[1]
“[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” [2]
Richard Mouw served as the President of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California for twenty years. He tells of the first time he and his wife attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. He wrote, “It is always an exciting event. We were sitting at a table near the front of the large banquet hall, and we had a great view of the impressive line-up at the head table on the platform: the Bushes, the Quayles, General Colin Powell, members of Congress, and others.
“I was seated next to a young Muslim,” he wrote, “a diplomat from one of the Middle Eastern embassies. In our brief conversation, I asked him how long he had been in Washington. ‘Less than a year,’ was his answer. I asked him what it was like for him to live and work in our nation's capital. He smiled. ‘We're not supposed to say this kind of thing, but this is a wonderful place to be.’ And then he added a comment, gesturing toward the platform as he said it: ‘Washington is the centre of the universe.’”
Mouw then concluded by writing, “There wasn't time to continue the conversation, so I did not have a chance to tell him about my map of the universe. It is described in the first chapter of Colossians.” [3] The passage Mouw cited reads, “By [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” [COLOSSIANS 1:16-17].
We’ve visited Washington, DC. It is a historic city with many attractions to visit. Without question, the legislation (and shenanigans) that emanate from that location on a regular basis serve to generate hours of newscasts and electronic reading material. However, I would hesitate to identify Washington as “the centre of the universe.” Washington is an unpleasant city to visit, with genuine threats to visitors cropping up at unexpected times and in venues that cannot be anticipated.
My world, and the world in which each of us lives, has a centre that is quite distinct from Washington, DC. The capitals of the nations are known, but they are not quite the centre that many people imagine. To be certain, what happens in these political centres has an impact in our lives, but the impact from these centres can never be thought of as eternal. You see, people look to these political entities as centres of power. Decisions made in Washington determine whether our world will have immediate peace or be plunged into one crisis or another. However, for all the machinations of political leaders, peace never seems to come. Moreover, the decisions that are being made are created by unseen powers operating through these political entities.
This is what I mean. Behind the political entities are powers that the world cannot see. In fact, for the most part, these powers have blinded the eyes of those living in the world. The Apostle writes, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” [EPHESIANS 6:12].
The unseen entities that Paul described are more clearly seen in an incident that occurred in the life of Daniel. Daniel was disturbed by a vision God had sent, so he did what should always be done when we are disturbed—he prayed. God sent an angel to inform Daniel of what he had seen and how the vision related to the future. Before the angel gave his explanation, he informed Daniel of why it took as long as it did for God to send the answer the man of God sought.
“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come” [DANIEL 10:12-14].
The messenger of God speaks of the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and also of “Michael, one of the chief princes.” The identities seem almost incomprehensible. However, after relaying the message of God, the angel concludes with this startling insight into the unseen realm. “Now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince” [DANIEL 10:20-21].
After describing in some detail the future as portrayed in the vision God sent to His prophet, the angel again speaks of “Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people” [DANIEL 12:1]. We are being informed that satanic beings, entities identified as “the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” lurk nearby. Behind the kingdoms of this world are demonic powers manipulating, directing, guiding the affairs of the nations. This accounts for the fact that “the nations rage… the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed” [see PSALM 2:1-3].
Just as the wicked one directs his powers to guide the nations, so the Lord employs His powers to ensure that His will is fulfilled. The centre of the universe is not Rome, or London, or Washington; the centre of the universe is not so much a location as it is a Person. Learning of this centre will be the task before today. To discover this centre, we look to the words of Paul recorded in COLOSSIANS 1:16-17.
CHRIST IS THE CREATOR — “By [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” [COLOSSIANS 1:16].
According to the text, Christ Jesus created all things. This statement from the Apostle Paul anticipated a similar statement that has been penned by the Apostle John. That shouldn’t be surprising since the Spirit of God guided either of these two men in what they wrote. You will no doubt recall that John opens the Gospel bearing his name by writing, “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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” [JOHN 1:1-5].
Focus on the third and fourth verses that describe Jesus’ work as Creator. John has written, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men” [JOHN 1:3-4]. Underscore in your mind that nothing exists, nothing has been made, that was not touched by the hand of the Son of God. Nothing exists that does not bear the fingerprint of the Master, Jesus Christ.
