THE KING OF CREATION IS OUR RESCUER
November 26, 2006
LAST PENTECOST SUNDAY / CHRIST THE KING
Colossians 1:13-20
Fellow-Redeemed, Saints in the Lord:
We have come to the end of the church year. This doesn’t match up with the calendar year. Through the church year we have looked at many things such as how God had promised us a Savior, provided a Savior, promised us redemption and provided redemption. We saw how Jesus came as a very humble infant, died on the cross, but was raised again and ascended with great glory to sit at God’s right hand. We will confess that soon in the Apostles’ Creed. This end of the church year Sunday is also called the Christ the King. You might not hear that title used very often. You might hear Jesus born in Bethlehem, Jesus the Son of Mary and Joseph. One does not always hear of Christ the King, the Messiah, the One anointed to be king. That is what we are going to study today. The very King of Creation has rescued us. Our King of Creation has rescued us, and it causes us great reason to be filled with joy and thanksgiving this morning and every day of our life.
Our first passage from the Psalms talks about what happens when the world looks at Christ the King. It says the trees shout out. We know that if even the trees shout out, then we as believers will also praise the King of creation. Psalm 96: "They will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth" (Psalm 96:13). That is our righteous King. He will return as judge, not as Savior but to judge the world. Our King will come to judge in righteousness and truth. We look forward to that day. THE KING OF CREATION IS OUR RESCUER.
I. Christ has redeemed us in time;
II.To rule over us for all eternity.
I. CHRIST HAS REDEEMED US IN TIME
Colossians, of course, is another letter of the Apostle Paul to the believers at the city of Colosse. This city was a little bit different. Many of the cities that Paul had gone to and preached were Gentile cities, not very many believers. This fact meant it was a great struggle for those congregations to start, much less to continue and even flourish. Colosse was a city that was settled by a lot of Jewish refugees. So the struggle here was for them to give up their former Old Testament believing. They loved the sacrifices that they brought and that they did for their salvation. Many did not see the sacrifice that Christ had made for them. Paul had preached there and left. Then there was a Colossian heresy that arose.
In this opening chapter Paul gets right to the point. He wants them to concentrate on the fact that is important--Christ the King. He makes it very clear in verse 13: "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." He had reminded these believers that they had been lost, and he reminded these believers that they had walked in the darkness. Paul reminded these believers that God the Father had saved them, rescued them. Then we notice that he puts the connection of God the Father and God the Son very close, doesn’t he? He rescued these believers from darkness and brought them into the kingdom of light of the kingdom of his Son. Paul wanted these believers to realize that God the Father who created all things and God his Son who has redeemed all things are the same God--the Triune God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Verse 15 continues: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Christ, God and the Holy Spirit is the same God, but different persons. Why this emphasis? The Colossian heresy is the heresy that is still around today--Gnosticism, knowledge is supreme. People believed in knowledge. Human knowledge or reason cannot comprehend that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are same the God. It doesn’t make sense humanly speaking. What happened? Another heresy that was here was the worship of angels. For some reason some of the Jewish people didn’t want to believe in Jesus as God’s Son. Remember? Jesus would show up with miracles and teach in the synagogues, and they would say, "Oh Jesus from Nazareth" or "Jesus, Son of Mary and Joseph," or "Jesus the carpenter." He didn’t seem very important. Jesus looked like them, walked with them, talked like them, and dressed like them. So they decided, "Let us worship angels. They are supernatural powers. They certainly are more important than that Jesus from Nazareth." This was also the Colossian heresy. Paul teaches them: "Well no, we have God the Father. We have Jesus who is the exact image of the invisible God."
If that were not enough, verse 16: "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." Paul wrote: This is Jesus who was there at the creation. He is eternal. All things were created by him and for him, things that you see, things that you can’t see, things that have power and authority and dominion. Yes, Jesus was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit; and they even created the angels. It sounds easy for us, but this was hard for this congregation. After Paul leaves, there are a lot of people who try to take the place of Paul. They promote all these false teachings.
He goes on: "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." This is the care of Jesus. He is more than just the carpenter’s son, more than the son of Mary and Joseph. Jesus was more than a good prophet from Nazareth who walked and taught and did miraculous signs--God’s Son from the beginning, eternal. Paul writes this so these people would understand that Jesus is far above and superior to any angels. Jesus is far superior to any authorities or dominion or rule that they might decide to worship, far superior to any false gods. What also makes Jesus far superior is his work. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Redemption is explained here with another beautiful example of Scripture explaining Scripture--redemption is the forgiveness of sins.
