WEBVTT 00:00:01.579 --> 00:00:03.919 All right, thank you. Paul would like to meet 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:06.820 with his fan club right over in this side right 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.880 after the service. He'll be signing autographs 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:16.820 here. If you are between ages 18 and 25 and single, 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.440 you're invited to a reception out this door and 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:22.399 right across the hall as soon as this service 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:26.960 is over. I hope to see you there. Open your Bible, 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:31.679 please, to Colossians chapter 1. As we continue 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:41.219 our study, beginning with verse 15. And he is 00:00:41.219 --> 00:00:45.359 the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.719 of all creation. For by him all things were created, 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:53.219 both in the heavens and on earth, visible and 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:55.920 invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.880 or authorities, all things. have been created 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:05.299 by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:10.560 and in Him all things hold together. Jesus Christ 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:15.500 is the unique figure in the annals of human history. 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.420 He is truly the incomparable Christ. There is 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:25.000 none like Him. And so beware of any professor 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:31.260 or preacher, any religion, or belief that impugns 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:35.980 the character, the message, or the person of 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:39.760 the Lord Jesus Christ. We can expect that there 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:43.760 will be those who will do such. John the Apostle 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.120 said, for many deceivers have gone out into the 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.739 world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:55.040 as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:00.390 and the antichrist. And the Apostle Paul joins 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:04.329 by saying, Keep your eye on those who cause dissensions 00:02:04.329 --> 00:02:08.189 and hindrances contrary to the teaching which 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:11.750 you learned, and turn away from them. For such 00:02:11.750 --> 00:02:16.110 men are slaves not of our Lord Christ, but of 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:20.330 their own appetites. We can expect that there 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:24.750 will be those who for their own peculiar reasons 00:02:24.750 --> 00:02:29.180 will seek to detract people from Jesus Christ, 00:02:29.539 --> 00:02:32.439 we are to turn away from them. One of the key 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.080 tests of a cult is what they teach about Jesus 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.539 Christ. It is a mark of apostasy when a teacher 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:43.439 or denomination deny what the Word of God says 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:50.360 regarding Jesus Christ, that He is God and man 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:55.520 in one person. Paul picks up the theme of Jesus 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:00.110 Christ as He concludes his opening paragraph 00:03:00.110 --> 00:03:04.050 relating his prayer life to us. You notice that 00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:08.349 in verse 13 he mentions the kingdom of God's 00:03:08.349 --> 00:03:12.949 beloved Son. And now beginning in verse 15 he 00:03:12.949 --> 00:03:17.930 talks more about the Son of God. He gives an 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:21.509 extended paragraph exalting the person of Christ 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:25.270 and showing his distinctiveness. Apparently, 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:28.110 the false teaching that was already attacking 00:03:28.110 --> 00:03:33.229 the Colossian church was subverting this crucial 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:37.270 doctrine of the person of Christ. What Paul writes 00:03:37.270 --> 00:03:43.050 here is so poetic, so powerful, that many think 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:46.629 it probably was a part of an early hymn sung 00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:50.479 by the church. What he says in this paragraph 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.199 beginning in verse 15 is absolutely breathtaking 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:59.000 in its scope. First he tells us about the relation 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:03.379 of Jesus Christ to the creation. In the text 00:04:03.379 --> 00:04:05.680 we've read this morning. And then the relation 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:10.360 of Christ to the church. Verse 18. And finally 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.180 the relation of Jesus Christ to salvation. Verses 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:20.220 19 through 22. The Colossian heresy involved 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:26.019 the worship of angels. And apparently they included 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:30.360 Jesus as one of the angels or at least as one 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:35.639 of the emanations descending from God. I'll talk 