The One We Please: Our Reigning King

[0:00] Amen. You may be seated. Children, you may head off to your King's Kids class, and if everybody else would turn in their Bibles to Colossians chapter 1, 15 through 20. In your pew Bible, it's 1168, 1168.

[0:20] You are about to hear high ground of Jesus. Hear God's Word.

[0:37] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

[0:57] All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

[1:08] And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.

[1:19] For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.

[1:36] God bless the reading and hearing of His Word. You know, King Charles was recently crowned King of the British Commonwealth.

[1:48] And we all know that's mainly a ceremonial position. No real authority to wield. But that crown with which he was crowned is a symbol of the dominion of the British Commonwealth.

[2:04] Again, has no real authority, but that's what it symbolizes. Do you ever think about the moment before His crowning? Like, there must have been like a crown sizing appointment where they like measured His head to make sure that crown fit.

[2:26] You don't want a crown too big. You don't want a crown too little. Well, this morning you're going to see that Jesus Christ is the reigning King of two dominions.

[2:39] And if each dominion had its own representative crown, they could only be worn by Jesus Christ.

[2:50] There's no other that could bear these crowns. And they're not ceremonial. They're real.

[3:03] Now, if you were here last week, you learned God's will for your life. Sounds audacious, doesn't it? I asked a question. What is God's will for your life?

[3:14] And we saw from Colossians 1, 9 through 14, God's will for your life is five letters, five words, to please Christ in everything. So let me ask you, what is God's will for your life?

[3:26] To please Christ in everything. Today's question is this. Why Christ? Why should He be the controlling center of your life?

[3:40] Why should He be the one that you seek to please in everything? What gives Him the right to that part of everything?

[4:00] Why Him? Colossians 1, 15 through 20 answers the question, why Christ? Why should we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus?

[4:13] Why should we seek to please Him in everything? I'm going to answer it in three ways. He is the divine King. He wears the crown of creation. That's number two.

[4:24] And number three, He wears the crown of redemption. Why Christ? Why should we please Him in everything? Why? He's the divine King reigning over all of creation in all of redemption.

[4:38] We please Christ in everything because He's reigning over everything. And if you're a Christian, He's claimed you not just once, but twice. So let's look at this divine King.

[4:56] He is our divine King. He is the divine King. In verses 15 through 20, if you look carefully at these six verses, you will notice quickly that there's something missing.

[5:10] Not once do you see the name Jesus. You don't see the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't see Jesus Christ. But what you do see in an unusual accumulation is what you heard me emphasizing as we read through it.

[5:24] There is an abundance of third person singular pronouns. Listen. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

[5:38] Verse 16. For by Him all things were created. Look at the end of verse 16. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17. And He is before all things, and Him all things hold together.

[5:49] 18. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. That in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him, verse 19, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

[6:02] 20. And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, making peace by the blood of His cross. Now the obvious question is, who is this He, Him, Himself, His?

[6:15] And that last one, His cross is a clear giveaway. Anyway, what Paul is doing here is he's elaborating on what he said in verse 13.

[6:29] We learned in verse 13, that God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

[6:41] That's the He. He, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The subject of verses 15 through 20 is the beloved Son, whom we know from chapter 1, verse 3, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[7:02] Now you may be asking this question, hold on Pastor Mike. I see the word kingdom in verse 13, but nowhere in verses 15 through 20 do I see the word king.

[7:16] You're saying that He's a divine king? Where's the king? Well, it's true that the word king is not anywhere to be found in verses 15 through 20, but did you happen to see the word firstborn?

[7:32] In verse 15, the firstborn of all creation. In 19, the firstborn from the dead. To our 21st century American ears, when we hear firstborn, we think in terms of birth order.

[7:46] We think in terms of creation, something coming into existence. But the way that the word firstborn is being used here in Colossians 1, 15 and 19, and then how it's used in Hebrews 1, verse 6 and Revelation 1, verse 5, these New Testament passages are talking about firstborn not in the way that we Americans think, but in the way that Psalm 89, 27 thinks.

[8:20] If you want to turn there, let me show you how firstborn is being used. It's on page 587 of your pew Bibles.

[8:31] This is Psalm 89, verse 27. God is speaking about David. And I, God, will make him, David, the firstborn.

[8:47] Do you remember, David was the youngest of seven sons of Jesse. Firstborn is being used here in a different way.

[9:00] It's talking about a position. And then what we read is this, and I will make him the firstborn. God says, I will make David the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

[9:12] Not only is this a position, but it is a kingly position. And not just a kingly position, a high king position.

