This afternoon we were considering some of the resurrection titles of our Lord. I am going to carry that a little further this evening and ask you to turn again to the Book of Revelation, chapter 1.
Notice that the Lord Jesus here presents Himself as the living One, who was dead and is alive again—alive for evermore.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
— Revelation 1:8
“And He said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
— Revelation 21:6
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
— Revelation 22:13
This then is a title of the Lord in resurrection. He takes to Himself the Alpha and the Omega. I expect the youngest person here knows those two letters are the first and the last of the Greek alphabet.
The one is like the first letter in our own alphabet: there it is, Alpha. The other is like the last letter in our alphabet: there it is, Omega—the first and the last.
In every language there is something that corresponds to an A and a Z, an alpha and omega, a beginning and an end. It does not matter how vast the language may be. I am told that in China there are at least eleven thousand characters in the Chinese language. There are more than that in the Greek language.
But it does not matter whether we have only a poor twenty-six, as in English, or eleven thousand or more in some other language. Everything is bounded by the A, the Alpha, the Omega. You cannot get anything outside of that; all is within that.
Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” The Alpha and the Omega comprehend all speech. There is no speech possible in any language outside of what comes between those two letters. All that can be said has to come within their compass. Nothing—nothing—can be said outside of their compass.
Jesus says that of Himself. The Word of God tells us that God has summed up all things in Christ, that He is the fullness of God. And what is more, it shows us that God will never speak to anybody outside of His Son, Jesus Christ.
He has bounded all His speech to man by His Son. He has made Christ the compass of all. He has nothing to say, and He will say nothing, outside of His Son.
“No one cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
— John 14:6
And no one knoweth the Father or the Son except as the Father reveals Him. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews began by saying that in old times God spoke in fragments, in parts, and in various manners; but at last He summed up all things in His Son.
“God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things.”
— Hebrews 1:1-2
All that God will say, and all that God can say to us, will be in Jesus Christ. “I am the Alpha”—the very first syllable.
The knowledge of God is the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It begins with A; it is the first syllable that He has given unto us: the Spirit whereby we cry, “Abba, Father.”
The first syllable of the Christian life begins with “Abba, Father.” We do not know the Father until we know Jesus Christ. He it is who has revealed the Father. The beginning of all knowledge of God as Father comes to us through Jesus Christ.
Yes, He was right when He said in His prayer, “I have given unto them Thy name.” He had given unto them the name, Father.
You want to know God? You want to know Him as Father? Do you want to know anything that He has to say to you, to make known to you? Do you want to know all, or any, of the vast wealth God would reveal to you? You can only know it in Jesus Christ.
You can only know it in Him who is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. There is no knowledge without words made up of letters, and all the letters are between these two.
There is no knowledge indeed—the knowledge which is life eternal—except in Jesus Christ.
“And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.”
— John 17:3
No knowledge outside of Christ; and there is no communication from God outside of Jesus Christ. Set Jesus Christ aside, and God is silent and has nothing to say to you. You fail to give His Son His place, and you will never hear anything. He will communicate nothing.
The more you honour the Son, the more the Father will come out to you and communicate with you.
Secondly, Alpha and Omega not only comprehend all speech; they comprehend all need—all need.
You do not want anything outside A and Z, outside Alpha and Omega. You do not want to create any new letters at all. It is all there. It does not matter what big words you use, how long the sentences, or how great the utterances may be. You can link the biggest word, the longest sentence, and the fullest utterance between Alpha and Omega.
For all these new big words, you have not got to create new letters. In Christ, we are told by the Apostle Paul, dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell.
And we are very fond of that word which Paul wrote to the Philippians:
“And my God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:19
Every need—corresponding to, can we fathom this, can we compass this?—His riches in glory. But every need according to that is met in Christ Jesus. It is all in Him, all we need: Alpha and Omega.
I said we may make great demands upon the alphabet in trying to express new ideas, fresh inventions, and discoveries. But no matter what the demands may be of the growing language and the growing dictionary, you never get the biggest dictionary in any language that goes outside of A and Z, Alpha and Omega.
The Chinese language, which is indeed a Chinese puzzle to us, with all its numerous characters—how comprehensive, capable of expressing ideas far, far better than most languages, certainly better than our language; capable of containing a range of thought and expression far beyond us—yet it is all between a beginning and an end.
You see what I mean? When Jesus says, “I am Alpha and Omega,” He is saying, “I am all you need—all you need. You never can invent anything of which I am not sufficient. No situation can arise that exhausts Me.”
In Him all the fullness dwells. “I am Alpha and Omega.”
Christ is the first and the last in creation. So says the Word. In that letter to the Colossians, to which we have just referred, the Apostle tells us so clearly and precisely that in Him were all things created, and that He is before all things.
John tells us the same thing at the beginning of his Gospel: all things were created through Him. He is the beginning in creation. In the letter to the Hebrews, already referred to, right at the beginning we are told that the ages were created through Him; they came into being through Him.
He is described in this Book of Revelation, chapter 3 and verse 14:
“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”
— Revelation 3:14
He is Alpha and Omega in creation. He is the Author, the very Agent and Instrument, of creation. All things were made to be a temporal and material expression of spiritual and moral realities in the Son of God.
