The Supremacy of the Son

[0:00] And would you please keep open that passage in Colossians. That's where we're going to be anchoring ourselves together this evening, spending our time.! And I've got one thing that I would love for us all to do as we spend our time in this passage.

[0:16] Is I want us to see and savour the sun. And over the next number of days, we're just going to be spending time dwelling in this letter of Colossians.

[0:33] And there'll be plenty of time for us to think about what's the go and do. What do we need to do? But what Paul does here first is he wants the eyes of our hearts to be fixed, fixated on Jesus.

[0:52] Let me tell you a slightly trivial and slightly silly story. Hopefully to help us to understand what we're seeing here.

[1:02] Earlier this year, I read about a burglar in Rome who, as he was making his way through a house, trying to steal objects, he saw a copy of Homer's Iliad.

[1:16] And it just caught his attention. So he sat down and read it. And he read it. And he read it. And he read it until the sun came up and the owners of the house came through.

[1:29] And he was actually arrested. Now, I'm not encouraging any of us to be arrested here tonight. But what I want us to be is so captured and enraptured by Jesus that everything else just starts to fade into the background.

[1:50] What my prayer is, is that our hearts are so intoxicated by Jesus that the old life just blurs away, fades away.

[2:02] As we see and savour his beauty. As we see and savour his grace. As we see and savour his glory and power and majesty and splendour.

[2:20] And Paul here, he's writing to this church in Colossae. It's a church that he's never met. It was planted by someone else. But he's writing to them.

[2:30] And what he's heard is, this is a church that is just slowly, instead of being entirely fixed and fixated on Jesus, is hearing another message which is just slightly taking them off track.

[2:45] And it's not far. But it's enough that they won't hit the right destination. But what Paul's doing here, he's not warning them.

[2:57] He's seeking to woo them back to Jesus. He wants them to see that there's nothing else that can satisfy the human heart.

[3:12] You see, what he wants to do is he wants us to behold the majesty and might of Christ. To contemplate the glory and grace of Jesus.

[3:25] To see and savour the Son. And as we look at this passage, I've got two points. As we're going to look through this, two points.

[3:37] And they are these. See and savour the supremacy of the Son. And see and savour the sufficiency of the Son. The supremacy of the Son.

[3:49] The sufficiency of the Son. See and savour him. So have a look with me again. As we look at this passage. Did you notice the kind of repetition of all and everything?

[4:04] Verse 15. We see all. Verse 16. Twice again in 16. In 17. Again in 17. 18. And 20. Over and over again. All.

[4:14] All. All. All. All. You see what he's saying here. Is the scope of Jesus. Is total.

[4:29] Universal. All encompassing. These all's are the consistent notes of the song that he wants us to hear.

[4:41] And these notes. They find their crescendo. So. Right at the end of verse 18. Have a look with me at verse 18. He is the head of the body of the church. He is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead.

[4:52] And here it is. That in everything. He might be. Preeminent. Preeminent. First. Before all things.

[5:05] Or. Supreme. Over. Nothing. Competes. No peers. No matches. He is preeminent.

[5:18] And there's two things that we see. That he's preeminent over. He's supreme over. He's supreme over. Creation. And supreme. Over. The church. And have a look with me again at verse 15.

[5:29] He is the. Image. Of the invisible gods. The firstborn. Of all. Creation. He is. The image.

[5:41] Now. Right at the very beginning. Of the scriptures. Genesis chapter 1. We see that. Humanity. Man and woman.

[5:52] Without exception. Are all created. In the image of God. To be created. In the image of God. Means that we have. An identity. A status.

[6:03] That is both. Stable. And regal. But there's a difference. Where we're created. In the image of God. What we see here. Is Jesus. Is.

[6:14] The image of God. The exact. Imprint. Of his nature. The perfect. Revelation. Of God. To the world.

[6:26] He is. The. Image. And you see also there. He's. The firstborn. Of all. Creation. Now when it says there. Firstborn.

