Open your Bibles, if you would please, with me to Colossians chapter 1.
! Colossians chapter 1 will be beginning in verse 15 and moving through the next 9 verses to verse 23.
This section of Scripture is predominantly about Jesus.
I think it's safe for us to assume or to say that any world religion that you might think of has this doctrine about the Lord Jesus at kind of the center in that they either accept it or reject it.
Their posture towards their understanding of Jesus will either define them as a follower of Christ or will define them as one who is rejecting Christ.
It's about what you believe about Jesus.
In our passage this morning, the Apostle Paul begins with,
He is the image of the invisible God.
He wants this church to understand something about Jesus and it's going to run its way through this passage and kind of fill up our understanding of Christ
to help lay a foundation for faith, for belief, and for life.
We have said a number of times, and I want to continue to bring it to our attention.
We have said, you are what you believe.
You are what you believe.
And I'm not talking about the things that you say you believe.
I'm not talking about the things that you can prove from the Bible.
I'm not talking about the things that intellectually you know to be true.
What I'm talking about is how that belief plays out in your life so that what you really believe is showing up in how you live.
That's what we're after today.
That's what the Apostle Paul is after today.
Laying a foundation for knowledge of God.
And even in his prayer, we see that the Apostle Paul is, I'm always praying for you.
I've not ceased to pray for you.
What are we doing?
We're asking that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will.
Why?
It has a goal.
That knowledge of God, faith in God, truth about God leads to something.
And he says, what's the point of knowledge?
Well, it's so as to have a walk that's worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Do you want that?
I tell you, I want that.
I want the kind of life that is so filled up with the knowledge of God and by God's grace applying that knowledge to life.
That wherever I go, whatever words I say, whatever people I'm interacting with, whether it's my family or coworkers or my neighbors or whoever it might be, that God is working, that His word is bearing fruit.
It's increasing.
That I'm bearing fruit in every good work.
Can you even begin to imagine what that would look like?
Bearing fruit in every good work, wherever you go, whatever conversation you have, whatever thing that you apply yourself to, that God by His grace is making you fruitful.
It only happens one way.
It only happens as we as God's people, and this is the next part of the Apostle Paul's prayer.
May you be strengthened with power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.
That's how it happens.
It happens as we yield ourselves to the power of God working through us to carry out that work that He desires to do in the world in which He's placed us.
I want that.
And so I want my knowledge of God to match my life with God.
And that's kind of the summary statement I have here, that doctrine drives spiritual life.
What we believe will drive the way we live.
Doctrine drives spiritual life.
And so there's no wonder why the Apostle Paul wants us to understand theology and doctrine because it has real life implications in the here and now.
The day by day.
The Monday through Saturday kind of living out life.
It shows up what we really believe about God.
And one of the things that Jesus wanted people to understand about Him,
Jesus wanted people to understand that He and the Father were one.
That when people saw God the Father, or excuse me, when people saw Jesus,
they observed His life, they heard His words, they saw the outworking of His life,
then what they were really seeing was a representation,
the real, accurate representation of God who had come near to them.
Jesus says this in John chapter 8 verse 42.
He's talking to the Pharisees and He says this,
Jesus said to them,
If God were your Father, you would love Me.
For I came from God and I am here.
I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me.
If you claim this morning to love Jesus,
if you claim to love God and you claim that God belongs to you,
your posture towards Jesus will bear out that truth,
whether or not that's true.
Jesus, on the night before He was crucified, drove this point home.
He talks to His disciples about the fact that He's going to leave them.
And they're kind of confused.
You're going to leave us?
Where are you going to go?
And that's what Thomas asks in John 14 5.
Thomas says to Him,
Lord, we don't know where you're going.
How can we know the way?
And Jesus said to him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you had known Me,
you would have known My Father also.
From now on,
you do know Him
and have seen Him.
If you want to know who God is,
just look at Me.
If you want to know where I'm going,
just follow Me.
If you want to have a taste of what God cares for,
if you want to know His heart,
if you want to know His power,
just look at Me.
Philip picks up the question next in verse 8.
He's like,
Philip says,
Lord, show us the Father.
It's enough.
And Jesus says,
Have I been with you so long
and you still do not know Me, Philip?
Whoever has seen Me
has seen the Father.
You look at My life
and you see the Father.
