The Preeminent Christ: Holding All Things Together

• The Nature of Christ (Hypostatic Union) [00:06:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the Nicene Creed's purpose in defining Christ's divinity against heresy, asserting He is 'God of God' and 'of one substance with the Father.'
• Salvation through Christ's Dual Nature [00:14:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Christ's humanity allowed Him to obey God perfectly and suffer for sin, while His divinity allowed Him to endure God's wrath, making salvation possible.
• Worship as Divine Invitation [00:00:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor frames worship not as tradition but as a response to God's invitation to offer praise fitting to His name.
• Misunderstood Scripture [00:33:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the sermon series on misunderstood, misquoted, and misapplied passages, focusing on Colossians 1:15-20.
• Christology / The Nature of Jesus [00:36:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the error of viewing Jesus as a created being or demigod, asserting instead that Jesus is God and the perfect image of the invisible God.
• Exegesis of 'Firstborn' [00:43:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor begins to explain the term 'firstborn of all creation,' noting its Old Testament usage regarding inheritance and importance rather than chronological creation.
• The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ [00:42:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God, distinct from creation, and has always been God, refuting the idea that He was created.
• Exegesis of 'Firstborn of All Creation' [00:43:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that 'firstborn' refers to status, inheritance, and supremacy rather than chronological birth or creation, citing Old Testament usage and Psalm 89.
• Refutation of Arianism and Modern Heresy [00:45:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Nicene Creed's affirmation of Christ as 'begotten, not made' with the heresy of Arianism and modern surveys showing many evangelicals do not believe Jesus is God.
• Christ as Agent and Goal of Creation [00:48:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that Jesus created all things (visible and invisible) and that creation exists for Him, making Him the starting and finishing line of all existence.
• Christ as Sustainer of the Universe [00:52:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Jesus actively holds all things together, upholding the laws of nature and sustaining life, using the analogy of a to-do list to highlight human inability to maintain order.
• Christ as Head of the Church (New Creation) [00:54:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes Jesus as the head of the body, the church, using the analogy of the brain controlling the body to illustrate dependence, guidance, and sustenance.
• The Meaning of Preeminence [00:57:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines 'preeminent' as having paramount rank and being peerless, asserting that Jesus is supreme in both creation and new creation.
• Reconciliation through the Cross [00:58:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor concludes that the fullness of God dwells in Christ, and through His blood, He reconciles all things to Himself, making Him the only Redeemer.
• The Preeminence of Christ [00:57:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines 'preeminent' as having paramount rank, dignity, or importance, and asserts that Jesus is peerless, supreme, and outstanding in both creation and new creation.
• The Fullness of God in Christ [00:58:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus, affirming His deity, that He was never created, and that He shares the same essence and power as the Father and Holy Spirit.
• Reconciliation through the Cross [00:58:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Roman concept of peace through force with Jesus' humble reconciliation of all things to Himself through the blood of His cross, citing Romans 5:10.
• Personal Application of Lordship [01:01:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor challenges the congregation to ask if Jesus has paramount rank in their hearts and if He is preeminent in their lives, leading into a closing prayer.

• Sermon Illustration [00:06:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the historical context of the Council of Nicaea, where bishops responded to the heresy of Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created 'lesser God' rather than fully divine.
• Sermon Illustration [00:14:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a rhetorical question about obeying God perfectly to illustrate human sinfulness and contrast it with Jesus' perfect obedience as a man.
• Sermon Illustration [00:35:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of people quoting a single line from a song to build their life's theme without understanding the whole song, or singing along to lyrics incorrectly for years before discovering the true words, to illustrate how people take small sections of Scripture out of context.
• Sermon Illustration [00:37:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the movie Moana and the character Maui as an example of a 'demigod' concept that some mistakenly apply to Jesus to suggest He is less than God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a personal anecdote about keeping a to-do list on his phone to illustrate his inability to hold things together, contrasting it with Jesus' active role in holding the universe together.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biological analogy of the brain controlling the body (sending signals, regulating heartbeat, breathing, and growth via the pituitary gland) to explain how Jesus, as the head, sustains and guides the church.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a dictionary definition from 'old Mr. Webster' to define 'preeminent' as having paramount rank, dignity, or importance, and contrasts this with the cultural understanding of reconciliation in the Roman Empire, which often meant peace through the sword or conquest.

• Pastoral Charge [00:32:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn to Colossians 1:15-20 in their Bibles
• Pastoral Charge [00:38:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > Look at the Bible text with the pastor

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:44] It's an amazing thing to consider that the Lord Himself invites us to worship, calls us to worship.
[00:00:51] This is not a sterile thing that we do when we come together, just merely keeping up tradition.
