Seven Spirits In The Book Of Revelation
In the beginning of the book of Revelation are the prologue and the greeting. And John greets them with grace and peace in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (1:4). Generally grace and peace are spoken of as coming from God the Father and from Jesus. The book of Revelation has a diverse greeting of the grace and peace. It described in more “elaborate terms,” which contents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Trinity
God- “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” Here are three nominative clauses, each one has a definite article and linked other with the conjunction καί. Then, it is clear that all “three noun clauses represent to God”-the only one. The name of God probably related to the name which God told in “His …show more content…
theophany” of the burning bush (I am who I am”; Exod 3:14). This title for the Father is “unusual in the number of respects.” As the Greek phrase “ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος” is to be regarded as an “indeclinable proper name.” “The proper names were frequently not declined as other nouns were, and so their inflectional endings reminded unchanged regardless of their functions in the sentence structure.”
For the Greek verb ην, it is “modified by a definite article” and is parallel with participles in the first and third members of the expression. Because the verb ειμι (I am) has “no participial describe the Father’s being by including His eternal and continuing existence prior to the present moment.” With present tense of ο ων speaks of the Father’s continuing existence and the second ο ην in the past tense speaks of His work had done for human.
This statement occurs four times in the letter, it is the same form (1:8), and the rest in different form (4:8; 11:17; 16:5), but only appears in the New Testament. Then, it is “highly significant” in its order and form. Here it is with the present (who is) placed before the past (who was). This shows that a “reflection of the basic apocalyptic message that “God’s control of the past and future is meant to comfort the persecuted Christians by telling them that He still controls the present.” And the changing of the future tense “will be” with “is to come,” It highlights the “main stress of the book, that God’s “decisive intervention” in history, namely the eschaton, is imminent. God’s eternal power, has already shown in the past and guaranteed in the future, is still working in the present, even when there were forces or persecute of evil among His children.”
Seven spirits
There are three more texts appear “the seven spirits” (Rev 3:1; 4:5; 5:6).
And the sevenfold Spirits is both “of God” (3:1; 4:5) and of “the Lamb” (5:6). The phrase “spirits of God” is not found in the Old Testament (in the Old Testament only appears with singular form “spirit of God.”)
There are different perspectives of conception of the phrase “the seven spirits that are before his [God’s] throne” in Revelation. (1) Some think the πνεθματων (spirits) are angels (actually, for the plural term “Spirits,” is never used for angels in the OT). The references are “Isa 11:2 LXX (which adds a seventh virtue, ‘godliness,’ to the six in the MT) and Zech 4:2, 10 (with seven lamps as ‘the eyes of the Lord, which range throughout the earth’) as referring to the ‘sevenfold Holy Spirit.’” And the number “seven” is emphasizing the Spirit’s perfect work. (2) An ancient Christian view figures out it is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. (3) Someone believes that the number seven fits the churches of Asia which he wrote to and where he worked with; and the Spirits is the strength and key in their understanding. (4) The other points out that “the seven spirits before His throne” are best understood as part of a “heavenly entourage that has a special ministry in connection with the …show more content…
Lamb.”
It must notice that the phrase “the Spirit of God” and “the Holy Spirit” never appear in Revelation. When the Spirit takes place, it is normally the “subject of the verb λεγει,” which means that the Spirit is “conceived in personal terms,” as the means of “prophetic inspiration.” Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 26; 15:26; 16:13-14. However, there is no doubt that here the phrase “the seven Spirits” refer to the Holy Spirit and the fullness of the one Spirit of God.
Lord Jesus Christ with His three titles
Jesus has the “most unusual set of titles.” The title “Lord” is used of Jesus six times in Revelation (11:8; 14:13; 17:14; 19:16; 22:20, 21), “the Lord Jesus” only occurs in 22:20, 21, the “Lord” is more applies to God (fourteen times). And the full title “Jesus Christ” only appears three times in Revelation, and it only occurs in Rev 1:1, 2, and 4. John first calls Jesus the “Christ” (Greek)—that is, the “Messiah” (Hebrew) or “Anointed One” (English). The title “Christ” identifies Jesus as the one fulfills God’s promises in the OT to appointed David as king who rules over the kingdom in Psal 89:20.
