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Colossians 1:15-20 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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I think, in many ways, certainly in the nature of the way in which we meet, the beginning
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! of the fall semester really kind of marks the beginning of our year. I'm sure you feel
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! the same. We don't stop meeting as a church through the summer. It may surprise you. So many
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people who live in the area, and we come and we fellowship together and do the same things
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that we do, but it always feels like a bit of a new beginning. Further, this summer, there's
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new starts happening and shifts happening in the life of our church as Christ's Family
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Church has become, and you may have noticed me mentioning it earlier, has become two churches.
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We didn't split and we didn't divide. We like to say that we multiplied, and we sent out
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members to go to Oakwood and start another church. So, if you've been gone this summer,
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Christ's Family Church is now really Christ's Family Church Dahlonega. So, if you hear me
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say CFC Dahlonega, that's what I'm talking about. This body of believers fellowship together,
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and right now, as we meet, I'm sure John Hoffman is bringing the heat in Oakwood.
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CFC Dahlonega is certainly not changing the direction of the way that the church is going,
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but I want to take some time in the beginning of this semester to take a five-week break from
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our normal verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts. Step away from that for a little
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while to refocus and to focus us. To refocus you if you've been a part of this fellowship,
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if you have been hearing the preaching of the Word here, if you are aware of the way in which
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we function as a ministry, the vision of the church, etc., and to focus you if you're not. If you have no
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idea who Christ's Family Church is other than being a piece of property on the side of Highway 60 that's
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not easy to find, we want you to know who we are as a people and the way in which we believe God is
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directing us to serve in that way. Now, you may note on your bulletin that the suggestion there is
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that this morning was going to be a sermon on gospel identity from Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3
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through 14. I heard the confused murmurs when I asked you to turn to Colossians, and it was my
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great intention to start this five-week series this Sunday, but I want to speak as we refocus and
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focus with a great deal of clarity. I want to speak with laser-like precision so that there's no
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confusion about what God intends for us as a church. And I want the next five weeks to be
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axiomatic in the life of CFC Dahlanga. I would like for us to be able to look back someday at the time
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we'll spend together in the coming weeks and say, God began to do a work in our church and in our
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community in that time. And I'm just not ready for it. To speak with that kind of clarity, I decided this
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at 5.30 this morning. I really thought I would be when we printed the bulletins, but I'm not.
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So today, as an introduction to the next five weeks, I just want to give you a clear picture of
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why Christ Family Church exists. And this is not a rare thing. We don't believe that we're
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unique in our existence as a fellowship of believers. So I want to be clear about that. But I want you to
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understand why the church, why Christ's church exists and why this particular expression of that exists.
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My hope for this morning is that our time will be informative for you if you are new to our fellowship.
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It's our great desire to connect you to Christ and to His church. And if you are not new to our
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fellowship, that you will be reminded why we gather and why we go from this place. So you'll see up over my
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left shoulder, the vision statement of our church, which is Christ Family Church exists to glorify God by
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experiencing, proclaiming, and displaying the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things to all peoples.
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And this vision statement, again, not unique to churches, but a way for us to express what we
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believe we need to be doing as a congregation comes largely from Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20.
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So let me read that, and I would ask you to follow along with me. I'm reading from the ESV translation.
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Paul's letters of the Colossian church, chapter 1, beginning in verse 15.
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Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by Him all things
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were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers
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or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
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and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning,
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the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness
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of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,
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making peace by the blood of His cross. Beloved, this is God's Word to us. It was written for His glory and our
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good, and we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
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Now, every part of God's Word gives testimony about Jesus Christ. That's biblical theology. God telling the story about His redemption of mankind
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through the person and work of Jesus Christ. In many varied ways, the Scripture points us to this great high moment in redemptive history
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when Jesus lived a perfect life and died a sinner's death and was resurrected and then ascended and is now with the Father.
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In Luke 24, verse 27, you can read the account of Jesus' appearance to two of the disciples after His resurrection.
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Verse 27 reads,
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"...and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He being Christ, interpreted to them, the disciples, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself."
