1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Those are good words. When you don't understand, when you don't see his plan, 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:17,400 when you can't see his hand, trust God's heart. I'd like for you to open your 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:23,280 Bible with me please to the book of Colossians as this evening we undertake 4 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:29,840 the beginning of our Christmas study for this year into one of the titles of the 5 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:36,440 Lord Jesus Christ. There are of course many titles ascribed to him. Each of them 6 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:41,960 is worth studying and understanding. There are many benefits to that kind of 7 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:50,280 study. One benefit is that of greater stability. Sometimes the titles of the 8 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:55,280 Lord Jesus Christ, like the one we're going to look at tonight, are jumped upon 9 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:00,600 by people who twist and pervert the scripture to mean something other than 10 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:06,640 that which it says. We'll talk about that in a few minutes. So it's important for 11 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,880 us to understand exactly what the titles mean because that then prevents us from 12 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:16,480 misunderstanding and gives us greater stability in our faith. Furthermore, it 13 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:21,480 gives us greater devotion to him because the titles help us to appreciate who 14 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:28,680 Jesus is and what he's done on our behalf. Further, an understanding of the 15 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,960 titles of our Lord Jesus Christ gives us greater usefulness because as we 16 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:38,520 understand those titles and their meaning, we mature in our faith and that 17 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:44,080 maturation makes us more useful in the hands of God. The title we're going to 18 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,720 look at this Christmas season is the one that is found in verse 15 of Colossians 19 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:55,920 1 where we read these words, and he is the image of the invisible God, the first 20 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:03,040 born of all creation. It is this title, first born, that has attracted my 21 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:08,720 interest and study in preparation for these series. Not that it's of any 22 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,400 particular interest to you except perhaps the sound of it. The Greek word 23 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:19,560 is prototikos, and if you listen closely there you see the word proto as part of 24 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:28,200 that word. Literally the word means the first proto, the first to be born. The 25 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:35,800 firstborn in the Hebrew family was the oldest son who by virtue of being the 26 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,960 firstborn son received certain prerogatives above all of the rest of 27 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:47,520 the children. For example, he received special verbal blessings from his father 28 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:57,200 and he received a double portion of the family inheritance so that if there were 29 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:03,280 six children instead of the inheritance being divided six ways, it was divided 30 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:11,520 seven ways and the oldest son received a double portion from the rest. Greek 31 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:16,080 students and professor Robert Gromacu teaches at Cedarville College has 32 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,320 written these words to help us understand this meaning. He says in its 33 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:26,600 basic meaning firstborn meant the first one born in the family. In Near Eastern 34 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:32,200 culture the eldest son by right of being born first received the birthright 35 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:37,680 which entitled him to a double inheritance and family leadership upon 36 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:43,800 the death of the father. The idea of supremacy soon overshadowed the concept 37 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:50,760 of temporal priority. In writing further about this Harry Ironside, who was a 38 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,880 great Bible teacher of another generation and for many years the pastor 39 00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:02,640 of the Moody Church in Chicago wrote this, the firstborn is the heir and the 40 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,720 preeminent one. It is important to remember that in Scripture the firstborn 41 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:14,400 is not necessarily the one born first and that is true isn't it? The one who 42 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:19,400 received the blessings of the firstborn was not always the one born first and 43 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:24,560 there are some notable examples of that in the Old Testament. In some cases the 44 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:30,200 privilege of being the firstborn was given up in the case of Esau for a 45 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,960 little bit of soup. He goes on to write many instances might be cited where the 46 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:41,320 one born first was set aside was set to one side and the right of the firstborn 47 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:46,800 given to another. One only needs to mention the cases of Ishmael and Isaac, 48 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:51,720 Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim to which many more 49 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,440 might be added. The first man is set aside and the second man is 50 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:02,580 acknowledged as the firstborn and so, and I think this is an important point, Adam 51 00:05:02,580 --> 00:05:10,200 and all his race are set aside as unfit to retain authority over the world in 52 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:16,040 order that Christ the second man, the Lord from heaven, might be acknowledged 53 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:23,640 as the firstborn. Jesus is the last Adam as he is called in 1st Corinthians 15 54 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:30,680 but he holds the place of the firstborn and that is why the title is ascribed to 55 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:37,320 him here. It is this title of preeminence and sovereignty that is given to him in 56 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,240 Colossians 1 and in