How can you say,
show us the Father?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father
and the Father is in Me?
The words that I say to you,
I do not speak on My own authority,
but the Father who dwells in Me
does His works.
Believe Me
that I am in the Father
and the Father is in Me
or else believe
on account of the works themselves.
You want to know
who God the Father is?
Just look at My life.
See the priorities that I have set.
Hear the words that I have communicated.
See the compassion
that I have conveyed to individuals.
Look at the works
that God has accomplished through Me.
The totality of My work.
The comprehensive nature
of My work.
Over diseases.
Over death.
Over the natural world.
The wind and the waves.
The division of loaves.
And the multiplying of the fish.
I'm over everything.
Because God is over everything.
Just look at my life.
And of course,
the crux
of Christianity
comes down to our view of God.
Our theology.
Our doctrine,
as it were.
Doctrine matters.
Knowledge of God matters.
And this was the point
that the Apostle Paul
drives home
with the church of Galatia
when he says this
in Galatians 3,
1-5.
Oh foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you?
And that's kind of like
the word for
who has cast a spell on you?
Who has got your attention?
Who has deceived you?
That you should not obey the truth.
Before whose eyes
Jesus Christ was clearly
portrayed among you
as crucified.
This only I want to learn from you.
Did you receive the Spirit
by the works of the law
or by the hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish
having begun in the Spirit?
Are you now being made perfect
in the flesh?
Have you suffered
so many things in vain
if indeed it was in vain?
Therefore,
he who supplies the Spirit to you
and works miracles among you,
does he do it
by the works of the law
or by the hearing of faith?
Let me try to pull that together
and summarize
what the Apostle Paul is saying.
Doctrine matters.
And here's why.
Because this church
that understood
that salvation comes
through faith in Christ alone
because of the grace of God
in forgiving us,
somehow this church,
they knew how salvation began,
but for whatever reason
they thought that salvation
and their standing before God
would grow
as they continued to put on
works of the law
and this activity of life.
Somehow they're going to
merit God's favor.
theology was broken
in their minds.
If Christ was sufficient
to save
and he's the one
who has declared us righteous
not on our own merits
but on the merits
of Christ's righteousness,
then it's not our merits,
it's not our good works
that incline us to God
so that he looks and is like,
oh, hey,
you did a lot of good stuff.
Now I'm going to listen
to your prayers.
Oh, now I'm going to give you
some good stuff.
It's based upon the merits
of Christ alone.
It's not by the works of the law.
It's not by the,
but it's by the hearing of faith
that we continue to grow
in our life with God.
That's why it says,
the righteous shall live
by faith.
As we continue to know
what God says,
we continue to apply
trust in the things
that God has shared.
You see,
doctrine drives
spiritual life.
Doctrine drives
spiritual life.
And it's not just
what you know.
It's how you apply
that knowledge
to every single day,
every moment,
moment by moment.
So it shouldn't be
any surprise then
that the Apostle Paul
wants to help establish
this foundation
of doctrine
for this church.
And he begins
with the most important person,
Jesus Christ.
We're called Christians
after all
because we're built
on the foundation
of Jesus,
Jesus Christ.
So notice this with me,
okay?
Right there
at the beginning
of this passage,
I want you to see
how the Apostle Paul
drives attention
to Christ.
and you have
on the back
of your outline
kind of my feeble attempt
at trying to describe this,
okay?
He begins with
our identity in Jesus.
He talks about Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus
in verse 1.
That Paul is who he is
because of what Jesus
has called him to.
Not because of his own
charisma or giftedness,
but because Jesus
has done something
in his life.
Then he talks about
this church.
They're saints.
Not because they're
got their act together.
We're going to see
in the rest of this book,
they don't have
their act together,
but they're saints
because of what Christ
has done for them.
They're saints
in Christ Jesus
in verse 2.
Then the beginning
of their formation
of this church
happened because
they placed their faith
in Christ
in verse 3.
Epaphras,
who was a faithful
minister of Christ
on their behalf.
We see that in
verse 7.
And then in verse 15,
you have been justified
or transferred,
excuse me,
to the kingdom
of his beloved son
who is Jesus Christ.
You are those too
who have been forgiven
by Christ.
In him,
we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
He moves on
to who Christ is
in that next section
in verses 15 to 18.
He talks about Jesus
who's the image
of the invisible God.
