All right, thank you. Paul would like to meet
with his fan club right over in this side right
after the service. He'll be signing autographs
here. If you are between ages 18 and 25 and single,
you're invited to a reception out this door and
right across the hall as soon as this service
is over. I hope to see you there. Open your Bible,
please, to Colossians chapter 1. As we continue
our study, beginning with verse 15. And he is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of all creation. For by him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers
or authorities, all things. have been created
by Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together. Jesus Christ
is the unique figure in the annals of human history.
He is truly the incomparable Christ. There is
none like Him. And so beware of any professor
or preacher, any religion, or belief that impugns
the character, the message, or the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We can expect that there
will be those who will do such. John the Apostle
said, for many deceivers have gone out into the
world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ
as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver
and the antichrist. And the Apostle Paul joins
by saying, Keep your eye on those who cause dissensions
and hindrances contrary to the teaching which
you learned, and turn away from them. For such
men are slaves not of our Lord Christ, but of
their own appetites. We can expect that there
will be those who for their own peculiar reasons
will seek to detract people from Jesus Christ,
we are to turn away from them. One of the key
tests of a cult is what they teach about Jesus
Christ. It is a mark of apostasy when a teacher
or denomination deny what the Word of God says
regarding Jesus Christ, that He is God and man
in one person. Paul picks up the theme of Jesus
Christ as He concludes his opening paragraph
relating his prayer life to us. You notice that
in verse 13 he mentions the kingdom of God's
beloved Son. And now beginning in verse 15 he
talks more about the Son of God. He gives an
extended paragraph exalting the person of Christ
and showing his distinctiveness. Apparently,
the false teaching that was already attacking
the Colossian church was subverting this crucial
doctrine of the person of Christ. What Paul writes
here is so poetic, so powerful, that many think
it probably was a part of an early hymn sung
by the church. What he says in this paragraph
beginning in verse 15 is absolutely breathtaking
in its scope. First he tells us about the relation
of Jesus Christ to the creation. In the text
we've read this morning. And then the relation
of Christ to the church. Verse 18. And finally
the relation of Jesus Christ to salvation. Verses
19 through 22. The Colossian heresy involved
the worship of angels. And apparently they included
Jesus as one of the angels or at least as one
of the emanations descending from God. I'll talk
more about that in the future. But my point this
morning is that Jesus Christ is not only set
apart from created things. But he is in fact
the sovereign of those things. Now I want you
to notice how Paul describes Christ's relation
to the creation. I'm going to begin with the
second part of verse 15, where it says that he
is above creation. He describes him as the firstborn
of all creation. Now what does the term firstborn
mean? That is a crucial question. Sometimes the
word firstborn means priority in time. The one
who is the firstborn in the family and after
whom there are others who come later. Other times
the word firstborn means supremacy in rank. This
was a term that was used in the Old Testament
of people who had the position of receiving a
double inheritance. That person was not always
the first one born in time. Who was born first,
Jacob or Esau? Esau. But Jacob is the one who
became the first born who had the supreme rank
over his brother because of what happened in
that narrative. And so the term can mean priority
in time or supremacy in rank. You say, why is
that important? Well, if it means here that Jesus
Christ is prior in time, it means that He is
a part of creation. If firstborn here means that
He is the first thing created, then he's a part
of the creation, not above it. That, of course,
is the position that the Jehovah's Witnesses
teach in their heresy. Now, they didn't originate
it. It began in Arianism many, many centuries
ago, but they're the contemporary expression
of that false teaching. Listen to what they say.
Before our Lord came into the world, this is
Jehovah's Witness now. before our Lord came into
the world he was a created angel and none other
than the archangel Michael. They go on to say
Jesus was not a combination of two natures, human
and divine. When he was in the flesh he was a
perfect human being, nothing more. That's a lie.
And when they teach that lie, they go to this
verse and take the term firstborn and twist it
to mean that he is prior in time. Is that what
the verse means? Is that what the word means?
You have to look at the context to decide which
way to take firstborn. It is very clear in the
context of verse 15 that he's talking about being
supreme in rank. For later he's going to tell
us that He, Jesus Christ, is before all things.