several other contexts of the New Testament. Here the 57 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:49,360 focus is upon his creative work as the firstborn. Notice that the Apostle calls 58 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:57,720 him the firstborn of all creation. Now the connection of firstborn with creation 59 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:06,160 has given rise to some false definitions of what this word means. A teacher in the 60 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:12,840 fourth century by the name of Arius claimed that firstborn meant that Jesus 61 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:19,840 was the first of all of the created things of God, that he was the firstborn 62 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:25,240 in that sense, that of all of the creation he was the first thing created 63 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:31,000 and there were many who followed after him. However, the church and gathering in 64 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:37,400 a great council concluded together that in fact Arius was a heretic and a false 65 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,880 teacher. Now we might think that that teaching was buried back in the fourth 66 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,560 century but in fact it was resurrected about a hundred years ago or a little 67 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:51,480 more by the Jehovah's Witnesses who likewise still today claim that Jesus is 68 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,440 the firstborn in the sense that he is the first of all of the created things of 69 00:06:55,440 --> 00:07:01,480 God and that is a lie. That is not the meaning of firstborn. What does it mean 70 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:07,440 when it says that he is the firstborn of all creation? Well you will notice if you 71 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,480 look at the text here beginning in verse 15 which we'll read in just a moment 72 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,480 there are five statements made about Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all 73 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:22,200 creation. It says and he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all 74 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:28,400 creation. For by him all things were created both in the heavens and on earth 75 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:33,600 visible and invisible where the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities 76 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:41,360 all things have been created by him and for him and he is before all things and 77 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:48,320 in him all things hold together. Now we'll go into verse 18 next week the 78 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:53,320 Lord willing but notice the first statement made about Jesus Christ is the 79 00:07:53,320 --> 00:08:00,920 firstborn of all creation. It says by him verse 16 all things were created. 80 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:09,400 Actually the preposition in the New American Standard translated by is in E 81 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:15,000 in as we would bring it into the English it really means this all things were 82 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:24,160 created with reference to Jesus Christ in his domain as it were in his sphere 83 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:31,680 of activity all things were created with reference to Christ. We might illustrate 84 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:39,800 it this way when a building is being constructed the most important brick or 85 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:47,560 stone or block to be put into that building is the first one because that 86 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:54,560 first one becomes the cornerstone of the building because of the way that it is 87 00:08:54,560 --> 00:09:03,840 laid it becomes the source of all of the angles and all of the lines of the rest 88 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:10,400 of the building. It is the preeminent block as it were in the building and 89 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:17,400 that is the sense here when it says in him or with reference to Christ as the 90 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:23,960 cornerstone everything else was created. The Gnostics who were some false 91 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,800 teachers that were prevalent in the church in the day when Paul wrote this 92 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:33,800 letter taught that creation came about as a result of a series of angelic beings 93 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:39,800 because God in their understanding could never create something material 94 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:44,360 because they believed in dualism spiritual was good and that which is 95 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:49,600 material was always evil they said therefore the spiritual God could not 96 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:58,400 create the material which is evil and so they created this system of emanations 97 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:05,560 from God these spirit beings that were innumerable between God the highest form 98 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:12,120 of spirit and the material world and they said that God created through all 99 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:17,720 of these many multitudes and myriads of angels that were between him and 100 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:24,960 creation however the Apostle Paul says not at all not at all for it was with 101 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:30,240 reference to Jesus Christ that everything was created not many 102 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:39,440 beings between God and creation but one person in whom all things were created 103 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:45,840 one commentator by the name of Lightfoot says that all laws and purposes guiding 104 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:52,480 and governing creation reside in the person of Jesus Christ do you want to 105 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:57,680 talk about the law of gravity or any of the other laws of physics they all 106 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:04,880 reside in the person of Jesus Christ now that being the case is it any wonder 107 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:13,440 that he could control the wind and the waves for the laws that govern the winds 108 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:21,000 or the waves all reside in him and it is but a small thing for him to bring in 109 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,880 other laws that would supersede the natural laws so that he could control 110 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:33,960 the wind and waves it is nothing for him to reverse and to heal disease or for 111 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:40,960 that matter even to raise the dead you see because all of the laws that govern 112 