He talks about Jesus
who's the creator
of the universe
in verse 16.
He talks about Jesus
who's the sustainer
of all of life
in the universe itself
in verse 17.
Jesus who is
the head of the church.
Jesus who is
the firstborn
from the dead.
that because of
what Jesus has done
and because of
who Jesus is,
we can enjoy
the benefits
of his work.
And then we see
what Christ has done
in the last part
of this passage
from verses 20 to 23.
He's reconciled us
to himself.
We're going to talk
about what that means.
What does this fancy word
reconcile mean?
That he's made peace
by the blood
of his cross.
That's part
of the definition.
And then in verse 22,
again,
he talks about
being reconciled
in the body
of his death.
And that Jesus
is the one
who's making us holy
and blameless.
This is his goal.
This is his aim.
This is his purpose
for his church
in calling us
to himself.
And so as you can imagine,
these nine verses,
here we are
just dealing
with nine verses,
but they are loaded.
They are loaded.
This heavy concentration.
There is,
we're not going to be able
to scratch the surface
this morning,
but my desire is,
as we walk through
this passage,
I want you to see
how this doctrine
begins to shape
the understanding
of this church
and how that doctrine
is meant to change
the life of this church.
And it's meant
to change your life.
It's meant to change
my life.
That what we know
about Jesus
isn't meant
to just be
some mental,
sophisticated,
intellectual mindset,
but it's meant
to do something
for us.
So there's two parts
of this theology.
And I'm sure
you're well aware
of them.
The first is that
Jesus is fully
God, right?
And then the second is
Jesus is fully
man.
Man,
you are superstars.
Good job.
The Apostle Paul
wants to lay down
this doctrine
because there was
a heresy
that was taking place
in and around Colossae
and they were
kind of inundated
with this false teaching
that wanted to
kind of dismiss
the preeminence
of Christ,
this doctrine of Christ
and try to have them
aspire to know
other things
that would help
to replace
who Christ was
and kind of
fill it out for them.
But the Apostle Paul
wants to kind of
set in their mind
and establish them
once and for all
that Jesus is supreme.
Jesus is first.
Jesus is preeminent.
Jesus is all
that you need.
So in this first section
of Jesus being fully
God,
he starts here
in verse 15.
He is the image
of the invisible God,
the firstborn
of all creation.
Jesus is the exact
image of God.
Simple.
Simple point,
but so important.
Essentially that Jesus
is the embodiment
of God.
This word for image
is the word for portrait
or likeness.
To have the same form,
to have a representative
pattern.
It is the word
essentially that Jesus
is not just a symbol
that helps to reference
who God might be,
but that this symbol
actually came
in the sense
that it was
God in person.
We're going to see that
as we continue
to work through
this section.
We're here in verse 16.
We talk about,
actually verse 15,
the invisible God
becomes visible.
The God who was spirit
becomes material.
He becomes physical
and fleshly.
And that's going to be
really important as well
in this Colossian heresy
where they believe
that those things
that were physical
and material
were wicked,
were evil.
And if God became flesh
in the Colossian heresy,
since Jesus was man
in their minds,
having this physical,
material body
meant that he couldn't
possibly have been God.
And that's why
the Apostle Paul begins here.
Jesus is God.
He is God in every single way.
The writer of the Hebrews
puts it this way
in Hebrews 1, 3
when he says,
He is the radiance
of the glory of God.
I love those words,
the radiance of the glory of God.
He was God in every way.
The glorious God,
the majestic God,
the one that you might see
or imagine somewhere
like in Isaiah chapter 6
where Isaiah the prophet
is standing before the throne
and God is exalted
and lifted up.
This is the God
we're talking about.
And by the way,
we find in Jesus' ministry
there in John chapter 12
that the image
and the vision
that Isaiah saw there
in Isaiah chapter 6
was Jesus himself.
The glorious,
radiant expression of God.
And he goes on,
the exact imprint
of his nature.
He upholds the universe
by the word of his power
after making purification
for sin.
He sat down
at the right hand
of the majesty on high.
Jesus was God
in every way.
And that's why Jesus
could say there
in John chapter 14,
verse 9,
He who has seen me
has seen the Father.
One commentator
puts it this way,
the symbol
was more than a symbol
here in this expression.
The symbol brought with it
the actual presence
of the object.