[6:37] That's indicating his. Rank. It doesn't mean that he was. The first thing. That God. Created. And this language here.

[6:47] Firstborn. It's used. Also. Back in Psalm 89. When it speaks about David. Now David wasn't the firstborn. In his family. Famously. He was the lastborn.

[6:58] He was the youngest. He was the seventh. Of the family. But when it speaks about David. As firstborn. He was king. He was ruler. He was preeminent.

[7:08] He is supreme. He is first in rank. Over and above all. And so the picture here is. Because. Jesus is the. Image. Of God.

[7:19] He is the firstborn. First in rank. Overall. Preeminent. Supreme. Overall. Creation. Abraham.

[7:32] Kuyper. He was. At one point. The. Prime Minister. Of the Netherlands. In the late. Eighteenth. Late. Sorry. Late. Nineteenth. Early. Twentieth century.

[7:43] He was a. Journalist. And he actually. Set up. A university. The Free University. Of Amsterdam. Which is still a. Prestigious university. To this day. And at the opening. Ceremony.

[7:54] Of. This university. The Free University. Of Amsterdam. Which he founded. With others. He gave the speech. And there's a famous line. Which is. Quoted by many.

[8:05] Because it's so helpful. And it captures. This picture of Jesus. As the firstborn. First in rank. Ruler overall. Kuyper said this.

[8:16] There is not. One square inch. In the whole domain. Of our human life. Of which Christ. Who is sovereign. Over all. Does not cry.

[8:28] Mine. He goes on. Look at verse 16. And he tells us. Why.

[8:38] For. Why is he the firstborn. Of all creation. Why is he first in rank. For. By him. All things were created. In heaven. And on earth.

[8:50] Visible. And invisible. Whether thrones. Or dominions. Or rulers. Or authorities. All things were created. Through him. And for him.

[9:00] And here's. The simple. Message. For us. Because. All things were created. Through him. Because all things were created.

[9:12] For him. All things. Are subordinate. To him. All things are. Under him. Not that.

[9:25] First. Nothing's above him. And also. Nothing is at the same level. Of Jesus. Nothing's on. The same plane. As the sun. He is the one.

[9:35] Who is over. And above. Everything. And where he speaks. About there. He speaks about this. In heaven. And on earth. Visible. And invisible. Thrones.

[9:46] Dominions. Rulers. Or authorities. Here he's speaking. About the cosmic. Powers. Of the universe. Angels.

[9:58] Demons. The evil one. Governments. Multinational. Corporations. Everything. Is subordinate. To him. Everything.

[10:08] Came through him. Everything. Is ultimately. For him. Everything. Is ultimately. Under him. And it's a message. That. Paul. Is going to. Press home.

[10:20] Harder. As we get into. The next chapter. But he's. He's setting. The foundation. Pieces here. And it's a reminder. To us. Of this. Don't trust in.

[10:31] Or bow. Before. Other thrones. Other powers. Other rulers. Other authorities. The knee. Must be bent. Only. To Jesus.

[10:43] All is. Subordinate. To him. And all is. Sustained in him. You see there. Verse 17. And he is before. All things. And in him. All things. Hold together. What he's trying to do.

[10:56] Is he's just building. Again. Remember we said. Verse 18. The end of verse 18. Is the crescendo. And you see what he's. Saying. Before all things. In him. All things. Hold together. Jesus. Is before everything.

[11:08] Everything's created for him. Therefore. He is. The foremost. He is the preeminent. He is the supreme. One. Jesus is supreme. Over all creation. And Paul.

[11:19] Once then. Tell us. He's supreme. Over all creation. And he's supreme. Over the new creation. Which is the church. Have a look at me. Verse 18 there. And he is the head.

[11:30] Of the body. The church. He is the beginning. The first born. From the dead. In. 1534.

[11:41] The first act. Of supremacy. Was brought. Into law. And what it did. Was it named. Henry VIII. And all his successors.