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In John 5, verse 39, Jesus says of the Scriptures,
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"...it is they that bear witness about Me."
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"...of all the Bible's teaching concerning Jesus, all 66 books, all of His teaching, perhaps none is more significant than the text before us today."
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The reality of who Jesus is demands our obedience.
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"...you can't say of Christ, well, He was just a good teacher.
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I appreciate some of what He said, and I don't appreciate other things."
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He claimed to be the Son of God.
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So He's a liar, or He's a lunatic, or He must be Lord and obeyed as such.
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"...and if we are to say that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we are not saying we are following a mere man, but rather God Himself."
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The reality of who Jesus is makes sure the promises of God.
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Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1.24,
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"...all the promises of God."
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This is so significant.
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All the promises of God find their yes in Jesus Christ.
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That is why it is through Him that we utter our amen to God for His glory.
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Now to our text, it is important to know that verses 15-18 are thought to be a cosmic, Christological hymn.
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Big fancy words.
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Cosmic, Christological hymn.
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Many scholars believe that Paul is citing a modern hymn or confession.
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And the arguments to this end are interesting and varied.
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Now for the sake of time and for your sanity and attention, I will not explain to you why.
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It has most to do with sentence structure and comparison to other songs.
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But fascinatingly, I believe that verses 15-18 was already music being written in the church.
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And Paul is simply citing this wonderful song for them.
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It's important to know that.
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But it's more important to know that the focus of this cosmic, Christological hymn is the preeminence,
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or you could also say supremacy, of Jesus Christ.
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He is better than everything.
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The preeminence or the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
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And you see that in the last part of verse 18.
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That in everything, He might be preeminent.
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Preeminent.
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Supreme.
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First in all things.
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Paul also states this reality in Philippians 2, verses 9-11.
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He says,
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God has highly exalted Christ and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name.
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So at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under earth.
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And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
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I want us to bow at the name of Christ this morning as we consider Him together.
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How should we consider the truths contained within this text concerning the preeminence of Christ?
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The Puritan John Owen wrote in his book entitled,
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The Glory of Christ, the following, and I quote,
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The revelation made of Christ in the blessed gospel is far more excellent, more glorious,
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more filled with rays of divine wisdom and goodness that the whole creation and the just comprehension of it,
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if attainable, can contain or afford.
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Without this knowledge, the mind of man priding itself in other inventions and discoveries is wrapped up in darkness and confusion.
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This, therefore, deserves the severest of our thoughts.
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I love that phrase.
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The best of our meditations and our utmost diligence in them.
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For if our future blessedness shall consist in living where He is and beholding His glory,
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what better preparation can there be for it than a constant previous contemplation of that glory as revealed in the gospel?
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That by a view of it we may be gradually transformed into the same glory.
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The Christian eternity will be filled with the wonderment of Christ forever.
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So we should seek to know Him now.
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That He might be exalted in our minds and in our lives.
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You could say that we might experience, proclaim, and display His excellencies.
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Let me then encourage, in Owen's words, a constant previous contemplation.
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And to help you do so, let us consider the text together in the following structure.
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Number one, and I will come back to these, but I want you to see the structure, how we're going to hang the text.
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Number one, Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is God.
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We'll see this in verse 15 and verse 19.
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Two, Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is the Lord of the universe.
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Verses 16 and 17.
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Three, Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is the head of the church.
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Verse 18.
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And fourth, Jesus Christ is preeminent because of His redemptive work.
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Verse 20.
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So number one, Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is God.
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Verse 15, Paul writes, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
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Image is the Greek word icon.
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You may be familiar with our English derivative of that.
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It means image or likeness.
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The scriptures refer to man as the icon of God, but we are not perfectly so.
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Much like a shattered piece of glass returns a poor reflection, so it is with us.
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But Jesus is both the perfect representation of God and He is the manifestation of God.
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Something that we can see and touch and grasp.
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Hebrews 1.3, the beginning part, the author of Hebrews writes,
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He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.
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The Greek word there is where we get our word for facsimile or facts.
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Some of you may not know what a facts is, I'm realizing.
