It's ALL About Christ pt 1

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is as always a pleasure and honor to stand before to present the Word of God.

In the American War of Independence, the famous Battle of Trenton was fought between George Washington and his American troops, against a group of German Soldiers, hired to fight for the British Empire and led by Johann Rall.

I am far from a historical scholar or a war strategists, but from what I’ve seen there were a lot of war tactics that led to Washington’s victory. However, despite Washington’s genius, there is a curious story that centers around an inattentive Rall. It seems Rall was more interested in partying than fighting. One day before the Battle of Trenton, a spy handed him a note of the American whereabouts, Rall put it in his coat pocket and never read it. The note was found after he died, in the Trenton battle.

Rall had everything he needed to find victory in that battle. He could have preemptively struck the American forces and who knows what impact that would have had on the larger Revolutionary War. But instead, Rall overlooked the information, thinking it unimportant. It was right there in his pocket, but his refusal to act upon it ultimately led to his demise.

Now as Americans, we are glad for the results that happened from the Battle of Trenton. We are thankful for the freedoms we enjoy today that trace their roots all the back to moments like that.

Nevertheless, this story of Rall illustrates an important lesson for us. Simply having access to information does no good. It is not until that information is read, digested, and properly implemented that gives it its value.

Today as we continue on in our series, “Living the Christian Life” in the book of Colossians, we are embarking on a 3 part mini series on the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ. I realize that most in this room know the name Jesus Christ. You probably have some thoughts or opinions on who He is and what He has done.

But if you would allow me to continue the analogy from the onset, Johann Rall probably had thoughts and opinions about General Washington’s forces. He had seen the reports and heard the rumors. But he wasn’t bothered enough, he didn’t find it urgent enough a matter for him to read of Washington’s exact location and scheme. This ended in catastrophe for him.

I say all of this to say, it ultimately doesn’t matter what your preconceived thoughts and opinions are of Jesus Christ. What truly matters, is what God’s infallible Word has revealed Him to be! The only Jesus Christ that saves is the Jesus Christ shown to us in Scripture. That is the real Jesus. The Historical Jesus. The Eternal Jesus. If anyone comes to you presenting a Jesus that is incongruent with the revealed Son of God in Scripture, or if even your own conception of Jesus is incongruent with the revealed Son of God in Scripture, then first of all beware! Any other Jesus, is not your Savior, rather that less-than Jesus is your deception and destruction! The apostle Paul chastized the Corinthian church for listening to false-teachers share messages about a false Jesus! Why? Because there is no other named by which to be saved than that of THE Jesus Christ, THE Son of God.

Before we get into our study today, I'd like to return to the final two verses from last week’s message.

Colossians 1:13–14 ESV

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I want to point out there is no ambiguity in these verses. Paul shows us that God himself delivers us from the domain of darkness and transferred us the the Kingdom of God’s Son, that is Jesus Christ. It is in Christ and in Christ alone that the Colossians, us, anyone, WE have redemption, that is the forgiveness of sins.

There is no other way to having our sins forgiven, to being restored to the Perfect Holy, God than being covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. That occurs through having faith in Jesus Christ.

Historically, faith has been defined by three elements: Knowledge, Assent, and Trust. To have faith in something, that something must be knowledge, a definition. There is clarity in what is to be believed. For instance Scripture says

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

There is a basic understanding of facts. Jesus is the Christ, the Savior. Jesus is the Son of God. Faith includes knowledge of specific facts. But it is not just knowledge. The second element of faith is Assent. This is not just knowing a fact but believing it to be certainly true and beneficial. It is following commands. The third element of faith is trust. Without trust, faith would be nothing more than an intellectual endeavor. Trust is personally knowing Jesus as Lord and actually, willfully following Him and living in submission to His command and desiring to do so. Let’s use an analogy I found from the people at Ligonier Ministries, to better understand faith.

Imagine that three people are dropped without food or water into the middle of a very large field full of land mines. Suppose that one of the individuals blindly chooses a pathway through the field and then heads off in that direction without another thought. This is not an example of faith. Genuine faith is not blind; it is based upon knowledge.

But suppose that a helicopter appears above the remaining two men and, from the helicopter, an interested party announces the way through the minefield. One of the men takes this interested party at his word and sets off at once through the field. Even this is not an example of faith. Yes, the man's actions are based on knowledge (the interested party's testimony) and assent (the man regards the testimony as true and beneficial in meeting his needs). But his action still is blind because it is based on insufficient knowledge (that is, the uncertain testimony of a complete stranger). It also lacks the most important element of faith, personal trust in the one speaking.