[11:54] As the supreme. Head. Of the church. Now thankfully. Given. All the turmoil. At the time. Things. Juggling around.

[12:05] Moving around. This act. Was suspended. And canned. Because as people. Looked at the scriptures. They said. How could we say. That someone. Is the supreme.

[12:15] Head of the church. When we're told. That there is only one. In one of the documents. For the.

[12:26] Vatican II. One of the councils. Of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1960s. It says this. The Roman Catholic Church. States. That the pontiff. That's the Pope.

[12:37] Has full. Supreme. And universal. Power. Over the church. Over the church. And he is. Always free. To exercise. His power.

[12:49] Now at best. That is. Careless language. Because. Scripture is. Clear. There is just. One. Head. Of the church.

[13:00] Church. So. Kieran. Kelleher. Is not. The head. Of Grace Church. Montrose. Donald. McLeod. And the elders.

[13:13] Are not the heads. Of North Tulsa. Free Church. The moderator. Is not the head. Of the free church. Of Scotland. The Pope. Is not the head.

[13:23] Of the church. The king. Is not the head. Of the church. There is one head. One supreme king. Who rules over all. And his name is Jesus.

[13:34] The son. He is the head. He is. The beginning. The beginning. The firstborn. From the dead.

[13:45] And in everything. He might be. Preeminent. Because he is the. Resurrected. One. He is the head. Because. He has overcome.

[13:58] The sin. That has. Soiled. And. Stained. And. Corrupted. The old creation. He has overcome it. Through his death. And now he is.

[14:08] The seed. The firstborn. The firstfruits. Of the new creation. He is the firstborn. The preeminent one. The one of highest rank. He alone. Is head over it all.

[14:20] And he is head over his church. Because. All who trust in the Lord Jesus. Are raised with him. Into new and everlasting life.

[14:30] And he is the head. Of his church. The church. The resurrected ones. In him. As head. He alone. He alone. Must be honoured.

[14:41] And obeyed. He is the head. And God is doing a work. Through him. As the head. Have a look at verses 19 and 20.

[14:52] With me. For in him. All the fullness of God. Was pleased to dwell. And through him. To reconcile to himself. All things. Whether on earth.

[15:03] Or in heaven. Making peace. By the blood. Of his cross. Now we could. Spend an old.

[15:14] Evening. Meditating. On verse 19. Marinating in the truth. Of what it says. That. The fullness. Of God. Dwelt in this man.

[15:27] Christ Jesus. The man from the town. That no one thought any good.

[15:38] Could come from. The man who. Walked the. Sandy. By roads. The man who.

[15:48] Ate with tax collectors. And sinners. The man who had nowhere to. Lay his head. The man who. Went through an unjust trial.

[16:00] The man who was. Spat upon and mocked. By those he came to save. The fullness of God. Dwelled in him. So that. Not just.

[16:11] That. That. Man. And woman. Would be reconciled to God. But that the whole creation. Would be renewed. That God was coming in.

[16:22] Making all things new. Through the cross. God is seeking. To make. To make. Peace. To reestablish.

[16:35] Peace. It's that. Um. Hebrew word for peace. Shalom. Which. Never just means. Cessation of hostilities.

[16:46] But it means. The. Perfect. Harmony. And unity. Of all. Of joy.

[16:58] And comfort. Of rest. The reestablishment. Of the good order. This. The Lord has. Laid down.

[17:08] For his world. And it's remarkable. How does it happen. Through the blood. Of his cross. Sin.

[17:19] Has been defeated. Through the blood. Of the cross. Death. Has been neutered. Through the blood. Of the cross. Life.

[17:30] And peace. Has been secured. Through the blood. Of the cross. And so. Through the cross. God is. Restoring.

[17:40] And reconciling. All things. Under Jesus Christ. Who is supreme. And he's also. The sufficient. Savior. For all.

[17:51] Who trust in him. We see that there. In these. Final verses. 21 to 23. The sufficiency. Of the son.

