The Center of It All

Well good morning. It’s great to be here with you all today. If you have a bible go ahead and turn with me to the book of Colossians. Colossians chapter 1 is where we’re going to be today. If we haven’t met, my name’s Chase and I serve as the Lead Pastor here at The Corners.

And while you’re turning to Colossians, can we give it up for our first time guests this morning! We’re glad you’re here. And for our elementary Corners Kids in the room this morning! We’re glad you’re in here with us this morning too.

This morning I want us to read the first 23 verses of Colossians 1, although we’re only really gonna to focus on verses 15-17 today.

But let me just set the context for you real quick. The book of Colossians was a letter that was written by the Apostle Paul to the young church in Colossae, which is in modern-day Turkey...and let me tell you about Colossae real quick...This was a diverse town, and there were a whole bunch of cultures together...and with that came a whole bunch of worldviews and religious perspectives.

And in the middle of all of this, this guy named Epaphras who’s from Colossae encounters the good news of Jesus, we don’t know exactly how...but he hears the gospel, he becomes a believer...and he goes back and plants a church in Colossae.

But people even in the church still had all sorts of mixed religious ideas about Jesus and about God, and so fast forward a couple years....and Epaphras ends up in prison with Paul. Right, Paul is always getting arrested for talking about Jesus...and I guess the same thing happened to Epaphras...and so while they’re in prison...or I think they’re actually under house arrest at this time...he tells Paul about the problems he’s having in the Colossian church, and so Paul writes a letter to the Colossian church to help clarify some of their misunderstandings...and so that’s what we’re about to read.

So...if you’re able and willing, lets stand for the reading of God’s word from the book of Colossians.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

And then, here we go, these are the verses I want us to key in on this morning.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 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, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

This is the Word of the Lord.

PRAY

Well, a few weeks ago, I showed a picture of my son Hezekiah and talked about his t-ball debut...and Ada, my daughter, said next time you have to show a picture of me...so let me start by showing this picture from our time in Mozambique last year at a park.

Alright, so they’re having fun...who can tell me what this is?

- See-Saw/Tetter Totter

Okay who can tell me what this part is called? Anybody know? A Fulcrum.

That’s the thing it hingest on. Sometimes it’s a trinagle, or a bar...right? On its own, this whole thing is just a long board. But in the middle, when there’s a fulcrum that the board balances on then it becomes a seesaw.

Without the fulcrum, the seesaw doesn’t work. You can’t lift anything. You can’t move anything. But if the board is resting on a fulcrum, then something amazing happens, right? Suddenly, even a little kid on one end can lift something much heavier on the other end. That’s how levers work, right? When you have a fulcrum...you can lift things you might not be able to do on your own. You can do things that are impossible without the fulcrum.

Here’s what I want you know this morning.... Jesus is the fulcrum of the Christian faith—the point everything balances on...everything turns on...Without Him, everything falls flat....without him there is no meaning or purpose to life...But with Him at the center of our lives...everything changes. Life makes sense. Life has purpose. But only when Jesus is at the center.

And just like if you move the fulcrum from this seesaw... the whole system falls apart. If we move Jesus from the center of our faith, we lose everything.

And so...in order to make sure Jesus is at the center, we have to truly understand who Jesus is. Like, is he just a guy who lived and had some great ideas about love and peace, or is there something much more to Him...that’s at the center of the problems that the church in Colossae were having. (pause) They didn’t really know who Jesus was.

Well, we as a church are in a series called The Creed...and what we’re doing, is we’re examining tanhis ancient document called the Nicene Creed, to understand what it tells us about Jesus. Right, like we saw in the bumper video, exactly 1700 years ago this year, a group of people came together to examine the scriptures and answer the question “What Does the Bible tell sus about Jesus?”

Remember, there was this guy named Arius...going around saying no Jesus wasn’t fully God...in fact there was a time Jesus didn’t exist...he was created by God...and other people – like Saint Nicholas...like Augustine...and like my boy Athanasius that I’m wearing on my shirt this morning...were on the other side like...no....that’s not true Jesus is fully God!!

