The book of Revelation is connected with the throne, and the titles in it are not such as lead to Abba, Father. Instead, saints are “kings and priests” (1:6). We read: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne” (v.4); even the Spirit is seen in another character. The Lord Jesus is not seen as the Savior but the “Prince of the kings of the earth” (v.5). The apostle John saw before him the Lord Jesus Christ; there were affections in his heart and He was presented to his soul, and worship came. “Jesus Christ ... loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (v.5)!
For a moment, look at the picture as a whole. The fullness connected with the works and offices of the blessed Lord were so laid upon John’s heart that he had to give back to God. One of the most remarkable things in redemption is that we are enabled to live to God, of whom and to whom are all things. No one who does not know redemption accomplished, salvation finished can say “I serve God.” If you do not know that salvation is completed, you can never find yourselves in the presence of God without remembering some horrid sin, causing you to want to flee in fear. However, the saint can say, “I am here, and God is waiting to hear me.” There is nothing in the presence of God to daunt him. He knows the eye and ear of God are waiting for him.
The highest thing the love of God does in us is to produce worship. When we get into worship, it is all of God, of Christ. God will have His people in His presence to express their delight in what God has made them for His Son. God sought such to worship Him. We see in Revelation that God in heaven desired to hear the praises of John, who had been banished to Patmos.
“Jesus Christ ... hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory” (vv.5-6). The praise goes up from us with warm affections, and we know the position in which God stands to us. “The Father seeketh such to worship Him” (Jn. 4:23). He is the receiver; we are the givers of worship. This is not merely the blessedness of a man able to praise, but in this picture we have the Holy One worshiped and the saint worshiping.
There is many a sweet thought in this little song of adoration. First, observe the way in which the apostle singles himself out. When Luther was once pressed as to justification by faith, Genesis 4:4 came into his mind as a reply, “And the LORD had respect unto Abel and his offering.” The person of Abel was accepted, and it was simply of grace. There was only one place for Noah’s dove to rest – the ark, and there is only one place for us to rest – the person of the blessed Lord. The song in Revelation 1:5-6 does not begin, “To Him be glory and dominion,” but it marks out the person of the blessed Lord as its object. In glory we will be able to worship as we cannot now. There, He will be before us, and there our souls will find perfect rest.
We see in verse 5 in a beautiful divine order: He has “loved us.” Who loved? The Lord Jesus, who “washed us.” There was real affection in Him, a personal love; that is the reason why praise comes out. The Church knows she is loved by Christ. We can turn to the Man in glory and say, “He loved us.” How could I know this and not praise? Then we get beautiful consistency in the continuance of the praise: “Washed us in His own blood.” We had sins, and He washed us from our sins in His own blood.
The only thing spoken of in connection with these people is their sins. If you stand in God’s presence with the sense of what the Lord Jesus has done, you know He has put away your sins. It is sweet to look at this point. The poor sinner has sins, and they are met by the Lamb’s blood. The remedy for sin is pointed out, and we have known the use of this blood for ourselves. He that provided the blood has applied it. Most divinely perfect, the remedy is sufficient for the need.
Look at that phrase “washed us.” It is connected with the Lord Jesus Himself. Many have no rest in their hearts because they think they must do something themselves. The answer is Christ first and Christ last. He washed. No heart is set free for praise which does not see the Lord Jesus is the One who washed. Christ began the work and Christ went on with the work. “Sins” means everything in my conscience, for nothing can escape His eye. Do you suppose the Lord Jesus has left any sin behind in the individuals whom He has washed? No. There was the love of the blessed Lord, and then came, “He washed us from our sins.”
He was the Lamb, and the blood was presented by Him as Priest. There is something very blessed when you think of the blood of the Lord Jesus as connected with conscience. It was the Spirit speaking to John as to God’s thoughts about the blood. When the mind comes to look, peace is found through the blood of the Lamb.
There is great beauty in the order of the song. “That washed us from our sins” comes in as meeting the want of a soul in the presence of God always. But He does not stop there; He goes on to enlarge and prepare the blessing and show what it is. He “hath made us kings and priests,” not sons with the Father – that we are, but this is not presented here.
Christ may be presented in any character, and the eye of faith says, “He is the One who washed me.” It is surely the expression of the wonderful love of God with regard to the Church. No measure in the human mind can ever comprehend divine love. He was forming something for His Son – giving glory to His Son; and in desiring to give glory to His Son, “He made us kings and priests.”
What always occupies the mind of the blessed Lord? It is the glory of God. If there is a kingdom and a temple to be opened, He must bring the Church there (see Jn. 17:24). What sort of love must His be, that in the presence of God He must have His Church there? It is the sense of this love that makes the heart turn and respond, “To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:6).