because we have some inherent goodness that he is after? Is it because he needs us? Is it because his joy would be incomplete without us? I would have to answer "no" to each of those questions. Listen to me very carefully - God did not create the world and all of its inhabitants that we might be made much of. The Father made the world and everything in it that his beloved Son (and ultimately he) might be made much of. See from Scripture what I am talking about:

Paul says in Colossians 1 that all things was created "through [the Son] and for [the Son]" (v. 16). There is an unquestionable preeminence God has placed on the Son above all other things. He clearly has created the universe for his Son, not for us.

Furthermore, the author of Hebrews says that the Father appointed the Son to be "the heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2) After his atoning sacrifice on the cross, the Father raised him from the grave and gave him a name that is more excellent and superior than all other names (v. 2-4). The author of Hebrews goes on to quote several Scripture from the OT about how the Father declared that Jesus was his son, that he would be a father to him, that he would establish his throne forever, and that he would sit him at his right hand and make all of his enemies his footstool. Peter in his speech at Pentecost quotes this Messianic Scripture from Psalm 110 and says that God made this Jesus whom David spoke of both Lord and Christ over all the universe.

Do we then still hold a special place in God's heart as his creation? Of course! We are his treasured possession, his beloved people chosen from out of all the nations throughout history (Deut. 7:6, Jn. 15:16, etc.). But this does not change the fact that we were created and chosen in order to worship the preeminent and superior Son. This was the reason we were made - to worship, enjoy, and glorify God forever, foremost in our exaltation of the Son.

SDG