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The Rock that is Higher Than I
Psalm 61:2
"From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my
heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I," Psa.
61:2.
We should think often of the Rock of our Salvation. Our Savior is Jesus.
In what ways is Jesus "higher than I"?
1. When we consider the deity of Christ, he is "higher
than I." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made" (John
1:1-3). Jesus Christ is not just a man, though He was fully man. But, Jesus is
God: "for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth,
things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers; all things have been created through him and unto him;
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist" (Colossians
1:16-17). No such thing could ever be said of a mere man. The Hebrew writer
called Him God when he wrote: "but of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever . . . And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands . . . ,"
(1:8,10). Truly, Jesus, the Rock of my salvation, is "higher than I" because of
His deity.
2. Jesus is "higher than I" in knowledge. The
inspired apostle Paul writes of Him that "in Him are all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge hidden" (Colossians
2:3). Isaiah wrote of the coming Messiah: "And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah" (Isaiah 11:2). Jesus
knows much more than I can ever know. Jesus knows everything, even what other
men are thinking: "But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew
all men, concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man" (John 2:24-25).
Yes, Jesus is above me in knowledge.
3. Jesus is "higher than I" in power. Fact of the
matter is, He has all power. "And Jesus came to them and spake unto them,
saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew
28:18). I can't say that, can you? The New Testament teaches that Jesus' power
is so complete that "he is able even to subject all things unto himself"
(Philippians 3:21), "for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"
(Colossians 2:9).
4. Jesus is "higher than I" in that He is equal with the
Father. Jesus said to the Jews of His time that God "hath given all
judgment unto the Son; that all may honor the
Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not
the Father that sent him" (John 5:22 23). Clearly, Jesus was claiming to be
equal with the Father. Paul said that Jesus was equal with the Father and that
"existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"
(Philippians 2:6-7). I never have been on an equality with God, have you?
5. Jesus is "higher than I" in that He is an object of
men's faith and worthy of worship. Peter affirmed of Him, "And we have
believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God" (John 6:69). The Hebrew
writer said of Him, "And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world
he saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him" (Hebrews 1:6). Peter said,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his
great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). The angels certainly do not worship me, nor
am I the object of other men's faith for their salvation.
6. Jesus Christ is "higher than I" in that He is the only
way to God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one
cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John
14:6). Peter and John told people that "He is the stone which was set at naught
of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is
there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given
among men, wherein we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12). I am not the way by which
men come to God, are you?
Yes, truly, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I!
Scanned from Christianity Magazine June 1992
By Brent Lewis
From Expository Files 2.8; August, 1995
