Christ is the Center and Foundation, and Everything is Vain Apart from Him

Matthew 4:4 -- "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (cf. Deu. 8:3).

Matthew 7:24-27 -- "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

Matthew 12:30 -- "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

Matthew 28:18-20 -- "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

John 14:15 -- "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

I Corinthians 3:11 -- "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:21 -- "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Jesus is the foundation and center of everything. John 1:3 says, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." I Corinthians 8:6 says, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." Colossians 1:17 says that "he is before all things, and by him all things consist"; 2:3 says that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are hid in Christ. Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ upholds "all things by the word of his power."

Apart from Christ, every thought, word, and action is utterly vain and futile. To deny His Kingship over every atom of reality is to imagine a vain thing (Ps. 2:1). To build a home without Christ at the center is a vain labor (Ps. 127:1). To approach Christ in terms of our own doctrines and commandments is to worship Him in vain (Matt. 15:9, Mark 7:7; cf. Col. 2:8). To neglect gratitude toward Christ and the glory of God in our intellectual endeavors is to become vain in our imaginations (Rom. 1:21). To teach and trust anything devoid of Christ’s resurrection is to preach and believe in vain (I Cor. 15:14, 17). When we labor for Christ, our work is not in vain (I Cor. 15:58). When we acknowledge Christ’s absolute Lordship, obey our Lord, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling through God’s work in our hearts; we may rejoice in the day of Christ that we have not run or labored in vain (Phil. 2:9-16).