The Loveliness of Christ

If you have a Bible with you, go ahead and grab it. We are going to be looking at a remarkable section of Scripture this morning, one of my favorite in the entire Bible, Colossians 1:15-22. When it comes to preaching that first Sunday of the new year, I often think of it as “Resolution Sunday”. People often make New Year’s Resolutions and they usually involve things like, eating better, exercising more, resolving some conflict, and a lot of people resolve to go back to church or maybe even begin going to church for the very first time. I understand that there may be people here today or watching online later in the week who are here for Resolution Sunday and if that is you, Praise God! My purpose this morning is to present to each and every one of you a refreshing look at who Jesus Christ is. One great thing about a new year is the sense of renewal that often comes with the changing of the calendar so whether you are a seasoned veteran of the faith or you walked in here today just because you made a promise that you would try church out there is something refreshing and renewing for you and your soul today. As we come to this new year, we are comforted by the One who makes all things new and never changes. We know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As we reflect on the past year and look ahead to the new one, we rejoice in knowing the One who was and is and is to come. What I want to focus on this morning is the loveliness of Jesus Christ. Not the love of Christ that He freely gives but His loveliness. What do I mean by that term? What I mean is that there is something within Christ’s very person that is attractive. There is a beauty to Jesus that attracts us to Him and when I say beauty, I don’t mean that He looks like a Hemsworth. What I mean is that when you stop and think and savor who Jesus is, you are caught up in a great religious affection for Him and you say to yourself, “That is someone I wish I knew. That is someone I wish I knew better. That is someone that I could love for all eternity.” Thomas Watson, a great Puritan preacher, said that the reason man does not embrace Christ is because they are ultimately ignorant of His beauty and just as a blind man can’t admire the colors of a rainbow, the spiritually blind can’t see any excellency in Christ so my prayer for this morning is that today God would grant sight to the spiritually blind so that we may all see the beauty, excellency, and loveliness of His Son, Jesus Christ. We have a lot to unpackage today so let’s open up in prayer and then we will look at what Paul has to say in Colossians 1:15-22

Colossians 1:15–22 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Paul’s High Christology

This is a weighty passage is it not? I think that it can be easy for many of us, from the most seasoned Christians to the person who is picking up a Bible for the very first time to look at passages of Scripture and not feel the weight of what is being said. We often read through things quickly and miss or fail to understand exactly what is being presented to us. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that he was convinved that half our troubles are due to the fact that we fail to realize what exactly is offered in the Scriptures. Paul is presenting to us a passage rich with high Christology. Paul does not have a low view of Jesus that is popular amongst the world today. Paul does not see Jesus simply as a morally good person, he doesn’t see Him simply as an inspirational and gifted teacher. Paul does not see Jesus as solely another prophet in a long line of prophets or a Jewish rebel that stepped out in the hopes of restoring the nation of Israel and defeating the Roman Empire. Paul recognizes that Jesus is more than just a religious figure amongst other religious figures. No, Paul’s view of Christ is that He is one that is high and lifted up, the one that Paul speaks of is God over all. Thispassage magnifies the glory of Christ. The glory and deity of Christ is placed front and center. Let’s go back and see how Paul describes Jesus and break down the terms that are used. Colossians 1:15-19

Colossians 1:15–19 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

The Deity of Christ Front and Center

What we just read here is the Selah moment of the book of Colossians. Stop and meditate. Pause and go back again and reflect on what you have just read because this is no small saying and no small passage. Let’s reflect on the ways that Paul describes Jesus:

Image of the invisible God

The first phrase that Paul uses is that Jesus is the “Image of the invisble God.” What this means is that if you have been searching your whole life for God, look no further than Jesus Christ. Here in the flesh, is God made visible. God is Spirit and does not possess a physical body. John says in John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” Paul also tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:16 “[God] alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” Here the invisible has been made visible. Jesus is the perfect representation of God because He is God. John MacArthur said, “Jesus is the perfect image- the exact likeness- of God and is in the very form of God, and has been so from all eternity. By describing Jesus in this manner, Paul emphasizes that He is both the representation and manifestation of God. Thus, He is fully God in every way.” Jesus is not just a minor god or god amongst many. Jesus is not less God than God the Father. Jesus for all eternity has been fully God in every way, shape, and form. Jesus is God perfectly. All that God the Father is, can be seen in Christ the Son. He is infinitely holy, infinitely righteous, infinitely loving, infinitely merciful, infinitely praiseworthy, full of grace upon grace, the One of whom all of Heaven worships. Paul also points to this again in verse 19.

