Christ Preeminent (Part Five): He Is . . .

Transcript

JRNT 27
07/30/2023
Christ Preeminent (Part Five): He Is
Colossians 1:15-18
Jesse Randolph

This past week, as I was doing the typical range of reading, I’ll do every week. I came across an article that I thought was totally fascinating. The premise of it was highlighting the final sermons that were preached by some of church history’s most influential preachers, pastors, theologians.
For instance, one was John Calvin, the great French Reformer, who spent most of his ministry in Geneva. A man, who in addition to writing “The Institutes of the Christian Religion”, at a very early age. Who in addition wrote over 48 commentaries of the various books of the bible. He preached, on average, 10 sermons every 14 days. Making guys like me look like a total slouch. The records are somewhat fuzzy for Calvin, but it appears that around the time he died in 1564, he was preaching somewhere in the book of Joshua, as he delivered his last sermon. Then there was John Flavel. John Flavel was an Oxford-educated pastor and preacher who lived in the 1600’s. In those days, there was this thing called the act of uniformity. Where the English government was trying to dictate what pastors and preachers could preach on Sunday mornings. Flavel found himself in a problem because he wanted to preach the bible, not what the English government wanted him to preach. Well, he was excommunicated, and as a result, he actually spent 41 years completely underground in his ministry. He preached in his own home. He preached in the houses of others. He preached in the woods, even, and he did so for four-plus decades. Preaching faithfully the word of God. His last sermon, Flavel’s was, was on June 21, 1691. His text was I Corinthians 10:12 – “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Jumping ahead a couple of centuries, we have Charles Spurgeon. Who is considered “the Prince of Preachers.” He’s the most widely read, widely quoted preacher who ever lived. He was a preaching machine. He had a photographic memory. He had a towering intellect. He had an undeniable gift. His last sermon was preached on June 7, 1891. His text was I Samuel 30:21-26, which explains the dividing of the spoils after David’s conquer of the Amalekites. Then we come to Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Affectionally known as “The Doctor.” Because he was a high-ranking medical doctor in the English government, at the time the Lord saved him, and then set him apart for gospel ministry. Lloyd-Jones was this little hunched-over Welshman. He was not flashy. He was not impressive. But what he did is he faithfully preached the word for 30 plus years at Westminster Chapel in London, where the word was very much out of season. He did so, line-upon-line, verse-upon-verse. Well, on May 18, 1980, now a very old and very weakened man, weakened by the cancer that would eventually kill him. Lloyd-Jones preached from Joshua 4:6, which was about the memorial stones the Israelites had placed in the Jordan River. The title of his sermon was “What do these stones mean?” These were all faithful men. Faithful men who faithfully preached the word. Who, before they received their eternal reward. Preached one last time.

Which got me thinking. Now, without being too morbid. Without being too introspective and prophetic and without being too presumptuous. Seeing that I’m only 100 sermons into my ministry here. This question has been rolling around in my mind all week, since reading this article. “If I were able to choose a final text to preach, to everyone here. What would that text be?” Especially if I’m going on to meet my Savior, to meet my Maker, what’s the final text that I’d want to preach? Then broadening it out to everybody here this morning. I recognize this is one of those unfair, impossible to answer questions. “Which is your favorite bible verse?” type of questions. “What is the last section of scripture you’d want to read before your eyes close?” “What is the last section of scripture you’d want to reflect on, before passing on into the next world?” “What section of scripture would you want to be reading to your children, or to your grandchildren as death’s dew was beading on your forehead, as you were getting ready to take your last breaths here on this planet?” “What would you want that text to be?”

Now, for me, I’ve had a hard time, as I’ve reflected on this very question all week, selecting any passage other than the one that we’ll be in today. If I’m days away. If I’m moments away. If I’m breaths away from meeting the One who purchased me. Whose blood has washed me. Whose sacrifice on the cross has saved me. I’m going with today’s text. Which, as we’re going to see. Helps us not so much to understand what Jesus Christ has done. There are plenty of passages all over the New Testament to explain that, including the one we were in last week. When we saw that it’s in Him, whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sin. No, our text helps us better understand who Jesus Christ is. Turn with me in your bibles, if you would, to Colossians 1, and this morning, we’re going to be in verses 15-18.

