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Christ should have the preeminence in our love—Rev. 2:4:
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To give the Lord the first place in all things is to love Him with the first love; we need to maintain and develop our first love toward the Lord—v. 4.
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Whatever one loves, his whole heart, even his whole being, is set on and occupied and possessed by—1 Tim. 6:10; 2 Tim. 3:2-4; 4:8, 10a; Titus 1:8.
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Whether there would be a day of glory in the church’s victory or grievous days of the church’s decline depends on what kind of love we have—Rev. 2:4; 2 Tim. 3:2-4.
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Our love for the Lord must be absolute; we should not love anyone or anything above Him—Matt. 10:37-39.
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We love the Lord because He first loved us, infusing His loving essence into us and generating within us the love with which we love Him—1 John 4:19, 8, 16.
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We love the Lord according to the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity as love—Rom. 5:5; 8:35, 39; 15:30.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.2 Tim. 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing.
What was the cause of the desolation of [the temple], God’s house? Apparently it was because the children of Israel were evil and sinful. However, the intrinsic reason for the desolation was that Christ was not exalted by God’s people; they did not give Him the preeminence, the first place, in everything. Actually their failure to give Christ the preeminence, their failure to honor and exalt Him, was the cause of their becoming sinful and evil.
The principle is the same with us in the church life today. If we do not love Christ with our first love, giving Him the first place in everything that He may have the preeminence among us, the church will become desolate. The desolation of the church as the house of God always issues from the negligence of the experience of Christ. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 352-353)
Today’s Reading
The problem of desolation is solved by Christ being properly appreciated and exalted by God’s people. Recently the church in Anaheim has been praying for revival. If all the saints in Anaheim would give Christ the preeminence, exalting Him to the uttermost and loving Him with the first love, there would be a genuine revival. The real revival in the church depends upon everyone in the church life giving Christ the first place in everything.[Psalm 80:17 says], “Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, / Upon the son of man whom You have strengthened for Yourself.” From this verse we see that Christ is at the right hand of God, the highest place in the universe. This reveals that the first place, the highest position, the preeminence, has been given to Christ.
The way of restoration is the exaltation of Christ. Whenever God’s people exalt Christ, there will be restoration and revival.... If a church is somewhat cold and old and desires revival, that church should give Christ the preeminence, recognizing Him as the One who is at the right hand of God.... Whoever calls upon Him as such a One will be restored and revived. In our private life, married life, family life, and church life, Christ needs to be at the right hand of God. If He is exalted in every aspect of our living, there will be restoration everywhere. Exalting Christ is the way for revival, for restoration.
According to Psalm 80, the vine is Israel and the man at God’s right hand is Christ. The world rejected Christ and put Him on the cross, but God came in to raise Him from among the dead and to seat Him at God’s right hand in the heavens. Today, as we visit people for the preaching of the gospel, we need to tell them that Christ, the Son of God, became a man, died on the cross for their sins, resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of God in the heavens, and now they need to call upon Him. In the sight of God, for a sinner to call upon the Lord Jesus is to exalt Him. When a sinner exalts Christ by calling upon Him, that sinner will be regenerated.
As regenerated people we need to come together in the meetings of the church to exalt Christ by praising, singing, and shouting. Instead of being silent, we should exercise our spiritual birthright to exalt Christ. We should declare, “Lord Jesus, You are at the right hand of God. You have the preeminence in my private life, married life, family life, and church life.” The more we exalt Christ, giving Him the preeminence in everything, the more we will be revived and restored. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 353, 364-365)
Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 8, 30-31