Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20230924 - The Preeminence of Jesus - Colossians 1:15-22

Transcript

#20230924 - The Preeminence of Jesus - Colossians 1:15-22 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:05
Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
0:09
Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
0:13
available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
0:16
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
0:21
or download our free Calvary Church app.
0:25
Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
0:30
Good morning. Thought I heard a good morning
0:34
out there. So good morning.
0:35
It's a beautiful day. I love this time of the year, so
0:38
blessed to be with you this morning.
0:40
It's really a privilege for me to just be able to be here and
0:44
teach the word of God and minister to you.
0:47
We are going to be in the book of Colossians, if you'll turn
0:49
there in the New Testament, chapter one and all.
0:52
Most of you know where it is, but you go with Galatians,
0:55
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
0:58
Chapter one, we're going to read verses 15 through 22.
1:10
All right, We do read that Jesus, he is the image of the
1:17
invisible God, the first born, overall creation.
1:20
For by him all things were created that are in heaven and
1:24
on earth, visible. Invisible, whether Thrones or
1:27
dominions or principalities or powers.
1:31
All things were created through him and for him, and he is
1:34
before all things, and in him all things consist.
1:38
And he is the head of the body, the church, who's the beginning,
1:42
the first born from the dead, That in all things he may have
1:45
the preeminence in verse 19. For it please the Father, that
1:50
in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile
1:54
all things to himself by him, whether things on earth or
1:57
things in heaven. Having made peace through the
2:00
blood of His cross, and you who once were alienated and enemies
2:04
in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the
2:09
body of His flesh through death to present you holy, blameless,
2:15
and above reproach in a sight. Let's pray, Father, we thank you
2:19
that we gather here that we get to look at these verses more
2:24
closely. The undefiled and errant word of
2:28
God and many of us, we know these truths concerning the
2:33
preeminence and supremacy of Jesus.
2:37
But we want to be reminded this morning, what does it mean for
2:40
us each and every day to make it real, to take your word and
2:45
plant it in our hearts, that we may be at awe of your incredible
2:49
provision and majesty and Lord love for us.
2:55
And as the we are here taking in your word, I pray that we would
3:02
leave this place more and awe with you and more in love with
3:07
you than when we walked in. So we give this time to the
3:11
study of your word and it's in Jesus name that we pray.
3:15
Amen. Colossians, as you know, is one
3:18
of the four books of the New Testament that's called the
3:21
prison Epistles and. Paul is writing this letter to
3:25
the church Church of Colosse as he is chained to a Roman guard.
3:31
He's under house arrest in Rome, waiting for his trial before the
3:35
Emperor Caesar Narrow and as he is there, there was a young
3:39
disciple of Paul. His name was a Papris.
3:41
He was probably one that would be saved under Paul's ministry.
3:46
Paul's 3rd Missionary Journey as you read the Book of Acts.
3:49
He would make emphasis his base of of ministry operation there
3:55
and the city was given over to the gospel.
3:58
We also know that Paul during that time he was an emphasis he
4:02
would teach at the school Tyrannis for two years.
4:05
He's teaching these disciples that are getting saved as he
4:09
would declare to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20.
4:13
I did not shun to declare to you the whole council of God's Word,
4:17
and it is believed that those disciples would.
4:19
Would go out and they would plant churches throughout for
4:22
consular Asia. And as Epapris, A disciple of
4:27
Paul, he's the pastor or that is the elder of the Church of
4:31
Colosse, which by the way, church historians will tell you
4:35
and me that there's no evidence that Paul established the Church
4:38
of Colosse. There's no evidence that he had
4:41
ever been to the city itself, located about 100 miles east of
4:46
Ephesus. But he knew many of the
4:49
Christians that were there, at least some of them.
4:51
So he Paparis makes his way from Colosse all the way over to
4:55
Rome, where Paul is in prison, to tell him of the affairs of
4:59
the Church. We read in the opening of the
5:02
Epistle, as he writes to them, that we've heard of your faith
5:06
in Christ Jesus. For your love for all the
5:08
Saints, you have the hope of heaven, and because you have the
5:12
hope of the gospel, fruit is being produced.
5:16
Unto God in your church. You're doing well in these
5:20
things. Church of Colosse.
5:22
And as we read that we are ones that we know that those are
5:27
qualities and virtues of a mature Church of faith in Jesus,
5:32
hope of the gospel, the the hope of heaven, loving the Saints of
5:36
fruit being produced unto God. And Paul writes, I'm thankful
5:41
for you and I don't cease to pray for you.
5:44
And as I read those godly qualities.
5:46
And virtues and characteristics of this Church.
5:49
You know who it reminds me of, Reminds me of you, Of you here
5:54
at Calvary Church. Because up in Greeley we do hear
5:58
how God is working. We know that you have the hope
6:00
of the gospel, the hope of heaven, your love for the
6:03
Saints. I sense it every time that I
6:05
come down from the staff and from you, that this is the
6:08
Loving Church. That fruit is being produced as
6:11
you are reaching this community and and beyond for the gospel of
6:17
Jesus Christ, and because of that we at Calvary Greeley,
6:21
we're very thankful for you and we will always pray for you.
6:25
So here is a paper is bringing this news of what God was doing
6:29
in the Church of Colossei. But there was also some concerns
6:33
that he would tell the great Apostle as well.