And so they called this Council, called the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, and said we’re gonna get to the bottom of this. Who...was...Jesus.

And we said a few weeks ago, that this wasn’t just an ancient problem, but this is the question people are still wrestling with today both inside and outside the church. Who Was Jesus?

Well the result of the Council was the Jesus wasn’t created...he was and is equally God with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit...they’re all God...even though we can’t fully wrap our minds around it....but it’s true. And so the question we need to ask...because I don’t want you just take my word for it...or just trust the Creed...but when we look at what the Bible says...How do we really know that Jesus is God? And maybe an even bigger question for us today is why is the Divinity of Jesus the fulcrum of our faith? Why is this essential, and foundational to our belief as Christians?

That’s what I want to try and answer today...and I want to use Colossians 1:15-17 as our guide...and here’s our outline for this morning. I want to look at What the Bible Teaches, What the Creed Articulates, and What this means for you. Okay, I don’t want this just to be a theology lesson...I really want us to leave here today, understanding and hearing what this means for us collectively and individually.

Okay, so with that said, lets start with what the Bible teaches...and I want to point out three truths the bible teaches.

- Booklets

Okay, so what does the bible teach, well here’s our first point today, and we’ve already said it, but I want to show what Colossians says about it, here it is....The Bible teaches us that Jesus is fully God. (repeat) Again, as Christians we don’t believe that Jesus was just a demi-God like Hercules in Greek mythology. As Christians we don’t believe that he was just a good guy. No, we believe he was and is fully and completely God!

Look with me again at Colossians 1 verse 15...it says 15 He talking about Jesus...and he says he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Okay, there’s so much in just this one verse...this whole section, verses 15 through 23 of Colossians 1, we’re just gonna scrape the surface, but this is one of the...highest – Christological...or explaining the nature of Christ...this is one of the most highest exaulting sections in the whole Bible. (pause) Okay, we’ll look at some verses from John 1 and Hebrews 1 in a second which are also some of the highest Christological sections in the whole Bible....but Colossians 1:15-23...some scholars say this section was even a song...a hymn the early church would sing. Okay, so this is huge...(pause) But what’s it mean.

Well catch this...when it says...talking about Jesus...that he’s the image of the invisible God...what this is saying is that he is the invisible God in visible form. Okay..we’ll look at some other passages in just a seond, but let me say this to help us.

If you’ve ever met my mother in law, people say all the time that she looks just like Amanda....or that Amanda looks just like her. Okay, there’s pictures at our house...and people will see them and it’s a picture of Amanda and her mom, and they’ll be like is that your sister...you guys look like twins.

Many of you, I’m sure have similar stories of parents, or your children, or even siblings when people are like you guys look alike. But no one would think you’re the exact same person.

Right, that doesn’t even make sense.

But do you remember in John chapter 10 when Jesus is celebrating Hanukah in the temple...he’s in there....actually....we got a long way to go still, but this is so important turn to John 10 if you have a Bible...this is crazy....John 10 verse 22

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Do you see what he’s saying!! He’s telling them...I’m not just the Messiah...I am....but I’m God!! I don’t just look like Him...i am Him! And the Jews know exaxctly what he’s saying because look at what they so in verse 31.

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Do you see how big this is!! (pause) People who attack the divinity of Jesus will say...oh that’s just something Paul made up....or even more...they’ll say you’re just misrepresenting Paul. He said Jesus was just LIKE God...because he said he’s an image of God...he just looks like God! (pause) No...that might sound good and all...untill you realize that the people who HATED Jesus...the people who KILLED Jesus...they didn’t do it because they didn’t like his teachings about love and peace and justice....they did it because they knew that he was claiming to be fully God!!!

Back to Colossians 1.... He is the image...the physical representation...and manifestation...of the invisible God!

Still not convinced? Well what about in chapter 2 verse 9.... For in Christ all the FULLNESS of the Deity lives in bodily form! The FULLNESS!! We could stop there, but let me give you a couple more.

