The Preeminence of Christ in Colossians — Colossians 1

0:05 Good morning. I had a little different version of why they didn't have my name on the program for the month. I told Roger, I now understand you can't put my name on or else nobody will show up. So we're going to be looking at the last half of Colossians chapter one. And before we start, just ask for the Lord's help in looking at this section.

0:40 Our father, we ask that as we open thy word, that thou will give help in the expositing of it. That, father, give us help to be able to understand a little of the greatness of thy beloved son, the mighty creator from eternity who became the redeemer, the reconciler. And, father, we ask that thou will give help to the speaker, help to those that listen, that all of us might have a greater appreciation of the blessed one at thy right hand, our lord Jesus Christ, in his name we pray. Amen. We're gonna start with Colossians one and verse 14.

1:30 Just for connection, we'll be looking at verse 15. And as we read verses 15 through 20, you'll notice again and again that expression, all things, all things. It's mentioned six times in those verses, and I'd like you to pay a special attention to the context. But Colossians one in verse 14, speaking of our lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn, or it's really the first in rank over all creation.

2:17 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 or are held together. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. And that verse is the key to this whole section.

3:05 That in him, he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the father that in him all the fullness should dwell. And by him, they reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight. If indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister or a servant.

5:23 It's rich and dense. As we come to the last half, it's cheesecake supreme because it's richer and it is denser. There's so much in here that we can't begin to do more than just try to get a basic understanding. Because when we speak about the preeminence of the savior, human language cannot express essential deity of Christ in any way that we can understand in a short period of time. It will take eternal ages in heaven.

6:05 It'll take unending eternity for us to get a grasp and appreciation of the true character and holiness and work of Calvary of the eternal son of God. But in this section, it speaks about, in verses 15 through 23, the preeminence of the savior. The last time we were looking at Paul's prayer for the saints. And then finally, at the end of the chapter, we'll be looking at Paul's preaching as a minister or a servant for Christ. As we look at verse 15, we find that Christ is preeminent in creation.

6:51 He's the creator and sustainer, not only of this world, but of the universe. I spoke about that phrase that's repeated over and over, all things. I believe the force of those two words, that expression, is the total universe of which planet earth is just such a small part. Christ is the creator and sustainer of the universe. In verses 19 through 23, he's preeminent in redemption as the reconciler, the redeemer.

7:34 And as we look at that, hopefully, we will get a grasp and appreciation of the one that became the redeemer, the reconciler, was the one that came from heaven's glories as the eternal son of God without beginning. God gave the very best of heaven when he gave his son to die for our salvation. But as we begin this section in verse 15, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the image of the invisible God. Now sometimes we use the word image, and it means just a general likeness. But this is not the case at all.

8:23 This is a defined copy. The eternal son, and always perfect equality with the father in respect to his substance, his nature, his eternity, coequal and coeternal with the father. He is the image of the invisible God, and because God is spirit, he is invisible. But Christ was sent to be the one that would enable us to see what God is like. In John 14 verse nine, he said, he that has seen me has seen the father, God the father, because they were equal.

9:57 We'd all sinned and turned away from the way that he had created mankind in perfectness. God loved the world. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. So we have here the preeminence of Christ in his deity. And I can't explain it to the degree I would like to.

10:32 Human language can never express infinity. And he is infinite in his deity. He's preeminent in his deity. But then it says in the last part of verse 15, he's first in rank over all creation. It's not...

10:55 Firstborn is not speaking about time. It's not speaking about a date that he was the first one that was born. It's speaking about honor, dignity, priority, uniqueness, and rank. He stands first in rank over all his creation. In verse 16, for by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth.

11:27 Visible. We look at the visible, and it's beautiful in God's creation, but invisible. The angelic ranks of hosts. He created them all. All things were created through him and for him.

11:44 So we have in that verse by him because he is the architect of it. Through him, he is the agent and for him because he is the goal in creation. In verse 17, he is before all things. He is before all things. It's a simple statement, but it's so profound because from the unmeasured ages of eternity without beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ was always there with the father.

12:31 I was thinking of hymn number 58 in the black book this morning. The third verse speaking of the God the father's pleasure in his son. All his joy, his rest his pleasure. All the father found in thee. Lord, thy heart alone can measure all the father's thoughts of thee.

13:01 How he set his love upon thee, called thee his beloved son, and we were reminded of that this morning. Yet for us, he did not spare thee by thy death. Our life was one. But all things hold together. All things consist.

14:12 By him, all things are in perfect order. We think of all the motion. He controls it all. All the laws of physics, he controls it all. By him, all things are held together, consist.