Colossians 1:15-18, God’s word reads: “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 through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Whenever I stand up here to preach, there is a natural sense of intimidation. Not because of the lights and not even because of all of you. But because of the task that God has given me, to bring forth the treasures of His word; and show it, unfurl it, for all of you, so that you can rightly understand its meaning. Then apply it to your lives. See, the task of preaching, in and of itself, is an intimidating task. While all scripture is God-breathed, and all scripture is profitable, and all scripture is preachable. There are just some passages that you run across, as a preacher. You find yourself completely astonished, and completely overwhelmed, and completely insufficient. You find yourself, like Paul in II Corinthians 2:16, saying, “who is adequate for these things.?” I’ve felt that way all week. Astonished, overwhelmed, inadequate. Which is where any preacher ought to be every Sunday morning. It’s another topic.

But, in His kindness. In the face of this magnificent and daunting text. God has given us some markers. Some grammatical handlebars to grab onto, as we work our way through today’s text, as we try our best to work our way through it faithfully. See, our text really marks a transition in Paul’s flow of thought, in the book of Colossians as a whole. In the first fourteen verses of chapter 1, which we’ve looked at in the first four sermons in this series. Paul has been expressing his thanksgiving for the Colossians. He’s been describing his prayers and petitions for the Colossians. Prayers and petitions he was offering up to God the Father, as we saw last week. Who had “qualified” the Colossians to “share in the inheritance of the saints in light”, verse 12. The God who had “rescued” the Colossians from “the domain of darkness”, verse 13. The God who had “transferred” the Colossians, and all of us, “to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” But now, as he moves to verse 15, Paul swings the door open to really the main emphasis and focus and theme of this entire letter. Which is the preeminence of Jesus Christ.

As Paul transitions here, to the central theme of the preeminence of Christ. As he pivots to describing what Christ has already done for us. To whom He is in His essence. He hangs his thoughts, like pins on a clothesline, as the way I think of it, on the same two words. “He is.” You know, to the Pharisees of His day, Jesus affirmed His deity before them in John 8:58, with the words “I AM.” Now, what we have Paul doing to the Colossians of his day and by extension to the church of our day. He’s building on what the Lord has revealed about Himself, when He said, “I AM”, by saying, “He is.” To the church there at Colossae. This young church that was being threatened with this false and heretical picture of Christ. We’re going to get more into that, in Colossians 2. Paul here, in our text for today, describes Christ for who He is. That’s the title of the message this morning, “He Is.” Because in our time together, we’re going to work through these four majestic and transcendent verses. Verses which one commentator says, “there never was a higher Christology.” What we’re going to do, is work through these verses, through the lens of those four “He is” statements.

Let’s jump right into it, as we come upon our first “He Is” statement at the beginning of verse 15.

1. Colossians 1:15 - “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
So, right away we have to ask the question? Who is “He” referring to here? Who is the “He” of verse 15? Well, the “He” is the “beloved Son” mentioned back in verse 13. “He” is the One, as we saw back in verse 14, is the One in whom we have “redemption” and “forgiveness of sins.” That’s a reference, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. The son of Joseph and Mary. The Galilean. The long-awaited and foretold Messiah of Israel. The One who died on a Roman cross. The One whose lifeless body was placed in a sealed tomb. The One who eventually rose from the grave. That man. Jesus. The God-Man. Is described by Spirit-lead Paul here, as the “image of the invisible God.”

We’ve got to take this one bite at a time. Starting with the reality that we, like Paul, like the Colossians, worship a God who is, as this text tells us, is “invisible.” The God of the bible. Whose name is Yahweh. Who, as Christians, we have the privilege of calling Him Father, He’s “invisible.”
John 4:24 says, God is spirit and as such, He cannot be seen. Here in our text, He’s called “the invisible God.”
He is, as Paul would say elsewhere, in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 – “. . . the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” That word “invisible” shows up in a few other places in scripture, in reference to God. For instance: Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen”, [what an interesting turn of phrase there] being understood through what has been made, so that they [meaning the unbeliever] are without excuse.” Or Hebrews 11:27, in the hall of faith, describing Moses, it says, “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” Or 1 Timothy 1:17 says, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Now, contrast the invisibility of the true God, with all the false gods of the world. Whether that be Brahma of the Hindu religion. Or Buddha, or the countless other deities whose likenesses have been carved into tree trunks or painted in caves over the centuries. For those so-called “gods” who are fabricated and made in the image of sinful humans; they are totally visible and creaturely and observable. They have mouths and eyes and noses, and hands and feet. It reminds us of Psalm 115:5-7 which says the following about false gods and idols. It says, “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear, they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat.” Then that same psalmist concludes, “Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.” We see this phenomenon, men bowing down to deaf and dumb and worthless idols, not just in the Old Testament, in Psalm 115, but in the New. Romans 1:22-23, again, speaking of the unbeliever, says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

