Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
We're going to be Colossians chapter one. So if you want to take your Bibles and join me in Colossians chapter one, we'll continue in our study through the book of Colossians. If you're new to Cornerstone, that's what we do here we go straight through the Bible. So even today on Mother's Day, I don't have a Mother's Day sermon. I just am going to continue where we left off. We're in Colossians chapter one, and I'm going to read verses 15 through 18. Colossians 1, 15, 18. Paul writing here, he said, this is verse 15 of Colossians 1. He that is Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. We're going to talk about who Jesus is today, but let's first have a word of prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for this time together in your house, gathering in your name, worshiping you now, opening up the Bible and studying your Word together. I thank you for all those who are here. I thank you, Lord, for those who are watching online. We just want to settle our hearts before you. Whatever kind of a busy week we've had in the last week, we just come today and just sit at your feet and ask you, lord, nourish us now. Nourish us, feed us as we study your word together. Fill us afresh with your holy Spirit and do your good work. In our hearts, we are always mindful to pray for our troops serving in the Middle East. We pray you would bring them home safely and soon in Jesus name. And everyone said Amen. Well, I think you would agree with me that there is a lot of confusion about the meaning of words these days, at least among those who don't have access to a dictionary or common sense. We have a sitting Supreme Court justice who in her confirmation hearing could not define what a woman is. She even said in the hearing, quote, I'm not a biologist. Do you really need to be a biologist to tell the difference between male and female? I mean, I'm not a botanist, but I can tell you what a female my kids and Our grandkids were at Chick Fil a a little while ago and Terri and I were there with them. And one of our granddaughters remarked about some boy that she, you know, noticed in the play area. And I thought to myself, well, how, how rich is this? A six year old knows what a boy is without anybody having to tell her like she's smarter than a Supreme Court justice. I love the words of Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana. Do you ever listen to some of the stuff he said? I love Senator, Senator Kennedy said some people are the reason why there are directions on a shampoo bottle. Do you not get some basic things culture can't seem to define or is attempting to redefine? A man or a woman who can give birth, who can't, what a baby really is, what pronouns mean, what marriage is. And folks, who do you think is behind this cultural confusion? Of course it's Satan. But listen to me on this. He is not content to only sow confusion in the culture. He is also at work sowing spiritual confusion, particularly about who Jesus is. And doesn't it make sense that if Satan can confuse people about something as basic and simple and obvious as what a boy is or what a girl is, he can certainly confuse people and deceive people about who Jesus is. And just like in our culture where people have ignored truth and redefined things to suit their own personal preferences, people will do the same about Jesus. They will define Jesus based on their preference, the kind of Jesus they like. And so he's the fun Jesus. He's the all loving Jesus. He's the make me rich Jesus. He's the get me out of a bind Jesus. He never makes me feel uncomfortable. Jesus, he accepts my lifestyle. Jesus, he applauds my choices. Jesus. People have all sorts of perceptions about Jesus to suit their preferences. But who is Jesus and what is the reliable source so that we can really know who he is? Well, I'll tell you, the reliable source is not the Quran. It is not the Hadith, it is not the Book of Mormon. It is not the Watchtower Society. The book that predates all of those books and passes the highest scrutiny of all ancient manuscripts. The book that is the biggest seller of all time, the most widely circulated and widely read book of all time, by the way, it's also the most stolen book of all time is the Bible. The Bible was compiled over 1500 years, has one author, it's God, but written down by 40 different men over three continents in three different languages. And yet it is all harmonious and communicates the ultimate story. This is about God's love letter to the world, about who Jesus is. And so Paul here in Colossians 1, is wanting to cut through the confusion even of his own day in the first century. And he writes to the church of Colossae and he says, let me tell you exactly who Jesus is. So there's no confusion about him. And he outlines here between verses 15 and 18, what I've drawn out to be five different things. Maybe you can make more out of it, but for the sake of time, we're going to look at five things that he writes here between verses 15 and 18 of Colossians chapter one. That Jesus is the image of God. He is the creator of all things. He is the one who was before all things. He is the head of the body, the church, and he is the firstborn from the dead. And we're going to just look at each of these five things in the remaining time we have. And I want to mention that the first point is the most important. If you don't get the first point, all the others won't even make sense. So here's the first one. Paul writes here, there in verse 15, that Jesus is the image of God. He is the image of God. Now understand a little background why he's addressing this. Because there was this false teaching circulating among the churches, particularly among the church of Colossae in that day, that angels were necessary as mediators between God and man. Now, angels are real beings. They