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:48,080 and guide creation find their focus and their residents in him it says that 113 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:55,200 everything was created with reference to Christ in every region he talks about 114 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:04,080 heaven and earth in every realm the visible and the invisible and he talks 115 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:10,200 here about thrones and dominions rulers or authorities these are words that 116 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:17,840 refer to angelic creatures he says every region every realm every rank of the 117 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:24,840 angelic beings all of them are a part of those things that were created with 118 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:33,600 reference to Jesus Christ in him all things were created now notice with me a 119 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:39,760 second of the statements that help us understand what it means when it speaks 120 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:45,200 of Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all creation it says all things have been 121 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:51,880 created by him at the end of verse 16 all things have been created by him 122 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:57,200 again the preposition is very important here it is the word that means through 123 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:06,000 dia through he is the instrument through whom the creation took place he is the 124 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:13,240 agent of creation it is true of course that God the Father God the Son and God 125 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:19,040 the Holy Spirit each had a part in creation we see that suggested even in 126 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:24,640 the first verse of the Bible where it says in the beginning God Elohim 127 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:31,360 created the heavens and the earth the word Elohim that name for God has a 128 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:37,240 plural ending in the Hebrew meaning not only that it's a majestic name but also 129 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:45,920 suggesting a plurality in this oneness of God Elohim and as the scripture 130 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:53,920 unfolds it tells us that God the Father is the source of all creation God the 131 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:59,960 Son is the agent by whom creation came to be and the Holy Spirit is the one who 132 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:07,760 preserves it all things have been created by him turn over with me to John 133 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:13,880 chapter 1 and verse 3 this was a text that we looked at more thoroughly last 134 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:20,200 Christmas season but notice that John says essentially the same thing that 135 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:30,520 Paul has asserted in verse 3 John 1 3 all things came into being by him through 136 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:40,480 him nothing came into being he says except that it came by him by Jesus 137 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,080 Christ one more writer of the New Testament the writer of Hebrews the first 138 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:51,880 chapter again Hebrews 1 and verse 2 but let's get the context verse 1 says God 139 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:58,160 who after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions 140 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:06,480 and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son whom he 141 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:13,580 appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world notice again 142 00:15:13,580 --> 00:15:23,240 through whom he made the world the world not only in the sense of of its material 143 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:28,720 existence but in the sense of its historic ages all of it came into being 144 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:37,200 by him now let's go back again to Colossians we see here Paul unfolding to 145 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:44,720 us the majesty of Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all creation the next 146 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,440 statement is found right at the end of verse 16 all things have been created 147 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:55,600 for him now please understand the prepositions are not unimportant some of 148 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,760 you high schoolers and maybe some of you in junior high are going through the 149 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:05,600 parts of speech and you labor trying to understand what a subject is and what a 150 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:10,560 verb is and a direct object and an indirect object and all the other parts 151 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:16,840 of speech one of the parts of speech at least back in the old days probably 152 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,720 still is it's called a preposition prepositions are important they are 153 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:28,840 small little words but even these words are important and it says here that all 154 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:37,960 things have been created for him the the picture in this preposition is a 155 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:45,200 movement it's toward him all things have been created unto him or in that 156 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:52,120 direction of him it says that Jesus Christ is not only the agent of creation 157 00:16:52,120 --> 00:17:00,400 but he is the goal or the purpose of creation it all points to him and it 158 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:07,520 only finds meaning when he is at the center of creation the glory for 159 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:15,400 creation is his it does not belong to the angels of the Gnostics and their 160 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:20,520 false teaching the glory that we see around this is not because of mother 161 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,960 nature whether she's in a good mood or a bad mood it makes no difference it's not 162 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:31,200 mother nature what we see around us is not the result of evolution's natural 163 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:38,400 process one of my favorite programs on Sunday evening is nature on channel 2 I 164 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:44,680 enjoy watching just to see the unusual things about nature that they find how 165 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,720 many of you watch that on Sunday evenings quite a few of you but of course 166 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:55,160 the underlying philosophy of the whole program is that evolution has produced 167 00:17:55,160 --> 00:18:00,040 this I think was