If we had eyes and understanding to see the deepest secret of an unfallen creation—a vast universe from the hand of God—we should see in everything something that speaks of the Son of God: His spiritual and moral character, and His place in the system of God.
He is the pattern of creation. It is of Him, and for Him, through Him, and unto Him, says the Word. He is declared to be the completion, the fulfilment, of the creation of God.
But that may not be very helpful to us. It is by way of putting the Lord Jesus into His place. What comes nearer to us is this: that He is the Alpha and the Omega in redemption. He is the first and the last in redemption.
Look again at that letter to the Hebrews. We have these familiar words, which perhaps you do not need to turn to, in Hebrews 12:2:
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
— Hebrews 12:2
The beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega of redemption. In the simple sense, Christ is the beginning of redemption. There is no redemption until we come to Him.
Just as there is no speech, no communication, no knowledge, until we come to the Alpha, so there is no redemption until we come to the Lord Jesus. There is just nothing before A. There is nothing before Alpha. That is where everything begins.
What is true in language is true in redemption. There is just no redemption; there is just no salvation, until we come to the Lord Jesus. But when we come to Him, there is a new beginning.
That is the beginning of everything: the beginning of a whole new compass of possibility, a range of communication and knowledge and understanding and wisdom and pleasure.
I do not know whether you like words, whether you like handling words. It is a fascinating thing with me. I just revel in words—probably some of you know, to your affliction.
Words are a fascinating thing. Oh, you know the history of words, the source of words, the meaning of words; more deeply, you can find yourself engrossed with it.
What a wealth there is in Christ as the beginning. When you take Him as the beginning of salvation, what a world opens up. Can you take Him as the Alpha? What a marvellous world opens up.
Pick up your dictionary. Pick up Webster Unabridged. It begins with A. Oh, what a world! What a world! On and on and on through the many thousands of words, in all their different shapes and forms—what a world there is there.
I cannot understand any person who cannot revel in a dictionary. Yes, but usually what I am getting at, in a very simple way tonight, is saying to you that when you come to Jesus as the Alpha, a new and vast and wonderful world begins to open up—a world that you never thought of.
You never knew that word was in the dictionary, and it opens up something altogether new to you. It is like that with the Lord Jesus: the inexhaustible world that opens up when you come to the beginning with Him, when He becomes your beginning.
Just like that: wealth, riches of knowledge, fullest possibilities—all there, just when you begin with Him. There is no end to it, really; no end. Something more is being added every year to the dictionary. It is like that in the Christian life.
Oh, I am not exaggerating, dear friends. I really am not. I have no reason for exaggeration. Why should I stand up here and say a lot of things that are only words, but not true? Not at all.
At any rate, my experience through all the years—and in recent weeks in the most wonderful ways—is that Christ is inexhaustible, just inexhaustible. There is more and more and more coming all the time that we did not know before. But it all began when we began with Him.
It had a beginning. It has gone on and is going on, and it is going on through eternity, because the Word says, “Of His kingdom there shall be no end.” But you see, you have to begin with Him. You have to make Him your beginning before you can have any of it. He has got to be your Alpha.
But then He is your Alpha. Yes, I say again, a new world opens up. A new fullness begins to disclose itself—such a fullness, such a fullness. It is all in Him as our Redeemer.
This is what we have here in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation. The titles of the Lord are connected with Him in resurrection. And here we have words about what He has done in redemption: He has redeemed us unto God by His blood; He has loosed us from our sins by His blood; He has made us a kingdom and priests unto His God.
It is the work of redemption that has opened up everything—newness, fullness. He is the Alpha of redemption. Christ is not only the beginning; He is the Beginner.
It says here, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter.” He is the Beginner, the One who takes this matter in hand, beginning all over again and bringing us into a world that we have never known before. He is the Beginner of it. It is in His hands; He does it.
He has taken the initiative. That is the point: He has taken the initiative in our redemption. So glad of that—so infinitely glad of that.
All may be said about our quest, man’s quest for God, men’s search for God; but nothing compared with God’s search for man. Jesus has come to reveal to us, and has revealed it, that God is the Seeker. God is the Seeker.
Those wonderful and familiar parables and stories of lost sheep, and lost pieces of silver, and lost sons, and lost people—yes, they are all meant to show us that God is the Seeker, that the initiative is with God.
“For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
— Luke 19:10
He began this thing. You and I would not be here tonight if He had not begun it. He said, “Ye did not choose Me, but I chose you.” I chose you. That is why we are here.
If we are here as those who belong to the Lord, it is simply because He sought us. Whether we were thinking or not, He was listening to us. He began. He was the Beginner.
No one else can begin redemption. No one else can save.
“And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.”
— Acts 4:12
Only His name. There is no beginning of redemption without Him.
Christ is the last, the end, the Omega, in this sense: that when He begins something, He finishes it.
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.”
— Psalm 138:8
“He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
— Philippians 1:6
He finishes what He begins. He Himself is not only the beginning and the ending, but the Beginner and the One who brings to completion.
