Christ The Head And Preeminent One

[0:01] Welcome. Thank you for listening to this wholesome word by David Entry. The words you catch will change your world. May your story change from this message. Be blessed.

[0:13] Colossians chapter 1, reading from verse 12. It says that, Giving thanks unto the Father which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

[0:48] For by him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him.

[1:03] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

[1:20] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.

[1:35] By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled.

[1:54] Here ends the reading of God's holy word. Father, thank you for this moment of truth. Thank you for the moment we get to hear your word taught.

[2:05] No man can teach but the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, teach us. Reveal Christ. Let us grasp the wonders in your word.

[2:18] And manifest your glory as we behold you in the pages of scripture. And get us to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

[2:30] All this to the glory of your majestic name. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. I've been teaching on Colossians, and we have established the fact that Paul addressed the church of Colossae and told them about how, after the greetings, he told them about how we are thankful to God, the Father, for qualifying us.

[3:02] And then he went on to talk about how he, God, has delivered us from the power of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son.

[3:12] Then he, as soon as he mentions the son, he begins to put focus of his teachings or his writing on the son. Because the book of Colossians is about the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ.

[3:27] And so now, after saying that we have been delivered into the kingdom of Christ, who is the dear son of God, he begins to talk now about Christ.

[3:38] That Christ is the imago Dei, the image of God. He said, if you see me, you have seen the Father. He is the expression of God in the human vessel.

[3:53] The absolute, the totality of expression of deity in physical form was Christ. We are human beings and natural beings and created beings and physical beings.

[4:09] So we are able to relate cleanly and clearly in the physical world. That's why we need science to help us understand the physical world. And God said that science can reveal you to me.

[4:25] Because science deals with just the created world. Science cannot deal with the uncreated world. And so, because I am not created, science can reveal me.

[4:37] So I have to now find a way to reveal myself to you physically. So then God himself became a physical being. So in Colossians, he said, he is the firstborn of every creature.

[4:52] In other words, he also became a creature even though he still was the creator. And the purpose of him becoming a creature, one of it is so that we creatures can identify fully, maximally with the creator.

[5:09] So we can actually feel him, touch him, or we can use the senses that science uses to show, teach us and explain things around us. We can use those same senses to now pick up God.

[5:24] When he came and lived as a human being amongst us. So they touched him. The songwriter said, he walked where I walked. He sat where I sat.

[5:35] He stood where I stood. He knows my frailty. Yet without sins. God with us. So close to us.

[5:47] Emmanuel. So he came to be Emmanuel. God with us. So God actually came. So Paul picks up and says that we have been translated into the kingdom of his dear son.

[6:02] Or the son of his love. Whom Jesus is the image of the God who cannot be seen. He himself said no one has seen.

[6:14] No man has seen God at any time. But the son. John 1.18. But the only begotten of the father. The monogamous. Has defined him.

[6:25] He came to explain him. He came to express him. He came to demonstrate him. He came to exigate God. Break him down for you to be able to get him.

[6:38] And yet when he came. He didn't come in the glory as God. Because it was only once on earth. He allowed a glimpse. Not the fullness of it.

[6:49] A glimpse of deity. The glory of deity. To best off in humanity. The disciples. The three of them. But they fell down like they were dead. So can you imagine if he was walking in town like that?

[6:59] Everywhere goes full before he had died. Before we fall. He said no one can see God. No one sees God and lives. So an expression of that in humanity.

[7:11] Best for. The Bible says his clothes became as dazzling white. Matthew chapter 17 from verse 3. He didn't have to operate like that. So he came and concealed deity in humanity.

[7:25] That's why Colossians said that. Even though it was God. It did not count equality with God. Something to grasp on. But he made himself of no reputation. Philippians chapter 2 from verse 6. He made himself of no reputation.

[7:36] And took upon himself. He took it. A form of a servant. And was made in the likeness of man. So he restricted the full manifestation.

[7:49] The glorious. The glory aspects of divinity. And took on the humanity. And even though he was fully deity. Yet he couldn't express in humanity.

[8:01] The glory of deity fully. Because you fall. You can't see. We can't relate to him. We'll run away from him. Once they told Moses. Let God speak to us. God spoke. They begged him. Please tell him.

[8:11] Let him speak to you. We can't. This is too much. So I like that. The writer of Hebrews. Chapter 12 verse 18. 19. He said. You have not come to a mountain. That burns with fire.

[8:23] You have not come to a mountain. That burns with fire. Like those guys. Who begged that please. We don't want to hear the voice again. He says that. For you have not come to the mountain.

[8:33] That may be touched. And that burns with fire. And to blackness. And darkness. And tempest. Look at the next verse. And the sound of trumpets. And the voice of words.

