This Sermon From Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection
Used By Permission © 2010 www.ARLC.org
Now, I want to talk to you today about Jesus. And, be finding Colossians chapter 1;
and, when you’ve found it, look up here, and let me speak to you—Colossians chapter 1.
Sometime ago, you watched, as I watched, the program hosted by Peter Jennings, “The Search for Jesus.” As a matter of fact, I watched for a while, and then could not take it any longer. And, I turned it off, and walked out of the room. I had just as soon watch a group of men with a bag over their head in a cave with a jar full of lightning bugs trying to find the noonday sun, as to watch these people talk about their search for Jesus. The reason they never really came down with anything definitive is they were looking in the wrong place. He is there to be found, if you want the authentic, the real, the genuine, the very Son of God.
Bryant Gumbel was interviewing Larry King on CNN, and Bryant Gumbel asked Larry King this question: “If you could ask God only one question, Larry, what would it be?” Larry King said, “I would ask Him if He had a Son.” Very interesting. Great question. Answer: “Yes, He does, and His name is Jesus.”
John Blanchard has estimated that, of all of the people who have ever lived since the dawn of civilization, there have been about 60 billion people that have walked Planet Earth. Of those 60 billion people who have walked Planet Earth, only a handful have made any real, lasting impression, have actually changed the world. And, in that handful of people, there is One who stands head and shoulders above all of the others—and His name is Jesus. More attention has been given to Him; more devotion has been given to Him; more criticism has been given to Him; more adoration has been given to Him; more opposition has been given to this one person than all of the others. Every recorded word that He said has been more sifted, analyzed, scrutinized, debated— every word—than all of the historians and the philosophers and the scientists put together. Yet, He was here 2,000 years ago. And, after 2,000 years, there is never one minute on this earth that millions are not studying what He said. Think about it—think about it: Here’s a person who lived in a miniscule, tiny little land two millenniums ago; and yet, His birth divides the centuries—AD, BC; Before Christ and Anno Domini, the year of our Lord.
He never wrote a book that we know of; and yet, library after library could be filled with the volumes, the multiplied millions of volumes, that have been written about the Lord Jesus. He never painted a picture, so far as we know; and yet, the world’s greatest art, the world’s greatest dramas, the world’s greatest music, the world’s greatest literature has Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, as its source. Jesus never raised an army, so far as we know; yet multiplied millions have died for Him. He never traveled very far from His birthplace; and yet, His testimony has gone around, and around, and around the world. He only had a handful of little followers that followed Him there, in His ministry; and yet, today, over 30% of the world’s population names His name—the largest such grouping on Earth today—Jesus of Nazareth. A ministry of only three short years—public ministry; and yet, here we are, 2,000 years later, saying, “Jesus, Your name is wonderful,” because His name is. He had no formal education. He didn’t attend the university or seminary; and yet, thousands of universities, and seminaries, colleges, and schools are built in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And, in my estimation, in my humble but correct opinion, no one can call himself, herself, educated who does not understand Jesus Christ.
The great historian Kenneth Scott Latourette said this—listen to this quote: “Jesus has had more effect on the history of mankind than any other of His race who ever existed.” That’s not a Baptist preacher speaking that. To explain Jesus Christ is impossible; to ignore Jesus Christ is disastrous; to reject Him is fatal. Understand who Jesus Christ is: To know Him is to love Him; to love Him is to trust Him; to trust Him is to be radically, dramatically, and eternally changed, to be transformed. I’m talking about who is Jesus. Human speech is too limited to describe Him. The human mind— too small to comprehend Him; and, the human heart can never really, completely, totally absorb who Jesus Christ is.
Let’s read Colossians 1, and I want to begin reading. We’re going to have to break in; let’s break into verse 12: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet”—or “fitting”—“to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”—now, folks, that’s talking about you. He’s talking about your inheritance. If somebody wealthy left you a legacy, would you not be interested? Then pay attention—“who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:12–13). Larry King, there’s your answer. God does have a Son, and God said, “He is my dear Son.” And, He has a Kingdom.
Now, let’s talk about the inheritance that we have: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;”—and, here’s the key to it all—“that in all things he”—Jesus—“might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him”—that is, in His Son—“should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him”—by Jesus—“to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled” (Colossians 1:14–21).
