Colossians Series # 1 CHCC: November 5, 2006
Jesus the One and Only
Creator and Sustainer
Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
INTRODUCTION: Last week we looked at the question “Why> Jesus” This Sunday we’re going to look at the way Apostle Paul taught the Supremacy of Jesus in the book of Colossians. This is probably Paul’s finest theological treatment of who Jesus is and what he means to the church.
Most Bible Scholars think that the scripture ____________________ just read was a Hymn of the early Church. Those few verses probably contain more concentrated information about who Jesus is than any other section of scripture. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to a fledgling congregation in the city of Colossae. It was a church he never visited, but --- from Paul’s prison cell in Rome --- he had heard reports that this 5-year-old congregation was in danger. The Colossian congregation was being corrupted by false teachers.
We don’t know exactly what the false teaching was. Bible scholars just call it “The Colossian Heresy.” What we CAN tell is that the heresy included LEGALISM and some sort of ANGEL WORSHIP. The point is that Paul doesn’t talk about the details of the Heresy. He spends his time talking about the details of the TRUTH. After all, the best way to spot a counterfeit is to recognize the REAL THING.
1. Christ’s relationship to God Colossians 1:15
The false teaching that was going around in Colossi did not exactly DENY Christ. Instead it tried to DETHRONE Him. It’s probably the most common false teaching that goes around today. People want to give some sort of respect to Jesus, but they don’t want to Worship Him as LORD of all.
Paul confronts this head on in his first bold assertion that Jesus is: the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15
Jesus is not the IMAGE of God in the same way that you and I were made in God’s image. Jesus is God Himself, made visible. We know that many levels of reality are invisible to the human eye.
We can’t see cells or molecules or atoms or sub-atomic particles – but we know they exist. In a way, Jesus became our microscope to let us see the invisible reality. He is God made visible to the human eye.
Most of you’ve probably had the experience of hearing your doorbell ring and opening it up to find a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the door. Whenever I talk to them, I explain my belief that Jesus is God who came to earth as a human. I point out that their church teaches that Jesus is not God, but is actually the Archangel Michael. (This is something they don’t usually bring up … in fact, some members of the JW’s don’t understand that this is what their church teaches.)
On one occasion, they sent their “big guns” back to my door to talk to me the next week. They actually used Colossians 1:15 to show me that Jesus had to have been a creation of God since he is called the firstborn. I explained to them that the original Greek word translated as firstborn refers to status rather than to birth order. The FIRSTBORN was the one who ruled within the family structure – the supreme one --- the one who had first importance.
Then I pointed them to scriptures like John 14:9 where Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Do you want to know what God is like? Look at His Son. Some people argue that as a Son, Jesus cannot be Eternal. From human logic, a son always comes after the father and can never be as old as His father. But even from our limited understanding, it makes sense that the Son of the Eternal Father would be the Eternal Son.
John 1:1-3 makes this clear: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Susan and I invited the Jehovah’s Witnesses to come back and study scriptures with us, but they didn’t take us up on it. Maybe we planted some seeds, though. The New Testament is clear about Who Jesus is. In the book of Colossians, Paul explains Jesus is not a CREATION of God – He is the CREATOR of the entire universe.
2. Christ’s relationship to the Universe Colossians 1:16-17
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17
• Jesus is the Creator of everything – visible and invisible.
Think about what it means to be Creator of the Universe. John McArthur writes: The moon is a mere 211,463 miles away. You could actually walk there in 27 years if you covered 24 miles every day. Now, a ray of light travels at 186,000 miles per second (a little faster than walking) It could reach the moon in just 1.5 seconds. At the speed of light, we could reach Mercury in 4 ½ minutes. At light speed it would take 35 minutes and 11 seconds to travel the 367 million miles to Jupiter. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto would be around 3 billion miles more. And at that point we haven’t even left the front porch of our corner of the universe.
On the screen you can see a picture of the constellation Orion. A gigantic star called Betelgeuse is in the upper left corner. This star is 880 quad-drillion miles away. Betelgeuse is classed as a super giant. That one star has a diameter that is many times greater than the earth’s ORBIT around the sun. You can see on the screen, it is even greater than Jupiter’s orbit around the sun. That is one BIG star. And who made all this? JESUS!
• Jesus is the Sustainer of everything – visible and invisible (he holds it together)
Verse 17 says that Jesus not only created everything but that in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 The key word here is the Greek word sunistemi which means “to cohere” There are a lot of theories about what holds the universe together. Some scientists believe something called dark matter keeps the universe from simply flying apart. Dark Matter cannot be seen because it contains no particles of matter --- it is some sort of vacuum that exerts a cohesive force.