6:36
And you know that when God is working, Satan is working to try
6:39
to stop the work of God. And what was happening here in
6:42
the 1st century was this, that there are those who were coming
6:45
into the churches. And they were called Gnostics
6:49
and they claimed to have very special, very unique knowledge.
6:53
And that's where the root word Gnostic, it means to know.
6:57
But what they were bringing, the doctrine and what they were
6:59
teaching was very false. It was taking the Christians
7:03
away from the hope of the gospel.
7:05
It was a doctrine that would deny the deity of Jesus, the
7:08
preeminence of Jesus, the sufficiency and supremacy of
7:12
Jesus. And Paul now is going to
7:14
establish them once again in truth, as he puts pin to the
7:18
quill, and he writes to this church.
7:22
And he establishes them in sound doctrine, which is important,
7:25
because right doctrine leads to right thinking and right living.
7:29
And in chapter one. But in in the first two chapters
7:33
particularly Paul does that, he establishes them once again in
7:37
the truth of who Jesus is and. In these verses that we read
7:41
particularly in the deity in the preeminence of Jesus.
7:45
And we took our time looking at this at Calvary Greeley, several
7:48
weeks going through this and and we're going to look at this for
7:51
a few moments here this morning. And I can be certain that you
7:55
know these things many of you, because you are very well taught
7:59
here at Calvary Church. But I pray that is we're
8:02
reminded of these truths. That you're encouraged and
8:05
blessed in every way as we we discuss what it means for us,
8:10
what it means for me today in my life.
8:13
And I pray that you are blessed by these things concerning the
8:16
work and person of Jesus in our lives.
8:19
So once again, as we read in verse 15 that Jesus he's the
8:23
image of the invisible God, the first born, overall creation.
8:27
Don't believe what they're saying, Those Gnostics, the ones
8:31
that claim to have superior knowledge?
8:33
Don't believe what they're saying.
8:35
That diminishes the one who has redeemed you, the one who has
8:40
forgiven you, that's brought you out of the darkness of the world
8:44
into his marvelous light. The one who has qualified you to
8:47
be a partaker, The inheritance of the Saints.
8:49
That's what Paul wrote in verses 12 through 14 of the chapter.
8:53
For this one Jesus who has done a marvelous and glorious and
8:58
redemptive work for you, He's the image of the invisible God.
9:02
He's the first born overall creation.
9:05
And what Paul is stating very clearly is this, that God is
9:09
fully and completely in every way revealed in Jesus Christ.
9:13
Not that he's similar to. God or to the Father.
9:18
But Jesus is the image, the likeness, the manifestation and
9:22
reflection of God. Jesus as God manifested in the
9:25
flesh, He reflects God perfectly.
9:29
Now as we read this, we can't help but think about what Philip
9:32
asked Jesus the night before Jesus was crucified in that
9:36
upper room. He said Show us the Father, that
9:38
it may suffice us. And Jesus responded, I think,
9:42
with just a voice of disappointment, he said.
9:44
Ah, Philip. You've been with me all this
9:47
time. If you've seen me, you've seen
9:49
the Father. I am the image of the Father.
9:52
I am the image of God, the perfect representation of the
9:55
nature and the character and the essence of God.
9:59
And Jesus would say very plainly and clearly in his earthly
10:03
ministry that to know God is to know him, and no one can come to
10:08
God apart from him. He said in that upper room that
10:11
I am the way, the truth in a life.
10:14
And no one comes to the Father except through me, He said I am
10:18
the way, not a way. I am the way exclusively.
10:25
We know that John wrote in his gospel in chapter one that no
10:28
one has seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son who is in
10:31
the bosom of the Father he has declared him.
10:34
And we know that this truth that Jesus is God, the deity of Jesus
10:38
is very much attacked or denied today, not just by non
10:42
Christians but. Unfortunately, in the church at
10:45
large, there are more that are behind the pulpit that say,
10:49
well, we believe that Jesus was a good moral teacher, a good
10:53
religious leader. They'll put him on the same
10:56
level as other religious leaders, but to say that he is
11:00
God, we're not going to go that far or he is the only way to
11:03
salvation. So Paul is going to build on
11:06
this truth that he is the express image of God.
11:09
So Christ's supremacy is first shown in his relationship with
11:13
God the Father, Christ's perfect resemblance and representation
11:17
of God. Secondly, Christ's supremacy in
11:20
his relationship to creation. He is the first born overall
11:24
creation. Now it'll be the Mormons that.
11:27
Will take this verse and they will tell you that, see, Jesus
11:31
was created and that's what they believe.
11:33
That's an official doctrine of the Mormon Church.
11:36
They believe that God the Father and God the Mother that are
11:40
married in heaven, sealed for all eternity, that they created
11:44
a planet and they had billions of spirit children.
11:48
As a matter of fact, yesterday we were doing a ladies
11:50
conference up in Greeley and one of the guys that was there
11:54
serving, he said, hey, I I wanted to ask you something,
11:57
Pastor Jeff, because I went to a funeral coworker that I've
12:01
worked with for for many years. He passed away.
12:04
He was a Mormon. I I went to the service to pay
12:08
my respects. And the one who was officiating
12:11
was talking about that maybe the one deceased in in him knew each
12:16
other in heaven. And he said I was very confused
12:18
about that in heaven before we were born.