Then, in our context, in our day. In our post-Christian, hyper-educated, I-know-better-than-you society. We’re going to encounter atheists who will, with a wry smile, ground their opposition to the God that they say is not there. Or their indifference to the God they don’t believe in . . . in the fact that He cannot be seen. They’ll say things like: “Why do you worship a sky fairy that you can’t even see?” “How can you know that a God that cannot be seen, can actually be known?” “How can you know that a God that you cannot see, is actually there?” Well, if you find yourself interacting with such a scoffer, there are many ways you can go with that. But you can actually answer them with the words of Jesus Himself. Who during His earthly ministry said things like this: John 14:9 – “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Those words, bringing it back to Colossians 1, testify to the fact that Jesus is a visible representation of God. Now we have Paul here in Colossians 1:15, referring to Christ as “the image of God.” That word for “image” is eikon. It’s a word, a Greek term, which we get our English word, “icon”. It means “copy” or “likeness.” Which fits perfectly here. Because what Paul is saying here in Colossians 1:15, is that Jesus is the perfect image – the exact likeness – of God Himself. Jesus is essentially and absolutely the perfect expression and representation of God the Father. As it’s put by the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact imprint of His nature.” He has been so friends, since eternity past. You know, Jesus’s likeness to God the Father, is not something He took on at the incarnation. It’s not limited to His earthly ministry. There was no point, going back to eternity past, that Jesus was not in “the image of the invisible God.” He has eternally and forever been so. Christ not only bears likeness to God. It’s not like it’s some dime likeness to God, but the coin that has the head of a king or President on it. Or one of your children who bears some degree of likeness to you. No. Christ is the very representation and manifestation of God. A perfectly visible expression of God. Bearing perfect resemblance to God.

Now, this idea of Christ being the “image” of God has some really deep theological, biblical roots to it. We know from the first chapter of the bible, that Adam was made in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in our image.” We know also that, as sons and daughters of Adam, we have been created in the image of God. Colossians 3:9-10 says, “. . . [we are] being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” Or James 3:9, that infamous passage relating to the tongue, says “With it [meaning the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness [image] of God.” So, we are made in the image of God, but here’s the pivot point, the transition point, the distinguishing point. Christ is “the” image of God. II Corinthians 4:3 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” So, humans, we bear the image of God in some finite and imperfect way. But Christ is the perfect, infinite image of God; and, as His perfect, infinite image, Christ brings clarity to any hazy notions we might have or entertain about this immortal, invisible God, who dwells in unapproachable light. So, in one sense, we can say that as humans, are in the “image of the invisible God.” We’re all made in God’s image. But Colossians 1:15 is saying, that Christ is the image of God, is “the” image of God in a distinctive way. So, if we could put a bow on this thought, it’s not simply that Jesus taught about God. It’s not simply that Jesus was an ambassador for God. It’s not that Jesus was similar to God. No, He was and is the “image”, the visible, tangible, representation, of God Himself. “The exact representation of His nature.”

Bringing it back to the Colossian context, as Paul is writing this Colossian church. This church here, you’ll recall that was staring down the threat of this new heretical teaching. This “Christ-plus” form of theology. This “Christ-plus” form of worship. “Christ-plus-angels.” Or “Christ-plus-philosophy.” Or “Christ-plus-ascetism.” Paul redirects them here, with this transcendent truth: Which is that the Christ that they worshiped. The Christ that they’d been taught about by Epaphras, was all the Christ they needed. A Christ who was more than a good man. More than a great teacher. More than a compelling miracle worker. Rather, He is the image of the invisible God. An exact, visible representation of God, and in fact, God Himself.

Now, as verse 15 continues. Paul pivots, and says here, that Christ, in addition to being the “image of the invisible God,” is also “the firstborn of all creation.” “Christ is the “firstborn.” The prototokos of all creation. What are we to make of that? Well, let’s start by handling this term: “firstborn.” That term – “firstborn” is used in at least three different senses in scripture.

First – you’ll see it used in a very literal sense. Like in the description of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:7 it says that Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son.” In that context, prototokos means the Lord Jesus was the first child to whom Mary gave birth. Not the only child, by the way, tell that to your Roman Catholic friends.

In other settings – the word “firstborn” is used in a figurative sense. Like Exodus 4:22, that’s that scene where God is speaking to Moses about the coming exodus out of Egypt. God says to Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn”’.” Now there, there’s no sense of any actual birth taking place, as with Mary giving birth to Jesus. Instead, the Lord uses the word “firstborn” there, to describe the distinctive plans and purposes and role that He has for Israel.