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:39.480 more about that in the future. But my point this 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.720 morning is that Jesus Christ is not only set 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:48.029 apart from created things. But he is in fact 00:04:48.029 --> 00:04:53.329 the sovereign of those things. Now I want you 00:04:53.329 --> 00:04:56.670 to notice how Paul describes Christ's relation 00:04:56.670 --> 00:05:00.529 to the creation. I'm going to begin with the 00:05:00.529 --> 00:05:04.170 second part of verse 15, where it says that he 00:05:04.170 --> 00:05:10.509 is above creation. He describes him as the firstborn 00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:14.910 of all creation. Now what does the term firstborn 00:05:14.910 --> 00:05:20.339 mean? That is a crucial question. Sometimes the 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:26.139 word firstborn means priority in time. The one 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:29.620 who is the firstborn in the family and after 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:35.279 whom there are others who come later. Other times 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:41.300 the word firstborn means supremacy in rank. This 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:43.500 was a term that was used in the Old Testament 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:48.410 of people who had the position of receiving a 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:52.089 double inheritance. That person was not always 00:05:52.089 --> 00:05:57.129 the first one born in time. Who was born first, 00:05:57.250 --> 00:06:03.149 Jacob or Esau? Esau. But Jacob is the one who 00:06:03.149 --> 00:06:07.870 became the first born who had the supreme rank 00:06:07.870 --> 00:06:10.129 over his brother because of what happened in 00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:14.509 that narrative. And so the term can mean priority 00:06:14.509 --> 00:06:19.029 in time or supremacy in rank. You say, why is 00:06:19.029 --> 00:06:24.269 that important? Well, if it means here that Jesus 00:06:24.269 --> 00:06:30.209 Christ is prior in time, it means that He is 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:36.949 a part of creation. If firstborn here means that 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:42.519 He is the first thing created, then he's a part 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.899 of the creation, not above it. That, of course, 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:48.339 is the position that the Jehovah's Witnesses 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:53.259 teach in their heresy. Now, they didn't originate 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:56.300 it. It began in Arianism many, many centuries 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:59.339 ago, but they're the contemporary expression 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:03.480 of that false teaching. Listen to what they say. 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.319 Before our Lord came into the world, this is 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:10.750 Jehovah's Witness now. before our Lord came into 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:16.889 the world he was a created angel and none other 00:07:16.889 --> 00:07:23.069 than the archangel Michael. They go on to say 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:26.870 Jesus was not a combination of two natures, human 00:07:26.870 --> 00:07:30.889 and divine. When he was in the flesh he was a 00:07:30.889 --> 00:07:36.490 perfect human being, nothing more. That's a lie. 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:40.639 And when they teach that lie, they go to this 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.860 verse and take the term firstborn and twist it 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:46.860 to mean that he is prior in time. Is that what 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:49.759 the verse means? Is that what the word means? 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.399 You have to look at the context to decide which 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:58.019 way to take firstborn. It is very clear in the 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:02.199 context of verse 15 that he's talking about being 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:06.220 supreme in rank. For later he's going to tell 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:12.379 us that He, Jesus Christ, is before all things. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:16.860 That is, He could not be one of the created things 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:22.839 because He existed before them. And so we understand 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.939 that in this context, firstborn means He is supreme 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:33.779 above all in creation. Now in verse 18, we see 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:36.620 the term firstborn again. And we'll talk about 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:38.960 this the next time we're together. But there, 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.139 firstborn, has the other meaning. It means the 00:08:43.139 --> 00:08:47.820 one who has the priority in time, as we will 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:51.879 see then. But in verse 15, it means, he is supreme 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:56.360 in his rank above all. The Mormons likewise attack 00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:00.059 this doctrine about Jesus Christ. One of their 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:04.379 adages is, as we are, God once was. Did you get 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:12.509 that? As God is, we can be. The Mormons didn't 00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:16.269 create that statement. The devil did