[8:44] So that. So that those who heard it. Begged that. The word should not be spoken. To them anymore. They begged. Please. Moses. No. Moses. We can't. Just that voice.

[8:55] The mouth. They said. God come and talk to us. We want to hear from you. Whatever you say we'll do. He came. Not in his majesty. Just an aspect of him.

[9:06] They begged. And he said that we in the church. Have not come there. Why? Because Christ didn't come like that. He came so we can relate with him.

[9:17] That's why it's very easy to take church for granted. Because you have not seen fire burning. That's why. It looks so normal.

[9:28] Everything looks so normal. Because God makes sure that he will identify with us for us to come to him. Yeah. Other than that we'll run away from him. Yeah. As sinners. Very interesting.

[9:39] So now. Paul had to tell the church. That please. This church thing is Christ thing. And this Christ is God. Who is within us.

[9:49] Even though. We can't see him tangibly. And people have their own opinions and suppositions about Christ. He said let's cut to the church. Let me tell you who this Christ is.

[10:00] So that anytime other religions begin. It's funny. I always say. Other religions think. They can tell us about Christ. Please just think about it.

[10:13] Just think about it. They can tell us about Christ. So. Back to the text. Oh. For by him. Were all things created.

[10:23] That are in heaven. That are in earth. Visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones. Or dominions. Or principalities. Or powers. All things were created by him.

[10:37] And for him. Meanwhile he said he was the firstborn of every creature. And yet all things were created by him. And for him. He has the preeminence. He is not an ordinary person.

[10:47] Paul said let's take it from there. First of all. Let's accept. He is Christ. He came as a human being. However. That human being was not ordinary. He is the firstborn of all creatures.

[10:59] He because he chose to become a creature. Don't think that he is an ordinary creature. He actually among the created stuff. He is the firstborn. He is above. He is a step above everything created.

[11:12] Then he goes further. He says that actually. All things were created by him. And for him. Whether spiritual or physical. Heavenly or earthly.

[11:22] Thrones. Dominion. All things were created for him. And by him. And Paul. As I said. He began to. He took it further. He said. He is before all things. And by him.

[11:33] All things hold together. All things. Everything. Holds together. When you. You do a research. You will find him holding things together.

[11:45] But by revelation. Now. Let me say this. Apart from. Our salvation. Our redemption. The greatest.

[11:56] Blessings. Or the greatest thing. In your. Relationship with God. Is your revelation. Salvation saves us. Revelation saves us.

[12:09] After you are saved. How you can enjoy salvation. How you can enjoy. Divine immunity. Has everything to do. With your revelation. When I say revelation.

[12:22] How. What you understand. In the things of God. Or about. About God. And his things. And his ways. You get to. You get. That's why. Teachings are.

[12:32] So important. We are supposed to teach. To get people to. To come to terms. And grace. With. What this whole thing is about. And what is working for you. And what is waiting for you. Your revelation.

[12:43] How sad it is. To be a Christian. Without revelation. Satan will take advantage. Over you. So. All things consist.

[12:56] By him. Verse 18. And he is the head. Of the body. So. For us not to be. Confused about. What he means by the body.

[13:08] He tells us. What the body is. What is the body. Let's read the first line together. Let's read it out loud. Let's go. Please. And he is the head. Of the body. The church. Five more time please.

[13:19] And he is the head. Of the body. The church. For the last time. Louder. And he is the head. Of the body. The church. What is the body. The church. Who is the head. To us.

[13:31] That's Christ they are talking about. You see the problem is that. There is something theologians call. The scandal of particularity.

[13:43] The scandal of particularity. Every human being is like. Was lost. Detached from God. In darkness.

[13:55] And then God just comes on the scene. And decides out of the millions of people. To choose one man. One man called Abraham. And he said from you. I am going to form a new people.

[14:07] And then out of Abraham. Forms a people. Who are called the chosen. Now anytime you hear. Chosen people. Sometimes people don't like it. Especially in the modern days. What do you mean by some people are special?

[14:19] Every human being is important. Everybody. What do you mean by? Some people are special. So it offends. It offends. Especially the post-modernist years. Of mindset.

[14:30] What do you mean by some people? Nobody is special. We are all equal. Black. White. Latino. Filipino. Green.

[14:40] Blue. Yellow. We are all equal. Yes. We are all equal. Human beings are all created. You call. But God chose a people. And then even the people he chose.

[14:52] As time went on. Some were off. Cut off. So some came out of Egypt. But they didn't get to the promised land. They were all cut off. Some intermarried.

[15:04] And they were cut off. With other nations. They were cut off. And it kept narrowing. And then some were left in Babylon. Into captivity. They were gone. Others in Syria. They were gone. And just a handful of people.

[15:16] And then narrow, narrow, narrow it down. And one lady called Mary. Wow. Extraordinary. She gets an extraordinary pregnancy. And gives birth to somebody. And you Christians tell us.

