1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Well, in the movie The Natural stars Robert Redford, he plays a 2 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:09,840 character named Roy Hobbs who is an aspiring baseball player 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,000 wants to become a professional baseball player. 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,920 Well, in the course of his journey, a woman asked him, what 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:19,720 is driving you in this? Why? 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,400 Why are you pursuing this dream? Becoming professional baseball 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,680 player? Roy Hobbs has this sort of far 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,240 away look in his eyes. Then he says to her, so that one 9 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:34,080 day when a little boy walks by, he'll point at me and say, there 10 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,400 goes Roy Hobbs, the greatest that ever was. 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,920 And this woman looks at Roy Hobbs and she looks pretty put 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,720 off, she thinks really like, that's it. 13 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,760 She strikes her as very vain, very kind of selfishly 14 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,960 ambitious. But I think if we're honest, we 15 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,480 can all relate a little bit with Roy Hobbs. 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,880 Often times, if we're honest, our daydreams are filled with 17 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:04,080 greatness and of us wanting to be great, of wanting to be 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,280 praised, of other people saying great things about us. 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,200 We want to leave a legacy. We want to be memorable. 20 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,440 We want to be remembered far after our life. 21 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,200 I think of the famous quote and clip of Muhammad Ali the boxer 22 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,080 ranting over and over again, I am the greatest. 23 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,280 I am the greatest in our heart of hearts. 24 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:26,480 So often we want that too. We think that, we say that, but 25 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,360 even if we are not consumed with a kind of selfish ambition or or 26 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,160 vain conceit, we still are kind of obsessed with even 27 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,360 discussions about greatness. Think of all the discussions, 28 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,400 all the debates on who is the GOAT, who is the greatest of all 29 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,440 time, right? Whether it's LeBron or Jordan, 30 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,360 whether it's Mozart or Beethoven, whatever the topic 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,160 is, we constantly are discussing greatness. 32 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:54,320 We love beholding greatness, majesty, glory. 33 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,120 We want to be in the presence of greatness. 34 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:02,000 And I think that is because we are created by God to behold 35 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,360 true greatness, to behold God's greatness. 36 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,960 And this passage, Colossians 115 through 20, helps us do that. 37 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:18,080 It helps us behold true, marvelous, majestic greatness in 38 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,280 the person of Christ. And the only right response to 39 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,280 this is worship. The only right response to 40 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,960 seeing the majesty and the glory of Jesus is deep soul stirring 41 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:36,880 self, forgetful worship, adoration, praise of Him. 42 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,160 And that is my hope and prayer in this time is Michael just 43 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,200 prayed that as a result of this time in this passage, our hearts 44 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,040 would be stirred, our affections would be stirred for Christ to 45 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,240 behold true greatness, the greatness that we were all 46 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,200 actually made to behold. And so with that, let me read 47 00:02:54,200 --> 00:03:00,400 Colossians 115 through 20. For us, He is the image of the 48 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,720 invisible God, the first born of all creation. 49 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,720 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, 50 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,800 visible and invisible, whether Thrones or dominions or rulers 51 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,520 or authorities. All things were created through 52 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,560 Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and in Him 53 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,520 all things hold together, and He is the Head of the Body, the 54 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,440 Church. He is the beginning, the first 55 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,960 born from among the dead, that in everything He might be 56 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,320 preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of 57 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:40,160 God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to 58 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,480 Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace 59 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:50,480 by the blood of His cross. Six points this morning. 60 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,960 First, Christ is the supreme manifestation of God. 61 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,360 Second, Christ is the supreme Creator. 62 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,800 Third, he is the supreme, eternal sustainer. 4th, He is 63 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,640 the supreme head of the church. 5 He is the supreme resurrected 64 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,600 one, and six, he is the supreme Redeemer. 65 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,160 And I'll repeat these as we go through, but six points and 66 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,920 that's where we're headed. So first, Christ is the supreme 67 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:20,839 manifestation of God. You look at verse 15 says he is 68 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:27,400 the image of the invisible God. So in Jesus, in Christ we see 69 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:32,080 God and Jesus actually himself said this in John 14/9. 70 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,360 He says whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 71 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,280 That is a massive statement. In fact, years ago, I remember 72 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,000 sitting in a doctor's appointment with one of my 73 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,800 doctors for our son, and this doctor we had known gotten to 74 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,080 know over a few years, and he'd become very dear to us. 75 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:53,040 He gave incredible treatment to our son, and I was burdened for 76 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,200 him to know Christ and I wanted to share the gospel with him. 77 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,240 I knew he was retiring, so this might be one of the last 78 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,160 opportunities I got to share the gospel with him. 79 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:01,880 And so through it, so I pray, Lord, please give me an 80 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,560 opportunity to bring up our faith. 81 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:06,160 And throughout the course of the appointment, I can't remember 82 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,720 how it came up, but it came up and we started talking about 83 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,480 Jesus and I started to make the point that Jesus was God and 84 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,760 claimed to be God. And I quoted Jesus in John 14-6 85 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,040 where he says I am the way, the truth and the life. 86 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,120 No one comes to the Father except through me. 87 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,920 And this doctor's statement was that's quite an egotistical 88 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:28,080 statement. And I paused and I said you're 89 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,320 absolutely right. That is a very egotistical 90 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,440 statement. If Jesus isn't God, if Jesus 91 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,200 isn't God, that is a very egotistical statement. 92 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,640 But he is God. And so for Jesus to say that 93 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,040 it's just a statement of the truth, how could he say anything 94 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,000 different? And we see in this passage that 95 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Jesus is God. He is the image of the invisible 96 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,240 God because he is God. And that word image is the Greek 97 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,200 word icon, and it's loaded with meaning. 