Jesus: God who Saves

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds expressed in your evil actions. But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

v.13 - God the Father has RESCUED us! from EVIL and given us citizenship in a new kingdom of His Son.

v.14 - In Christ we see the justice of God in our redemption, and the mercy of God in our forgiveness of sins.

v.15 - Image here means manifestation, Jesus brought the very presence and essence of God to earth.

Think of Adam being made in the image of God, but no images of God were allowed to be made.

Jesus is no idol, he is the real deal AND he bears the image of God in his humanity. Jesus is fully God and fully man.

v.16 - God is the architect of creation, Jesus is the foreman creation, and the Spirit is the worker of creation.

All of creation is FOR Jesus, so Jesus cares about the earth and all of the life on it

v.17 - Jesus holds all of creation together, it’s order that is undistorted by sin is found in Him.

v.18 - He is ruler over everything, the church, life, creation, and everything else.

v.19 - Jesus is fully God giving him the ability to be the great reconciler by the cross to ALL of creation, seen and unseen.

v.20 - Before Christ, we were foreigners who lived completely against God’s will and purposes.

v.21 - By Christ’s sacrifice, He makes us what we are not.

v.22 - Our station with God is conditional on our faith.

v.23 - The gospel is for everyone.

Body

What did Jesus do?

Satisfied the JUSTICE of God, and provided the MERCY of God.

What did Jesus do for creation?

Revealed God to creation

Rules over creation

Redeems creation

Reconciles creation

What did Jesus do for you?

Taken you from foreigner to family

Have you ever felt distant from God? What does it mean to you to know that Jesus wants to bridge that gap?

Taken you from hostile to holy

Have you ever been hostile to God? What does it mean to you to know that Jesus wants to present you BLAMELESS to God?

What does Jesus require of you?

Faith

Conclusion

What does all of this information mean for you? What can you do with it?

Jesus was not just a guy who walked the earth 2,000 years ago, He is the FOREMAN of all of creation! Everything was made through Him and for Him.

Jesus, despite His creator power and might, humbled Himself to be born like us, to grow like us, to struggle like us, and to die on the cross for us. The creator of the heavens and the earth experienced death FOR YOU.

By your faith in Him, Jesus transforms you from and enemy of God to a son or daughter in His family.

Response

What has God taught you tonight? How are you growing in your understanding of who He is and what He has done?