Our Incomparable Christ--Creation; Col 1:15-20; 11-22-15; 1st of 4.
Something I’ve been doing the last few years is to in-vite people to join me in giving a message. At the end of my talk I will invite you to share your insights or questions that come out of what I’ve said. I’m not asking you to preach, but I’m inviting your brief thoughts to clarify or expand on what I’ve said, or to ask questions.
I’m excited about this series of messages. I want to focus on the most important subject in the universe—Jesus Christ. We may think we know him. We may be so familiar with information and stories about him that we lose perspec-tive on how great he really is. We know him as our Savior and Friend, but we may fail to see his awesome greatness.
I was going to title this series “Our Incredible Christ,” but “incredible” literally means not able to be believed. We can surely believe in Christ, so I called it “Our Incomparable Christ.” Jesus Christ is unique. There is no one else like him. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one compares to him. So it is “Our Incomparable Christ.”
We’ll focus on one of my most favorite passages in all of Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20. If you have a Bible, I encourage you to follow along. This paragraph is perhaps the greatest description of Christ in the whole Bible. It is a wonderful prose poem lauding his greatness. It was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians at Colossae. They were being pressured to believe that they needed to go beyond what they had been taught and to go to “deeper things,” secret things that were revealed only to the spiritual elite. But Paul is saying there are no deeper things. Christ is the greatest, Christ is the deepest, Christ is fully sufficient. The truth about Christ is all you need. That is all there is when it comes to spiritual reality. Over the next four services we will look at this passage in terms of creation, the incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. In each case we’ll see how Christ is fully unique and incomparable.
Our text begins, “He is the image of the invisible God.” That is, Christ is the exact and visible representation of God. God is invisible, but in Christ we see who God is, what God is like, and what God does. Who is God? He is the Creator and Redeemer. What is God like? He is a reconciling God, offering mercy and love. And what does God do? He sends his only Son to rescue people and restore them to a relationship with God.
People are made in God’s image too, but we have spoiled or tarnished that image through our selfishness and sin. Christ is the only adequate likeness of what God is really like. And we see in him what God intended for humans—“to be renewed in knowledge in the image of [our] Creator” (Col 3:10). So he is “the image of the invisible God.”
“He is the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15). The title “Firstborn” doesn’t mean he was the first one to be born when God started creating things. Christ has always existed, as God has always existed. He wasn’t born at creation. He was in fact the agent of creation. In the Old Testament “firstborn” indicates one’s status. The firstborn was considered superior to all the others. They were first in status. So Christ is before all created things in time and in supremacy. He outranks all other persons and things. He is the firstborn.
“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” (1:16). There are three key prepositions here. Literally it says all things were created in him, through him, and for him. We usually think of God the Father as the prime mover in creation, but this text is saying Christ is the sphere in which creation happens. He is the agent through which creation happens. And he is the goal or the purpose of creation. He is the reason for creation. Why did God create? For himself. All things were created “for Christ.” We’ll come back to that, but it’s a key to understanding why we are here.
The text goes on: “In him all things hold together” (1:17). David Garland says Jesus is the divine glue that keeps the universe going. He is the spiritual gravity that holds all creation together. He didn’t create it and then walk away. He didn’t wind up the clock and then set it on the shelf and leave it. He is constantly involved maintaining and sustaining the whole creation. It’s an active process. As H.C.G. Moule put it: “He keeps the cosmos from becoming a chaos.”
Garland says the universe is not self-sufficient, nor are individuals, no matter how much they deceive them-selves into thinking they are. Even people who deny and oppose Christ are ultimately dependent on him. Christ “holds all things together.” He keeps the universe going.
I want to come back to that phrase that all things were created “by him and for him.” Let’s think about what it means that everything was made “for him.” This reveals our purpose in life. We were made for him.
When our kids were little, Bryce was maybe three or four, and he was developing his vocabulary. He had heard his parents say, “What in the world are you doing?” He latched on to that phrase, and when he saw his little brother getting into some kind of mischief, he said it, but with a twist. He said, “What are you doing in the world?”
That question is one that everybody needs to ask themself, and find an answer. What are you doing in the world? Why are you here? What is the purpose of your life? That was a vital question for me when I was in college. Why am I here? Where am I going? What is my reason for being? I needed an answer to that question in order to know that life makes sense.
I recalled the first question in the Moravian Cate-chism: “Why were we created?” And the answer is, “To glori-fy God and enjoy him forever.” But that didn’t make much sense to me at the time. It sounded nice, but it didn’t seem very practical. What does it mean to glorify God and enjoy him forever?
Eventually I began to come across scriptures that spoke to this same idea. --1 Corinthians 8:6 (NIV)
for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live.
-- Hebrews 2:10 (NIV) In bringing many [children] to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom every-thing exists, should make the author of their salvation per-fect through suffering.
--2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV) He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
--1 Corinthians 6:20 (NIV) you were bought at a price. There-fore honor God with your body.
--2 Thessalonians 1:12 (NIV) We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.
--1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) you are a chosen people, a royal priest-hood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of dark-ness into his wonderful light.
It began to become clear to me that God intends for us to live in such a way that we honor him. We live for him, not for ourselves. If God is the ultimate Being in the uni-verse, and if his eternal purposes are going to be fulfilled, then it makes sense for me to align my life with God. There’s one sure bet in this universe, and that is God’s eternal plan is going to come true. So it just makes sense that if I want to have a life of significance, it needs to line it up with where God is going. I need to live in such a way that I am cooperat-ing with God and seeking to honor him. That’s what it means to “glorify God.”