in Genesis 00:09:16.269 --> 00:09:20.470 chapter 3. Mormons believe that there are countless 00:09:20.470 --> 00:09:23.210 gods, though only three of them relate to us. 00:09:24.649 --> 00:09:27.090 The Mormon Trinity are perfected men. Listen 00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:31.409 to me. The Mormon Trinity are perfected men made 00:09:31.409 --> 00:09:34.950 of flesh and bones. who were once exactly like 00:09:34.950 --> 00:09:42.409 us. The Mormons teach that the Father is a man 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:45.269 who has now become God. The Son is a man who 00:09:45.269 --> 00:09:47.309 has now become God. That the Holy Ghost was a 00:09:47.309 --> 00:09:52.990 man who has now become God. They also teach that 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:56.730 Jesus and Satan are brothers. That they are their 00:09:56.730 --> 00:09:59.710 spirit children procreated by God the Father 00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:05.059 and his wife or wives. This is perverted doctrine. 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:10.039 What the Word of God clearly says is that Jesus 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:15.460 Christ is the firstborn above creation. He is 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:21.940 not a part of creation. He is over it. Now we 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:24.820 go on to the next verse where we see not only 00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:28.500 is He above creation, but Jesus Christ is the 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:34.259 originator of creation. Verse 16 has three prepositional 00:10:34.259 --> 00:10:36.899 phrases. Do you know what those are? Remember 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:40.500 your grammar lessons? Three prepositional phrases. 00:10:41.299 --> 00:10:44.399 One of them is the first part of verse 16, for 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.299 by Him all things were created. Literally it 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:53.940 says, in Him. All things were created. And at 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.000 the end of the verse it says, all things have 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:02.549 been created by Him. And for Him, or literally 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:08.370 it says unto Him. Each of those prepositions 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:12.529 is significant. When we think about Jesus Christ 00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:14.850 being the originator of creation, what it means 00:11:14.850 --> 00:11:19.450 is that everything was made in Him. He is the 00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:23.330 sphere of creation. What that means is that all 00:11:23.330 --> 00:11:27.690 realms and dimensions of the universe are within 00:11:27.690 --> 00:11:31.779 His creative activity. There's nothing outside 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:37.460 of it. All of it is within his activity. He made 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:43.360 it. The heavens, the earth, things that are visible, 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:48.740 things that are invisible, such as, and he names, 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.019 thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:58.500 These are names for rankings of angels. We'll 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:00.559 meet it again in the book of Colossians because 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.519 it was again related to the Colossian heresy 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.360 and the worship of angels. So what he is clearly 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:11.480 saying here is that Jesus Christ created the 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:18.340 angels. He's not one of them. Everything is within 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:23.139 his sphere of control. Not only that, but it 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:27.190 says everything was made by him. That means he's 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:32.090 the agent of creation. He is the cause of it, 00:12:32.210 --> 00:12:35.389 the mediating cause of it. John says, through 00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:41.009 him all things were made. The writer of Hebrews 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:46.289 says, through the Son also the Father made the 00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:51.330 wolves. Literally says the Father made the ages. 00:12:51.809 --> 00:12:56.750 That means all time, space, and matter. That's 00:12:56.750 --> 00:13:00.169 all included in that Greek thought. All of it 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:06.309 was made by Jesus Christ. Time, space, and matter. 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:12.610 He is the mediating cause of it all. Thirdly, 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:17.409 all things were made unto Him or for Him. That 00:13:17.409 --> 00:13:21.889 means that Christ is the possessor of it. He's 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:27.279 the judge of all of creation. Dr. Curtis Vaughan 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:31.320 says he is the end for which all things exist, 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:35.259 the goal toward whom all things were intended 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:39.639 to move. The Bishop of Durham, the godly and 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:43.500 scholarly Henley Mool wrote, all things are meant 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:48.460 to serve his will, to contribute to his glory. 