Then there’s this third way that the term “firstborn” is used in scripture. That’s to designate one’s place of superiority, or supremacy, or uniqueness. In fact, flip with me over to Psalm 89, where we’re going to see “firstborn” used in that sense, of supremacy.
Psalm 89 is a psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite. Just to show you what’s going on here, this is a Psalm pertaining to David, as in King David. We see that in Psalm 89:20, just to set the context here. Look at verse 20 of Psalm 89. It says, “I have found David, My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him.” So, that’s our context. David the King in Old Testament Israel. Now, jump down all the way to verse 27, where it says, “I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” Now, we know that David was not the “firstborn” of Jesse. He in fact was the last born. But here, the word “firstborn” is being used to indicate supremacy, primacy, sovereignty. To make David, the king, “the highest of the kings of the earth.” That’s the meaning of “firstborn” here. Going back to Colossians, it is in that sense, that third sense, that Paul is using that term. When in Colossians 1:15 he says of the Lord Jesus, He is the “firstborn of all creation.” The Lord Jesus Christ, who is in the line of David, who was the promised Messiah from the seed of David, is God’s unique Son. That’s the idea here in verse 15. Note, that it’s not just that He is the “firstborn”, it says that He is the “firstborn of all creation.” Which is a comparative expression, to say that He is “firstborn” as compared to all creation. He is supreme as compared to all creations. What’s being communicated here, is that Christ reigns supreme over all the earth. Overall, His creation. The sense here is of priority of rank, of status, of position. When it says Christ is the firstborn “of all creation.” We’re going to get into this in just a moment, but far from undermining the reality that Jesus is God. This passage actually underscores and underlines the absolute sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus Christ. He is totally and absolutely sovereign over the skies that He formed. Over the land masses He molded. Over the species He developed. As Hebrews 1:2 says, He is the “heir of all things.” He outranks everything. All people, everyone in the entire world He has made.

Now, notwithstanding some of the baseline material that I’ve just laid out for you here. There have been, over the centuries, many false teachers and many false religions, who have taken this verse and run with it, to suggest that Christ is a created being, and that Christ is not God. They’ll point to this very verse, Colossians 1:15, as backup for their plan. They’ll say things like, “look, its right there in the word.” “Firstborn”. “Christ was born; therefore, He is created.” Now, they’ll try to be nice, and play nice. They’ll say like, “you know, He’s still, like of the highest rank in order of created things, and created beings.” Meaning, He’s entitled to our honor and special respect and reverence. But they will still insist that He was born. He was born as a created being. Just like you and I are born as created beings. That He’s not God. Here’s the Watchtower Society, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, how they take this passage. They say: “Since Jesus as the firstborn of all creation is a created person, he cannot be Almighty God. The scriptures repeatedly portray him as in a position subordinate to God.” In other words, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are unapologetic about their Arianism. Which, as we’re about to see. There’s a reason why we call groups like this “false teachers”, and movements like this “false religion.” In fact, let’s go through some of the reasons why “firstborn”, that term “firstborn” in verse 15, does not, and cannot mean “created.”

First, it’s impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything. If verse 15, as the Jehovah Witnesses and other groups would have it, is saying that Christ is created. That “firstborn” means created. Then the next verse, in verse 16, which we’ll get to in a little bit. We’re told that Christ is the Creator. What we have in our hands is a massive contradiction. A created thing cannot create itself. Creatures aren’t self-created. They are created, by instead, whatever created them. Well, recognizing their problem of inconsistency here. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, in the bible that they created, have added the word “other” in very strategic places in the very text that we’re in today. For instance, in verse 16, they’ll say things like, they’ll translate it “by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth.” Or, also in verse 16, they’ll say “all other things have been created through him and for him.” So, he can be, by using that word “other”, both a created, but also, he just created other things. The real inconvenient problem for the Jehovah’s Witnesses though, is that in no Greek manuscript is that word “other” appear. They simply injected it. They added it. Their translation team added the word “other” to intentionally add to and twist the scriptures to suggest that Christ created all things after He Himself was created. It doesn’t work. It simply, linguistically does not work.

Second, here’s another reason why “firstborn” cannot mean created. We’re told elsewhere in the scriptures that the “firstborn” Son of God received worship from the angels. Hebrews 1:6, speaking of God the Father says, “And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’” Well, creatures, we know from going back to the ten commandments in Exodus 20, mere creatures are not to be worshiped. So, if Christ is a creature, a created being, well then, the angels shouldn’t be worshiping Him. It would be a violation of the ten commandments. He’d be wrongly and idolatrously receiving worship from other created beings. The angels would be wrong to worship Him. We would be wrong to worship Him. Taking it a few logical steps further, under the Mosaic Law, the Jews were right to kill Him. For He blasphemed by holding Himself out to be God.