[15:29] That without that person. Nobody can be saved. That is preposterous. How can you say that? They will tell you. Let's be smart. Think.

[15:39] How can you say. No one can care to God. Apart from Jesus. That is the scandal. The scandal of particularity. That Jesus. Is the only way to God.

[15:50] Come on. They tell you. Stop that nonsense. There are many ways to God. What do you mean by Jesus is the only way? The scandal of particularity.

[16:03] And in the post-modern world. It is very offensive. Very offensive. That is it. You see people. There are people who don't mind you saying. In the name of God.

[16:15] So many people pray social prayers. In political circles. Or platform. National TV. And all that. They pray. In the name of God. Please. You haven't said anything. As I taught on Monday and Tuesday.

[16:29] What makes them. All religious people pray. Every. Grouping of people. They all pray. Even some. Do all kinds of other yoga. Whatever is a form.

[16:39] They do. People pray. They pray to something. That is above. Beyond. They reach out to something beyond. Some say. Okay. You call it this. I call it this. I call it their force.

[16:50] And all that. But people pray. So. Muslims pray. Catholics pray. Presbyterians pray. Charismatics pray.

[17:01] Don't speakers pray. Buddhists pray. Hindus pray. I mean. All people pray. So. Somebody say. Why don't you all come together.

[17:11] And just. Everybody is praying. Let's pray. No. It's not the same. The Christian prayer. Is distinctive. Not instinctive. It's distinct from all the other prayers.

[17:23] In what sense? Because of Christ. Because of the Christ factor in our prayer. It makes our prayer very different from all. And not just Christ factor alone.

[17:35] The fact that we call God father. All the other prayers can't call this thing father. No. No. No. But Christians we call God. Father.

[17:46] Jesus said when you pray say. Our father. That's where prayers. Christian prayer starts from. So it's very unique. In the sense that we call God father.

[17:57] And we have this Christ thing. In our prayer. So it's the Christ. That distinguishes. Our prayer. From everything. And actually taught on. The teachings of Christ. The examples of Christ.

[18:07] The blood of Christ. The intercession of Christ. And the name of Christ. We don't pray in the name of God. We pray in the name of Jesus.

[18:23] So some people don't mind you saying. In the name of God. Some people don't mind you saying. That God is good. I believe in God. That's all fine. But once you bring it down to the Christ.

[18:34] Because others have a problem. With your definition of Christ. And almost when you go to bookshops. Circular bookshops. There's a spiritual and religious section. And when you go to the spiritual section.

[18:45] There are all kinds of spiritualities. Books that are teaching spiritualities. By different authorities. And when you go to them. Some will tell you. That they have their own.

[18:56] In fact. All teachers of spiritualities. When they. Because some can't deny Christ. They only say Christ is a peace teacher. They downgrade Christ to a peace teacher.

[19:10] Or just a prophet. They downgrade Christ to a paragon of virtuous revolution. He brought some revolution. He brought some revolution of virtue.

[19:21] How you should live your life. They downgrade him to a demigod. Of self-actualization. You know. It's a kind of a kind of God. That helps you to discover who you are.

[19:33] And start to say. Some of this kind of Christ. Have penetrated into certain puppets. They teach Christ. Like he's just a peace teacher. Like he's just. He's just. He's just.

[19:44] You know. Help you to self-help. So you can discover who you are. So you can really enjoy life very well. And all that. So that's all. Some. In some congregations.

[19:55] That's the Christ they know. The Christ they know. And it's very. Harmless Christ. He doesn't even get upset. So.

[20:06] What. What many people call spirituality. Is all kinds of. A mixture of. Strange ideas. A mixture of ideas. A melting pot of ideas.

[20:18] They put it together. And it says. This is spirituality. This is. This is spirituality. They have a form. But. Any kind of. Spirituality.

[20:29] That. Sidesteps. Christ. As the son of God. The Christ. That's why. Colossians is important. Christ. As the supreme one. The all sufficient one.

[20:41] He. Is all sufficient. And he. Is supreme. Yes. He is above all. This is. This. You can't compare him to anything. He. And so. That's what.

[20:51] Paul is talking about. Here. The bible is saying. That. Christ. Is the head. Of the body. And he went on to talk about. How the body. Is the church.

[21:02] The body of Christ. Is the church. Because. You know. Christ doesn't have a physical body. On earth. So. Your hands. Are his hands. Your legs.

[21:12] Are his legs. Your body. Is his body. We are his physical representation. And he talks about. When the bible says. Christ. Is the head. Say. Christ is the head. Christ is the head.

[21:23] Say it again please. Christ is the head. He is the head. Of the body. So. You see. A church. A church. Going on. But it has not got anything.

