Who is Jesus?
Pastor Chuck Hill
Colossians 1:15-23 (Focusing on v. 15-17)
Introduction:
Turn with me tonight to Paul’s letter to the Colossian Church. We will be focusing our attention on the first really strong teaching portion of this letter – it is found in chapter 1, beginning with verse 15.
After an extended period of time, many personal experiences and incredible moments together, Jesus poses 2 questions to His disciples – to His close followers.
Matthew, chapter 16 recounts this event with great detail. He records that Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? This was a very simple but powerful question. The responses were very diverse. The notions were as numerous as the people giving them. Jesus was astonished but the answers He received. He was accused of being John the Baptist, Elijah and even other Old Testament prophets.
You must understand that there is a right and a wrong answer to this question!
Due to the mixed reviews, Jesus makes the questioning much more personal – He looks to them again and them very directly… “Who do you say that I am?”
As I stated a moment ago, there is a right and a wrong answer to this question, and the answers that people give will have a huge implication on how they live their lives!
This very same topic is the one that Paul addresses here in this letter to the young church in Colossae. He wants to solidify the understanding of who Jesus is in the minds of the Colossian people.
To help you understand why this issue is so important, let me explain it another way.
If we want to know what God is like, we must look at Jesus. And for a few moments tonight, I want to put a magnifying glass upon him.
If you take a magnifying glass and look at one part of a beautiful painting to see how the artist did it, and to get more of the detail you will find the part under the glass clearly magnified. But on the edges, on the circumference of the glass, things look blurred. That is why we want to really focus on Jesus. Too often in the church, in our theology, in our teaching and preaching, we get focused on something else and it is Jesus that for some will get blurred in the process.
Here at Woodland, we do not want that to ever be the case. We want to really place the focus of this church and this community upon the person of Jesus Christ. We want to know the heart of God. And remember, if we want to know what God is like, we must look at Jesus.
And now, let’s look together at tonight’s passage.
Declaration:
There is a strong declaration made in this passage tonight.
We find in tonight’s passage a detailed picture of the person of Jesus Christ.
In fact, Paul goes into great detail to declare one key thought and that is…the Supremacy of Christ. He clearly identifies Jesus as supreme – supreme over everything and everyone!
There are a couple of questions that arise when you read Colossians. First, why does he write this letter? And secondly, how can he say such things with such assurance and authority?
Well, Paul writes this letter because he wants to combat all of the false doctrine that was being taught – and he does so by proclaiming the truth about Christ. There was a group of people known as the Gnostics who were teaching falsely about who Christ was. They taught that Jesus was not God. And, they also taught that there were levels of spiritual enlightenment that enabled people to receive what they classified as “secret or special” spiritual knowledge.
But here, Paul makes it very clear to everyone just who this Jesus really was. And what is so amazing is that he did not shy away or avoid the difficult and controversial issues, but instead, he confronts them with great authority.
As for the things that Paul said, he did write with great assurance and authority. Why? Because he knew first hand who Jesus was – he knew the life-changing encounter that he had with Christ was real, and he wanted everyone to be able to know and to serve this Christ.
He addresses 3 key details about who Jesus is in this passage that we are looking at tonight.
He deals with…
1. The Presence of Jesus Christ
2. The Preeminence of Jesus Christ
3. The Power of Jesus Christ
So, let’s look first at His Presence.
I. His Presence
(v. 15) He is the image of the invisible God. (NIV)
The NLT says it like this (v. 15) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God… (NLT)
He is the Visible Image of the Invisible God!
The Greek word that is used here for image is the word eikon (i-kone). Those of you who are computer junkies will recognize and identify with this word. It is the same word that we get our word icon from.
As you know, when it comes to computers, when you click on an icon, you get the whole program that you are looking for to open up and operate. Not just a piece of a program or a stripped down version – you get the real thing!
It is the same with Jesus Christ, in the eikon or image of Jesus, you find, not just a picture or some weak representation, but rather you find the fullness of God!
Many see Jesus as a great teacher who had exceptionally deep insight into God, or as an inspired spokesman for God, or even as an avatar (one of many manifestations of divinity). But Paul insists here that all of these views as hopelessly inadequate. And, they are wrong!