[00:00:56] No, we are gathering in the name and the presence of the Lord to offer Him praise that is fitting to His name.
[00:01:03] And He Himself invites us to this, and I want to read that invitation from Psalm 148 and ask you to join me in standing as we hear the Lord call us into His worship.
[00:01:14] Psalm 148 declares, Praise the Lord.
[00:01:20] Praise the Lord from the heavens.
[00:01:22] Praise Him in the heights.
[00:01:24] Praise Him all His angels.
[00:01:26] Praise Him all His hosts.
[00:01:28] Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted.
[00:01:33] His majesty is above earth and heaven.
[00:01:37] Let us respond by singing together hymn number 295, Crown Him with Many Crowns.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:46] Let's pray together.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:04:24] Our Lord, our God, we have gathered here this morning at Your invitation, indeed at Your command, remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy, because this is the day that You have created for us to rest and to worship.
[00:04:41] And Lord, we thank You that You, the holy God who has created all things, who dwells in inapproachable light, has invited us to approach You through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
[00:04:55] it is through Jesus Christ that we have access into your presence indeed that we are welcomed into your throne room and we can worship you holding up hands that have been made holy because of his precious blood
[00:05:10] that has washed away the stain of sin and we thank you that as we gather we also know that your Holy Spirit is here with us moving powerfully amongst us as we praise and worship you
[00:05:21] according to your word according to truth and according to Your Spirit's power.
[00:05:26] And so we pray, Father, that You would be well pleased with what we offer You this morning and that You would minister to our hearts and minds, that You would grow us up in love and in faith of You.
[00:05:38] And so, Lord, we praise You and thank You.
[00:05:40] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:05:42] You may be seated.
[00:05:44] And as you're finding your seat, keep your hymnal with you for our corporate voice of faith.
[00:05:49] You'll turn to the back to page number 846.
[00:05:54] because our corporate voice of faith this morning is the Nicene Creed.
[00:05:59] People may wonder from time to time, why do we have creeds?
[00:06:04] What is the purpose? What is the point of having creeds?
[00:06:08] Well, one of the reasons we have creeds is because they help define our doctrine and the standard of orthodoxy.
[00:06:17] This particular creed that we're looking at today wasn't created in a vacuum.
[00:06:22] It was crafted in response to heresy.
[00:06:26] It was crafted in response to false teaching.
[00:06:30] And it helps define the full and eternal divine nature of Jesus Christ.
[00:06:35] You see, there was a man in the 3rd century, 4th century, named Arius, who was teaching and believed that Jesus Christ was not eternally and fully God.
[00:06:44] He believed that Christ, rather, was the first of God's creative acts.
[00:06:49] That long ago, before time began, God created Jesus and endued Him with certain divine attributes, but that means necessarily that Christ is not fully God.
[00:07:02] He's a lesser God, a secondary God at best, according to Arius.
[00:07:07] And as you can imagine, this caused quite a lot of consternation within the church, and so an emperor by the name of Constantine assembled together some of the bishops in a city called nicaea to take up this question who is jesus is he is he fully god or is he somehow
[00:07:25] lesser than god and so they took up this question and it's an important question to figure out because our very salvation hinges upon it if jesus christ is not fully god then we are not fully
[00:07:39] saved because it takes one who is fully god to fully save his people and that's something that will we'll hear fleshed out a little later on throughout the course of this service but but as
[00:07:52] we read this together in just a moment that middle section you'll see is the largest section and it is painstakingly written to provide definition about the nature of Jesus divinity where we read that he we read that he is God of God light of light very God of very God begotten not made of
[00:08:13] one substance with the Father. These are not hollow words, friends. These help us understand the person and the nature of Jesus Christ, particularly in His divinity. So, using these words, Christian, let me ask you, what do you believe? We believe in one God, the Father
[00:08:33] Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, and 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
[00:09:00] with the Father, by whom all things were made, who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried and the third
[00:09:27] day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father and he shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead
[00:09:43] whose kingdom shall have no end and we believe in the holy spirit the lord and giver of life who proceeds from the father and the son who with the father and the son together is worshiped and
[00:10:01] glorified who spoke by the prophets and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come amen well turn now with me in your bibles to our gospel reading
[00:10:29] for the morning, which comes from the Gospel of John, John chapter 1, 1 through 18. And as we read these familiar words on the heels of reading the Nicene Creed, you'll begin to see where much of
[00:10:42] the council of Nicaea got their information regarding the nature of Jesus Christ, that He is one person with two natures. John here affirms the eternal divinity of Christ and then also speaks to us of His incarnation when He took on flesh and became man as well. And so we have this Savior
[00:11:01] who is fully God and fully man. John chapter 1 verses 1 through 18. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things
[00:11:20] were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not
[00:11:34] overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to
[00:11:46] bear witness about the light. The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
[00:11:52] He was in the world and the world was made through him yet the world did not know him.
