God the Son

Bookmarks & Needs:

B: Col. 1:15-20

N: Remember that this is Sanctity of Life Sunday

Welcome

Once again I want to say Welcome to Family Worship at Eastern Hills Baptist Church this morning. If you’re in the room today, thank you for being here to join together with the rest of the body in person to worship our Lord. If you’re joining us online, thank you for joining us from wherever you are right now to worship, and we’re glad that this technology is helpful for you to be connected to the church family, even though you couldn’t be here today. Thanks to the praise band for leading us in musical praise and worship this morning, and I’d like to say thanks to our Bible Study Leaders for their faithful service every week sharing and teaching God’s Word.

I’m Associate Pastor Joe Vivian and I have the honor and privilege of continuing in our Series, We Believe. Pastor Bill is not feeling well. As of yesterday, No Rona indicated. Ya know, we tend to forget that there are other virus and colds besides COVID, don’t we. So let’s keep him as well as his family lifted up in prayer.

Announcements

• Business meeting tonight at 5:30 pm here. Need a quorum of 50 church members to conduct business, please plan to be here.

• LMCO ($40,327)

• Bible Study Training Recap-9 Classes represented by their leaders and associate leaders. Thanks to Riley Wright, Pastor Bill and Ken Braddy from Lifeway for an amazing training. With that being said, if you are here this morning in the sanctuary and you are not a part of one of our Bible Studies, then please, stop by the Welcome Desk to pick up an information cards on our classes or visit our web page and click on the Worship&Study tab.

Opening

To remind everyone, we continuing in a new kind of sermon series that we started on Sunday the 9th. Eastern Hills Baptist Church has a Statement of Faith that addresses 20 core doctrines of Christian belief, and we believe that all of us in the church family should have understanding of and agreement with those core doctrines in order for us to be sure that we are all on the same page theologically. As Pastor Bill has shared, throughout this year, we are going to go through our Statement of Faith in four parts, one part each season. We’re calling the series “We Believe,” and part 1 is “God and His Word.” Again, this series will be somewhat topical in nature, as we will look at a different article of our Statement of Faith each week.

This week we will be focused on God the Son. Our focal passage will guide us through this core doctrine of Eastern Hills. Will you all please stand.

Colossians 1:15–20 CSB

15 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.

PRAYER

Let’s read from our statement of faith.

EHBC’s Statement of Faith, Article 4: God the Son

“Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. … He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.”

Friends, this morning we need to affirm that God the Son is eternal.

The first two things that we said about God the Father last week, that He reigns over everything and that He rules over everyone are true for both the Son and the Spirit as well.

However, when it comes to God the Son, there is a special significance to His position as Lord because of the incarnation.

Let me share with you what Daniel Akin wrote:

The Person of Jesus Christ, A Theology for the Church, by Daniel Akin

"To be theologically precise, we can say there was a time when Jesus was not. However, there was never a time when the Son was not. At the incarnation the Son became Jesus; the second person of the triune God became the God-man."

Friends,

Jesus is God the Son in the flesh. Completely God and perfectly man, having both a human nature and a divine nature, but one Person.

The theological term for this is called the hypostatic union: two “hypostases” or natures, combined into the one Person of Jesus, the Christ.

And those two natures, once united in the Person of Jesus Christ, can never be separated.

God the Son took on flesh and became the man Jesus, and He will never take off that flesh.

In our focal passage in Colossians, Paul is expounding on the reality of Jesus being both God and man. Notice that Paul in our focal passage speak of the “is” of Jesus. That He IS the image of the invisible God, He IS before all things, etc.

In this way, He identifies in a different way with His creation because in His human nature, He can identify with having a beginning in time (He was born), with being finite and limited (Jesus needed sleep and food), confined to a certain place (the Person Jesus was not omnipresent while on earth), which is just like us.

Jesus knows what it is to be human. And since He knows what it is to be human, He then is our Lord who identifies with us… He is not completely “other than” in the way that the Father is, because He, God the Son, took on flesh.

