Why Christ Has All Power Over the Present and Future

Read Colossians 1:19-20 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

Introduction

If there was a time period you could travel to, what would it be?

For me, I really like the medieval ages but I think the classical period of Ancient Rome and Greece would be the one I would like to see.

You see time is fascinating.

It’s so fascinating that there are dozens of movies, and scientific studies about the topic of time.

My favorite movie director: Christopher Nolan directed: Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Tenet

One of my favorite facts about time comes with a saying, ‘the older you are, the faster time flies’.

I personally experienced that.

But there was actually a recent study that proved that this is real.

The study showed that new experiences stay longer in your memory than old ones.

So the older you are, the less new experiences you get, because you are more familiar with everything.

That’s why time feels faster the older you get because you become familiar with everything.

And the reason why time is so interesting is because time is one of Jesus’ glorious creations.

You see before creation, there was no time.

Jesus was already existing in eternity time past.

It wasn’t until Jesus created the world in Genesis 1:1, that time began.

And that’s we talked about last week: why Christ has all power.

Specifically it was Christ having all power over things in the past.

That He eternally existed from eternity past.

That He created everything in eternity past.

But today, we are learning why Christ Has All Power Over the Present and Future.

1. Christ has supreme authority over the new man (v.18)

That’s what Paul says, ‘And He is the head of the body, the church’

What does head mean?

When the Bible talks about being ‘the head’ it means two things.

First, a literal physical head.

Like cutting hair from the head.

Now the head is connected to the body.

And it’s relationship to the body is that it is the command center.

If you’ve ever seen a movie where there on a warship or submarine, and there is one big room with big screens and radars, and a general or admiral giving orders to the crew, that’s a command center.

The rest of the ship and crew function only to follow what the command center says.

When you see a warship, the first thing you notice are the massive guns and jets.

But those massive guns can’t fire, those jets can’t fly, without orders from the command center.

In other words, those guns and jets are useless without the command center.

And it’s the same thing with the head and the body.

The hands and feet cannot move without signals from the brain.

The heart and lungs have no purpose without the head.

The head leads the entire body.

And speaking of leading that’s the second thing that Bible means when it says ‘head’.

The head is the metaphorical leader of another person or group.

That’s why a leader of their family is called ‘head of household’.

And that’s what Paul is calling Christ: the head of the body’

The body referring to the church.

What is the church?

Paul says,

1 Corinthians 12:12 (NKJV)

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

The church are the members united as one.

What are members?

Members also mean parts of the body, such as the hand, foot, arm, etc.

But Paul also says,

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NKJV)

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Members are believers of Christ and make up the church as a whole.

So Paul is saying that Jesus is the head, the command center of the church.

Now, when you want to defeat something, what do people commonly aim for?

People most commonly say, ‘aim for the head’.

Like in a zombie movie!

See when you cut off an arm, or a leg, a person can still live.

But there are zero people that can live with no head.

Even a chicken might still be running for a few moments with its head cut off, but it will die.

So Jesus and His body, the church cannot be separated.

People often wrongly say ‘my body, my choice’.

When they should be saying, ‘Jesus’ body, Jesus’ choice.’

It’s Jesus’ church.

Not my church, not Pastor Mark’s church.

The church belongs to Jesus.

Jesus is the supreme authority in His church.

So when people want to kill the church they aim for the same thing.

They aim for the head.

Now, they can never kill Jesus.

Jesus is the omnipotent, eternal God.

So they aim for the head not by killing Jesus.

But by trying to take His authority of the Church.

Some people are blatantly obvious about it.

In the Catholic Church, the Pope, is the head of the church.

In some megachurches, the celebrity pastor is the head of the church.

They may not say that, but they act like it is.

They have the final say in everything the church does, and they act like dictators.

But most of the time, people take authority from Jesus in much more subtle ways.

They subtly add traditions or sayings in church that you have to follow.

Things Jesus never said such as: ‘be a good person, or being a Christian is only about coming to church on Sunday’.

That outside of Sunday, they act no different than unbelievers.

‘I did my time on Sunday, now I can enjoy sin the rest of the week’.

Students, Jesus is the supreme authority in His church, not the people in it.