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The exact replica of His nature.
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The copy and paste of God.
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Christ shines forth God's attributes as the sun gives light and heat to the earth.
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It's real.
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It's real.
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We can touch it.
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It's a manifestation.
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Jesus is God.
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John 1.1, John says,
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In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was not a God, was God.
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Paul proceeds to describe Jesus as the protococcus.
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First born.
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Now, while this certainly can mean chronologically first in a family,
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it prefers primarily to position or rank.
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From the Arians of the early church to the Jehovah's Witnesses of our day,
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those who seek to repudiate the deity of Jesus Christ refer to this phrase.
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But they fail completely to note its context.
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They fail to note the following two verses in which Paul represents Jesus as the Lord of the universe.
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Specifically, verse 17, the beginning.
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And He is before all things.
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He was not created.
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He is the Creator.
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In verse 19, Paul says,
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For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
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Jesus is where all that can be known or experienced of God in this life is to be found.
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This is why Jesus was able to say in John 14, verse 9,
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Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
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So Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is God.
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Secondly, Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is the Lord of the universe.
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Verses 16 and 17.
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I'll read this again because I love reading it.
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For by Him all things were created,
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in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
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Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities,
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all things were created through Him and for Him.
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And He is before all things,
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and in Him all things hold together.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent as the Creator of all things.
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That is, everything that we can see and everything that we cannot see
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were created by Christ and for Christ.
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This is a magnificent thought.
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It should absolutely capture our minds.
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Everything created by and for Christ.
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John confirms this in John 1, 3.
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Speaking of Christ, all things were made through Him,
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and without Him was not anything made that was made.
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The entire universe was created by Him and for Him.
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In 2012, a picture was released that the Hubble Space Telescope had captured,
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which was the farthest ever view into the universe.
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It's phenomenal.
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I encourage you to look it up.
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It's a photo that reveals thousands of galaxies,
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billions of light years away.
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The picture is called Extreme Deep Field XDF.
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You can Google that.
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It will come right up.
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It combines 10 years of Hubble telescope views of one patch of sky.
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They took it.
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They pointed it.
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They took pictures.
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They took pictures.
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They took pictures.
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They took pictures.
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They layered them together and came up with this magnificent picture reaching far, far, far out into space.
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Created by Christ.
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For Christ.
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Psalm 19.1.
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The heavens declare the glory of God.
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And the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
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Made by Him and for Him.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent as He was before all things.
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First part of verse 17.
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He's before all things.
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Jesus says to the Jews in John 8.58,
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Jesus said to them,
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Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
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He's referencing there Exodus 3.14.
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Moses asked God to tell him who He'll say sent him back to Egypt.
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God says to Moses, I am who I am.
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And He said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you.
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This was an astounding claim that Christ was making.
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Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
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He has no beginning and He has no end.
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He has no origin, but He is the originator of all things.
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Jesus Christ is also preeminent as the sustainer of all things.
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The last part of verse 17.
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In Him all things hold together.
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The author of Hebrews, again, chapter 1, verse 3.
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The last part of it now.
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He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
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I like to imagine that the world spoken into existence,
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and it will do what it was told to do until it's told to do different.
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Different.
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Not only was all things created by Christ and set into motion by Christ,
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but all things are sustained by Christ.
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It's phenomenal that everything in the universe is made of atoms.
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Protons, electrons, neutrons.
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Fascinating stuff.
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Scientists have labored over the past century to explain away the existence of God,
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but they have failed to explain how it is that the atom remains in its state.
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They do not understand how it is that the atom holds together.
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Carl K. Darrow, a physicist, is cited in a book entitled,
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The Atom Speaks, in reference to what scientists are calling the strong nuclear force.
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And I quote,
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Do you grasp what this implies?
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It implies that all the nuclei have no right to be alive at all.
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Indeed, they should never have been created,
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and if created, they should have blown up instantly.
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Yet here they all are.
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Some inflexible inhibition is holding them relentlessly together.
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The nature of the inhibition is also a secret,
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one thus far reserved by nature herself.
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Science has not answered this question.
