WE BELIEVE: JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON
Text: Col. 1:15-20
Introduction
1. “There is only one God, revealed by Jesus Christ his Son, who is his Word sprung from silence.” — John Starke
2. The Apostle’s Creed answers the most important question anyone can ask: Who is Jesus?
3. Jesus is the center of the Christian faith. Our faith is based upon the Son of God and what He did for us.
4. Therefore, it is essential that we understand what we believe as Christians about our Lord and Savior.
5. Read Col. 1:15-20
Transition: Let’s take a journey and look at…
I. What We Believe About Jesus
A. When we think about creeds, we often think of them as cold, boring statements of what we believe. But the true centerpiece of the Apostle’s Creed is not a doctrine but a name.
1. If we look at the creed, we see it referring to God the Father with two lines, but it takes ten lines to talk about Jesus.
2. In fact, it talks about Jesus more than anyone else.
3. From the beginning of the Church, and for us today, the three most important words are “Jesus is Lord!”
4. The Apostle Paul said in Phil. 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
5. To confess Jesus as Lord means that He is not only the center of the universe, but He is also the center of us. We all owe our allegiance to no one other than Jesus.
B. Now let’s look at Col. 1:15-20. Many New Testament scholars believe that this section was based on a hymn that was written before Paul’s letter.
C. These verses are seen as some of the most important verses in the NT declaring the deity of Jesus Christ. In v. 15 it says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,”
1. Paul says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. The verb used in this phrase is in the present tense, which means that Jesus’ position is both now and forever.
2. As a Spirit, God is invisible and always will be. However, God’s Son, Jesus Christ is His visible image.
3. Like the Father, Jesus always is, always was, and always will be. He existed before God made the world.
4. For this reason, He is supreme over all creation. He has all the priority and authority of the firstborn prince in a king’s family.
5. He came from heaven, not from the dust of the earth, and He is lord of all.
6. He is supreme over all creation, and that includes the spiritual realm.
7. That ought to make us happy because it means that He is supreme over the devil! He is not a separate but equal to the devil, He is supreme and more infinitely powerful!
D. Then in v. 16 Paul says, “for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”
1. Paul says that all things were created through Christ. Just all the fullness of God is in Him, all of the creative powers are in Him and that makes Him the supreme Lord.
2. Furthermore, Paul says that all of things in heaven and on earth were created by Christ. All the things that can be seen, and those things that cannot be seen, were created by Christ.
3. In addition, all the things in the spiritual realms were also created by Christ.
4. Christ has no equal and no rival! All of the forces of evil are subject to Him.
5. If you remember, there were times in the Gospels where demons came to Jesus and begged Him not to destroy them!
6. Now, I want you to see this, Paul says everything was created not just through Him, but for Him!
7. You were created for His pleasure, and that’s why He loves you so much!
E. Next Paul says in v. 17, “He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”
1. Christ existed before everything else. He existed before the world, people, history, and time.
2. But not only is He the creator, but He is also our Sustainer. He holds all things together. If it wasn’t for Christ, everything would fall apart.
3. Because He is the Sustainer of all life, nothing is independent from Him.
4. If not for Him, we would cease to exist. In Him alone and by His word, we find the uniting principle of life.
F. Now Paul moves on to how vital Christ is to the Church. In v. 18 he tells us, “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.”
1. In addition to being supreme over all creation, He is also supreme in the Church.
2. The church, which is His body of believers, exists because Christ is our beginning, source, and head.
3. “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matt. 16:18).
4. Just as the parts of a body function under the direction of the brain, so Christians are to work together under the authority of Jesus Christ.
5. Furthermore, Paul said that Jesus was the first to rise from the dead. He was first in both time and rank; there will be many more who will rise from the dead and live for all eternity with Him.
6. Jesus' resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
a. Only in Christianity did a God become human, die for our sins, and was raised again in glory to rule forever over both the old creation and the new creation, the Church.
b. The Resurrection tells us that Christ is not a legend or a myth; He is alive and He rules at the right hand of the Father.
7. For this reason, He is first in everything! Is He first in you?
G. Then Paul says in vv. 19-20, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”
1. It’s often the little words is Scripture that carry so much power.
2. The word “for” explains why Christ is first in everything.
3. God wanted His fullness to live in Christ. Since Christ is God’s dwelling place, He is divine, sovereign, and supreme in all things.
4. He is fully human and fully divine at the same time.
5. Nor is there more than one God; this God in all His fullness resides in Christ. Christ has always been God and always will be. Any teaching that denies either Christ’s humanity or divinity is false teaching.
6. Because God’s fullness was in Christ, that fullness reconciled all the world through His blood on the cross.
7. The word “reconciled,” means restoring a relationship and causing the relationship to be on friendly terms.
8. Since He is our Sustainer, His death on the cross provided reconciliation with God. He made us right with God again! In the name of Jesus Christ you are reconciled!
Transition: Now, let’s look at…
II. What Jesus Means to Us
A. Jesus is not a myth or a legend, He really existed.
1. “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 Jn. 1:1-3).
2. “I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he died; it was just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an individual event. If 500 people have the same hallucination, that's a bigger miracle than the resurrection.” (The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel).
3. Lee Strobel also said, “it was evidence from science and history that prompted me to abandon my atheism and become a Christian.”
4. The Apostle John said, we saw him, touched him, heard him. And everyone but one of the twelve apostles died a violent death because they proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. The only one who didn’t was John – because they couldn’t kill him!
5. Now, why would they give their lives for someone that they knew wasn’t true? Nobody is that crazy!
6. There is more proof for the existence of Jesus than anyone who has ever lived.
B. We believe who He said He was – the Son of God.
1. “Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.” (Jn. 8:58-59).
2. In this reference, Jesus uses the same name that God gave to Moses on Mount Sanai in Exodus 3:14. In fact, seven times in the Gospels Jesus refers to Himself as I AM!
3. The religious leaders knew exactly what He was saying because they wanted to kill him for it!
4. C.S. Lewis said, “Jesus is liar, lunatic, or Lord.”
5. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is who He said He was, God’s Son.
6. We believe because of the things He did and said. He stopped the wind and waves with just His word. He healed the sick, blind, and lame. Demons obeyed Him and were terrified of Him.
7. Above all, He showed He was the Son of God when He rose from the dead, which He declared He would do.
8. Jesus is the Son of the living God!
C. We believe that He died for us while we were still sinners!
1. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Rom. 5:6-8).
2. We believe that Christ came from heaven to earth, became human like us, and gave His life for us.
3. As Paul stated, someone might be willing to die for a good person, but Jesus died for us when we were still sinners.
4. He didn’t die for us after we got it all together. He died for us when we were rebelling against Him.
5. He died for us when we were living in sin.
6. He died for us when we had totally turned our backs on Him and His love.
7. But in spite of all of this, Jesus died a criminals’death on the cross, and He did it because He chose to.
D. We believe that Jesus is Lord of all.
1. “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:36).
2. To say that Jesus is Lord, means that He is over and above everyone else.
3. It means that He is the most important one in our lives.
4. It means that we have given Him control in our lives.
5. It means that we follow Him, love Him, and obey Him.
6. It means, that like the Apostle’s, we would be willing to die for Him.
7. Is Jesus Lord of your life?
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? The point is we believe Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world. For this reason, we have surrendered our lives to Him, and He has first place in everything.
