‘He’ll make ALL things right’
Colossians 1:15-20
Mexia Baptist Church -June 14th, 2020
Scripture Passage:
Colossians 1:15-20 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [a]principalities or [b]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Open:
Today, everyone wants to know two things. There are ...1) Who’s in charge?
2) And who will make things work out?
If you work somewhere, you’ll be told…who’s in charge of you?
That supervisor will also have a boss. You have 2 choices with your boss – 1) respect and abide by their authority. 2) resist and rebel against their wishes.
Let me tell you how it will work on both accounts: 1) respect who you work for – you’ll be treated fairly and probably have opportunities for advancement.
2) resist your boss and you’ll face conflict.
Today, we’re seeing respect and resisting towards authority.
Our passage today answers society’s ills. Everything we do ALL starts with the question...
‘what do you think about God?’ This morning, how do you answer this question?
What we think about God matters in everything. If you think God is still working today – you’ll trust Him in difficult circumstances to work for your good.
If you think God is ‘asleep at the wheel’…you’ll inevitably take matters into your own hands. And by doing so, you demonstrate your lack of faith in said God.
Today’s passage in Colossians 1:15-20 details and promotes the lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of Christ’s preeminence, his omnipotence and his work as our reconciler.
We, as Christians, must cling fervently to our savior, Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let me tell you who this Jesus really is.
Transition to the five points of who Jesus is as articulated by Colossians 1:15-20.
Who is this Jesus?
First, Jesus is image of the God, we can’t see. V. 15
Paul tells us, ‘He is the image of the invisible God…’ in verse 15 of our passage. We have no physical description of Jesus in the scriptures, but Christs’ character, his traits, his teachings, his healings and many other miracles are all over the New Testament!
In seeing Christ – we behold him, as in a mirror. Christ shows us his righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short, his entire self. We know who God is, by viewing Christ. Jesus and the Father are one. As Christ said, ‘if you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.’
Ask: When folks see you? What do they see? Is there a resemblance, in you, to your Lord?
We must be reflectors of our God. Continually, ask God to live through you…
Second, He made all things. V.16
Verse 16 tells us, ‘For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible…’ Christ is the creator of all things.
The Baptist Catechisms, from years ago, were taught to children to educate them about the teachings of scripture. The first three Baptist Catechisms speak to the reality of Christ as our creator.
1. Who made you? Answer -God made me.
2. What else did God make? Answer -God made all things.
3. Why did God make you and all things? Answer -For His own glory!
Everything Christ made was for His own glory.
Who did Christ create? The dominions. Why did he create them? For them to bring Him glory.
The Dominions are the angels, they are created to magnify Christ’s glory – not to receive their own. The angels were created to praise & bring glory to our Lord.
Christ, no doubt, ruled them – He was their master.
Christ also created all in positions of authority and power. Christ allowed them their mighty stations in life, for His own purposes.
We must always remember and be informed by the great truth that Christ made all things. Take great comfort that you are His ‘image bearer’ (Gen. 1:26-27) and all of humanity bears God’s image as well.
Third, everything is held together by Him. V. 17
Verse 17 says, ‘He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.’ Literally, Christ is the sustainer of all life and matter in the universe.
We are uniquely positioned millions of miles from the sun on planet earth. The precise position of our planet prevents us from being too close and preventing unbearable temperatures in addition we’re not too far from our sun which would result in freezing.
God has equipped earth, with the appropriate gravitational pull, so that we stay affixed to the ground and not randomly lose a grip on the surface and roll off!
God has intelligently designed the human body to reproduce, to recover from common ailments and injuries and be quite adaptable to all climates and conditions.
In all things, Christ is holding the universe together. This includes the air you breathe, the circumstances you encounter and the problems you are forced to endure. We are not left alone and without our God to guide us. He will hold everything together
because He is God. When you can’t sense Christ; trust His sovereign hand. It is there, for you. And Jesus is ‘holding everything together in a divine way.’
Fourth, He’s the head of the church; he holds the highest position in all things.
v.18 tells us ‘He is also the head of the body, the Church.’
Illustration of the two main characters in a wedding.
