Jesus Holds us Together

Special Prayer

This morning we are continuing our theme of Together, as we have been looking at the statement that God has given us

We Grow together, Build together, Serve together, to Glorify God together.

This morning we are continuing in the letter to the Colossians, in chapter 1 looking at Jesus holds us Together.

We need to see that together we are stronger than we are apart, when we started this series or this theme of together, I shared: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Therefore we see that it is important to work together, that is something that I am still trying to learn myself.

When we look to Jesus we can through his redeeming powers, because he has created all things and if we will put him in first place, he will hold us together, because he has made the way.

So Look at our text with me this morning. Colossians 1:15-23

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

16 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.

17 He is before all things,

and by him all things hold together.

18 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.

19 For God was pleased to have

all his fullness dwell in him,

20 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.,

21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—23 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.

Last week we looked at the prayer that Paul prayed for the Colossians, now Paul is addressing some False teachers that were confused about Creation.

they taught that Jesus Christ did not have a full physical body since this would have put him in contact with evil and sin.

The result of these false teachings were tragic, including extreme unbridled sin. after all, if your body is sinful, you either try to enslave it or you enjoy it.

another words these false teachers were leading people in the wrong directions and Paul was ready to get the people back on the right track.

Vs. 15-17

I. Everything Created by Him

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

16 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.

17 He is before all things,

and by him all things hold together.

The first thing we see here is: He is the image of the invisible God, that is He being Jesus. What is Paul meaning image of the invisible God?

Well we know from different Scriptures both Old and New Testament that we have been told that we cannot see God.

but here we are told that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the invisible God is speaking of God the Father, the Scriptures that tells us we cannot see or look upon God is referring to God the Father.

but here we are talking about Jesus Christ, God the Son. Hebrews 1:3

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Another words Jesus Christ, God the Son is an exact expression or representation of God the Father. He looks like his daddy.

when i worked out at the plant, my dad had worked out there for 25 plus years or right there at it at the point I started working out there, and people I never even meet before, would walk up to me and say, you A.D.’s boy.

why because I am the image of my father, I am exact expression of my dad, if you will, I have been at funerals and different things and people come up and start talking to me like they know me and I have no idea who they are, come to find out they think I am my dad.

our text continues, the first born over all creation, this term does not refer to time, first Jesus Christ was not created, because Jesus created all things. John 1:1-3

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created

the term there first born simply means Jesus is of first importance, of first rank.

Tony Evans explains it this way, the Presidents wife is referred to as the first lady, but she is not the first lady to be in the White House, she holds the rank or title of first lady because of her connection to the one in charge.

by his divine connection to God the Father, Jesus inherits creation and the right to rule.

our text continues that everything was created by him, that is the things we can see and not see, nations, universes, rulers, all things, were created by Jesus and for Jesus.

not only did Jesus create everything but he created it for himself. he created mankind for fellowship and relationship.

Jesus is before all things and because of this, by him all things hold together. that is he holds the planets where they belong. he keeps the oceans in place and the rivers flowing in the right direction, and the earth spinning in the right direction at the right speed, orbiting the sun at the right angle and at the right direction at the right speed.

Jesus can hold all of creation together, he can hold your life together, he can hold your problems together, he can hold us together.

we just have to let him have control, let him be the Lord of our lives and have the throne of our hearts and

Vs. 18-20

II. First Place in Everything

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

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.

19 For God was pleased to have

all his fullness dwell in him,

20 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.,

He is the head of the body, the body here being the body of Christ, which is composed or made up of all true believers.

When a person trusts in Christ for salvation, they are immediately included into this body, therefore, each christian is a member of this Spiritual body, and Jesus is the Head.

the Greek usage of the word head here meant source and origin as well as leader or ruler.

Jesus Christ is the source of the church, His body, and the Leader. He is the beginning, that is Jesus is the originator of the church, the founder, he is the original charter member, the church planter, of the Body of Christ.

it does not matter if we attend or are a member of the Red Level Baptist church, the First Methodist church, the Church of God, the Four Square Gospel church, the this church or that church, as long as you are a true believer in Jesus Christ then we all are members of the same Body of Christ.

and Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, we are not told here that Jesus was the firstborn to be raised from the dead, because he was not.

but he is the most important of all who have been raised from the dead; for without his resurrection, there could be no resurrection for others.