Hebrews 1:3 says The Son (Jesus) is the radiance of God’s glory and the EXACT representation of his being,

Really Hebrews 1....this whole message could have come out of Hebrews 1. (pause) Because like Colossians 1...the whole chapter’s about the deity and the supremacy of Jesus! That the angels cant even grasp in totality the majesty of Jesus, which is a truth we’re about to sing about when we’re done.

And then lastly, John 1. Another chapter rich with truths we’ll never fully grasp...it says in verse 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory...

Again...we can’t see God...but when we see Jesus we see God....because he is God in the flesh...and so when we see Jesus, we see the glory of God! (pause) Does your mind hurt yet?

Well lets go deeper...back to Colossians 1...We’re getting into some deep Christology today...elementary students, I know this hard to understand...but I’m glad you’re here. Let me ask you a question....actually this is for everybody...raise your hand if you are the first born in your family....if you’re the oldest!

Okay, so check this out....we’ve already seen that Jesus is the image of God...and that that shows he’s fully God. (pause) But then it says he’s the first born of creation. (pause) And so...some people see this, and they’re like....this must be saying he was the first being created by God!

Right, this was the accusation by Arius that caused the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD which gave birth to this Creed, right? And we said a few weeks ago, this is still something people say today – That Jesus was the first and highest being createdby God! (pause) So, what do we do with this verse if we don’t believe that, well let me quickly point out three words that help us understand what’s being said.

First...the word first born in the bible doesn’t always mean the oldest...sometimes it refers to one who has been choose or given special distinction. Okay, for example...David...in Psalm 89 verse 27 God says he will make David his first born. (pause) But if you know David’s story he was the youngest. Okay, that’s just one example....firstborn in a biblical context doesn’t always mean the oldest. Second...this word of....”Of” can have a bunch of meanings in English...and one of them is to show seperation...like watch this...Pastor Valmir is a coach...And so if he says hey “I’m Valmir, I’m the coach of this high school team” you know he’s not playing on the team...he’s the coach OF the team...there’s a distinction.

Jesus is the first born...which means he’s got a special distinction...and he’s set a apart from or OVER all creation...but third word...is the very next word after this verse...FOR.

See...when people bring up verse 15 and try and say...look Jesus was created....you gotta say look at the context!! Look at the surrounding verses!! And when you do that...it becomes clear that Jesus is not simply a created being...but that he is set apart from creation, and even more that he is over it because look at verse 16.

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.

Brothers and sisters I know this is heady stuff....but this is so important....and we’ll get to why this matters in a moment....but this is the fulcrum....the center of our faith...that Jesus was and is fully God...and that he wasn’t created...which is our second point of what the Bible teaches us. JESUS WAS NOT CREATED, HE IS THE CREATOR. (reapt)

Now let me make one more quick observation from this text, and then we’ll quickly look at the Creed. We’ve already seen that it says that Jesus was not created....that he created all...but look at verse 17. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

See...I think sometimes we can read that Jesus is God and that he’s the creator...and we just think...okay well that was a long time ago. (pause) Doug Fuhry did an amazing job a couple weeks ago reminding us that God is the creator....and about the complexity of the universe...that this couldn’t have just happened by random chance....there has to be a creator... but I think sometimes what we forget is that He didn’t just create everything....but he sustains it! Like....friends don’t just let this be an intellectual stimulant...let this lead you to worship...every breath you take is only possible because every day...every minute...every millisecond...Jesus is sustaining you’re existence!! In him all things hold together!!

Which leads to the final truth from scripture. JESUS IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING.

Okay, so we’ll come back to that truth in our final point, but let’s look quickly at how the Creed articulates these truths. Because again, the whole purpose of this particular council from which this Creed came was to figure out who is Jesus! And that’s why when you look at the Creed...like if you have the booklet and you just open to the creed, you’ll see the longest section is the section on what we believe about Jesus! And we’re not gonna work through that whole part today, we’ll come back to it next week...but lets just look at these first six lines.

