The gospel of the Lord - the Lord of the Gospel

The Gospel of the Lord

Jesus Christ: the Lord of the Gospel

Morning Worship, Lord’s Day 14th September 2008, 9.30 am

Bible Readings

Old Testament: Psalm 2

New Testament: Colossians 1:15-23

Hymns/Songs

1. Approach: “God, we praise You”

2. Forgiveness of sins: “Marvellous grace”

3. Thanksgiving: “For the fruits of his creation”

4. Response: “Jesus! The Name high over all”

Main Points

Introduction

Jesus Christ: The Crown Prince of the Father

God’s agent of Creation: the ruler of all creation

Christ is Head of the Church

Conclusion

1. Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I preach the Word of God in this series of “The Gospel of the Lord” to you under the heading “Jesus Christ: the Lord of the Gospel.”

On 14 November 1948 someone was born in England. It was a very historic day. On this day Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor was born as the eldest child to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Most importantly this new born heir to the throne of Great Britain was given a title: He became the Prince of Wales.

Since 1301 the Prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living son of the King or Queen Regnant of England. The title is not automatic; it merges into the Crown when a prince accedes to the throne, or lapses on his death leaving the sovereign free to re-grant it should another candidate qualify.

The person as heir to the throne is important, but the title that comes with it is a sure indication of the past as well as the future of the title holder.

For most of the world Jesus is the little baby in the crib. For most the story of Christmas does not go any further and the nativity scene of the family of Christ in Bethlehem. In the background there might be an angel flapping its wings and a few donkeys chewing away on hay, while the cattle are lowing, although the Bible doesn’t really say so.

But there is infinitely more about the Son of God. There is infinitely more to say about Jesus Christ.

Out of fear for saying more that what the Word of God allows us to deduce, I want to talk about what is referred to as the Eternal Council of God. Some refer to it as the Federal Council of God. Before the creation of time and space, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit existed supremely, without the aid of anything, without the need of anything, ever glorious and omnipotent, never in need of praise and honour.

But then, if we think about it in human terms, this God determined to create the universe. God the Father appointed Jesus Christ his Son to be the Saviour of the world. We read about it in Psalm 2 this morning.

“You are my Son, today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make the nations Your possession, the ends of the earth your inheritance. You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

To his Son God gave a title: He would be called Jesus, the Christ. He is the Redeemer, the Saviour, the Messiah, the blessed One of the Father. This is where we ended the sermon last week. Colossians 1:13-14 reads:

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

2. Jesus Christ: The Crown Prince of the Father

Christ is the image of the invisible God. The word for “image” here is our word for “icon”. The Son is an embodiment or living manifestation of God, as a visible manifestation of the invisible and heavenly reality of the Person of God the Father. He is the first-born of the Father and therefore He shares the same substance and nature of God. Man was created, not born of the Father. The Nicene Creed formulates this truth:

[I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

The Athanasian Creed agrees:

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit; the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; the father infinite, the Son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet not three eternals but one eternal, as also not three infinites, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one infinite. So, likewise, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet not three almighties but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God; and yet not three Gods but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; and yet not three Lords but one Lord.

We are from dust; Christ is from the eternal God. The invisible God becomes visible to men in the “Son of his love”. Jesus declared, “He that has seen me, has seen the Father”. (John 14:9) John sings about the glory of Christ: “We have seen his glory, the glory as of the Father.” (John 1:14)

He is before all things. This means that He was there before all things were created; but it also means that He is superior over all things created. He is the apex of God’s creation. But even more than that: He is the beginning of it, the centre of it, and the end of it. That’s why the Bible then says, “In Him all things hold together.”

It is not possible to think about creation without thinking about Christ. Without Christ no creation would be possible. For some Christian thinkers to then argue the possibility of Darwinian Evolution, as well as the Kingship of Jesus Christ over all creation becomes an impossibility. No Christ, no creation; no creation, no Christ! There is no two ways about it.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)

This has profound implications for the way we think about Jesus Christ. In general the message of the Church is narrowed down to the work of salvation of Christ, and even narrower if this salvation is presented as the personal salvation of the individual Christian. If we think this way, we don’t have a Christian and Biblical worldview. The message of the Church is confined to the walls of the Church. Politicians may then rightly demand of the Church to keep Christianity out of politics. Educators can do the same and scientists may demand of the church to keep in its corner and mind the souls of the unhappy pursuers of eternal bliss.

But this is not what the Bible teaches about Christ. To the humanistic scientist the Biblical message might come as a surprise: what he or she is researching is the work of God through Jesus Christ. It belongs to Him, it exists because of Him and holds together because of Him. Without Christ no scientific research is possible, because without Him there would be nothing to research.

To the humanistic sociologist and psychologist, and even the historicist this might also come as a surprise. The study of their field is only possible because of Christ, even if they don’t believe it. And like me when I recently tried to fix my lawn mover without the technical knowledge and the instruction manual issued by the manufacturers, without the knowledge of Him through whom God created the universe, fixing and fully understanding it will remain a dream that will always escape them.