98 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:01,560 So if you think back to Genesis 1, right, God created Adam and 99 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,040 he said let us make man in our image. 100 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,200 He made man to reflect the image of God. 101 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:14,080 But then we know just two chapters later that man sinned, 102 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,520 and because of sin that image was fractured. 103 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:23,880 Men no longer imaged God as he was meant to, but in Jesus we 104 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,640 see the restoration of that image in Jesus, not only do we 105 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,080 see God because he is the image of the invisible God in Jesus we 106 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,080 also see man as he was meant to be. 107 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,920 We see Jesus imaging God perfectly Sin fracture that 108 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,000 image. Jesus is the perfect image of 109 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,320 God and it's so much more than just a lifeless photo. 110 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,840 We hear that word image and we might think, oh, it's, it's a 111 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:52,640 photo and and a photo is, is worth 1000 words, right? 112 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,120 But what we have in Jesus, particularly in the pages of 113 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,320 Scripture and through the Holy Spirit as he enlivens the person 114 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,080 of Jesus to us so we can know him personally, we have so much 115 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,080 more than a lifeless photo. We see what he did, what he 116 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:12,200 said, how he acted. We even see recounted his face 117 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,840 of compassion as he saw the crowds that they were helpless 118 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:17,200 and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. 119 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,440 He was real, he was touchable. He became tangible, he became 120 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,520 killable for our sake. And that's what John says in 121 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,840 first John when he says that which was from the beginning, 122 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,600 which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which 123 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,320 we have looked upon and have touched with our hands. 124 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,120 John saying he's real. It's not just a legend, just 125 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,440 not, not just an old story. It's not just a, a lifeless 126 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,440 photo. He's real. 127 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,400 We touched him, we saw him, we walk with them, and we can know 128 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,320 him personally so much better than a picture. 129 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,840 I don't know if you remember the movie Castaway years ago, 130 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,080 starring Tom Hanks. He was stranded on a deserted 131 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,920 island, and one of the only personal items he had was a 132 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,520 picture of his wife. And there's this one scene where 133 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:09,080 he's falling asleep in this cave and he has a flashlight and he 134 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,120 is falling asleep. And he clicks the flashlight on 135 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,200 and he looks at the picture. Then he clicks it off. 136 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,200 Then a few seconds later, he clicks it back on. 137 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:16,640 He looks at the picture and then he clicks it off. 138 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:18,600 And he keeps doing that. Why? 139 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,360 Just because he he was lonely and he missed his wife and he 140 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:23,920 just wanted to be reminded of what she looked like. 141 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,240 Well, Can you imagine if years later he was talking to someone 142 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,960 and they said, man, it must have been so lonely for you on that 143 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:31,240 island. Not with anybody else. 144 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,799 Can you imagine if he said, well, I mean, I had her picture, 145 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,080 so I had a flashlight. I could look at her whenever I 146 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:39,360 wanted. So it really wasn't that bad. 147 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,480 Of course not, right? A picture might be worth 1000 148 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,000 words, but being in person is 1000 times better than a 149 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:48,720 picture. That's one of the reasons why 150 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,760 it's so important to worship in person rather than a live stream 151 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,880 or online. Nothing can replace looking in 152 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,600 someone else's eyes, listening to them. 153 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,800 Have someone listen to you. A handshake, a hug, an 154 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,440 encouraging word. Looking at someone else even as 155 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:11,120 we worship, as scripture says, address one another in psalms 156 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,480 and hymns and spiritual songs, as we see other people singing 157 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,520 these rich spiritual truths and we see I know what they've been 158 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,920 through this week. And to see them sing in Christ 159 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,120 alone, my hope is found that enriches my worship in person is 160 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,320 worth 1000 pictures. And that's what we have in 161 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,440 Christ. We see him and right now we can 162 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:35,960 see him. It's it's more than a lifeless 163 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,000 photo right now. We still see, as Paul says in 164 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,040 First Corinthians 13, as through a mere dimly, but one day we 165 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:47,160 will see him face to face. Isn't that so encouraging, 166 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:52,800 Saints? One day we will be embraced by 167 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,160 this Savior that we sing about and we pray to and we talk about 168 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,760 and we read about. We'll see him. 169 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,560 We will be with him in person and it'll be true what the hymn 170 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:07,200 writer says in the sands of time we're sinking the bride eyes not 171 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,360 her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. 172 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,400 I will not seek glory, but the King of grace. 173 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,640 I will not look at the crown he give us, but on his pierced 174 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,320 hand. The Lamb is all the glory in 175 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,320 Emmanuel's land. The Lamb is all the glory in 176 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,160 Emmanuel's land. We see him now more than a 177 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,720 lifeless photo, but oh man, we will be with him face to face 178 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,960 one day in heaven. That day is coming, friends. 179 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,760 That is real. And we have that to look forward 180 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,440 to. But as we behold the image of 181 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,600 the invisible God in Jesus, it's also our responsibility to 182 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:50,400 imitate him, to also try to image him as the perfect image 183 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:51,840 of God. And that's what Paul says in 184 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,480 Ephesians 51, right? He says, imitate me as I imitate 185 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,200 Christ. So we're called to in a sense, 186 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:05,080 as the body of Christ, be little mini Christs, be the image of 187 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,320 the invisible God that people can't see, but our love for one 188 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,880 another. And as we obey Christ, it makes 189 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,160 Jesus real to them. It's like when Paul says, I fill 190 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,400 up what is lacking in the cross of Christ. 191 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,480 He's not saying that Jesus's cross lacked anything in terms 192 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,840 of redemptive purposes. What he's saying is it's it's 193 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:23,680 lacking in that people weren't there. 