Here’s a third reason why “firstborn” cannot mean created. Verse 15, and that word there for “firstborn”, it doesn’t stand in isolation with what’s being said in this section of scripture as a whole. The point of this passage, verses 15-18, as we’re going to see, in its entirety, is to demonstrate Christ’s preeminence over all things. Which includes the fact, as we’ll see in verse 16, that He is the Creator of all; and includes the fact, in verse 17, that He upholds and sustains all things. The context of this whole section very clearly is that Christ has priority and preeminence over His creation. Superiority over and supremacy over everything. Not that He’s a created being. If Paul were suddenly, in verse 15, to say He’s a created being, he’d actually be agreeing with the very heresy he’s trying to refute throughout this whole book. So, for those reasons, and for so many others that have been articulated by bible expositors and commentators and theologians over the centuries. We affirm that what Paul here was saying, when he said that Christ is the “firstborn over all creation”, is not that Christ was created by God. Or that He is less in essence than God. Quite the contrary. The word “firstborn” here, instead is a statement about Christ’s position of supremacy over His creation. It’s a statement of His rank of rulership and dominion. It’s a statement of His deity and His preeminence.

In fact, the false teachers, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have twisted “firstborn” to mean what they want it to mean. Would do well to read into the next verse. Look at verse 16, it says, “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 through Him and for Him.” So, here in verse 16, Christ’s preeminence is expressed in terms of His relationship to creation. His rulership over creation. You’ll note that the way that this is done is through these three different prepositions that are being used here. It is “by Him all things were created.” Then it says later, “all things have been created through Him.” Last, it says all things have been created “for Him.” “By Him.” “Through Him.” “For Him.” Each of those prepositions conveys a different thought. We’re going to interact with each of those prepositions and thoughts as we work our way through this verse.

First, is the statement here, that: “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.” So, “By Him all things were created.” When it says here that all things were created “by Him.” The idea is they were created through the power that was innate to Him. Creative power that is sourced in Him. Creative power that is a part of His being. Note the scope of His creative power. The scope of His creative power is referenced in these three different areas that we see laid out in the rest of verse 16.

First, His creative power reaches to every locality. First, he says, “All things in heaven and on earth.” So, Christ created all things in the heavens. Meaning, He created the stars, and the planets, and the galaxies, and the constellations, and all other astronomical phenomena. He created all things. Then it says He created things both animate and inanimate here on earth. It says, “both in the heavens and on earth.” So, everything from the bright read feathers of the cardinal. To the beak of the blue jay. To the scales of the lizard. To the gills of the fish. To the peaks of the mountain. To the texture of a limestone. To the brilliance of a diamond. He created it all.

Second, it says His creative power extends or reaches to all things “visible and invisible” there in verse 16. As we’re going to see when we get to Colossians 2, the false teachers there in Colossae were promoting this false dualistic philosophy. Under which material things, things you can touch and taste and smell. Things that are “visible”, to use the word here, were considered innately evil. Whereas immaterial things, “things . . . invisible” were considered intrinsically good. Paul is collapsing these two ideas in together, and he’s saying that Christ created all of it. He created all the things we can see. He created all the things we cannot see. He created the pine tree. But He also created that unmistakable scent that the pine tree gives off. He created the person. But He just as readily created the conscience that resides within that person. He created the planet we live on, materially. Just as much as He creates the seasons or has created the seasons of summer and winter. Seasons of cold and darkness and seasons of warmth and light. He’s created it all. Visible, invisible, all of it.

Third, His creative power, it says, incorporates “thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.” Now, of first read, we look at that, and we’re thinking, that must be a reference to kings and kingdoms and political and geographical boundaries. Like it says in Proverbs 21:1, That “the king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” But in context, that’s not what’s in view here. See, each of these four classifications . . . “Thrones” “Dominions” “Rulers” “Authorities” They’re all used elsewhere in the scriptures to describe the realm of angels. The angelic realm. You could jot down Ephesians 1:20-21, it says, “. . . when He raised Him from the dead [speaking of Christ of course] and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion . . .” Or Ephesians 3:10 speaks of “. . . the manifold wisdom of God [that] might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” Or Colossians 2:15 says, “When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Then here in Colossians 1:16, Paul refers to “thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities.” I’m telling you right now, that those are referring to angels. We know from Colossians 2, which we’ll get to in, I don’t know when . . . that the false teachers that had started to infiltrate Colossae there, they were promoting the worship of angels, as a part of their heretical teaching. Paul is outright rejecting those beliefs and practices here. Also, in Colossians 2:18, if fact, turn over to Colossians 2:18, where we’re going to see this angel worship component of the Colossian heresy and how Paul here, already is speaking against that. Look at Colossians 2:18, it says, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. And not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.” But there you see it, there’s worship of angels, making up this Colossian heresy. Going back to Colossians 1, Paul is making it clear here in verse 16, that angels, whatever their rank, whether holy or fallen, whether “thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.” They are all mere creatures. Their Creator and Ruler is none other than the preeminent One, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, he’s getting out in front of this heresy. He’s saying to the Colossians here, essentially “Why would you be worshiping angels?” “When the One you ought to worship, is the One who created those angels.” Christ Himself.