12:21
Well, they believe that every spirit child has to take on a
12:24
body and go through the process of what they tell you you need
12:28
to do and be sealed in eternity. If you get married that you can
12:33
progress and become gods and you can create it earth and you can
12:36
have spirit children. So that's what they teach the
12:40
Mormon church. Of course, the Jehovah Witnesses
12:42
tell you that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
12:45
So we want to look at this very carefully.
12:47
What is being told this? That he's the first born over
12:50
all creation. What does that mean?
12:52
Well, let's look at verses 16 and 17 again, for by him all
12:56
things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth,
12:59
visible and invisible. Whether Thrones or dominions or
13:02
principalities or powers, all things were created through him.
13:07
For him and he's before all things, and in him all things
13:10
consist. He is the creator of all things.
13:13
So just so you're clear, the word all in the Greek means all.
13:18
That's what it means. The Bible never teaches that
13:21
Jesus was created and then he created all other things.
13:25
In verse 15, Paul uses the word first born.
13:29
It means before it means foremost.
13:31
He was before creation. Verse 17 He is before all
13:35
things. So how can you be a creative
13:39
being and create everything that was created and be before all
13:44
things? You can't.
13:45
It doesn't make sense. You are either created or you're
13:50
the creator. So just that make sure that Paul
13:55
wants us to understand that he's the creator of all things he
13:58
writes in verse 16. All things were created by him
14:02
that are in heaven, on earth, visible, invisible, thrown
14:05
dominions, principalities, powers.
14:07
All things were created through him and for him And verse 17 he
14:12
is before all things. He cannot be created if he's
14:16
before all of creation. And Paul inspired by the spirit
14:20
of God, telling us clearly that he was before all creation, He
14:25
created all things. And Paul will say when we get
14:29
the verse 18 that he has preeminence to all things and
14:33
just says there wasn't Paul's day as there are today.
14:37
Those who will deny that Jesus is the creator, that he is God
14:41
come in human flesh. Paul dealing with the Gnostics
14:44
of the day. They denied his supremacy his
14:47
deity. They said that all physical
14:50
matter was and material was evil.
14:52
And Jesus didn't really have a body.
14:54
It just looked like he had a body, but he didn't create all
14:58
this evil. And that was a growing deception
15:02
in the church. Now Gnosticism at this time was
15:06
taken on what was called Dima Urge and it took on Greek
15:10
mysticism. And what it said was that God
15:14
created a. Being or another God, little G,
15:18
just beneath him and and then that God, that being created.
15:22
Another being just beneath him that created.
15:25
A being that created another being.
15:27
And down the line till you came to a God, a being that created
15:32
the universe. And the Gnostics apparently
15:34
taught that Jesus was one of those beings created.
15:39
So when we read this that Jesus is the first born over all
15:42
creation remembered it denotes 2 things of Christ.
15:47
He preceded the whole of creation and is sovereign over
15:51
all creation. That's why Jesus has preeminence
15:56
to place the priority over all creation, the Old Testament.
16:00
Book of Jeremiah chapter 31 verse nine.
16:03
Ephraim is called and referred to as the first born.
16:06
Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel.
16:09
It it's Speaking of a place of priority.
16:12
Jacob was called the first born of Isaac but we know that Esau
16:16
was actually born first. So again it's Speaking of
16:19
priority. So Jesus is the first born of
16:22
all creation has priority has preeminence over all creation.
16:27
God is the Creator, just as told to us and.
16:30
Genesis chapter one and as you look at the creation around this
16:35
it tells us something of the power and the wisdom of our
16:40
incredible creator. As David out there in the
16:43
wilderness looked up at the heavens and he said the heavens
16:46
declare your glory. Many of you want camping this
16:50
summer. It's it's it's a wonderful time
16:52
of year coming in and seeing the mountains.
16:54
But maybe you want camping up in the mountains and.
16:58
And you looked up at the Milky Way Galaxy.
17:00
How beautiful the billions of stars that are out there.
17:04
Matter of fact, when my family first moved to Greeley almost 30
17:07
years ago, that we could see the Milky Way Galaxy as we lived on
17:12
the edge of town. Now so much building has
17:14
happened that you can't, but we don't have to go very far to to
17:17
see the billions of stars that are up there, and it declares
17:21
the glory of God. Did you know that the Sun has a
17:24
diameter of 864,000 miles that is 100 times that of the Earth
17:31
and can hold 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun?
17:35
The star beetle geese has a diameter of 100 million miles,
17:39
which is larger than the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
17:43
When the sun gives its light at 186,000 miles per second, it
17:48
takes about 8 1/2 minutes to reach the Earth.
17:52
Now that same light would take over 4 years to reach Alpha
17:56
Centauri, some 24 trillion miles from the Earth.
18:00
That's the closest star system to our solar system and the
18:05
Milky Way Galaxy that we see out in this night sky when we're
18:11
we're camping out. It's the average sized Galaxy
18:15
that has billions of stars and there's billions of galaxies
18:18
that are out there. They don't know exactly what the
18:20
number is. Some of them, a lot of them much
18:23
bigger than the monthly way Galaxy.
18:25
There's billions of stars and planets and Suns that we cannot
18:30
comprehend. All that is out there in the
18:33
universe when you look at Saturn's beautiful rings.
18:38
There are some 500,000 miles in circumference but only one foot
18:43
thick. And then you look at the earth.
18:46
The earth. Did you know that the earth
18:47
travels around the sun about 8 times the speed of a bullet
18:51
fired from a gun and we don't fall off?
