He Is, So We Are...

Intro:

Mom & daughter at breakfast. Is God here? Getting more and more specific… Is God in my juice cup? Yes… Little girl: Gotcha!

Unwittingly we shape our concept of God to more comfortable, to fit our idea of who he should be. To be able say, “gotcha! I can manage you now!”

there are several problems with this but for our purpose today as we move into the 2nd half of the chapter, we must ask ourselves if the object of our faith is big enough to handle our lives and circumstances.

Many times, our conception of God, our faith in God is in something too limited, too small.

Essentially, it’s idol worship. (Jesus and… from last week).

To recap: In ch. 1, Paul offered a prayer designed to guide our minds and hearts to ponder exactly where we have put our faith. Jesus clearly has something to do with it, but we’re prone to making our sp;iritual experience “Jesus and ______” rather than “Jesus only.”

His conclusion in that part of the chapter is to remind us that our faith in Christ (belief in the gospel) has brought us into a new place in creation.

Colossians 1:13–14 NLT

13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

The logical direction to go from here is to elaborate on who Jesus really is. If the goal is to having a saving faith in Christ, what have we put our faith in?

Who is this Jesus? Have we done the same thing to Him that the little girl did? Have we turned Him into a “gotcha!”? To do and be what we want instead of living by faith in the eternal Lord and Savior of all?

He Is...

Most scholars agree that vv. 15-20 are a hymn of the earliest church.

If you want to teach someone a concept they’ll remember, make a song out of it.

The Image of God

Colossians 1:15 NLT

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,

Philippians 2:10 NLT

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Image = icon. Paul wants us to understand that Jesus of Nazareth fully represents God, in fact, he is God.

Why this matters: Jesus is much much greater than we can imagine. If we’re going to commit to basing our life and faith on Him alone, we need to know that He is has the power and ability. That he’s worth our faith.

Creator

Colossians 1:16–18 NLT

16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

Jesus gives everything in creation coherence.

Illus: TV tube. Electron beam pulsing millions of times/sec create an image we can discern.

Jesus is the one who gives our world meaning and purpose. All the millions of events, circumstances, thoughts, people, interactions make sense (or defy sense) because of Christ.

We make sense of senselessness by our faith in Christ that reminds us that the Creator didn’t create without purpose. Everything has a meaning.

Head of the Church

Colossians 1:18 NLT

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

With v. 18, Paul answers the unspoken complaint that the world we live in doesn’t completely reflect Jesus’ Lordship.

This is true. I’d ask you first to imagine just how bad things could/would be without Christ as Lord.

Paul’s point in v. 18 is to remind us that the mission is on-going.

Key to Reconciliation

Colossians 1:19–20 NLT

19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Galatians 2:20 NLT

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Peace is the key.

So We Are...

Past, present and future.

Formerly enemies

Colossians 1:21 NLT

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

In the past we were far away from God. Paul is careful to communicate that it was OUR thoughts and deeds that caused the separation.

Separated = alienated. Isolated, lonely.

Ephesians 4:18 NLT

18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

When we are out of a reconciled relationship with God, our entire life is changed. Chronic sinful behavior results.

We are full of fear, suspicion, our natural inclination to self harm and harming others is unchecked.

Personally reconciled

That was the past. The present is that we are, individually and corporately, reconciled to God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Colossians 1:22 NLT

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

He has completely identified with us: shared our suffering, borne our sins and taken the consequences of our sentence of death by his death on the cross.

A Jesus only lifestyle consistently recognizes that our reality is perfection in Christ - holy, blameless and without fault.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

But we must be wise.

Don’t Drift Away

There’s a warning built in...

Colossians 1:23 NLT

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

Conclusion:

Are we living with a “gotcha” kind of faith?

One that makes God fit our idea of what should be?