14:40 But then he comes to even another area of his preeminence in verse 18. He is the head of the body, the universal church, all believers from Pentecost till the rapture. He is the head of the body of the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Preeminent in his deity, preeminent in creation, preeminent in the church. The head that controls the body.

15:26 Verse 19, for it pleased the father that in him all the fullness should dwell. I think mister Darby has perhaps given a little bit better translation. For in him, all the fullness of the godhead was pleased to dwell. We get to the next chapter in verse nine. For in him dwells all the fullness of the godhead in bodily form.

16:04 The father's pleasure, God the father, pleasure of his son, the one that was with him from eternal ages without beginning. You try to imagine what a billion years time past was. It means nothing because eternity has no measure of time. It has no measure of time going into the future. We have only a grasp of time.

16:35 We try our best to try to figure out what it means by eternity past or eternity future. And we can't begin to understand that there was the father, the son, and the holy spirit without any beginning. They've always existed. The glorious truth is for the believer who will spend an unending eternity future enjoying the beauties, the glories of our savior. But then in verse 20, by him to reconcile all things to himself.

17:59 When it speaks about reconciliation, God does not have to be reconciled to us. We need to be reconciled back to God. It was man that broke that fellowship as Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. And there was no way we could be reconciled back to God by ourselves, by our own effort. And so the God of heaven and his great eternal love sent his son to pay the price, to reconcile us, to redeem us from sin at Calvary.

18:42 Reconcile means to restore to a right relationship. And as we think of the one that came to reconcile us, it cost him his ultimate because he gave himself. He made peace through the blood of his cross. Verse 21, he says, To you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he is reconciled. What he is...

19:19 Paul is saying is man sinned, mankind, and it resulted in alienation from God. And because of that, man can't do it, turn over a new leaf. We can't just say, well, we'll do the best we can. We'll say, well, from here on, I'm gonna do better. We can't say, well, I think I'll pray a little bit more.

19:54 I'll really be more in earnest about trying to please God and live for him. There's nothing we can do that can merit any favor with God except, this is the one exception, to just say, I agree I'm a sinner. I agree that I need a savior. I agree that I can do nothing to merit salvation. But I'm gonna claim the work of Christ on the cross.

20:30 When he suffered and poured out his blood, he is the one that is able to meet and satisfy every claim against my sin. Charlotte Elliott wrote that beautiful hymn and I love it. Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. Oh, lamb of God, I come. I come.

20:59 No plea of my own, just accepting the work of Christ on the cross. Salvation is not the work of Christ plus our own efforts. Salvation is the work of Christ on the cross alone because we can add nothing to the finished work. The completed work of the savior when he cried, it is finished. At the end of his suffering, he dismissed his spirit.

21:27 Salvation had been accomplished if we receive it. There is the responsibility because, well, the scriptures tell us of different ways that the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished reconciliation. It tells us in Romans five and ten, we're reconciled by his death. It tells us here in Colossians, we're reconciled by his blood. In Ephesians two verse 16, and we're reconciled by the cross, the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

23:02 For he made him the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He made his own son, the spotless, sinless, eternal son. He laid our sins upon him that we might become the righteousness of God in him. But there is that responsibility. And if there's anyone in the audience today that has never stopped to make that confession, that as a guilty sinner, you need a savior, Just to say, I agree with you, God.

23:56 I agree I can do nothing to change my life. But I'm so thankful for the savior that paid the price at Calvary, that shed his precious blood to purchase my redemption. And I accept him as my personal savior. Salvation is a very personal relationship. It's not a religion.

24:20 It's the relationship with the God of heaven. But in verse 22, we have been reconciled by the death of Christ, by his shedding of his precious blood, in the body of his flesh through death, and the outcome to present you holy, holy before God, and blameless, blameless before others, and above reproach, Satan can come with no accusation. Holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight, he says, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which he heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven of which I, Paul, became a minister. You know, as we look at this section we've just covered and we find that the truths involved are staggering because what Paul has done in the length of what he has discussed and written, he's taken us from eternity past. The creator before creation and his deity moved us through time not only in the creation, but in the work of redemption at the cross.

26:14 And he's moved us into that beautiful time in the future when we'll be presented as the bride of Christ to the father for eternity. The length of time that is without measurement, but then there's the height of it because he speaks about that glorious day in the future when the son of God will present his bride, the church, to God the father, holy, blameless, and above reproach. The height of such glory is because of the depth of the suffering of the one that came from heaven, the creator that stepped out of eternity into time, that came to pay the price in the depths of the suffering and judgment at the cross of Calvary. And then you think of the breadth, the width, all creation, the universe, all things. And he speaks about the hope of the gospel, the hope that comes as a result of the gospel.