18:54
If you change the distance of the Earth from the sun, the
18:58
nitrogen oxygen ratio, landmass to water mass just slightly,
19:03
then life would be changed drastically or eliminated as we
19:06
know it. A single human chromosome
19:10
contains 70 billion bits of information, and our brains
19:16
about £3.00 for most of us. When I was a kid and I messed
19:21
up, my dad would say, have you lost your mind?
19:24
But our brains contain 12 billion neurons in the most
19:27
complicated arrangement of matter known to man, and some
19:30
120 trillion connections in the human brain.
19:36
You see, when we look at the complexity and the diversity of
19:39
life, the order, the order of the universe, the the order of
19:43
of ecosystems, and how it's all connected together, and we have
19:48
the audacity to say that it happened by random chance, by
19:55
Big Bang, it happened by evolutionary processes.
20:00
And Paul would write in Romans chapter one, verse 24.
20:03
Since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are
20:07
clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even
20:10
his eternal power and God hit so that they are without excuse.
20:15
As I look at the complexity and the diversity and the wonderful
20:19
design of this world of the heavens, you know that there's a
20:23
designer, there is a creator. And I went to school up at CSU
20:31
in a science field. I graduated in and at the
20:35
classes that I took, whether it was a microbiology or chemistry
20:38
or different ecology classes, if I was looking under the
20:43
microscope, if I was out in the different ecosystems looking at
20:49
it, and you're telling me this all evolved the evidence there.
20:55
And God began to tug on my heart that there's a wonderful
20:59
creator. And God declares himself to you
21:03
and to me and says I am that creator.
21:07
And God's word declares that Jesus is the express image of
21:10
God, the Creator of all things. So what does it mean for you and
21:15
for me? I want to draw attention to
21:18
verse 16, the last sentence. All things were created through
21:22
him, and all things were created for him.
21:26
You are created for him. Revelation chapter 4 verse 11.
21:33
That heavenly seen 24 elders around the throne of God,
21:36
worshipping the one who sat on the throne casting their crowns
21:40
before the throne and saying you are worthy of Lord to receive
21:44
glory and honor and praise. For you created all things and
21:48
for thy pleasure. The King James says you are and
21:52
were created. We are created to give honor and
21:56
glory and pleasure to the Creator of Jesus Christ.
22:00
And when any of us say, Lord, I'm going to live this day and
22:03
every day for you, Lord, for your good pleasures, then my
22:08
life will have true purpose and fulfillment and joy.
22:13
But if any of us say I will live for myself, then you will not
22:17
find true purpose and fulfillment and joy and peace.
22:21
Those things that the world is looking for and the people that
22:25
we know that are in the world. Because many of us have those
22:30
that are linked to us in our lives.
22:33
That they say I'm going to live for myself and do what I please.
22:37
And they go to bed empty and depressed and blue and wondering
22:40
what is life all about because they don't realize that they
22:44
were made for his good pleasure to glorify Jesus Christ.
22:48
And the person who says I don't want to live for the Lord, I
22:51
don't like that that I was created for his good pleasure,
22:54
for his will, Then that's the choice that they make.
22:58
And they will not truly be satisfied or fulfilled in life
23:02
because they're rebelling against what they were created
23:05
for. And that is the love God and to
23:08
live for him. You are created by him and for
23:13
him. And how tragic it is today that
23:18
our modern culture is telling us and our kids that you are not
23:23
made in the image of God, that you are made in the image of an
23:27
animal. You're a result of evolutionary
23:31
processes over billions of years.
23:34
And we get to tell them, even as they're being told in their
23:37
classrooms, But we get to tell them that there is a loving God
23:43
who wonderfully made this universe, this world, and made
23:46
you. That you might live for Him and
23:50
for him. That he loved us so much that he
23:53
sent his Son to this world to die for for you specifically,
23:57
individually. That one day you and I may be
24:00
around the throne of God, worshipping him.
24:03
That we are created this day, this morning to worship Him and
24:08
to learn of Him. And many people don't know that
24:11
truth. So they have a void in their
24:14
lives and they have a hole in their heart because they were
24:18
made for Him and by him He created all things, which means
24:23
I was created for His good pleasures.
24:25
And then verse 17. And he is before all things.
24:28
And in him all things consist. All things consist might be
24:32
translated in your Bible held together.
24:35
In other words, he holds all things together.
24:37
Interesting. When you think about this, maybe
24:39
you're a kid. You played with magnets and
24:42
positive charges on the magnets. They they push together, they
24:47
repel, don't they? Like charges repel.
24:50
It's the opposite charges that attract.
24:52
That's the law of physics. Now in the atom you have protons
24:57
which are positive charge particles, you have neutrons,
25:01
you have electrons, negative charge that are spinning around
25:04
the atom. And you might recall in the
25:07
little models of of atoms in your science class at school.
25:11
It has been a mystery to scientists, even to this day,
25:15
what exactly keeps the little protons from repelling like
25:18
charges or the atom collapsing with with opposite charges,
25:23
atoms that make up all things. Scientists really don't know
25:27
exactly how atoms are held together.
25:29
There's all kinds of theories. You can get them to quantum
25:32
physics. I'm not a physicist, but there's
25:35
different terms like gluons and quirks and quantum
25:38
chromodynamics that hold protons together.
25:42
And and they're they have all these theories, very complicated
25:46
theories but they don't know exactly what keeps the atom
25:49
together. Now years ago scientists when I
25:52
was in junior heights I guess middle school now.