The Faithful Witness
The words “witness” should be best translates as the meaning of “martyrs” in Greek. It is common in John’s writing, it used ten times in Revelation (1:2; 1:5; 2:13; 3:14; 11:3; 17:6; 20:4; 22:16, 18, 20), thirty-three times in the Gospel of John, and ten times in John’s epistles . Jesus Christ is a reliable witness because He had finished His mission in the world.
First, the idea of “faithfulness” is an important theme, “linked to the central message of perseverance, namely maintaining one’s witness” fight with the powers of evil (17:14) even to the death (2:10, 13). In John 5:31–47; 8:13–18; 10:25, Jesus describes the many “witnesses” that prove who he is; and in 8:14 he describes his witness to himself as “valid” because of He is the source of life.
Second, He brought the news of salvation; He imparted the news to good and bad alike, to the woman at the well, and to upright Nicodemus; to the rich young ruler with his claim to have kept the law, and to Zaccheus, a treacherous, unscrupulous man. He had a life of faithful witness when He began His ministry.
Third, He is presented as the faithful witness because He is the model of how to stand “firm and never compromise” the truth of God. As Paul said that in 1 Tim 6:13 “In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession…” He had done His earthly mission through antagonism, suffering and death by unfailingly maintaining a faithful witness.
Final, Christ is also our faithful witness in the “judgment.” He will be a faithful witness to the Father of our faithfulness; and Satan is the accuser of the brethren. But Jesus is “our faithful witness and advocate,” who will testify on our behalf in the “pre-advent judgment,” as to our relationship with Him.
A. The Firstborn from the Dead
The Greek word for “firstborn” John uses is prōtotokos, a word that literally refers to birth order—the first child born. After the Passover in Egypt, God told his people that every firstborn child was set aside as his own (Exodus 13:2), and the nation of Israel as a whole was referred to as God’s “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). John likewise calls Jesus “firstborn,” but he “alters the title slightly by referring to him as the firstborn from the dead”. He is the one whom God has “raised up” (2 Samuel 7:12) to “eternal life as the first participant in the eschatological age, the inaugurator of the kingdom of God.”
In the New Testament, Jesus is shown to be the “new Israel,” the “culmination and fulfillment of God’s promise” to bless all the nations through the offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). Jesus was not the first person resurrected from death, there were many resurrected from death records in the Bible. But it is unlike with the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection of biblical characters were not resurrected to die no more, but returned to corruption. Therefore they were not begotten of the dead, only to Him along, “who conquered death” by a resurrection to no more death, and it leads in a “new era with the promise of resurrection” for all Christians.
B. The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth
This title occurs only in Revelation, it probably same as “king of kings,” which is applies to Jesus in Rev 17:14 and 19:16. The phrase “kings of the earth” appears seven times elsewhere in Revelation (6:15; 17:2, 18; 18:3, 9; 19:19; 21:24). The reference of the source is from Psalm 89:27. The reference is from Psalm 89:27 says that God will appoint David and his descendants “the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” In Revelation 1:5 John calls Jesus “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” In doing so, he again clarifies the promise of Jesus was the Davidic prophecies. This Christ is sovereign over life and death will certainly “rule” the “kings of the earth.”
The purpose of the phrase is John want s his readers open eyes on the above earthly rulers, who are the noticeable source of their sufferings, to Him “He is changing times and seasons, He is causing kings to pass away, and He is raising up kings (Dan 2:21). He is above all the kings of the earth, exercising absolute sovereign over human kingship, Giving in the persecuted times, the kings of the earth who “set themselves … against the LORD and against His Anointed” (Ps. 2:2) afflicted church. But when the time of the Lord comes, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them”(Ps. 2:4).
If the first two attributes of Christ refer to his martyrdom and resurrection, the third speaks of his exaltation with God (Phil. 2:9–11; Eph. 1:19–23). For the conclusion of the titles of Jesus Christ, one scholar summarizes the three stages of Jesus’ ministry: “in his life he was a faithful witness; in his resurrection he became firstborn from the dead; and with his parousia he will become ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Three Actions of Jesus Christ
In Revelation 1:5-6 John inserts the doxology in praising the works of Jesus Christ. It is a song to be sung on earth, and Jesus is the center of this song. So, after revealing who Jesus Christ is, this doxology answers the question: What does Jesus do? Again three responses are made.