[21:34] To do with Christ. It is all about people's. Personal feelings. And political. Propaganda. Affiliations. And personal. Self-help.

[21:46] Breakthroughs. And prosperity. And. And. In this modern world. What has become so important. To this. Modernist. Type of spirituality. Is tolerance.

[21:57] And so. That's. The scandal of particularity. Comes in. Tolerance. Doesn't. Why. Why do you separate. One man. From all the others. Yeah. And so. Tolerance.

[22:08] Become. So important. It becomes. The platform. Of. Of. Social norms. Yeah. Of spiritual. Pesture. That is acceptable.

[22:18] To society. Yeah. It doesn't mean. Christianity. Is intolerant. Obviously. Every system. Has been tolerant. Of something. The fact that. We stand on God's word.

[22:29] Means that. We have to reject. Certain things. Yeah. We can't. I can't stand. On God's word. Embrace. Racism. I can't.

[22:42] I can't stand. On God's word. And embrace. Abuse. I mean. Of any. Substance abuse. Yeah. Even though. In past. This secularist.

[22:52] Will tell you. There are historic events. That show that the church. Has done. The church. They didn't stand. Properly. On God's word. Yes. Yes. They made. It makes you look like. They were standing on it. But they are not standing on. They are standing on business principles.

[23:04] Yes. Yes. They are standing on social norms. Yes. Social norms. What society accepted. So they call themselves. Church.

[23:14] But they were doing. What society accepted. They were using funds of the church. To buy slaves. And do all that. because at that time, that was what society accepted, a proper way of using money. And the church, any time the church wants to do what society accepts, we slip from standing on the word of God.

[23:31] I'm sure if they are not done that, society will say they are not being tolerant of businessmen who are helping the economy by their slave trade. So society changes, but the word doesn't change.

[23:44] Bible says, if the word of God stays in you, or you stay on the word of God, you abide forever. Abide forever. So the word of God endures forever. And this is the word which is preached by the gospel to you. There's a scripture that said, obeying the word of God, or standing on God, you abide forever, because the word actually abides forever.

[24:06] So we stand on the word. Standing on the word means that you can't, you can't, if you come and tell me, your wife is really upsetting you, and you want to go and beat her at home. And if she misbehave, you divorce her.

[24:19] How can I stand on God's way? I can't tolerate that. I can't tolerate that, so I have to be intolerant. That's what I'm trying to say. I have to be intolerant of that nonsense. It might sound good for you, but I can't tolerate it.

[24:33] Why? Not because I don't like you, but because I'm standing on God's way. So they will tell us, you are intolerant. Mainly, this Christ is, that the Bible teaches, the world doesn't, the world does not want to know about the Christ.

[24:47] The world. They want to know about being nice, being peaceful, being charitable, being friendly.

[24:58] So, they tell you, it was the purpose of a church that is only preaching the gospel. Let's not equate that. Anybody at all can do it. All other religious groups can do this, because some of it is just common sense and basic human virtue.

[25:13] Virtuous behavior. But Christianity is more than virtuous behavior. This Christ is more than a demigod of virtuous revolution. He's more than that.

[25:26] He's God. He's the head of the church. Don't be head of the church. He's the head of the church. Let's all say, Christ is the head of the church.

[25:37] Christ is the head of the church. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 23, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 15. It all tells us, Christ is the head.

[25:49] Colossians chapter 2, verse 10, Colossians chapter 2, verse 19. Christ is the head of the church. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22 and 23. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22, he said, and has put all things under his feet and given him to, ooh, given him to be the head.

[26:12] We are, we are, watch this, we are, we, he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. We actually join to him. Our, oh, our relationship with Christ is organic.

[26:25] Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's not cosmetic. Yes. It's organic. Yeah, yeah. In other words, it's a relationship of life. The life that is in the head, the blood that is flowing in the head is the same blood in the toe.

[26:39] Amen. So when he says that he's the head of the church, it's depicting one life. Yeah. The life that is in Christ is the life that is in the church. Yes. And the life in the church is coming from Christ.

[26:53] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Decisions in the church must come not from the government. Yes. Yes. Not from the pastor. The decisions about church should come from Christ.

[27:04] Yes. If the decision you are making is not coming from your head. When they tell you, what does that mean? Church, let's use our head.

[27:21] Let's use our head. This is our head. Whatever Christ has got to say and think is given to us here. So that's why keep the Bible open and keep the head working.

[27:35] Hallelujah. So Christ is the head of the church. He gave him to be the head of the church over all things.

[27:47] Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22. Gave him after he raised him far above principalities and powers and seated him in heavenly places. Far above principalities and powers.

[27:57] Not only in this world, but also that he put everything under him. Gave him to be the head over all things to the church. Look at the next verse.

[28:08] Which is his body. The fullness of him that fills everything. The church is the fullness of him that fills everything. Hallelujah. And Christ is the head of the church.

