Start with VIDEO "A GREATER NEED" available at Sermon Central
It’s all about knowing Jesus. But the world has a problem with Jesus. You can engage many people and talk about God, but as soon as you mention the name of Jesus, things will get quiet very quickly. Many will simple try and change the subject. The fact is, the world wants nothing to do with Jesus. If you claim to be a Jesus believing, born again Christian, the world will label you as a religious nut and reject you. The fact is: being a Christian is all about Jesus.
Acts 11:26 … and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
This term “Christian” was coined by outsiders, but the “-ian” at the end simply means “belonging to.” So as Christians we are belonging to Christ. We could have just as easily been called “Jesusians," belong to Jesus.” Being Christians, our confession to the world is “We believe in Jesus Christ. Other places in the world (in Muslim areas), Christians are called "Nazarenians," meaning we belong to the One (Jesus) from Nazareth.
But is that enough? Do we really understand just who Jesus Christ is? Today in the world, and even in this country, the term “Christian” has more meaning as a political term, like saying you are a conservative, or a Republican. I often refer to myself as a follower of Jesus or a believer rather than use the word "Christian." The sad fact is that many who call themselves Christian really are not, nor do they understand who Jesus really is.
We will say, as Christians, we are saved by the blood of Jesus, Jesus died for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead, and many other church phrases. These church phrases are all correct, but what is about Jesus that makes Him so special?
When we confess Jesus as Lord, we are also confessing the Deity of Jesus, meaning that Jesus is part of the Godhead of what we call the “Trinity.” We believe in the Triune God, God as He reveals Himself to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The word “Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. However, the doctrine of the trinity is found throughout the Old Testament and especially in the New Testament. The doctrine of the Trinity has never been fully defined or understood. Many, think that Christians worships three Gods but that is far from the truth. We affirm the Old Testament declaration of the Shema:
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
God is one, and he has revealed Himself in three forms or persons, who all exist simultaneously and in unity. How does this work? I really don’t know but my lack of complete understanding of this concept of the Trinity does not change who or what God is. Explaining the Trinity is not the purpose of today’s message, but rather to consider Jesus as part of the God-head. Next week we will consider God the Holy Spirit. Today, we are looking at God the Son
In our focal passage today, there is arguably no other paragraph in the New Testament the contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus Christ than this. It speaks to His divine nature.
Colossians 1:13–20
If you get nothing else out of today’s message, please do not miss this, if you want to know what God is like, look no further than Jesus.
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
In the Old Testament, the belief was that no one could see God and live:
Exodus 33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”
So God came in the form of a human, Jesus. To see Jesus is to see God. The disciples had problems with this.
John 14:8–9 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Jesus is God. That is why Jesus said in John 14:6, “No one cane come to the Father but through Me.” We further read:
Colossians 1:19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him
All of what God is, Jesus is. To know God is know Jesus. It’s just that simple. Jesus is God:
John 1:1–2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
Jesus himself, identifies Himself as God as exemplified by His “I AM” statements in John. For example in John makes an odd sonding statement concerning Abraham.
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
"Before Abraham was born" is past tense, yet Jesus saying "I AM" is present tense. With that statement the Jews were picking up stones to kill Jesus because Jesus just called Himself God. This is the name God use for Himself at the burning bush with Moses (Exodus 3:14). As we will see, it is all about Jesus. We cannot talk about God without including Jesus. Back to verse 15: "the firstborn of all creation." Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. There are those, like the Jehovah Witnesses and others who take this out of context. Jehovah Witnesses claim that Jesus is a created being, but the whole of Biblical text does not bear that out. Warren Wiersbe said:
“The term firstborn does not refer to time, but to place or status. Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things. Firstborn simply means “of first importance, of first rank.” Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons, yet he was named the firstborn. Firstborn of all Creation means “prior to all Creation.” Jesus Christ is not a created being; He is eternal God.” [1]
“Firstborn” in Biblical times meant rank and placement. Jesus is before everything. Jesus Himself said in Rev 22:
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Jesus is the beginning of all things and He is the end of all things and He is at all points in between. Jesus is truly all in all as we will see. In fact as we continue to read, we learn that all of creation owes its very existence to Jesus.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
This Jesus, who is the very image of God, is the very agent of all creation. Creation was done by Jesus and for Jesus. All that there is or ever has been, was created by Jesus. John said as much:
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
This were the world finds fault. If Jesus created all there is, then He is above all, and we all are answerable to Him. The world does not what to answer to anyone or anything. The choose to not aknowledge Him.
Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Now only do we owe our very existence to Jesus, the fact that we continue to exist we owe to Him as well.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Jesus is before everything. He has preeminence. The universe would cease to exist if were not for Jesus. I believe this verse is quite literal.
In the world of science, in physicists have been searching for what has been referred to as the “God particle,” the very substance that holds the atom together. They truly do not know what it is that holds the atom together (which is 99.9 percent empty space). I truly believe the Scriptures is quite literal in this verse. Jesus literally holds everything together. Jesus holds the universe together and He hold this earth together.
We have fear mongers out there who dispenses fear to control the population. Back in the 70’s they warned us that man was destroying earth’s climate. Back then they warned us the earth was going into another ice age and we're all going to freeze. Today they are telling us the we’re heating up with global warming. What are we to believe? Could it be that the science is wrong? I will tell you what I do believe: I believe Jesus is holding all things together and I believe His inspired word that tells us (after the flood of Noah’s day):
Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
I firmly believe His Word and that Jesus has got this, He holds it all together, not man.
Colossians 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Now we get more personal. To those who claim to be born of Him, to truly be called a child of God, to those in the church this verse is directed. Jesus is the head, or origin, the source, the leader. Jesus has established the church, which the Bible also refers to as being the bride of Christ. Those true members of the church will follow Him after physical death because He is the firstborn (literally here) of the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
There have been others who have been raised from the dead, both in the Old and New Testaments. The big difference here is the fact that these others were raised to die a physical death again. Christ was the first to be raised, to never die again. Because He is the head of the body, the church, and the firstborn from the dead, “He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Col 1:18).
Jesus expects nothing less, than
first place in our hearts
first place in our minds
first place in our jobs
first place in our families
first place in our time and energies
first place with our resources
first place in all we say and do
first place in everything.
Colossians 1:19–20 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him [Jesus] to reconcile all things to Himself [God], having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
All of what God is resides in Jesus. And by Jesus, God reconciles or redeems all to Himself. This is done by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty we could not pay. Our sin, this fallen world demanded death by the wrath of God, but Jesus satisfied that wrath by his blood, making peace with God.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We are God’s creation, made by and for Jesus. But in our sinful state, we have gone wrong and we lived in a dark place where there was no hope to save ourselves, so God sent Jesus rescue us.
Colossians 1:13–14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus made us, and He is responsible for our rescue. He died for our sins, so that we might be made whole again, to stand fully justified before the throne.
Here is the problem in the world. The world wants to save itself, or worse yet, they do not believe they need saving. The world believes they have all the answers, while ignoring and turning away from their Maker, the very One who can fix them.
It’s like throwing a drowning man a lifeline only to have him throw it back saying “I got this, I’ll save myself” while he slips under the waves.
Where are you with Jesus today. It is all about Him. Do you know him?
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 115–116.