[9:27] Firstborn is describing the authority of a king. The high king of heaven. And God is explaining that of David. But there's even a higher king than King David.

[9:41] It's David's greater son, Jesus. So this firstborn is a reference to Jesus. Not to his creation.

[9:52] Sorry, Jehovah's Witnesses. But his authoritative reign over all. You can say firstborn is talking about the king of kings. The last thing I want you to notice about this divine king is not just he's a king, but he's divine.

[10:16] He's a God king. If you want to look at verse 15, speaking of the beloved son, he is the image of the invisible God.

[10:26] He is God seen. Hebrews 1.3 says it like this.

[10:37] He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. The beloved son is God seen.

[10:49] And it's not just limited to his incarnation. It even happened before. So do you know who Adam and Eve saw in the garden when they would walk with God in the cool of the day? The beloved son.

[11:00] Do you know who Isaiah had a vision of? The king sitting on his throne with seraphim all around him? Beloved son. 115, this image of the invisible God is a claim of deity.

[11:20] And in verse 19, if there was any question, for in him, the beloved son, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

[11:33] This beloved son, who makes the invisible God visible, possesses the entire fullness of God-ness.

[11:44] this he, him, himself, his, is the divine king of kings.

[12:01] This is the one whom we please. And this is the one in whom we walk in a manner worthy of. It's him we seek to please in everything.

[12:14] And he claims you twice, Christian. So let's move from who he is, this divine king, to his first domain. His first crown.

[12:28] In verses 15 through 18, we are shown his first dominion, that which he reigns over. Imagine a brilliant crown of yellow gold and gilded throughout the perimeter of this, of this crown, you have golden mountains and golden rivers and golden forests.

[12:51] And there's this golden Adam and Eve in the garden walking together. And in white gold, you have this, these words, the center of this crown, the firstborn of all creation.

[13:12] The crown represents a dominion and it only fits the beloved son who is the image of the invisible God in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.

[13:27] He's the high king of all. And what we're talking about here now is one of his dominions. And so let's look at the nature of this dominion, his right to it, and the goal of it.

[13:40] The nature of his dominion. We see it in the title, the firstborn of all creation, and then it gets spelt out. It's spelt out with this little phrase, all things.

[13:51] Look at verse 16. For by him, all things were created. At the end of verse 16, all things were created through him and for him. Verse 17, and he's before all things and in him all things hold together.

[14:05] And so he then, Paul, helps us to kind of get a sense of what all things is in heaven and earth. That's everything. Visible and invisible. Things you see, things you don't see.

[14:17] That's his dominion. And then he goes into thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. Whether there are thrones, rulers, dominions, and authorities that are seen or unseen, whether they're in heaven or on earth, he has dominion over them all.

[14:36] If you look over chapter 2, verse 18, you can see some of the false teaching that was infecting the Colossian church. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels.

[14:51] What Paul is doing here is simple. He's getting ahead of that problem. He's saying angels are created things. Why are you worshiping them? They're under the domain of the firstborn of all creation.

[15:10] This firstborn is someone greater than angels. He is greater than demons. He's greater than the devil. He's greater than dictators, politicians.

[15:21] He's definitely greater than any Super Bowl athlete. The nature of this domain is all creation.

[15:37] So what gives him the right? Why does he get to wear that crown? On what basis does the second person of the Trinity, the beloved son, get to be the high king of all creation?

[15:55] In verse 16, we see it. For by him, all things were created. All things were created through him.

[16:09] He's the high king of all creation because he created all things in creation. John 1.3, John says it this way, all things were made through him and without him.

[16:23] Not one thing was made. Not anything was made that was made. It's the same point of Hebrews 1.2. The beloved son is the creator of all. And not only did he create everything, it's not like the second person of the Trinity was like this, all of creation is like this clock that he wound up and let it go.

[16:45] he's not only the creator of all. Verse 17, he holds all things together. He sustains all things. Ultimately, you were created and are being sustained by this firstborn of all creation, the beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[17:13] Whether you are conscious of it or not, you were created by him and you depend on him for your next breath. He's actually numbered your days.

[17:29] He has claimed you by virtue of creating you and sustaining you. That's what gives him the right to wear the crown, who he is, what he does.

[17:49] That's why we seek to please him in everything. But there's one more thing I'd like you to see. The goal of it all. The aim of his reign over all creation.

[18:00] It's in verse 18. Excuse me, it's in verse 16. And for him.

[18:13] All things were created through him and for him. Every square inch in all of creation in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, he claims as mine for him, for his glory.