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What is this inflexible inhibition that's holding them relentlessly together?
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But the Bible does.
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The strong nuclear force is Jesus Christ and the word of his power.
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So Jesus Christ is preeminent because he's God,
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and Jesus Christ is preeminent because he is the Lord of the universe.
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Thirdly, Jesus Christ is preeminent because he is the head of the church.
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Verse 18,
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And he is the head of the body, the church.
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He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
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that in everything he might be preeminent.
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Paul here calls Jesus the head of the body,
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and there are many metaphors in the New Testament used to describe the church.
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It's called a family.
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It's called a kingdom, a vineyard, a flock, a building, and a bride.
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But none is more helpful in our understanding of its form and function
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than that of a body made of many parts with Jesus Christ as the head.
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This metaphor helps us to see the church as a living organism,
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inseparably tied together with life and mission by the living Christ.
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He controls every part of it.
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He coordinates together the diversity of gifting and ministry.
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He does not merely save the church.
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It's an oxymoronic statement.
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But is the head of the church.
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Having saved us, he now leads us.
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He's the head of the body.
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He is the beginning.
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Jesus is the originator of the church.
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The word therefore, beginning, Greek, archa,
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has a two-fold sense of both source and primacy.
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So both coming from and being central to.
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It's a very expansive word.
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Beginning doesn't quite get at it.
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In Ephesians 1.4, Paul states that God chose us in Him
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before the foundation of the world.
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It's a phenomenal reality we'll talk about next week
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in our exposition of Ephesians 1.
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He is the beginning, the originator of the church.
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He is the firstborn from the dead.
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Here we see that word firstborn again.
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The proto...
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I'm going to say this wrong.
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I'm not going to try to say it.
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I said it before and I think I got it right.
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So you can listen back in the recording.
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Firstborn, right?
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Of all who have ever been raised from the dead,
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this is what Paul's communicating,
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of all who have ever been raised from the dead,
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he is of the highest rank.
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He's the head of the body.
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He is supreme in the church as such.
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So Jesus Christ is preeminent because He's God.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent because He's the Lord of the universe.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent because He is the head of the church.
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And then fourthly and lastly,
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Jesus Christ is preeminent because of His redemptive work.
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Verse 20,
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And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things,
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whether on earth or in heaven,
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making peace by the blood of His cross.
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Now there are many ways in which our salvation is explained in the Scripture.
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Praise God for that.
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It helps us to turn it around and really comprehend the glorious truth of the gospel to us in Christ.
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Many ways we are justified.
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We once stood before God guilty and condemned,
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but we are declared righteous.
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Not just having our sin forgiven,
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but also been made perfect in Christ.
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We are forgiven.
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We stand before God as a debtor,
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but the debt is paid and forgotten.
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We are adopted.
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We stand before God as strangers,
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but we are made sons.
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Reconciliation is one of my favorites of these explanations.
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We once stood, if we were in Christ,
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we once stood before God as His enemies.
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And I think this is one of my favorites
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because I even now sometimes feel the inclination of my heart to be set against Him.
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But because of the redemptive work of Christ,
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we are reconciled to God and we are made His friends.
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It's an incredible reality, beloved.
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The Greek word for reconcile means to change in relationship.
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We have a religion, a faith of grace.
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We believe in new birth,
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the conversion of the soul.
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We don't believe that we strain by our labor to find ourselves acceptable to God.
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But if we have been accepted in Christ,
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we change in position, not degree.
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We're not getting a little better and a little more accepted.
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We are accepted.
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And therefore, we get a little better
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and we work a little more.
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We pursue holiness and we reject sin.
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We don't change in degree.
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We change in position.
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This is what reconciliation teaches us.
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No longer God's enemies,
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but now His friends.
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Paul writes in Romans 5.10,
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For if while we were enemies,
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we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
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much more now that we are reconciled,
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shall we be saved by His life.
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It's astounding.
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But not only is God in Christ reconciling us to Him,
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but He's also, if you look at the text,
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whether on earth or in heaven.
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In Genesis 1.3, we see that after the world was created by and for Christ,
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that it was very good.