God is working all things unto the end that we should be conformed to the image of His Son. Christ stands, so to speak, right at the end there, and God is moving and working in us, His people, in relation to that end: that we should be conformed to His image.
And the servant of God cries:
“As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding Thy form.”
— Psalm 17:15
It is that likeness which is the end. The end is Jesus. All things under heaven’s government are working unto conformity to God’s Son.
One more thing: Christ, as Alpha and Omega, makes sense. If I had a tray with all the letters of an alphabet jumbled up in it, I know what the letters are, and I know what I want. I can put them in an order that makes sense.
They express exactly what I want to express. They state by just exactly what I want to know. They make sense when they are put in their right place—all that comes between Alpha and Omega.
Forgive me for being so simple and elementary, but, you know, a lot of people cannot make sense of life at all. That is the trouble with a great many people today: they just cannot make sense of life.
The struggle of many is to try and make sense of life. What does it all mean? What is the explanation of it all? It is all a jumble. It is all confusion. It is all an enigma. What does it mean? The world is in confusion.
Jesus makes sense of life. He puts the jumble into an order that is a description of a divine design, a great purpose of God, an explanation of everything.
Yes, in Him we have the answer to our life problems. In Him we have the setting in order of life, disrupted and confused. Oh, is that not true? Has that not been true of so many men and women whose lives were just mixed up and distorted and twisted and confused?
Without any seeming meaning or explanation at all, any design or pattern, they could not make sense of anything. And they came to the Lord Jesus, and then life made sense.
Then they began to realise what it all meant, what they were for. A design, a pattern, came in. That is what most of us can say here tonight. In the Lord Jesus we found a pattern for life. We found a design for life. We have found a meaning in life. We have found an explanation of life.
Yes, Alpha and Omega: all we want to make sense. And He does make sense. He can bring understanding. He can bring a clear pattern into life.
Let me repeat simply: there is no beginning until you have your letters, your basic characters. There is no beginning, and there will be no sensible end at all. Jesus justifies that means a beginning and a sensible end. It leads somewhere.
When you and I at last reach the end—the end in glory—it will be a sensible end. It will be an end that justifies everything, that gives meaning to everything, that explains everything.
Why—the thousand whys of lifetime—will all be answered, all explained. Why this experience and that? Why this sorrow and that? Why this disappointment and that loss? Why this strange way in our lives? Why, it will all be answered at the end, and Jesus will be the end.
Yes, it will be a sensible end. We will have nothing to quarrel with then. We shall not have any quarrel with God then, because Jesus has put it all straight and brought us to an end beyond our expectations, and certainly beyond our merits.
So we understand why, in the Bible, Jesus is called the Word of God—the Word of God, God’s speech. In Him, always and only, finally in His Son.
But how does He speak? How does He speak? You say, “That is all very interesting, but how does He speak? After all, are we to hear with our ears?”
No, you come back to the context of these titles and you find it is resurrection life:
“I am He that liveth, and I became dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore.”
— Revelation 1:18
How does He speak? How do we know Him? How is life delivered from its tangle and confusion and brought into pattern and meaning? Because He becomes our life.
Because He makes us partakers of His own risen life; because He puts that life into us which is an ordered life, which is a life of wisdom and understanding, which is a life not of confusion but with a pattern. It is a life-power in us.
Oh, you say, “How do you know?” Well, I just know in this way: that His life is within, and that life within is answering the questions, is explaining things, is giving meaning to life.
He speaks by life. He speaks by life. He speaks by giving us life. While to the natural ears life may be inaudible, life is a very, very powerful speaker, you know. It is louder than words.
Some poor suffering child of God may not be able to put it into words, but you have only to be with them for a very little time and, my word, it speaks to you. The very life that is in them speaks far, far more strongly than words.
It is the life of Christ in us that is the communication, is the explanation, is the wisdom of God. The power of that life working in us—by that God speaks to us, answers our problems.
So often, you see, the answer of God to us is not in something that He says, but in something that He does. And what He does is a new touch of life.
Strangely, if we get that new touch of life in our inner man, we cease to worry about the problem. The problem is solved. We may not have got the answer to our questions, but we have got the answer. It is in life; we are satisfied.
It does not matter about the problem now. It is answered in this new touch of life. Life is God’s way of speaking to us, and life is God’s way of speaking through us.
Many people may come into a meeting like this, and they may not understand what on earth you are talking about. They might go away and say, “Well, I did not understand a word of that, but there was something there.”
They may not be able to describe it because they are not familiar with the Alpha and the Omega, the language and the letters and the phrases. But they say, “Something—there is something there that you feel. You need something that answers to something you want.”
Well, if only they knew the letters, they would say, “It is life. There is life there.” And that is the way that God really speaks, you know.
I would sooner have it that way, would not you? Than that people should be able to understand a lot of words and phrases and not feel the impact and registration of the power of life. No, better the other way around. Better be both, but better this way if we have to choose between it.
That they go away saying, “There is something there that you cannot get away from. I can only say it is God.” And what they mean is, it is Jesus Christ, the living One.
That is how God speaks through us: only we be, in this sense, the voice of God, the speech of God, the expression of Christ, who is the Alpha and the Omega.
Shall we pray?