Okay...first it says We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ...okay, pretty straight forward...but I think it’s important to remember...Christ isn’t just Jesus’ last name, right? “Christ” is a declaration that we believe him to be the savior...the one promised and prophesied about from the biggening of the bible. Okay, so when we say “We believe in one lord, Jesus Christ...we’re saying...we believe Jesus wasn’t just a guy, but he is the Lord...he is God....but then look at the next line... the Creed reminds us that Jesus is the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father.

Now...here’s the age old question....how is Jesus fully God...and the Son of God...and even more than that...what does begotten mean. If it doesn’t meant created...then what’s it mean?

Well...let me throw this graphic back up...this is the most helpful graphic I’ve seen of the Trinity...because what this shows is that the Christian God is ONE GOD...like we declare in the Creed...we believe God is that the ONE God we worship consists of three distinct persons that are distinct in role. (pause) So the Father is not the Son...the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father...but all three are God.

So catch this...the Father didn’t die on the cross...and the Spirit didn’t die on the cross...right, sometimes we get this mixed up when we pray and we say things like Father thank you for coming as a baby...no, that was the Son. Okay...I know this is confusing...but follow me...the names the Father, the Son, and the Spirit...and words like begotten are not made up in the Creed...but given to us in the Bible!

John 3:16....for God so loved the World that he sent who...his only begotten son...and so this part of the Creed is simply reminding us...the bible says God the Father sent the son....and that the son was begotten...but that he wasn’t made.

And we’ll see the same thing later in the section on the Holy Spirit...that the bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father...but when we says he proceeds from the Father and the Son...what’s that mean...if He wasn’t made...than how’s he proceed from? And if Jesus wasn’t made then how’s he begotten? I have no idea. And I don’t think we can!

I love this quote from a 4th century church father called Gregory of Nazianas or Gregory the Theologian...

You explain the ingeneracy [self-existence] of the Father and I will give you a biological account of the Son's begetting and the Spirit's proceeding—and let us go mad the pair of us for prying into God’s secrets.

So there’s some things we just can’t and won’t understand...but the Creed tried to articulate it some how...and so...here’s what it says...(pause) Jesus is...God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God...okay so that’s the attempt to articulate that he’s begotten....but then its like the people at the council want to say one more time, remember he’s not created!! And so the next line says again...begotten not made!

And then this next line.....if you forget every single line from the Creed....there’s two lines I hope you remember...because this is the heart of it all...this is what the Nicene controversy with Arius centered around and this is at the heart of everything we believe...one...Jesus was begotten not made...everybody say begotten not made. Begotten not made.

And then this line right here....I can’t overstate how important this is...the Creed states that Jesus is of one being...or some English translations of the Creed say “of the same substance...or of the same essence with the father.”

Okay...stick with me...we’re almost out of the weeds...this is was fulcrum of the Council of Nicea right here. And I won’t get into the Greek words....but I want you to know...the debates about this line right here came down to one Greek letter. Because the Arians were claiming that Jesus was of a similar substance to the Father...and the other church fathers were like no...he’s of the same...substance...or essence...or being...and the differene between of a similar...and of the same...it came down to one Greek letter.

And actually...I think the phrase of the same essence of the same substance is more helpful to understand what they were getting at even though that’s not the one I went with in the booklet...and the reason I think that’s the case is because this is the Creed’s way of trying to get to not just the nature of God...but the make up of God! Okay, my professor in seminary said what they’re actually saying is that Jesus is of the same God stuff...as God the father!

You can’t say he’s made up of it because he’s not made...but just like all of us in this room are made of cells...and ligaments, and bones, and DNA...we can say we’ve got the same human stuff...that’s what makes us all fully human...God the Father...and God the Son have the same God stuff.

Athanasies said it a little better. When he wrote this. Again, he was one of the key leaders in church history to help us in our articulation of the trinity and the divinity of Jesus. Here’s what he said.