A. First, He loves us.
The word “love” in Greek “Αγαπῶντι” is a present participle, He is loving us. This means it is ongoing love. It is a love that is abiding and permanent and never ending. To Christ be glory and power because He loved us and He loves us now and He will be continues loved us in the future. Love is the object of the whole Bible. and the most important aspect of God is His love-His infinite love. John says “God is the source of love (1 John 4:7, 16) and only God can “satisfy His unlimited love,” which will “compound for human throughout eternity” (1 Cor 2:9).
The love of God showing to us in many ways, but primarily, He gave us His only son (John 3:16 The word “so” is not only speaking of the degree of God’s love, but it displays the way in its manifest-by the giving of His Son. Especially, it is clearly in verses 14, 15). John also explained the giving of Jesus on the cross as a “demonstration of God’s love” in His epistles (1 John 4:9-10); moreover, it includes the Son-Jesus Christ giving His own life to human beings (Eph 5:2).
“Jesus loves us,” for the reason that He emptied Himself for human (Phil 2:7). He became human except for sin (2 Cor 5:21). Though as human and the son of man, Jesus Christ all the while remained the Son of God (Mark 14:61; Luk 10:18; Joh 8:28, 58) who atoned for the sins of all human beings and emptied Himself on the cross.
However, “He loves us,” the one who was born, lived, died and rose again for the salvation of all the people in the world.
B. Freed Us from Our Sins by His Blood
Christ’s second action is that He freed us from our sins by His blood. The King James Version reads “washed” instead of “freed.” The difference grows out of the distinction between “freed,” and “washed,” two words pronounced identically in Greek. Scripture describes both as being true of the believer who has been set free (Mat 20:28; Gal 3:13; 4:5; 1Ti 2:6; Heb 9:12; 1Pe 1:18; Rev. 5:9+; 14:3-4+) and washed, a picture of spiritual cleansing (Ps51:4; Isa1:16-18; Eze 36:25; Acts 22:16; Eph5:26; Tit2:14; 3:5; Heb1:3; 9:14; 2Pe 1:9). He loves us is in the present tense, washed us is in the aorist tense, which it means that He continually loves us, and for the aorist tense which means it denotes a one-time event. For the aorist tense of the phrase, it probably means Jesus Christ had done the work of redemption, and the cost is the blood of Jesus Christ. “The provision for our redemption, His death on the cross which washes away all our sin both past and future, is accomplished and its full merits are applied in full the moment we believe.”
In His own blood--“A bloodless gospel is an ineffectual gospel. For it is by the spilling of blood that God has chosen to atone for sin.” Scripture reveals that the use of blood for atonement is related to its “life-giving qualities” (Gen 9:4). The “life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). “Life” in this verse is Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ [nep̄eš], which is translated as “soul” where Scripture records the once-for-all atonement made by Isaiah’s Suffering Servant: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin” (Isa 53:10). By the atonement, Jesus was prophesied to “sprinkle many nations” (Isa 52:15), thus it fulfills the many OT promises which are pointing to Him. By the blood sacrifice that the first couple covered their sin (Gen 3:21). By the blood sacrifice that God gave His promise of atonement (Gen 3:15). By the blood sacrifice that God saved the firstborn of Israel’s family in the Passover in Egypt (Exod 12:23). Ever human beings try to do some works to rescue themselves, but without the blood of Jesus Christ there is nothing happened. The only way is Jesus Christ, as He says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
C. Made Us Kings and Priests unto God and His Father
Christ made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father. In both NU and MT, “the Greek has appointed us a kingdom (singular), priests (plural) to God.” It’s the same as in Rev 5:10. “The singular form (a kingdom) would be in keeping with the original calling of Israel to be “a kingdom of priests” (Exod 19:6; Isa 61:6).” Indeed, every member of the Kingdom could be made a priest, not just the Levites (1 Kings 12:31; 13:33). As followers of Jesus, Christians are a kingdom of priests (1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 5:9–10). That means the congregation of believers has direct access to God (Rom 12:1; Heb 4:16; 10:19–22; 13:15).
Whether believers are to be “kings and priests” or “a kingdom [of] priests,” it is clear that believers will co-rule with Christ during His coming earthly reign (Rev 20:4-6). This future reign will not come to pass until after Antichrist has his time on the world stage and a judgment is made in favor of the saints (Dan 7:18, 7:25-27).