J.B. Phillips
in his translation
translates this
visible expression.
Jesus was
the vivid expression
of God
in a very physical,
bodily way.
Jesus makes
the invisible
visible
as he has come
to embrace flesh.
So,
Jesus is
the exact image
of God.
in verse 16,
we see that Jesus
is the creator
of all things.
He's the creator
of all things.
And this is going
to be important
especially in this
Gnostic heresy
that would call
material things
or physical things
evil.
As Jesus
is the creator
of all things,
he's creating
physical and spiritual.
And as the perfect
holy God,
he's creating
what is good.
Jesus.
And we find
the totality
of his work here
in verse 16.
By him
all things
were created
in heaven
and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones
or dominions
or rulers
or authorities.
All things
were created
through him
and for him.
You see
this totality,
this comprehensive
nature of Christ's work,
both the heaven
and earth,
visible and invisible,
material and physical
and spiritual,
all things
were created
by him.
This truth
demonstrates
that Jesus
not only is God
but demonstrates
that Jesus
is first
in priority.
The Colossian
false teachers
viewed matter
as evil
and they argued
that neither
a good God
nor a good expression
of God
could have created it
but here
the apostle Paul
wants to establish
the fact
that Jesus
who is God
himself
in the flesh
did create
a physical world
and of course
it was a collaborative
work of the Godhead
with God the Father,
God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit
all working
in the process
and as we see
in Genesis chapter 1
we see day
after day
as Jesus
is creating
the world
the water
and the dry land
and the vegetation
and the animals
and the sea creatures
all of these things
that Jesus created
and the declaration
over those things
was
it was good.
It was good.
And what Jesus
created
was not just
good
but it
demonstrates
the infinite power
the glorious
might
of Jesus
as God
as we consider
the immense
nature
of creation
itself.
Just again
kind of
help you
understand
just a
glimpse
of this
just
consider the sun
for example
the sun
has a diameter
of 864,000
miles
it's 100
times
the diameter
of the earth
and can
hold
1.3
million
earths
in its
volume
inside
okay
just imagine
the immensity
of that
the star
Betelgeuse
which I think
is the biggest
star
has a diameter
at least
the biggest
known star
has a diameter
of 100
million miles
100
million miles
and those of you
who have taken
science
or are taking
science
what is the
distance from
the earth
to the sun
93
million miles
so the
earth's orbit
around the
sun
can fit
within the
diameter
of this
star
Betelgeuse
I mean
just
can you even
begin to
imagine that
how immense
God's power
is through
Jesus
and that's
the whole
point
that the
apostle Paul
is trying
to demonstrate
and then
just think
about this
the speed
of light
it takes
a ray
of light
from the
sun
to get
to the
earth
in about
eight and
a half
minutes
yet
that same
light
would take
four years
to reach
our closest
star
Alpha Centauri
it's
beyond
comprehension
we can't even
begin to fathom
how immense
and that is just
the
the beginning
of the
galaxies
and the other
galaxies
that are
so far away
Jesus
created it
and it was
created through
him
which means
it was by
his power
and it was
created
through
his agency
that he is
the
he's the
the one
that put it
all in place
but but but
this really
important piece
it was created
through him
but also
for him
and by him
I heard that
too
it's created
by him
but also
for him
do you
realize
that
what
encouragement
that
all
things
that were
created
have a
purpose
all
things that
were created
have a
function
they have
a design
they have
a goal
and the
goal
of creation
is
Christ
the glory
of Christ
the wonder
of Christ
the majesty
of Christ
it was all
created
for him
he created
it for himself
to put himself
on display
to set himself
as the
the preeminent
one
over all
creation
and so that
in Philippians
chapter 2
verses 9 to 11
we understand
that everything
is moving
in that direction
that God
highly exalted
Jesus
bestowed on him
the name
that is above
every name
why
so that the name
of Jesus
every knee
should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth
and every tongue
will confess
that Jesus
Christ
is Lord
to the glory
of God
the Father
everything
was created
for him
created
for his
benefit
and then we find
in verse 17
that Jesus
is the sustainer
of all things
he's the sustainer
of all things
notice this
and he is
before all things
and in him
all things
hold together
they hold together
the fact that
Jesus is before