Firstborn of all creation

Paul then goes on and describes Jesus as the firstborn of all creation. Paul is not saying that Jesus was a created being that was made first by God the Father. Jesus is eternal just as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are eternal. Jesus has no beginning and no end. What Paul means here is that He is the heir of God the Father. There is a supremacy, honor, and glory that is due to Him and no one else. Paul’s audience understood the importance of the firstborn son and the role that he would play in families in the first century and during the times of the Old Testament. They understood that it was the firstborn son that in a sense would be the joy of the household. It was the firstborn that received the best of the father’s inheritance and had certain rights and priviledges that others did not have. It would also be the responsibility of the firstborn to provide if something were to happen to his father. Christ succeeds where so many other firstborns in Scripture failed. Cain was the firstborn and he failed, Esau was the firstborn and he was rejected, Reuben was the firstborn and he was rejected, even David was not the firstborn but he was chosen as the King of Israel. Every place where you see failure after failure in the Bible, you see Jesus stand out as He that is far greater. Where every other firstborn failed, Christ as the firstborn of all creation sets the standard of perfection. For Christ to be the firstborn of all creation means that all of creation belongs to Him. It is His due and it is His right. As Abraham Kuyper once said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Paul continues this theme in the next verse which is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture.

All things were created through Him and for Him (including all authorities)

Verse 16 says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him.” We don’t have as much time as I would like to focus on this verse but there is so much happening right here. We see again Christ’s eternal nature, that He wasn’t just present at the time of creation, He actively created all things in heaven and on earth and all things were created with the purpose of glorifying Him. In the grand scheme of eternity, everything exists to glorify Christ. Creation exists for the glory of God. Not only does Christ have the authority to create all things, all created authority exists in subordination to Him. Paul says that every throne, dominion, ruler, and authority was created through Him and ultimately for Him. This means that the angels answer to Jesus Christ. Their authority is nothing and they are under the sovereign rule of Christ. Even the demons are subject to Him. Satan can do nothing outside of God’s sovereign will. In an argument from the greater to the lesser, if these heavenly and spiritual authorities and rulers are all below Christ, certainly every earthly ruler is subject to Him. This means that regardless of what any earthly ruler does, they will all bow down before the throne of Jesus Christ and He holds them all in His hands. There is not a single power on this planet that has a greater reach or rule than Jesus of Nazareth. If Jesus is king at all, He is king of all. No power can oppose Him, their is no threat to His Kingdom, and He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When the pages of history reach their end, it will be Jesus Christ alone as King and ruler. Paul says in Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It is this King and this King alone which will rule over all. It is this King alone that every knee shall bow to and every tongue will confess. It is the strength and might of this king that will cause the kings of the earth to beg for relief and mercy. Revelation 6:15-17

Revelation 6:15–17 ESV

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

In the grand scheme of things, this wicked and unbelieving generation would rather stand on the surface of the sun than stand before the throne of our Righteous Judge. Unbeliever, do not think that you have escaped the eye and judgement of the King. Your physical prosperity now does not mean that your soul will prosper. Even the greatest on the earth cannot stand before His presence. All sin shall be judged and held accounted for. Nothing will escape His sight and nothing will escape His righteousness. You must put your sin to death or sin will be the death of you. Your sin will either be paid by you or Christ must pay it for you, there is no in between.

Holds all things together

Not only is Christ the creator of all things, He is also the sustainer of all things. That is what Paul means when he says that through Christ, all things hold together. The author of Hebrews emphasizes this in Hebrews 1:2-3

Hebrews 1:2–3 (ESV)

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

There is not a single aspect of creation that Christ does not possess in His hands. The fact that He is the heir of all things shows that the future is under His sovereign control, the fact that He created the world shows that He was sovereign over the act of creation and possessed the power to do it, and the fact that He upholds the universe even now by the word of His power shows His ever present and sustaining power. There is no aspect of your life that Christ is not holding together. You might be thinking, “Goodness, my life has just spiraled out of control!” but the reality is, it hasn’t spiraled totally out of control. Regardless of what you may be going through right now, be it something last year, right now, or something coming far into the future, know with certainty that Christ holds it in His hand.