For many of our contemporaries, this particular revelation comes as a surprise. These folk, many of whom are professing followers of the Saviour, have crafted an ingenious story of life arising spontaneously. If I tell you that a fairy godmother waves a wand while uttering a few magical words in order to turn a frog into a prince, you would call that a fairy tale. However, if I tell you that a shark can become Pastor Stark, though it will require a few billion years, these fine people will tell you that this is science.
You have heard of the brilliant evolutionist who challenged God to a contest. This scientist argued that he could create life in a test tube. God accepted the challenge, and on the day of the supposed contest, the scientist entered into the laboratory with a gemish of chemicals in a controlled atmosphere with a generator to create a lightning bolt—he was all set as he picked up a handful of dirt. “Ah, ah, ah!” boomed the voice of God as He wagged His mighty finger, “Get your own dirt.”
These wise people can’t really account for the creation of matter, but it doesn’t matter, they will appeal to cosmic seeding or a big bang or to some alternative flight of fancy. It is all in an effort to avoid acknowledging accountability to a Creator.
Peter spoke of these fanciful flights of imagination in the last days when he wrote, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” [2 PETER 3:1-7].
The unspoken idea in these imaginations is that if there is no Creator, no God to whom each person is accountable, then we can live life on our terms. Without even thinking about what they are attempting to do, these brilliant individuals hope to exclude the Creator so that they don’t have to think about accountability to the Holy One. Thinking about God as Creator forces people to admit that they must answer to Him, and such thoughts are odious to the natural mind. However, if there was no Creator, if life arose spontaneously, then people can live as they wish without fear of giving an account to God. If fact, if there is no Creator, then mankind is the highest representation of all life forms. In effect, if there is no Creator, we become our own god.
I hope you don’t misunderstand. I’m certainly not opposed to science; I have invested some time and effort in preparation in some rather demanding fields of science. Neither am I opposed to employing the advances available to us to advance the cause of Christ. I am, however, concerned at the modern tendency to substitute scientism for life in the Son of God. Science is a wonderful servant, and a dreadful master. An analogy would be that fire in the fireplace is a wonderful servant. However, outside of the fireplace, fire can be devastating. Though we have conquered the secrets of the atom, we seem incapable of conquering the heart of fallen man.
From a practical point of view, you may question why it should matter whether Christ is Creator or whether all things just happened? Let’s think about this briefly; the answer is more vital to our spiritual well-being than we might imagine. In fact, the answer to this question is essential to our emotional health. If life arose spontaneously, if all things just arose without divine oversight, then there are consequences that will apply as surely as night follows day. If spontaneity is the directing force, then there is no possibility of a future for any of us. Blind forces direct life and guide events, and we have no way of knowing the rationale behind those forces.
If all things arose spontaneously, there is no predictability of what awaits us in the future. Appeal to evolutionary theory falls flat—it is impossible to predict what comes next when we have ceded all power to time and chance. Beyond this moment we call “now,” we have no idea of what may be. If matter is the sum of our being, then to die means there is nothing more, nothing beyond this moment we know as “now.” If evolutionary dogma is true, then our loved ones will die, and we should be advised to forget funerals—we should avoid making any effort at consoling those who grieve. In fact, there should be no grieving! Evolution is playing out—the weak has been removed and the strong has survived! Other than health considerations for others, we shouldn’t bother with burials. The tears of the broken-hearted are a vestige of ancient sentiments that are no longer valid. Those who weep should be censured as weakening the race.
However, there lies within the human heart a disquieting knowledge that there is something more than this moment we call “now.” We long for justice in our world, and there can be no justice for tyrants and despots if there is no accountability beyond this moment. We long for goodness and mercy, and for the most of mankind, goodness and mercy are delayed for somewhere beyond this life. We want to believe that it is possible that we can see our loved ones once more, not with bodies twisted by the ravages of time or consumed by the plagues of this fallen earth; we want to believe that they shall again be whole, that they shall be restored with the strength they once enjoyed. Therefore, even the most committed evolutionist clings to funerary rites as a way of saying “Good-bye,” and expressing hope in something better beyond this immediate moment.
The child of God expresses the confidence voiced by Job, affirming,
“I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!”
[JOB 19:25-27]
And though they do not have this same confidence, even outsiders cannot deny the longing that this is true. They want it to be true, even as they deny that it is true.