[18:27] Every mountain, every river, every forest, every image bearer created, it's created for his glory. Anybody who liked watching the PBS antique road show?

[18:40] I began loving it when I turned 50. I'm not sure if it's got to do with that. Well, this show is basically about finding hidden treasures.

[18:52] And it goes from city to city in the United States, and people bring their stuff, and they bring their stuff to these experts in particular fields. So, they bring kind of a painting they found in their attic, and they bring a bracelet that was given to them by their great aunt, and they bring this piece of pottery they bought for $3.50 at a garage sale, and they bring it to see what these experts have to say, and lo and behold, the show unfolds, and you find treasure.

[19:20] There's this painting in someone's attic that is signed Remington. There's a bracelet that has a silver mark stamp that's Tiffany.

[19:33] There's a pottery, a piece of pottery that's made by Dave Drake. The value then goes off the charts because the value of these created things is given by its creator.

[19:57] Biblically speaking, every created thing, all things, bear the maker's mark. the firstborn of all creation. His mark is on everything.

[20:13] We bear His image. We are living marks of our maker, Jesus Christ. We were created by Him and for Him and like Him.

[20:24] Our sin is a de-creative act. It pushes back against Him. So when we ignore the maker's mark, when we kind of attribute beauty of something not to Him but to something else, when we try to scratch out His signature on us and put in our own, we're decreating.

[20:48] We're denying the crown. We're trying to take the crown that's only for His head and put it on our own heads. when we deny our Creator and attribute things to something else, it's a capital offense against the High King of all creation.

[21:12] This is His domain. All things is His domain. And you are by virtue of your existence part of His domain. And if this domain of all creation had a crown with a title, gilded in white gold, it would read the firstborn of all creation.

[21:30] And that crown can only fit on one person's head, the beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He claims you by virtue of His creation and sustaining of you.

[21:45] This is the first crown and there is a second. In verses 18 through 20, we encounter the second domain of this king.

[22:00] If the first crown of yellow gold with white gilding that says the firstborn of all creation, this second crown is spectacular as well.

[22:13] It's yellow gold and all around its perimeter you have men and women from every tribe to tongue and nation with hands raised to the one who redeemed them.

[22:27] And at the center of this crown gilded in red gold are the words, the firstborn from the dead.

[22:43] Remember, the one whom is over this dominion, the first dominion, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the image of the invisible God.

[22:54] In him is all the fullness of God pleased to dwell. This second dominion is Christ's authoritative reign over all things reconciled by the blood of his cross.

[23:08] All things. The high king of all creation is also the high king of all the redeemed. So let's again look at the nature of this domain, Christ's rightful claim on it, and the goal of it.

[23:28] we get to the nature of this particular domain by some titles. The first title is in verse 18, and he's the head of the body, the church.

[23:44] The body of Christ is the church of Christ, and that body metaphor for the church is one of Paul's favorites to describe all that's been purchased by the blood of Jesus.

[23:58] The church is not a building, it's a people, and we've already encountered the church in Colossians 1. It's in verse 13, all those who've been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

[24:20] The universal church are all those people from all of time who've been reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is their risen king.

[24:33] And him being the head of the body is a picture of both his authoritative reign over his church and the church's dependence on him. So the domain we're talking about here, the nature of this domain, we're not talking about all of creation.

[24:51] we're talking about all those who've been reconciled to him. There's another title, he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

[25:04] Again, it's getting at the nature of this reign. The beginning is not a reference to in the beginning God created. This is a different beginning.

[25:15] because it's tied to that title, the firstborn from the dead. And that is a reference to Jesus' resurrection.

[25:29] What Paul is getting at here is the beginning of a new creation. The resurrection was Christ's inauguration to his reign over all things redeemed.

[25:45] his resurrection. We just sang it moments ago. It's his victory over sin, death, and the devil. It's the great reversal of sin as far as the curse is found.

[25:58] It's the beginning of a new creation work bearing fruit and increasing in the whole world. So the nature of this second dominion is one dealing with spiritual rescue, redemption.

[26:19] Check it out. The creator of all things became like one of his creations, taking on human flesh, lived a perfect life, died to reconcile all those who rejected him, all those who were decreating, and was raised then triumphant over all that opposed him.

[26:41] and ever since that happened, Christ's death and resurrection, the gospel, the good news, has been recreating people bearing fruit and increasing throughout the whole world.

[27:01] what we're talking about here is the beginning of a new creation reign. In the scope of it, we see in verse 20, all the earth and in the heavens.