[00:11:58] He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
[00:12:02] But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[00:12:15] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory.
[00:12:21] Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
[00:12:26] John bore witness about Him and cried out, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.
[00:12:36] For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
[00:12:40] For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
[00:12:45] No one has ever seen God.
[00:12:48] God, the only Son who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known.
[00:12:54] Indeed, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.
[00:12:59] Amen. Well, this time I'd like to invite the children forward for the children's message.
[00:13:06] Kids, I will see you up front. Good morning. How's everybody doing today? Okay, so here we are. What month is this? It's July. So I think it's the perfect time for us to talk about Christmas.
[00:13:40] All right. Now, the reason for that is you're not thinking about Christmas. The church isn't decorated. You're not worried about presents. We can just, we can talk about Christmas objectively this morning. So someone tell me, what do we celebrate at Christmas? Yes, ma'am. When Jesus
[00:13:59] was born. That's exactly right. And who is Jesus? He's God. That's exactly right. That's what we just talked about. Jesus is God. But when He was born, He became something else too. What did Jesus
[00:14:12] become when He was born? What? A human. That's exactly right. So you've just confessed the truth that we confessed a moment ago, that Jesus is God and He is man. And it's an amazing mystery to us
[00:14:29] that He is one person with these two natures. He is God and He is man. And it's an amazing truth that means everything for our salvation. We are saved because Jesus became a real person,
[00:14:45] and he did something that no other person has ever been able to do and that's obey God perfectly have any of you ever obeyed God perfectly for the all of your life no none of us because we all sin
[00:14:57] right Jesus never sinned he obeyed God perfectly so he did something for us that we can't do and he also did something else that we aren't able to do he went to the cross and he suffered as a man for the sins of the world for all of us and that's why it's important
[00:15:16] that Jesus became a man but it's also important that Jesus was fully God because no mere man could endure the terrible wrath of God for our sin Jesus had to be God in order to endure that
[00:15:28] as well and so we need the whole Christ we need Jesus as God and man for us to have the hope of salvation. And that is so important for us to understand. And I'm so thankful to hear even you
[00:15:41] understand that Jesus is God and He became a man. And that means everything for our salvation because our hope is rooted in Jesus as our Savior. So why don't we pray together and give thanks to
[00:15:54] God for bringing or giving to us such a wonderful Savior in Jesus. Will you pray with me? Dear God, we thank you for jesus we thank you that he is fully god and he is fully man and because of that
[00:16:13] salvation is possible please help us to always believe to always place our faith in jesus christ in jesus name we pray amen all right you may return to your seats

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:16:34] seats i'll encourage you to join me and stand as we sing a little psalm selection this sunday it's psalm 204 in the insert let them praise his name let's stand and sing together

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:16:54] let's pray together almighty god indeed you are exalted above the heavens above the earth and the

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:20:49] sky and we worship you this day because in jesus christ we have received grace upon grace and so as we receive now your tithes and our offerings, we pray that you would receive them for the
[00:21:02] building up of your church and the going forth of the name of Jesus Christ to every tribe,

[00:21:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:21:07] nation, and tongue. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. Please

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:23:53] be seated. As we come to a time in prayer in our service, a few things we can be mindful of and praying for this week. First of all, we're going to be praying for our group who's
[00:24:05] going to music conference, as we've heard already in the service. Most of them leave later today. Some of them have already traveled up there to Bon Clark in this week. I think we have a large group, and we can pray for a time of worship and learning, but also a fellowship
[00:24:22] and safety. A few announcements as far as what folks have going on. Nick White has mono and caught it recently, and it's sort of a serious case of mono. He is having issues with his liver
[00:24:38] and kidneys, and so we want to be praying for Nick and his continued care during this time.
[00:24:44] His father, Bob White, is recovering well after his procedure this past Monday. We want to continue to pray for his recovery after his procedure on his carotid artery. And then last Sunday, we mentioned that Pat Gromis was going to have surgery on Thursday. She did not end up having
[00:25:01] that surgery. So we want to continue to pray for her and her care as well. And I believe that's all the items we need to be mindful of this week. So let's go to the Lord now in a time of prayer.
[00:25:21] Almighty God, the heavens declare your glory. The sky above the earth proclaim your handiwork.