That is, He could not be one of the created things
because He existed before them. And so we understand
that in this context, firstborn means He is supreme
above all in creation. Now in verse 18, we see
the term firstborn again. And we'll talk about
this the next time we're together. But there,
firstborn, has the other meaning. It means the
one who has the priority in time, as we will
see then. But in verse 15, it means, he is supreme
in his rank above all. The Mormons likewise attack
this doctrine about Jesus Christ. One of their
adages is, as we are, God once was. Did you get
that? As God is, we can be. The Mormons didn't
create that statement. The devil did in Genesis
chapter 3. Mormons believe that there are countless
gods, though only three of them relate to us.
The Mormon Trinity are perfected men. Listen
to me. The Mormon Trinity are perfected men made
of flesh and bones. who were once exactly like
us. The Mormons teach that the Father is a man
who has now become God. The Son is a man who
has now become God. That the Holy Ghost was a
man who has now become God. They also teach that
Jesus and Satan are brothers. That they are their
spirit children procreated by God the Father
and his wife or wives. This is perverted doctrine.
What the Word of God clearly says is that Jesus
Christ is the firstborn above creation. He is
not a part of creation. He is over it. Now we
go on to the next verse where we see not only
is He above creation, but Jesus Christ is the
originator of creation. Verse 16 has three prepositional
phrases. Do you know what those are? Remember
your grammar lessons? Three prepositional phrases.
One of them is the first part of verse 16, for
by Him all things were created. Literally it
says, in Him. All things were created. And at
the end of the verse it says, all things have
been created by Him. And for Him, or literally
it says unto Him. Each of those prepositions
is significant. When we think about Jesus Christ
being the originator of creation, what it means
is that everything was made in Him. He is the
sphere of creation. What that means is that all
realms and dimensions of the universe are within
His creative activity. There's nothing outside
of it. All of it is within his activity. He made
it. The heavens, the earth, things that are visible,
things that are invisible, such as, and he names,
thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.
These are names for rankings of angels. We'll
meet it again in the book of Colossians because
it was again related to the Colossian heresy
and the worship of angels. So what he is clearly
saying here is that Jesus Christ created the
angels. He's not one of them. Everything is within
his sphere of control. Not only that, but it
says everything was made by him. That means he's
the agent of creation. He is the cause of it,
the mediating cause of it. John says, through
him all things were made. The writer of Hebrews
says, through the Son also the Father made the
wolves. Literally says the Father made the ages.
That means all time, space, and matter. That's
all included in that Greek thought. All of it
was made by Jesus Christ. Time, space, and matter.
He is the mediating cause of it all. Thirdly,
all things were made unto Him or for Him. That
means that Christ is the possessor of it. He's
the judge of all of creation. Dr. Curtis Vaughan
says he is the end for which all things exist,
the goal toward whom all things were intended
to move. The Bishop of Durham, the godly and
scholarly Henley Mool wrote, all things are meant
to serve his will, to contribute to his glory.
Their whole being, willing or unwilling, moves
to him. Whether as his blissful servants, they
shall be as it were his throne, or as his stricken
enemies, his footstool." So the point is that
everything has been made for Jesus Christ, and
everything that has been made will one day come
to his throne and give account. Jesus Christ
is the originator of everything. Everything.
We live in a vast universe whose dimensions cannot
be told or measured by men Let's suppose that
we could get into the Starship Enterprise and
Captain Kirk or one of the first officers of
the ship would say to us well how fast you want
to go Well, I don't know about you, but Mach
1 is fine with me You know let's get to the speed
of Mach 1. What do they call it? Warp one. Warp
one. The speed of light. Do you know if we get
into a spaceship and go at the speed of light,
we would go around the world seven times in one
second. Yes. And we've been around the world
seven times. Now let's suppose we're going to
get a little bit reckless and we say, hey, let's
branch out a bit. Let's go to the moon. We can
sit back and relax, but before you could get
into the chair, you'd be at the moon. Because
in 1 .7 seconds, you're there, at the speed of
light. Now let's suppose you really have wanderlust.
You say, let's get out of the Milky Way. That's
our galaxy. Let's go to the next galaxy. Did
you know that the Andromeda Galaxy, the next
galaxy to the Milky Way in which we live, is
visible to the naked eye? It's the only one.
You can see it in the sky just as almost a blur.
You can't look at it and see it because the light
hits your retina at the very back and you're
blind at that very spot. So you have to look
just to the side and you can see the blur of
the Andromeda Galaxy. So we're going to go to
the Andromeda Galaxy at warp one, the speed of
light. Now you can sit down in your chair and
relax. How long do you think it's going to take?
at the speed of light to get to Andromeda Galaxy.