So, we’ve seen that’s “by Him all things were created.” As we look at toward the end of verse 16, it also says, “all things have been created through Him.” That speaks of Christ being the divine agent in creation. In other words, Christ is the Person of the Godhead through whom God’s creative acts were performed. Of course, God the Father is the Creator.
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Or as I read this morning, Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, [that’s Yahweh]. But the three Persons of the Trinity participated actively together in the works of creation. Genesis 1:1-2 says that it was the “Spirit of God [hovering] was moving over the surface of the waters”, at the beginning of creation. John 1:3 says, “All things came into being through Him, [Jesus Christ, that’s a reference to Christ] and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Or Hebrews 1:2 says, “. . . in these last days [He] [meaning God the Father] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

In other words, in the act of creation, God did not act apart from Christ. Rather, it was through Christ, that God performed His various creative acts. The Son was the “master Workman” in Creation. Christ was the agent through whom God accomplished His creative acts. That leaves, the point is, no wiggle room for anyone, whether it be the old purveyors of this Colossian heresy. Or the Arians of the fourth century. Or the Jehovah’s Witnesses today, to suggest that although Christ created some things. That He Himself was created originally. The One who is “firstborn” over all creation, is most certainly not a creature. Instead, as we see here, He is the very Creator.

At the end of verse 16, we’re told that all things were created “for Him.” He’s the One “for” whom all things were created. Meaning, the purpose and the goal of all things in creation, lies in their relation to Him – to Christ. They are literally for Him, “unto Him”, it could be translated. We need to think of the profundity of that statement that’s being made there. That all things are “for Him.” We have to remember that as Paul wrote these words. Guided by the Holy Spirit. He is speaking of the One who not too long ago, from his calendar standpoint had been executed in Jerusalem. The One who had risen from the dead. The One who appeared to Paul, when he was still “Saul” . . . on the road to Damascus. Here he is, Paul is, saying: All things were created by Him, and all things were created through Him, and all things were created for Him. All things have their origin and existence and purpose in Him, and all things center on and depend upon Him. See, people today, should be praising Jesus Christ when they view anything out there in creation. Whether it be six feet in front of us. Or the minute complexities of life as seen through a microscope. Or when it’s looking out into the galaxies through a telescope. Glory should be attributed to Him. Not to the angels. Not to Mother Nature. Not to some atheistic principle of evolution. No! It’s all, as this text says: “By Him.” And “Through Him.” And “For Him.” That sounds very much like the doxology at the end of Romans 11:36 where Paul says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Hm be the glory forever. Amen.”

See, one of the reasons I was so excited to, but also terrified about preaching this text, is it speaks, it rubs right against our natural tendency, even as believers. Which is to compartmentalize Christ. You know, for part of our lives, we think of Christ as Christmas Jesus. The One who was crying and cooing in the manger there in Bethlehem. Then for part of our lives we think of Him as carpenter Jesus. The son of Joseph and Mary. Building furniture. Never talking back to his parents. The One who grew in wisdom and stature and favor both with God and with man. For part of our lives, we think of Him as crucified Jesus. The One who bore the punishment for our sins and the stripes that were laid across His back and took the crown of thorns upon His head. Fulfilled the Father’s perfect plan by offering salvation for those who would believe in Him. Or then we put Him in the category of the comforting Jesus. The One whose promises we look to for hope and support. The One we look to in prayer. The One we cry out to. The One through whom we find kinship with others who have believed in His name. That’s well and good to do all of that. To understand and to believe in the Christmas Jesus. And the carpenter Jesus. And the crucified Jesus. And the comforting Jesus. Because He is each of those things. But standing behind it all, and this is what I want us all to latch on to. Is this transcendent truth. Which we’ve already seen here this morning. That the Jesus of the bible. The Jesus of Nazareth. Is the eternal Son of God. The second Person of the Trinity. The “image of the invisible God.” The “firstborn of all creation.” The Creator. All things were created by Him. All things were created through Him. All things were created for Him.
With that, we turn to our second “He is” statement.