Head of the Church

In verse 18 we read that it is Christ who is the head of the Church. There is no Church without Christ. There is no reason for the Church to gather apart from Christ. The pastor is not the head of the church. The Pope of Rome is not the head of the Church. The authority of the Church stems from Christ and no one else. The Apostles had authority but it came from Christ. Even now, pastors have authority but it does not surpass Christ’s authority. We as the Church submit totally to Him. It is through Christ that life is given to the Church and it is through Christ that the Church receives its power and authority. The Church is able to make an impact in the world because Christ empowers the Church. He is the head of the Church because He is the One that we gather to worship and as we have seen, He is more than worthy of our praise and worship.

Preeminent

Where does Paul lead us in all of this? He leads us to one word or one phrase: “That in everything he might be preeminent.” There is a word that we don’t use very much anymore. For Christ to be preeminent means that there is nothing else in life to gain or to get, nothing else that is more worthy of our time, praise, and attention. He surpasses all things, is above all things, is worthy of all glory and all praise. He is high and lifted up, He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end! He is that which is distinguished from all other things. He is that which your heart has longed for all of your life. That sense of longing, that sense of meaning, that sense of love and purpose and treasure that you have been searching for, is found completely and totally in the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Adrian Rogers said, “Jesus is preeminent. He is preeminent in the revelation of the Father. You cannot know God unless you know Him who is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is preeminent in the regulation of the universe. He is the power, He is the preserver, and He is the purpose of creation.” What a King! What a Ruler! This is no mythological figure. This is the God who is there! The only way that you could go through these verses and not feel an overwhelming sense of smallness in comparison to Jesus Christ is if you have willingly rejected Him. The only way you could not be in awe of this God is if you have stuffed your ears and cried out, “I don’t want to hear it!” Have you noticed too that up to this point that we haven’t even touched on the love that Christ has for us? We’ve hardly mentioned what He offers to us! We’ve focused entirely on who He is and we’re in awe of it, are we not? But we are going to get to all of that soon. What may be most incredible though is what Paul has saved practically for the very end of these verses.

The Lion and the Lamb is All-together Lovely

You may have noticed that there were some phrases in these verses that I did not touch on and that was on purpose. Those phrases were that Christ is the firstborn from the dead, He made peace by the blood of His cross, and then we read in Colossians 1:21-22 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” Now, why is this so amazing? Because I realize that the very King that created the universe, the One that all of Heaven worships, suffered and bled and died. He laid His life down to save those that were totally powerless to save themselves! What we see in these verses and what we see throughout Scripture is that yes our God and Savior is a roaring Lion! The king, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! But He is also the suffering servant and the Lamb of God. Notice what we read in Revelation 5:5-6

Revelation 5:5–6 ESV

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Who is Jesus Christ? He is the Lion, He is the King, He is the Root of David, He is the conqueror, He is the One that can open the scroll, He is the one to bring comfort to the brokenhearted and judgment to the wicked. He is an unstoppable force and He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, soverign God over all. Yet at the very same time, He is the Lamb that had been slain. He is the one that tasted death so that death might not have the victory. He was the sacrifice that was to end all sacrifices. He laid His life down so that ours would be picked up. He crushed the head of the serpent while having His own heel struck. You see it is one thing to be a lion and it is one thing to be a lamb but it is another thing entirely to be both simultaneously and that reality can only be found in 1 person: Jesus Christ. Jonathan Edwards preached on Revelation 5:5-6 and he said, “There is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Jesus Christ. The lion and the lamb, though very diverse kinds of creatures, yet have each their peculiar excellencies. The lion excels in strength, and in the majesty of his appearance and voice: the lamb excels in meekness and patience, besides the excellent nature of the creature as good for food, and yielding that which is fit for our clothing and being suitable to be offered in sacrifice to God. But we see that Christ is in the text compared to both, because the diverse excellencies of both wonderfully meet in him.” I love that phrase, “An admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies.” Is Christ the conquering King? Yes! Is He the sinless sacrifice to save mankind? Yes! Is He one more than the other? Not at all! He is both perfectly! One thing that I find particularly lovely in this reality is that when we come into the presence of Christ, we do come into the presence of the King but we also come into a reality of tremendous love and comfort. I don’t know if any of you have ever met someone that was a ruler or someone that was truly an authoritative figure but I would bet that if you were to go to the King of England and stand before him, you would feel like you were in the presence of someone really important. You might even be in awe of him and try to show him a great deal of respect. You may even get a little bit emotional but one thing that you may not feel is valued and loved by that person and who could blame the king? He doesn’t know you so why should he? That may be so with an earthly king but that is not so with our King! Yes, we could stand before this King and be totally blown away by who He is and I believe that we will feel that way as we stand before Him but the great beauty of this King is knowing that as we stand before Him, we are standing before someone who knows us better than we know ourselves. We are standing before someone who loves us more than we even love ourselves! We are standing before someone who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross so that you and I would not have to. He is someone that paid the impossible debt that you and I could never pay. As we stand before this King, yes we are in the presence of unlimited power and authority, but we are also in the presence of One that truly loves us. Behold, the loveliness and excellency and beauty of the Lion and the Lamb. He is altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful, He is our beloved and our beloved is ours. Now, how do we apply this into our lives? How does this impact not just our new year but every year of our lives moving forward?