Five seconds. Any other guess? Five years. Getting
closer. The actual time is 2 .4 million years
to get to the nearest galaxy. And that is but
one of a billion galaxies in the universe. Now
do we begin to understand how vast this creation
is. And when the Apostle Paul says it was all
made by Jesus Christ, that is some claim. Not
only is he the originator of creation, but Paul
goes on to say in verse 17 that he is before
creation. And he himself Paul has a way of writing
this that means he alone and uniquely is before
all things in physics Getting ahead of myself
here. Let me talk first about being before all
things This is a definitive statement of priority
that says when the creation was made Jesus Christ
already existed When the beginning took place,
Genesis 1 .1 says, in the beginning, when that
happened, all that that entails, Jesus Christ
already was. It is a statement of his pre -existence.
John says, in the beginning was the Word. So
what this sentence means, he is before all things,
is that Jesus Christ uniquely possesses an immutable
existence. But he does not change. And as the
writer of Hebrews says, yesterday, today, forever,
he's the same. He created time. He existed before
time. When time ceases, as we now measure it,
he will still be the same. He is eternal. But
now in the last part of verse 17, I was getting
to the physics course. It says, all things in
him hold together. In physics, the force by which
molecules are held together is called cohesion.
It says here that Jesus Christ is the glue that
holds everything together. Warren Wiersby writes
about a guide who took some people through an
atomic laboratory and explained how all matter
was composed of rapidly moving electric particles.
The tourists studied the models of molecules
were amazed to learn that matter is made up mostly
of space. During the question and answer period
that came after the tour, one of the visitors
asked, if this is the way matter works, What
holds it all together? And the guide very honestly
said, we don't know. Do you know that you understand
more than most physics professors? Because you
understand if you believe the Bible what holds
the atom together. It is the power of Jesus Christ.
He is the cohesion of all of creation Hebrews
1 3 says he upholds all things by the word of
his power Now there's one final statement I want
to look at and we jumped over it at the beginning
But it's the fifth expression of Jesus Christ
relation to the creation and it says in verse
15 He is the image of the invisible God, which
means that he the creator, the one who is above
creation and who is the originator of creation,
the one who is before creation, the one who holds
creation together, that creator came into his
creation. Now the sun has always been the perfect
expression of deity. But in the incarnation in
a very special way he came into the world of
fallen humanity to express to us what God is
like. John says it this way in the prologue of
his gospel, no man has seen God at any time.
Now you go to the Old Testament, you see God
accommodating Himself to man and revealing Himself
in certain ways. But what John is saying is that
no one has ever seen the essence of deity. But
he goes on to say, the only begotten God who
is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained
Him. He says that the Son has led the Father
into view for us so that we might see what God
is like. He has narrated God to our understanding.
He is the image, writes Paul, of the invisible
God. The word here is icon in the Greek. We use
the word in English. If you go to an orthodox
church, you may see on the walls or in the front
of the church icons. These are often very valuable
and very old. The icons are images of holy people,
of the saints of the church. That word icon is
used here of Jesus Christ and it means one who
represents God and who manifests God. to His
creatures. It means that He is the perfect representation.
He is the mirror reflection to us of God Himself.
In Hebrews 1 .3 it says that He is the express
image of God's person. There the word means He's
the impression that is left as when you take
a stamp and you put it on hot wax. And you have
the impression of the stamp. Jesus Christ is
this. God has impressed Himself in human flesh
and blood, in sinless humanity, so that we can
see what He's like. He came into creation. that
we might know God, so that Jesus was able to
say, He who has seen me has seen the Father.
When we understand what is being said in these
verses it should give us a wiser appreciation
for everything, since everything is Jesus Christ's.
