Grace and peace be multiplied to each of you today in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our lord let me publicly thank Dr Akin for the wonderful invitation to be with you today and to proclaim the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ to you if you would take your copy of God's word and turn with me to Colossians chapter 1 father in the name of Jesus we pray that you would open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things from your word help me to speak Faithfully help us to hear clearly
your word and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory amen Colossians 1: 15-2 reads he is the image of the invisible God the first born of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on Earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead
that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on Earth or in heaven Making Peace by the blood of his cross amen the supremacy of Jesus Christ the Apostle Paul while under house arrest received news about the Church of colasse epais informed Paul about their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all the saints it was also disturbing news false teachers promoted error about the person of Christ they preached a Christ that was preeminent prominent
rather but not preeminent they claimed that Jesus was just one of many Angelic emanations of God in the process they ultimately denied both the deity and the humanity of Christ this error about the person of Christ opened the door to confusion about the gospel the church and the Christian Life various isms began to infiltrate the church none of these errors were promoted to rival Christ worse they were all presented alongside of Christ as if Jesus is not enough the Apostle Paul receiving this news was moved to write this letter to the church exalting the supremacy
and the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ Colossians 1: 15 through through 20 is the beginning of the main body of the letter Paul greets the Saints in verses 1 and two Paul thanks God for the church in verses 3-8 Paul prays for them in verses 9 through 14 but now he shifts from introduction to the heart of the matter Colossians is pical but Paul Begins the letter with a declaration of the truth not a refutation of error the text before us is one of the most important statements about the person of Christ in the
New Testament it is also a greatly debated text because of its lofty language and its daring claims Scholars tell us that this passage very well may have been a hymn that the early church sung in corporate worship but even if the words of this text do not derive from worship they should result in worship and the worship of Christ should overflow into witness for Christ Paul in this text presents to us the most essential truth of the historic Christian faith I can state it in seven words Christianity is Christ and Christ is is God Colossians
1: 15-20 is about the real Jesus here Paul gives us two big reasons why we can live and Minister and witness with unwavering confidence in the supremacy of Christ the first reason is because Jesus Christ is supreme over all creation he is supreme over all creation verse 15 begins he is the image of the invisible God Paul Begins the text with two great affirmations first he wants to make it clear that God is invisible this is the consistent teaching of scripture John 4: 24 Jesus says God is Spirit in 1 Timothy 1 verse1 17 we
are told that he is the immortal invisible God and 1 John 4:12 just bluntly says no one has ever seen God God occasionally showed up in a theophany but his essential Nature has never been seen God is invisible but then Paul further affirms that Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God this word image is the term from which we get our word icon it means the representation or manifestation of a thing Exodus 20:4 warns us not to make any carved image in the likeness of anything on Earth or in heaven or in
the waters nothing man creates can fully or Faithfully represent God yet Genesis 1:27 says that man himself was made in the image of God we are made with personhood mind will and emotions but Humanity does not perfectly fully represent the image of God we do not represent the image of God essentially that is we do not share God's incommunicable attributes like uh etern now ity and immutability and omniscience and omnipresence and omnipotence and more importantly we do not share God's image morally God is Holy and we are not all have sinned and fall short of
the glory but there is one who truly perfectly represents God essentially and morally verse 15 says he is the image of the invisible ible God Jesus represents God Jesus manifests God John 1: 18 says no one has ever seen God but the only God who is in the bosom of the father has made him known that last phrase of John 1:8 is the term from which we get our word ex Jesus to bring out of it is the term for faithful preaching that exposes the God intended meaning of the text rather than imposing human opinion
on the text John uses the word to say that Jesus is the exeresis of God if you want to know what God looks like just look at Jesus he is the radiance of his glory says Hebrews 1:3 and the exact imprint of his nature he represents God and he manifest God remember in the upper room where Phillip says to Jesus you know we've had all this father talk but just show us the father and that'll satisfy us in John 14: 19 Jesus says Phillip you're asking an elementary question on graduation day do how can you
long time be with me and not know who I am what you are asking for you are looking at Whoever has seen me has seen seen the father Yes how could you ask show us the father those who know my dad will tell you how much I resemble my dad but I could never say that if you've seen me you've seen my dad that Jesus is more than just a representation of God he himself is the very image of God he is God in the flesh he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn
of all creation Jehovah Witnesses and other Colts use this text misuse this text to teach that Jesus was the first created thing God created but to make that claim would be for Paul to agree with the false teachers he writes this text to refute and it would deny the plain context of the text where Paul is is claiming Jesus is the Creator God firstborn here does not mean first in order in that regard Cain is the firstborn of creation it is first in rank it is a language used in Exodus 4 verse 14 verse 4:22