[00:25:32] We can see your greatness and your majesty throughout all creation. We can see it from one end of the heavens to the next. And we see that you have made all things and that you give
[00:25:49] life to all things. We praise and worship you this day that as we will see later in Colossians 1 that in Jesus Christ all things are held together. That you are at work sustaining providentially
[00:26:03] all of your creation. We praise you that you are a mighty God in creation. We also praise you that You're a God who has revealed Yourself to us in Your Word, and we thank You for Your Word.
[00:26:19] We thank You that the law of the Lord is perfect, that it revives our soul. We praise You that Your testimony is sure, making wise the simple, that Your precepts are right, and they rejoice our
[00:26:36] hearts. We thank You that Your commandment is pure, and that You enlighten the eyes of those who follow after you. And God, we pray now for the rightful desire to treasure your word, that indeed that your rules, your law would be more desirable to us than gold, even much fine gold,
[00:26:59] and sweeter also than honey in the drippings of the honeycomb. We praise you and thank you for your word that it shows us who you are and how we are to live in light of that truth.
[00:27:09] and so I pray for us now as we continue in worshiping you that your word would be a treasure to us and that we would search it for the truth of who you are we do pray for your work in the
[00:27:28] world around us we pray for the witness of collo creek arp we thank you for the blessing that this local church is to us but we pray for our mission in the world around us we pray for our families
[00:27:43] in our homes to be outposts of the gospel, that we would be lights in the world around us and that you would be pleased with the gospel work that we do here at Cottle Creek ARP. It's in that light
[00:28:00] that we pray for the ongoing work of our plans to plant a daughter church. Lord, we know that we've been praying for this for a couple of years now and we pray that you would continue to be at
[00:28:11] work, you would encourage us in this work, that you would move within us to bring about that work so that the gospel may go forth and your love be proclaimed in the neighborhoods around us.
[00:28:27] We also pray for and praise you for the many great opportunities we've had this summer at Bon Clark and through various trips. We pray for our group who's going to music conference this week. Lord, we know that that will be a lot of fun for everyone there. We also pray that you would
[00:28:43] be with them as they worship you. We pray for the speaker this week, Reverend Philip Bunch, that you would give him your word for your people in that time and that you would greatly use that conference
[00:28:53] as a time for fellowship amongst brothers and sisters and encouragement to your people and most of all that you would be worshiped. We also pray for those in our midst that are traveling this summer. We pray that you would be with them and give them traveling mercies. We thank you for your
[00:29:11] blessings and to us, and we also pray for the many various needs of our people. We do pray for Nick White and his coming down with mono. Lord, we pray for his care by the physicians and the
[00:29:22] doctors. We pray that it would be effective and that Nick would be on the road to recovery soon and very soon. We thank you for Bob White's successful procedure this past week, and we pray for his continued recovery, for his decreased pain, and that he would have energy and strength
[00:29:42] in the days to come. We continue to pray for Miss Pat Gromis. We pray for her pain. We also pray for her strength and energy and for the doctor's discernment on the route forward for her care.
[00:29:56] We pray that you would comfort her. We continue to pray for Carolyn Caldwell, who received care recently for gallstones, we pray that you would be with her and Kearney as he cares for her.
[00:30:07] Of course, we think of Sadie Kuhn at her recent diagnosis. Lord, would you comfort her and the Kuhns? Would you allow for your comfort to be upon them and be with them as they discern the
[00:30:18] best path for treatment? And Lord God, we also continue to pray for Roberta Simon and for her care, and we pray for John as he cares for her. Lord, we confess we sometimes are overwhelmed by the many needs that we have, and yet we find great comfort in knowing that
[00:30:40] Jesus Christ is the ruler and the Lord of all creation, and that you are at work. So help us rest in that truth even as we entrust these things to you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:32:51] Well, please turn with me in your Bibles for our sermon passage this morning, Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20. We are in our sixth installment of a series this summer, if you're just joining us for the first time today, on a series of misunderstood, misquoted,
[00:33:09] misapplied passages of Scripture. And today we come to a misunderstood portion of a great hymn about who Jesus is in verses 15 through 20. The second half of verse 15 is our misunderstood portion of this passage in Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20. So turn there with me
[00:33:34] in your Bibles. Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word, and then we will consider this beautiful Jesus this morning. Let's pray together. Gracious God, we thank you for your word that reveals to us who you are. We also praise you for your light, for we know that only
[00:33:54] in your light do we see light. And so as we come through such a rich passage, help us to see clearly who Jesus is in his full glory. We pray that you would do this for your honor. We pray it in Jesus'
[00:34:09] name. Amen. Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20. Let's hear now the word of the Lord.