[28:19] Let's all say Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the head of the church. He is the ruler. He is the owner. He is the decision making. He is the governor of the church.

[28:31] Christ. So, and we are the body. Anything, as I said in the last teaching, anything you do for the church, you are doing it on his body. Yes. If you take good care of your body, then it's a sign that you must learn.

[28:45] You are good. You know how to take good care of your body. Why not Christ's body? So, you know, I love Jesus. I love Jesus. What do you do for his body? All this, I love Jesus.

[28:57] I love Jesus. It's a religious feeling. It's not a spiritual reality. It's a religious feeling. And many people are so religious, they think they are spiritual. Those are religious.

[29:12] You used to cry a lot. When you are not even born again. Cry a lot. Of course, you have a soft heart for religious matters. And so, this kind of crying, crying baby thing, and emotional thing, you have transported it into, after you became born again.

[29:30] But really, you are at best very religious Christian. Like the Judaizers, who went to Cornelius' house with Peter. They were born again. But some things, no, no, those in Jerusalem actually, Acts chapter 11 from verse 1.

[29:43] The Judaizers, they are with the apostles. They were there, born again, but still, Judaism hasn't left them. They're very religious. So, you can be in the church and still so religious, and yet, not really spiritual.

[29:57] You are not in tune with Christ. All of us can be. All of us. So, that is why we are, everyone must work hard, work hard, to be in line through prayer, and through reading, and studying of the word, and healthy association of people who are Christ-minded.

[30:14] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Hallelujah. So, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22 and 23, tells us Christ is the head. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 15, tells us that Christ is the head of the church.

[30:28] But speaking the truth in love, we may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even who? Christ. Christ is the head. Colossians chapter 2, verse 10.

[30:39] Colossians chapter 2, verse 19. Colossians 2, 10, says that, not holding the head, from which all the body is joined, and bands, having nourishment ministered.

[30:53] So, the body is joined to the head. We are on earth, but our head is in heaven, and we are not disconnected. We are actually heavily connected. We are joined to Christ.

[31:05] So, when you see, that's why, when Saul of Tarsus was afflicting the church, Jesus came and said that, why persecuted thou me? He thought the church was independent from Christ.

[31:18] He made a mistake. He made a mistake. The church is joined to Christ. The church, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 23, it tells us, it says, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.

[31:40] Hallelujah. Christ is the head of the church. That's why he says that, when he saw Christ in the book of Revelation, he was walking in the church.

[31:51] Hmm. When we gather like this, the head is walking. My God. Praise God. The head is in our midst.

[32:03] He's the head. He's walking. And he's not only the head of the church, but Bible says that there's something I've been trying to say. There is something I've been trying to say in the past.

[32:15] Palenganesia. Yeah, palenganesia. That's a Greek word. New world. New creation. You know, palenganesia. Palenganesia. Means that Christ, this from the text, he, do I have what?

[32:28] The spelling. The way you hear it. It's Greek, so the way you hear it, write it. Genesia is Genesis anyway.

[32:41] Yeah. Let me give it to you. P-A-L-I- double G-E-N-E-S-I-A.

[32:54] Pali. So it's palenganesia. Paliganesia is, it's like the, the new creation. In Titus chapter 3, verse 5, it talks about regenerated.

[33:07] So that is like spiritual renovation. Polygenesia is spiritual renovation. According to us, it's mercy, washing of the regeneration.

[33:19] Regeneration and renewal. Spiritual. So Jesus Christ is the head of the new grace. We are a new generation.

[33:30] We are a new group of people. It's renovated humanity. And he's the head of renovated humanity. In time, watch this, this is very important. In time, he's going to be the head of all renovated creation.

[33:45] So the current world will pass away. And there will be a new heaven and a new earth. So Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10, it talks about how he's the head.

[33:59] Jesus in the head in this way, watch this. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even him.

[34:13] So he might gather together. When you read some verses, it talks about he might gather together into the head. So Christ becomes the head of whatever.

[34:24] So in Revelations, it talks about how there shall be no more pain. It talks about the new world. So the old shall pass away and there's coming a new world and Christ will still be the head of all that.

[34:39] So in Revelation chapter 21, verse 3, starting from verse 3, it says that, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God.

[34:57] That's the new heaven and when everything is starting again. Now watch this, verse 4 says that, and God shall wipe, oh, oh, I like this one so much, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for their former things, oh, hallelujah.

[35:17] Hallelujah. Look at the next verse. It says that, verse 5, it says that, and he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all, this is, I make all things new, and he said unto me, right, for these words are true and authentic.

[35:34] you can count on these ways. Count on these ways. Hallelujah. You can count on these ways. Hallelujah. And so, for instance, in Isaiah chapter 4, verse 2, Isaiah chapter 11, verse 6, Isaiah chapter 55, verse 12, it points to the new world.