In the time when early Christians were experiencing persecution and suffering, John wants them to know that they already inhabit a “high position” with Christ before God. The work is now in seeming control, but Christ has already entered the world and as a result of His “love” has “freed” them from the burdens of theirs sins and made them part of His kingdom, in which they are both “royalty and priests.” In the present the “believers are to persevere in their service to God and thus to participate anew in Jesus’ priestly work.”
The similarity of the three titles and the three actions of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the central of Christians’ belief and the center of the whole Bible. In the passage of Revelation 1:4-6, it gives perfect diagram of explanation on it. Look at the comparing the position of the three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ- diagram 1:
Diagram 1
Three titles of Jesus Christ
Three works of Jesus Christ
The faithful witness He loves us
The firstborn from the dead Freed us from our sins by his blood
The ruler of the kings of the earth Made us kings and priests unto God, his father
Beside it, it’s the similarity between the three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ. That is diagram 2:
Diagram 2
Three titles of Jesus Christ
Three works of Jesus Christ
The faithful witness
The faithful witness of Jesus had done for human because of “He loves us.” He loves us
The firstborn from the dead Freed us from our sins by his blood
Freed us from sins because of His death and resurrection.
The ruler of the kings of the earth Made us kings and priests unto God, his father
He made us kings and priests because He became the ruler of the kings of the earth first.
John used three descriptive titles to identify Jesus Christ, and each one has a “critical theme in the book as a whole.” “In these texts it expresses the centrality of Christology in its doxology which centers on Christ and His three actions of the celebration of His redemptive work.” It also “accents each stage of Jesus’ saving work,” from “His obedience and death on the cross to His resurrection to His final victory over human powers and hostile armies.”
The three titles of Jesus Christ introduce who Jesus was; and the three actions of Jesus Christ state what Jesus had done. In various ways, this introduction has “emphasized the trustworthiness, power, sovereignty and love of Christ and of God. These are all vital truths for God’s people as much in the past age of John’s and now. These are the great truths that remind in the midst of a suffering world in which God’s people will often be persecuted. They also remind that the context within which people live and work and serve. It is a context in which Christ has freed us from the penalty of sin to serve Him in this world while for His return in
glory.
The three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ are the summary of His life. It also reminds early Christians do not forget what Jesus Christ the savior had done in the past; be faithful face the persecution and the martyr “now”; and be hope in hearts for His second coming. As be in the kingdom and priests under His authority.
Trinity
God- “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” Here are three nominative clauses, each one has a definite article and linked other with the conjunction καί. Then, it is clear that all “three noun clauses represent to God”-the only one. The name of God probably related to the name which God told in “His …show more content…
theophany” of the burning bush (I am who I am”; Exod 3:14). This title for the Father is “unusual in the number of respects.” As the Greek phrase “ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος” is to be regarded as an “indeclinable proper name.” “The proper names were frequently not declined as other nouns were, and so their inflectional endings reminded unchanged regardless of their functions in the sentence structure.”
For the Greek verb ην, it is “modified by a definite article” and is parallel with participles in the first and third members of the expression. Because the verb ειμι (I am) has “no participial describe the Father’s being by including His eternal and continuing existence prior to the present moment.” With present tense of ο ων speaks of the Father’s continuing existence and the second ο ην in the past tense speaks of His work had done for human.
This statement occurs four times in the letter, it is the same form (1:8), and the rest in different form (4:8; 11:17; 16:5), but only appears in the New Testament. Then, it is “highly significant” in its order and form. Here it is with the present (who is) placed before the past (who was). This shows that a “reflection of the basic apocalyptic message that “God’s control of the past and future is meant to comfort the persecuted Christians by telling them that He still controls the present.” And the changing of the future tense “will be” with “is to come,” It highlights the “main stress of the book, that God’s “decisive intervention” in history, namely the eschaton, is imminent. God’s eternal power, has already shown in the past and guaranteed in the future, is still working in the present, even when there were forces or persecute of evil among His children.”
Seven spirits
There are three more texts appear “the seven spirits” (Rev 3:1; 4:5; 5:6).
And the sevenfold Spirits is both “of God” (3:1; 4:5) and of “the Lamb” (5:6). The phrase “spirits of God” is not found in the Old Testament (in the Old Testament only appears with singular form “spirit of God.”)