Many of us grew up in Christianity where we define redemption as to redeem or to buy back. We are bought back by the blood of Christ. Here Paul was reminding these believers that no angel promised them redemption. No ruler promised them redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Christ the creator King did. God the Heavenly Father did promise redemption and provided it through his Son. That message we can never hear enough. It is the greatest miracle of miracles that we are saved. By Christ we have redemption --- by his word, his love, his sacrifice, his death, his blood for us. As we come to the end of the church year, that is what we are reminded of--Christ the King of Creation has rescued us. He has redeemed us in this time, now and forever. Another definition for redemption: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (Ephesians 1:7,8). Redemption really does not come by Jesus’ good works or by Jesus’ miracles or by his preaching and teaching. Redemption comes through Jesus’ blood, which covers our sins. This is a good verse to memorize, because that is the message that is missing in a lot of mega-churches today. They talk about how we must believe and what we must do. They forget to tell us what Christ has done for us. We need to hear that gospel message over and over again. Through the blood of Christ we are saved. Through the blood of Christ we have forgiveness. Through the blood of Christ we see God’s riches of grace. We confess that he has saved us in his wisdom and understanding.
Why do we need to hear that over and over again? Because we sin daily and we sin much. We don’t just do bad things or say bad things, but the Lord says we also think bad things. That is where all sins start--in us. Sadly, sin comes out of us; and we say things that we ought not ever say. We say things we probably ought never mean, because they are sin-filled, evil. Sometimes when we don’t get our way, we do things we ought never do. This is sin. Truly we see our need for a Savior. In Isaiah: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away" (Isaiah 64:6). Yes, even those things that we think are good, are tainted by sin, infected by sin, and affected by sin on this side of heaven. We fall short of God’s glory. Only in seeing our sin do we see the need for a Savior. The law shows us our sin and the Gospel brings us our Savior.
On this last day of the church year, when we are reminded of God’s judgment and his coming, we are thankful that our Creator King has rescued us. From the beginning to the end he has been our Creator King. This King who created the heavens and the earth and will judge the heavens and the earth in the end and all that is between has redeemed and saved us. It is not because we have tried to seek him, but because he has found us. He has called and chose us: not because we deserve to be saved and not because we can buy our way into heaven. Paul says in Corinthians: "For God, who said, ’Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The Lord said, "Let there be light in the world." Now the world, this big mass of humanity and all the planets and the universe exist because of God’s word. With the same voice our Creator King made his light shine in our hearts.
Our Creator King has rescued us. Christ has redeemed us in this time, here and now. Christ has redeemed us for one purpose--so that he would rule over us for eternity. Jesus wants to see us in heaven.
II. TO RULE OVER US FOR ALL ETERNITY
The believers here had fallen away from the gospel of Jesus Christ by worshiping angels. They thought they were powerful supernatural beings and they are. Angels do not deserve to be worshiped. Paul’s emphasis was Christ is the image of the invisible God. "He is before all things and in all things hold together" The supremacy of Christ is important. He says, "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him." Paul did not want these believers to misunderstand the truth. God the Father and God the Son are one God. We are not really told how God’s fullness dwelt in Christ. Paul doesn’t explain this for the believers. Paul wanted them to realize Christ and God were one. The miracles that Christ did on earth were really the miracles of God. The words that Jesus spoke were the words of God. The love that Jesus revealed on earth was really the love of God. This fullness dwells in Christ: this man, the son of Mary and Joseph and also the Son of God.
Our text says: "…this fullness dwells in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things." Reconcile is also defined by Scripture. "To reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." In the dictionary the definition of reconcile has many definitions. Here Paul says this is what Christ has done. He has reconciled us. Christ has made peace with God for us by shedding his blood on the cross. Again, the emphasis here for the Apostle Paul and these believers was that the angels did not do this and cannot do it. Human knowledge does not do this. It cannot reconcile. Human knowledge falls short, but God’s Son has done this. He has made peace. He has destroyed the wall of hostility. Jesus has torn the curtain and brought mankind into the presence of God, the Father. He has done this as Creator King. If the believers did not understand that by now, certainly Satan hardened their eyes and hearts.
Paul goes on to remind them that this supremacy of Christ as he rules with God and the Holy Spirit together, is for a purpose. Verse 18 in our text: "And he (Christ) is the head of the body, the church." This is a most profound statement to show these believers that angels are not the head of the body. Knowledge is not the head of the body, or your favorite preacher is not the head of the body, Timothy and Paul are not the head of the body, not Peter or anyone they wanted to name is the head of the body. Christ is the head of the body, the church. Another beautiful description, because these people understood that without a head, nothing happens. The head that has the brain controls the breathing, the walking, the moving, the living and loving. This is Christ, the head of the body. No one despises the head, which is the point Paul is making for these believers. They are not to despise Christ but to honor him as the most important member of the body of the church.