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:53.500 Their whole being, willing or unwilling, moves 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:56.669 to him. Whether as his blissful servants, they 00:13:56.669 --> 00:14:02.009 shall be as it were his throne, or as his stricken 00:14:02.009 --> 00:14:07.190 enemies, his footstool." So the point is that 00:14:07.190 --> 00:14:10.730 everything has been made for Jesus Christ, and 00:14:10.730 --> 00:14:13.129 everything that has been made will one day come 00:14:13.129 --> 00:14:18.289 to his throne and give account. Jesus Christ 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:23.750 is the originator of everything. Everything. 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:29.549 We live in a vast universe whose dimensions cannot 00:14:29.549 --> 00:14:35.649 be told or measured by men Let's suppose that 00:14:35.649 --> 00:14:39.649 we could get into the Starship Enterprise and 00:14:39.649 --> 00:14:42.870 Captain Kirk or one of the first officers of 00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:45.710 the ship would say to us well how fast you want 00:14:45.710 --> 00:14:48.470 to go Well, I don't know about you, but Mach 00:14:48.470 --> 00:14:51.789 1 is fine with me You know let's get to the speed 00:14:51.789 --> 00:14:55.960 of Mach 1. What do they call it? Warp one. Warp 00:14:55.960 --> 00:15:00.159 one. The speed of light. Do you know if we get 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:02.539 into a spaceship and go at the speed of light, 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:08.159 we would go around the world seven times in one 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:12.700 second. Yes. And we've been around the world 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:16.779 seven times. Now let's suppose we're going to 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:21.080 get a little bit reckless and we say, hey, let's 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:24.120 branch out a bit. Let's go to the moon. We can 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.059 sit back and relax, but before you could get 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:28.360 into the chair, you'd be at the moon. Because 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.940 in 1 .7 seconds, you're there, at the speed of 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:36.940 light. Now let's suppose you really have wanderlust. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.940 You say, let's get out of the Milky Way. That's 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:43.659 our galaxy. Let's go to the next galaxy. Did 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:46.940 you know that the Andromeda Galaxy, the next 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:50.460 galaxy to the Milky Way in which we live, is 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:52.960 visible to the naked eye? It's the only one. 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:56.659 You can see it in the sky just as almost a blur. 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:59.340 You can't look at it and see it because the light 00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:02.179 hits your retina at the very back and you're 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:03.899 blind at that very spot. So you have to look 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:06.279 just to the side and you can see the blur of 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:12.240 the Andromeda Galaxy. So we're going to go to 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.940 the Andromeda Galaxy at warp one, the speed of 00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:19.759 light. Now you can sit down in your chair and 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.279 relax. How long do you think it's going to take? 00:16:22.649 --> 00:16:25.690 at the speed of light to get to Andromeda Galaxy. 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:32.330 Five seconds. Any other guess? Five years. Getting 00:16:32.330 --> 00:16:38.269 closer. The actual time is 2 .4 million years 00:16:38.269 --> 00:16:46.330 to get to the nearest galaxy. And that is but 00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:53.720 one of a billion galaxies in the universe. Now 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:59.179 do we begin to understand how vast this creation 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:03.240 is. And when the Apostle Paul says it was all 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:11.000 made by Jesus Christ, that is some claim. Not 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.039 only is he the originator of creation, but Paul 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:17.220 goes on to say in verse 17 that he is before 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:24.269 creation. And he himself Paul has a way of writing 00:17:24.269 --> 00:17:29.150 this that means he alone and uniquely is before 00:17:29.150 --> 00:17:38.390 all things in physics Getting ahead of myself 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:40.490 here. Let me talk first about being before all 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:44.250 things This is a definitive statement of priority 00:17:44.250 --> 00:17:49.369 that says when the creation was made Jesus Christ 00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:56.410 already existed When the beginning took place, 00:17:56.430 --> 00:17:59.329 Genesis 1 .1 says, in the beginning, when that 00:17:59.329 --> 00:18:03.470 happened, all that that entails, Jesus Christ 00:18:03.470 --> 00:18:07.670 already was. It is a statement of his pre -existence. 