We’re going to talk a little bit now about the Lord Jesus Christ, that in all things He might have pre-eminence. He doesn’t want a place in your life. He doesn’t wish for prominence in your life. He deserves and demands pre-eminence. Three reasons I want to give—they’re right here before us:
I. Jesus Reveals the Father
Reason number one: Jesus reveals the Father—Jesus reveals the Father. Look, in verse 15: Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). God is Spirit— invisible, unfathomable, unapproachable. How are we going to know God? Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” The visible Jesus makes the invisible God known. The word image is the word eikon. We’re going to talk about that, in a moment. How are you going to know God? Not by reason. How are you going to know God? Not by religion. How are you going to know God? Not by ritual. You’re going to know God only by revelation, and Jesus Christ has come to reveal God to you. You can never fully know God the Father apart from God the Son.
Now, look again at verse 15—look at it: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15). Put those two words down; lock your mind on those two words: image and firstborn—Colossians 1:15—image and firstborn. The word image is the Greek word eikon. If you have a computer, you have icons on your computer. It means a “a representation.” Now, Jesus is the icon of God. The Greek word means “the exact representation.” Jesus is the express image of the invisible God. He is the eikon of God. And, go to Colossians chapter 2 and verse 9. See how Paul sums it up there: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). All of God was in Bethlehem’s stable. He is the eikon—the express image—of God.
You want to know God? Friend, Jesus Christ has cornered the market. He has a monopoly on revealing the Father. That’s the only way you’re going to know God. Let me give you a verse—put it in your margin: Matthew chapter 11 and verse 27. Here’s what Jesus Christ Himself said: “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).
Now, either that’s true, or it’s not true. I believe it’s true. He says, “Nobody knows My Father but Myself, and you can’t know Him unless I introduce Him to you.” That’s a big statement. Why? Because, Jesus is the express image of God. You’re never going to figure God out. How can the finite understand the infinite? Not by reason, but by revelation. Any other god that you worship is the god of your guesses, and that’s a form of idolatry. You don’t conjure up some god to worship him. Jesus came to reveal the Father.
You say, “Well, Pastor Rogers, that’s narrow-minded.” Well, you could be so broad-minded that your mind gets thin in the middle, be so open-minded that your brains may fall out.
I want my doctor to be narrow-minded. I don’t want him to say, “Well, you’re sick. Here are 10 bottles of medicine. Let’s just take one of them and see what happens.” I want my airplane pilot to be narrow-minded, and not try to land with the landing gear up. I want my banker to be narrow-minded. But, in the thing that matters the most, my eternal destiny, I think I’m not ignorant to want a little certitude, a certainty.
Yes, you can’t know the Father apart from Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t say, “I’m a way”; He said, “I am the way.” He didn’t say, “I am a light”; He said, “I am the light. I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). You see, God was manifest in the flesh.
My pastor friend, Jerry Vines, imagines Jesus Christ going into the temple and having a conversation with the teachers, when he was a 12-year-old boy. And, one of the learned doctors there strokes his beard, and says, “Son, how old are You?” “Well,” He says, “On My mother’s side, I’m 12-years-old, but on My Father’s side, I’m older than My mother and as old as My Father.” You see, He was both God and man. Now, on His mother’s side, He got thirsty; on His Father’s side, He said, “I am the water of life.” On His mother’s side, He got hungry; on His Father’s side, He took a little lad’s lunch and fed 5,000. On His mother’s side, He was homeless, and didn’t have a place to lay His head; on His Father’s side, He owned the cattle on a thousand hills. On His mother’s side, He wept at the grave of Lazarus; on His Father’s side, He said, “Lazarus, come forth,” and raised him from the dead. He was God in human flesh. That’s the word image.
Look at the word firstborn there, in verse 15. Now, don’t get the idea that firstborn implies a beginning. Jesus never had a beginning. There never was a time when Jesus was not. Jesus said, over there, in the Gospel of John, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Not, “I was”—“I am.” He is the great “I AM.” He never had a beginning. He has always existed in a state, never a start. He didn’t have His beginning at Bethlehem.