things
it relates
to chronology
that he stands
before creation
in terms of time
that he was there
at the beginning
all things were created
by him
and for him
and we find that
there in John
chapter 1
the word
was from the beginning
and all things
were made by him
there wasn't anything
made that was
not made by him
Jesus is before
those things
he's preeminent
he's supreme
he's obviously
then the most glorious
and the fact that
all things hold together
by his power
has so many
so many important
correlations for us
we could talk about
laws of thermodynamics
the first and second
law of thermodynamics
we could talk about
entropy
and essentially
entropy is kind of
the downgrade
of energy
we know that
energy can't be
created or destroyed
but entropy
would say
that even when
energy is not
destroyed
it kind of moves
to more disorder
it turns to heat
it's not as usable
as it once was
and so
as the course
of history
will go by
less and less
energy is usable
but even in this
we understand
that God
is holding
things together
Jesus submitted
to the Father
he depended
upon the Spirit
he sustains
the natural
order of things
that Jesus
is holding
things together
so that
even though
the world
might want
to tell you
that things
are coming apart
that the truth
and the doctrine
of Christ
help us know
he's holding it
together
he sustains it
let me give you
an example
Genesis chapter 8
verse 22
this is
Noah comes
right off the ark
there's a
flood that's
taking place
God has
destroyed the world
and judged the world
because of their sin
and God wants
Noah to understand
not only
is he not going
to destroy the world
the same way
but the world
is going to be
preserved
he says
while the earth
remains
seed time
in harvest
cold and heat
summer and winter
day and night
shall not
cease
I don't know
what your view
of global warming
is
I don't know
what your view
on all of these
things might be
that our world
is running out
but here is
the truth
of God
no
sorry
Christ
is sustaining
it all
by the power
of his hand
now it doesn't
mean that we
shouldn't steward
the world
it doesn't mean
that we don't
care about
how we take
care
and this
delegated
authority
that Christ
has given
to us
the stewardship
over this
world
but we don't
have to be
afraid
that seasons
are going
to go away
that cold
is going
to go away
because
seed time
and harvest
cold and heat
summer and winter
it's going to
stay around
and not
because we're
doing anything
about it
but because
Christ
has committed
himself
to sustain
the world
he holds
it together
and then
this is
fascinating
and I'm
sorry for
all the
science
lessons
I want
to put
this little
graphic
up here
and deal
with it
as briefly
as I can
this is
for free
okay
and maybe
some of you
students
can tell
your parents
so you got
your science
lesson on
Sunday
so then
you don't
have to
do homework
this week
in science
I don't
know
it's worth
a try
so this
is just
a model
right
of an
atom
right
and you
see
in the
center
of that
model
there's
a nucleus
the nucleus
has protons
and neutrons
it has
positively charged
particles
and those
that are not
charged at all
and then
spinning around
in kind
of this
cloud
of electrons
these
negatively
charged
particles
that are
driving around
this thing
kind of help
forcing all
this stuff
together
and scientists
still can't
understand
how an atom
stays together
they have
some theories
but then
what blows
it apart
is when
you only
have a
proton
and a
neutron
and not
electrons
they just
can't figure
it out
they're like
the world
should be
blowing up
right now
but guess
what
it's not
and there's
a reason
it's not
because Christ
is holding
it together
now
here's
something
that's also
really fascinating
there is
so much
space
between
electrons
and
the
nucleus
that
there's
not
like
any
real
good
reason
why
we
shouldn't
just
fall
why
you
shouldn't
fall
through
your
pew
right now
because
of all
the
space
in the
atoms
that are
in
the
structure
of your
pew
and the
atoms
that are
making up
your physical
body
and I
want to
just
kind of
make this
really
relevant
as you're
thinking about
this
imagine
Mount Everest
for a moment
okay
Mount Everest
stands at
29,000
feet
that's
five and a
half miles
tall
now
it's volume
the volume
of Mount Everest
is between
1.3
and 1.5
cubic
meters
hold that
to one
side
it's
20 times
the height
of the
Empire State
Building
you can stack
20 Empire State
Buildings
from bottom
to top
20 times
within
Mount Everest
to get
the whole
height
and
there's
1 million
cubic meters
of volume
in
an Empire State
Building
which means
you can fit
1.3
to 1.4
million
Empire State
Buildings