So we are going to look at three aspects of that identifying Lordship this morning:

1) Jesus is Lord of creation

This is before He took on flesh and became human, but that doesn’t change His role in creation.

Colossians 1:15–17 CSB

15 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.

Image: eikon, the perfect image of who God is. He is the invisible God made visible.

Let me share from John chapter 1 verse 1.

John 1:1 CSB

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

The Son, the Logos, is God, and was with God. So the Father and the Son share the exact same nature, but also are somehow distinct.

Let’s look at the word Firstborn in verse 15.

Firstborn as statement of position, not time. He is preeminent over all creation positionally. This is not saying that He as the Son was “born first.” In other words, all of creation belongs to Him.

Let’s continue in John chapter 1

John 1:2 CSB

2 He was with God in the beginning.

Before the beginning began, the Son was there with the Father.

Christ is supreme over creation because he is the Creator. Paul’s mention of thrones … dominions … rulers, and authorities in verse 16 may refer to four classes of angelic beings. This may be a correction against the false teaching promoting the worship of angels (2:18).

Colossians 2:18 CSB

18 Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind.

Friends, because of that Paul asserted the supremacy of Christ over all creation because all things were created through him and for him.

John 1:3 speaks to this.

John 1:3 CSB

3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

There is nothing that exists that He didn’t make. Friends, look at it this way, we just take the stuff He made and rearrange it.

Hebrews 1 ties these concepts together as well as Colossians 1 does.

Hebrews 1:1–3a (CSB)

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Notice all of the prepositions in these passages about creation: all things are “by” Him, “for” Him, and “through” Him.

Jesus is Lord of Creation

Jesus is also Lord of the Church, that’s my second point.

2) Jesus is Lord of the church

Church Family, I’m now speaking to you directly. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. We have surrendered our life, turned over our life to Him. We have repented, turned from our sins, and turned to following and obeying Jesus Christ by His Word.

See friends, Paul says it beautifully when he writes to the church at Phillipi

Philippians 1:1 NASB95

1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

Bond-Servants of Jesus Christ. See, Paul knew Who was His Lord. Paul used that imagery of a Bond-Servant. Friends, a bond servant has no rights except for what the Master gives them.

Friends, we are to follow Jesus and obey His Word, because we belong to Him. We are a Bond-Servant of Jesus Christ.

It’s clear in our focal passage in verse 18.

Colossians 1:18 CSB

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.

Paul used the word head in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Literally “head” implies authority, rule, and supreme rank. Metaphorically, it plays on the imagery of Christ’s relationship to the church as head of the body (1Co 12:12–27; Eph 1:22; 4:15; 5:23).

He is the head because he is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead.

The parallel language to the creation (v. 15) identifies the church as part of the new creation that was inaugurated with the resurrection of Christ. His resurrection resulted in the fulfillment of God’s purpose for Christ that he might come to have first place in everything.

Friends, think of it this way, the church is those who hold to the testimony that Jesus Christ is Lord:

Matthew 16:13–18 CSB

Matthew 16:13–18 CSB

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Peter is not the rock of the church. The testimony that Peter gave is the rock of the church. The testimony that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, is the foundation of who we are.

“Firstborn from the dead” is that He’s like those who are saved. The first to have defeated death.

1 Corinthians 15:42–49 CSB

42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; 43 sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

The Bible does not specifically or fully reveal the things related to the afterlife, probably because we are not able in our fallen, temporal, earthly state to comprehend them. What Paul writes discusses the resurrection body by comparing it to the earthly body. What can be said is that our new bodies will be perfectly prepared for life, fellowship, worship, and service of our God in the new age. In light of this, the exact form is irrelevant, what is relevant to all of us is that Jesus is Lord of the Church.

Friends, my email signature closes with

“A Growing Bond-Servant of Jesus Christ.” I know that I have not yet arrived, but I am focused on growing in my relationship with Him. I know Who is in charge, so I choose to follow Him.

So who do you say Jesus Christ is to you? What is your answer?

We are the church, the ekklesia. And Jesus is Lord of the Church.