In a wedding, there are two main players: the bride and the groom. We all know that everyone’s attention is solely fixed on the bride, at a wedding. No one stands when the groom enters the venue. Yet, when the beautifully adorned bride is set to make her entrance, at the rear of the venue, the minister calls all those gathered to rise to their feet. The bride, in a wedding, is beautiful. Much time and thought as well as preparation has gone into her physical appearance for that day.
I think God gave us marriage so that we would understand His relationship with His church. In a wedding, the bride gets all the attention and the groom is a distant second. Yet, spiritually, Christ is the Groom and the church, is the bride. In the spiritual realm it’s the groom, Jesus Christ, that deserves and commands all the attention and admiration. The church, God’s people, are the bride seeking to make themselves ready in their actions and obedience for the glorious day that the Groom, Jesus, returns for His bride.
And just as silly as it would be for an earthly bride to take a quick 15 minutes to prepare her appearance on her wedding day, certainly we as the bride, the church, must take seriously our preparation to meet our groom, Jesus, when He returns! (End Illustration)
It is Christ alone that has authority to govern the church. He is supreme.
He deserves our praise and the highest position. He’s the good shepherd.
I may serve as an under-shepherd, but Christ is the good shepherd.
a. Believers alone should have their eyes on Him. (Heb. 12:2, ‘keeping our eyes on Jesus...'
b. Our unity, in our body, depends on His headship. Take seriously your obedience to Christ, as your head. Make preparations to meet, your groom, Jesus, one day.
Fifth and finally, He’s the reconciler.
Verse 20 shows us that ‘He’ll make ALL things right.’ Verse 20 says, ‘and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself…having made peace through the blood of His cross.’
This is who we worship today.
This is who died for us so that we might come to know Him and have eternal life.
We walk with Him. We love Him and grow in Him. We long to share Him with others.
We value & respect others because we’re ALL made in His image. We see others as
‘image-bearers’ of God…because they are ‘highly valued and loved by God’ – regardless of their income, nationality, background, abilities or any other trait. God sees each of us as His unique creation.
When we treat others in a way that differs from God’s unselfish love towards us…we are acting ungodly. We are ignoring God’s view of humanity.
We must view others and demonstrate to others they are highly valued.
The Asian is highly valued.
The African American is highly valued.
The poor are highly valued.
The rich are highly valued.
Democrats are highly valued.
Republicans are highly valued.
God loves us and created us with a purpose. Our purpose is to know Him and make Him known.
To live, in fellowship, with a diversity of people, and demonstrate that we all can ‘celebrate our uniqueness’ given to us by Our creator.
He’s the King of all of us. And because of His great love He has reconciled us.
John 3:16 tells us that ‘God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.’
John 3 tells us that God’s love motivated Him to send Jesus to save us. He loved and became our reconciler.
Verse 20, in our passage, tells that Jesus ‘made peace through the blood of His cross.’
Did you know that Jesus did two amazing things on the cross? Both things happened in the cross sacrifice, but both must be understood to understand our reconciliation.
You see, Jesus paid our sin debt and appeased the anger of God, on the cross. Naturally, Jesus went to the cross, as our substitute and the sinless savior became the one who paid our sin debt by his death. So, Christ, through paying the price for our sins accomplished this on the cross.
Secondly, Jesus appeased the anger of God on Calvary’s hill. As God is just, all sin must be punished. All sin was laid upon Christ. God unleashed his full anger, upon sin, in the person of Jesus. This was Jesus appeasing the anger of God. It’s why Christ cries out, ‘my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!’ (Matthew 27:46)
So, Christ reconciled you to God by paying your sin debt and appeasing the anger of God. Jesus loves you so much that he would go to Calvary’s cross and die for you and me.
Let me close with a picture of ‘almost reconciliation.’
Illustration -Unopened Letters
A childhood accident caused poet Elizabeth Barrett to lead a life of semi-invalidism before she married Robert Browning in 1846. There’s more to the story. In her youth, Elizabeth had been watched over by her tyrannical father. When she and Robert were married, their wedding was held in secret because of her father’s disapproval. After the wedding the Browning’s’ sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her parents had disowned her, Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. Almost weekly she wrote them letters. Not once did they reply.
After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Today those letters are among the most beautiful in
classical English literature. Had her parents only read a few of them, their relationship with Elizabeth might have been restored (excerpt from www.bible.org).
Close with call to be reconciled to Christ who can make all things right in your life!
Invitation and Prayer.