within the
volume of
Mount Everest
okay
you got that
that's like
that's big
that's a big
number
I can't even
wrap my head
around that
number
but
if you were
to collapse
protons
and neutrons
and electrons
all of the
atoms
all of the
molecules
of Mount
Everest
so that
there wasn't
any space
between them
what you
would be
left with
could fit
in an
8 ounce
cup
in front
of you
Mount Everest
in an
8 ounce
cup
collapsing
all the
space
between
electrons
neutrons
and protons
collapse
together
no space
left
and you
wouldn't
be able
to hold
it
obviously
it
could
be
contained
in the
space
of
an
8 ounce
cup
Jesus
is holding
the
universe
together
alright
moving
forward
and I
need to
do this
more
quickly
verse 18
he is
the head
of the
church
he's
the head
of the
church
and what's
amazing
about this
is the
church
as you
know
is made
up of
people
and people
are made
up of
both
a physical
peace
and a
spiritual
peace
and so
God is
over
Jesus
is over
the physical
material
world
and also
the spiritual
world
even as it
relates
to the
church
and as
one who
is head
he is the
one from
whom we
get our
identity
he is the
one from
whom we
follow
instructions
he's the
one who
calls the
shots
we're going
to talk
more about
Jesus
as the
head
of the
church
as we
continue
to move
our way
through
this
letter
but
Paul
wants
this
church
to
understand
Jesus
is first
Jesus
is supreme
Jesus
is head
follow
Jesus
you get
your identity
from him
and then in
verses 19
and 20
Jesus
is the
fullness
of God
the fullness
of God
this word
this Greek
word
pleroma
was a
term
that was
used
by the
Gnostics
to refer
to divine
powers
and attributes
which they
believed
were disseminated
and divided
among various
emanations
of God
so all
of the
different
revelations
of God
wherever
they might
be
the power
of God
is kind
of divided
among them
and the
apostle
Paul says
no
it is not
disseminated
it's not
distributed
it's a
power
that is
fully
contained
in Jesus
and in
Jesus
alone
he has
the composite
power
of all
of God
contained
within
himself
the totality
the full
measure
of deity
the measure
of that
glorious
power
is resident
in Jesus
alone
everything
that God
is
Jesus
is
Jesus
isn't
an incomplete
version
of God
Jesus
is the
representation
of God
and through
his
power
we find
that he
reconciled
all things
to himself
we see
that
verse 18
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
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
that Jesus
in his
power
and for
his purpose
that all
things
exist
for him
Jesus
was the
one
who through
the power
of God
reconciled
all of
broken
humanity
and all
of fallen
creation
he reconciled
it back
to himself
this word
reconcile
is to
make friends
that the
hostility
the enmity
the
the division
that we
experience with
God because
of our sin
has been
corrected
and resolved
in Jesus
of course
we know
Romans chapter
five verse
one
where it
says
therefore
since we
have been
justified
by faith
we have
peace
with God
through our
Lord Jesus
Christ
Jesus is
the one
who made
peace with
God
possible
he paid
the debt
of sin
that we
deserved
he's made
peace with
God
available
through
his
penalty
of sin
the sacrifice
that he
made
and inviting
us into
faith in
Christ
and forgiveness
if we had
time we would
talk about how
all things
doesn't just
relate to
humanity
but that all
things also
relates to
creation
that just
as the fall
severed
relationship
between man
and God
and the
fall had
implications
on humanity
we know
as we look
back to
Genesis chapter
2
and Genesis
chapter 3
it had
implications
across
creation
in totality
right
we know
that in
the animal
kingdom
the serpent
was forced
to crawl
on his
belly
we know
that in
the kingdom
of the
earth
the thorns
and the thistles
would grow
and we know
that pain
would come
to Eve
in her
childbearing
it would
come
to Adam
and his
working
it affected
the totality
of creation
described for us
in Romans
chapter 8
verse 19
it says
for the creation
waits
with eager
longing
for the revealing
of the sons
of God
for the creation
was subjected
to futility
not willingly
but because of
him who subjected
it in hope
that the creation
itself will be
set free
from its bondage
to corruption
and obtain
the freedom
of the glory
of the children
of God
there's a lot
there
but just in
summary
that when
Jesus died
on the cross
he made it
possible
for humanity
to be reconciled
to him
and also
to creation
to be restored
once again
to its rightful
condition
possible because
of what Jesus
accomplished
I want to
just pause
for a moment
to consider
we have the
truth of Jesus
being preeminent
we have the
truth of Jesus
