As you prepare for the sermon this Sunday from Romans 3, meditate on this devotional about the supremacy of God:
The Supremacy of God
That which is greatest in our mind reveals what is most supreme in our hearts. Which is greater in your mind: a high school athlete or Olympic medalist, a local actor or Broadway lead? The answer is easy. Our hearts ascribe respect and honor to those whom we esteem as greatest among us. Even while walking in the presence of Jesus, his disciples disputed over which of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom (Mark 9:33ff). Though we know God should be the
overwhelming, undisputed supreme being in our hearts and minds, often our heart’s affections stray.
Read Psalm 50. And consider these broad observations:
According to v. 1, when a parent speaks, a child is hardly summoned. But much greater, when God speaks the earth then summoned.
God alone is the Judge. He needs no counsel. He has command of the world to judge the righteous and the unrighteous (v. 6ff).
God knows all things and needs no thing. Everything in the world may rightly be stamped by God as “Mine.” He is fully and internally self-sufficient (vv. 10-12).
God is the Most High. While power corrupts man in our sinful state, the Holy Lord of all the world’s power results in grace and mercy. The Supreme Ruler is incorruptible (vv. 14-15).
The Lord God is unlike man. Yes, in some characteristics mankind may resemble the Lord, but his divinity and character is not fully comprehendible (v. 21).
What other observations of God do you see? Is God not the greatest? Is God not supreme?
Question: If God, the Supreme, is self-sufficient and the Most High, why did he create us?
Answer: For his good pleasure, that we, his creation, would know him and enjoy him forever.
If that is why the Supreme One of the Universe created man, we must be compelled to tell our fellow sinners about this God. He is no mere tribal deity, only effective for one culture or time period. There is no other authority which supersedes his (Acts 5:29). His is the only name by which we may be saved (Acts 4:12); he himself, the God of the universe is the gospel, and the
good news is the Lord of every person and nation is knowable. Such power. Such tenderness.
The global dilemma, though, that remains: he is not worshipped by the peoples of his world. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. The supremacy of God requires the people of God to be utterly convinced of his supremacy in our own lives to make every provision for the world- wide worship of God among all peoples, all tribes, all languages, for now and forevermore. Are
you convinced? Is he supreme in your heart and life?
Jacob Mennear