by: Colin McKee
There is great interest in many realms as to who or what is number one. Sports fans make their case for their team being number one. Doctors and hospitals vie for the coveted recognition of being number one in their field. Internet providers tout their service as being number one over their competitors. Lawyers, vehicles, laundry detergents, etc. each make their boast of being number one and, therefore, worthy of your purchase. The race and the argument goes on from year to year. I can remember over the years of certain razors claiming to shave one closer and closer as their blades became finer and finer. It would seem that after 75 years there is no possibility of a blade getting any sharper!
While the question of who or what is number one in all of those different realms remains, there are some number ones of which we can be sure:
- God Is Number One in the Universe. He demands that we recognize Him as supreme and refuse to place anything or anyone before Him. We must put God in first place. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Deuteronomy 5:7 NKJV). “For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other’” (Isaiah 45:18). Who else could do any of that?
- Christ Is the Number One Savior. No other individual can successfully qualify as savior. No other individual rose from the dead as the ultimate proof of his divinity and the ultimate confirmation of his miracles and teachings. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). That’s number one!
- The New Testament Church Is the Number One Spiritual Institution. Christ promised to build His church (Matthew16:18). Paul affirmed that there is “one body” (Ephesians 4:4), and that the body is the church (Ephesians 1:22–23). He further taught that it is “the house of God, the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15). Since there is one, it is the only true one, and therefore, it is number one because Christ is the Savior of the body (Ephesians 5:26).
- The Gospel Is the Number One Plan of Salvation. Paul condemned a perverted or different gospel than what he and the other inspired men taught (Galatians 1:6–9). He also taught that the Ephesians had heard “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13). Christ sent out His disciples to go preach the Gospel to all creation with the instruction that “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16). That is the Gospel instruction of the number one Savior for man’s salvation. If Number One issued His commands, then those commands must be number one!
- True Worship Is the Number One Approach to God. Vain worship based on doctrines of men is not acceptable to God (Matthew 15:8–9). Ignorant worship is not acceptable to God (Acts 17:23). Hypocritical worship is not acceptable to God (Isaiah 1:13–15). Worship must be in truth (according to His Word) and in spirit (our spirit communicating with His Spirit) (John 4:24). Any other kind of worship will not give us access to the Father!
- An Obedient Seeking Heart Is the Number One Need of Man. Failing to obey our Lord, to refuse His commands, consigns our souls to eternal separation from God in a place prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). At our Lord’s Second Coming, He will appear toward the unrighteous “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians1:8). The number one Gospel meets the need of lost mankind to be saved from sin. Only those who seek first the kingdom of Christ will satisfy their number one need to obey Him and to spend eternity in His presence.