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:13.910 John says, in the beginning was the Word. So 00:18:13.910 --> 00:18:18.309 what this sentence means, he is before all things, 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:23.940 is that Jesus Christ uniquely possesses an immutable 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:29.200 existence. But he does not change. And as the 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.539 writer of Hebrews says, yesterday, today, forever, 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:41.660 he's the same. He created time. He existed before 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:46.559 time. When time ceases, as we now measure it, 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:53.140 he will still be the same. He is eternal. But 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:55.220 now in the last part of verse 17, I was getting 00:18:55.220 --> 00:19:00.920 to the physics course. It says, all things in 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:08.099 him hold together. In physics, the force by which 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:11.039 molecules are held together is called cohesion. 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:17.400 It says here that Jesus Christ is the glue that 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:21.210 holds everything together. Warren Wiersby writes 00:19:21.210 --> 00:19:24.250 about a guide who took some people through an 00:19:24.250 --> 00:19:28.769 atomic laboratory and explained how all matter 00:19:28.769 --> 00:19:32.549 was composed of rapidly moving electric particles. 00:19:34.009 --> 00:19:36.869 The tourists studied the models of molecules 00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:39.190 were amazed to learn that matter is made up mostly 00:19:39.190 --> 00:19:43.049 of space. During the question and answer period 00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:44.950 that came after the tour, one of the visitors 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:49.160 asked, if this is the way matter works, What 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:55.160 holds it all together? And the guide very honestly 00:19:55.160 --> 00:20:01.640 said, we don't know. Do you know that you understand 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:06.940 more than most physics professors? Because you 00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:10.240 understand if you believe the Bible what holds 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:16.460 the atom together. It is the power of Jesus Christ. 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:22.849 He is the cohesion of all of creation Hebrews 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:28.589 1 3 says he upholds all things by the word of 00:20:28.589 --> 00:20:34.910 his power Now there's one final statement I want 00:20:34.910 --> 00:20:37.710 to look at and we jumped over it at the beginning 00:20:37.710 --> 00:20:40.809 But it's the fifth expression of Jesus Christ 00:20:40.809 --> 00:20:43.990 relation to the creation and it says in verse 00:20:43.990 --> 00:20:48.549 15 He is the image of the invisible God, which 00:20:48.549 --> 00:20:55.109 means that he the creator, the one who is above 00:20:55.109 --> 00:20:58.730 creation and who is the originator of creation, 00:20:59.769 --> 00:21:03.049 the one who is before creation, the one who holds 00:21:03.049 --> 00:21:09.309 creation together, that creator came into his 00:21:09.309 --> 00:21:15.210 creation. Now the sun has always been the perfect 00:21:15.210 --> 00:21:20.529 expression of deity. But in the incarnation in 00:21:20.529 --> 00:21:25.210 a very special way he came into the world of 00:21:25.210 --> 00:21:29.970 fallen humanity to express to us what God is 00:21:29.970 --> 00:21:36.750 like. John says it this way in the prologue of 00:21:36.750 --> 00:21:42.009 his gospel, no man has seen God at any time. 00:21:43.049 --> 00:21:45.569 Now you go to the Old Testament, you see God 00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:49.730 accommodating Himself to man and revealing Himself 00:21:49.730 --> 00:21:53.430 in certain ways. But what John is saying is that 00:21:53.430 --> 00:22:01.210 no one has ever seen the essence of deity. But 00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:05.730 he goes on to say, the only begotten God who 00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:10.910 is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained 00:22:10.910 --> 00:22:18.920 Him. He says that the Son has led the Father 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:25.660 into view for us so that we might see what God 00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:31.180 is like. He has narrated God to our understanding. 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:36.880 He is the image, writes Paul, of the invisible 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:42.140 God. The word here is icon in the Greek. We use 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.910 the word in English. If you go to an orthodox 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:47.349 church, you may see on the walls or in the front 00:22:47.349 --> 00:22:52.410 of the church icons. These are often very valuable 00:22:52.410 --> 00:22:59.170 and very old. The icons are images of holy people, 00:22:59.369 --> 00:23:04.930 of the saints of the church. That word icon is 00:23:04.930 --> 00:23:08.809 used here of Jesus Christ and it means one who 00:23:08.809 --> 00:23:13.519 represents God and who manifests God. to His 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:19.180 creatures. It means that He is the perfect representation. 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:26.640 He is the mirror reflection to us of God Himself. 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:31.480 In Hebrews 1 .3 it says that He is the express 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:37.099 image of God's person. There the word means He's 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:40.799 the impression that is left as when you take 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:46.259 a stamp and you put it on hot wax. And you have 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:51.720 the impression of the stamp. Jesus Christ is 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:58.160 this. God has impressed Himself in human flesh 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:01.759 and blood, in sinless humanity, so that we can 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:08.829 see what He's like. He came into creation. that 00:24:08.829 --> 00:24:13.049 we might know God, so that Jesus was able to 00:24:13.049 --> 00:24:17.509 say, He who has seen me has seen the Father. 