Test everything you see people do, or hear people say, with Jesus’ Word in the Bible.

Test everything even what I say, and what the other pastors say with the word of Jesus.

John 10:27 (NKJV)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Follow the voice of Jesus, and not man, who is the supreme authority over the church.

Now Jesus doesn’t only have supreme authority over the church.

He also has supreme authority over the present age, and those who rise from the dead.

That’s what Paul says, ‘who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead’.

Just like Paul said in in v.17, ‘he is before all things’,

Paul combining ‘the beginning and firstborn’ means Jesus eternally existed before all who will rise from the dead and has supreme authority over those who rise from the dead as well.

It also means that Jesus’ resurrection began an age of the resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection began the beginning of a new age.

We live in the age of the resurrection.

All historians used to use B.C. and A.D. and some still use it today.

So we live in 2023 A.D.

A.D. is latin for anno domini which means the year of our Lord.

Even unbelievers recognize that Jesus’ resurrection changed the world forever.

That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 4:17

Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus brought in the age of the kingdom of heaven, where he rules in the hearts of those who repent and believe in Him.

Where he transforms people, Paul says, Colossians 3:10

Colossians 3:10 (NKJV)

and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

People whose lives have completely changed and you’ve seen and know have changed.

Jesus has supreme authority over them, the new man: the church.

Whether it’s the new man, believers in the church growing, or the new man when Jesus gives us new perfect bodies in the resurrection, Jesus has supreme authority over the new creation.

And He is spreading His kingdom through us sharing the gospel with people we know,

It’s up to you students, whether you want to be a part of it or not.

God doesn’t need you, you need Him.

He’s simply inviting you to be a part of His kingdom mission.

How exactly can I be a part of His kingdom mission?

Start by becoming a member, so you can learn your spiritual gifts, and officially serve Jesus’ church.

And this is why Jesus has supreme authority over the present and future because Paul ends the verse saying ‘that in all things He may have the preeminence.’

Meaning that Jesus being the supreme authority in the church and the supreme authority over the age of the resurrection, means He is truly the supreme authority and above literally everything.

Jesus being supreme authority over creation, the creator, the supreme authority in the church and the resurrection means Jesus has all power over the present and future.

This is Jesus’ time, and His kingdom is here, and He is reigning over all.

Give honor, praise, and glory alone to Jesus Christ alone!

That’s our first point: Christ has supreme authority over the new man.

2. Christ is restoring His creation (v.19-20)

Look at v.19, ‘ For it pleased the Father’

Pleasing God is no small feat.

Look at 1 Corinthians 10:5

1 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)

But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

In this verse, Paul was referring to the Israelites in the wilderness whom God was taking to the promised land after freeing them from slavery in Egypt.

But because of their rebellious ways, God punished them by making them wait 40 years in the wilderness.

And only 2 people from that generation entered the promised land: Joshua and Caleb.

Because God was not pleased with that generation, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

On the other hand, God was fully pleased to dwell in Jesus.

That’s what Paul says in the rest of the sentence, look, ‘For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell’

Paul was repeating what the Old Testament said in Psalm 68:16

Psalm 68:16 (NKJV)

Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?

This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.

The mountain the psalmist was talking about, is the temple mount.

The temple mount was also called the holy of holies where God dwelt, and the high priest would enter only once a year to make a sacrifice for his sins and the sins of the people.

Paul is saying just like God dwelt only in the temple mount, God dwells in Jesus completely.

That’s what Jesus said in John 4:21

John 4:21 (NKJV)

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 4:23 (NKJV)

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

What Jesus was saying to the Samaritan woman, that worship will no longer be based on location but will be solely based in Jesus alone.

Because Jesus has the fullness of God dwelling in Him.

In other words, Paul is saying, that Jesus has power over all, because Jesus is fully God.

You will never find true fulfillment and satisfaction in fun: having a good time playing games or eating out.

You will never find true fulfillment in music.

You will never find true fulfillment in how many likes you get on social media.

You will never find true fulfillment in a boyfriend or girlfriend.

As much as anime talks about the power of friendship, you will never find true fulfillment in friendships.

You won’t even find true fulfillment in having a perfect relationship with your family.