Application

Stand back in Awe

The first thing we must do is stand in awe of our Savior. Today we have begun to behold His loveliness but here is something incredible: we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. I thought about this the other day: In 2013, I preached my first sermon to a bunch of middle schoolers at Calvary Chapel in Lynchburg. Looking back on it, it was awful. One of the greatest pieces of evidence that I have for God’s grace and mercy is that He didn’t strike me down on the spot or tell me to never preach again. For 10 years now I have been preaching, not necessarily full-time, but I have been preaching. In those 10 years I have prepared probably hundreds of sermons and I think maybe 1 or 2 of them have been pretty good. I’m still learning. I’m still in awe. I still love the thrill of the hunt as I study and I still need to remind myself every now and again to take a step back and to just be in awe of my Savior because despite these 10 years that God has graciously given to me, I still don’t know Him as well as I could or should. My cup still overflows with what I don’t know yet and that reality excites me. There is an excitement in knowing my Savior more, just as there is an excitement for a husband to know more about his own wife. I look at my library and I get excited to dive into those books, I get excited to look at my Bible because I know that I will know my Savior better but my knowledge on this earth will never be perfect. But you know what? I want to know more because I’m in awe of the Lord Jesus and I would challenge you to ask whether you are in awe of Him? I’m not impressed by a God that I can totally wrap my head around and understand but I am impressed by a God who reveals Himself to me and leaves me hungry for more.

Weep No More

The second thing I would say to you is that I don’t know what baggage you may be bringing into this year, but I know the One that can carry it for you. I don’t know what heartbreak or heartache you may have this year but allow me to say to you the very words that brought hope to the heart of the Apostle John in Revelation 5: Weep no more. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. I don’t know what this year has in store but I know that I can go into it knowing that my Redeemer lives. I can go into it knowing that I do not have to fear anything because Christ has conquered the grave and that He is over all things and He holds all things together. Look to Jesus and weep no more. If you are here today and you have not been made new by Christ, then you are still in your sins and while you may not be weeping right now, a time will come where you will find yourself in place that is identified as a place filled with weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Have you been born again? Have you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ? There is no other name by which one is saved. If I had to describe the Gospel in one word, I would describe it with the word substitution. Christ was the Lamb that took away the sins of the world. He was and is our substitute and our mediator between God and man. It was God alone who could forgive sin and man alone who must pay for sin and Jesus Christ alone was able to do both simultaneously. Something that hit me really hard the other day that I knew deep down but didn’t necessarily fully grasp was the reality that not only does God want me, it is a joy for Him to have me! The mission of salvation was a priority for our Lord! He must and will have us because the redeemed in Christ are a joy for Him! If you are feeling the weight of your sin today, weep no more because Christ has triumphed where you and I have failed and He offers Himself to you this morning. Start this year off right.

Rejoice

Finally, what are we to do as we come to our sinless Savior? We rejoice! That’s the only appropriate response. Praise, worship, and rejoicing are the natural cries of believers. Let’s end by looking at what happens in Revelation 5:7-13

Revelation 5:7–13 ESV

And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

May that be our heart cry today. May we, with the thousands of thousands cry out worthy to the Lamb who was slain! Let’s go to Him in prayer and as we pray and as we respond, may we all stand in awe of the loveliness of Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.