As a child I was an avid reader and one of the first novels I ever read was by Jules Verne –“Journey to the Center of the Earth.” It was amazing as this crew boarded a rocket that drilled itself into the core of the earth and discovered it was hollow. There was a whole new world they didn’t know existed which was right under their feet.
There are so many people today who don’t realize that there is a whole new world that they have not yet discovered. This is a world in which you can bear the fruit of good works despite suffering, know the eternal and infinite God, receive power to go through life no matter what happens, and have an attitude of thanks through the ups and downs of life. The core of this new world is JESUS and Jesus ALONE.
What is at the center and core of your life? Everything in the world and in our lives are made to focus on Jesus Christ. For most people in this world, this is obviously not the case. And for many of us, we stumble and don’t always have our lives centered on Jesus. But this is God’s will. Our purpose in life is to glorify the King of kings. This is why we call ourselves Christians – we center our lives around Jesus Christ.
This morning we are continuing in the letter of Paul to the Colossians. Last week we saw how thankful he was for the Christians at the congregations in Colossae. And he encouraged them about what the real life of a Christian is all about.
Today we are going further to see the core of this real life which JESUS. And as we read what is written, we discover four words which who Jesus as the center of life: IMAGE, GLUE, HEAD, and SOURCE.
The first word that shows Jesus is the center of life is IMAGE. He is the image of God. Verses 15-16: Jesus “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.”
Let me do a little survey with you this morning – I’m curious what you think. I’m going to say a word and you think the first person that comes to your mind. Microsoft (Bill Gates). KFC (Colonel Sanders). Kansas City Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes). The Crown (Queen Elizabeth). Each of these individuals represent the company, the team, or the country that they are or were a part of. They are the face of the people.
Jesus even more so is the face of God. He is not only a representative but he is literally the visible God. In fact he said in John 14:9 “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” No one can see the Father just like you can’t see the Holy Spirit. Why is that? Because they are spirit.
So also you can’t see the wind – just the effect of the wind. John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” He walked here among us for 33 years – visible God among us. He also made many appearances throughout the Old Testament. And he will appear to us when we meet him in paradise. We will then see him face to face and worship and glorify Jesus.
Going on, our text says that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation…” Some cults like to use this to prove that Jesus was the first creation of God. He was not eternal but a man made by God. They teach that there was a time when there was no son and then God created him as his first and most glorious creation.
The problem with that is the next verse which tells us that he is “before all things” – that he existed at all times. There is not a time when Jesus did not exist. But also the very word “Firstborn” does not refer to birth order but rather to his rank. In Exodus 4:22 God says “Israel is my firstborn son.” It’s not about birth order but about how precious and important Israel is to God.
So also, Jesus Christ is first. He is supreme. He is greater than anything in the universe. He is far about all rulers and authorities and anything we can imagine. Again – he is the center and therefore we worship him. Everything is created to bring him honor because he is the greatest! It’s all about Jesus!
The second word that shows us that Jesus is the center of life is GLUE. He is one responsible for holding everything in life together. Verse 17: Jesus “is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” He is the glue of the universe.
One illustration of this is the protein called “laminin.” Laminin is a protein that lies outside of cells and it’s function is to connect important cells together, especially related to our internal organs. For example, our stomach or our intestines would not hold together without laminin. It is the “glue” of our organs. Here is a diagram of what this protein looks like under high magnification -
Jesus is the creator of laminin and even when no one had ever heard of proteins or atoms, molecules or anything of the sort, he was holding us together with his power. We see Jesus everywhere we look if we would just open our eyes!
Does this mean that everything is working perfectly in creation? NO. We see terrible things happening in creation – natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, tornados. Disease and infections. Scripture tells us that these are a consequence of man’s sin. Adam’s first sin put a curse on creation so that it has become a dangerous place to live. Romans 8:20-24 tells us that creation was subject to futility, to bondage, to decay, and it’s groaning under the curse of sin waiting for the Lord to return and remove the curse.
But at the same time, instead of totally falling apart, Jesus is holding us and our world together until that day comes when he will return for us. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus: “upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Every breath you take is thanks to the Lord’s power. Every new day is thanks to the Lord. Every sunrise, every food you taste, every rain that falls and every beat of your heart is thanks solely to the power of Jesus. Do you really think that everything just operates mindlessly on its own? Not according to the Word of God.
And so we give praise to Jesus who sustains everything by his power. He’s at the center!