“(Christ) is not different in kind, as if he were something foreign and dissimilar...that is mixed in with the essence of the Father...But if the Son is Word, Wisdom, Image of the Father, and Radiance, then it follows reasonably that he is ‘one in essence.’”

Again...if you remember nothing else from the Creed...these two lines...

And then lastly, the Creed states again what we saw in Colossians 1...that It’s through Jesus that all things were made.

Okay take a deep breath...you guys still with me? We’ve seen that the bible tells us that Jesus is fully God...that he wasn’t created, but he created everything...and that he’s in control of all...we looked at how the Nicene Creed articulates that. Lastly...what does this mean for us.

Because, the purpose of these services isn’t just to come and hear some historical facts or even just to hear theological truth...but to know how we can apply it, and how it can transform our lives. And it what I don’t want is for you to leave here today like okay I think I understand what it means that Jesus is begotten not made or true God from true God...but I don’t know what to do with that. Id rather have you say I have no idea what that means...but heres why trusting in it brings me peace. Okay, so let me end with three straightforward ways this should really transform our hearts and our lives.

Number 1. OUR ETERNAL HOPE HINGES ON THIS. We’re gonna get into this more next week, but the next line in the Creed is for us and for our Salvation...and then it talks about everything Jesus did. And what we need to understand is that Jesus had to be fully God and fully man for us to be saved. Like, for us to have a guaranteed hope that we’ll spend eternity with God after we die, Jesus had to be fully God and fully man. And the reason, is because our sin debt had to be paid by a man. Right...the reason we need a savior is because we all sin...every one of us...we violate God’s law which says we have to be perfect...and the Bible tells us that the wages...or the payment for sin...is death...and so there needed to be a human...to pay the penalty we owed....but only God could live the perfect life required to defeat death!

So both Jesus’ humanity and divinity are crucial to giving us eternal hope!

But that hope isn’t just for eternity...because 2. OUR PRESENT HOPE HINGES ON THIS as well!

If we had time, we could look at the end of Colossians 1...where Paul...after just marveling at Christ’s preeminence and divinity says...hey because of all of this I can suffer for your sake! Remember he’s in prison. And Paul...he suffered more than most of us can imagine and would ultimately pay the ultimate price for it....but he could still have hope in this life because of what he believed to be true about Jesus!

- Pastor Josh Perria Story!

And he said, I don’t even like talking about the story because I want people’s attention to be solely on Jesus, not on me!! Where can this hope come from? It comes from knowing that the God we serve...the God we believe in is not distant...and while he’s beyond our compression and understanding...what we can understand is that he became like us...felt our pain...and without losing any of his divinity, laid down his life for us so that we could spend eternity with him forever...and that future hope can give us hope now in whatever we go through.

Are you or a loved one hurting or battling some sickness or hardship? Are you experiencing hardship at work or in a relationship? Are you feeling like you’re in a season of wanting to be out of whatever season you’re in? The God who made everything knows your pain.

But here’s what you have to know...and with this we’ll be done.

3. THIS HOPE IS ONLY FOR US IF WE TRUST WHOLLY IN THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS.

Look one more time at Colossians 1

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 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, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith...

What does that mean? He’s not talking about losing your salvation...we’ve talked about that in the past...Paul knows you can’t lose your salvation...No, the only way you can continue in the faith is if you are in the faith to begin with...so in other words, what he’s saying here is that the only way you can have hope that this reconciliation that provides hope now and forever...is yours is if you’re in the faith. And brothers and sisters...what the whole council of Nicaea was about...was about...what showing us that...part of being in the faith...part of Orthodox Christianity is fully recognizing and trusting wholly in both the divinity and the humanity of Jesus.

Being a Christian isn’t about following rules...and it’s not even about being able to understand all of what we’ve talked about....it’s about surrendering your life to Jesus and saying I believe your name is above every other...and I want to live for you!

Have you done that? Personally...not your parents? Have you done that...Can you say with the writers of the Creed, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If not, let today be the day.

We’re going to sing...

But first lets read the Creed together.