are supernatural creatures that we can't see unless they manifest. And sometimes they can manifest. In Hebrews it says some of you entertain angels unaware. Look down the row, maybe someone is probably not the one you're looking at right now. But sometimes angels manifest and they can appear. Listen, they are wonderful creatures that God has created. But Paul wants us to know angels are not necessary for mediation. There's only one mediator between God and man, and that's the man, Christ Jesus. Jesus is the only mediator. Okay? And in addition, there was this problem in the church of Colossae where some were actually worshiping angels. Paul makes a reference to it in Colossians chapter 2. If you want to just turn over one chapter, Colossians chapter 2, look at verse 18 where Paul says here in Colossians 2:18, Let no one cheat you of your reward. Taking delight in false humility and worship of angels. You see that? And worship of angels. It was a problem. You know what's interesting is that many false religions today claim to have begun by some inspiration or or some mediation by an angel. And that's a false religion because angels, not of the kind that are still the good angels, are interested in presenting a different gospel. Those are demonic principalities. Those are fallen angels. But it's interesting when you look at different world religions today. Islam started because Muhammad said he got revelations from an angel. Mormonism started because Joseph Smith said he got revelations from an angel. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. It's very interesting how angels are part of heretical things, not just in Paul's day, but even today. In Galatians 1:8, Paul would write, but even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. He's warning people, don't listen to angels. They're wonderful, creative beings. But they are angelic creatures that worship the Lord, sometimes are sent as messengers like Gabriel was to Mary to Daniel. But do not worship them and do not think they are necessary as intermediaries between God and man. And so Paul wants us to understand that Jesus is infinitely superior to any angelic creature and, and that Jesus is the image of God. Now, the word image there in the passage in the Greek original language is the Greek word icon, E, I K O N I kon or I kone. And it literally means icon, translates manifestation, revelation or reflection. Manifestation, revelation or reflection. In other words, Jesus is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. That's who Jesus is. There was this conversation that Jesus had with a few people. Among them were his disciples. It's in John's Gospel, chapter 14. And there's this time, and it's John 14:8, where Philip, one of his own disciples, one of his own disciples, Philip, says to Jesus, Jesus, I have a favor I want to ask you. How about you just show us the Father? Just show us God and that'll be enough. Like Jesus. We just want to see God. To which Jesus responds in the next verse. John 14, verse 9. Philip, have I been with you so long and yet you ask me? Show me the Father. If you've seen me, you've seen the father. That's John 14:9. What is Jesus saying? He's saying, you're looking at God. I am God in flesh. In John's gospel, chapter 10, there's another time Jesus is having conversation, this time with skeptics. They are Jews who do not believe that he's Messiah, certainly don't believe that he's God in flesh. And in John 10:30, Jesus makes this declaration I and the Father are one. And the Greek word one is hen, and it means one in essence and nature. He says, I and the Father are, some translations, say, one and the same. Now, when he says this, it says in John 10:31 that the Jews picked up stones to stone him. Now why did they pick up stones to stone him? Well, they tell us. But what's interesting is there are some people today who think that when Jesus made that declaration, he was just saying, I'm kind of like God. I've come from God. I'm like God. No, he's saying, he is God. And we know it because they picked up stones to stone him. And Jesus then asked them, I've done many miracles among you, for which of these miracles are you about to stone me? And they answer, and they say unto him, not for any of these miracles, but because you, a mere man, claim to be God. Some people want to know, why doesn't Jesus come right out and say that he's God? Well, he does, but sometimes our Western ears don't hear it the way the Jews certainly heard it. What he's saying, when he says, I and the Father are one, he's saying, I am God. That's why they picked up stones. They didn't believe that he's God, so they thought it was blasphemous to say such a thing, and they wanted to stone him. In Hebrews chapter one, verse three, I like the NIV wording. It says, the Son S o n is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being. So this is why Paul writes here that Jesus is the image of God because Jesus is the visible God. Jesus took on God, took on flesh. Jesus then becomes visible so that the invisible God is made manifest. And that's why Paul says here that he is the image of God, the visible manifestation of the invisible God. Now look, no other world religion accepts this except Christianity. No other world religion believes that Jesus is God in flesh. Mormonism teaches that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. I said a moment ago, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. Islam believes that Jesus was a great prophet, but even then they say that he was inferior to Muhammad. None of them, none of the great world religions, when I say great, I just mean popular, not great in terms of wonderful. None of them believe that Jesus is God in flesh except Christianity. What's interesting is even in Islam where they say, well, we believe that Jesus is a prophet, but he's inferior to Muhammad. Do they Even