25:56
But I had a teacher that said, well this is what keeps it
25:59
together. It's called atomic glue.
26:01
They called it atomic glue. They say it's the strong forces
26:05
chemical bonds that holds it all together.
26:07
Well we know this morning what holds the atom together.
26:12
It's Jesus. He holds all the creation
26:16
together, the atom. He keeps the Earth in its orbit,
26:19
the moon in its orbit, the universe in all its order.
26:22
He holds it all together, and the day's going to come.
26:25
The Bible says that he's going to let it all go.
26:29
And Peter says in his epistle on that day the heavens will
26:32
dissolve being on fire and the element will melt with the
26:35
fervent heat and they'll be a great noise in the earth and its
26:39
works will be burnt up. The universe is going to go up
26:42
in this huge nuclear explosion when Jesus let's go and then we
26:47
will watch him create a new heaven and a new earth and a new
26:50
Jerusalem and it will be so glorious and awesome.
26:53
So Peter says, therefore, what manner of person ought you to be
26:57
in holy conduct and godliness? So Jesus holds all the universe
27:02
together. In him, all things consist.
27:05
He holds it together, and that includes you.
27:10
That includes your life. And a lot of us have discovered
27:13
that to be true, that when we say in my life, when it comes to
27:19
my family, my ministry, my emotions, my decisions, my joy,
27:26
whatever it might be, that he is the one that holds it all
27:30
together. And you see when I, or you
27:34
forget what Colossians is declaring to us, that all things
27:38
were made by him and for him, and all things are held together
27:42
by him. When I forget that and I start
27:46
to do my own thing, or go in my own way, or move forward in my
27:50
own understanding, I'll hold it together.
27:53
Lord, I'm tough. I know better.
27:55
I can do it myself. I find out that it starts to
27:59
fall apart and it unravels. He is the one that holds all
28:05
things together. And in those times that I do
28:10
forget, I can't believe, Lord, how foolish that I am.
28:15
And things are unraveling in my life.
28:18
And it is the word of the Lord that says to all of us this
28:21
morning he says, I'll hold your life together.
28:25
I made you and I love you and I want what's best for you.
28:32
And I'll hold your marriage and your family and your job and
28:37
your business, your life together.
28:41
In the good times and in the difficult times.
28:45
He's going to let the universe go.
28:46
Someday, he's going to let it go.
28:48
But here's a promise for you. He will never, never let you go
28:54
because you're in his hands. So all things were created by
28:59
him and for him. And all things consist there
29:01
that is held together. You were made for him.
29:05
You were created by him to bring glory and honor and to do his
29:08
good pleasures in your life. And may we all understand that
29:12
God has given us the very best foundation to build our life
29:15
upon, and that is Jesus Christ, Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 7.
29:19
Wise is the man who builds on the rock, is the one who hears
29:22
the saying of mine and does them.
29:24
And as you surrender to His Lordship in your life, he will
29:29
be that lasting firm foundation as you build upon the rock Jesus
29:32
Christ, He will hold your life together in every area of your
29:36
life, every day of your life. So Jesus not only having
29:40
preeminence in creation, but secondly preeminence in the
29:43
church, verse 18. And he is the head of the body,
29:46
the church. Jesus is the head of the church.
29:49
He has supremacy to all things, including the church.
29:51
The body. We know that the church is not a
29:54
building. The church is made-up of
29:55
believers called the body of Christ, believers in the Lord
29:58
Jesus Christ coming together as one body, as one church, and
30:02
Jesus is the head. So every church ministry,
30:04
missions, gathering of believers, Jesus is the head and
30:08
we are to be under the leadership and headship and
30:12
direction and guidance in the power of Christ.
30:17
And what has been created in the Spirit should continue to be
30:20
submitted to him. Paul would warn the Galatian
30:24
churches what has begun in the Spirit?
30:26
Are you not going to try to perfect in the flesh and a
30:29
temptation? What has happened to
30:32
unfortunately many churches and ministries is there being
30:36
influenced by modern culture, adopting that which is false,
30:41
the world's philosophy. I'm not saying all are that way,
30:44
of course not. But some.
30:47
And the blessing that you guys have going through the book of
30:49
Acts on Sunday morning is this. That you see the model for the
30:52
church. And you get to see what really
30:55
pleases the one who is the head of the church, Jesus, and being
30:59
led by the Spirit of God, letting him direct you and
31:01
empower you. And and as you present the
31:05
gospel, you serve the Lord as the body of believers are being
31:08
edified, so He is the head of the the body, the church, who is
31:12
the beginning of the first born. So what does that mean?
31:16
He has preeminence over creation, preeminence in the
31:19
church. Thirdly, he has preeminence in
31:22
redemption. Paul would write in First
31:24
Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20 that Christ has risen from the
31:28
dead, has become the first fruits of those who have fallen
31:31
asleep. And what Paul's referring to
31:33
there in First Corinthians 15 and here in Colossians chapter
31:37
one, verse 18, is this. That Jesus was first to
31:41
resurrect, never to die again, and he was the first to bodily
31:44
resurrect. Now remember that the
31:46
resurrection speaks of our bodies being dead and being
31:50
resurrected to new heavenly bodies.
31:53
Paul says in Second Corinthians that to be absent from the body
31:57
is to be present with the Lord. But Jesus was the first to
32:01
bodily resurrect, never to die again.