[18:02] And here's. Here's the two key words. For you. As we're looking at this. Verse 21. Once. Verse 22. Now.

[18:16] If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. What Paul is saying. This is who you once were. And this is who you now are. Look at what he says in verse.

[18:31] 21. Remember. Who you were. Who you were. He says first. You were. Alienated. This is.

[18:43] Striking. And. Sobering. Language. That. Apart from Christ. We are. Apart from God.

[18:54] Away from him. God alone. Is the source. Of life. If you're here this evening. And haven't put your trust in Jesus. This is where you are.

[19:07] But it doesn't mean where you have to stay. But when he's talking here about alienated. He's tapping into this. Larger. Biblical. Language.

[19:18] And imagery. Of. The exile. Most. Powerfully. Seen. In the. Exile. Of Adam and Eve. From the garden. The place of.

[19:30] Blessing. The place of. Life. The place of. Peace. The place of the presence of God. Over and over again. The punishment. For sin. Truly.

[19:42] Really is. Alienation. From. The God of life. He says here. Remember who you were. Alienated.

[19:53] Remember. Who. So. Remember where you were. Alienated. Remember. Who you were. Hostile. Enemies. Of God.

[20:07] The language. Which was striking. And sobering. Becomes. Even deeper. Doesn't it? It doesn't leave any room. There's no one who's neutral. Towards God.

[20:19] Anyone who refuses. Him. And his words. Is hostile. To him. Is an enemy. Towards him. But. But what Paul is.

[20:29] Doing here. As he's writing. To this. New church. This church. Whose eyes. Are just slightly. Getting taken off.

[20:39] Jesus. Is he's not. Scolding them. He's not. Guilting them. He's not. Shaming them. What he's doing here. In verse 21.

[20:50] Is he's. Setting the scene. Think of it. In this. Way. Imagine. A grandfather. Great grandfather. In fact.

[21:01] Sitting with his. Great granddaughter. On his knee. And he's telling her. The story. Of Dunkirk. And what he does. Is he spends time.

[21:11] Talking about. The perilous. Nature. Of their. Situation. How. They're stranded. No help.

[21:22] Under great. Fire. From the enemy. Far. From home. Great. Chasm. Of water. Separating them. From those. That they know. And who will protect them.

[21:34] Now. Why does he. Tell the time. Why does he. Build that up. Not just because. He's a great. Storyteller. Not because. He wants to. Underline.

[21:44] The poor. Military. Tactics. That led them. Into that situation. The. Buffoonery. Of. The generals. But he wants. To highlight.

[21:55] The heroic. Rescue. He wants them. To see. How dark. The situation was. And how beautiful. The rescue.

[22:08] The saving. Of them is. Because he says here. Once you're alienated. Now. Now. Reconciled. In his body.

[22:19] Of flesh. By his death. In order to present you. Holy. And blameless. And above reproach. Before him. There's a number of images. That are used.

[22:31] In scripture. To. Describe. What. Salvation. Is. What this. Rescue is. That Jesus has done. For us. And we see.

[22:41] One word. That's used. Back in. Verse. Verse 14. Redemption. Redemption. Redemption. Speaks of. Buying. Someone. Out of.

[22:52] Slavery. We're. In the. The market. We're. In the place. Of. Commerce. And it's. Taking someone. Who is. In slavery. To sin. And freeing.

[23:03] Them. To a life. With God. One of the other. Pictures. The language. That we see. Is justification. We're brought. Into the. Law courts. Where.

[23:14] Someone. Who stands. With a waste. Of guilt. On their shoulders. Instead of being. Declared. Guilty. And punished. They're declared.

[23:25] Innocent. Not just innocent. Declared. Righteous. But here. The language. The picture. The imagery. Is of a home.

[23:40] It's personal. It's relational. It's intimate. It's reconciliation. It's of.

[23:54] Two brothers. Who haven't spoken. To each other. For decades. It's of. The daughter. Who finally.