What does the word firstborn mean? Now, the Jehovah’s Witnesses tell us that there was a time when Jesus was not, that He was created; and, this is one of the verses that they try to use, but they mishandle the word firstborn altogether. The word firstborn speaks of honor and privilege, as God said of David, in Psalm 89, verse 27: “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth” (Psalm 89:27). Firstborn speaks of His exalted position. Look, in verse 17: “And he”—Jesus—“is before all things” (Colossians 1:17). He could not be created. Why? Because, all things were created by Him. It is obvious that whether there are things in Heaven, things on Earth— everything was made by Jesus, and for Jesus.
And so, you want to know God the Father? Would you like to know what the great, invisible God is like—who He is? Would you like to know His heart? Friend, Jesus reveals the Father. Thank God for that. Second point: Not only does Jesus reveal the Father; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn, the highest of all creation and above all creation.
II. Jesus Rules the Future
But secondly, Jesus rules the future—Jesus rules the future. Begin now, in verse 16:
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by 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 might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him”—now, watch this—“to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:16–20).
Now, what is this taking about? It’s talking about One who rules the universes, One who not only has this whole world in His hands, but He has the past, the present, the future in His hands. People ask, “What is the world coming to?” Answer: “It’s coming to Jesus—it is coming to Jesus.” All things were created by Him, and for Him, and it will all climax in the Lord Jesus Christ.
A. Jesus is the Power of Creation
Now, let me point this out just a little bit. First of all, he says, Jesus is the power of creation. Look, if you will, in verse 16. Jesus is the power of creation. “For by him were all things created” (Colossians 1:16). He is the power of creation. The little baby in Matthew 1 is the mighty God of Genesis 1. There was nothing made without Him. John tells us, “All things were made by him” (John 1:3).
“Adrian, don’t you believe in evolution?” Not for a skinny minute. No, I don’t believe in evolution. After I studied it, I wouldn’t believe in evolution, even if I weren’t a Christian. It’s the next best guess of those who do not know the Word of God.
Now, if evolution is true, you have problems with the Scripture. If the Bible can’t tell me from whence I have come, how can it tell me where I’m headed? You have trouble with salvation. If there’s no creation, no Adam and Eve, no Garden of Eden, there was no fall into sin. And, if there’s no fall into sin, there’s no need for a new birth. Man is just progressing onward and upward. But, Jesus said, in John 3: “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). If Genesis 3 is a myth, John 3 is a farce. You have a problem with salvation. I’ll tell you something else: If you believe in evolution, you’re going to have problems in society, and that’s why we have so many. As we’ve often said, you teach the boys and girls they come from animals—it ought not to surprise us that they begin to act like animals. Listen. It was all made by Jesus.
Do you think all of this just happened? Do you think it’s just by some random chance—it all came out of some sort of primordial ooze that came out of lifeless matter? In your own body, there are 300 trillion cells in the human body—all of them incredibly complex.
There’s a book out you need to read called Darwin’s Black Box. You know, all scientists, and inventors, and pseudo-scientists selling snake oil or whatever—they have a little black box, and they say, “Well, you can’t look in there. That’s my trade secret.” Well, Michael Behe just kind of pried open Darwin’s black box, and I don’t want to get too complicated, but he talks about irreducible complexity. You take life and just reduce it back until you can’t reduce it any simpler. And, when you look at the simplest part, it is so complex that there’s no way possible that just one cell could have come about by evolution, because all of the components of that one cell are interdependent. It takes one for the other to be there. One could not have come out of the other.
I want to say again that you have in your human body 300 trillion cells. Now, in that one cell, you have rods known as chromosomes. And, in these chromosomes, you have genes, or your genetic makeup. And, that’s determined by something today that we call DNA. And, they look now at the DNA, and they say, “There’s a mind there. There’s intelligence there. There’s design there. There’s not randomness there.” In the DNA, in one cell—one cell, there is enough information printed in books, it would take 600,000 books to write down the code of the DNA that is in one of the trillions of cells in your body that determines your intellect, the color of your hair, your personality—all of those things, encoded right in there. Who did all of that? Jesus. “All things were made by him” (John 1:3). He, friend, is the power of creation.
B. Jesus is the Preserver of Creation
I’ll tell you something else: He is the preserver of creation. Look, in verse 17 of this same chapter: “He is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). Do you know what the word consist means? They stick together. Jesus Christ is the glue of the galaxies. What is it that keeps it all from falling apart or coming apart? Jesus.