that is where God says to Pharaoh Israel is my first born reflecting the special favor of divine rank that Israel had among the nations with God and in Psalms the Lord said to David that he will make a king who will be the firstborn higher than all the other kings this is the way Paul uses the term here of rank he says Jesus is the firstborn of all creation the false teachers are claiming that Jesus is just another emanation of God derived from generations of angels here Paul refused that by saying Jesus is Lord over
all creation he is the image of the invisible God the first born among all creation he makes that point by claiming that Jesus both created the world and sustains the world Jesus created the world verse 16 explains verse 15 and shows us the three-fold relationship Christ has to Creation he first says Christ is the source of creation for by him all things were created Jesus is the creator of the world who created the world who created the universe who created The Starry wonders above us who flung The Stars out in space who scooped out the
Deep oceans who stacked up the mountains who made you and me Paul claims that if you check the label of everything created it is all imprinted the same way made by Jesus good Jesus is the creator of the physical whole world this is what Paul means when he refers to things on earth and things physical he is the creator of the physical world around us Robert gromacki writes that Jesus alone should be praised when we view the minute complexities of life in a microscope or the vastness of the universe in a telescope he alone should
be glorified for creation not some series of angelic emanations not some impersonal mother nature and not some atheistic theory of evolution Jesus created everything visible on Earth and not only did he create the physical IAL world he also created the spiritual world this is what Paul means when he refers to in verse 16 things in heaven and things invisible he lists four categories Thrones dominions rulers or authorities no need to try to distinguish those terms the point is whatever they mean Jesus made all of them he is the one who created not only the physical
world around us but he is the creator of all of the spirit beings in the Unseen World around us including evil angels aligned with Satan's Wicked agenda they must submit to the authority of Jesus Christ he created the world he is the source of creation but he is also the agent of creation all things were created through him that is he didn't just create the world and step back to leave it to his own devices all things were created through him we are told Bible says in John 1:3 that he created all things and without
him there was nothing made that was made later in Hebrews chap 1 veres 1 and 2 we are told long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things and through whom he created the world he is the source of creation he is the agent of creation and he is the goal of creation all things were not only made by him and through him but verse 16 Ends by
saying were all made for him the glory of Jesus Christ it's the goal of the created world all things were made for his purpose and his pleasure and his praise Philippians chapter 2: 9-1 says therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every KNE should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Lord to the glory of God the father Jesus is supreme over all creation because Jesus created the world and
Jesus sustains the world look at verse 17 he is before all things in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he is before all things he predates and anti dates all creation remember in John 8 when they are debating unbelieving Jews are debating Jesus and they kind of take offense you know to this young man barely 30 talking about Father Abraham as if he intimately knows Abraham even though Abraham has died centuries ago Jesus says in John 8:58 truly I say to you before Abraham was I
am he is before all things and in him all things hold together I was in the seventh grade kroer Junior High School there in Los Angeles area when I was first confronted with the atheistic claims of evolution my science teacher who I liked and respect basically flatly denied the existence of a God and boldly declared evolution is the only explanation for the creation of the world I was I sat there in shocked silence there was a classmate who tried to take the teacher on quoting Genesis 1 and one but using technical scientific language he just
he shattered down in front of the whole class and no one else dared to say anything and I just remember how long that that experience stuck with me when I look back I I just wish I could have simply said science doesn't have the explanation for everything come on now think that's just would have been the one thing I would have wanted to say for instance matter is made up of space go figure that one out if matter is made up of space what holds matter together scientists debate that and try to figure it out
but there is an answer verse 17 of our text says that Christ is before all things and he is the one who is holding all things together Jesus not only created the world he sustains the world why do you think it is that the world is a cosmos and not a chaos why do you think it is that the Earth is close enough to the Sun that we don't freeze but far enough away that we don't burn why do you think it is the Sun keeps rising in the East and going down in the West
why do you think it is that winter spring summer and fall keep passing in their course why do you think it is that the flowers keep budding and blooming and fading and falling one answer Jesus is holding all things together and what is true of the vast Universe I want to add before I move on is true of your life and true of your family and true of your ministry the only reason you're looking at me today and I'm looking at you is because Jesus is holding all things together yes Jesus Christ is supreme over
all creation but quickly with the time I have left consider with me that Jesus Christ is Supreme Over the church Verse 18 and he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent there are three titles for Christ here in verse 18 He is first of all the head the New Testament does not define the church as much as it describes the church using various word pictures of body flock a family a temple an army primary metaphor for the church
in the scriptures is that of a body in most places it refers to the mutual dependence of the members of the body but here the reference is to the total dependence the body has on its head anything without a head is dead anything with more than one head is a monster Jesus alone is the one true head of the church and he is the beginning Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and Omega the first and the last the beginning and the end he is the beginning but the text also declares he is the firstborn from