194 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:27,000 They couldn't see Jesus have the nails driven through his hands 195 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,760 and feet. They couldn't see the drops of 196 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:31,720 blood fall from his skin in the Garden of Gethsemane. 197 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,280 It's the love of Christ displayed in the people of God 198 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:37,680 that makes the cross real. That's what he that's what he 199 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:39,040 means by filling up what is lacking. 200 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,600 Well, the same is true when we imitate Christ. 201 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,680 We are making the invisible God visible to people. 202 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:47,000 That's what Agustin said. What? 203 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,920 What convinced Agustin of the truth of Scripture more than 204 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,160 anything he said was the love that the church had for one 205 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,760 another. As he saw the pastor Ambrose in 206 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,080 Milan and the other church members in Milan loving one 207 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,280 another, he thought this is real, this is true because he 208 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,240 saw the image of the invisible God being worked out in the body 209 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:08,720 of Christ. And this can be difficult 210 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,800 because we are sinful. Every day we struggle to imitate 211 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,880 Christ in any way. Every day we are painfully aware 212 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,240 that while we've been freed from the power of sin, we have not 213 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,240 yet been freed from the presence of sin. 214 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,920 And so it's difficult, but it's also scary, right? 215 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,800 It's scary because God is invisible. 216 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,320 We are visible. And so that means if we imitate 217 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,520 Christ, if we act differently than the people in our workplace 218 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,120 or at our school or wherever, if we boldly share the gospel, 219 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:45,080 well, if people reject us or mistreat us or persecute us, it 220 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:46,520 feels as if we're suffering alone. 221 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,760 But we're not. I had a mentor back in high 222 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,880 school who ran a ministry with a lot of his students in our high 223 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,760 school, and he would often come up to our high school at the 224 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,440 dismissal bell in the afternoon just to see us, just to say hi, 225 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,360 encourage us. And he met the world. 226 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,440 But one day he showed up and he was standing in the student lot, 227 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,960 and the dismissal bell rang and students were pouring out of the 228 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,120 doors into the lot. And it was then that he realized 229 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,120 that someone had vandalized all the cars in the parking lot. 230 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:19,800 And he was the only one for miles standing there. 231 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,080 And so as students came into the parking lot, they were looking 232 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,680 at the cars. They're looking at him. 233 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,520 And they're like, who is this guy? 234 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:28,200 He was like maybe in his 50s at the time. 235 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,600 And he thought and he just, he chuckled and he laughed and he 236 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,840 prayed silently and he said, you know, God, this isn't that 237 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:35,880 funny. You're invisible. 238 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,120 I'm very visible right now. I know you're with me, but it 239 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,600 feels as if I'm suffering alone. That's never really the case. 240 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,200 In fact, when people reject us, when people persecute us, it's 241 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,080 actually Christ in us that they're rejecting, not us. 242 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,320 And that's why Peter says in first Peter 4, rejoice in so far 243 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,520 as you share Christ's suffering because you are blessed. 244 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,480 If you're insulted for the name of Christ, the Spirit of God and 245 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,200 of glory rests upon you. That's why the apostles, after 246 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,480 being beaten, went home rejoicing that they were 247 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,320 counted, honored enough to suffer for the name of Christ. 248 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,480 Suffering for the name of Jesus actually enhances our union with 249 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,840 Christ and enhances our knowledge of what it means to be 250 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,240 a Christian. And it also enhances our 251 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,640 understanding of the suffering that Christ went through for our 252 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,400 sake. And so it grows us in our love 253 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,560 for him. So Jesus is the image of the 254 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,920 invisible God. We are called to imitate him and 255 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,280 make the invisible God visible to the people around us. 256 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,000 But Paul also says here that not only is he the image of the 257 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,240 invisible God, but he is the first born of all creation. 258 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,120 What does that mean? It sounds like on the surface 259 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,280 that Paul is saying that Jesus is a created being. 260 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,600 He's the first born of all creation, and that's exactly 261 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,640 where Arius went, ancient heretic Arius who taught 262 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:04,920 Arianism, who taught that Jesus was the greatest of all created 263 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,400 beings, but he was a created being, so he was not equal to 264 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,080 God. Arianism was condemned from the 265 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,080 early church councils. But the truth is, is the very 266 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,840 next sentence of Arius just would have read a little bit 267 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,680 further. I think his entire 268 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,560 interpretation would have been blown to bits because look at 269 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:23,640 verse 16, the very next sentence. 270 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,080 Paul says. For by him all things were 271 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:31,600 created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 272 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:33,840 Thrones or dominions or rulers or authority. 273 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,480 So he created all things. Who could do that except for 274 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,920 God? And then he says all things were 275 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:44,080 created through him and for him. He created all things, and all 276 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,360 of these things are made for His glory. 277 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,880 How could God create someone and make all things that He's made 278 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:51,800 for their glory? That would be idolatry. 279 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,640 That would be false worship. God would do no such thing. 280 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,080 So the only logical explanation is that Jesus is God. 281 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,920 And So what does the title first born of all creation mean? 282 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:10,040 Well, it was the title of honor. In Exodus 422, Israel is called 283 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:15,520 God's first born son. It's they were his cherished 284 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,880 people, his chosen ones, and God the Son is especially so. 285 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,720 And also in the passage that was read earlier in Psalm 89, verse 286 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,000 27, it's used as a title for the coming Messiah. 287 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:31,360 Verse 27, Psalm 89 says I will make him my first born higher 288 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,920 than the kings of the earth. So Jesus is the first born of 289 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,120 all creation. He's honored over all creation. 