Illustration:
A Sunday school child was busy doing something, while everyone else was paying attention to the teacher. She had a piece of paper and some crayons, and was doing some art work.
The Sunday school teacher being observant asked the child, “Sweetheart, what are you doing?”
The girl, without even looking up said, “I am drawing a picture of god.”
And the Sunday school teacher having the responsibility of being concerned about this girl’s theology said, “Sweety, nobody really knows what God looks like!”
And the girl said, “They will when I am finished!”
Different people have different ideas of what God is like and what Jesus is like. Most would agree that in general the Hindus think of Jesus in a particular way. Most have a deep and profound respect for Him, and will add Him to the long and crowded list of god-man incarnations. So they can have the picture of their favored gods like that of finances or health or safety, and then they can have the picture of Jesus also. Why not? It does not hurt.
For the Muslims, they look at Jesus with great respect and honor; one of the great 5 prophets of human history, which includes Muhammad and Jesus, is just one in that list.
It seems to me actually that many Hindus and Muslims show more deeper and profound respect to Jesus than some Christian theologians.
Brian Bill put it this way: “Instead of calling people to faith, repentance and submission to the Supremacy of Christ, many of us (church people) tell people that Jesus want to give them a happy marriage or a stress-free life. Well, Jesus would certainly change our lives and our marriages and our stress levels when we bow down to His pre-eminence.”
We must move away from “What can Jesus do for me?” to “Am I living in the light of His lordship?” We do not simply ADD Jesus to our lives; we adore Him with our lives through obedience.
It seems that in the days of Paul many people had similar views of Jesus.
• To the Romans Jesus was a rebel, accused of sedition.
• To the Greeks, the cross of Jesus was foolishness.
• To the Jews, the cross of Jesus was a stumbling block.
• To the Gnostics and the Platonists, Jesus was a demi-god, not born of mortal flesh, because flesh is evil.
The Bible has a different perspective when attempting to answering the question, “Who is Jesus?” That is our big question this morning. Last week we answered the question, “Who are we?” We are sinners saved by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, heirs of salvation, the children of God by adoption.
Let us read the great hymn of faith now – READ Colossians 1:15-20
1. Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
The word image is – icon. In the Roman world, if you had an identity document, it would have the section called the icon. It was a section about you that was unique.
So when we say Jesus is the image of the invisible God, we are saying that it is like a stamp. Like Caesar’s seal would have his image on it. You take the wax and the seal and stick it on there. And you will have an image that is identical to the image on the seal. Jesus is the image of God. He is the exact representation of God – Col.2:9. He is the fullness of the Presence of God.
2. He is the first born.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses take this verse to teach that Jesus was a created being. But the term, “first born” here is Prototocos, which means first child. David in the OT is referred to as the firstborn. He is actually the 8th child in the family, the youngest one. He is called the firstborn, not because he is the oldest, but because he was the pre-eminent son, the one who became king; the inheritor of the inheritance.
So the first born means, the one who receives the inheritance from God. He is the firstborn of all creation, the One who receives the inheritance of all creation.
3. He is the Creator
John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
4. He is before all things
When Jesus was having a dispute with a group of Jews, Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see this day.” And someone in the audience did not like Him saying that. They said, “You are not even 50 years old and you were before Abraham?” And Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
When He says I AM, He is quoting the verse from the burning bush that said, “I AM that I AM.” Jesus is claiming to be that God, Who spoke to Moses, and Who spoke to Abraham, Who is the everlasting One.
5. He holds together all things
You may or may not be interested in modern physics, but it is something that I am fascinated by. Physicists talk about four main forces in the universe. Electromagnetism and Gravity. Then you have the weak forces which breaks apart atom. And you have the fourth force, the strong force in the universe. It is the strong force that holds the atoms together.
Protons are positively charged, which would take 50 to 100 pounds of pressure to hold one proton together with another. Think about this applied on a scale which is so tiny. Atoms are unimaginably small.