the dead in Revelation 1: 17 and 18 He declares I am the first and the last the living one I I was dead but behold I am alive forever more and I hold the keys to death in Hades he is the first born from among the dead this is the second reference to the first born verse 15 says he's the first born of all creation now he is the first born from the dead again this is about rank not chronology Jesus was not the first dead person raised he himself raised three persons from the dead
but of course those Acts were resuscitations not resurrections in the truest sense right Lazareth was raised but died again Jesus was raised and lives forever more he is the head the beginning the firstborn for this reason so that in everything he might be preeminent that he might be Supreme Jesus is to have First Place full Authority and final say in everything that happens in the church he is the firstborn the beginning the head so that Jesus alone to exercise supreme authority over the church we should serve him and honor him and worship him as the
Supreme head of the church for three two reasons here in the text verse 19 and 20 first of all because of the Incarnation of Christ in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell the Wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel they had no permanent dwelling place they would uh live in extended stay but temporary tense and the Tabernacle where they met with God was was also temporary and then Solomon builds a temple to God but in First Corinth First Kings 8: 27 he asked will God really dwell on the earth Heaven and
the heavens of Heaven cannot contain you how much less this house that I have built nothing on Earth can contain the Living God as the dwelling place but the Bible says in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell this is a statement as much about God the father as it is about the person of Jesus Christ God dwell in Christ John 1 verse4 the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory is of the only forgotten of the father full of grace and truth but not only
did the father dwell in Christ he was pleased to dwell in Christ Matthew chapter 3 Jesus receives this benediction from the father this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased the father dwelt in Christ was pleased to dwell in Christ and it pleased the father that all of the fullness of the godhead should dwell in Christ Colossians 2: 8 and 10 8-10 Paul says see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy or empty deceit according to human tradition according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to
Christ for in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him who is the head of all Rule and Authority the supremacy of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ are inextricably tied together because he is supreme over all there is nothing lacking in our Salvation we are complete in him Jesus is everything that we need we see this not only however in his Incarnation but also in his atonement verses 19 and 20 for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to
himself all things whether on Earth or in heaven Making Peace by the blood of his cross the word reconciled assumes that a relationship has been broken and this is the human predicament our sin has separated us from God but God has graciously sought us and provided a means of reconciliation by his son Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: 5 and 6 that there is only one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus who gave himself up as a ransom for all we have been reconciled but not just have we been
reconciled listen to what Paul says he has reconciled to himself all things notice how this all inclusive language is used throughout this passage verse 15 Jesus is the firstborn of all creation verse 16 by him all things were created verse 17 he is before all things all things hold together he's the beginning Verse 18 the firstborn so that everything or all things he might stand as preeminent and verse 19 in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and now we see through his reconciling work all all things have been reconciled to himself
not only are we beneficiaries of his reconciling work but so is all of creation everything in heaven and on Earth he has made Peace by the blood of his cross this uh is language not used anywhere else the Bible says a lot about the blood of Christ and a lot about the Cross of Christ here Paul Paul joins the ideas together and speaks of the blood of his cross emphatically declaring the total sufficiency of the Redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ it it's because this Christ is who he is and has done what he
has done that we can live and Minister and witness with confidence in him we are ambassadors for Christ Paul says god making his appeal through us we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God for he God made him Christ who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him this is the good news of Jesus Christ have you heard of the battle of Blue Licks It's the final battle of the Revolutionary uh the Civil US Civil War but it's a battle that should not have
taken place it should not have taken place because peace had already been declared the news was just slow to get over the Appalachian Mountains to Blue Licks Kentucky and so they fought a battle there that should have never taken place because PE peace had been declared is this not the world around us fighting against God when peace has been declared by the blood of Jesus may the Lord use you to go and Proclaim this Christ and his work to a dark sinful and needy World alas indeed My Savior Bleed did my sovereign die would he
devote that sacred head for such a worm as I was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree amazing pity Grace unknown love Beyond degree at the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away it was there by faith I received my sight now I'm happy all the day am thank you Father for your Sovereign Supreme and alls sufficient son the Lord Jes Jesus Christ who is our Prophet priest and King thank you that we are complete in him thank you that
we can face the days before us by faith and with faithfulness in light of the fact that this Christ Our Savior and Lord Reigns over all creation and is the head of the church Lord would you forgive us for making more of the circumstances around us than we do the supremacy of Christ and would you help us to be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in this Lord our labor is not in vain amen