Suppose, however, that the remaining two men ask the interested party certain questions in order to discern how he came to know the way through the field, why he wants to help them, and how positive he is that he can safely guide them through the land mines. Suppose they also ask for references from the interested party to see whether he knows anyone they know or are related to. Suppose they even try to test his instructions by throwing objects in the direction he suggests to see if it appears to be free of mines. In doing these things, the two remaining men are gathering enough knowledge to decide whether they can trust the individual in the helicopter. This trust, which is built upon both knowledge and assent to that knowledge, is what genuine faith is all about. Such faith is not at all "silly" but wholly reasonable.

With this understanding of faith, I’d like you to turn now, if you haven’t already to Colossians 1. Today and the next two weeks, it will be the mission of this pulpit to either refresh your memory or maybe even introduce you for the first time to the REAL Jesus. This true Jesus, proclaimed by every page of Scripture is good to know, profitable to follow, and worthy of complete trust. He is the only one worthy of our faith and the only one through having faith in we are saved. Let us read of the true, the trustworthy, the glorious Jesus, first looking at verse 15 of Colossians 1.

Colossians 1:15 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

As we begin this journey through the exposition of who Christ is, we must do so carefully, joyfully, and expectantly. We must be careful not to superimpose our preconceived notions onto Jesus, but instead see what the Holy Spirit is showing us about Jesus. We must not shape this Scripture around our views of Jesus, but rather form our views of Jesus around the intended meaning of the Scripture. We must do this joyfully because it is such a grace that we would be given this opportunity. It is a joy that we get to look at the character of Christ, that we can grow in our trust of Him because He has made Himself known to us. And we do all of this expecting to be challenged and to grow in knowledge, love, and obedience for the Lord.

With that said, let us begin engaging with the contents presented here.

We first see Jesus described as the image of the invisible God. As we work through these descriptions, we will have to explain not only what is being said, but also what is not being said.

Like here: Paul calls Jesus the image of the invisible God. This means that Jesus Christ is the Physical and tangible representation of the God that cannot by any other means be seen. This does not mean that Jesus is a less than, subsequent spirit to God.

Many people deny the divinity, the God-ness of Jesus. In fact as of just 2020, 51% of Americans in one poll said that they believed Jesus was just a good teacher, not God.

Those spreading false beliefs in the time of the Colossians promoted Jesus to be some sort of lesser spirit than God. But that is the opposite of what Paul is accomplishing in our text today. Image in this verse does not denote mere likeness or resemblance. Image conveys the meaning that Christ is whatever God is--spiritual, omnipotent, omniscient, holy--all the attributes of the eternal God. The idea that Paul is conveying with image is that the glorified Son sets forth, to those who behold Him, the nature and grandeur of the Eternal Father.

Jesus alludes to such in John 14.

John 14:9 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

In Christ, the invisible God became visible! Jesus Christ has enabled finite man to see what the infinite God is like. God is Spirit and is therefore invisible. But in the Person of Christ, God made Himself visible to mortal eyes. In that sense the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

Jesus was a great teacher who walked and taught all throughout Israel some 2000 years ago, but that is not the end of the story. Limiting Jesus in such a way would be worse than calling Dale Earnhardt a taxi driver. I’m sure he gave some people a ride from time to time, but that label doesn’t begin to explain the fullness of who he was and what he did.

In Jesus, the very Word of God became flesh and dwelt among humanity. In Jesus the glory of God is seen. Being the image of God, He is not less than, but the physical representation of God.

Look back to verse 15

Colossians 1:15 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

In the latter part of verse 15 we once again have to explain what is being said and what is not being said. The “First born of all creation” is the position of Jesus, not the method by which He was made. What do I mean by this? Well from the Arians during the Early Church times to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of today, there are people who want to use this verse to tell you that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but rather a created being that God brought into existence sometime later on in eternity. We will see in the next verses that this is Impossible because of what Jesus has done, but in John 8 we see that this is impossible because of who Jesus shows Himself to be:

John 8:58 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Jesus says “I am.” when he was being challenged by some Jews. This may not seem like a lot on the surface but upon review, this is a monumental claim. One Study Bible Notes (Reformation): “This is a clear reference to Jesus’ eternal preexistence. Since this is an attribute of God alone, this text is a forceful statement of Jesus’ deity. The present tense of the verb suggests the eternal present of God’s eternity.” Jesus is equating Himself to God even by the. Simple statement “I am” is also reminiscent of God’s name when He spoke to Moses in the burning bush.

Jesus is making it clear that though He may have been walking the earth for a short 30 years, He has always been existent.

So when we read that Jesus is called the firstborn of creation, we understand this not as His time of creation, He was completely out of time!, we understand firstborn of creation as describing His position and right of inheritance.