[00:34:15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
[00:34:49] the head of the body of the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
[00:35:04] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross amen have you ever had anyone quote a single line or maybe part of a line of a song and try to use that as like a foundational theme for their life
[00:35:29] anyone ever heard someone do that back when i was young and facebook came onto the scene you would have a facebook profile okay and on your facebook profile some of you have no idea what this is on
[00:35:41] your Facebook profile, little children, you would have a quote or a quote section, and you might include your favorite quote from a movie or so on and so forth. And sometimes folks would choose like one little snippet out of a song that didn't have really anything to do with the rest of the
[00:35:56] song. You understand what I'm talking about? Although sometimes when we quote songs, we don't actually know what the words are. Has this ever happened to you? You've sung a song for like two, three years. Before Google, this happened all the time. You'd sing a song for two or three years,
[00:36:09] and then you'd hear it differently and then you'd ask someone, usually your wife, wait, does it say thus and such here? And she's like, yeah, of course that's what the words are.
[00:36:19] And you've been singing it wrong the whole time. Well, this morning we're going to look at one of the earliest hymns of our faith and we'll see that unfortunately for centuries people have made just that mistake, taking one small section and trying to say that's what it's declaring here
[00:36:38] and treating it as though it explains the whole passage of Scripture.
[00:36:43] But songs are meant to be understood together.
[00:36:48] There's a misunderstanding here in the second half of verse 15 of Jesus as the firstborn of creation.
[00:36:54] People take that phrase out of context of the larger section.
[00:36:59] They use it to say that Jesus was created, and if Jesus was created, then he cannot be God.
[00:37:04] He must be some sort of demigod like Maui in the movie Moana, or less than God, a step below God the Father. Maybe they would say he's a good teacher. You should listen to what he had to say.
[00:37:18] He gives a great example, but they would wrongly say that Jesus is not God, and they would use this verse to support that. Well, the Apostle Paul gives us in a magnificent hymn a full picture of who
[00:37:32] Jesus is in these verses before us this morning. And he does this in order to show us that Jesus is preeminent. Jesus is preeminent. That means first in all things. The Apostle Paul relays that to us
[00:37:49] using sort of a formula here in two different sections, and that's the sections we're going to consider. Verses 15 through 17, he shows us that Jesus is preeminent in creation. And then in verses 18 through 20, he shows us that he is preeminent in redemption. And we see that in this
[00:38:11] little formula. Look in your Bibles with me. We see it in verse 15 and verse 18, we see he is, and then we see and he is. Later on in verse 15, we see the firstborn. Then in verse 18,
[00:38:24] we see a corresponding, the firstborn. Verse 16, for in him, and then verse 19, for in him.
[00:38:34] Verse 20 and 16 also include the phrase in the heavens and on the earth. Paul has given us a beautiful structure here, and that's how we're going to consider this. We see some similar wording and other similarities as well, the idea of all things and through him. And it all points
[00:38:56] to the truth that Jesus is preeminent first in creation and redemption. He uses this formula in this hymn to show the Colossians what they were missing. Let's consider then this full picture from Colossians chapter 1 verses 15 through 20 to see how Christ is preeminent in all creation
[00:39:20] and preeminent in redemption. Beginning then with verses 15 through 17, we see Jesus as the Lord of all creation because the problem that the Colossians had was that they were missing a full picture of Jesus. They were mixing and matching with some other groups and ideas around
[00:39:42] them. And what they were doing was twofold. They were lowering who Jesus was and what they thought and taught and believed. And they were also elevating angelic beings as well. We see that more throughout the book or the letter of Colossians. And so Paul started his letter to
[00:40:00] address that prayer of thanksgiving and a prayer for the believers, and then transitions to this full hymn, and he begins that in verse 13, when he says this, that Jesus has delivered us from the
[00:40:19] domain of darkness and transferred us to his kingdom, and in Jesus we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So he's teed it up for the Colossians, and now we're going to see our passage this full picture of Christ. So let's look at verse 15 to begin. We're looking at verses 15
[00:40:39] through 17, the Lord of creation. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Now, there are some things that we read in scripture that we read and we ask God to help us understand them more and more
[00:40:54] and we don't ever fully understand, right? And there are some of these truths in our passage this morning, and we need to be okay with not completely understanding them. Scripture teaches us, God's Word reveals to us that He is a spirit, that He does not have a material body. So then
[00:41:18] Jesus being the image of the invisible God means that the very nature and character of God is revealed perfectly in Jesus Christ, because anything less would not do. He perfectly reveals to us the very nature and character of God. Jesus Christ makes the invisible visible.
[00:41:45] And Jesus himself told us this in John chapter 14. In John chapter 14, he's talking with his disciples in the upper room, and Philip's having a hard time believing Jesus. And what does Philip say to him around verse 8 or 9? Philip says, Jesus, just show us the Father, and we will believe you.