32:04
And in the scriptures, in both the Old and the New Testament,
32:06
you have those who died and they were resurrected, brought back
32:09
to life. First Kings chapter 17.
32:12
Elijah raised the widow's son. Second Kings chapter 4 Elijah
32:16
raised the shoot of my son. Jesus raised Gyrus's daughter
32:21
and Lazarus and others. Peter was used to resurrect
32:24
Dorcas in Acts Chapter 9 and Paul himself, who's writing this
32:28
letter you read in Acts chapter 20, he resurrected Uticas.
32:32
Remember Uticas? He's in a second story window.
32:36
Paul's up in that upper room. He's teaching the disciples, so
32:39
he's teaching the people they had gathered as late in the
32:42
evening. The candles are burning and
32:45
Uticus. He gets sleepy and he falls
32:47
asleep and he falls out the window backwards, plop on the
32:51
ground. He dies and Peter and Paul goes
32:54
down there. He resurrects them.
32:57
And then he goes back upstairs and he begins teaching again.
33:00
He taught all through the night, it says.
33:03
And I always warn people, see what can happen if you fall
33:06
asleep. During the teaching, Jesus was
33:12
the first born of the first fruits of the dead, the first to
33:16
rise bodily without dying again. And in First Corinthians chapter
33:21
15. When Paul writes in that long
33:23
chapter about the resurrection, he says Jesus Christ has been
33:26
raised from the dead, which is the most fundamental fact of our
33:29
lives, the history of the world. And since Jesus rose from the
33:34
grave never to die again, we are promised we here believers, that
33:38
we are going to be resurrected, never to die again and again the
33:41
resurrection talking about our bodies being resurrected so that
33:44
we have new celestial bodies, heavenly bodies, and the older I
33:48
get, I can't wait to get my new heavenly body because Paul also
33:52
writes that our body is now grown and the older I get, it
33:55
does grown more. But Jesus bodily rose from the
33:58
grave, and Paul's dismissing what the Gnostics were saying in
34:01
Paul's day that Jesus didn't bodily resurrect.
34:04
And Paul here says he's the first born from the dead, He
34:07
bodily resurrected never to die again.
34:10
He is the head of the church. He's the first born of the dead.
34:13
And that in all things he may have the preeminence that Jesus
34:17
might have priority over everything.
34:19
Creation, life, the church, your family, your life, individually.
34:25
And you might be thinking, I know this pastor, but do we?
34:29
Do you? Do I?
34:32
Do we make it our own That he is to have absolute preeminence in
34:38
each day that we live? Absolute preeminence over every
34:44
decision that we make, absolute preeminence over every area of
34:50
our life. That's the intent of the Father.
34:53
There is one thing that he doesn't have preeminence over
34:56
and that is the heart in the person who says, I don't want
34:58
you, Lord, I don't want to follow you, I don't want you in
35:02
my life and that is a sad state to be in for it please the
35:08
Father. Then in him all the fullness
35:10
should dwell, his verse 19 tells us in him should all the
35:15
fullness dwell. Now verse 19 really is one of
35:17
the most powerful description of Christ's deity in the New
35:20
Testament, telling us here that the full and complete deity of
35:25
God dwells, which is a permanent dwelling in Christ, that Jesus
35:29
is fully God. This is Speaking of full and
35:32
complete deity. In Jesus it pleased the Father
35:35
that in him all the fullness should dwell.
35:38
In the next chapter you read that Paul pins that for in
35:41
Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
35:44
In other words, Jesus is God, was God in human flesh, God
35:49
becoming a man through the person of Jesus Christ.
35:51
In Jesus all the fullness dwells.
35:53
So can I ask you a question this morning?
35:57
Do you feel empty? Is there a void in your life?
36:04
You see, the problem can be that instead of being full of Jesus,
36:08
we can be so full of ourselves or so full of the world.
36:14
And Jesus would come on the scene and you would say that the
36:17
key to life is this, that you died, that you died itself, and
36:21
you follow me. And he's telling us that in
36:25
everything. Just let Jesus have the
36:27
preeminence priority as we're learning in this chapter, to
36:32
love him and to live for him. And as you and I do that each
36:36
day and every day, then we will be fulfilled.
36:43
You see, it's in him. It's from him.
36:48
We will have true, lasting joy and peace and wisdom in our
36:53
lives. It's Jesus that all comes from
36:59
him. It's all held together by him.
37:03
It's all created by him. It was created for him.
37:07
It's all Jesus. And people will never have real
37:13
purpose and fullness of joy in their lives if they are not
37:16
submitted and committed to him, if he doesn't have priority in
37:20
their lives. Wherever they go, whatever they
37:25
do and whatever they try to try to find those things in the
37:28
world, they won't find it. And the person who says it's
37:32
Christ in my life, my family, they will truly be content, and
37:37
they will really have purpose and fulfillment in life.
37:41
But if anyone tries to find it fulfillment in life and the
37:44
things of the world, you will not find it.
37:49
Eventually what will happen is you'll be blue and you'll be
37:51
depressed. You'll be discouraging.
37:54
You'll be wondering what is really the purpose of life and
37:58
why is it that I'm empty? Because you're not living life
38:02
the way it was meant to be. You were created by him and for
38:05
him. And he holds all things together
38:08
and that includes our individual lives.
38:11
And in him dwells all the fullness, So everything that we
38:16
need to be full and satisfied, it's Him.
38:22
There's nothing else, and there's no one else.