read their own Quran. You know, some of the things in the Quran actually speak to what the Bible says about Jesus. And I'll give you some examples. In Surah 347, it says Jesus was born of a Virgin. In Surah 685, it says Jesus is sinless. In Surah 3 45, it says Jesus is the Messiah. In Surah 3 49, it says Jesus performed miracles. In Surah 4, 157 and 158, it says Jesus ascended into heaven in bodily form. Muhammad did none of those things. Why is he considered greater than Jesus? So when we understand who Jesus really is, it's because the Bible explains it to us. And this first point is critical. Jesus is God. That's why Paul wrote here. He is the icon. He is the manifestation Jesus, the visible manifestation of the invisible God. The second thing here to understand about Jesus is that he's the creator of all things. He was not part of creation. He is creator. Now, Genesis 1:1 tells us the very beginning of the Bible. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The word God in Genesis 1:1 is a plural word. It's Elohim. Elohim. Why is it a plural word? Because God is a singular God. But he reveals himself in three persons. Father, Son, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. And the Godhead was seen right from Genesis chapter one. In fact, a little bit further down in Genesis 1:26 and 27. I want you to listen to the language carefully and notice the plural pronouns and then how it transitions to a singular pronoun. This is Genesis 1:26. Then God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the flesh of the sea, the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. Next verse, Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female. He created them. You have the plurality of pronouns in Genesis 1:26. And then it switches to a singular in Genesis 1:27 because it is communicating to us that God is one God. But he reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Co, Eternal, Co. Equal persons. But they are distinct in their roles, but one in essence and nature. And what we learn in the Bible is that one of the distinct things about the role of Jesus as part of the co. Equal, Co. Eternal Godhead, what we sometimes call the Trinity, is that Jesus was the one whose role was as creator. Jesus is the Creator of the universe. Hebrews 1:1:2 says this. In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. So when Paul writes here in Colossians 1:16 that Jesus is creator of all things, and you read in Genesis 1:1 that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, those are proof text verses that mean Jesus is God and Jesus was tasked among the Godhead as the one who is creator. Number three on our list is that Jesus is the one who is before all things. He is before all things is what Paul writes here in verse 17. Now the word before in the original Greek is just simply the word pro P R O and it has two different meanings depending on the context. This passage could be translated as that he is above all things, which would point to Christ's supremacy. Or it could be translated he is before all things, which would point to Christ's prophets preexistence. So either one is true. He is both supreme over all things, so he's above all things, or he is before all things because he pre existed. Either way, it's true to say he is above all things. If that's what Paul means by this Greek word pro. Well that's consistent with the last verse of this passage, verse 18, where it says that in him, in Jesus, that in all things he may have the preeminence that he might be supreme over all things and the fact that he pre existed that he's before all things. We see this throughout the Bible too. There's a story in John's gospel chapter 8 where Jesus is having a conversation with again people who are not really believers that he is Messiah, that he is God in flesh and Jesus. This is John 8:56. He says to them, your father Abraham longed to see my day. And he saw it and rejoiced. Now Abraham was like 2000 B.C. okay, so here Jesus is first century and he's saying Abraham longed to see my day. He saw it and rejoiced. So his skeptics respond by saying, this is John 8:57. You are not yet 50 years old. The Jews said to him, and you have seen Abraham. And Jesus says, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am now again. What is he asserting there? He's asserting his divinity and his deity because it says in the next verse at this they picked up stones again to stone him. But he slipped away. Now when he says, before Abraham was born, I am, that's a declaration I of the same words that God used to identify himself in the burning bush with Moses. In Exodus chapter 3 When Moses was being sent as the great deliverer for the Hebrew slaves. Moses speaking to God. In this conversation, God appears as this burning bush in the wilderness. Moses says, who shall I say? When they ask me who shall I say has sent me to them? And the Lord from the burning bush said, tell them I am. And it is that Hebrew word to be is the root word to be. And that's where we get the name of God. Yahweh. Yahweh. It means the self existent one. It's the verb that means I was, I am, I always shall be. And when Jesus speaks to them here in John chapter 8 and says, Before Abraham was born, I am, he is saying the same thing that God said about who he is in the burning bush. That's why again in their unbelief, they thought it was blasphemy and they picked up stones to stone him. He is before all things, he is supreme and he is pre existent in every way. Number four on our list, he is the head of the body, the church. He is the head of the body, which is the church. Now in the Bible, particularly the New Testament, obviously the church is referred to as a body. There are a lot of parts to the body, meaning many people. We all make up the body of Christ. We all have different gifts and functions and responsibilities, but together