An excellent way to grasp this is through the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis chapters 25 and 27. Isaac has two children through his wife Rebecca. Jacob and Esau. Though they were twins, Esau was born first. Being the first born, he would get a birthright from his father. One day when Esau got home from the field, he was very hungry. It just so happened that his brother Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau asked for some stew and Jacob said, only if you give your birthright. You must swear to give it to me. Esau was so hungry that he said, “what good is a birthright if I’m about to die.” He agreed to give the rights and privileges owed to the first born to his younger brother.

Now, we wont go into all the details for the sake of time this morning, but if you fast forward a bit, eventually, Jacob through an elaborate trick gets his father Isaac to actually give him the blessing and birthright owed to the firstborn. Esau comes to find this out and begs Isaac to bless him too, but it is impossible. The right to be the first born has been transferred. The position is now Jacob despite the order of their birth.

This situation is much different than Jesus being the firstborn of creation. There was no trickery involved in Him garnering such a title. However, it does illustrate the positional understanding of the title of Firstborn. That position is greater explained in the next two verses from Colossians 1.

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

In these verse should note the parallels, or the complimentary theology presented here as it is in Hebrews 1, as well.

We don’t have to turn there in this moment, but make a note to read todays section of Scripture along side Hebrews 1:1-4. In those verse you will see Christ described as the heir of all things. That coincides and supports our understanding of the position of firstborn meaning the inheritor. You will also see in Hebrews there that all things were created through Him.

It is important to note the great harmony there is in Scripture. All Scripture works together and all of it points to Jesus. How do we know that this is the case? Well it is very evident in the New Testament. The gospels tell of His earthly life, Acts shows the formation of His Church, the epistles show the implications of His salvation, and Revelation shows His Second Coming. But we also know that all of the Old Testament points to Jesus as well. In fact, after His Resurrection, Jesus sat down with His disciples and had an expository Bible study, showing how all of it points to Him.

Luke 24:27 ESV

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

I bring this up because when we take verses by themselves and isolate them from the context of the whole of Scripture, that is how we fall into the heretical traps like that of the Arians and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. We are saved by Faith, but that faith is not in something vague. That faith is in the true Christ, made known to us through the Word of God, who actually lived, died, and rose again for the atonement of sin. If our faith is in a fabrication made from the fantasies of man, then it is as useless as a wooden frying pan.

Look back to verses 16 and 17.

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Our Christ, the Christ of the Bible is the one who through whom all things were created. Not only were all things created through Him, but they were created for Him! He is before all things, as we’ve already seen He is eternal. And He holds all things together. One commentary noted here that Christ is “gravity and centrifugal and centripetal force. He is the one who keeps all entities in space in their motion. He is the energy in the universe.” “Jesus must be God. He made the universe, existed outside and before it, and preserves it.”

Can we all take a moment and just appreciate the great glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

I mentioned the survey earlier where 51% of Americans said they believed Jesus to be a good teacher, but not God. In the same survey 55% said that they believed Jesus was the first and greatest created being by God. Another 15% weren’t sure.

That tells me that at least 70% of Americans don’t know the glorious, divine, Son of God, Jesus shown to us in God’s Word.

This is a sad realization. A less than Jesus, is no Jesus at all.

Church, we must not think less of Jesus than He deserves. Read with me again the greatness of Jesus presented in our verses today:

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Then look back at 14

Colossians 1:14 ESV

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

All of the great things we have seen about Jesus, the physical representation of God, the heir of all things, the creator of all, the owner all, the sustainer of all, the one before all things, It is in that one and that one alone in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

That forgiveness comes through faith in Jesus Christ. We’re told in

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I want to remind you the three elements of faith we talked about earlier in light of what we’ve learned in Colossians 1. First there was knowledge. It has been explained that Jesus came before all things and is above all things. It is an intellectual fact that Jesus of Nazareth was also the eternal Son of God. It is a fact that He lived, died, and rose again. Then there is assent. Jesus gave many directives and taught many great lessons for our application. Most Americans will agree that he was a teacher that taught valuable lessons. We can assent to His teaching thinking it to be beneficial. But the last element of saving faith is the hardest and most essential. Trust. You are being asked today, not just if you know who He is and what He’s done and find value to His teaching. You are being asked today if you TRUST in Him. If you have seen the goodness and greatness of who He is and what He has done for you, then you must surely trust Him. And what rest there is in truly trusting Jesus

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

The trust being talked about here isn’t blind faith. It's proved through the continued work of Jesus Christ. It’s seeing the fruit from His work in You. It’s seeing the truthfulness and reliability of His Word. It's shared in the testimonies of the saints in the local congregation.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. To be saved by the grace of God through Faith in the Son.

Think about the great Jesus described before you today. And understand that while all of that is true, that same person died on a cross to pay for the sins of all those who know, assent, and trust, that is have faith in Him.

Is your faith in Him? If you feel led to talk more about this, respond today.

Let’s pray.