Alpha and Omega

We’re learning in these studies that every name or title that Jesus wears is a blessing that he shares. The better we know him, the better he’s able to bless us and make us what he wants us to be. One of the best ways to get to know him is to study his names and titles in Scripture.

Our Lord said, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22:12–13).

“Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In fact, the English word “alphabet” comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, “alpha” and “beta.” When he calls himself “Alpha and Omega,” Jesus declares that he is the first and the last, the beginning and the ending. What truths do we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ from this name “Alpha and Omega”?

Jesus Christ Is Eternal God

Jesus Christ is the beginning and Jesus Christ is the ending; he is the first and he is the last. This means that Jesus Christ is eternal God.

If I said to you, “I am Alpha and Omega,” you would shake your head and reply, “You’re confused; you’re not thinking straight.” But when Jesus Christ says, “I am Alpha and Omega, I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End,” he has the right to say it because he is eternal God.

In Isaiah 41:4, Jehovah God declares, “I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last I am He.” This same declaration is repeated in Isaiah 44:6 and Isaiah 48:12. In other words, the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament. Because the title “Alpha and Omega” is applied to God, this means that Jesus Christ is eternal God. Our Lord Himself said in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” In Colossians 1:17 we are told, “He is before all things.”

As you page through the Book of Hebrews, you will find the word “forever” repeated several times. Hebrews was written to people who wanted to hold on to the past—their holy temple, their holy city, their holy priesthood, and their holy sacrifices; but these things were about to pass away. In fact, a few years after the Book of Hebrews was written, Jerusalem and the temple and the Jewish religious system were completely destroyed. There would be no more altar, priesthood, or sacrifices. So why hold on to the things that will not last when you can build your life on the things that will endure forever?

In Hebrews 1:8 we’re told that Christ’s throne is forever. No monarch on earth ever had an eternal throne, but Jesus Christ has a throne forever. We read in Hebrews 5:6: “You are a priest forever. . . .” The Old Testament priests died and had to be replaced, but not so with the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 10:14 states, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” In other words, we have a perfect salvation forever through faith in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus Christ can’t change because he is eternal God. He can’t change for the better because he’s already perfect; he certainly can’t change for the worse because he’s holy. The name “Alpha and Omega” declares that Jesus of Nazareth is eternal God.

If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have nothing eternal except eternal judgment (2 Thess. 1:9). Our Lord said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Have you tied your life to that which is eternal, or are you building your life on the changing, shifting things in this world? Nothing in this world is going to last. Only God is eternal. When you trust Jesus Christ, you receive eternal salvation.

Jesus Christ Reveals God to Us

A second truth that comes from this wonderful name is that the ministry of Christ is to reveal God to us. What do you do with the letters of the alphabet? You use them to build words; and through words, you communicate with people. Jesus Christ is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1–2). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. . . .” (John 1:14). The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Word, revealing the Father to us.

Once again, we go to the Book of Hebrews. One of the major themes of Hebrews is that God has spoken and people must decide what they will do with what he has said. The Epistle to the Hebrews begins, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. . . .” (1:1–2). Toward the end of the Book of Hebrews, it says, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. . . .” (12:25). In other words, the major question everybody must answer is: What will you do with the Word of God?

Because Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, he is the alphabet of God’s revelation to us. From the alphabet of God’s revelation, Jesus gives us the Word. If you want to understand God, you have to know Jesus Christ. Many people say, “I get so much truth about God from walking in the woods.” You can learn some things about God from nature, but you can’t get the full revelation of God apart from Jesus Christ. Others say, “I love to sit and look at a beautiful sunset; it tells me so much about God.” But you will learn much more about God by reading the Bible and listening to his Son, Jesus Christ.

God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is God’s last word. Nothing will replace what God has said to us through his Son. If you want to know God, you have to come to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega; his ministry is the ministry of revelation. He reveals God to us.

During the Last Supper, before Jesus went out to be arrested and then crucified, the apostle Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us” (John 14:8). Jesus replied, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. . . .” (v. 9). Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the alphabet of God’s grace, revealing to us the heart and mind of the Father so that we might know God and have eternal life.