[24:06] Comes home. After the shouting. Match. That lasted. All night. It's when the two. Brothers. It's when the daughter. And the mum. Embrace.

[24:17] That is reconciliation. That is the picture. That we're. Not just. In the market. We're not just. In the law court. But we are in the household.

[24:28] Of God. As God the father. Embraces us. Once more. Because of what Jesus Christ. Has done. On the cross. Once.

[24:38] Once. Once. Once. Once. Once. Once. Enemies. Now. Family. Now. Sons and daughters. Of the living God.

[24:49] Now. With a home. Now. Heirs. Now. Truly. Belonging. And welcomed. And. But it's.

[25:00] Remarkable here. He has now. Reconciled in his body. Of flesh. By his death. See. Here's the thing. Usually. When. Something wrong.

[25:11] Happens. Who is it. That. Has to take the first step. It's the person. Who's done the wrong. Isn't it? They're the ones.

[25:21] Who have to make. Reparations. So if. One brother. Steals the money.

[25:32] Of another. It's not the person. Who's been stolen. From. Who should be going. Trying to make amends. And this is the beauty.

[25:42] Of the gospel. This is the beauty. Of who God is. This is the beauty. Of what we know. About Jesus. Is that it is. God. Who took the first step. It is God.

[25:52] Who came down. It is God. Who descended. It is. God. Who threw his son. Jesus Christ. Reach out to those. Who are lost. Who are in the domain. Of darkness. And drew them.

[26:03] Into the kingdom. Of the son. Through Jesus Christ. Remember. We were hostile. To God. And we were alienated.

[26:16] How are we reconciled. Because Jesus. Was alienated. In our place. He was the one.

[26:27] Who was. Exiled. Outside. The walls. Of Jerusalem. Rejected. By all those. He came to save. Bearing.

[26:39] The punishment. Of God. In our place. Alienated. So that we. Might be reconciled. To God. The father. He paid the price.

[26:57] For what we deserved. He was alienated. On the cross. He shed his blood. On the cross. So that we. Might be brought. Back into the home.

[27:08] Of God again. Do you notice. The language. I wonder if you. Heard the. Repetition.

[27:19] There. I think this is. Beautiful. Have a look. With me again. At verse. Verse. 18. What does it say. And he is the head. Of the body.

[27:32] And have a look. At verse 22. You who are once. Alienated. He is now reconciled. In his body. Of flesh. The first body.

[27:42] That he speaks about. There is the church. Over which he's the head. The second body. That's spoken about. There is the body. That was hung up. By nails. On a cross. And the church.

[27:54] Then. Is those. Who become the body. Together. Brothers and sisters. Through the body. That was broken. For us. As we.

[28:05] Come to. The Lord's table. On Sunday morning. This is what we remember. We. Are feasting. On the body. Of Jesus.

[28:15] Who was broken. So that we might. Become the true body. And why does he do it all? What's the aim? I'd love for us.

[28:25] To spend more time. In this. But we will. As we work our way. Through these. Coming chapters. What does he say? In order to present you. Holy. And blameless. And above. Reproach. Before him.

[28:38] We were once. Hostile. In mind. Doing evil deeds. Stained. Blemished. Now. When we stand before him. Pure.

[28:51] Spotless. Clean. Clothed. In the righteousness. Of Jesus Christ. And so.

[29:01] What does he say then? He says. You were. Once alienated. You are now reconciled. So. Continue.

[29:11] Look what he says there. Verse 23. If indeed. You continue. In the faith. When he speaks about there. To continue. What he means is to. Remain.

[29:23] On the path you're on. To. Persevere. To. Persist. In. It's like the story from.

[29:34] Homer's. Iliad. Of. Odysseus. Who. When he was going through the straits. And the sirens. Were singing on the islands. Beside him.

[29:45] Singing. Beautiful. Intoxicating. Songs. Which. Over the years. Over the centuries. Had. Drawn in. Sailors. To come close to these songs.

[29:57] And to crash onto the rocks near them. And Odysseus. Knew. The. The great danger of listening to these other voices. Which would take him off from the.