we function like a body. Functions, body parts that have different uses and purposes and functions. And so it is with the church, there are multiple people with different gifts and functions and responsibilities. But the head is what leads the body. The head is what commands the body. Without a head, you have a lifeless corpse. A pastor is only a shepherd, small s of a local flock. The head of the church, the chief shepherd is Jesus. And all we do here at Cornerstone, and this should be true of any church, is to genuinely seek the Lord and follow his lead. That's what this is about. Now every local church though will look a little different. I mean, we will have the same commonalities in the sense that like you have a body, I have a body, but I look different from you. So it is that the church as the body of Christ looks different, but we all have similarities. You know, we all have a head. Without a head, we're just a lifeless corpse and Jesus is the head of the church. But there are differences in every church. Just like there's differences between the way people look. Some are well fed, some are anemic. This parallel works, right? Our bodies look different, the church looks different. Some are white, some are black, some are brown, some are mixed, some are large, some are small, some are old, some are young, some are in between, some are flexible, some are rigid. You ever been to a rigid church? Some are warm, some are cold. But everybody, everybody, every church should still be led and commanded by the head, which is Jesus. In Ephesians, chapter 1, 22 and 23 it says, and God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Lastly, on our list, Jesus is the firstborn from the dead is what Paul writes there also in verse 18. Now look, Jesus was not the first person to rise from the dead. You see examples before him in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament you have the widow of Zarephath's son. In 1 Kings, chapter 17, the prophet Elijah prayed for him and he came back to life. In 2 Kings chapter 4, you have the Shunammite woman's son. This time Elisha the prophet prayed over him. He came back to life. In the New Testament you have the son of the widow of Nain that Jesus raised from the dead in Luke 17. You have Jairus daughter who Jesus raised from the dead in Mark 5. And of course you have Lazarus in John chapter 11. They all preceded Christ. The difference is that Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead and stay alive. All those other examples I gave you, they had to die again, which, what a bummer, right? Can you imagine Lazarus as he's like slowly dying? He's like, I've been through this before. Here we go again. But Jesus is the only one who rose from the dead, stayed alive, glorified body. And that's why Paul says, here is the firstborn of the dead. Because he's the first one who rose, stayed alive, glorified body. Now here's the beautiful thing, everybody. And this is why it's important to understand. Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. But this has important significance for us because in 1st Corinthians 15, Paul uses a different word to describe Jesus having risen from the dead. Instead of saying firstborn of the dead, he says he's the first fruits from among those who have fallen asleep, meaning those who have died. This is First Corinthians 15, verse 20. And what does he mean by the first fruits versus firstborn. This is an important distinction. First fruits was a part of the Jewish celebration. It was a feast on their calendar every springtime. When the first of the harvest came, they would dedicate that first fruit, the first of the harvest, to the Lord. The idea was that as they dedicate the first of the harvest, they understood there was much more to come. But they were giving God the first off the top, thankful for the rest of the harvest that they would be able to enjoy. When Paul uses this language in First Corinthians 15:20, and he says, christ is the first fruits from among those who have died, from among those who have fallen asleep, what he's saying is, Christ is the prototype. He's the first. But there is a great harvest that will follow. Saints, listen to me. We are that harvest. And we likewise will get a glorified body when we are in Christ. And one day we will stand before him and we will live forever and ever with him. And we will take on a glorified body, just like what Jesus had. He's the firstborn from the dead and the first fruits of those who have also fallen asleep. Paul would write this in Philippians 3, 20 and 21. And our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that we will be like his glorious body. So who is Jesus? He is the image of God because he's God in flesh. He is the Creator of all things. He is the one who was before all things. He is the head of the body of the church. He is the firstborn from the dead, and he is Lord, everybody. Jesus is Lord. Amen. Well, let's pray together. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word today, and we thank you for Jesus. We worship you, Lord. We thank you that Jesus came to die for our sins on that cross, and that through faith in him we can have our sins forgiven, we can go to heaven when we die, and we can be a part of that great harvest of souls. So we thank you, Jesus. We pray God, that we would not allow our minds to be cluttered with all the ways the culture may try to redefine Jesus or other world religions will define him. We know what the Bible says about who he is, and we pray that we would forever embrace the Jesus of the Bible, that our faith would be in him and him alone, that we would trust him as our Lord and Savior. And we thank you, God, for loving us so much that you would send your son to die for us. And we declare that Jesus is Lord. And it's in his name that we pray. And everyone said amen. And amen. God bless you, everybody.