There are different perspectives of conception of the phrase “the seven spirits that are before his [God’s] throne” in Revelation. (1) Some think the πνεθματων (spirits) are angels (actually, for the plural term “Spirits,” is never used for angels in the OT). The references are “Isa 11:2 LXX (which adds a seventh virtue, ‘godliness,’ to the six in the MT) and Zech 4:2, 10 (with seven lamps as ‘the eyes of the Lord, which range throughout the earth’) as referring to the ‘sevenfold Holy Spirit.’” And the number “seven” is emphasizing the Spirit’s perfect work. (2) An ancient Christian view figures out it is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. (3) Someone believes that the number seven fits the churches of Asia which he wrote to and where he worked with; and the Spirits is the strength and key in their understanding. (4) The other points out that “the seven spirits before His throne” are best understood as part of a “heavenly entourage that has a special ministry in connection with the …show more content…
Lamb.”
It must notice that the phrase “the Spirit of God” and “the Holy Spirit” never appear in Revelation. When the Spirit takes place, it is normally the “subject of the verb λεγει,” which means that the Spirit is “conceived in personal terms,” as the means of “prophetic inspiration.” Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 26; 15:26; 16:13-14. However, there is no doubt that here the phrase “the seven Spirits” refer to the Holy Spirit and the fullness of the one Spirit of God.
Lord Jesus Christ with His three titles
Jesus has the “most unusual set of titles.” The title “Lord” is used of Jesus six times in Revelation (11:8; 14:13; 17:14; 19:16; 22:20, 21), “the Lord Jesus” only occurs in 22:20, 21, the “Lord” is more applies to God (fourteen times). And the full title “Jesus Christ” only appears three times in Revelation, and it only occurs in Rev 1:1, 2, and 4. John first calls Jesus the “Christ” (Greek)—that is, the “Messiah” (Hebrew) or “Anointed One” (English). The title “Christ” identifies Jesus as the one fulfills God’s promises in the OT to appointed David as king who rules over the kingdom in Psal 89:20.
The Faithful Witness
The words “witness” should be best translates as the meaning of “martyrs” in Greek. It is common in John’s writing, it used ten times in Revelation (1:2; 1:5; 2:13; 3:14; 11:3; 17:6; 20:4; 22:16, 18, 20), thirty-three times in the Gospel of John, and ten times in John’s epistles . Jesus Christ is a reliable witness because He had finished His mission in the world.
First, the idea of “faithfulness” is an important theme, “linked to the central message of perseverance, namely maintaining one’s witness” fight with the powers of evil (17:14) even to the death (2:10, 13). In John 5:31–47; 8:13–18; 10:25, Jesus describes the many “witnesses” that prove who he is; and in 8:14 he describes his witness to himself as “valid” because of He is the source of life.
Second, He brought the news of salvation; He imparted the news to good and bad alike, to the woman at the well, and to upright Nicodemus; to the rich young ruler with his claim to have kept the law, and to Zaccheus, a treacherous, unscrupulous man. He had a life of faithful witness when He began His ministry.
Third, He is presented as the faithful witness because He is the model of how to stand “firm and never compromise” the truth of God. As Paul said that in 1 Tim 6:13 “In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession…” He had done His earthly mission through antagonism, suffering and death by unfailingly maintaining a faithful witness.
Final, Christ is also our faithful witness in the “judgment.” He will be a faithful witness to the Father of our faithfulness; and Satan is the accuser of the brethren. But Jesus is “our faithful witness and advocate,” who will testify on our behalf in the “pre-advent judgment,” as to our relationship with Him.
A. The Firstborn from the Dead
The Greek word for “firstborn” John uses is prōtotokos, a word that literally refers to birth order—the first child born. After the Passover in Egypt, God told his people that every firstborn child was set aside as his own (Exodus 13:2), and the nation of Israel as a whole was referred to as God’s “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). John likewise calls Jesus “firstborn,” but he “alters the title slightly by referring to him as the firstborn from the dead”. He is the one whom God has “raised up” (2 Samuel 7:12) to “eternal life as the first participant in the eschatological age, the inaugurator of the kingdom of God.”
In the New Testament, Jesus is shown to be the “new Israel,” the “culmination and fulfillment of God’s promise” to bless all the nations through the offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). Jesus was not the first person resurrected from death, there were many resurrected from death records in the Bible. But it is unlike with the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection of biblical characters were not resurrected to die no more, but returned to corruption. Therefore they were not begotten of the dead, only to Him along, “who conquered death” by a resurrection to no more death, and it leads in a “new era with the promise of resurrection” for all Christians.