290 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,280 And so contrary to Arianism that says that Jesus wasn't God, this 291 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:50,200 verse actually shows us Jesus's deity, that he was God, He was 292 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,480 divine. So this passage speaks not of 293 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,680 Christ origin or his creation. It speaks of his honor. 294 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:02,680 He is the supreme manifestation of God because he is God, but 295 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:06,319 he's also the supreme creator. That's our second point. 296 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,880 Christ is the supreme Creator. We've already shown that Jesus 297 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,839 was God. But just for good measure, as we 298 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:17,160 just read, Paul explains that Jesus was not created, but he 299 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,000 himself created all things in verse 16. 300 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,200 For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, 301 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,880 visible and invisible, whether Thrones or dominions or rulers 302 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,440 or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. 303 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:35,400 So the biblical pattern is God the Father creates through the 304 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,560 sun. So think of Hebrews one where it 305 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,960 says in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he 306 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,240 appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also 307 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:50,600 created the world. Or think of John 316 For God so 308 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,360 loved the world that he sent his Son, right? 309 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,840 So God the Father initiates and he carries out his plan 310 00:17:57,840 --> 00:17:59,560 throughout. He carries out his word through 311 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,680 his Son. God creates the world in Genesis 312 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,680 1 by doing what? Speaking. 313 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,680 He speaks and things are created by the word of his power. 314 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:13,520 He creates all things well. John 1 compares Jesus to the 315 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:18,360 Word, the Word made flesh. Jesus, His Trinitarian role, is 316 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,480 the agent through which God the Father creates. 317 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,960 And so Jesus created all things. All things were created through 318 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,680 him and for him. And just look at the 319 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:34,000 comprehensive nature of Christ creating power. 320 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:40,600 All things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 321 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:43,800 Thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities. 322 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,960 Like that's pretty much it. That sums it up. 323 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,960 I think of John 1 when he says by him all things were made and 324 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,120 without him nothing was made that has been made. 325 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,160 They're going out of their way to say it's all from Christ. 326 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,680 Every particle, every atom, every molecule of the universe 327 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:06,720 is all created by Jesus. Without Christ there is nothing. 328 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:12,040 He created sunrises, He created sunsets, He created mountains, 329 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,520 He created meadows, He created music, He created families, He 330 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,400 created laughter, He created love, He created food. 331 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:25,320 He created all things, and he created you. 332 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,600 Quite frankly, whether you acknowledge that or not, the 333 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,320 thing that this passage teaches us is that if Jesus created all 334 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,960 things, that means if we deny his existence, if we deny his 335 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:46,240 creating power, that means we do so using a mind and breath and 336 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:51,880 lungs that God gave us. We curse him with the very gifts 337 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,720 he gave us, and we need them to curse Him. 338 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,120 That's what prompted Christian philosopher Cornelius Van Till 339 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,800 to remark that we if we deny Jesus, we are like a child that 340 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,760 has to climb up on his father's lap in order to smack him in the 341 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:12,640 face. It's that level of dishonor and 342 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,560 disrespect. We take the gift that he's given 343 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:20,960 us and we rely on them to curse him, to make arguments against 344 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,680 him. And so Christ created every 345 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,040 throne, every dominion, every ruler and authority in heaven 346 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:33,040 and on earth. And what a comfort when we mourn 347 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:38,200 bad leaders, when we see corruption of justice, to know 348 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:43,600 that Christ in his perfect wisdom that is beyond us and his 349 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:48,200 perfect sovereignty, He has created and established those 350 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:53,000 leaders to bring about his perfect will and our good. 351 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,800 He created all things. He made them and he will use 352 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,000 them for our good. And most importantly, we know 353 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,400 that Jesus is on his throne. He doesn't run for re election. 354 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,200 He establishes dynasties. He doesn't worry about his. 355 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,080 And that's an incredible comfort when we see bad leaders. 356 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,440 But not only did Christ create all things, he created them for 357 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,360 him, Paul says. I think it's maybe easier for us 358 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:23,960 to remember as Christians, or yes, God made everything. 359 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,880 Everything we see God created, maybe we can forget that as 360 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,240 well. But I think it's especially easy 361 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,840 to forget that all things are made for him. 362 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,280 I was taking a trip up to New York City with our son Jonathan 363 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,520 not too long ago. And in the car ride up we were 364 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,600 talking about Romans 11 and the doxology. 365 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,360 It says for from him and through him and to him are all things. 366 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,720 And so we just started talking about that verse and what it 367 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:48,160 meant. So what is what does it mean 368 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,560 that this trip is from God? Well, that was kind of easy to 369 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,440 answer. You know, we're just going up to 370 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,360 have a fun time in New York City and thought, well, he provided 371 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,160 us life, he give us breath, he gave us this car to do it. 372 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:01,680 Well, what does it mean that it's through him? 373 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,480 Well, he's sustaining us right now. 374 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,360 He's enabling us to do it. I have to, I have to be honest, 375 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:07,800 we had to pause. We got, what is this? 376 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,760 What does it mean that this is to him? 377 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,320 What is a fun trip to New York City? 378 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,800 How does that glorify him? And eventually we thought, well, 379 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,360 even even laughter that we experience, even the joy we 380 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:21,280 experience getting to take in God's creation. 381 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,880 All these things are back to God for his glory. 382 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:26,600 But I think that's the hardest one for us as Christians to keep 383 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,840 in the forefront of our minds. Your job is for Jesus. 384 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:38,720 Your money is for Jesus. Your marriage is for Jesus. 