There are also a lot of theories about what holds things together at the atomic level. The nucleus of the atom contains positively-charged and neutral particles--to use a simplistic model. Mutual electrostatic repulsion between the like-positive protons should drive the nucleus apart. Some sort of mysterious "strong force" binds the nucleus together.
Scientists have various theories, but have so far been unable to figure out what holds the elements of our universe together. This verse of Colossians suggests that the Creator is at work in the universe … Jesus Christ CREATED everything we see and is actively holding it all together. http://www.ldolphin.org/cohere.shtml
Do you get the picture? Jesus is no demigod, no pseudo god, no semi-god, no quasi-god, no angel. He is the creator and sustainer of the entire universe. Friend, that is about as much God as you can get.
3. Christ’s relationship to the Church Colossians 1:18
Paul also makes it clear that Jesus is the Head of the Church. Colossians 1:18-19 says, And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Paul often pictures Jesus Christ as the Head of the Body. Just as our brain sends the signals that make our physical body function, Christ sends the instructions for the functioning of His Church. Here at CHCC, we have Pastors and Elders and Deacons and Ministry Leaders. But all of us are looking to Jesus Christ for our instructions. HE is the head of our church just as He is the head of the church throughout the world.
I often think that the survival of the church is a miracle in itself. When you think about it, each congregation is made up almost entirely of Volunteers. Now, how long do you think your office or workplace or school would keep functioning if it were made up purely of volunteers? What if the people in that organization not only didn’t get paid, but were asked to contribute in order to keep things going? Most business would be out-of-business within a month --- some wouldn’t last through the day.
Yet in our church --- and in churches all through history --- people freely give of their time and talent and money. People who are very different in age and interests and culture and socio-economic level and ethnicity and even in language work together in Unity --- not just for a week or a month, but for years and years --- building up the body of Christ. That can only happen when Christ as given His place as the Head of His Church.
(Talk about Church of the City Leadership Summit
Nov. 9-10 – Thursday/Friday - 9-6
right here at CHCC FREE of charge. REGISTER to come.)
God’s plan is for us to join TOGETHER as part of His Church. That’s one of the reasons I think it’s important for Christians to join a Congregation. People in general are not “joiners” now days. A lot of people are reluctant to make a commitment. It’s easier to just attend or to keep “shopping around” for a church. But I believe Christians need to BELONG to a church family where they can serve and grow together with a group of Believers.
Jesus is the IMAGE of the invisible God. He is the powerful CREATOR and SUSTAINER of the entire universe. Through all the ages and in every nation, He is the HEAD of His Church. But the most amazing truth about our amazing God is that he wants a personal relationship with you and with me.
4. Christ’s relationship to You Colossians 1:20-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. Colossians 1:21-23
God came to earth in order to reconcile all of us to himself. Jesus did this by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our evil behavior. Because of Him, we can stand before God holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
Jesus paid the full price. He offers you a free gift of salvation. But don’t leave this passage without seeing your part in this transaction. Your part is to continue in your faith. Don’t let anything or anyone move you away from your FAITH in Christ as your one and only Savior.
CONCLUSION:
Paul ends this section of his letter to the Colossians with these words: This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1:23
I thought this would be a good time to look at the UNCHANGING truth about Jesus Christ in the book of Colossians. Here at CHCC, we’re going through some big changes.
• As most of you know, starting in the New Year, we’ll be changing the times of our services to one English service at 10 a.m. & one in Spanish at 11:15.
• We’re going to be tearing down the chapel next door that served our congregation for over 40 years.
• We’ll be planning for another building that will provide for future needs.
These kinds of changes are difficult. They give us a challenge. And I’m convinced these challenges can be good for our church.
I’m confident that God will guide us through the changes so we can be even more effective in reaching people with the Gospel. You can rest assured that the leaders in our church will be looking to Jesus Christ --- the Head of His church --- for guidance. We are asking all of you to pray for Jesus to give us wisdom. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what God has in mind.
Change is necessary --- at least it’s necessary for any congregation that hopes to reach people for Christ. I believe it’s important for us to be flexible. We need to be ready and willing to make changes. But understand this: while we may often change our METHODS, we will never change our MESSAGE. At CHCC we will never stop preaching the Gospel message. WE will never stop pointing people to Jesus Christ as the One and Only Way.
On the screen you see a summary of Paul’s portrait of Jesus Christ in Colossians 1. Let’s read this declaration of our faith together as a church family.
We believe in Jesus Christ ---
• The Image of the invisible God
• The Creator and Sustainer of everything
• The Head of His Church
• And the Savior of everyone who will place their faith in Him.
Jesus Christ is the One and Only. You don’t need to look any further: He is all you need.