being God
what does that
mean for us
tomorrow
when we say
that Jesus
is preeminent
we can ascribe
that truth
we can see
that truth
what does it
mean
how does that
play out
what does that
do for you
tomorrow
when you think
about Jesus
is preeminent
I want to just
begin with this
it begins
with your posture
towards Jesus
Christ
do you have
a relationship
with Jesus
Christ
have you come
to a place
of recognizing
that you are
out of bounds
because of sin
and by the way
all of us
are in the same
boat
all have sinned
all have come
short of the
glory of God
and so we're
all broken
we're all
separated
because of sin
and the first
step
to enjoying
the preeminence
of Christ
is bowing
the knee
to him
in forgiveness
asking forgiveness
for our sin
and committing
our life
to following
after him
for those of you
for those of us
who have done
that
what does
the preeminence
of God
mean
as it relates
to your mornings
I mean
like
I like my sleep
I like hitting
the snooze
button
and by the way
don't misunderstand
me
how do our
comforts
get in the way
of making
Jesus preeminent
not only
in the sleep
that we
need to get
in the
friendships
that we have
in the priorities
that we set
in the money
that we spend
in the
aspirations
that we have
in the ministries
that we take
part in
all of these
things have
implications
to is
Jesus preeminent
is he
supreme
you might
ask the question
a little differently
maybe like this
Jesus
can be
supreme
over everything
in my life
except
fill in the
blank
do you have
one of those
Jesus
you can have
everything in my life
except
my wife
you can have
everything in my life
except my kids
you can have
everything in my life
Lord
except my job
I really love my job
please don't take that away
you can have
everything in my life
except
my health
I kind of need that
that's kind of important
don't you see
how important that is
for me to be healthy
so I can do all of these
great things for you
you can have
everything in my life
except
my stuff
whatever that stuff
is
God
I like my stuff
don't take my stuff
away
maybe it begins
with saying
Lord
you're supreme
over everything
it belongs to you
it was created
you created
it for you
I give it to you
it's yours
it belongs to you
I want
whatever it takes
make yourself
preeminent in my life
and
what does that mean
in terms of
just a stepping
towards
stepping towards
that
maybe another
question you would ask
and I need to do this
more quickly
another question
you might ask yourself
as you review
your week
what was
one time
this past week
where you found
your heart
complaining
you found
your heart
being critical
you found
your heart
being a little
anxious
you found
your heart
being a little
unsettled
you were a little
frustrated
and I'll give you
an example
okay
so
I had a car
that was stuck
in Cedarville
because of
a flat tire
and initially
I handled that
pretty well
okay
no problem
we'll go to
Cedarville
we'll take care
of this
I knew
that it had
an issue
with a lug nut
that was broken
so I bought
the tools
I knew
about what I
need
to make sure
that that worked
and so we
went to
Cedarville
and I started
working on this
I thought it was
going to be quick
it wasn't quick
and I found
myself
I'm so frustrated
this is not
working
and so
I got
started twisting
the nut
and it broke
the broken nut
broke some more
so there was only
the sleeve
inside
and I'll try to
speed this up
you kind of
get the idea
so one
frustration
was compounded
by another
frustration
which just
was not
ending
and finally
over the course
of what I thought
was going to be
15 minutes
turned into
an hour and a half
I don't know
an hour and a half
well we got it
working
but guess what
I left
the key
in Columbus
so we couldn't
bring the car
back
and in my heart
I
I wasn't
terrible
but I wasn't
rejoicing
Jesus wasn't
preeminent
I mean
if I really
was so full
of the fact
that
I belong
to Jesus
he's forgiven
me
he's delivered
me
from the kingdom
of darkness
he's transferred
me
into the kingdom
of his beloved
son
I have redemption
in him
I have forgiveness
in him
I don't care
what's happened
if those things
are in place
my life is good
if Jesus
is preeminent
review
your week
how does
your gratitude
reflect
that Jesus
is really not
first
alright
so Jesus
is over
the physical
world
and we see
that he is
he is fully
God
but just
briefly
we also know
that Jesus
is fully man
and
it's
it's significant
that the apostle
Paul
works
through this
and wants
the church
to understand
the world
in relationship
to Jesus
they want
he wants
the church
to recognize
that not only
is Jesus
God
but
but Jesus
is so
invested