[00:42:10] Just show us the Father, and we will believe you. In other words, show us God, and we'll believe everything that you say. And Jesus replies to Philip in John chapter 14, verse 9. He says this,
[00:42:21] Jesus goes on to say, I am in the Father, the Father is in me.
[00:42:35] Now again, are we able to wrap our minds around that totally and completely?
[00:42:40] No, but that is the truth of God's Word.
[00:42:45] Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
[00:42:50] And when we think of the image of God, sometimes we can think of creation, but this is different here.
[00:42:55] At creation, in Genesis chapter 1, when God creates man, he makes man in his image.
[00:43:02] Adam is made in his image as a likeness, but Jesus is God.
[00:43:12] Jesus has always been God's perfect image.
[00:43:17] Jesus has always been distinct and highly exalted above creation.
[00:43:23] So even before we reach the misunderstood phrase, we see that Jesus is God, a reminder of that great truth.
[00:43:34] So we continue on then in verse 15 to the misunderstood portion.
[00:43:39] The firstborn of all creation, verse 15 tells us.
[00:43:43] So how should we understand the firstborn of all creation?
[00:43:47] If someone were to ask you that, how would you explain it to them?
[00:43:52] Well, it probably won't surprise you to know that that term, firstborn, is found in the Old Testament over 130 times, and it usually speaks to the inheritance or the importance of a child.
[00:44:08] The inheritance or importance of a child.
[00:44:11] Sometimes it speaks to the father's favor of a child.
[00:44:14] But the firstborn, chronologically speaking, is not always who that refers to in the Old Testament.
[00:44:21] The meaning of the firstborn in Colossians, then, speaks to Jesus as being supreme in all creation.
[00:44:30] Prior to creation, supreme above creation, the firstborn here is a status of the Father's favor upon Christ.
[00:44:40] We see a parallel of that in Psalm 89, verse 27.
[00:44:45] it's talking about a promise of King David. Was King David his father's firstborn son? No, right?
[00:44:52] He was the youngest, right? And yet Psalm 89, 27 is promised of David that God will make him the firstborn, the highest kings of the earth. In other words, the firstborn here is the one who
[00:45:08] holds a special place in the father's heart. The principal heir of creation is in view here for Jesus as the firstborn. What this does not mean is that Jesus was ever created. It doesn't mean
[00:45:24] that Jesus was created, as Andrew mentioned earlier, as Arius said, before Genesis, before the recording of Genesis. Jesus wasn't created in his incarnation. Jesus never ever became because Jesus always has been and always will be. Teaching that Jesus was created is a heresy.
[00:45:51] And we heard very clearly from the Nicene Creed this morning, talking about Arianism that was put forth by Arian in the early 300s. We've read this morning from John chapter 1, where we hear of Christ as eternally the Son of God. We affirm this morning together
[00:46:11] that Jesus is very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.
[00:46:21] And so it's good to confess and affirm what we believe and to wrap our minds around it as much as we can because while this is a very old heresy, it's still one that's in circulation today.
[00:46:35] The Jehovah's Witness, for example, do not affirm the deity of Christ.
[00:46:39] Maybe you've come across someone who's a Jehovah's Witness.
[00:46:42] but there's also a problem a little closer to home. Ligonier Ministries, every couple of years, I believe, does a state of theology survey, and they did one in 2025. And what they do is that
[00:46:58] they ask evangelicals, Christians, what it is that they believe in, Christians in America, what they believe. It's very insightful. You can Google it and find it and read through it.
[00:47:09] But in 2025, they asked a true-false statement or posed a true-false statement to Christians in America. And the statement was this, Jesus was a great teacher, but Jesus was not God. Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God. 28% strongly agreed with that statement.
[00:47:32] 21% somewhat agreed, and 11% were unsure. So, you know, some people aren't good test takers, I understand that. Sometimes it's hard to read questions. But we can say that 50 to 60 percent of people who were surveyed for this, and this is supposed to be representative of the evangelical
[00:47:50] church today, do not believe that Jesus is God. Clearly, this is a present tense problem and one that we need to be able to talk to people about and know for sure in our heart because Jesus came
[00:48:08] to bring light and to be grace and truth in the world. So we must know what God's Word teaches.
[00:48:16] God's word teaches that Jesus was never created. That is not what the firstborn means here.
[00:48:22] And how can I say that so confidently? Well, the entire testimony of scripture says that, and the best news for y'all is, the next verse says it too. Verse 16.
[00:48:31] For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
[00:48:38] So put your logic hats on and think through that. A creature cannot create all things.