Christ is the head of the body the church here on earth, and also, "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." As firstborn from among the dead--Christ was the one who rose back to life from the dead. Christ was the one that came out of the grave on Easter Sunday. He is the first and foremost among the dead to show that these believers, too, someday would rise to live with him eternally. Paul writes all this so that in everything he might have the supremacy. We are back to that message that Paul wants to emphasize: Christ is King on earth and Christ is King in heaven and he rules forever.
That is the message for these believers. It is the same message for you and me today. Our God, our Savior is not dead. He is alive. Our God, our Savior sits at the right hand of God. We also know that Jesus is with us wherever two or three are gathered together. Jesus has the same characteristics, the same qualities as God--eternal, timeless, knows all things, and sees all things. Jesus is our Lord, our Savior who rules us, not as a despot or despicable ruler, but rules us as a loving king who loves his creation. Jesus has created us from the dust of the earth. He has given us a soul and has called us his children. In Romans: "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:8,9). Yes, Christ is the King, the Lord; and he rules for eternity. We belong to the Lord. We know what that feeling is to belong. This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving and many had family at home. We know what it is to belong to family. We gather together to worship and know what it is and cherish what it means to belong to the family of Christ. The Lord Jesus is our King to rule for eternity. The challenge for us today is the fact that when we hear the word king we might not very often picture good kings. There is King Herod who put to death thousands of innocent infants thinking he would kill Christ. We have to adjust our thinking and block the evil kings out of our mind. We now look to Christ who is King of Kings: a king without fault, a king who loves us.
The Old Testament definition of a king was not just one who sat on a throne and ruled. It was a king who was responsible for the welfare of his people. The first kings took that very seriously. They didn’t just collect taxes to build up their kingdom, but they took care of their subjects. If people needed help, they would help them. If they were hungry or starving, they had to provide food. That is Christ our King. He does not rule us with an iron scepter, but he rules us with his precious blood and a loving heart. That was his purpose from the very beginning. We turn to when the angel came to Mary and said, "You are going to have a Son." The angel said she was going to become pregnant even though she was not married. The angel said, "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:32,33). God’s kingdom never ends. The church survives.
Christ is anxious to rule over us forever. He knows that here on earth he rules over us. He takes care of us with physical blessings and takes care of us with spiritual blessings. We know this is a short pilgrimage. Forever in heaven is when there is that time with no more tears or mourning or sadness, no more heat nor cold, no more sun or moon. Christ is the Lamb of God who sits at the center of the throne. To be there in his presence makes everything clear. Jesus is the only way of salvation. From the book of Hebrews: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:8,9). That is the key to the mystery of salvation, too, isn’t it? Christ lived here thirty some years and experienced all the things that we experience, was tempted in every way that we are tempted yet did not sin. So now, when you and I face temptations, when we face heartaches, sorrows and troubles, Christ knows that and knows what we need. As our Creator King he provides us with the comfort, the encouragement and eventually eternal salvation that each and every one of us need. Christ our Creator King rescues us. He saves us.
As we talked about these Colossian heresies we are reminded that knowledge in our society is pretty important. But what kind of knowledge is it? It is a knowledge that over and over again lately has been changing. There were nine planets, now maybe eight or seven. Knowledge changes. Even those who teach evolution change from millions of years to hundreds of thousand years. Human knowledge is fallible. We still have the same heresy today, worship of angels. It is not as prevalent as it was; but the worship of angels is still here. The worship of angels is a very dangerous thing. Many forget about worshipping Christ. So it is all more important as we come to the last Sunday of the church year. It reminds us of the Last Day, Judgment Day. There will be fear for many who worship angels. There will be fear for many who thought their knowledge was going to save them. There will be fear for many who think their good works are going to get them a special place in heaven.
But for believers, there will be great joy and rejoicing. We aren’t going to be like Pilate who asked Jesus what kind of king he is or what is the truth. We realize that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. Our Savior King, our Creator King has rescued us. Christ redeemed us in this life so that he would rule over us for eternity. Until that time we have a doxology of praise from God through Paul to Timothy to us. "Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:14b-16). As we agree we also say "Amen." Pastor Timm O. Meyer
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Christ the King / End Time Last readings:
DANIEL 7:13-14; REVELATION 1:4b-8; JOHN 18:33-37