last Sunday night they were talking about geese wasn't it and 168 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,960 how geese find their direction at least the part of it that I saw was about that 169 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:10,720 and the unusual ability that has been placed into these creatures to be able 170 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:18,720 to fly at night by use of the stars and through clouds still going in the right 171 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:25,200 direction because of the magnetism of the earth I just wonder how many of those 172 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:31,160 poor creatures got lost before evolution got that through to their little brains 173 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:41,840 it is marvelous what God has done in creation all things have been created 174 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:47,680 for him it's not evolution that's done it it's not the angels of Gnosticism 175 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:53,280 it's not Mother Nature it's Jesus Christ and in fact the very tense of this verb 176 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:59,480 it says here all things have been created for him and the idea is not only 177 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:07,400 have they been created but today they are still ongoing for him completion is 178 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:13,400 a creation rather is a completed act but the results of it permanently stand as a 179 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:21,040 testimony to the Creator Jesus Christ but there is another thought that is 180 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:27,800 intertwined here with this particular preposition it means that the creation 181 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:35,920 has an encounter one day with Jesus Christ that it must give an account to 182 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:44,400 Jesus Christ as the judge commentator William Hendrickson writes all creatures 183 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:50,200 without any exception whatever must contribute glory to Christ and serve 184 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:59,400 his purposes and one day those of us who are morally responsible will stand 185 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:04,160 before Jesus Christ to give account of ourselves because we are a part of 186 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:12,160 creation and we are created for him and we are moving in that direction there is 187 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:17,760 no way for us to avoid it there's no way for us to turn around the direction of 188 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:25,880 all of creation it's moving to his throne and one day all creation will give an 189 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,920 account to him now there's a fourth statement that is made by the Apostle in 190 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:39,320 verse 17 it says that he himself Christ is before all things notice it doesn't 191 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:45,000 really say he was before all things that would be true in itself but it goes 192 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:53,440 beyond that it says he is before all things this is not only a statement 193 00:20:53,440 --> 00:21:00,240 about his pre-existence before there was anything created but because of the 194 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:08,080 tense of the verb present tense he is it is a statement that he eternally pre 195 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:16,680 existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God the Son before time and 196 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:25,520 space came into being before there was any matter he is not just was he is 197 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:33,360 that's the real point too of John 8 verse 58 and it's my favorite verse when 198 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:38,120 the Jehovah's Witnesses come knocking on the door I've told you before my little 199 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:43,240 process with them I asked them if they believe that Jesus Christ is a good man 200 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:48,280 that he would ever lie to us and of course they say as they would teach no 201 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:52,940 he was a good man a perfect man I say can we believe everything that he would 202 00:21:52,940 --> 00:21:56,640 say was ill of course we can and I said well remember that he said before 203 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:06,720 Abraham was I am not just I was before Abraham but I am they say well so what 204 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:14,840 and I said would you understand that I am is the very name Jehovah that you 205 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:21,160 claim to be witnessing for Jesus was claiming there to be Jehovah God come in 206 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:27,520 the flesh oh no no that couldn't be he's the first of all created things then I 207 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,080 point them to that other verse in the context that says Jesus said if you 208 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:36,520 believe not that I am you will die in your sins that's not one of their 209 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:49,320 favorite verses Jesus claimed to be the eternal Jehovah the I am that I am that 210 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:56,360 revealed himself to Moses in the Old Testament and just as Paul says here he 211 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:06,520 is before all things Jesus himself said before Abraham was I am and of course 212 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,120 the Jews understood exactly what he was claiming because at that point they 213 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:14,840 picked up rocks to stone him for blasphemy so if the Jehovah's Witnesses 214 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,400 have a hard time understanding what Jesus meant the Jews of that day had no 215 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:27,080 misunderstanding of his claim this whole idea of his eternal pre-existence is an 216 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:33,320 attribute of deity alone he is God then there is one final statement that is 217 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,920 made in our text tonight regarding Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all creation 218 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:49,640 and it says in him all things hold together in him all things cohere he is 219 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:59,680 that glue if you please that holds the creation together he is its sustenance 220 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:08,440 and he is the preserver of all that he made he is the one who holds the 221 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:16,440 atom together with its parts it is his power and should he at any moment decide 222 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:24,360 to