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But shortly after, chapter 3,
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all of this goodness was marred by man's sin.
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If you'll know me very long,
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and I hear you complain about allergies
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or some ache or pain that you have,
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you'll hear me say,
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you know why that's happening, right?
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And you're expecting a medical explanation,
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and I just say, sin.
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It got woven through,
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that destruction got woven through the fabric
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of the world that we live in and experience.
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Right?
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All of that one day will be restored.
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The garden is going to be made new in the new earth,
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and there won't be weeds,
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and there won't be pollen,
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and my knees won't pop when I bend down
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to work the soil.
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The reconciliation of mankind
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is the most precious of all reconciliation,
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to be sure,
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the most central of all reconciliation,
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but it is just one aspect of Christ's restorative work.
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Glorious.
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How is this that it happens?
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The means by which this happens?
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Both the restoration of God's people
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as well as His creation?
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Christ made peace
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by the blood of His cross.
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Jesus Christ became the enemy of God,
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and God justly punished Him for being such
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because He took on our sin, right?
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Our sin was imputed to Him.
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He became sin on our behalf
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and then was justly punished
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so that we might be reconciled
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by faith in Christ,
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that He is who He says He is,
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and in the work that He accomplished,
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we would be found righteous in Him.
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So Jesus Christ is preeminent
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because He is God.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent
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because He is the Lord of the universe.
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Jesus Christ is preeminent
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because He is the head of the church.
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And Jesus Christ is preeminent
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because of His redemptive work.
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So, so what?
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For all of these reasons,
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Jesus Christ is of highest ranking
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and should be worshipped as such.
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And beloved, when I say worshipped,
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I don't just mean in song.
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That word has been hijacked.
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All of our lives are meant to be
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fragrant sacrifice to the Lord.
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Everything we do,
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not just for an hour and a half-ish
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on a Sunday morning,
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everything we do
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is meant to be worship of the Lord.
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You are always worshipping something.
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Yourself, another individual, stuff.
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But because of the great work of Christ,
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because of the position that He holds,
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all that we do
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should be properly aimed at Him.
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Whether or not you are part of this church
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or ever will be,
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you exist to glorify God
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by experiencing, proclaiming,
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and displaying the supremacy
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of Jesus Christ
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in all things
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to all peoples.
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Those who have been reconciled
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by His death on the cross
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rightly should do so.
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And beloved,
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this is not a burdensome task
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because He is preeminent.
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We can cast all of our anxieties,
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our fears,
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our doubts,
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our troubles,
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our depressions on Him.
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There is no situation
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that escapes His attention
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or His power.
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There is no circumstance
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that surprises Him
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or evades His providential control.
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He is our confidence
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in life and in death.
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He is the reason
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we can boldly share
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the good news of His kingdom.
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The reality of who Jesus is
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demands our obedience.
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The reality of who Jesus is
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makes sure the promises of God.
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God is the Lord.
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So,
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we should set ourselves
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to a constant,
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previous contemplation
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of who Jesus is.
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And if at the end of all that
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I leave you in any way
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going,
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well, how do I do that?
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It's what we've done this morning
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and what did we use
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as the tool
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for such a contemplation?
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The Scripture.
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Contained in
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our Old and our New Testament,
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66 books,
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is all that God
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intends for us to know
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right now
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about the person and work
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of Jesus Christ.
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It is a precious,
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precious tool.
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You hear me say often,
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God condescended
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to become an author
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and write us a book
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about a real man
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who was also
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God Himself
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on earth.
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We have such a treasure
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at our disposal.
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I want to encourage you,
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particularly college students,
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as you set yourself
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about your studies
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this semester,
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that you get into
33:03
all the possible
33:05
ologies
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that the University
33:07
of North Georgia
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will offer you
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that you not
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neglect
33:10
theology.
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In closing,
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let me remind you
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of the words
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of John Owen.
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This, therefore,
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deserves the severest
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of our thoughts,
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the best
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of our meditations,
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and our utmost
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diligence
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in them.
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Let's pray together.