[27:19] This redemption work of Jesus is cosmic. What gives him the right? what gives him the right to rule over all the redeemed?

[27:35] Why does he get to be the head of the church? Remember verse 19, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him. He is fully God and he is fully man and he is the divine king and he is the only one of all creation who can reconcile us to God through his blood.

[27:57] There is no other. what gives him the right to exercise his domain, his authority over all that will be reconciled is who he is, God, and what he's done.

[28:19] His work on the cross, the blood of his cross. He reconciled us to himself and will one day reconcile all of creation to himself.

[28:34] If you look down at verse 21, I'm going to preach on this next week. If you look at verse 21, you're going to see our state before we were reconciled to Christ. Christ, and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds.

[28:50] In our decreating sinfulness, we are hostile to God, but God in his grace towards us sent Jesus and he did something remarkable. He made peace with us, not us with him.

[29:04] He made peace with us through his cross. Only he, could do that. Only this king could do that, being who he is.

[29:16] Our creator paid the price of our decreating in order to recreate us in his image in order to live for him. We are new creations. The old is gone, the new has come.

[29:29] If this domain had a crown, it would be titled with red gold lettering that read the first born from the dead.

[29:41] The high king of those raised from the dead. The high king of an eternal life. The high king of a new creation. And it fits only him.

[29:52] Only on his head. You can't bear the weight of your own redemption. Only he can. The goal of this reign we see in verse 20.

[30:09] to reconcile all things to himself. That he might be preeminent. That he might be Christ central. He created you.

[30:22] He died for you. He was raised for you so that you would live for him. So that you would walk in a manner worthy of this king. So that you would seek to please him in everything.

[30:35] Christian, you've been claimed not once but twice by this king. the first was your very creation. Your next breath is evidence of his kingship.

[30:47] And his second claim on you was his death on the cross for you. His redemptive dominion is reclaiming more and more of his created dominion.

[31:05] and one day his work of redemption will reclaim it all. And there will be a new heavens and a new earth. And we will be with him in his place.

[31:19] And it will be good. I've got a question for you. What is God's will for your life? Give it to me. Five words.

[31:30] Christ died Let me back up. Let me ask myself this question.

[31:40] Mike, what is God's will for your life? To please Christ in everything. This morning we've been asking the question why Christ?

[31:50] Why him? He's the divine king. He alone bears the crown of creation. He has the title the first born of all creation.

[32:02] He alone bears the crown of redemption. He alone has the title the first born from the dead. He's alive. Christian, you have been claimed twice by this divine king.

[32:18] He created you and he redeemed you. Why Christ? Who he is and what he's done. But let me just ask one more question. Why bother?

[32:34] Why bother? Why bother taking the time and effort to daily recognize him as the reigning king of all? Why bother? Well, you can make an argument for the quality of your life.

[32:49] That when he is the reigning king of your life, the controlling center of your life, you'll experience joy and peace and growing in abundance despite your circumstances, right?

[33:01] If he is the reigning king of your life, controlling center, Christ center, you will be realizing more and more what possibly could anything happen to me and anyone do to me that is a threat to him.

[33:18] Nothing. When you realize who your king is and that he's for you, it's a tremendous source of confidence. So your quality of life.

[33:31] But there's an even basic argument. Why bother? Here it is. Because it's reality. Because Jesus right now is the reigning king of creation.

[33:47] Because Jesus right now is the reigning king of redemption. The new creation. creation. He's got the spot. He's got the right to your reigning of you and all of the world.

[34:02] Don't swap him out for U.S. politics. Don't swap him out for international conflicts. Don't make the state of your marriage the controlling center of your life.

[34:15] Don't make the spiritual well-being of your children the controlling center of your life. There's only one. One. Don't make your health the controlling center of your life.

[34:28] Don't make who will win the Super Bowl, what are the snacks at the Super Bowl, the controlling center of your life. Why bother?

[34:42] Because the reality is this. Christ is reigning over all. And we please the Lord Jesus in everything because he's the high king of everything.

[35:05] And that is reality. Let's pray. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, you do call us to daily deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow you in seeing you for who you are.

[35:30] That you are the firstborn of all creation and the firstborn from the dead. You are the king of creation. You are the king of redemption. You are in the process of reclaiming this fallen world.

[35:46] And so when we think about this call in our lives to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow you, we say yes in light of who you are, in light of what you've done and what you're doing and what you will do.

[35:59] You are worthy, Lord Jesus, of all that we are. and we crown you Lord of all. Amen.