Every year since 1982 a list of 400 names is published in America. It’s a scoreboard for businesspeople, an honor-roll for entrepreneurs, a ranking on the scales of success. The Forbes 400 list grades America’s 400 wealthiest people by their net worth.
Forbes measures net worth based on financial wealth, but when we look into the Bible we find that Jesus’ worthiness is summed up in 7 words:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
—Revelation 5:12
1. Power
Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty. He created all things, sustains all things, and holds all things in his hand. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. No one can overpower him. None can conquer him. No one can stand against him and win. No weapon fashioned against him will succeed. He powerfully rules over all and will reign forever and ever. Every knee will bow before him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. If we were to measure Jesus’ net worth, we’d find that his portfolio is stacked with power.
2. Wealth
Jesus owns everything. The earth and all it contains belongs to him. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he owns the hills. Every square inch on planet earth is his. All the animals are his and everything that has breath is his. You and me, we’re not our own. We belong to him. The silver is his and the gold is his. Every dollar, pound, peso, euro, yen, and rupee belong to him, plus every other coin, bill, card, check, and currency. He is in possession of all wealth forever. He never loses a deal, is never forced to sell, and never dies to leave it behind. Jesus controls all wealth and owns all true and lasting riches. Oh the depth of the riches of God! Bezos, Buffet, Gates, and Musk can’t come close.
3. Wisdom
Jesus is the leading expert in all subjects. He knows the best way to solve every problem and the right time for every opportunity. He comprehends every mystery. Nothing confounds him. His understanding is inscrutable. Jesus’ wisdom is never old-fashioned or out-dated advice, but always timeless truth. Jesus holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He even gives wisdom generously to all who ask and is not poorer for it. Jesus is the only wise God who will be forever praised by elders, living creatures, and myriads and thousands of angels for his all-surpassing wisdom.
4. Strength
Jesus is clothed with strength. He is a conquering warrior with no weaknesses or vulnerabilities. His name is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. He subdues Satan and all demons with ease. His voice stops the pounding waves. He calls forth the stars and not one of them is missing. He sends forth lightning and it obeys him. He gives the horse it’s might and hunts prey for the lions. He does not faint or grow weary. He never slumbers or sleeps. He can do all things and no purpose of his can be thwarted. Jesus is unrivaled in strength.
5. Honor
Jesus is crowned with honor and rightly so. He has incomparable character. He is full of grace and truth. He’s merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands and forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin. His name is above every name, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. Jesus is the judge of the whole world and the savior of all who call on him. He died for us while we were yet sinners and rose from the dead to give us new life. Jesus is supremely worthy of honor.
6. Glory
Jesus shines with great glory. Like a champion, he deserves to be paraded through the streets of every city, town, and village. His worth and value are beyond comprehension. He is beautiful, excellent, and weighty. His brightness and radiance are unmatched. Heaven needs no sun or moon because he is there. His eyes are like a flame of fire and his face like the sun shining in full strength. Even his feet are like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace. There is no one and nothing worth more. Jesus is glorious and the whole earth is full of his glory.
7. Praise
From generation to generation, the name of Jesus has been praised. Many great and powerful men are forgotten, but Jesus never is. Every week people in thousands of languages pour forth the fame of his abundant goodness and sing aloud of his righteousness. They speak of the glory of his kingdom and tell of his power. They rejoice in their salvation and speak honor of this king. Jesus is praised for being our creator and our savior. He is praised for what he does and he is praised for who he is. He is praised on earth and he is praised in heaven. Men and angels cry out: “Holy, holy, holy” and “Worthy, worthy, worthy” is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of world. And long after our lives are finished Jesus will still be praised.
. . .
Jesus has never made the Forbes’ 400 list, but if there was a list that measured net worth based on power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise there would be no other name on it. Jesus is in a category all his own.
Soon we will see him face to face and we’ll no longer measure and compare ourselves with one another. On that day we will feel Jesus’ matchless worth and join the choir of heaven singing: “You are worthy of power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise.”
© 2016 John Rinehart