Jesus Christ Is Sufficient

The third truth found in this name “Alpha and Omega” is not only that Jesus is eternal God and reveals the Father to us, but also that he is sufficient for every need that we have. We might say of a wealthy man, “He has everything from A to Z.” Well, the Greeks would say, “He has everything from alpha to omega.” When Jesus says he is Alpha and Omega, he is saying, “I am sufficient for everything; nothing is missing; I am all that you need.”

In the Epistle to the Colossians, at least twenty-three times Paul uses the word “all.” We read in Colossians 1:16: “For by Him all things were created”; and verse 17 says of Christ, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist [hold together].” We read in verse 18 “that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Verse 19 says, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.” Colossians 2:3 states that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:9 says of Jesus, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

You may ask, “What does that mean to me?” Colossians 2:10 tells us what it means: “And you are complete in Him.” Because Jesus is Alpha and Omega, he is fully sufficient in everything; because we are in him, we share his sufficiency. When we were born again, we were born with everything we will ever need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

Did you know that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you were introduced to eternal sufficiency? Everything you ever need you can get from Jesus Christ. He comes to you and says, “What is it you need? Just spell it out to me. I am Alpha and Omega and I am completely adequate for every situation and sufficient for every need.” That’s what the grace of God is all about! “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

You may be facing a difficult situation and feel totally inadequate to handle the demands before you. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can draw upon his sufficiency. Whatever your need is today, he can make you adequate to meet it. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

Jesus Christ Is Victorious

There is a fourth lesson in this title. “Alpha and Omega” means that whatever Jesus starts, he finishes. He is victorious and successful in all that he does.

I confess that I have in my files sermon outhnes that I’ve never finished and book manuscripts that I have begun to write but have never completed. There are books in my library that I started to read but never completed. No doubt you have some “unfinished business” in your office or workshop or garage, but Jesus Christ finishes everything he starts.

The Book of the Revelation reveals this truth to us. Let me list for you some of the great “completions” in Revelation that had their beginning in Genesis.

Genesis

Revelation

The old heavens and earth

The new heaven and earth

Adam gets a bride

Christ gets his Bride

Babylon is built

Babylon is destroyed

Satan begins his career

Satan cast into hell

Man cast out of Paradise

Believers enter paradise

Sin and death enter the scene

No more sin or death

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the message. The Book of Revelation is the completion of the Book of Genesis, and it assures us that what God starts in his great program of redemption he will finish. Jesus is Alpha and Omega.

But it’s also true that what God starts in our lives he will surely finish. Sometimes it looks like God has forgotten us or forsaken us, but we know this isn’t true. Joseph may have felt abandoned in Egypt, but God finished what he started and made a great man out of him. In some of his “exile psalms,” David asks whether God will ever keep his promises and make him king, but not one promise of God failed. David did become king.

Be encouraged today! Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He cannot fail. What he starts he finishes. Our task is to keep “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. . . .” (Heb. 12:2). Paul reminds us that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

“Alpha and Omega” are names that declare that Jesus Christ is eternal God. These names remind us of his ministry, the living Word who reveals the living God to us. As Alpha and Omega, Jesus Christ lacks nothing, and his sufficiency is available to all of his people. Finally, these names tell of his victory, the fact that he finishes what he begins. We need never be discouraged because he is the beginning and the ending, the first and the last.

Breathe, O breathe, Thy loving Spirit

Into every troubled breast!

Let us all in Thee inherit,

Let us find that second rest.

Take away our bent to sinning,

Alpha and Omega be;

End of faith as its beginning,

Set our hearts at liberty.

(Charles Wesley)

I close with this suggestion: start and end each day by meeting with Jesus Christ. Let him be the Alpha of each morning and the Omega of each night. If Jesus Christ is the Alpha, the key that opens the day, and the Omega, the key that locks the day, then you will abide in him all the day and enjoy his help and blessing.

Whenever you begin a new project, no matter how small it may seem, be sure that Jesus is at the beginning and that you are doing his will. And when the project is ended, thank him for his help and let him be the Omega. Any project or plan that can’t have Jesus as Alpha and Omega is suspect and out of the will of God.

Let him be the Alpha and Omega of your life!

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