B. The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth
This title occurs only in Revelation, it probably same as “king of kings,” which is applies to Jesus in Rev 17:14 and 19:16. The phrase “kings of the earth” appears seven times elsewhere in Revelation (6:15; 17:2, 18; 18:3, 9; 19:19; 21:24). The reference of the source is from Psalm 89:27. The reference is from Psalm 89:27 says that God will appoint David and his descendants “the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” In Revelation 1:5 John calls Jesus “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” In doing so, he again clarifies the promise of Jesus was the Davidic prophecies. This Christ is sovereign over life and death will certainly “rule” the “kings of the earth.”
The purpose of the phrase is John want s his readers open eyes on the above earthly rulers, who are the noticeable source of their sufferings, to Him “He is changing times and seasons, He is causing kings to pass away, and He is raising up kings (Dan 2:21). He is above all the kings of the earth, exercising absolute sovereign over human kingship, Giving in the persecuted times, the kings of the earth who “set themselves … against the LORD and against His Anointed” (Ps. 2:2) afflicted church. But when the time of the Lord comes, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them”(Ps. 2:4).
If the first two attributes of Christ refer to his martyrdom and resurrection, the third speaks of his exaltation with God (Phil. 2:9–11; Eph. 1:19–23). For the conclusion of the titles of Jesus Christ, one scholar summarizes the three stages of Jesus’ ministry: “in his life he was a faithful witness; in his resurrection he became firstborn from the dead; and with his parousia he will become ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Three Actions of Jesus Christ
In Revelation 1:5-6 John inserts the doxology in praising the works of Jesus Christ. It is a song to be sung on earth, and Jesus is the center of this song. So, after revealing who Jesus Christ is, this doxology answers the question: What does Jesus do? Again three responses are made.
A. First, He loves us.
The word “love” in Greek “Αγαπῶντι” is a present participle, He is loving us. This means it is ongoing love. It is a love that is abiding and permanent and never ending. To Christ be glory and power because He loved us and He loves us now and He will be continues loved us in the future. Love is the object of the whole Bible. and the most important aspect of God is His love-His infinite love. John says “God is the source of love (1 John 4:7, 16) and only God can “satisfy His unlimited love,” which will “compound for human throughout eternity” (1 Cor 2:9).
The love of God showing to us in many ways, but primarily, He gave us His only son (John 3:16 The word “so” is not only speaking of the degree of God’s love, but it displays the way in its manifest-by the giving of His Son. Especially, it is clearly in verses 14, 15). John also explained the giving of Jesus on the cross as a “demonstration of God’s love” in His epistles (1 John 4:9-10); moreover, it includes the Son-Jesus Christ giving His own life to human beings (Eph 5:2).
“Jesus loves us,” for the reason that He emptied Himself for human (Phil 2:7). He became human except for sin (2 Cor 5:21). Though as human and the son of man, Jesus Christ all the while remained the Son of God (Mark 14:61; Luk 10:18; Joh 8:28, 58) who atoned for the sins of all human beings and emptied Himself on the cross.
However, “He loves us,” the one who was born, lived, died and rose again for the salvation of all the people in the world.
B. Freed Us from Our Sins by His Blood
Christ’s second action is that He freed us from our sins by His blood. The King James Version reads “washed” instead of “freed.” The difference grows out of the distinction between “freed,” and “washed,” two words pronounced identically in Greek. Scripture describes both as being true of the believer who has been set free (Mat 20:28; Gal 3:13; 4:5; 1Ti 2:6; Heb 9:12; 1Pe 1:18; Rev. 5:9+; 14:3-4+) and washed, a picture of spiritual cleansing (Ps51:4; Isa1:16-18; Eze 36:25; Acts 22:16; Eph5:26; Tit2:14; 3:5; Heb1:3; 9:14; 2Pe 1:9). He loves us is in the present tense, washed us is in the aorist tense, which it means that He continually loves us, and for the aorist tense which means it denotes a one-time event. For the aorist tense of the phrase, it probably means Jesus Christ had done the work of redemption, and the cost is the blood of Jesus Christ. “The provision for our redemption, His death on the cross which washes away all our sin both past and future, is accomplished and its full merits are applied in full the moment we believe.”