385 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:44,000 Your kids are for Jesus. Not to fulfill you, not 386 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,960 primarily to bring you happiness, it's for Jesus. 387 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:52,200 Your school work is for Jesus. Your GPA is for Jesus. 388 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,200 Your recreation is for Jesus. Your vacation is for Jesus. 389 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,280 Your retirement it's for. It's all for Jesus. 390 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:05,640 It's all for His glory, that we might bring Him honor and 391 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,600 praise. And so all things are made by 392 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:11,880 Christ and all things are made for His glory. 393 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,440 I was in a store years ago with our kids and I picked up this 394 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,320 video game. And on the back of the video 395 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,120 game I read this description. And this is what the description 396 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:23,000 of the video game said. It's one of those, I don't know, 397 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,320 fantasy games, I know nothing about video games, but you go 398 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,120 through stages, you try to beat the game, but this is what it 399 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:30,600 said. Now you can take control of the 400 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,320 action and be at the center of your own adventure in this 401 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,920 fantasy world. Be the center of your own 402 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,040 adventure in this fantasy world. Whoever created that video game 403 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,000 was not reading Colossians one. It's all about Christ. 404 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:47,840 And I think what what I found so striking about that, it's not 405 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,600 that it was a description of a video game, is that it was too 406 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,280 often the description of life by many people. 407 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,560 We can take charge and we can be at the center of our own 408 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,720 adventure in our fantasy world. That's life. 409 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,840 That is the definition of life to so many people. 410 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,320 And yet that's actually terrible news. 411 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,080 It's terrible news. Jesus openly said. 412 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,480 Whoever loses his life for my sake, he will find it. 413 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,120 We are most alive, we experience the most adventure, the most joy 414 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,760 in life when we are losing ourselves in the majesty and the 415 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,160 glory of Christ, living for him and his glory, not our own. 416 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,240 And so don't waste your time building your own, I'm sorry to 417 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,360 say it, pathetic legacy that will easily be forgotten. 418 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:44,520 It's so much better to be 1 little pixel in a grand display 419 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:49,280 of Christ glory than to use our whole life trying to illuminate 420 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,840 our own pathetic little glory and legacy that will so soon 421 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,400 burn out and be forgotten. Even the people who really made 422 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,240 it, founding fathers of our country, all these people, they 423 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,600 have statues that are really just collecting bird poop all 424 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,000 day. That's as good as it gets. 425 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,640 But how much better to live for Christ's glory? 426 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,320 Don't live for our own pathetic legacy. 427 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,600 Live for Christ. And what will help us do this? 428 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,200 What will stoken us a zeal to live for Christ's glory? 429 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:22,720 More than anything, I think it's doing continually what we're 430 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,600 doing right now, gazing at the beauty and the grandeur and the 431 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,400 majesty of Christ. John Owen wrote a book called 432 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,960 The Glory of Christ. It's an absolute masterpiece. 433 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,080 Read anything by John Owen. I think there is rejoicing in 434 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,200 heaven when even 1 Sinner reads a John Owen book, but that book, 435 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,960 especially the Glory of Christ is phenomenal is the last book 436 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,760 he wrote. This is a quote from that book. 437 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:51,600 He said only a sight of Christ's glory and nothing else will 438 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,920 truly satisfy God's people. Truly satisfy God's people. 439 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,040 The soul which can be satisfied without beholding the glory of 440 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,160 Christ is not a soul for whom Christ prays. 441 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,240 One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this 442 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,640 world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ. 443 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:20,440 All things are made by Him and for him. 444 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,560 He is the supreme Creator. But not only is Christ the 445 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:29,200 supreme Creator, he is also the supreme eternal sustainer. 446 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,400 That's our Third Point. Christ is the supreme eternal 447 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,200 sustainer. Christ wasn't created. 448 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,600 Saw that earlier and here Paul again highlights Christ's 449 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:44,560 eternal nature in verse 17. He says and he is before all 450 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,320 things and in him all things hold together. 451 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:52,400 Christ is before all things, He is eternal. 452 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,080 He never had a beginning and that will break your brain 453 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,600 trying to think about that. FF Bruce said no matter how far 454 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,720 back our imagination may press, we can never reach a point of 455 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,560 which we may say there was once a time when he was not. 456 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,760 We will never reach a point in our imagination where we can say 457 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:09,160 there was. There was a time when he he was. 458 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,280 He always has been and he always will be forever, for eternity. 459 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,200 But not only is he eternal and before all things, he sustains 460 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,800 all things. He holds all things together. 461 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,400 And that's what Paul says. He holds every molecule, every 462 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,880 particle, every atom in the universe together, every 463 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,040 millisecond of every day. And he always has. 464 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:41,840 Albert Einstein in 1917 wrote a paper on quantum mechanics ended 465 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,920 up being transformative for the field of physics. 466 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,560 But his findings in that paper actually deeply disturbed him, 467 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:52,040 and especially as the years went on. 468 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:56,720 And what disturbed Einstein about quantum mechanics was the 469 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:01,800 way in which atoms and photons responded or acted. 470 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,520 He noticed that when a photon emitted from an atom, it was 471 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,880 unpredictable. There was no way of of seeing 472 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,280 how exactly it would act, what it would bind to. 473 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,240 And to Einstein, this was troubling because it seemed to 474 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,080 him that it destroyed the principle of causality, the idea 475 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,480 that A leads to B&B leads to C, and that's what gives us a 476 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,840 repeatable universe that enables science, right? 477 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:28,920 If things are just random and happening all over the place, 478 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,280 there's no causality. How can we do an experiment? 479 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,160 Because we have no way of knowing that things will be the 480 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,440 same, right? We can't isolate any variables. 