38:25
And as we finished this morning, and by him to reconcile all
38:28
things, verse 20 tells us to himself by him, whether things
38:31
on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the
38:34
blood of His cross. And you who once were alienated
38:38
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he is
38:41
reconciled in the body of his flesh through to death to
38:44
present you holy and blameless and above reproaching his sight.
38:47
It's Paul writes in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse
38:50
18. Now all things are of God who
38:52
has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and he's
38:56
given us the ministry of reconciliation.
38:58
So what does that word mean? To reconcile?
39:00
Well, simply means that there's a coming together.
39:03
Paul says that we were alienated to a holy God because of our
39:06
wicket works and that word reconciliation literally means
39:11
transferred to another owner. Paul wrote earlier in the
39:14
chapter and verse 13 that we have been delivered from the
39:17
power of darkness, or conveyed or transferred what it means
39:21
into the Kingdom of the sun. Now the world loves, as you know
39:25
this the philosophy and the teaching of the goodness of man
39:30
and all roads lead to God that are popular opinions and
39:34
teachings of the day but nowhere to be supported in the
39:36
scriptures. As a matter of fact, we know
39:38
that Jesus said narrows the road that leads to life and few that
39:42
find it and brought us the way that leads to destruction.
39:45
Because of our sin. We are alienated, we are
39:50
separated from God. There's a sin problem.
39:53
But now we have peace with God, reconciliation with the Fathers
39:59
through the cross of Jesus. Now remember, when we talk about
40:02
reconciliation of coming together to the Father, note
40:05
that we are reconciled to God, not that God has reconciled to
40:09
people. It was man that left God,
40:13
rebelled against. God needs to be brought back to
40:15
God. God has reconciled us to
40:18
Himself. Verse 20.
40:20
And that's what makes Christianity so unique among all
40:23
other religions. Perhaps you've had those say,
40:25
what makes Christianity unique? What makes you right?
40:28
What's? Any difference between in any
40:30
other religion? Oh, there's a lot of difference.
40:33
You see every other religion, whether is Islam or Buddhism or
40:37
Hinduism, whatever it might be that they say this is what you
40:41
have to do, and if you do it, then you can be reconciled to
40:44
God. Only Christianity uniquely and
40:48
truly says that you are reconciled to God because of
40:53
what he did. And 2nd Corinthians tells us
40:56
that we have the ministry of reconciliation.
40:59
Plus you can also tell people that there's an empty tomb in
41:03
Jerusalem and every other religious leader are still in
41:07
there too. He's the one that conquered sin
41:10
and death. Amen.
41:14
But we get to tell others that Jesus Christ died for their
41:17
sins, and there's forgiveness and salvation and possible
41:20
through Jesus because he has reconciled us to the Father.
41:23
This is the first weekend of fall.
41:27
Do you realize that we are three months away from Christmas?
41:32
In three months we'll be having Christmas Eve services.
41:36
So I want to be the first one to wish you a Merry Christmas this
41:39
year. But that's the message that we
41:43
get to give at Christmas. That Jesus came to this world to
41:47
bring hope. He came to this world to die.
41:54
He came to this world to bring reconciliation with the Father
41:58
and is now possible through his death on the cross.
42:02
As we come to faith in Jesus, the finished work of the cross,
42:06
our sins have been washed away possible by Jesus death.
42:09
And then Paul continues verse 22.
42:11
Just a couple more minutes. Don't don't tune out to present
42:17
you wholly and blameless and above reproaching this site.
42:22
That's incredible to me. You would write in verse 24 of
42:27
his little pistol before the Book of Revelation, now to him
42:30
who's able to keep you from stumbling and to present you
42:33
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
42:37
And I'll speak for myself, but I don't, when I look in the
42:40
mirror, feel faultless at all, blameless.
42:44
Me Lord, I got such a long ways to go, but I know that the
42:51
scriptures declare God's word that positionally in Christ,
42:55
that I am faultless. He has imputed his righteousness
42:58
to me because of faith free from accusation.
43:02
Romans chapter 8, verse one. There is there for now, no
43:06
condemnation. There is there for now.
43:09
You know what that means now, right now, this morning.
43:13
There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
43:18
because Jesus went to the cross because of his love for you.
43:24
And in that garden, when they came to arrest them, Peter pulls
43:27
out his sword and starts swinging it, right?
43:30
And Jesus said, Peter put the sword away.
43:32
Don't you know I can call down 12 legions of angels?
43:35
He could have, he could have just simply spoke the word and
43:40
thousands upon thousands of angels would have descended down
43:43
on that garden. He could have destroyed those
43:45
soldiers, destroyed Jerusalem, destroyed the whole world.
43:48
He could have started all over again.
43:50
He was perfectly within his rights as God to do that.
43:53
And I imagine as Jesus went through the sufferings as they
43:56
would bind, bind them up, and he went through a series of 6
44:00
trials and he was beaten like no man has ever been beaten.
44:03
They pulled out his beard. They they beat him, put his cat
44:07
of nine tails on his back, a crown of thorns on his head.
44:10
He was beaten more than we could ever possibly imagine.
44:14
And I imagine every time that they hit Jesus, that those
44:17
angels are up there with the flaming swords and her sheep
44:20
just waiting, just waiting for the word.
44:24
But he didn't put the sword away, Peter, I'm going to take
44:27
on a cup of suffering and death. I'm going to go to the cross.
