Jesus, the Divine Creator

Introduction:

When you think about Jesus, what comes to your mind? I want to call out a few words and I want you to think about which of these words best communicates what you think of when you think of Jesus.

Friend

Brother

Love

Meek

Compassion

Lord

God

Sovereign

Powerful

Angry

Warrior

Wrath

Judge

Creator

If you listened to these words, there was probably a word or two that you really liked best to describe Jesus.

What words do you think most people would use to describe Jesus from this list?

What is the least likely word from this list that you think people would use to describe Christ?

There are a lot of people out there who believe that Jesus was person, that Jesus was a good man, that Jesus loves us, and even perhaps that Jesus is in some way divine. However, there are also a lot of false beliefs about Jesus, and many of these false beliefs fall short of exalting Christ to the rightful position that He deserves and realizing that Jesus is not just love, but that He also possesses all of the divine attributes of the Godhead. He is holy, righteous, and just. He will punish sin. He isn’t just meek and mild. He is a warrior that will judge the living and the dead and will give recompense to the wicked and will send people to Hell for their sins who do not trust on Him for salvation.

Tonight, by the time we finish, I hope you will leave here in worship of Christ and with a high view of Who our Savior is!

Read Text. Pray.

Last week we looked at the first part of our passage, and we noticed two things.

1. Jesus is the Image of God (v.15)

Jesus is the exact imprint of the nature of God. Jesus said in to Philip when asked to show the Father to the disciples,

John 14:9 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

4:9

This is not to be taken to mean that Jesus is the Father. It doesn’t mean that God wears different hats at different times and comes as the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit. No! God is one God existing simultaneously as one essence in three Persons. He is one What in three Whos. The Son is not the Father and not the Holy Spirit. But He is God. So when Jesus says that when we have seen Him we have seen the Father, he is echoing these other passages that tell us Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature. He shares all of the attributes of God, which includes his love, patience, mercy, and love; but also includes His wrath, anger toward sin, and holiness.

The second thing we studied is that

2. Jesus is the Creator (v.16)

We studied that Jesus was the agent of Creation. God spoke. The Spirit worked. And Jesus made. Jesus is the Word of God. We can listen in on the divine conversation between the members of the Godhead in as God says, “Let us make man in our own image.” If you talk like that to yourself, you will be locked up. That’s because personal pronouns matter. You aren’t us, we, our. You are I, my, and me - unless you are one God in three Persons.

We also made a note that when the Bible says that Jesus is the firstborn of creation, this doesn’t mean that Jesus was created as the first being as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe. It speaks of the right of the firstborn like that of Esau. It is speaking of Jesus preeminence as the first place in creation, because all things were created by Him .

As says,

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He goes on to say,

:9-12

John 1:9–13 ESV

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Remember that all things can be tricky. It means....all things. If Jesus was a created thing, he could not have created all things. Nothing can self-generate. So we don’t believe the universe is eternal. It didn’t, nor could it, create itself. It was created by Someone that is eternal, that is God. God is the self-existent, eternal, triune God, who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But tonight, let’s turn to three other truths about Christ that we want to study tonight. Now, remember that God is setting straight the false teachings that have crept in to Colossae where they were syncretizing Judaism, Christianity, and gnostic teaching.

The first thing tonight we want to see is:

3. Jesus is Preeminent Creation (v.17)

We already saw how Jesus is the Creator, but now we want to see that He is actually Lord, or Master of it.

I have said this before, but it should be repeated enough until it is ingrained in our minds, that Lord means King. It means sovereign. Christianity is not a democracy. The world we live in may have different forms of rule and authority, but it is borrowed rule and authority. Do NOT mistake this point. Jesus does NOT share His rule with anyone! He is completely sovereign!

Listen to

Psalm 2

Psalm 2 ESV

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

This is what Paul means when he says that Jesus is before all things. He is preeminent. He is first in position and authority.

But look at the second aspect of what it means to be Lord of Creation. He is the one holding all things together.

Scientists have discovered that things are made up of atoms and these atoms have electrons and protons and neutrons. You may remember this from Chemistry. The electrons have negative charges and they spin around the nucleus of the atom that has a positive charge. It is made up of neutrons with a neutral charge and protons with a positive charge. But what Scientists can’t figure out is what holds it all together.

I found this explanation online:

Remember, the nucleus contains neutrons and protons. The neutrons are electrically neutral, and so the electric force won't hold them in. Furthermore, the protons are all positively charged, and so they all repel each other. So if the electric force was the only force involved, you couldn't create a nucleus. You could try to push all those protons and neutrons together, but as soon as you let go, the protons would all shoot away from each other, and the neutrons would drift apart as well. There has to be some other force that holds protons and neutrons together.