release it everything that is made would go to pieces he is the one in whom 223 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:32,320 it holds together Hebrews 1 3 says upholding all things by the word of his 224 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:38,680 power upholding all things the word there is to carry it means that he 225 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:43,720 carries everything forward on its appointed course not only does he hold 226 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:50,240 the material universe together but all of history and all of its ages as they 227 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:58,480 unfold are carried forward by the power of Jesus Christ all things hold together 228 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:06,280 in him now having said these things about Jesus Christ the firstborn what 229 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,960 what kind of application can we make of this in our lives let me just point out 230 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:17,720 two or three things before we go in our way first of all nothing in creation is 231 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:26,480 of itself evil except of course that which became evil after its creation by 232 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:34,160 rebellion but nothing in all of creation is evil in and of itself it can be used 233 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:39,920 for evil but it's not evil in and of itself the Gnostics of course taught 234 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:45,760 that everything is evil including our bodies and to them the whole idea of a 235 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:50,720 resurrection body was unthinkable the whole idea is to get rid of the body 236 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:56,840 it's evil well the whole idea in the Christian resurrection is that the body 237 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:01,160 will come together a new body but it'll be a body a material body supernatural 238 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:08,320 but material real tangible nothing is evil in all of creation and God uses it 239 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:15,400 all to advance his good and holy purposes even that which has become evil 240 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:23,040 God employs even Satan and his whole realm ultimately to bring about his 241 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:29,520 purposes Satan is in rebellion there is a limited sense in which he has his way 242 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:36,360 and he charts his course for the world but ultimately even all of his activity 243 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:41,440 will bring about the purpose of God 244 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:48,120 secondly I see as a result of this teaching that despite sins presence and 245 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:55,200 its corruption creation is to be enjoyed employed rather for God's glory and 246 00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:01,600 gratefully enjoyed by his people turn over to 1st Timothy chapter 6 for just a 247 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:12,840 moment 1st Timothy chapter 6 comes after Thessalonians doesn't it yes here it is 248 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:19,040 sometimes these books change places in my Bible 1st Timothy chapter 6 in verse 249 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:25,560 17 it says instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceded 250 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:31,400 or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God who richly 251 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:41,520 supplies us with all things to enjoy God intends for us to employ creation for 252 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:49,080 his glory and to enjoy it ourselves that's why he's given it to us and so 253 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,080 there are some who may not eat certain foods for health reasons that's fine and 254 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:58,960 there may be good reason for that but there's not a spiritual reason for it 255 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:05,320 if you choose not to eat ham let it not be because of what Leviticus or one of 256 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,640 the Old Testament book says let it be for some other more mundane reason God 257 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:17,600 has given us all things richly to enjoy we can truly sing this is my father's 258 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:26,560 world yes Satan now is the usurper yes he has his way in some limited sense in 259 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:33,320 the world but this is our father's world and it all points to him and brings 260 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:40,280 glory to him and he has given us the privilege of enjoying it finally I want 261 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:47,200 to say this evening that the dignity and the majesty of Jesus Christ is unique 262 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:54,400 the dignity the majesty of Jesus Christ as the firstborn of God are unique being 263 00:28:54,400 --> 00:29:03,920 eternally God the Son he is also by his incarnation the only begotten Son of God 264 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:09,080 we are at this season of the year remembering his incarnation that the 265 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:15,160 reason for the season is the celebration of the truth that this one who is the 266 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:21,480 firstborn of all creation is also come into the world to be our Savior this one 267 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:29,240 who is supreme and preeminent in his glory stepped from his throne in heaven 268 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:37,600 and stooped to our place on the earth that he might save us and raise us to 269 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:43,920 one day share the throne of his glory with him what a wonderful Savior we have 270 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:50,960 in Jesus Christ who is the firstborn of all creation would you bow with me 271 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:59,720 please in prayer father we thank you for Jesus for who he is and what he's done 272 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:05,480 and for your revealing him to us in the names and titles that are ascribed to him 273 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:13,400 I bless you that he is the firstborn of all creation that he has the place of 274 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:24,360 supremacy that his rank is a preeminent one and tonight we worship you Lord Jesus 275 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:31,520 and we bring our hearts to quiet yieldedness to to your purpose and your 276 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:38,840 will in our being in existence fulfill your purpose in us we pray and use us 277 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:43,480 for your glory amen