481 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:37,880 And that really disturbed Einstein. 482 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,240 It led him to his famous saying where he said God doesn't play 483 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,640 dice, saying God, God wouldn't make a universe like this. 484 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,400 Einstein was kind of a Jewish deist. 485 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:52,080 Well, Werner Heisenberg was a Nobel Prize winning physicist 486 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,040 who was friends with Einstein, and he was also a Christian. 487 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:01,520 And Heisenberg understood why this disturbed Einstein, he 488 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:03,440 said, I get it. I get what you're saying. 489 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,920 This seems to destroy causality. How can we do science? 490 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:08,760 But this is what Heisenberg wrote to Einstein. 491 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:15,440 He said we can console ourselves that the good Lord God would 492 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,920 know the position of the particles and thus he could let 493 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,160 the causality principle continue to have validity. 494 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,680 In other words, Heisenberg was saying, yes, the principle of 495 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,120 causality is important and God did make a universe that has 496 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,200 causality and we see that all over the universe. 497 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:36,960 But he said, Einstein, what is better than the principle of 498 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:41,800 causality is resting everything we know in our epistemology and 499 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,000 in our understanding of knowledge on not a principle of 500 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,360 causality, but on the eternal and unchangeable one of Jesus 501 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:52,120 Christ. He's saying God, God knows. 502 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,680 You might not know, you might not be able to predict where 503 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,960 that photon is emitting to, but Jesus knows, and he is the one 504 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,320 on the entire that on which the entire universe rests. 505 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,640 He is better than the principle of causality. 506 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,920 Things might seem random to us. Things might seem unpredictable 507 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,320 or out of control. They are never that way to 508 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,440 Jesus. He knows exactly what is 509 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,880 happening because he's holding all things together. 510 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,160 I also love on that topic what Werner Heisenberg wrote when he 511 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,680 said the first gulp of the glass of natural sciences might turn 512 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,920 you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is 513 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:35,560 waiting for you. The first gulp, the first, the 514 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,320 first glimpse might think, oh, things are just random. 515 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,120 Is God really at work? But at the end of the glass, God 516 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,400 is waiting for you. He holds and sustains all things 517 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,400 perfectly, sovereignly, powerfully. 518 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:53,720 And not only does God sustain all things in the universe 519 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,200 ontologically, physically, He also holds all things together 520 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:04,640 providentially. Every single detail of your life 521 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,640 God has labored over. Do you? 522 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,480 Do you see or realize how much God cares about detail? 523 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:14,720 Think about the creation of our universe. 524 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,280 There's a myriad of things. If they were even slightly 525 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,720 different, life on earth would be unsustainable. 526 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,000 If you look at the Old Testament, God says, here are 527 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,760 the exact blueprints for the Tabernacle. 528 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:27,640 Here are the exact blueprints for the temple. 529 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,560 Here's exactly what the priest should wear. 530 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:31,120 He's exact. Here's exactly what the priest 531 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,680 should say. We see similar instructions for 532 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,520 the ordering of the New Testament church. 533 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:41,080 God cares about detail, and He brings that meticulous care to 534 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:46,000 detail to your life. You might think that no one has 535 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,280 thought about your life in as much detail as you have. 536 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,000 That's not true. God has thought about it. 537 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,640 You might have stayed up all night laboring, stressing over 538 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,160 details of your life. You haven't thought about it as 539 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,520 much as God has. God never sleeps and He is 540 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,360 perfect in wisdom and sovereignty. 541 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,200 He has labored over every detail of your life and nothing has 542 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:12,440 come into your life that has not passed through the fingertips of 543 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,600 your loving Heavenly Father and through Christ Himself. 544 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,200 Even an unexpected lead pastor search. 545 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,720 No matter what is going on in your life or in the life of this 546 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,880 church, it does not surprise Christ. 547 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,160 He holds it all together providentially. 548 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,600 John Flavell, who's a Puritan, wrote a book called The Mystery 549 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,560 of Providence. He's a Puritan, and it's a 550 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,600 phenomenal book. And he essentially argues that 551 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:43,200 as Christians, we rob ourselves of so much joy and peace 552 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,160 precisely because we don't meditate on the Providence of 553 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:48,840 God. We don't think about it. 554 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,200 And so I highly commend that book to you, but I also just 555 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:56,120 recommend that you'd spend time today, this week, meditating on 556 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,200 the Providence of God. Think about what are things that 557 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,320 God has done in your life and what is the timing in which he's 558 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,520 done it? That was perfect. 559 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,000 That ended up being a blessing that you wouldn't have chosen, 560 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,480 but ended up being a tremendous blessing to you. 561 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,040 Think about meditate on the Providence of God. 562 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,240 So Christ is the supreme eternal sustainer, but he's also the 563 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,360 supreme head of the church. That's our fourth point. 564 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:24,520 Christ is the supreme head of the church. 565 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:29,360 In verse 18, Paul says Christ is the head of the body, the 566 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,320 church. He is the supreme head of the 567 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:34,160 church. Christ is the head. 568 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,240 He is the most important. You can transplant almost 569 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,760 anything in the body. You can't transplant the head. 570 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:46,920 It is irreplaceable. And so Jesus as the head gives 571 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,600 life and spiritual vitality to the church. 