28:08 Is he preeminent in my life? Is he preeminent in yours? Because this is a thought that is quite sobering, to be honest with you. How does he affect the use of my time? How does he affect the use of my possessions?

28:34 The use of my talents? How does it affect my worship, my appreciation of the person of Christ? I'd just like to leave that question to have each of us reflect upon. If he is so preeminent in heaven, he's so preeminent over the church, how much preeminence does he have in my life and in yours? As we go on to this next section in verse 24, Paul says, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you.

29:17 And that's quite a statement. I'm suffering for you because he was there in prison. He was there because of his testimony for Christ. He says, I'm suffering for you, and he'd never met the Colossians because he'd never been to Colossae at that point to be able to share the... Spread the gospel.

29:41 He was effortless that had taken the gospel to them. But he says, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you. Now I don't think very many of us really can say we rejoice in our sufferings for some other believers. Maybe it's easier to say I can rejoice in my sufferings for the Lord. We think of the martyrs, and we think of those that around the world today are suffering in prisons, suffering beatings and torture every day.

30:21 They're told, we can't and we can let you out. We stand with those that are suffering for the sake of Christ around the world. Perhaps they can say, I rejoice in my suffering for Christ. Paul says, I rejoice in my suffering for you. And I fill up in my flesh that which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church.

30:57 Now Christ's payment for the judgment of sin was accomplished at the cross. It never has to be repeated and nothing can be added to it. But there is another aspect here, and I think this can be so encouraging to believers that are going through times of suffering. The Lord Jesus Christ, the risen head of the church, is affected by the suffering of his people. He understands.

31:38 He feels. He can comfort. And one day he will reward. We need to look at the beam of the judgment seat of Christ to realize that there are things that seem so wrong, so difficult, so out of control in life at this time. The Lord is working out his purposes And sometimes those purposes and sometimes that refining can only come through suffering.

32:44 A mystery in scripture is a truth that's been hidden in the past but is now revealed for the knowledge of the believers. So this mystery, which has been now revealed, it's been hidden from ages and generations. Several generations go into an age, but from ages past, it never was revealed this mystery, but it's now been revealed to his saints. He's speaking to those that were Gentiles. The Colossians were Gentiles.

33:26 They weren't the Jews. To them, God has willed to make known this mystery, but he goes beyond that. He's willed to make known the glory of this mystery, But it goes beyond that. He has willed to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. What is it that's so wonderful?

33:56 Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in us, the hope of glory. Christ in us. You know, as we think of that, we know we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. We understand that.

34:16 He's there to help, teach us, to remind us. But Christ in us, the hope of glory. You know, at the beginning of this chapter in verse five, we have there a hope of heaven. In verse 23, we have the hope of the gospel, the hope brought by the gospel. But in this verse, verse 27, Christ in you, the hope of glory, the one that is within us, who has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

34:59 He is the indwelling Christ, the hope of glory. And Paul says then in the last couple of verses, him we preach warning every man and teaching every man. And that's kind of a bridge into the rest of the book. Because chapter two and verse one through chapter three and verse four, Paul is warning and warning and warning about false cults. But then chapter three and verse five through chapter four and verse 14, he's teaching them.

35:36 And he says, to this end I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily. At the end, would just like to give the Phillips translation of these two verses. I think it is so clear what Paul is saying. And I realize it perhaps is not quite an accurate word by word translation, but it certainly gives the idea of what Paul is trying to say. So Philip says, so naturally, we proclaim Christ.

36:19 We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can. All that we know about him is Christ. So that if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. That is what I am working at all the time with all the strength that God gives me. Everyone, everyone, all, every man, all the time, with all the strength.

37:01 And I'd just like to challenge each of us, and we were hearing a little bit about this this morning when Justin was talking about, as we go through our day to day experience, are we concerned about all the time, with all our strength, everyone we meet, teaching everyone we can, that we may bring, if possible, everyone to full maturity in Christ. It's a wonderful goal. It's what will make all the difference for eternity to someone that we're able to share the gospel with that trusts Christ, someone we're able to try to build up in their most holy faith. This is what I am working at all the time with all the strength that God gives me. May the Lord help us to do that.

39:05 We're thankful that he is the head of the church. And father, with all his glorious power as he controls the church and directs it, we pray that that would help us to acknowledge his preeminence, to be able to carry out the truth of it in our daily walk, that we might say like Paul at the end, all the time, with all the strength that God gives me, I will seek to be a help to others, to warn them, those without the savior, to build up and teach those that know him. Father, challenge our hearts, change our lives, as we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.