Jesus is Lord of Creation

Jesus is Lord of the Church

and He is Lord of Reconciliation.

This brings us to my last point:

3) Jesus is Lord of reconciliation

The work of Jesus was a function of His entire Person: as divine, He represents God to us, and as human, He represents us to God. This is what Paul is saying in 19-20. Let’s go back to our focal passage.

Colossians 1:19–20 CSB

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.

Jesus is our Mediator of reconciliation.

Do you know the definition of mediator? It is one that interposes between parties for the purpose of reconciling them.

1 Timothy 2:5–6 CSB

5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

Jesus steps in between us and God so as to reconcile us back to God.

Friends, do you see the love Jesus Christ gives to each of us, His Creation, His Church?

His love is to the growing BondServants and to those lost, who have not chosen to Follow Him.

Listen to what Paul writes in Romans

Romans 5:6–11 CSB

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Jesus is the Lord of Reconciliation

This love is for each and everyone of us.

For those who have not surrendered your life to Christ, He died for you. You can be reconciled, brought back into a relationship with God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Please know this, you are precious to Him, your are fearfully and wonderfully made, you are not a mistake nor do you need to run anymore. Stop right where you are and surrender your life to Jesus. Make Him the Boss of your life. Turn to Him and turn away from the emptiness your feeling today. I know I’m speaking to someone today that needs to hear that. My prayer is that God’s Spirit is speaking to you directly this morning.

Let’s close by continuing further through our focal passage.

Colossians 1:21–23 CSB

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.

You might argue that you aren’t “hostile” to God. You’re here and listening, right? There’s no middle ground. We are either “in Christ” or not “in Christ.” If we aren’t for Christ, we are against Him, because we are then owned and controlled. The evidence of our salvation is our continued submission to the message of the Gospel. Not that that submission saves us, but those that are saved show the truth of their salvation through clinging to Jesus. Paul says that those who leave the Gospel never actually believed the Gospel—they were never holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.

Friends, are you listening to Him, to God this morning?

Listen to my two descriptions of my wife Kerry:

Factual

Passionate

Which one of those sounds more like I have a genuine, growing relationship with her?

So then, if someone where to ask you "Who do you say Jesus Christ is?” Will they be able to see the passion in your voice, your eyes, your expressions?

Closing

Hebrews 1:3 CSB

3 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.

Jesus sits now at the right hand of the Father, and He will come back to judge the world according to Scripture. Are we ready for that?

As the band comes down this morning, both Trevor and Kerry will be joining us down here as well.

This morning, I want to personally invite you to come down and pray with us. The steps are open too.

If you need to stop and reevaluate how you would answer that question, “Who do you say Jesus is?” then either right there in your set, or at your home, or even with one of us, take time to pray with God. Seek reconciliation through Jesus.

And to you who are lost this morning, having never experienced that relationship with God, He offers His love to you freely. Jesus died for you, to set you free so you could be made right with the Father, so you could be adopted into the family of God, so you could be forgiven and have eternal life. Fall into His arms of love, giving up your sinful ways and submitting to Him today. You can surrender to God right now where you are. Let us know.

I’d love to know about it if you’re online. You can email me at [e-mail] or our senior pastor [e-mail]

Join the church: And maybe some here today would like to know more about becoming a member of Eastern Hills. If that’s you and you’re in the room this morning, come on down after service and we’ll set up a time to share more about our Statement of Faith, my testimony, your testimony and get to know one another. If you’re in the greater ABQ area and are interested in joining or just want to know more about Eastern Hills, please email either myself at [e-mail] or [e-mail].

During this time of invitation, feel free to worship by giving either online or there are plates at the exits as you leave.

The steps are open, we are here as well to pray with you.

Let’s stand together as we close in prayer.

PRAYER

Closing Remarks

Please be seated

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

-Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. For that, I would like to share a letter from CareNet and then we will watch a short video.

Read Letter

Bible reading: Hosea 1 today.

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Philippians 2:12–16a (CSB)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, 16 by holding firm to the word of life.