00:24:20.829 --> 00:24:23.029 When we understand what is being said in these 00:24:23.029 --> 00:24:26.369 verses it should give us a wiser appreciation 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:30.769 for everything, since everything is Jesus Christ's. 00:24:31.369 --> 00:24:33.630 Everything that has been made is for our benefit 00:24:33.630 --> 00:24:38.740 and our enjoyment, for our use. And I'm not a 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:42.460 wacko environmentalist. We have a lot of those 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:46.819 in our world today. But I do believe in being 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:51.220 a biblical environmentalist. In that we recognize 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:53.880 that we human beings are stewards of a creation 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:58.099 that is not ours, it is Christ's. And therefore 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:01.079 we ought not to exploit it, we ought not to waste 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:04.400 it, we ought not to abuse creation or created 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:09.349 creatures. They belong to someone else. They 00:25:09.349 --> 00:25:13.569 belong to the Creator. We ought to be rather 00:25:13.569 --> 00:25:18.589 protectors and conservers and wise users of all 00:25:18.589 --> 00:25:21.869 of these things that God has richly given us 00:25:21.869 --> 00:25:26.210 to enjoy in the world. When we understand what 00:25:26.210 --> 00:25:28.829 is being said in this text, it should give us 00:25:28.829 --> 00:25:33.589 a wiser appreciation for everything. Secondly, 00:25:34.369 --> 00:25:38.630 it should lead us into richer adoration of the 00:25:38.630 --> 00:25:47.109 one whom it reveals. His wisdom. His power. His 00:25:47.109 --> 00:25:56.450 goodness. Joseph Addison was another Anglican 00:25:56.450 --> 00:26:02.960 clergyman who lived 275 years ago. And he left 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:05.440 behind some poems, one of which we sometimes 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:32.190 sing. The poem goes like this. to every land 00:26:32.190 --> 00:26:38.009 the work of an almighty hand. Soon as the evening 00:26:38.009 --> 00:26:42.170 shades prevail, the moon takes up the wondrous 00:26:42.170 --> 00:26:46.670 tale. And nightly to the listening earth repeats 00:26:46.670 --> 00:26:51.190 the story of her birth, while all the stars that 00:26:51.190 --> 00:26:54.289 round her burn and all the planets in their turn 00:26:54.289 --> 00:26:59.569 confirm the tidings as they roll and spread the 00:26:59.569 --> 00:27:05.940 truth. from pole to pole. What though in solemn 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:10.299 silence all move round the dark terrestrial ball? 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:15.559 And what though no real voice nor sound amid 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:21.180 their radiant orbs be found? In reason's ear 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:27.500 they all rejoice and utter forth a glorious voice 00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:33.240 forever singing as they shine. The hand that 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:40.619 made us is divine. Do you see how the heavens 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:45.480 declare the glory of Jesus Christ to the whole 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:50.099 world? This last week, as you could tell from 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:55.000 my illustration earlier, privilege to be part 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.240 of a class that went to the planetarium in Minneapolis. 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:01.880 Have you ever been there? If not, you need to 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:06.500 go and take your kids. The professor from Lakewood 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:11.140 Community College taught his lesson well. He 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:14.400 was explaining to the students facts about how 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:16.700 the Earth and the Sun and the Moon relate to 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:21.440 each other and how to measure in space, etc. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.539 What he didn't know as he was lecturing was that 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:30.079 I was worshipping. Because as that machine projected 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.420 the stars and the planets and the moon and the 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:39.180 sun on that ceiling in the planetarium, my heart 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:44.720 leaped with praise to God. And all of these things 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:51.819 say the hand that made us is divine. We ought 00:28:51.819 --> 00:28:54.420 to be jealous for the glory of Christ and when 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:57.500 we hear people talk about the earth being billions 00:28:57.500 --> 00:29:02.420 of years old and we hear people talk about the 00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:07.519 The facts of so -called of evolution and how 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:12.119 things developed This last week somebody made 00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:15.079 the statement of my presence and friends of other 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:18.579 staff members that the human heart evolved over 00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:23.230 a million year period Wow! How did all those 00:29:23.230 --> 00:29:25.450 people live until that million years was up? 00:29:25.869 --> 00:29:31.029 I just wonder. