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November 9, 2015
March 21, 2024

Jesus True And Only - A Reminder Of Our Story


Our sin, our salvation, our response, and our King: these are the core elements of the gospel story, making up the plot line behind every chapter and book in the Scriptures. The lyrics of “Jesus True and Only” bring us to meditate on and rejoice in the great arc of our God’s story.

You were broken for the broken

The song opens, and instantly we are reminded of our sin, that we aren’t as we should be. The truth is we humans are terribly lost and undone, separated from God by our sin since the fall of man. This brokenness is a trademark of our humanity, as Paul wrote, “none is righteous, no not one. No one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10 ESV).

Singing these words brings us to consider the reality that the fall is still looming large. Rebellious and deceived, we still long for independence from the Creator God. We still live with hearts bent away from God and toward ourselves as our own gods. Doubtless confounded by observing the patterns of his own heart, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).

Fortunately, verse one reminds us of a second and greater truth: we have been saved, for Jesus “laid down his life that [we] may live.”

You laid down Your life that I may live

While it’s true we are broken and sinful, it is equally true that God is incredibly redemptive, lavishing grace upon sinners at His own cost. Thus we sing our praise to Jesus,

You laid down your life that I might live, a sacrifice so undeserving.

What amazing love! What a Savior!

We are broken people saved by the one God willing to be a broken sacrifice for us. As Isaiah put it, “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:3).

The truth is our lives would remain lost and hopeless without the sacrifice of Jesus. Now how else could we respond but by offering our own life as a sacrifice to Him? Verse one closes with this sentiment,

All I have to you I give

This leads us as we sing to consider what our life in Jesus is about. We give all.

Verse two reminds us Jesus was “purified” by “affliction” and we can expect the same.

Purified by Your affliction You poured out Your life and I am filled
There is no one like You, Jesus
By Your wounds I have been healed
By Your wounds I have been healed

We can expect God to give us trial, hardship, and suffering to transform us into the image of Christ. Even when no calamity comes upon us, think about what personal difficulty is implied for those who obey Paul’s words in Romans 12:1: “by the mercies of God, to present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship.”

Our response to Jesus laying His life down for our salvation is to lay our life down for His mission, and that will afflict and purify us.

Finally, the chorus and bridge celebrates our allegiance to a new authority: Jesus is our king. He is the “true and only” King, the King who humbled Himself to take on our flesh and live perfectly, and He is “reigning” on His throne right now. Consequently, we must live our life at His mercy. We “worship at [His] throne” because He is “our King eternal.”

Jesus, true and only, ever reigning on Your throne
May my life be true and only
Yours and Yours alone
Yours and Yours alone

Jesus True and Only” reminds the church where we were—broken by sin—what happened to us—saved by Jesus’s sacrifice—and leads us to where we should be—offering our lives as an act of worship. Jesus gave all to give us life and we respond by giving Him all of our lives. He is the “true and only” worthy King!

View all the resources for the song “Jesus True and Only” including free chord charts, and instrumental teaching videos.


Article Details

Author
Mark Moody
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Austin Stone Creative
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