[00:48:51] A creature cannot create all things. Anything that there is, that's what we mean by this idea of all things. All of those things, Jesus was the agent of creation. We saw that in John 1 as
[00:49:04] well. By him all things were created. There's nothing that was created in heaven or on earth that Jesus was not the agent of creation. There will not be a discovery mission to the depths of
[00:49:19] the ocean or to the ends of the farthest galaxy that we're going to know Jesus was not the agent of creation of. And that's why Paul spells out this list of things, which is, you know, really
[00:49:32] helpful to us. It's a list of things we can see and a list of things we can't see. Things in heaven and things on earth. Rulers, thrones, dominions, authorities. It's a list that includes all that
[00:49:46] we know about and things that we don't know that much about. A divine counsel here is what a throne here is talking about. The spirit of beings of which we have less understanding. The testimony
[00:50:03] of God's Word is that Jesus created it all. All things are subject to the Lord Jesus. And just in case there's any room for misunderstanding, at the end of verse 16, what do we read?
[00:50:16] All things were created through him and for him. In other words, Jesus is the starting line for creation and the finish line for creation. And that he is the goal, the end, the finish of all things is for Jesus. Creation was made by him and for him. So let's take a moment to apply
[00:50:47] that to our lives. That means that every blade of grass, every bird in the air, every hair on your head was created with a single purpose, and that is to bring glory to Lord Jesus. Creation being
[00:51:06] for him means that that is its goal, its end, its purpose. All creation was created for a purpose, and that includes you and I. We are created for a purpose. Do you believe that? Are you fulfilling
[00:51:25] that purpose as a student, whether you be in second grade or twelfth grade? Are you fulfilling that purpose as a husband or father or as a wife? Are you fulfilling that purpose as an employee?
[00:51:40] we have a great grand purpose because Jesus created all things and all things are created for him. Does that matter to you? This Jesus in whom all things were created and all things find their
[00:52:02] purpose is also, as verse 17 tells us, before all things and in him all things hold together.
[00:52:11] Once again, if you were to isolate that firstborn of creation, we would have a very bankrupt view of Jesus because he is before all things. He is God. He is the great I am. Before creation was,
[00:52:23] he was or is. And all things are held together by him. All things are held together by him, which blows our mind because we can't hold together hardly anything, right? I have a to-do list I keep on my phone, and if I didn't have that list, I'd forget everything that I'm supposed to
[00:52:48] do that week. I can't hold anything together. Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, holds all things together. He's actively holding together all things. He's giving life to all things. But further than that, he's holding nature together. Think of it this way. All of the laws of nature,
[00:53:12] I don't know how many there are. My wife would. All of them are being held together right here, right now by Jesus in heaven. All of the laws of nature. Gravity itself is being upheld by Jesus
[00:53:25] Christ, fully God, fully man right now. He's the cosmic power behind everything that we experience and all the life that we have. Every breath you breathe in is upheld, empowered by Jesus right here, right now. What an amazing truth. All things are held together by him. That's what it means
[00:53:48] that Jesus is the Lord of all creation. It's the first reason Paul says he is preeminent, first in all things. Continuing on then to our second and final point, we see Jesus is the Lord
[00:54:03] of the new creation. He's the Lord of redemption. This Jesus who created all things, in whom all things find their purpose, who is before all things, and who holds all things together.
[00:54:17] This Jesus is also the head of the body, the church, the people of the new creation that he is making new.
[00:54:27] The head of the church shows the personal relationship that Jesus has with his people.
[00:54:31] It's not that he saves a group of people and then sort of sends them away like he doesn't want anything else to do with them.
[00:54:37] We see a personal relationship here.
[00:54:39] How do we see that?
[00:54:42] He is their head, their leader, their ruler, their source of life.
[00:54:45] He leads the church.
[00:54:47] We as the church are totally dependent upon him.
[00:54:51] This is another truth that is true and yet mystic and spiritual in ways that we can't fully understand.
[00:54:58] But what we can understand is how a body is dependent on the head.
[00:55:05] Think about it this way.
[00:55:06] The head controls the body.
[00:55:08] The brain sends signals through our nervous system that tell every part of the body what to do.
[00:55:14] It directs the body.
[00:55:15] It gives it guidance.
[00:55:18] The brain brings various parts of our body into harmony.
[00:55:22] Our brain makes our body work together.
[00:55:25] It coordinates the body.
[00:55:28] The brain also regulates breathing, heartbeat, balance, temperature.
[00:55:34] The brain sustains ongoing life and well-being.
[00:55:37] The brain, the mind, gives growth to the body.
[00:55:40] That's through the pituitary gland.