(KT) The ultimate purpose of our lives is to live for God. God made us for a relationship with himself. We were made for God.
Someone might ask, “Why should we live to honor God?”
First, we should honor God because God is great and worthy of our honor. There is no one and nothing greater than God. Revelation 4:11 (NIV) "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you cre-ated all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." You are worthy.
God is worthy of our praise. When you see a great work of art, you don’t just praise the piece. You praise the artist who made it. God is the artist. He is great and worthy of our praise.
Second, we should honor God because that’s what God made us for. God says in Isaiah, “I have made them for my glory.’” Isaiah 43:7 (NLT) We were made for God’s glory. God’s express purpose for making us is for his glory. That’s our reason for being. God created us as the pinnacle of creation to bring praise and glory and honor to himself. God created us to make him look good. Have you ever thought about that? We’re here to make God look good. We’re to re-flect his greatness and glory back to him. When we live in a way that honors him, God looks good. When we rebel and live selfishly, we reflect poorly on God.
I like to work with tools. Sometimes in a pinch I have used a wrench as a hammer. Or I’ve used a screwdriver as a pry bar… Sometimes you can get by doing that, but that isn’t what those tools were made for. They function best when we use them for their intended purpose. And it’s the same with us. Our intended purpose is to honor God with our lives. That’s what we were made for. That’s who we are. And life works best when we do what we were made to do—that is, glorify God.
I really like a verse from Jeremiah that sums this up pretty well. “I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants” (Jeremiah 32:39 TEV). It’s printed in your bulletin as a reminder. We were made by Christ and for Christ.
What difference does it make in our lives if we know this? Why should we care? Actually knowing our purpose gives us a rudder to guide us through the stormy waters of our lives. It’s the map that helps us know where we are go-ing.
I was at a conference in Minneapolis years ago and a very successful Twin Cities businessman made this state-ment: “More people fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent.” You can have tons of talent, but if you don’t know your purpose you will spin your wheels. You don’t know where you’re going. Knowing your purpose gives you trac-tion to move ahead in life. You know where you are going, and that’s the first step to make progress. Let’s say you’re planning a trip. But if you don’t have a destination in mind, you don’t know where you’re going. It makes no difference what direction you set out because it doesn’t matter where you go. Knowing your purpose in life—that you are here to honor God—gives you a destination to head toward.
And having that destination, that purpose, gives you motivation to keep going. The German philosopher, Nie-tzsche, once said that “The one who has a why to live for can put up with almost any how.” When I know why I am here, I can put up with a lot of difficulties and hardships. I can push through because I know I have an ultimate pur-pose. That purpose is to glorify God with my life. The pur-pose, the goal, keeps me going.
John Maxwell tells a story. When he was a boy his father decided to build a basketball court for him and his brother. He made a cement pad and put a backboard up on the garage. He was just about to put up the basket when he was called away on an emergency. He promised to put up the hoop as soon as he returned. John thought, “No prob-lem. I’ve got a new ball and a new concrete court to dribble on.” So for a while he bounced the ball on the concrete. But pretty soon he was bored with that. So he took the ball and threw it up against the backboard—once. He let the ball roll off the court and didn’t pick it up again until his dad came back and put up the hoop. Why? It’s no fun playing basket-ball without a goal. You have to have something to aim for.
And so it is in life. We need to know what we’re aim-ing for. And in broad strokes, we’re aiming to glorify God. We were made “for Christ,” and that’s our goal.
Because God made you, your life has meaning and value and purpose. If you just evolved by random chance, with no divine intervention, then you’re just an accident of random selection and the survival of the fittest. There is no purpose inherent in evolution. That’s why philosophies of despair and nihilism are often associated with evolution. If you’re here by accident, the only purpose you have in life is whatever you make up for yourself. There is nothing above you and beyond you that says you matter. It’s like the differ-ence between a masterpiece painting and some paint that spilled on the floor. One has purpose, design, and meaning. The other is just an accident and a mess.
The good news in our text today is that you are creat-ed, through Christ and for Christ. You matter. Your life has meaning and purpose. You count. You are precious to God.
In response to that knowledge, we are called to live for the praise of God’s glory. We want to honor God in our day to day activities. Years ago a lot of people wore brace-lets that said WWJD, what would Jesus do? I don’t have any bracelets, but I would suggest a similar question as we go through our days: WWHG, what would honor God? Ask yourself that as you face each new situation. What would honor God? My challenge to each of us is to be conscious of how you might live for God in your normal activities today.
--As you drive home, what would honor God? Maybe you let that other driver in ahead of you instead of racing to be first. Maybe you pay more attention to obeying the speed limit.
--At home, what would honor God? Maybe you wash the dishes, or take out the trash, or clean up after a meal, or make a bed, even though you don’t normally do those things because you want to reflect the loving kindness of God.
--At work, you may go the extra mile to help someone who doesn’t really deserve it.
--What would honor God inside your own head? Maybe you deliberately focus on things you are thankful for instead of being critical.
There are hundreds of ways to adjust our thoughts and actions in response to God in order to live for Christ. Re-read the Jeremiah passage in your bulletin today: “I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and for the good of their descendants.” We were made by Christ and for Christ. Let’s live to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Q-A
“I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants” (Jeremiah 32:39 TEV).