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the 00:29:31.029 --> 00:29:37.410 macrocosm. He is Lord of the microcosm. We have 00:29:37.410 --> 00:29:40.650 to be jealous for the glory of our Creator because 00:29:40.650 --> 00:29:46.089 it's His. And finally, this should all lead us 00:29:46.089 --> 00:29:49.670 to a deeper submission to the One who upholds 00:29:49.670 --> 00:29:53.509 and directs it. Because He came that we might 00:29:53.509 --> 00:29:58.150 know Him. Surely the wisdom and the power by 00:29:58.150 --> 00:30:02.809 which He created all of this, He's able to use 00:30:02.809 --> 00:30:07.190 to direct your life and mine. And in the midst 00:30:07.190 --> 00:30:09.569 of the questions that we may have now, or the 00:30:09.569 --> 00:30:13.529 struggles, the hurts, the pain, we have a shepherd 00:30:13.529 --> 00:30:16.230 of the stars who's the shepherd of our souls. 00:30:18.529 --> 00:30:24.640 And yet we get angry, And we disbelieve. And 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:30.539 we doubt. Can we not today say to the Lord Jesus, 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:36.319 You created all of this Lord. You created me. 00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:43.059 And I give You my life. I submit it to You. If 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:45.380 You can guide those stars and planets and their 00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:52.799 courses, guide my little life. And He will. He 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:59.980 will. Let's pray. What are you passing through 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:08.119 that's creating turmoil in your life? What are 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:11.859 the questions, the doubts that are nagging at 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:19.319 you this morning, undermining your faith? Can 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:22.339 you not come to the Lord Jesus Christ today, 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:29.160 this great, majestic Creator, and submit your 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:38.220 life to Him? I hope you will. Lord Jesus, in 00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:40.680 the quietness of these closing moments, we examine 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:49.640 our hearts. Forgive us. Forgive us. for so often 00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:53.019 responding in ways that reveal our fallenness 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:57.859 and our sinfulness. And we yield ourselves to 00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:02.059 you. We submit our lives to you. Be the Lord. 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.859 We are your servants. We are your creatures. 00:32:10.420 --> 00:32:22.240 We give you praise. We give you thanks. And I 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:25.299 wonder if, just before I close, you would want 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:28.259 to say that to the Lord and indicate it by your 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:32.299 uplifted hand and say, this morning I do submit 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:38.240 myself afresh to the Lord Jesus Christ. Just 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:40.839 to put it up and down and say, by doing that, 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:44.180 yes, today there's a new commitment. Yes, God 00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:49.160 bless you. All of you doing that. God sees your 00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:57.099 hand. He knows your heart. Anyone else? Yes, 00:32:57.140 --> 00:33:01.640 God bless you. Father, I pray for these, my friends, 00:33:02.140 --> 00:33:07.099 my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that 00:33:07.099 --> 00:33:10.339 as they have a new beginning today with Jesus 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:14.319 Christ being the Lord of it all, that you will 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:17.700 show them step by step what your design and purpose 00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:21.000 is, for surely you have a design for their confusing 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.079 lives as they view them, as much as you do for 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:27.900 the ordered universe that would behold with such 00:33:27.900 --> 00:33:36.359 wonder. We trust you with design in our messes. 00:33:38.019 --> 00:33:42.619 We trust you to bring good out of what has been 00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:49.759 difficult and painful for us. Thank you, Lord 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:57.460 Jesus. for being all that you are to us. Let's 00:33:57.460 --> 00:34:02.740 stand together. A little chorus says, in his 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:07.240 time, in his time, he makes all things beautiful 00:34:07.240 --> 00:34:11.260 in his time. Let that be the song in our hearts 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:16.599 as we go this morning. Father, I pray that if 00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:22.730 our timing and our plans are not realized, that 00:34:22.730 --> 00:34:26.170 we will trust you with a greater plan and design 00:34:26.170 --> 00:34:30.530 and timing, and know that behind all of the little 00:34:30.530 --> 00:34:36.610 issues that nag away at us, you are there working 00:34:36.610 --> 00:34:40.250 in a grand scale that we cannot possibly appreciate. 00:34:41.489 --> 00:34:45.130 May our eyes be focused upon you and our hearts 00:34:45.130 --> 00:34:49.469 be bowed before you, Lord. as we go and enter 00:34:49.469 --> 00:34:55.909 a new week. This we pray in your blessed and 00:34:55.909 --> 00:34:59.510 wondrous and majestic name. Amen.