"The image of the invisible God" means the unique & perfect manifestation of the one true God.
This statement is in complete harmony with other New Testament passages.
• Hebrews 1:3 –The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.
• John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.
In this passage Paul exposes one of the fundamental differences between Jesus and the founders of other world religions. They claimed to be spokesmen of the truth; Jesus claimed to be the truth (Jn. 14:6). They claimed to point the way to God; Jesus claimed to be God.
He is the visible statement of the invisible God. He is not just one of the reflections of God – He is THE very image of God.
Paul would write later in Colossians 2:9 – For in Christ all of the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form…
Jesus spoke to the disciple Thomas after His bodily resurrection and said – “He who sees me has seen the Father.”
(v. 15-16) He is the image of the invisible God…
Wrapped and contained in His presence is the fullness of God!
It is very important that we understand this tonight because how we define who Christ is will directly relate to how we live our lives.
Understanding His presence will help us live life confidently in this world, and, not only will we live confidently in this world, but we will also live differently than this world.
When the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned Queen Elizabeth II, he laid the crown on her head with this pronouncement, “I give thee, O sovereign lady, this crown to wear until he who reserves the right to wear it shall return.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury understood that wrapped in the Presence of Christ is the fullness of God!
The second truth that Paul writes about is the Preeminence of Christ.
II. His Preeminence
He is the First Born Over All Creation!
Notice what Paul writes in vs. 15 and 16. He writes…
(v. 15-16) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
He uses the phrase “the firstborn over all creation."
Paul is saying, "Jesus is supreme. He is above all. Above him there is no other."
Now, don’t misunderstand this passage. Paul is not stating that Jesus was the first created being and then all others followed.
• John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
We know that John identifies Jesus Christ as the very Word of God – in verse 14 he goes on to say …The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
The phrase “Firstborn” identifies His place and priority before all creation. Paul is driving home the proper understanding of the Preeminence of Jesus Christ, and by using this phrase also settles his position as ruler over all creation.
This phrase is used In Psalms 89:27 speaking about the rule and leadership of David. The Psalmist writes…
• Psalm 89:27 – I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
We all know that David was not the firstborn – he was the youngest of the sons of Jesse, but again, this is a phrase that decisively places David at the highest position of rule and leadership.
So, as Paul writes about Jesus, he makes it clear that this is no ordinary man. He is supreme and He has Preeminence throughout the universe forever and ever!
What does this mean for you and me?
It declares that Jesus Christ has the ultimate power in the entire universe, and he is willing to share his power with us – to give us the strength we need to live day to day.
Jesus Christ is your source of strength. He must be! (Lori and I have come to realize this more lately than ever before).
This means you don’t have to tackle life with your own limited abilities and power; Jesus makes his unlimited power available to you.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul said...
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory.... (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Do you know what this means?
→ It means with Jesus in your life, you cannot lose. You are victorious! And I want you to know the opposite is also true: without him in your life, you cannot win. You are completely defeated!
There’s a phenomena we see in sports from time to time. One player can have such an impact on a team that he becomes pivotal in their ability to win or lose. This is exactly what has happened to the Denver Broncos. Between the ’98 and ’99 season there was only one significant personnel change in Denver – it was John Elway. He retired.
In ‘98, as you know, the Broncos won their second consecutive Super Bowl. In ‘99, they began the season with 4 straight losses and finished the season with a dismal 6-10 record.
With Elway, they couldn’t lose; without him, they couldn’t win. That’s the difference he made on that team.
In the same way, having Jesus in your life gives you a "key player" advantage—with him you cannot lose. You will be victorious.
He is supreme. He is above all things. His power is greater than that of any other in heaven and earth. And the amazing thing about all of this is that the one who created the universe and set the sun, moon and stars into motion is willing to be a part of your life and give you strength to face the challenges and trials of day to day life.
The third point that Paul makes has to do with the Power of Jesus.