Jesus is the One who feeds the sun with its fuel. Jesus is the One who guides the planets in their orbit around the sun. Jesus is the One who has set out all of the stars. Talk about natural law—there’s no natural law. They’re the laws of Jesus that nature obeys. It is by Jesus that all things consist (Colossians 1:17).
I was looking recently at Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 26. Listen to it—a great verse: “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things…”—sometime, take time on a dark night to go out, and look up. That’s what he says—“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things,”—do you think that everything came out of nothing? You say, “I can’t believe in an eternal God.” You believe in eternal, inanimate matter? Now, listen to this—“[he] bringeth out their host by number:”—he’s talking about the stars—“he calleth them all by names” (Isaiah 40:26).
I was listening to radio the other day, and they said, “You want to give a Christmas present? We’ll name a star after you. You choose somebody, and we will name a star for that person, and we’ll put it in a book.” Friend, too late! Too late. Every one of the billions, and billions, and billions, and billions, and billions, and billions, and billions, and billions—and I could go on until the service ends—Jesus has named every one of them. He is the preserver of creation. He guides it all.
Light travels at 186,282 miles per second. How fast is that? All right, let’s hijack a light beam and travel around the earth—been around the earth 7 1/2 times right there, around the circumference. You want to go to the sun? The sun’s 93 million miles away. You can get there in 8 1/2 minutes, traveling on a light beam. You want to go to the nearest star? It would take you 4 1/2 years, traveling at 186,282 miles per second, to get to the nearest star. Friend, that’s 27 trillion miles away. And, that’s the closest one! There are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy. To go from side to side, rim to rim, in our galaxy, would take you 100,000 light years, traveling at 186,282 miles per second. Who did that? His name is Jesus—His name is Jesus. He’s the One by whom all things consist. He is the power of creation. And, friend, He is the preserver of creation.
C. Jesus is the Purpose of Creation
And, He is the purpose of creation. Look, if you will now, in verse 16—look at it: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him,”—now, watch it—“and for him” (Colossians 1:16). Why all of this? Did you think it was for you? No, it’s for the Lord Jesus Christ.
For is a preposition that speaks of direction. It’s the Greek word eis—“moving in the direction.” Now, we, in America, have been invaded by Eastern religions. Eastern religions are circular. Everything goes ’round, and ’round, and ’round, and ’round. That’s the reason they believe in reincarnation. I’ve always thought reincarnation was putting the milk back in the can. You’ll get that later. They believe in reincarnation. That is, everything is circular. And so, you have to live with good karma. And, if your karma is not good, then, in your next life, you may come back as a roach. But, if you’ve been good, you might come back as a cow. That’s the reason they don’t eat meat. You might be eating your grandmother.
Now, they believe that it’s all circular; but it’s not circular, it is all headed in a direction. The Bible is linear. We’re moving to the time when the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. That’s the reason He taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth, even as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). I can hardly wait!
And, by the way, think of what’s going on today in history. Let me give you a verse my wife pointed out to me yesterday; I’ve been living on it—Isaiah chapter 33, verse 22: “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king;”—got it? Judge, lawgiver, and king. What are the three parts of our government? The judiciary— the judge; the legislative—the lawgiver; and the executive—the king. Did you know Jesus is all three? You talk about a balance of power—He doesn’t need any balance of power. He is the power! The Lord—He is the judge; He is the lawgiver; He is the king. And then, it says—and this is Isaiah 33, verse 22—“he will save us” (Isaiah 33:22).
Friend, it is all headed to Jesus. It was all—it is all—for Him, for the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the key to the mystery of history.
I’m told that a young man was taking a philosophy course. He’d studied, and studied, and studied, and he came to the final exam, and the philosophy professor had a little bit of a sense of humor. He wanted to see how much philosophy these young people knew, how well they could think. The final examination was one word: “Why?” A student thought for a while, wrote one word down, and walked out: “Because!” I would add two more words: “because of Jesus—because of Jesus, because of Jesus.”
He is the mystery of history. Why is it all me? “All things were created by him, and for him…and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16–17). And, history has a date with Deity.