Here is the point: if Christ the Lord is Creator, then the words He spoke are true because there is the power of the Living God behind those words. It was the Son of God who said, “‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” [JOHN 14:1-6]. There is comfort, genuine comfort, in the promise of our Saviour. Because He is Creator, His promise is sure.
Here is a more immediate point that grows out of the knowledge that Christ is Creator. Since He is Creator, He is able to deal with the brokenness of our physical condition. I’m not suggesting that He must deal with our brokenness, but there is no question that He can give hearing to the deaf, sight to blinded eyes, the ability to speak to silent lips and even raise the dead if such is His will.
Here is the thing that is often forgotten—we are far more than mere physical entities. We are moral, emotional, sentient beings. Jesus is able to strengthen us in the areas of moral brokenness, if we will turn to Him in faith seeking His transformation in our broken lives. He is able to equip us to think correctly, wisely. The Risen Saviour is able to heal the broken hearted when we allow Him to minister to our wounded being. The Lord Christ is well able to encourage us in our discouragement, giving us stamina and strength when we are weak and fearful. Our Living Saviour is able to enable us to stand in the hard place when all about us turn and desert us in the midst of the conflict.
Above all else, we are spiritual beings, though we often appear to have failed to remember this truth. The Spirit of Christ enables us to recall His words at the precise time we are most in need of being reminded of what He has said. The Spirit of our God testifies with our spirit that we are His child, that He has redeemed us, whenever the wicked one suggests that we are not all that we should be. The Spirit of the Risen Saviour reveals the love of Christ in our heart, enabling us to show His love to the unlovely and to serve those who are ungrateful. Because our Lord is Creator, we are confident that He has given us our very being. He created us; He knows us; and He is able to do all that is necessary for us to accomplish the tasks that He has assigned.
CHRIST IS THE PREEMINENT ONE —
“[Christ] himself existed before anything else did,
and he holds all things together.”
[COLOSSIANS 1:17 ISV]
Before anything existed, Christ the Lord was. The Apostle is informing believers that Jesus is—Jesus is self-existent, not requiring anything from man in order to be or to be somehow fulfilled. Jesus does not need man in order to be complete. Paul’s statement is not meant to be taken as a statement concerning the divine chronology; he is speaking of the pre-eminence of the Master as these words are written. The Son of God is higher than any created being, because He is Himself very God.
Cultists and infidels seeking to present themselves as approved by the Risen Son of God have ofttimes argued that the Apostle was focused on the chronology of Jesus in this statement. They seem incapable of understanding what is written; but why should we be surprised? After all, they lack the mind of Christ, as do we who follow the Master [see 1 CORINTHIANS 1:16b]!
The idea in this particular passage of identifying the Saviour as “firstborn” is not meant to be taken as a chronological reference. It was never the Apostle’s intention to imply that Jesus is the first of many gods to be created by God; rather, Paul is ascribing to Jesus the status of the “firstborn.” The firstborn male in Biblical times was the inheritor of most of his father's possessions and he was the one upon whom all the responsibilities of the Father passed. References are made throughout Scripture to this status, as seen in PSALM 89:27:
“I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.”
In this Psalm, God focuses our attention on the status of His Son as the One to inherit the divine responsibility to fulfil the will of the Father. This means that Jesus has the status of the firstborn in a household. His is a place of privilege, honour and responsibility. This probably stems from an ancient notion that the firstborn son shared more closely the father's qualities. We know that from the very early years of Israel's existence the firstborn of both humans and animals were regarded as belonging to God.
The apostolic paean is a statement testifying to the Master’s right to lay claim to the position of firstborn. The Apostle is making a statement that anticipates the fulfilment of the words of the Psalmist who was inspired by the Spirit of God to write:
“I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
[PSALM 2:7-9]
It is the Christ, the Son of God, who is destined to sit on David’s throne. No wonder the nations are advised by the Psalmist:
“Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
[PSALM 2:10-12]
Not only were all things created by Jesus but “He holds all things together.” Jesus is not only the Creator but also the One who holds the universe together. Lewis Smedes tells the story of the director of an outpatient AIDS clinic at a county hospital. A young man came in for his usual treatment, but this time faced a new doctor. The doctor said casually and cruelly, “You know, don't you, that you won't live out the year?” The young man was deeply shaken by the doctor's brutal comments. Later, he stopped at the desk of a friend of Smedes and wept, saying “That man took away my hope!”