Everything that has been made is for our benefit
and our enjoyment, for our use. And I'm not a
wacko environmentalist. We have a lot of those
in our world today. But I do believe in being
a biblical environmentalist. In that we recognize
that we human beings are stewards of a creation
that is not ours, it is Christ's. And therefore
we ought not to exploit it, we ought not to waste
it, we ought not to abuse creation or created
creatures. They belong to someone else. They
belong to the Creator. We ought to be rather
protectors and conservers and wise users of all
of these things that God has richly given us
to enjoy in the world. When we understand what
is being said in this text, it should give us
a wiser appreciation for everything. Secondly,
it should lead us into richer adoration of the
one whom it reveals. His wisdom. His power. His
goodness. Joseph Addison was another Anglican
clergyman who lived 275 years ago. And he left
behind some poems, one of which we sometimes
sing. The poem goes like this. to every land
the work of an almighty hand. Soon as the evening
shades prevail, the moon takes up the wondrous
tale. And nightly to the listening earth repeats
the story of her birth, while all the stars that
round her burn and all the planets in their turn
confirm the tidings as they roll and spread the
truth. from pole to pole. What though in solemn
silence all move round the dark terrestrial ball?
And what though no real voice nor sound amid
their radiant orbs be found? In reason's ear
they all rejoice and utter forth a glorious voice
forever singing as they shine. The hand that
made us is divine. Do you see how the heavens
declare the glory of Jesus Christ to the whole
world? This last week, as you could tell from
my illustration earlier, privilege to be part
of a class that went to the planetarium in Minneapolis.
Have you ever been there? If not, you need to
go and take your kids. The professor from Lakewood
Community College taught his lesson well. He
was explaining to the students facts about how
the Earth and the Sun and the Moon relate to
each other and how to measure in space, etc.
What he didn't know as he was lecturing was that
I was worshipping. Because as that machine projected
the stars and the planets and the moon and the
sun on that ceiling in the planetarium, my heart
leaped with praise to God. And all of these things
say the hand that made us is divine. We ought
to be jealous for the glory of Christ and when
we hear people talk about the earth being billions
of years old and we hear people talk about the
The facts of so -called of evolution and how
things developed This last week somebody made
the statement of my presence and friends of other
staff members that the human heart evolved over
a million year period Wow! How did all those
people live until that million years was up?
I just wonder. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the
macrocosm. He is Lord of the microcosm. We have
to be jealous for the glory of our Creator because
it's His. And finally, this should all lead us
to a deeper submission to the One who upholds
and directs it. Because He came that we might
know Him. Surely the wisdom and the power by
which He created all of this, He's able to use
to direct your life and mine. And in the midst
of the questions that we may have now, or the
struggles, the hurts, the pain, we have a shepherd
of the stars who's the shepherd of our souls.
And yet we get angry, And we disbelieve. And
we doubt. Can we not today say to the Lord Jesus,
You created all of this Lord. You created me.
And I give You my life. I submit it to You. If
You can guide those stars and planets and their
courses, guide my little life. And He will. He
will. Let's pray. What are you passing through
that's creating turmoil in your life? What are
the questions, the doubts that are nagging at
you this morning, undermining your faith? Can
you not come to the Lord Jesus Christ today,
this great, majestic Creator, and submit your
life to Him? I hope you will. Lord Jesus, in
the quietness of these closing moments, we examine
our hearts. Forgive us. Forgive us. for so often
responding in ways that reveal our fallenness
and our sinfulness. And we yield ourselves to
you. We submit our lives to you. Be the Lord.
We are your servants. We are your creatures.
We give you praise. We give you thanks. And I
wonder if, just before I close, you would want
to say that to the Lord and indicate it by your
uplifted hand and say, this morning I do submit
myself afresh to the Lord Jesus Christ. Just
to put it up and down and say, by doing that,
yes, today there's a new commitment. Yes, God
bless you. All of you doing that. God sees your
hand. He knows your heart. Anyone else? Yes,
God bless you. Father, I pray for these, my friends,
my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that
as they have a new beginning today with Jesus
Christ being the Lord of it all, that you will
show them step by step what your design and purpose
is, for surely you have a design for their confusing
lives as they view them, as much as you do for
the ordered universe that would behold with such
wonder. We trust you with design in our messes.
We trust you to bring good out of what has been
difficult and painful for us. Thank you, Lord
Jesus. for being all that you are to us. Let's
stand together. A little chorus says, in his
time, in his time, he makes all things beautiful
in his time. Let that be the song in our hearts
as we go this morning. Father, I pray that if
our timing and our plans are not realized, that
we will trust you with a greater plan and design
and timing, and know that behind all of the little
issues that nag away at us, you are there working
in a grand scale that we cannot possibly appreciate.
May our eyes be focused upon you and our hearts
be bowed before you, Lord. as we go and enter
a new week. This we pray in your blessed and
wondrous and majestic name. Amen.