Of course, since the electric force is constantly trying to drive the protons apart, the force that holds them all in must be stronger than the electric force. And keep in mind, the electric force gets stronger as charged particles get closer together, and the protons in a nucleus are very close together. As a result, the force that holds protons and neutrons together must be very strong. Well, in a brilliant stroke of imagination, physicists have named this force "the strong force."

The strong force is a force which attracts protons to protons, neutrons to neutrons, and protons and neutrons to each other. The force has a very short range, and this is the reason the nucleus of an atom turns out to be so small. In addition, the strong force is also responsible for binding the quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons.

So the nucleus of an atom is held together by the strong force, while the electrons are held in the atom by the electric force.

Cited 4/24/19 from https://webs.morningside.edu/slaven/Physics/atom/atom2.html

Well folks! Let me enlighten you as to what that strong force is that keeps you from spinning out all over this room tonight. It is a Person named Jesus.

Another popular example of this is from a protein called Laminin. Louie Giglio made this popular with a message he preached on it because the molecular shape of laminin is a cross. Here is what Answers in Genesis scientist Georgia Purdue says about laminin:

Laminin is a protein that is part of the extracellular matrix in humans and animals. The extracellular matrix (ECM) lies outside of cells and provides support and attachment for cells inside organs (along with many other functions). Laminin has “arms” that associate with other laminin molecules to form sheets and bind to cells. Laminin and other ECM proteins essentially “glue” the cells (such as those lining the stomach and intestines) to a foundation of connective tissue. This keeps the cells in place and allows them to function properly. The structure of laminin is very important for its function (as is true for all proteins). One type of congenital muscular dystrophy results from defects in laminin.

Accessed 4/24/19 from https://answersingenesis.org/biology/microbiology/laminin-and-the-cross/

Now, you don’t need to know this to believe that Scripture is true and teaches that Jesus holds everything together. However, it is cool to see examples in Science that not only do not disprove the Word, but actually back it up!

Last we want to see two other quick truths from God’s Word in this passage tonight and these are not scientific at all.

4. Jesus is Preeminent in the Church (vv.18)

Paul in a simple sentence says that Jesus is the head of the church. Your head directs the rest of your body. Cut off the head and you die. If your head gets sick, you will not be able to function right. Paul says in

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Jesus, not pastors, deacons, teachers, and church members has authority in HIS church. We call this our church, and that’s great because we belong to this local body of Christ. But this isn’t our church to possess. It is Christ church that He died for. He has preeminence in His church.

The last thing we want to pay attention to is:

5. Jesus is Preeminent as Our Redeemer (vv.18-19)

Jesus is the Head of the Church, which we have already seen. But He is also the originator of the Church. He came up with the idea! I heard a pastor share that he was frustrated with his deacons because he felt that they didn’t do anything and so he decided to do away with deacons. That is very sad folks. This pastor just imagined in his mind that he had authority he does not have and that his idea of how the church should be put together was better than God’s idea.

Jesus is preeminent in as our Redeemer because He is also the Firstborn from the dead. He is the first to rise from the dead by the power of God because of the sufficiency of His sacrifice to atone for our sin. If Jesus did not live a perfect life, He would have been in sin and would have not been accepted by God for our sacrifice, because He would have needed His own. Since He was accepted, and God through one Man’s obedience redeemed the faithful who believe, God demonstrated this by triumphing Him over the grave. The grave, death, is a consequence for sin. Since Jesus was sinless and was qualified to take away our sin, He cannot be kept by the grave, nor can we.

This is why the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus is so important. We can’t just have a Savior that hangs on a cross but doesn’t raise from the dead. That makes no sense!

Jesus also has the ability then to reconcile us to Himself and save us from God’s wrath. I will say this again, God’s wrath abides on all who don’t believe.

I love the quote in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe about Aslan. One of the children asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is safe. He laughs and says, “No! He is not safe! But He is good!” We do not have a tame Lion as our King. He is not a cuddly kitty cat! He is the Lion of Judah. He comes ravaging evil. He is good which is why He will deal with sin. He will not let any unrighteous deed go unpunished. That is pure justice!

So God saves us from wrath. Think about that for a moment. Wrath is real. Let’s just meditate on that for a minute. God is going to pour out His unmitigated wrath on this world one day. He is going to pour His fierce wrath on that lost person you smiled at in the grocery store or the gas station. He is going to pour His never-ending, unquenched vials of punishment towards the wicked and many of them have no clue its coming. They don’t know how bad their sins are an offense to the holiness of God! How dare we shut up the gospel and keep it to ourselves!

Conclusion:

As we close out our time together tonight, I’m not going to give a fancy conclusion or ramble on. I want to end on this note. I want us to go into our prayer groups with this image on our mind. I want to encourage us to pray for the people we know that would perish under the heavy hand of God tonight if God came for us right now. Can we be silent and say nothing on their behalf before God?