The Sun the Center

 

ÒThat in all things he might have the preeminence.Ó (Colossians 1:18)

 

Five hundred years ago a Polish astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) made a shocking discovery, a discovery that would forever change the thinking of men about our universe. Copernicus demonstrated that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of our solar system. Up until that time everyone thought the Earth was the center.

 

You can imagine the effect CopernicusÕ discovery had on astronomy. If everything you think about the universe has for its foundation the idea that the Earth is the center of everything, then every calculation made concerning the entire solar system has to be, in some sense, wrong. CopernicusÕ discovery changed everything. In fact, the change was so radical that CopernicusÕ discovery is considered Òthe starting point of modern astronomyÓ and the discovery that began the Scientific Revolution.

 

As in our universe, in the Word of God, in the things of God, in all matters spiritual, in the salvation of our souls, in all the revelation and knowledge of God, and in the worship and service of God, the Sun is the center of everything — The Sun of Righteousness! The glory of God in Christ is central.

 

If ever this religious world, pastors, preachers, evangelists, missionaries, and local churches come to see this, it will revolutionize everything. Man is not central. The glory of God is central. And the glory of God is the redemption of our souls by Christ. The glory of God, the shining of the brilliance, the display of the splendor of God is the salvation of our souls by Christ.

 

The preaching of Christ crucified is the revelation of the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:6). To preach the Word of God is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:23-25). To preach Òall the counsel of GodÓ (Acts 20:27) is to preach ÒJesus Christ and him crucifiedÓ (1 Corinthians 2:2). That is to say, the Word of God has not been preached unless the gospel of Christ is preached. No text of Scripture has been rightly expounded until Christ is proclaimed from it.

 

When you see this, when you see that ÒChrist is all,Ó when you understand that the glory of God is central, it changes everything. It changes everything about a man, changes everything about a preacher, and changes everything about a local church. It changes our message, our music, our methods, our missionary work, everything! Yes, the preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness; but to all who are called it is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-23).

 

ÒWe preach Christ crucified!Ó — That is not just a slogan to make a church or ministry attractive. In the church of the living God those words declare the whole purpose of our existence and describe the totality of our ministry. We have no other purpose, no other ministry, and no other activity. — ÒWe preach Christ crucified!Ó

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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