3. Jesus Christ: God’s agent of Creation and the Ruler over all creation

To his Crown Prince God assigned a kingdom: all of creation. The Father determined to give to his Son everything He created. In this sense Jesus Christ became the agent of God through whom He created the world. So, everything in heaven and on earth, all things visible and invisible, thrones and powers or rulers or authorities were created by Him and for Him. There is no kingdom, no king, no ruler, nothing visible or invisible which is not under the feet of our Saviour.

The political leaders of our day will do well to heed the advice of the Word of God.

“Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge I Him.” (Psalm 2:12)

We understand then from this chapter of Colossians the glory of the Kingship of the Son of God’s love. He is God’s Crown Prince. All areas of life, all spheres of thinking, must be under the Headship of Christ. This applies even if people don’t believe in Him – He is still the first-born of the universe, the image of God, the agent of God’s creation, the One in whom all things hold together.

It will help us as Church people to order our life and to understand the promise of our Lord:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

This truth drives our missionary work, it drives our efforts in the Lord with the Gospel of Jesus Christ; it helps us to not cringe before the pressures of kings and rulers. This truth strengthens us to do our work as Christians to be light to the word and salt to the world. It helps us to understand that God is with us even if it means we have to pay the highest price for the sake of the Gospel.

Do you think to human of Jesus Christ? Is He the One who has come so that your problems can be fixed and you may live well? Do you perhaps think of Him as a remedy which you take when you feel depressed or unhappy? Or is He the One before whom you bow in adoration and worship?

There was something which really crippled the work of the Church in the past. It is called pietism. Pietism is a disease which locks the church into its corner, not taking note of the world around it. It locked people up in cloisters for them to become holy as they would turn away for this evil world to only focus upon heaven. The problem is only that they become so heavenly-minded that they were of no earthly use. This can happen in our day too.

The way in which this evil can make itself master of the Church is that people worship ideas. Christ is nothing short of an idea. He becomes a mystical concept. People go away for weekends to connect with God and experience Him. They come back with great feelings about Him, but the only thing they do better now is meditate, perhaps sitting in a specific posture for an impossible period of time. This form of worship of Christ does not really differ much from so-called the New Age worship of concepts and ideas.

This is not the message of the Scriptures about Jesus Christ. He is King of the universe, He is known by the works of his hands and to Him all thoughts must be made captive. The apostle Paul writes:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

4. Jesus Christ: the Head of the Church

There was a price attached when God decided to give an inheritance to his Son. God ordained to send his Son into this sinful world to redeem it through his blood. Jesus Christ had to buy back for God what sin destroyed and stole from God. Jesus was the One through whom God would reconcile the world to Him. The reconciliation is the real peace-making process the world was in need for - and it is still the case. Without Jesus Christ there is not peace possible between God and the sinful world.

Verse 21 describes our hostility towards God. We were alienated from God and enemies of God. We walked away from God and declared war against Him. We turn our backs on Him and thought we could work it out for ourselves. We shut the door in God’s face and shut Him out of our lives – or at least we tried. This made us God’s enemies, not only because we are rebellious, but also because God cannot stand the ugliness of our sinfulness. He also turned away from us. Our first parents were driven from the presence of God out of Paradise. But as God drove them out of his presence He gave them a promise of hope: One day they would be reconciled to Him through the eternal sacrifice of the Son of his Love.

Christ’s physical body was nailed to the tree of Calvary. His blood was shed. And He died on that cross to present us holy to the Father.

This is the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, God’s own precious Crown Prince to whom not only the Church belong, but all of the universe.

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross meant a few things: his sinless life now becomes our sinless life by faith. Upon Him I lay my sins, He washes it away and grant me his righteousness. Although still sinful and always unworthy of God’s grace, He now looks at me through the redemption of his Son. I become free of blemish and the accusation of sins taken away. I become free of the burden of sins. The accuser tries his hardest to make me feel miserable when I stumble and fall, but the blood of Christ is stronger; it washes me and declares me free. No accusation anymore.

Such is the Headship of Christ over his Church. We have already heard the other part of the story: He qualified us to be counted amongst the saints washed in his blood, dressed in white robes, which are the righteous deeds in Christ. He conveyed us from darkness into light, carrying us over the chasm between the holy God and sinners, and He brought us into the kingdom of light belonging to his Son. This is possible because we are washed clean in his blood. We have received the forgiveness of sins.

5. Conclusion

There is a warning in this chapter to those who do not stand firm, who are not determined to engage in the battle and run the race to the end. If we don’t continue in our faith, and if we are moved from the hope held out in the Gospel, something terrible can happen. Listen to the verse:

… if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. (Colossians 1:23)

For this reason then does the apostle makes this statement in verse 28:

We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)

This message of the Lord of the Gospel might come in the form of admonition. It calls to strengthen the weak knees and to take up the armour of the Lord and fight the good fight. It says: grace is free but it comes at a price. Don’t give up. Always remember: Christ is supreme over all creation, He is your Head and Master, the One who reconciled you to God. AMEN.

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[1] Feel free to duplicate this file or quote from it. The Name of the Lord be glorified!