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4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. ~ Revelation 1:4-6
The Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the brother of James, and the son of Zebedee, was the writer of the book of the Revelation. He wrote this book toward the end of his life around AD 95, and he wrote it to a series of seven churches located in a Roman province we know today as Turkey.
In v.4 we read, "John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne."
In the opening of today's text, God begins with grace and peace. In this book that unfolds the wrath of God is unleashed upon rebellious man who would not have this God-Man to rule over them, God extends His grace and peace for a final time. Grace or God's unnerved favor is extended to all who are willing to receive this free gift of forgiveness of sin and a personal relationship with the very truth Himself. And, the product of this received grace is that we have peace with God. And, this peace with God renders in the life of the believer the peace of God. And, it is this peace of God that enables the believer to navigate this wearisome world with all of its trials and pressures.
Seven is the key number of the book of the Revelation, and, it is a symbol of completeness. The seven spirits mentioned in v.4, are also referenced in Revelation 3:1, where we read, "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars." We also find the seven spirits mentioned in Revelation 4:5, where we read, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God." And finally, in Revelation 5:6, we reads, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."
In the book of the Revelation, John never refers to angels as spirits. Given their connection to both God the Father and the Lord Jesus, and the function of these spirits, it's better to take this as a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number seven is a number of divine perfection or completeness. Just as the seven churches here represent, in one sense, the complete church of the Lord Jesus, the seven spirits represent God's perfect Spirit. The seven spirits, therefore, speak of the Holy Spirit in His fullness. It was the Spirit of God who gave us this book in the completeness of His being.
In v.4 we discover the first set of three threes. Of the Lord Jesus Christ, in v.4 we read, "who is, and who was, and who is to come." He has no beginning, nor does He have an ending. These three phrases merely underscore the deity of the Lord Jesus.
In v.5-6 we read, "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."
In these two verses are two sets of three that tell us something unique about the Lord Jesus. The symbolic significance of the the number three is it is the number of established testimony. When the seraphim in Isaiah 6 cried out “Holy! Holy! Holy!”, their testimony is established beyond doubt. When the Lord Jesus rose on the third day, the testimony that He had truly beaten death was certain.
In v.5-6, there are two sets of three that describe the Lord Jesus Christ. In v.5 He is the "faithful witness," indicating everything He says is true. The fascinating thing about this word is that the Greek word is martus, from which we get the English word “martyr”. So a “witness” is someone who testifies to the truth of the Lord Jesus, even if necessary, with His own life. The Lord Jesus did this very thing. He testified and testifies of the truth of God, even giving up His life to stand by His message.
In v.5, the Lord Jesus is also called "the firstborn from the dead." This is a reference to His resurrection. He has conquered our greatest enemy: sin and death. And, in v.5, the Lord Jesus is also called "the ruler of the kings of the earth" which means He has ultimate control over all of the rulers of the earth. No leader does anything in this world unless He allows it. And, we know that all things work together for the good of those who are learning to give our hearts to Him. So, the Lord Jesus is the truth teller, the life giver, and the law maker.
The last sentence in v.5 is the first doxology of the book. There is also a threefold division here: He loves us, He has freed us and He has made us kings and priests.
Everything in the life of the believer in the Lord Jesus ought to be based upon His love for us. It is the most amazing thing, that we who know in our hearts that we are faithless and foolish and often arrogantly sinful and selfish, yet He loves us with a never-ending love. This is why John refers to himself in his the gospel which bears his name as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Every description we find here not only speaks of who the Lord Jesus is, but to be more precise, what He does or has done for us. This third triad is inextricably linked to the first and second triads.
He has freed us from our sins by his blood. The cross of Christ was implied in the title “firstborn of the dead”, but here it is made explicit for the first time in this letter. The love of the Lord Jesus is not only proven in the lengths to which He went for us, but also the heights to which we have been liberated by His suffering and sacrifice. He has broken the shackles of evil on our lives. The penalty of sin has been paid. And, one day we will be freed from the presence and the power of sin. He has, through His blood, washed away our sinful condition, and now God sees us through the perfect lens of His Son.
But more than that He "has made us to be a kings and priests to serve his God and Father." A priest's work is to heal the sense of alienation which people feel toward God. Sinners feel estranged from God. In the Old Testament, the priests explained the meaning of the sacrifices and thus brought people near to God through the many sacrifices made. Of course, all those sacrifices were designed to point us to the Lord Jesus. Having experienced God's forgiveness and a personal relationship with God, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we are able to help others out of their agony, and through their lostness, to realize that God longs to heal their alienation. To accomplish this work the Lord Jesus has made His followers "kings and priests."
All of these themes are the very ideas that will be developed in our study of the book of the Revelation in the coming weeks that are ahead. It is reassuring that in this volatile world, in this world which seems to have gone over to the side of the evil one, that the Lord Jesus is really in control. And, in this great book of the Revelation, we are given a look into how it will all end. And, we are on His side, the winning side, because the Lord Jesus loved us, freed us from the penalty of our sin and has made us priests unto our God.
