It's All About Him Series

INTRODUCTION

• If my count is correct, I have just completed the 25th funeral since moving to Auburn in September of 2000.

• I have had the honor of being a part of so many families who have said good bye to their loved ones.

• For me a death always begs the question concerning the meaning of life. Why are we here? What is life all about? Do we have a calling in life or are we just supposed to do what ever seems right to us or whatever will make us the most money?

• Who is really supposed to be in charge of our lives?

• SLIDE #1

• I know we in church we are supposed to say that Jesus is supposed to be #1 and Jesus is supposed to be what life is all about. Jesus is supposed to be in charge of our lives.

• Today as we look at Colossians 1:9-15, I want us to consider WHY It’s All about Him!

• It is important for us to understand WHY it all HAS to be about Him. We do not want to get to the end of our lives only to find out that we invested it in the wrong things.

• WE ALWAYS need to remember what if most important in life.

• Let’s look at Colossians 2:9-15 together this morning as we see that “It’s All About Him!”

• SLIDES #2-#3-#4

• READ Colossians 2:9 - 15 (NASB)

SERMON

It is all about Him because:

SLIDE #5

I. IN HIM (9-11)

SLIDE #6

1. The fullness of Deity dwells.

• One of the reasons “It’s all about Him” is the fact that in Him the fullness of deity dwells.

• Since “dwells” is in the present tense it indicates the risen Christ is still the fullness of deity as savior, as he was upon earth. The significance of the incarnation continues.

• “Fullness” means that in every sense of the word, Jesus was God. Jesus was not just some man who did good things, He was not just some good teacher, He was God in the flesh and now He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven!

• Since the fullness of deity rests in Christ, then the benefits of His saving grace can be found nowhere else!

• In Him you will find God. People search for God in all the wrong places, God is found in Christ alone!

• Slide #7

• John 1:14 (NASB) 14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• In Him…

• SLIDE #8

2. You have been made complete.

• The Colossians lacked nothing outside of Christ; in Him they had everything they needed for salvation and right living

• But what does this “completeness” mean? The Life Application Bible states: It means that there is nothing lacking in a believer’s relationship with God. God pours his love and power into believers, giving them fullness for this life and readying them for the life to come. Believers need not look anywhere else. Christ is the unique source of knowledge and power for the Christian life. Christ alone holds the answers to the true meaning of life because he is life. (LAB)

• Look around you. People are searching for something to give their lives a boost. Few people seem content within themselves. A strange and often hard-to-identify inner vacuum gives most people an uneasy sense of incompleteness.

• But Christ fills the vacuum. As Jesus’ person is fully divine, so we, united by faith to Jesus, find personal fulfillment in him. We are complete in Christ.

• SLIDE #9

• John 1:16 (NASB) 16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

• You do not have to look elsewhere to be complete, when you find yourself in Christ, you are complete!

• In Him…

• SLIDE #10

3. Your old life has been cut away.

• Jewish males were circumcised as a sign of the Jews’ covenant with God (Genesis 17:9-14). Circumcision was an expression of Israel’s national identity and was a requirement for all Jewish men. Circumcision was a physical reminder to Jews of their national heritage and privilege. It symbolized “cutting off” the old life of sin, purifying one’s heart, and dedicating oneself to God (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4; Ezekiel 44:7). (LAB)

• Verse 11 tells us that in Him the body of flesh is removed. The word for “removal” denotes a taking off of clothing and putting them away. A total breaking away from something.

• If we are going to experience the fullness of Christ, we must “take off” the old way of life.