[30:08] Narrow path that he was on. And so he tied himself. To the mast. So that he would not turn. One way or the other. But would return home.

[30:19] To his beloved wife. And so we. Are. To tie ourselves to. We are to. Bind ourselves. To the son.

[30:30] The Lord Jesus Christ. To continue. To remain. To persevere. To persist. Through. To the life that we've been called to. He says there. Established. And firm.

[30:42] Stable. And steadfast. Unwavering. And steady. Do not. Shift. From it.

[30:53] We are to build our house. Not on. Shifting sands. But on the solid. Rock. On the rock. Of ages. The rock of ages. Who is not worn down.

[31:03] By time. Or by waves. Of life. By the storms. That come crashing against us. To build ourselves. On the Lord. Jesus Christ.

[31:14] Christ. And what does he say? If you continue. What does he say? In the faith. Continue in. Faith. Thomas.

[31:27] Goodwin. Who was a. Puritan minister. In. London. He talked about. Three. Dangers.

[31:37] That we might put our faith in. He talked about the danger of putting. Faith in our. Humiliation. What he means there is.

[31:48] How sorry. Can we make ourselves before God's. How penicent. How contrite are we? Have we done enough. To please God? Are we putting our faith.

[31:59] In that? And he says. That's a dangerous thing. Of course. We are meant to humble ourselves. But that's not where our faith is. Our faith humbles us. But our faith isn't in our humility. He talks about the danger of putting our faith.

[32:10] In our graces. That is. Putting our faith in where we have. Grown. The good things we have done. Some of us will know that feeling.

[32:22] Where you have come to the end of the day. You thought that was a pretty good day. I got up early. I read my Bible. And I went for another chapter as well. Just to really push it in. I had a good time of prayer.

[32:32] I didn't get distracted. I worked hard. And I slept well. And then the next day. Where the previous day you thought. Maybe I might be the best Christian in this church.

[32:43] The next day. It all goes wrong. You think I'm the very bottom of the barrel. If we put our trust in our graces. We put our trust in the good things that we're doing. Then we're always going to be let down.

[32:59] But here's the third one. And I think here might be the surprising one. Maybe for some of us. What he points out. There's a danger. In putting our faith.

[33:13] In the promises. And what he means. Is when we put our faith. In the promises of God. Apart from Jesus. So we put our faith.

[33:27] In the promise of heaven. And all the riches that are there. But without Jesus in size. You see. Here's the beautiful picture.

[33:38] It's not this. The beautiful picture is not this. That Jesus holds out his hands. With riches. And gems. And beautiful jewels. And we come and take them from him. And say. Isn't this wonderful what he's given us.

[33:52] No. The picture is this. Jesus holds out his hands. For us to take his hand. And he draws us into him. Because Jesus is the treasure.

[34:05] Jesus is the true jewel. The pearl of great price. Jesus is himself the treasure. In him. We have redemption. And forgiveness.

[34:17] Of sins. And what Paul then here is saying. Beginning of this. If you've seen the supremacy of the son. If you've seen the sufficiency of the son.

[34:29] Why would you go anywhere else? Let's pray together. Let's pray together. Let's pray together. Lord God.

[35:02] Lord God. I see and I know in my own heart. How I become distracted.

[35:20] And when I get distracted. How I deviate. Let's pray together. Please Lord God. Have. Mercy and grace upon us.

[35:41] And please Lord. Lord. Let us not become consumed. With. The sins in our hearts. But the mercy that we find in Jesus Christ.

[35:53] The one who is indeed supreme. Peerless. Matchless. Incomparable. Fix our hearts.

[36:07] On him again we pray. In all his beauty. All his glory. All his grace.

[36:19] All his power. All his splendor. And on his steadfast love. We give you thanks for him.

[36:33] For this word. Help us to continue in the faith. By your Holy Spirit. We ask in Jesus name.

[36:46] Amen. Amen. And we're.