Devotional - Luke Lusted - In Christ Alone | The Uniqueness of Christ

First Baptist Shreveport

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

The Guinness Book of World Records was first published on August 27, 1955. Since its first publication, it has been published in over twenty languages and over one hundred countries. To date, there are currently 53,000 records in the database. These records showcase everything from modern marvels and new technologies to human skills and anatomy. The Guinness Book of World Records records unique human achievements and incredible phenomena in the natural world, from the world's tallest man to the most prolonged duration of balancing on one foot. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, all records must adhere to their record-breaking criteria: breakable, measurable, standardizable, verifiable, and measured by a single superlative. While some individuals have just one record, others have multiple records that demonstrate uniqueness in the World Records and uniqueness in our world. Ashrita Furman currently holds the most number of Guinness World Records in history. He has set 600 Guinness World Records and currently holds 200 of them. From his first record doing 27,000 jumping jacks in 1979 to becoming the first person to hold 100 Guinness world records at once in April 2009, Furman has demonstrated incredible feats and uniqueness in both the number and type of records he has held and currently holds. We each have things about us that make us unique. From our hobbies and careers to families and personalities, the culmination of these things makes us unique. In the same way, the culmination of Jesus’ person and work makes him unique as both the Son of God and our only way to be reconciled back to God the Father. His uniqueness surpasses us, Furman, and anyone else who has ever lived.

Understanding Jesus’ uniqueness is important to understanding his person and work. The uniqueness of his person supports the uniqueness of his work and the uniqueness of his work supports the uniqueness of his person. In other words, Jesus can do what he does because of who he is, and because of who he is supports what he does. Let’s think for a moment about His uniqueness. Jesus existed in eternity past, before the creation of the world, and will exist into eternity future. He is God’s only begotten son and is both fully God and fully man. In his humanity, he lived a perfect life of obedience and without sin. He is a better prophet than Moses, a higher priest than Melchizedek, and a greater king than David. Jesus' life and ministry were also unique. He forgave those who persecuted him and performed miracles showing his power over creation, sin, and death. Jesus was fully obedient, even to death on the cross, so that we could be reconciled to God. His resurrection was unique, showing that he defeated death and the curse of sin. His ascension was unique as it shows Jesus as the triumphal messianic king, where he is seated in the heavenly places at the right hand of God. Lastly, Jesus is unique because He is the only way to God the Father. As the Son of God and Savior of the world, Christ has reconciled us back to God. All we have to do is believe. He has given himself as a ransom for all people and is the mediator between God and mankind (1 Tim. 2:5). Acts 4:12 teaches us, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Salvation comes from Christ alone; we can understand His work because of His person. Unlike the Guinness Book of World Records, Jesus' work is unbreakable and immeasurable. He has lived a life we cannot live, died a death we deserved, and provided the ultimate sacrifice—a way for us to be back in the presence of God. He took on our sins, yet we receive His righteousness.

Understanding Jesus’ uniqueness will help us better understand who he is and what he has done for us.