I myself, have made this grave mistake.. testimony

You can only find true fulfillment in Jesus.

Because only Jesus has the fullness of God.

All these other things do not have the fullness of God in them.

Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV)

“For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

All these other things can never satisfy because they continue to leak.

They are always empty.

But Jesus is never empty.

He is the fountain of living waters that never runs dry.

Drink from Jesus.

He has all power because the fullness of God is in Him.

And because Jesus is not just a man, but truly and fully God, He is able to reconcile all things to Himself.

That’s what Paul says in v.20, ‘and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him’

But why does Jesus have to reconcile all things to Himself?

First, we have to understand what reconciliation means.

Reconciliation simply means restored relationship.

You say something mean to your friend, and they get mad, and you both stop talking for a while.

But when you both reconcile, you start talking again, and you both are happy to talk to each other again.

So in order to reconcile, there must first be a broken relationship.

So for Jesus to reconcile all things it means that everything has a broken relationship with Jesus.

That’s why people always ask, ‘how can God exist when my mom has cancer or when there is war and destruction in the world?

And the answer is that Jesus will use all the evil in the world that is going on for good.

And also, Jesus will restore all the corruption and evil in the world.

Not just reconcile sinners and Jesus.

But reconcile everything.

From the corrupted governments, to the corrupted ground where thorns come from.

From anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder to knee injuries.

Even peanut allergies!

You see, Jesus is not only interested in restoring the relationship between God and man, but He is also interested in restoring the relationship between God and nature.

That’s why Paul says, ‘whether things on earth or things in heaven’

God and creation.

Jesus cares about His universe, His stars, His galaxies, His earth, His waters, and His grass.

His animals.

Every time I drive around here, I always see an animal laying dead on the road.

I’ve seen it all!

Raccoons, squirrels, some deer.

Foxes.

And I’ve even seen a cat this week dead on the road.

Jesus cares about those dead animals.

You see Jesus has power over all things in the present and future because He is restoring His creation.

Whenever you see something wrong in the world, realize that Jesus is going to fix it.

He’s going to restore it.

He’s already doing it by starting with believers.

But when He returns He will restore everything.

So trust in Jesus when you see corruption and evil in the world.

Instead of doubting Him, trust that He will restore whatever evil or corruption you see.

Don’t trust in politics by becoming a political warrior or take vengeance into your own hands.

When you look at nature, God’s creation, praise Him.

Creation, the physical world is good.

Christianity is not all about the spiritual but also the physical.

God created both the soul and the body.

And God called it good!

Don’t seek to be free from the physical world or the body because it is good.

Seek to be in Christ and be part of His beautiful creation.

Because Christ is restoring His creation.

Because He has all power over the Present and Future.

He is restoring His creation today through the hearts of believers and restoring His creation in the future with new bodies and a restored earth.

He has power over what is happening to you today (the present) and what will happen to you in the future.

But how did Jesus accomplish reconciliation between Him and all things?

Paul answers by concluding, ‘having made peace’

See the reason God is not pleased with man is because of sin.

And because of sin there is no peace between God and man.

Because according to God’s law sin must be punished with blood, aka your eternal soul.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

For the wages of sin is death,

So because Jesus is fully God, He decided to take on human flesh so that He can pay our fine for sinning to God for us.

He did this as Paul said, ‘through the blood of His cross.’

Jesus being fully God died on the cross so that anyone who believes in Him would be saved from God’s wrath.

That’s why the rest of the verse of Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you are hear listening today and you do not know Christ as savior, God is offering you a free gift of eternal life.

If you realize that it is impossible for you to please God because of your sin and recognize that Jesus accomplished the only way of salvation through the blood of His cross, and put nothing, not your works, but your faith alone in Jesus Christ, you will be saved today.

How do you accept a free gift?

Just take it!

Come and take the free gift of salvation Jesus Christ is offering you today.

If you do not accept, you will pay for your sin yourself for eternity.

Because Jesus has all power over the present and future.

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says,

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Jesus Christ owns time.

He has a plan and purpose for everything for good in His time.

Trust Jesus with His timing in the world and in your life.

Because nothing can fill the heart but the all powerful, eternal Jesus.

Let’s pray.