Sermon Tone Analysis

The Gospel of the Lord

!! Jesus Christ:  the Lord of the Gospel

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

© Rev D Rudi Schwartz[1]

!!! 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.