“I guess he did,” she answered. “Maybe it's time to find another one.” [4]
She was correct, wasn’t she! If our hope is something others can take away, if our hope is in our strength, in our power, in our position, in our reputation, in our wealth, in our country, then it can be taken away from us and we better find another hope. However, if we place our hope “where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” [MATTHEW 6:20], if our hope is in One who is permanent, then we have a realistic, lasting hope that can never be taken away!
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
in ev’ry high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found,
dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand—all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand. [5]
As I prepared this message, I discovered that Mote penned other verses that are not included in our hymnals today. I had not previously known this fact. Among those verses that are no longer commonly available in contemporary hymnals is one that seems especially appropriate to mention to God’s people in the context of this message.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
‘Midst all the hell I feel within, on His completed work I lean. [6]
Can someone relate to this? “‘Midst all the hell I feel within!” Have you ever had such an experience? If so, can you also relate to the words that follow? “On His completed work I lean?” I cannot avoid all the turmoil that rages within my breast, but I will remain confident in this great truth—“On His completed work I lean!”
There is another matter arising out of the truth that Christ is the “firstborn of all creation.” Shortly, the Apostle will write, “[Christ] is the firstborn from the dead” [COLOSSIANS 1:17b]. Jesus is the first Person in real time to be alive after He died. He didn’t just come back to life for His own benefit, He conquered the grave so that through Him, through faith in Him as the Living Saviour, we, too, will conquer death. We who are twice-born shall live forever. This is not merely length of days, though it does entail a life that is without end; this is a new quality of life that begins now. You may recall the Apostle’s statement to the Christians of Corinth: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:20]. If Jesus our Master is firstfruits, then you and I who have believed are secondfruits!
Hilton relates a story told by Donald English, a Bible teacher in England. [7] A store located in Birmingham, England was part of a large chain of stores. The store, Lewis,’ was located on one of the main streets, and the managers wanted to expand. The desired expansion was blocked by a little chapel in which Quakers met. That chapel was located right where the chain wished to build. Lewis’ sent a letter to the leaders of the Friends’ meeting house saying, “Dear Sirs: We wish to expand our premises. We see that your building is right in the way. We wish therefore to buy your building and demolish it so that we might extend our store. We will pay you any price you care to name. If you'll name a price, we will settle the matter as quickly as possible. Yours sincerely.”
The large chain received a reply which said, “Dear Sirs: We in the Friends’ meeting house note the desire of Lewis’ to extend. We observe that our building is right in your way. We would point out, however, that we have been on our site somewhat longer than you have been on yours, and we are determined to stay where we are. We are so determined to stay where we are that we will happily buy Lewis’. If, therefore, you would like to name a suitable price we will settle the matter as quickly as possible. Signed, Cadbury.”
Perhaps you recognise the Cadbury name having delighted yourself in any of a number of Dairy Milk products identified by the “Dairy Milk” label. The Cadburys are a great chocolate-making, candy-making people in England; they have an enormous financial empire throughout the world. It just so happens that the Cadburys are Quakers. The family could very well have bought Lewis’ many times over.
Here is a truth that must not be overlooked, our Lord has preceded us. When I read that Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead,” I understand that Jesus our Lord has wrestled with death and conquered it. We understand that death is a battle we all shall face, for we all will die. However, we know the outcome. I don’t say that our struggle with the last enemy will be pleasant, but the outcome is assured. Jesus, on our behalf defeated death and when we place our faith in Him, when we live to please and glorify Him, we will also be victors over death.
How powerful is the promise that God has given His people! “Then comes the end, when [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-28].
This is the confidence of the one who follows Christ. “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
‘The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-57].
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH — “[Christ] is the head of the body, the church” [COLOSSIANS 1:18]. After many years of pastoring congregations, I have observed that most meetings consist of a perfunctory prayer asking for divine guidance before those present do whatever they want. Seldom have I witnessed churches pause to pray for wisdom, or take time to review Scripture, or wait for unity before making a decision. Boards (and I often remind people that the only boards in the Bible came from a shipwreck) are notorious for having an agenda before the first “Amen” is voiced.