Jesus raised others that had died, but see they would live for a time, and then physically die again, but Jesus died physically, and was raised spiritually and still lives today, and will live eternally, and he has provided that for us also.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 15

20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Christ Died in order that we may have forgiveness of our sins, in order that we may be reconciled back to a right relationship with God the Father, but he also had to die physically so that he could be raised spiritually so that we could have spiritual resurrection one day.

our text continues in verse 18, so that he might come to have first place in everything. Jesus died in order that we can have forgiveness of our sins, that we can have salvation, and eternal life in heaven.

he deserves first place in our lives, he deserves to sit on the throne of our hearts. he deserves to have a personal relationship with us.

but he is a gentleman and will not force it on us, salvation is there for us to accept, but as

Revelation 3:20

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

He will stand and knock but you have to let him in, he will not force his way in, you must open the door, another words you have to accept salvation.

Our text continues in verse 19 that God the Father was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.

another words Jesus was fully God, he was not half God and half man, but he was fully God and fully man.

He had the full divine power and attributes of God the Father in human form, as the Son of God.

verse 20 continues through him to reconcile everything to himself, Because Jesus Christ is God, He is able to do what no mere man could ever do: that is reconcile lost sinners to a holy God.

no human being is capable of saving themselves from sin, they are not capable of saving another person, I cannot pray you into heaven, I cannot baptize you into heaven, I cannot lay hands on you into heaven or preach you into heaven.

it is only by the shed Blood of Jesus Christ that you can be reconciled to God the Father and receive the forgiveness of sins and have salvation and eternal life.

John 14:6

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 14

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Our text tells us that it is through his blood, shed on the cross, at the end of verse 20 there.

that is the only way to salvation and heaven is through accepting what Jesus did on the cross, that he shed his blood for each and every one of us, to receive freely, by just simply having a personal relationship with him.

Vs.21-23

III. He Made the Way

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—23 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.

first we see we were once alienated meaning estranged or separated from God and the spiritual blessings.

why were we alienated from God, because of the evil or sin in our lives, God cannot be near sin. He is a Holy God.

Habakkuk 1:13

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,

and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?

Why are you silent

while one who is wicked swallows up

But God has reconciled us by his physical body through his death, as we mentioned earlier, in order to present us holy.

multiple times we are told in Scripture that we are to be Holy for I am holy, God is a holy God, and as his children he wants us to be holy also.

the word holy expresses the idea of being set apart, being devoted to God. we are to have God in first place in our lives, fully committed to him.

then we are told to be presented as holy, faultless or unblameable or without blemish, this is in connection to the Temple Sacrifices in the Old Testament.

the animals had to meet certain criteria to be able to be used for sacrifice, well God wants us to stand out among the crowds, not as rebels or bad people, but as committed, devoted people that do not cause problems, that are trust worthy, faultless, blameless.

we must remember that we are Ambassadors for Christ, that is we represent Christ in all that we do, therefore, where ever we go whatever we do, people see and know we are Christians, and we are to set an example or a witness for Christ Jesus.

a witness that God will us to draw people unto himself in order that people will come onto salvation.

our text continues in verse 23, if indeed we remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, if we are going to be good ambassadors for Christ we have to be grounded, rooted in our faith.

we do that by studying the Word of God, spending quite time with him in prayer, attending Bible studies, small groups studies, regular services.

because if we do not remain grounded in our faith we will be shifted or led away from the hope that is of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

that we have salvation, and resurrection from the dead, eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ.

without Jesus as your Lord and Savior what hope is there in life, what peace is there in life?

there are a lot of uncertainties in this world, but there is one thing that never changes, there is one thing that we can sure enough find hope and peace in and that is Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

if you have found that hope and peace in Jesus Christ, then we have to allow him to hold us together, so that the world does not pull us apart.

but if you have not found that hope and peace in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior I would love to talk and pray with you about receiving that hope and peace in your life.

it does not cost you any money, it is a free gift. but like the gifts you received yesterday, you must actually receive them and then open them.

as we see a few minutes ago in Revelation 3:20

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus is at the door knocking, he has provided the present, the gift of salvation is yours for the taking, but you have to open the door, you have to open that present, you have to receive that salvation.

Jesus will not force his way in, I cannot force you to open the present, or force you to receive it, you can only receive it if you are willing to accept it.

therefore, will you come and allow me to share how to accept it this morning, please do not leave without Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.