Why is it that protons hold together in atoms? Scientists are trying to figure it out. They have sub atomic particles that they fear exists that they call gluons. It’s the glue that holds everything together.
The Bible teaches that Jesus holds the universe together. He is that true glue that holds all things together.
6. He is the head of the church.
What does that mean? It certainly means that in this church I am not in charge or anyone else, but Jesus is. He is in charge of not just the local congregation, but capital C, the Church. Just as my head directs my body, Jesus is the head of the church.
7. He is the firstborn from the dead
He is the first one to rise from the dead, never to die again. Lazarus died, and then he rose. That is exciting. But later he died again. But Jesus rose from the dead never to die again. He is the firstborn of the resurrection, which is our eternal hope, where we will reign with Christ forever.
8. He is the fullness of God.
This is a technical term. Greeks in philosophy use this term to refer to the nature of God Himself, the fullness of God. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the fullness of God.
9. He is also the Reconciler.
When I think about God, I think of how different He is from me. He is righteous, I am unrighteous. He is big, I am small. He is all powerful, I have small power. He is unstoppable, I can be stopped. I think of the distance – how God is untouchable. He is too big, too tall, too high and too far away. But Jesus is the reconciler.
John says in the book of I John, “That which we have touched, what we have seen with our eyes, heard with our ears, that we give testimony to, the word of truth.” Jesus is a Person you can touch, whose voice you can hear, who’s Word you can study, whose truth you can know. He is the light shining in the darkness. He has reconciled me to God and now I can touch God and God can touch me directly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Christians have been pondering about the nature of God for long time. The Nicene Creed one sentence at the beginning that has God, the Father, and it has one sentence at the end that mentions the Holy Spirit. And all the rest of it is about Jesus.
The Nicene Creed says:
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.”
In the Bible there are many titles for Jesus. To mention a few:
He is: The Alpha & the Omega, The Beginning and the End, The First and the Last, The Great I Am, Our High Priest, Our Mediator, Our Redeemer, Our Deliverer, Our Healer, Our Savior & Our Friend.
He is the Morning Star. He is the Fount of Wisdom. He is the Lord of Glory. He is the Author and the Perfector of our faith. He is the Son, the Word, and the Holy One of God. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. He is the Shepherd of the sheep, He is the soon and the coming King. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
I do not know who said this originally, and I like to give full credit to the person who wrote this.
Jesus has enough titles that He can be whatever you need.
To the Architect, He is the Chief Cornerstone.
To the Astronomer, He is the bright and morning star.
To the Baker, He is the Living Bread.
To the Builder, He is the sure Foundation.
To the Carpenter, He is the Door.
To the Doctor, He is the Great Physician.
To the Educator, He is the Great Teacher.
To the Electrician, Jesus is the Light of the world.
To the Farmer, He is the Sower and the Lord of the Harvest.
To the Fireman, He is the Water of Life.
To the Florist, He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
To the Geologist, He is the Rock of Ages.
To the Historian, He is the Ancient of Days.
To the Jeweler, He is the Precious Corner Stone.
To the Juror, He is the Faithful and True Witness.
To the Laborer, He is the Giver of Rest.
To the Lawyer, He is the Advocate and the Mediator.
To the Merchant, He is the Pearl of Great Price.
To the News Reporter, He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy.
To the Pharmacist, He is the Balm of Gilead and Ointment.
To the Philosopher, He is the Wisdom of God.
To the Photographer, He is the Express Image of God.
To the Printer, He is the Word.
To the Publisher, He is the Author.
To the Royalty, He is the King of Kings.
To the Shepherd, He is the Lamb of God.
To the Student, He is the Truth.
To the Theologian, He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
Who is Jesus to you?
Maybe even though you are here, you are not in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If that is you, take a moment and invite Jesus into your heart to be the Lord and Savior of your life and you will never be sorry. Jesus is all that and much more. He desires to have a dwelling place within us, to be our personal King, our personal Lord, and our personal Master. He is inviting us to come.