so intertwined
his activities
are so
interlayered
that it's
inseparable
with this
material world
and so
the material
world
that we
enjoy
is a world
that
Jesus
made
it's meant
to celebrate
it's meant
to reflect
the wonder
of who
God is
verse 18
he's the head
of the body
of the church
the beginning
the firstborn
from the dead
that in everything
he might be
preeminent
for in him
all the fullness
of God
was pleased
to dwell
he is the head
of the church
and he is the fullness
of God
we see this
in his power
to reconcile
the world
to himself
and as man
we come to recognize
in verse 15
that his relationship
to the physical world
is so
intertwined
he is the image
of the invisible
God
we see
in verse 15
the firstborn
of creation
and the fact
that he's an image
means that he
took on
a physical
material body
he became man
we know that
from John
chapter 1
the word
became flesh
John 1 14
he dwell among us
we have seen his glory
the glory
as of the only son
from the father
full of grace
and truth
that Jesus
became physical
and also in verse 15
he's the firstborn
of creation
means that
that we understand
him in relation
to the creation
that he made
in verse 16
he is the creator
he made all the stuff
the visible
invisible
the thrones
or dominions
the things in heaven
and things on earth
Jesus made it all
it's made for him
and through him
in verse 16
through him
all things
hold together
he's the one
who sustains
this material
physical world
we come to appreciate
that this material
world matters
it matters
because Jesus
made it
verse 18
we see his relationship
to the church
he's the head
of the body
of the church
and so Paul
uses this
to describe
not only the headship
of Christ
that he is
supreme over the church
but the church
is owing
to Jesus
and we see
how his work
was accomplished
it was accomplished
through physicality
it was accomplished
through death
on a cross
it was accomplished
by a body
and by blood
that was spilled
!
that was spilled
!
that was spilled
on the cross
for us
reconciled
by his body
of his flesh
and those of us
who were alienated
now get to enjoy
the benefits
of being
part
of the commonwealth
of Israel
he says
we have God
we're with him
we're in fellowship
with him
let me just try
to wrap this up
what
why does this matter
why does it matter
then
that Jesus
came
in human
flesh
why does it matter
that this essential
doctrine
of Jesus
becoming flesh
what was something
that the apostle
John
made
kind of
essential
for the church
I think there are
a number of reasons
let me just draw
attention to a couple
first is in
1 Corinthians 10 13
says this
no temptation
is overtaking you
that is not
common to man
God
is
faithful
he will not
let you be tempted
beyond your ability
but with the temptation
he will also
provide the way
of escape
that you
may be able
to endure it
Jesus set the example
the example
of knowing
God's will
and the example
of
of being
empowered
by the spirit's
strength
to put that
will to work
and as we follow
the pattern
the example
of Christ
we understand
that
that God
will not allow
temptation
to come
into our orbit
that he hasn't
also given
us direction
from his word
in power
from his spirit
to overcome
we can trust
God
when we face
temptation
and finally
Hebrews chapter
4 15
says this
we do not
have a high priest
who is unable
to sympathize
with our weakness
but one
who in every
respect
has been tempted
as we are
yet without sin
let us then
with confidence
draw near to the
throne of grace
that we may
receive mercy
and find grace
in time
of need
Jesus
understands
your struggle
Jesus
understands
my struggle
not only
the temptations
that we experience
but the trials
that we encounter
in life
and Jesus
is not separated
from that
Jesus
as our
sympathetic
high priest
can identify
with that
because he
suffered
and experienced
that himself
and so
when we come
to Jesus
and we bring
those
struggles
to him
our heart
our raw
emotion
of how we
feel
we have
a high priest
who can sympathize
with us
and who
delights
in helping us
oh may the
Lord help us
to recognize
and put into
practice
these truths
Jesus
is fully
God
so he's
preeminent
Jesus
is fully
man
so he can
identify
with our
struggles
and has made
a way
for us
to overcome
them
through his
power
may we trust
him
oh Lord
we thank
you
for your
word
we thank
you for
these truths
we pray
that you
would help
us
to represent
you faithfully
in the world
around us
thank you
for sending
your son
thank you
for accomplishing
what was
required
so we
can enjoy
peace
with God
through
Christ
we pray
these things
in Jesus
name
amen
God bless
you
have a
great
week