Paul is of the opinion that those who name the Name of Christ should know the relationship of Christ to His church. In fact, Paul is forthright in stating that “He is the head of the body, the church.” People may try to avoid dealing with this truth by arguing that Paul is speaking of a denomination, (he is not), or that he is writing of some invisible entity that is all-encompassing, (likely not the case), but what is evident is that when Paul pens these words, he wanted the Christians of Colossae to recognise that when they were united in assembly that Christ Jesus was present. The Apostle wanted them to realise that the Son of God ruled over their assembly and they were united in Him.
In another place, the Apostle reminded the Christians of Corinth, “You show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” [2 CORINTHIANS 3:3]. Think about that! This congregation, this assembly we know as New Beginnings Baptist Church, is a letter from God signed by Christ Jesus. This letter is addressed to the world. Whether we realise it or not, when we function as the church, when we exercise the gifts the Lord entrusted to each of us, serving one another in love, the world sees Christ. We are not merely an organisation, we are the Body of Christ, and He is the Head of the church.
I don’t deny that churches can act pretty ungodly at times; after all, we are composed on mere mortals. It is inevitable that weeds will find their way into the assemblies. Jesus told a parable along that line on one occasion. The parable Jesus told states, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn”’” [MATTHEW 13:24-30].
However, the focus at the moment is the fact that the church, this congregation, is the Body of Christ. Don’t focus on the internecine battles of those who are God’s children. Though we are born from above, we still manage to squabble and quarrel at times, pout and fuss because we aren’t getting our way, live by rules we have created and attempt to hold others to our standard of conduct; and yet, we are the Body of Christ. That is the powerful message the Apostle of Love delivered in his first missive. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” [1 JOHN 3:2-3]. Our family squabbles don’t change the fact that we are the Body of Christ or that He is the Head.
CHRIST IS VERY GOD IN HUMAN FLESH — “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God” [COLOSSIANS 1:15]. Paul has already called Jesus God’s “beloved Son” [COLOSSIANS 1:13]. Now, he identifies Him as being “the image of the invisible God.” Perhaps you recall what Jesus said as He prepared His disciples for His exodus. Philip had pleaded, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” [JOHN 14:8]. Jesus gently remonstrated with him, and consequently provided His own strong testimony for all who will believe Him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” [JOHN 14:9-11]. This emphasis on Jesus as very God is a major theme of the Bible.
For instance, during the great feast that preceded Passover, Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me” [JOHN 12:44-45].
Confronted by the religious leaders, Jesus testified on another occasion, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” [JOHN 10:27-30].
That would seem clear enough to understand what He was saying. Those religious leaders who surrounded Him knew precisely what He was saying. We read, “The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God’” [JOHN 10:31-33]. These religious scholars understood quite clearly what the Master was saying! Their response revealed that they understood that He was claiming divinity, presenting Himself as very God in human flesh. If He was lying, He was guilty of blasphemy. If He was right, they were guilty of lese-majesté.
Speaking with His disciples concerning the persecution they would face because of Him, the Master testified, “If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father” [JOHN 15:24]. This was not mere sophistry, this was powerful assertion of reality!
The writer of the Letter to Hebrew Christians testified, “[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” [HEBREWS 1:3].
Allow me to point to one final instance of the Word speaking of Jesus as God. Paul was speaking of the spiritual heritage we who follow the Christ enjoy. He was pointing to the Jewish milieu from which the Christ came. “I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” [ROMANS 9:3-5]. Focus on what is written in that FIFTH VERSE: “From their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever” [ROMANS 9:5]. Jesus, Who is the Christ, is very God over all.
When it is all said and done, the thrust of the message today is that Christ Jesus is very God in human flesh. He is the Creator, the Preeminent One and the Head of the Church. And we are secure in Him! Isn't it exciting to be living at the centre of the universe? Amen.
[1] The title for this message and the concept was adopted from a message preached by C. Thomas Hilton, However, I am unable to provide the original source for this message.
[2] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[3] The story is recounted by Hilton, op. cit.
[4] Hilton, op. cit.
[5] Edward Mote, “The Solid Rock”
[6] Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 More Hymn Stories (Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI 1985) 276
[7] Cited by Hilton, op. cit.