2. Colossians 1:17 – “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
See, Christ is not only the One through whom all things came to be. He is also the One through whom all things continue to exist. Verse 17 begins by indicating for us that Christ is “before all things.” Note, “He is before all things.” Not, “He was before all things.” “Is,” there is a present tense verb. “He is before all things.” It speaks of continuation of His being. The significance of that, of what’s being conveyed here. Is the timelessness of Christ’s deity. Again, we go back to John 8:58, when Jesus is standing before the Pharisees. Remember He says, “before Abraham was, I WAS.” That’s not how it went, right? No, He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Present tense verb. Indicating the timelessness of His deity. Similar concept here, with Paul saying, “He is before all things.” A present tense statement. But Christ was not only before Abraham though. Here it says He’s before “all things.” Including creation. Jesus Christ, being eternal, existed before there was any creation to speak of. John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Now, while the universe has a beginning, even the atheistic big bang people would believe that. Christ has always existed. While the universe is temporal. With a definite start date and with a definite, one day end date. Christ is not. He cannot be confined to our calendars. He is eternal. Micah 5:2, it’s a prophetic passage relating to Christ’s first coming. Speaking of Him being from Bethlehem. It says, “His going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Or Christ Himself would say in Revelation 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Not only though, did the Lord Jesus exist before there was any creation. We also see here that it is in Him that all things consist. Look at the second half of verse 17 – “and in Him all things hold together.” It means that the Lord Jesus is the sustainer of the universe, the Source of its perpetual motion. He maintains just the right amount of power and balance needed to ensure life’s existence and continuity. Hebrews 1:3 – He “. . . upholds all things by the word of His power.” The only reason that this planet hasn’t exploded or imploded or dissolved. The only reason our whole galaxy hasn’t just been dumped into a black hole somewhere is because of Christ. He’s upholding everything right now. He’s keeping the planets spinning. He’s keeping the stars burning. He’s keeping the ocean waters from flooding. He’s keeping the rain cycles going. He’s keeping our hearts beating. He’s providing brain activity to every single one of us here this morning. Not just to us, to those out in the world, who in foolishness, reject Him. He’s giving life and breath and movement and existence to those who vehemently oppose and hate Him. That includes the illuminati on the college campuses who think that all of life’s problems can be solved by more learning or knowledge or reason.
That includes the atheistic legislators in our state and other states who are making it their life’s quest to allow mothers to slaughter their children in the womb at an earlier and earlier period of their pregnancy. That includes the Subaru-driving peaceniks who say that we just need to coexist. That includes the worshipers of the modern-day rainbow cult. He’s upholding all of them. He’s allowing them to move and breathe. He’s allowing them to suck in His air and drink His water and feel the warm rays of His sun. He’s doing so with patience and forbearance. II Peter 3:9 – “Not wishing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance.”

Christ is governing and ruling and upholding all of it . . . and all of them, those individuals. He didn’t wind up the universe like a clock and then walk away from it. Not at all. No, He continues to sustain it all. His power upholds and guides what His hands have formed. You know the old song, maybe it is still a current song . . . “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” That’s true! Harry Ironside wrote this, he said: “It is His hand that holds the stars in their courses, directs the planets in their orbits, and controls the laws of the universe. How great is His dignity, and yet how low did He stoop for our salvation!” That final sentence, about “how low did He stoop”, Philippians 2 – “for our salvation”, is so important. Because it highlights the fact that the One who has formed every atom, every molecule, every dust particle. The One who was intimately involved in every aspect of His creation. The One of whom it said, creation was accomplished “by” Him, and “through” Him, and “for” Him. Is the same One who took nails in His hands and in His feet. Who took a spear in His side and who died a humiliating criminal’s death. So that unworthy sinners like you and me could be restored to fellowship and a relationship with a thrice Holy God.
Well, as we turn to verse 18. We get to our third “He is” statement.