[35:53] It talks about a lamb and a lion shall be eaten together. Hey. Hey. Hey. That's a good, that's an interesting one, isn't it? Isaiah chapter 4, verse 2, Isaiah chapter 4, verse 2, says that, in that day shall a branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and calmly for them that are escaped of Israel.

[36:16] Isaiah chapter 11, verse 6, the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. Ah, ah. And the leopard shall lie down with the kid. Whoa.

[36:27] And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together. So the young lion and the fatling come, they will all be together and no one is under threat. It's almost like boys and girls together.

[36:38] Oh, that's a good one. Oh. Oh. And a little chaser, it's talking about the glorious restoration according to Acts chapter 3, verse 19, the restoration of all things.

[36:57] There's a time coming. That's what usually Jehovah's Witness paints, You know, you see, it's like everything has become like a garden of Eden. We are coming there. We are coming there.

[37:08] The new world that is coming. Christ will be the head of everything. And we will, it's a beautiful. Isaiah chapter 55, verse 12. Look at what he said. For ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace.

[37:21] And the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you in singing. Mountains will be singing, not afflicting you anymore. You don't have to cast out mountains. They sing with you. And all the trees of the field will be clapping their hands.

[37:37] I mean, that's the new world. That's the polygynecia. He is the world. But now we are still in the new creation. Because 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17 says, If any man be in Christ, the new creation has already started.

[37:52] Jesus said in Matthew chapter 19, verse 28, that those of you who have suffered with me in the day of regeneration, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, in the polygynecia, the Greek word for that region is polygynecia.

[38:10] In the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also, wow, shall sit upon 12 thrones, judging the 12.

[38:21] What? And so there are people who are going to reign with him in that order. And I'm talking about you. Amen. Now, let's go back to it. Because some of these things sound too far.

[38:36] It's part of the gospel. Yes. And you must hear it. Yes. So that one day, there's a God, but he didn't know. I didn't. Because that day is coming. Yes. Don't only live for today. Yes.

[38:47] Live a prophetic life. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's why the Bible doesn't only end with things that happen and things that have happened. It also talks about things that will happen. Yes. So, now, he, Jesus, is the head of the church.

[39:03] And he's also the head of when God brings everything under him together in the regeneration. So Paul says that this is the Jesus we are talking about. He's the head of the church.

[39:14] Back to Colossians. Back to Colossians. He says that he's the head. He's not only the head. He's not only the head of the church. He's the firstborn. He's the firstborn.

[39:25] Firstborn from the dead. What does that mean? First Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20 and verse 23. What does that mean for him to be the firstborn from the dead?

[39:35] But now it's Christ raising from the dead and become the first fruit of them that sleep. When you sleep, there mean those Christians who die. We will resurrect, but Christ is the first.

[39:47] In fact, it talks about Hebrews chapter 6. It said, where Christ, the forerunner has entered, gone ahead. So our forerunner has already gone ahead. In the holies of holies.

[39:57] Without the forerunner is for us entered. Even Jesus made a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. He has entered.

[40:07] So then, he being our forerunner, he being our leader, he being the captain of our salvation, and our scripture puts it, he's the captain of us, Hebrews chapter 2, he's the captain of our salvation.

[40:20] So he has gone ahead. And Bible says that he's the firstborn from the dead. I know what some of us are thinking, but he wasn't the first person to resurrect. Elijah's bone resurrected some dead. Elijah resurrected the woman's son.

[40:35] Jesus himself resurrected about five people. Paul raised the guy who was sleeping during preaching. And he died.

[40:46] He died. Yeah. But to be honest, the preaching was very long. Acts after 20. The preaching was very long. All night. So I'm not doing anything bad though.

[40:57] I haven't even gotten anywhere near Paul's level. He preached. He preached all night. Somebody was sitting at the window. You two, you know you are dozing. Why do you sit at the window?

[41:09] And the owner of the house didn't put health and safety principles in place. So he fell down and died. So Paul himself raised somebody from the dead.

[41:23] You know, and Peter in Acts chapter 9, I think 40 or so, Peter brought Dockers back from the dead. So there are people who are brought back from the dead, like Lazarus. So Jesus was not the first who came from the dead.

[41:37] 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 23. We read verse 20. Verse 23. It says that, but every man in his own order, Christ the first fruit. After all, they that are Christ at his coming.

[41:49] Some will rise at his coming. Those who belong to Christ. So why is he saying Christ the first fruit? He was the only human being who died, and no one had to resurrect him. All the others.

[42:00] It's resuscitation. Really, technically, they are all of resuscitation because they died again. It's called resuscitation. That's not real resurrection. Jesus Christ, it's a real resurrection. He died. They put him in the tomb, sealed it.