572 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:53,080 He has ultimate authority over it. 573 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:57,320 And what a what a privilege to be a member of Christ's body 574 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:02,240 with him as our head is. What led Agustin to say every 575 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,560 believer is not just a Christian, but Christ because we 576 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,679 are a part of his body with him as our head. 577 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,800 So individual believers are united to Christ, but we're also 578 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,880 united to him through his church, of which we are a part. 579 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,639 And we have to see the inseparable connection there, 580 00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:21,280 right? If we are not a part of the 581 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:23,480 church, then we're separated from the head. 582 00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:26,920 That's why church membership, being a part of the visible 583 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,159 church, is so important. We want to be a part of the 584 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:30,840 universal church, the invisible church. 585 00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,880 We must be a part of the visible church to connect ourselves to 586 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:39,600 Christ, the head of His church. Jesus died for His church. 587 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,120 He loves His church. He gave up himself for His 588 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,440 church. Ephesians 5 says He sustains His 589 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,679 church, and He promises that the gates of hell will not prevail 590 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:49,760 against His church. We don't get that promise, 591 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:51,920 friends, about any other Christian organization. 592 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,360 There have been many parachurch ministries and organizations 593 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,760 that have come and gone. Many of them have been used 594 00:34:58,160 --> 00:34:59,440 faithfully and fruitfully by God. 595 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,360 But we don't have that promise about any other institution 596 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,760 besides the church, which is just yet another reason why we 597 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:09,000 should be a member in a significant part of the local 598 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,760 church. And so Christ is the head of the 599 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,720 church, but he's also the supreme resurrected one. 600 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:16,840 That's our fifth point. Christ is the supreme 601 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:22,360 resurrected one. Verse 18 Paul says he is the 602 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:25,960 head of the body of the church. He is the beginning, the first 603 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:29,360 born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre 604 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,440 eminent. He is the beginning of all 605 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:34,680 things because he is the creator of all things as we've been 606 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,560 talking about. But he's especially the 607 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:42,760 beginning of a new creation and a new Kingdom of believers of 608 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:47,680 which he was the 1st. And that's clear because when 609 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,400 Jesus rose from the dead, he became the first born from among 610 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,760 the dead. Everyone since Adam, before 611 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,600 Jesus had died, no one had come back to life. 612 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:02,360 When Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he became a new Adam, 613 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,080 the new start of a new order, a new creation. 614 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:10,200 And every person who places their faith in Jesus is a part 615 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,240 of that Kingdom. The first Adam sinned, and all 616 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:18,360 of his descendants bore his distinguishing mark of sin, but 617 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:22,080 the second Adam, Jesus rose from the dead, and everyone who 618 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,880 trusted him bears his distinguishing marks, which are 619 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,760 the Spirit and Sonship and eternal life. 620 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:33,240 The first Adam entered into the Garden and disobeyed and sinned, 621 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,080 and as a result the world fell with him. 622 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,320 The second Adam, the better Adam. 623 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:41,040 Jesus entered into the Garden of Gethsemane and he obeyed. 624 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,600 And his obedience was far more difficult. 625 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:49,920 He swept drops of blood. He was so agonizing over what he 626 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,800 had to suffer in our place, and yet he redeemed us. 627 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:59,240 He obeyed perfectly. On Christmas, the sunset on 628 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,040 Adam's broken and sinful creation, and on Easter the sun 629 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,320 rose on the new creation of Jesus Christ. 630 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:08,760 He is the first born from the dead. 631 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:13,080 He is the first born of a new creation, and all believers are 632 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,280 part of it. And all of this the end of verse 633 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:19,120 18 says so that Christ would be preeminent in all things. 634 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,680 He is insurpassable. He cannot be eclipsed. 635 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:26,440 No one can have more glory than Him. 636 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:32,320 He is the first born of all creation, and He has redeemed 637 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,000 us. And that leads us to our last 638 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,640 point, that Christ is our supreme Redeemer. 639 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:41,440 We've already looked at verse 19. 640 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:44,000 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell when he 641 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,560 looked at him, being the image of the invisible God. 642 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:52,040 Look at verse 20, Paul says. And through him to reconcile to 643 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:57,760 himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace 644 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:00,600 by the blood of his cross. Interesting. 645 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,400 He reconciled all things to himself. 646 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,680 Often times we think of Jesus and His redemption. 647 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,680 We just think of humanity, think of people that He's redeemed. 648 00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:18,480 But Paul's clear here. He's reconciled all things to 649 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:19,760 himself. Well, what does that mean? 650 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,920 When Genesis 1, God created man perfect. 651 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,880 But in Genesis 3, when they sin and God pronounces the curse on 652 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:29,240 Adam, do you remember what He said? 653 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,840 Cursed is the ground. Because of you. 654 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,480 It'll bring forth thorns and thistles. 655 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:41,160 It'll make work hard. Later in Romans 822, Paul says 656 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:44,600 all creation groans for the new heavens. 657 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:49,600 In the new earth. There are a myriad of sinful 658 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:54,920 causes because of the fall, even in creation, not just with us 659 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:58,720 personally, though many of them flow from people and sin in 660 00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:04,480 humanity. But one day when Christ ushers 661 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:09,080 in the new heavens and the new earth, when we walk by lush 662 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:14,360 fields and there are north no thorns, when crops always yield 663 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:19,520 their fruit, when there are no mosquitoes by God's grace, and 664 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,760 when there are no when there's no carnage because of natural 665 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:29,960 disasters, when there are no more diagnosis of cancer in 666 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:35,840 loved ones, then with one voice we will all say, praise God, who 667 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:42,000 through Christ reconciled to himself all things, not just us, 668 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:48,040 all creation, all reconciliation flows through Christ and his 669 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:51,440 cross, including our personal redemption. 670 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,720 You know, the Colossians were doubting Christ's power. 