III. Jesus Reconciles the Fallen
Last thing of these three things I want to lay on your heart: Not only does Jesus reveal the Father, not only does Jesus rule the future, but Jesus, thank God, reconciles the fallen. That’s why He came. Look, in verse 18 now—look at it: “And he”—Jesus—“is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulless dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet hath he reconciled” (Colossians 1:18–21). That’s so wonderful! This Jesus, who declared the Father; this Jesus, who dominates the future; this is Jesus, who delivers the fallen, reconciles God and man.
You see, Christians are not just nicer people. They’re not just people who give intellectual assent to certain doctrinal things. But, you have to see the contrast. I mean, what is Paul saying? Paul is saying, “Look, He is the One who made everything. He made it all; it all belongs to Him. And yet, He hung naked on a cross.”
Think of it. God, the mighty Maker, died for man, the creature’s, Sin. You have to get it in its context. You have to understand what he’s talking about. He’s set you up. He’s telling you how great, how awesome, how mighty is Jesus. And then, he speaks of the blood of His cross. He died on a cross.
The One who made every seed, every limb, every tree—He dies on a tree. The One who made the oceans, and the fountains, and the rivers, and the streams, said, “I thirst.” The One who flung that sun out into space is the One who’s blistered by the noonday sun. He is dying. His death and His deity are put together. Other people have died; but friend, it’s His deity that makes His death meaningful. And, it is His death that makes His deity knowable. The two are together.
When Jesus created the universe, He did it with His Word. He said, “Let it be,” and it was; and, universes sprang from His fingertip. But, when He saved us, it took every drop of His blood. He didn’t have to do that. Larry King, He does have a Son. He died for you. Peter Jennings, He’s not the Jesus of some finger-thumping philosopher; He’s the Son of God, revealed in the pages of His Holy Word. He’s the One that took my sin—your sin, our sin—to the cross; and, there, made peace with the blood of His cross. And, on His cross, He took sinful man with one hand, holy God with the other hand, and reconciled God and man.
A woman was dying. They didn’t know who she was. She was in a hospital, apart from friends and family. They said, “Get a minister.” The minister came in, bent down, and whispered in her ear, “They say you’re dying. Have you made peace with God?” She shook her head. They huddled a while and came back. And the minister, wanting to press the point, said, “Dear lady, you’re dying. Don’t you think you need to make peace with God?” She shook her head again in the negative. The third time, they said, “You need to make peace with God.” She said, “No, I don’t. I am resting in the peace that Jesus has already made. I cannot make peace with God. Jesus made peace with the blood of His cross.” And, what we need to do is to enter into that peace by faith and trust the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion
Now, I’ve come to the end of the message. What is the bottom line? Listen to it—don’t miss it: “that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Question to you: Does He have pre-eminence in your life?
Ellis A. Fuller was one of our great preachers of yesterday. Ellis Fuller had a girl that he loved very much and wanted to marry her. Let me tell you how he proposed to her: He said to her, “Would you be willing to take second place in my life?” Jesus is, and always will be, number one. Joyce knows she’s not number one in my life. She knows she’s number two; and, she’d much rather have it that way, because she knows that I can love her in a way that I never could love her, if she were number one.
Does Jesus Christ have the pre-eminence in your life? If not, what right do you have to call yourself a Christian? “That in all things”—everything—“he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Who is Jesus? Friend, He is the Jesus of this Book.
Would you bow your heads in prayer? How many of you can say, “Pastor Rogers, I know that I know if I died today, I know on the authority of the Word of God—because I have repented of my sin, trusted Christ, and God’s Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I’m a child of God—I know that, if I died today, I’d go straight to Heaven”? Would you just lift your hand up, and hold it up, for a moment? Thank you. Take it down.
Now, I asked you to do that, because I wanted you to consider it. If you could not lift your hand, I want to guide you in a prayer. And, in this prayer today, if you will sincerely pray it, and mean it, Jesus Christ will save you: “Dear God. I’m a sinner, and I’m lost; and, I need to be saved. I need to be reconciled by the blood of Jesus to You. I open my heart. By faith, I embrace Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me, Jesus.”
Did you ask Him? Thank Him: “Thank You for saving me, Jesus. I receive it by faith. And now, I will not be ashamed of You. I will make it public, if You will give me the strength, and I know You will. In Your name I pray. Amen.”