44:31
And he went to the cross for you.
44:34
Don't ever forget that. And he would take that cross,
44:41
and he would walk down to Via della Rossa, the Way of Sorrows,
44:45
and out to Damascus Gate into that place of execution that was
44:49
called Gogatha in the Hebrew tongue.
44:53
It smelled awful of death. People stayed away from it, and
44:59
they pinned them to a cross. And there he hung between heaven
45:03
and earth, pouring his blood into the ground.
45:06
And he did it because of his love for you.
45:11
And I am thoroughly convinced that as he hung on that cross,
45:16
he was thinking about you individually, personally.
45:21
He knew that you would be here on this morning, September 2023,
45:27
and he's reminding you that he created you and set his love on
45:31
you and he died for you. And if you can trust them with
45:37
your salvation, you can trust them with your life and you can
45:42
trust them each and every day. And the time's going to come
45:47
when we will breathe our last and we will close our eyes.
45:53
And you hear the jokes about the Pearly gates and Peter there
45:56
with the big book, to be absent from the bodies, to be present
46:01
with the Lord. And the very first thing you're
46:04
going to see is him. And you're going to see our
46:08
incredible, wonderful Lord and perfect beauty and glory.
46:18
And I imagine I'll have those eyes of flames that subscribe to
46:21
us in Revelation Chapter One. And he's going to look at you
46:25
with those eyes of flames, those eyes of love.
46:27
And all the things that are unlike him are going to burn up.
46:30
And all the things that are of him that we've done are going to
46:34
shine forth. And I desire to hear from me.
46:37
And I desire for you to hear those words.
46:39
Well done, good and faithful servant.
46:43
You've been faithful over a few things.
46:45
I'll make you ruler over many Enter into the joy of your Lord,
46:49
and I imagine Jesus putting his arm around you and ushering you
46:53
into the throne room before the Father and introducing you to
47:00
the Father. Not that you need introducing.
47:05
And the Father and the Son are going to rejoice over you.
47:14
That's our future. And sometimes that loses its
47:20
impact as we journey through life and it becomes mundane.
47:29
And yeah, I know I'm going to have the Father and the Son are
47:34
going to rejoice over you. So why do you want to live for
47:38
this world? He created you.
47:44
He loves you. He died for you.
47:48
You were created for his good pleasures.
47:52
And he's going to hold your life together, trust him and rest in
47:56
his love. And no, he's going to bring to
47:59
completion that day where you're going to stand before him.
48:03
And the Father and the Son are going to Joyce over you.
48:06
So live for him. Amen.
48:09
And thank you, Father. Father, we thank you for this
48:18
time. Your word is incredible.
48:21
And I thank you for this truth given to us.
48:26
I thank you that you, the wonderful Creator, created us
48:32
and set your love on us before the world even began.
48:40
And Lord, that you sent your son to die for us, that he has
48:43
preeminence. And I pray for all of us.
48:46
Lord, right now is you're doing business with this, that we
48:53
would say, Lord, have preeminence over every day of my
48:58
life, every area of my life, every decision I make.
49:03
And if you're here, listen. God is gracious and forgiving in
49:07
the honesty of your heart. If you say, Lord, forgive me,
49:10
I've been going my own way and doing my own thing, and it's so
49:16
foolish. Tell him he'll forgive you, and
49:24
he's desiring to draw you to himself and for all of us this
49:29
morning. Say, Lord, have preeminence in
49:31
my life. And Lord, I thank you that you
49:35
want to the build my life upon the foundation, the solid rock
49:40
of Jesus Christ. And I also want to pray for
49:46
anyone who may be here. You've never made a decision for
49:49
Jesus. Listen, He has made it possible
49:53
for you to be reconciled to God. You can't do it yourself, and
49:57
the church can't do it. Listening to a Bible study is
50:01
good, but it won't save you. Jesus did.
50:06
He went to the cross and cried out at his finish.
50:09
He died and made atonement for your sins.
50:12
And it is a heart that says that I am a Sinner.
50:17
Coming to Jesus and calling out on his name.
50:19
That brings salvation. And if you're not right with
50:24
God, if you've never done that, the invitation is to come.
50:27
It's always to come. Quit going the direction you're
50:30
going. That's what the word repentance
50:32
means. It means turn direction and turn
50:34
to Jesus and come to Him and call out to Him where you are
50:38
at, sincerely in your heart, confessing your Sinner in need
50:42
of the Savior. He loves you and He died for you
50:49
and He wants to save you. Come in faith and sincerely in
50:54
your heart you can pray. Jesus, I come and I ask you, me,
50:58
a Sinner, to forgive me. I believe he died on the cross
51:02
for me. And it is finish.
51:04
And you rose again, and you're the Son of God, the conquer, sin
51:08
and death. And I ask right now sincerely in
51:13
my heart that you would be my personal Lord and Savior.
51:17
And I thank you for this new beginning bringing me into the
51:21
family of God. I thank you for forgiveness and
51:26
eternal life and relationship with the Father.
51:31
And I want to know you and walk with you all the days of my
51:36
life. In Jesus name.
51:39
Amen. We pray that you've been
51:42
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
51:44
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
51:47
Call us at 87730 Grace. That's 877-304-7223 to listen to
51:56
this message in its entirety or to join us for our live stream
52:00
services. Visit us online at Calvary Co
52:04
dot church or download our free Calvary Church app Be blessed as
52:08
you worship Jesus this week.