[42:11] They didn't call a prophet, nobody. On the third day, he told them he would come. On the third day, he just, he came back. He came back, never to die again. And, and, and, and scripture, scripture says that he has an indestructible life.

[42:32] Because this life has defied death. It's a life that has conquered death. The other ones who are resurrected died again. So we are talking about, and when we resurrect, our resurrection is going to be according to that order.

[42:48] We, we, we resurrect to be like him, never to die again. But he, for now, he's the first born from the dead. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[42:59] Look at Acts chapter 26, verse 23. It says, that Christ should suffer, and that he should be, ooh, he should be the first, that should rise from, but others are rising, oh, not that kind of rising.

[43:13] Not that kind of rising. But he should be the first to rise from the dead, and should show light onto the people, and to the Gentiles. That's the gospel. Christ should be the first.

[43:25] And so, you can't mute the resurrection of Christ, and claim to have a full gospel. Yeah. So Paul, when he was presenting the Christ of the church, he presented him as, watch this, he presented him as, the image of God, the first one of every creature, the one through whom all things were created, and for whom all things were created.

[43:46] And then he says that, he presents him as, the head of the church, and then he presents him, as the firstborn from the dead. This is the kind of Christ we are talking about. When someone says, oh, we also believe in Jesus, ask them if, if it's this bill.

[44:02] Has he risen from the dead? Is he the firstborn of all creatures? Is he God who became a creature? That's a big question. It's a big, is he the head of the church?

[44:13] Church, if Islam say that, they also believe in Jesus, ask them, that Jesus, is he the head of the church, they are talking about? If he's not Jesus, who is head, who is just a prophet?

[44:24] No, no, no, no, no, that's not, maybe the one support that there was, even there's bad Jesus in the Bible. So maybe one of those kind of Jesuses. Let me run up.

[44:36] Is somebody learning something about Jesus? Have you noticed that, it's so sweet to talk about Jesus? Unless you are not a Christian. If you are a Christian, this Jesus thing gets really, it gets very personal to you.

[44:49] That's a sign that you're actually a Christian. The Jesus thing, it really gets to you. I know pastors, who might not be interested in things, but they hear somebody preaching, and they realize that this thing, there's a lot of Jesus in it, it just unrails their hearts, and it keeps them very tender.

[45:04] Because when you are genuinely born again, this Jesus thing, this Jesus thing, you can't get tired hearing it. It's like, please don't stop, tell me more about Jesus.

[45:16] Tell, tell, reveal Jesus more to me. It's a sign that you have actually been born again, because you have the seed of God in you. If you don't have the seed of God in you, you have to pray for me. This is all this kind of preaching. Pastor, you know, tomorrow I have an interview.

[45:32] Pastor, I had a dream, I was getting wedded, but you haven't said anything about that. Yeah, I'm talking about wedding, the wedding is coming. Jesus is going to be the groom, and we are the bride. That's what I'm talking about.

[45:43] Hallelujah! So that wedding is about Jesus and the bride. You are part of the bride. Praise God.

[45:56] So, he is there, verse 18 again, he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things, he might have the supremacy, the pre, pre, your eminent one, is eminent, it stands out, but he should be pre, first amongst eminent ones.

[46:21] In the church, he should have the pre-eminence. So it doesn't matter what the world thinks, we should think about Christ. Sorry, he has the pre-eminence. So if you want me to downgrade him, and make his life, okay, you let's not talk about Christ.

[46:34] What else? He's the pre-eminence. When you see, you know, okay, you know some people, when you see them, there are different things that are pre-eminent about him. Some people, when you see them, the first thing you see is their hair.

[46:46] Some people, when you see them, it's their nose you see first. They are nose. Pre-eminence. Jesus Christ, when you see the church, when you come to church, please, when you come to church and you don't find Christ, run away!

[47:02] Run away. Run away. Because he's supposed to be the pre-eminent one. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The first thing you encounter in church is not the choir. Yeah.

[47:13] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's not the preacher's suit and pocket square. It's not the system, the screens, that you might see it, but as you stare in the surface, you realize that there's something beyond all these things.

[47:27] That thing is so prominent, there's no way you should be able to miss it. You shouldn't miss that. You can't miss that. Because Christ is the pre-eminent one in the church. Hallelujah.

[47:38] Yes. Wow. Wow. He's the head and the pre-eminent one. Yes. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He's the beginning.

[47:50] Yes. Wow. Did you see that word? The word there, but I didn't mention my... He's the beginning. Yes. Then he said, the first one from... He's the... Judge began with him. Yes. Yes. Yes. He's the beginning.

[48:00] Yes. What is this Christianity you have begun with? We didn't... We can't trust Papa Christ inside it. Yes. We can't trust it. And full of opinions and ideas of what spiritual is.