The third word which shows that Jesus is the center of life is HEAD. Verse 18 says: “And he is the head of the body, the church.”
I have gotten to know many different Christians over the years - Lutherans, Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Pentecostals. Some are only Christians because of tradition and don’t really trust in Christ. But most of these I have met are part of the body – part of the church. I’m not talking about being a member of a congregation – that’s important too. But a congregation is only an earthly organization. What is more important is that we are part of a greater body called the church universal with a capital “C.”
This body is made up of all those who trust in Jesus Christ as the only way to God. [If there is NO trust in Christ alone, such a person is NOT part of the body. It doesn’t matter how faithful they are or good natured or smart or self-sacrificing. We are only part of Christ’s body through faith in Him alone.]
It is Jesus who unites us. No matter what our background and how we worship, we are all brothers and sisters thanks to Jesus Christ! We are part of the same body. We will all stand someday side by side in heaven glorifying our King.
Jesus Christ is the head. He is the authority. He is the ruler of the church. He is to be the main leader in your life and in the life of our congregation and in the life of our denomination. If Jesus is not the center – if he is not allowed to be the leader – then we are in direct rebellion to God.
Since He is the head, we follow his lead. We listen to his word and obey his instructions. He’s our boss, our authority.
Just like the body should listen to what the brain tells it to do. Have you ever spoke before you thought? Or acted before you thought? How did that work out? I know it’s disaster – just ask my wife! In the same way we need to listen to Jesus as our head. We don’t ignore him. He knows what is best for the body. He knows what is best for you and what is best for him. Later in Colossians 2:19 it reminds us to hold “fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
Listen to the head – he knows best!
The final word that shows us that Jesus is the center of life is SOURCE. He is SOURCE of life. Listen to verses 18-20 Jesus “is (evstin ) 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.”
Every one of us here will die. (unless the Lord returns first) During most of our lives we rarely face that fact. We feel that it’s a long way off until certain moments come along – a loved one dies and then at the funeral you come face to face with death. Or you get sick or ill or very old and then the thought of death becomes very real.
And when we face the thought of death we need to turn to Jesus who also faced death. He knows what it is to die because he suffered and died. In fact, he not only died but faced a tortuous death worse than any of us here could imagine. He faced a death rejected by people all around him, falsely accused, insulted, mocked, and humiliated and finally he was rejected by his own Father. Why? Because he was covered with your sins and mine.
But Scripture writes that he is “the firstborn from the dead.” Lenski writes: “he stands in absolute pre-eminence and supremacy over death and all the powers of death.” Death couldn’t hold him down. He conquered death and rose on the third day. He was the first to rise from the dead with an eternal body never to die again. 1 John 3:2 “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Just take the caterpillar. For all he knows, being a caterpillar is the life. It’s wonderful and blessed. He knows all his caterpillar friends and they are enjoying life and the food they eat just as much as he is. But everyone knows that the real life of the caterpillar begins when he turns into a butterfly. Then he emerges beautiful. He’s no longer a worm crawling on a leaf. Now he can fly. He is free! What is the key? Death to being a worm. Only by going into the cocoon can he emerge as a butterfly. Only then can he be free.
We too need to die to life as a caterpillar – life as a worm. It’s not the real life we were meant to live. This doesn’t mean that life only begins when we die and go to heaven. But this begins when we stop living for ourselves. We die to the self-life. With “ME” at the center and core. We need to let that life go, and surrender to the real core of life – to Jesus.
Jesus is the beginning of new life. The only way to find the real life you were meant to live and to find the life that God has for you for your days on this planet and to overcome the death you will face is to cast your life into the hands of Jesus. He said in John 3:3 “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” We must surrender the idea that life is about us – that it’s about ME or it’s about YOU or anyone or anything else. Life is about JESUS! Give your life into HIS hands. Repent and trust in Christ. Live for Him. Breathe for Him. Praise HIS name. It’s all about Jesus.
At one point in history man used to believe that the earth was the center of the universe. The sun revolved around the earth and the center of the earth was man. Since then of course science has revealed that the earth is only one part of our solar system which revolves around the sun and the solar system is only one part of the Milky Way galaxy which is one of uncountable galaxies. No – we are not the center.
But God reveals what IS the center of the universe: Jesus Christ.
• He is the image.
• He is the glue that holds it together.
• He is the head authority over all and
• He is the source of life.
May he be the center of YOUR life. He is the only one worthy!
AMEN