[00:55:43] Learned something new this week.
[00:55:44] the head provides growth and guidance to the body and that's what jesus christ does for the church for the people of the new creation this jesus who who created all things in whom all things find their purpose who is before all things and in him all things hold together is also
[00:56:05] the jesus who is verse 18 the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be and everything he might be preeminence jesus is not only the agent in creation he's the agent of reconciliation this process of making all things new and bringing redemption to his people
[00:56:30] and so we see that he's the firstborn from the dead again a statement of status here we read elsewhere in scripture that jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith that he has gone to prepare a place for his people. He's the first to rise from the dead in a glorious
[00:56:53] resurrected body. He is the firstfruits from the grave. That also means, Christian, that he is your guarantee that you one day will join him in that glorified state. And all of this, friends, all of
[00:57:11] this that Paul has written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is so that Jesus may be preeminent. Now, that's not a word we use all that often, right? In fact, kids, I think you would say
[00:57:26] goaded now, unfortunately. He's the greatest of all time, like in a sport or something.
[00:57:33] But what does preeminent mean? Well, old Mr. Webster defines preeminent as having paramount rank, dignity, or importance. Paramount rank, dignity, or importance. Synonyms for it are outstanding or supreme. You might hear about eminent scholars in a certain field,
[00:57:54] but that means that they have peers. Jesus Christ is peerless. Jesus is supreme, outstanding in creation. Jesus is and will be supreme and outstanding in new creation as well. And how is all of this possible? Well, that's what we see at the conclusion of our passage, verses 19 and 20.
[00:58:15] For in Christ the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
[00:58:28] The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus. The sum total of God's power and authority dwells has always dwelt in Jesus Christ. This is yet another affirmation of Jesus as God. He was never
[00:58:48] created, there was never a time when he wasn't, and there was never a time Jesus was not God.
[00:58:56] Scripture teaches us that he doesn't get some of what the Father has, or some of what the Holy Spirit has. They are the same in essence and power. They have the same fullness. There's no
[00:59:10] element of deity lacking in Christ, which is great news, because the Redeemer of God's elect, the one through whom God has chosen to reconcile himself to all things, does so, how? Verse 20, by making peace by the blood of his cross. There could only be one Redeemer of God's elect,
[00:59:36] and it could only be Jesus Christ. The outworking of this fullness of God dwelling in Christ is this reconciliation. God reconciles his people to himself. Reconciliation would have been a loaded term for folks in the Roman Empire, because that would have meant, sometimes by force,
[01:00:05] peace through the sword, peace by being conquered. And yet Jesus Christ comes humbly to serve and to lay down his life to reconcile us to God. As Romans chapter 5 verse 10 tells us, while we were
[01:00:19] enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. This is what Jesus came to accomplish on behalf of his people, to be preeminent in redemption. Our peace that we have with God is
[01:00:35] accomplished through his blood. It is not accomplished through conquering or a sword. It is a peace by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. By this Jesus, whom we have seen, is the Lord of all
[01:00:49] creation. He comes to bring peace and grace and truth. So Jesus as the firstborn of creation is one small part of this beautiful epic hymn that shows us the big picture of Jesus being the agent
[01:01:11] and the goal of creation, the one who reconciles us to God. And this passage is a full picture of Jesus revealed to us. He has created all things. He sustains all things. He rules all things. He
[01:01:26] reconciles all things to himself. Jesus is supreme, outstanding, the first in all things.
[01:01:37] The point of this hymn then is to show us and the Colossians that Jesus is Lord of all, that he's the Lord of everything. So the question that we need to ask ourselves is, does Jesus have
[01:01:52] paramount rank, the first rank and dignity and importance in your heart? Is the Lord of all creation the Lord of your heart? Is Jesus the outstanding or supreme one of your soul?
[01:02:10] Is Jesus preeminent in your life? Let's pray together. Gracious God, we thank you for your word, we are overwhelmed by how much eternal truth is packed into this one passage. And the only rightful response we can have is to be in awe of who you are and what you have done,
[01:02:38] and to ask your help as this great truth sinks into our hearts and minds, and help us to live our lives in ways that are pleasing to you, so that in all things, Christ would be preeminent.
[01:02:54] He would be first in our lives.
[01:02:56] We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
[01:03:02] Well, for our closing hymn, we will sing together what we have already been reminded of, that Jesus shall reign.
[01:03:09] It's hymn number 441 in your hymnals.
[01:03:12] Let's stand and sing.

[01:03:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:03:14] As you go, go now with God's blessing.

[01:05:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:05:48] The Lord bless you and keep you.
[01:05:51] The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[01:05:54] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, both this day and forevermore. Amen.