Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up2 (1)

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word waas God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”—John 1:1-3

The “Word” here is “Log-os”, which means “spoken Word.” Jesus was and is to us the “spoken Word of God.”

God creates and speaks to man through the Word.

Just as we express our thoughts in words, so God reveals his will by the Word, and when the Word is clothed in flesh, as the Teacher of men, we recognize it as Jesus Christ.

Matthew Henry writes: The plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal God the Father's mind to the world.

The Apostle John clearly asserts His existence in the beginning; His coexistence with the Father. The Word was with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made, from the highest angel to the meanest worm.

The light of reason, as well as the life of sense, is derived from him, and depends upon him.

So, keeping that in mind let’s recap:

Saw last time that there is a very real apostasy taking place in much of the western church. Belief in the inerrancy of scripture, the virgin birth, and other cornerstones of Christian belief are being rejected by many mainline churches.

Then we looked at the Colossal Christ of Colossians.

Jesus asked His disciples two questions: who the crowd believed Him to be. Who they—His own disciples—believed Him to be. He cared what they believed about Him! It mattered!

So, we saw that He is the image of the invisible God—a precise reproduction. “He that has seen me has seen the Father.”—John 14:9

Next, we saw that Jesus had no beginning. When the Bible calls Him the “firstborn over all creation” it does not mean that He had a beginning like you and me. It means that He was the first and only “begotten” of the Father.

The Bible says that Jesus was God wrapped in flesh. Therefore, He had no beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—John 1

In a confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus said:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”

At that point they picked up stones to throw at him.

But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.”—John 8:56-60

Next, the Colossal Christ of Colossians is:

The “holder-together” of the entire created order.

“…and by Him all things consist.”

“Consist” means “to cohere.” Put simply:

Jesus Christ is the reason the universe is a cosmos and not a chaos.

The creation is held together by His Word!

The book of Hebrews says:

“He is the sole expression of the glory of God, and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature, upholding (carrying, bearing up) and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.”—Heb.1:3

For instance, the principle of gravity, which keeps all things fixed and in their place,

and regulates the motions of things moving, is an expression of His mind.

Peter explains this further by reaching back to the beginning:

“For they (the scoffers) willfully overlook and forget this [fact], that the heavens [came into] existence long ago by the word of God, and the earth also which was formed out of water and by means of water, Through which the world that then [existed] was deluged with water and perished.

7But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been stored up (reserved) for fire, being kept (layed up as one might keep a treasure) until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.”—2 Pet. 3:5-8

So, the universe is at this very moment being held together by the Word of Christ! He really does have the whole world in His hands.

Next, Jesus was Creator of all things:

Nothing was created apart from Him

“All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”—Jn. 1:3

“By” is a preposition meaning “the channel of an act.” Jesus was the channel through which God made all things.

All of creation flowed through Him. His will, thoughts, and creativity all were involved. He worked in cooperation with the Father.

He was not a tool, as an artist would use a brush. He was the eye through which the artist saw.

Jesus was involved, not as a subordinate instrument, but as a co-ordinate, cooperating agent. Without him was not anything made that was made, from the highest angel to the smallest worm. From the giant mountains to the tiniest atomic structure, God the Father did nothing without him in that work.

Hebrews says again:

“And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.”—Heb. 1:2

And of course, this testimony of the Lord Jesus’ involvement in creation states emphatically that our universe was created ex nihilo—something out of nothing—by the Word of God.

Next, Jesus is:

The Head of the church

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.”

He is the same to the Church as the head is to the body, that is to say, the prince and governor of it, and the very beginning of true life.

And as the Head, He knows exactly what is taking place within the church—down to intimate details.

In John’s Revelation, we find Jesus speaking to the church in Ephesus these words:

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”—Rev. 2:2-4

We also find that Jesus is the final arbiter over whether a church is allowed to continue as a church.

“If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”—vs. 5

To remove the lampstand would mean the church would cease to exist. This warning has been chillingly fulfilled in the case of Ephesus.

Not one vestige of the church remains, and the city itself is nothing but smoldering ruins.

This warning is addressed to every church which has lost its first love. Unless it repents, and does its first works, its lampstand will finally be removed from its place.

Jesus is the head of His church! Without His approval the body cannot function. Without His smile the church cannot flourish and prosper. Without His help the church can do nothing.

Finally:

He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.

Jesus is the first-born from the dead. He first conquered death, and not for himself alone, but for the great company of those found in him who have been born from the dead.

What does this mean?

By virtue of being "the first-born from the dead," Jesus is "the first-fruits" of the new creation among men, the Head of the Church.

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation (a new species of being never before seen).”

Jesus was the beginning of a new paragraph in the story of mankind.

He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

Paul continues in 1 Cor. 15:

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”—1 Cor. 15:20-23

“So,” says Paul concerning the Colossal Christ of Colossians, “he is first in everything.”—1:18

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