[48:14] And some of us come into Christ or into church with pre-existing religious ideas. Tradition of man. We impose it on our worship, on our relationship in church and Christ.

[48:29] And Christ doesn't really matter. It's your religious persuasion that matters. Your social norms, national philosophy, that's what matters to you.

[48:40] I don't think you are doing church. No. No. You either have not met Christ or you are eclipsing Christ. No. Or suppressing the Christ that is supposed to be the preeminent one.

[48:53] No. No. The preeminent one has been suppressed. No. No. No. Has been eclipsed. No. No. No. No. No. For somebody to be in church once, twice, three times, a month and having found these things about Christ.

[49:08] No. No. No. No. Pastor, you are not doing a good job. No. No. You are not doing a good job. No. No. No. They must discover it very quickly because Christ should be so preeminent that you can't miss it.

[49:19] When you are on the high seas and you are coming towards land, there's something called lighthouse. You are supposed to spot that first. You are supposed to spot that one first.

[49:30] When the weather is foggy and you are high in the skies or all tall buildings are supposed to have this light on them. You see those lights.

[49:41] It doesn't matter where you are coming from. It tells you there's a structure there. Where is the light of Christ that tells us there's this Christ structure in the church? What is it? The Christ.

[49:52] You are composing a song. But Christ is not the preeminent one. He's not the preeminent one. You just want people to enjoy it. That he should be the preeminent one.

[50:09] He said that he's the big, yeah, it is a strong one. He's the head of the body, the church. Who is the beginning? Remember I said, I said before that, he's before all things.

[50:20] Now he is not just before all things. He is actually the beginning. He's the beginning and he's the firstborn from the dead. Firstborn.

[50:30] Why? So that's in all things, not only some things. In all things, he, Christ, must, might have the preeminence. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. When you are born again, what shows you are born again is how preeminent Christ is in your life.

[50:46] How preeminent, you have started coming to church, but Christ is not preeminent in your life. You came for a second, give my life to Jesus, but Christ is not preeminent. You are actually not born again. You are not born again. You have, you have adapted a religious form, but you are not born again.

[50:59] The true sign that a person is born again is Christ becomes preeminent in your heart. So even when you are backsliding, we can appeal to the Christ. That's why we can pastor you. We can, we can pastor you because the pastoring work is supposed to be appealing to the preeminent Christ inside you.

[51:16] So sometimes your systems, your body, your situation puts you off and you are not in the best of shape. But when the pastor appeals, the Christians appeal with the word of God, it goes straight to the preeminent Christ inside you.

[51:29] And you, you, you know, even if you choose not to give up, you just know. It has a way of getting to you. That's why I said something that true Christians love to hear more about Christ.

[51:40] Why? Because he's already preeminent in your heart. He's preeminent in, the preeminent Christ. If he's not preeminent, he's not the Christ that he's supposed to be in your life or in the church.

[51:54] And the, pastor, the world wants us to suppress him. Yeah. No, no, there's Christ. But he said he's a, no, it's not even just our doctrine, but our reality is that you want me to go silent about Christ.

[52:10] It's so preeminent in my life, I can't fake it. So that's the problem. It's not a problem of ideology. It's not a problem of just teachings, but it's a problem of reality in human hearts.

[52:21] Human hearts that have been taken over by the preeminence of Christ. There's nothing we can do. You can make laws, and we are happy to go to prison. We are happy to be beheaded.

[52:32] Yeah, that's the church. We're happy to be beheaded, happy to be ostracized, happy to be marginalized in society. It's not that we are antisocial. Dad, you want to disown me for becoming a Christian? Dad, I love you.

[52:43] I don't want to, I don't want to hurt you. But Dad, I can't help it. I can't help it. He's preeminent in my life that you don't even matter. Your property want to live for me. If you don't do it again, it doesn't matter because something else is preeminent.

[52:57] Has the preeminence. Something else. If because of Christ, you say you will not marry me, go! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because he's preeminent in my life. He's more important than marriage.

[53:08] Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Oh, Jesus, that you have the preeminence. That you have the preeminence in our lives, in our church, in our churches, in our systems, in our approach, in our pursuit of success, in our pursuit of breakthroughs, in our family lives, in our social lives, in our political lives, in every way, in our financial lives, that you have the preeminence in all things, that you have the preeminence.

[53:36] You'll be the preeminent one and have the preeminence. Oh, no! We commit ourselves to you, we commit our lives to you, that you have the preeminent. You'll be the preeminent one with the preeminence of everything in our life.

[53:49] We are happy to submit to you. We are happy to ask you, have a preeminence, oh Lord Jesus. Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. You're welcome to Connect with David Entry on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

[54:05] You can also find more Spirit-filled messages from Karis Church on YouTube and all relevant streaming platforms. Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share the message.

[54:16] Be blessed.