III. His Power
(v. 17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Paul is referring to the fact that Jesus controls all of creation. And if he can keep the universe under control, he can certainly control the all of the chaos of your day-to-day life.
And don’t think for a minute that becoming a believer in Christ somehow exempts you from the pain and sorrow of life. Because, it does not! There will be times when you will hurt. There will be times when you will feel pain. And, there may even be times of great sorrow and weeping.
But the good news is that Jesus wants to “Do Life” with you. And during those painful periods when life seems so chaotic, He will be faithful to bring you through.
Maybe your life is unraveling because of sin. If that is the case—even if you have sinned and made a mess of everything—you don’t have to face the future without him. You can be forgiven.
The Bible says...
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)
Simple word “All” – do you know what that means in the Greek. It means "ALL"!
He will purify you from ALL unrighteousness. That means whatever mistakes you have made, whatever sins you have committed, whatever garbage you have accumulated in the past—Jesus will cleanse every bit and wipe it away forever and ever. And as you face chaos in your personal life, Jesus will protect you every step of the way.
The poem "Footprints" has been used and over-used to the point that it has almost become parody, but there is truth to it. Do you remember how it goes? The narrator has a dream and sees only one set of footprints in the sand during the roughest times of his life, and he thinks those were the times he walked alone. But Jesus says to him, "No...those were the times I carried you." This is what Jesus can do for you. Even when your life is seemingly out of control, he can hold things together.
In 1994 Michael English was on top of the Christian music world. He had a top selling Christian album, he was performing sold-out concerts, and he had just been named Artist of the Year at the Gospel Music Association Awards ceremony. And then his life unraveled in a sexual scandal. He gave up the awards and left gospel music. He thought he would never again have anything to do with Christianity – He thought that he had failed beyond repair. Even though he had quite a bit of success as a country artist, his personal life was in shambles. Yet, during this time, Jesus never left him. Through God’s unwavering love, and the love of a few Christian friends, Michael was eventually able to come back home. He is back in the ministry, singing Christian music again, and living for Christ. He has even had his own show on TBN. And the heart of his message today is that when you fail God, he won’t fail you. He can hold things together even when your world is falling apart.
Whether the problems in your life are the result of sin (or) circumstances beyond your control, you can be sure that Jesus can restore sanity to your life--if you turn to him. He can carry the weight of the world on his shoulders; he can—and he will—carry you.
Conclusion:
So, here is the final issue. You and I must address the same question that Jesus posed to His disciples over 2000 years ago. “Who do you say that Jesus is?”
Is He the same Jesus that the apostles and New Testament writers proclaimed?
As I stated at the opening of this message, there is a right and a wrong answer to this question, and the answers that you and I give will have a huge implication on how we live our lives!
One final thing to note:
This world has not seen the last of Jesus Christ. If we have not met him before, we will encounter Him at the end of human history. There will come a day when the aim of God, the Dream of God, the purpose of God will be realized.
Hear me tonight…
→ There will come a day when every knee shall bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when the wrong shall fail and the right will prevail because Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when both the strong and the weak alike will stand and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when the principalities and the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world will cowardly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when sin will no longer have dominion over anyone and we will be able to shout that Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when justice is going to roll down like waterfalls and righteous like a mighty river because Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when all of the tears will be wiped away and there will be no more pain or sorrow or crying or death because Jesus Christ is Lord.
→ There will come a day when everyone who has called upon the name of Christ will join together in one mighty chorus and sing aloud that Jesus Christ is Lord.
So let me ask you again, “Who do you say that He is?”
Can you hear it?
Down through the halls of history and the corridors of time there are light and faint lines being sung.
Listen – it is as though they are even now beginning to crescendo – louder and louder. And one day, not too long from now they will resound through the rafters of the universe.
Can you hear the song? Louder and louder it gets!
“King of kings and Lord of lords and He shall reign forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
The incomparable Christ! For He is Lord! We know this to be true. We can see it in…
1. The Presence of Jesus Christ
2. The Preeminence of Jesus Christ
3. The Power of Jesus Christ
Let’s conclude our time tonight by spending some time reflecting on our own personal answer to the question – “Who do you say He is?”