In His own blood--“A bloodless gospel is an ineffectual gospel. For it is by the spilling of blood that God has chosen to atone for sin.” Scripture reveals that the use of blood for atonement is related to its “life-giving qualities” (Gen 9:4). The “life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). “Life” in this verse is Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ [nep̄eš], which is translated as “soul” where Scripture records the once-for-all atonement made by Isaiah’s Suffering Servant: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin” (Isa 53:10). By the atonement, Jesus was prophesied to “sprinkle many nations” (Isa 52:15), thus it fulfills the many OT promises which are pointing to Him. By the blood sacrifice that the first couple covered their sin (Gen 3:21). By the blood sacrifice that God gave His promise of atonement (Gen 3:15). By the blood sacrifice that God saved the firstborn of Israel’s family in the Passover in Egypt (Exod 12:23). Ever human beings try to do some works to rescue themselves, but without the blood of Jesus Christ there is nothing happened. The only way is Jesus Christ, as He says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
C. Made Us Kings and Priests unto God and His Father
Christ made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father. In both NU and MT, “the Greek has appointed us a kingdom (singular), priests (plural) to God.” It’s the same as in Rev 5:10. “The singular form (a kingdom) would be in keeping with the original calling of Israel to be “a kingdom of priests” (Exod 19:6; Isa 61:6).” Indeed, every member of the Kingdom could be made a priest, not just the Levites (1 Kings 12:31; 13:33). As followers of Jesus, Christians are a kingdom of priests (1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 5:9–10). That means the congregation of believers has direct access to God (Rom 12:1; Heb 4:16; 10:19–22; 13:15).
Whether believers are to be “kings and priests” or “a kingdom [of] priests,” it is clear that believers will co-rule with Christ during His coming earthly reign (Rev 20:4-6). This future reign will not come to pass until after Antichrist has his time on the world stage and a judgment is made in favor of the saints (Dan 7:18, 7:25-27).
In the time when early Christians were experiencing persecution and suffering, John wants them to know that they already inhabit a “high position” with Christ before God. The work is now in seeming control, but Christ has already entered the world and as a result of His “love” has “freed” them from the burdens of theirs sins and made them part of His kingdom, in which they are both “royalty and priests.” In the present the “believers are to persevere in their service to God and thus to participate anew in Jesus’ priestly work.”
The similarity of the three titles and the three actions of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the central of Christians’ belief and the center of the whole Bible. In the passage of Revelation 1:4-6, it gives perfect diagram of explanation on it. Look at the comparing the position of the three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ- diagram 1:
Diagram 1
Three titles of Jesus Christ
Three works of Jesus Christ
The faithful witness He loves us
The firstborn from the dead Freed us from our sins by his blood
The ruler of the kings of the earth Made us kings and priests unto God, his father
Beside it, it’s the similarity between the three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ. That is diagram 2:
Diagram 2
Three titles of Jesus Christ
Three works of Jesus Christ
The faithful witness
The faithful witness of Jesus had done for human because of “He loves us.” He loves us
The firstborn from the dead Freed us from our sins by his blood
Freed us from sins because of His death and resurrection.
The ruler of the kings of the earth Made us kings and priests unto God, his father
He made us kings and priests because He became the ruler of the kings of the earth first.
John used three descriptive titles to identify Jesus Christ, and each one has a “critical theme in the book as a whole.” “In these texts it expresses the centrality of Christology in its doxology which centers on Christ and His three actions of the celebration of His redemptive work.” It also “accents each stage of Jesus’ saving work,” from “His obedience and death on the cross to His resurrection to His final victory over human powers and hostile armies.”
The three titles of Jesus Christ introduce who Jesus was; and the three actions of Jesus Christ state what Jesus had done. In various ways, this introduction has “emphasized the trustworthiness, power, sovereignty and love of Christ and of God. These are all vital truths for God’s people as much in the past age of John’s and now. These are the great truths that remind in the midst of a suffering world in which God’s people will often be persecuted. They also remind that the context within which people live and work and serve. It is a context in which Christ has freed us from the penalty of sin to serve Him in this world while for His return in
glory.
The three titles and three actions of Jesus Christ are the summary of His life. It also reminds early Christians do not forget what Jesus Christ the savior had done in the past; be faithful face the persecution and the martyr “now”; and be hope in hearts for His second coming. As be in the kingdom and priests under His authority.