671 00:39:55,760 --> 00:40:00,360 That's why throughout the book Paul points out that Christ is 672 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:02,080 supreme. The Colossians were. 673 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,840 Saying yes, Jesus is powerful, we need Jesus, but they also 674 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:09,760 were looking to angelic powers, super other supernatural powers 675 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:14,040 to sort of try to supplement Jesus powers, but they were also 676 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:16,240 doubting their redemption. They were doubting that they 677 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:19,600 were really forgiven. And so if you see what Paul is 678 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:23,920 doing here, he's answering both, because if you grasp Christ's 679 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:28,080 supremacy, you will also have full assurance in his 680 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:32,120 redemption. If you see what Jesus is capable 681 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,560 of, who he is, what he's done, then how could you doubt 682 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,160 anything that he did, including your redemption? 683 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,520 And that's actually Paul's exact argument in Romans 834 when he 684 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:47,440 says who is to condemn Christ? Jesus is the one who died more 685 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,000 than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of the 686 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,040 Father, who indeed is interceding for us. 687 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,120 Paul saying you're doubting, like, do you know who Jesus is? 688 00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,320 Look, look at this. He created all. 689 00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:00,680 He's the image of the invisible God. 690 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:02,040 He's the first born of all creation. 691 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,040 All things were created by Him. He sustains all things. 692 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:08,480 He holds all things together. How could you doubt any single 693 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,440 thing that He did, including your redemption? 694 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:15,280 If you know who Jesus is, you cannot doubt that. 695 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:22,320 And Homer's book, The Iliad, tells the story of the battle 696 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:24,920 between the Akayan army and the Trojan army. 697 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,560 And through much of the story and much of the battle, the 698 00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:32,000 great Akayan warrior Achilles is sidelined. 699 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,960 He's kind of brooding over this personal vendetta he has against 700 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:37,960 one of the Acadian commanders, Agamemam. 701 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:42,480 And but eventually his friend Patrick List is killed by 702 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,920 Hector, the leader of the Trojan army. 703 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:48,120 And that gets that stirs Achilles and he enters the 704 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:51,520 battlefield. And as soon as Achilles enters 705 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:56,600 the battlefield, a tremor of fear and horror goes to the 706 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:01,680 entire Trojan army. They all, they all hear the 707 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:07,440 whispers of Achilles is coming. And Achilles marches slowly but 708 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:11,760 surely toward the gates of Troy, and no one can stop him. 709 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,880 It doesn't matter how great, how big, how tall, how great of a 710 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:20,120 warrior they are. He effortly leaves a wake of 711 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:22,480 Trojan bodies and warriors in his wake. 712 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,800 And everyone whispers to themselves Achilles is coming 713 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:31,000 and no one can stop him. Well eventually he makes his way 714 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,040 to the gates of Troy. He meets Hector. 715 00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:36,760 Hector's so terrified he runs around the city 4 times but then 716 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:39,720 finally faces Achilles, and Achilles easily defeats him. 717 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:45,560 Friends, our wonderful and glorious Savior Jesus Christ 718 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:50,520 marched steadily toward the cross to accomplish our 719 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:54,360 redemption, and there was nothing that anyone could do to 720 00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,840 stop him. And now there is nothing that 721 00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,960 anyone could do to separate us from Him. 722 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:07,680 Can you imagine how the demons shook with fear when they heard 723 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:12,960 God is coming? Can you imagine the horror that 724 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:16,840 Satan felt when he looked into the Manger and saw the God man 725 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:22,320 veiled in flesh the deity? Do you remember how the the 726 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,840 voice of the demons cracked with horror as God effortlessly 727 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:30,560 commanded them to flee? Can you imagine how Satan 728 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:35,240 quivered with fear as he faced down the righteous 1 seeking to 729 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:39,920 put him to death, only to have his throat stepped on as Jesus 730 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:43,200 rose victoriously over death in the resurrection? 731 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:49,120 When you doubt whether you are forgiven. 732 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:52,560 When you doubt if Christ is enough. 733 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,400 When Satan tempts you to despair and tells you of the sin within, 734 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:03,840 look up. Look up and see him there, Your 735 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:08,760 eternal Supreme Creator, the Majestic One, the Supreme 1 736 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,520 making an end to all of your sin. 737 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,920 And this should cause us to worship. 738 00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:22,320 What can make us worship? Like seeing the Supreme One 739 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:25,960 redeem us. Like that The One who created 740 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:29,280 all things hanged on a tree that he made. 741 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:33,920 The one who holds all things together was held to a cross 742 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:38,880 with nails through his hands and feet, and the one who made all 743 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:40,640 things was pierced for our transgressions. 744 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:45,520 Do you see his glory? Is he precious to you? 745 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:49,840 Do you love him? Do you desire to adore and 746 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:51,320 worship him? I hope so. 747 00:44:52,240 --> 00:44:57,520 I hope so. John Owen said no man will ever 748 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:02,280 become like Christ by imitating Him if he knows nothing of the 749 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:05,280 transforming power of beholding His glory. 750 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,800 If we are to imitate Christ, first we must behold His glory. 751 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:14,400 We must get hearts and minds filled with the knowledge of 752 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:18,000 Christ and love and adoration and affection to Him. 753 00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:22,200 When love for Christ burns in our hearts, then it won't be 754 00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:24,640 able to be contained on our lips and in our life. 755 00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:27,160 And so with that, let me pray close this. 756 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:35,720 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and sending us 757 00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:38,120 your Son. We thank you for this 758 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:42,960 opportunity to dwell on the majesty, the supremacy of your 759 00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:45,880 Son. And we confess, Lord, we do not 760 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:47,600 think about it as often as we should. 761 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:54,480 Fill our minds, fill our hearts, give us through your Spirit, 762 00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:58,720 power to grasp the height and breadth and length and depth of 763 00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:03,760 your majesty and grace and holiness and power, and of your 764 00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:07,840 great, great love for us, so that we might proclaim your 765 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:11,640 gospel, your good news, your glory to anyone who will listen. 766 00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:16,800 Help us to imitate you, to show you the invisible and eternal 767 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,280 God to a world who desperately needs to see you. 768 00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:22,040 And we pray all this in Christ's precious name, Amen.