3. Colossians 1:18a – “He is also the head of the body, the church.”
Look at verse 18, the first few words there, “He is also head of the body, the church” As we pause there, just reading those words, ought to give us, at least, some sense of shock. Not because the words themselves are shocking, or scandalous or outrageous. But because of the sudden shift in focus from all the things we’ve been considering in verses 15, 16 and 17. It’s like with whiplash effect here . . . Paul goes from this discussion of Christ being the eternal image of the invisible God. And the firstborn of all creation. And the Creator of all things. And all things being created by Him and through Him and for Him. Now, it says, oh yeah, He’s also the head of the body, the church. As this section of Colossians 1 is taking off. As he’s powerfully stacking these thoughts, one after the other on top of each other. We would expect that Paul here would say something like, Christ is the supreme ruler of the universe. Or the king of the cosmos. But that’s not what we see. Instead, what we see here, verse 18, “He is also the head of the body, the church.” Now, the references to “the body” here, “the church” here. Those are references to the universal church. That is, all around the world who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. from the Day of Pentecost, all the way up to the Rapture. This organism . . . this “assembly” of believers . . . which is expressed in local assemblies, like what we’re doing today. That assembly, over which Christ is, look at the word there, He’s “the head.” Now, a few key details and for many of us, reminders about this thing called the “church” over which Christ is the “head” . . .

First, the church is described in this way, in I Corinthians 12, all believers are baptized into it. We’re baptized into this body, the church, by the Holy Spirit, the moment we believe in Christ. I Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [placed into on body] whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

Second, another reminder about the church, is that it is an especially diverse body. It always has been. There is “neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, [and] there is neither male nor female.” Galatians 3:28

Third, the church is a mystery not made known to previous generations.
In fact, drop down to Colossians 1:25, just a few verses down, it says, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So, the church is a mystery, revealed in these times to the Gentiles.

Fourth, as we’re seeing from our passage, verse 18, the Head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” Or Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church.” So, the dominion then, the Lord Jesus Christ extends not only through the natural universe, but it extends to the spiritual realm. He is ruler, simultaneously of the cosmos, as He is the head of the church.

Now, how are we to take that, in terms of how this passage, verse 18, ties into what we’ve just looked at in verses 15-17? Where we see these sweeping claims about Christ’s rulership over all creation. Is what he’s saying now in verse 18, somehow lessen what has already been said? Is this making Christ smaller by localizing Him in the church? Not at all! If anything, what this passage does, verse 18, when we consider in conjunction with verses 15-17, is really expand the significance of the claims that are being made of Christ’s role vis-à-vis the church. He is sovereign over creation, just as He is over the church. They go hand in hand. He is doubly preeminent. Preeminent over all creation. But also preeminent in the church. What that really ought to do for us, who are the church, is highlight the privilege that it is to be a part of God’s family. To be a part of the church. To be a part of this family of redeemed people. To know that Christ is as intimately involved in ruling and governing the church. As He is in all of creation. The church is no “side project” for Jesus Christ. It’s no “Plan B” for Jesus Christ. He loves the church . . . so much that He gave Himself for the church. He’s building the church. He’s protecting the church. He will pull the church out of the coming tribulation to come. He’s going to return and reign with the church. See, the church is not a place. It’s not an address. It’s not a thing we do or a place we go. It’s the body of Christ, with Christ as it’s head. As His act of love for the church, He exercises control over it and direction over it. Conforming each one of its limbs and organs. That’s you and me, into His image.
Alright, that brings us to our fourth “He is” statement, which comes at the end of verse 18.

4. Colossians 1:18b – “. . . and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
That word that you see there, where it says, “He is the beginning”, it can actually be translated either “beginning” or “rulership”, or “rule”. “Beginning” or “Rule”. You see it here as “beginning.” We see it in Matthew 19:4 as “beginning” where it says, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female[?]”
But the same word here, for “beginning” can also be translated “rule” or “ruler” in other places. So, which is it? Is Christ here, being described as the “beginning? Or is He being described as “ruling?” The answer is – “yes.” I think there’s a trace of truth to both definitions. Christ. The preeminent Christ . . . not only created everything that we see around us in the cosmos . . . He also established His church . . . and in that sense, He’s the beginning of both. But at the same time, He is ruler, as we’ve seen, both of the cosmos and of the church. He’s the head of both realms.

Now, we see in this language, as we keep moving on, that Christ is “the firstborn from the dead.” It’s a clear resurrection reference when it mentions “from the dead.” But what about that word “firstborn”? We’ve encountered it already in verse 15. But how about here? Is this a matter of laying out a timeline? Is this saying that Christ is the first person to have every been raised from the dead? Definitely not that. We know that Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead. We know that Elijah raised the widow’s son. We know that Jesus Himself raised Jairus’s daughter. We know that Jesus Himself raised Lazarus. So then what does “firstborn from the dead” mean here? It means, “firstborn” here, is that, of all those who have been raised from the dead. . . the Lord Jesus Christ ranks first in importance among them. He was the first to rise in an immortal body. I Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” His resurrection marked triumph over death, the way other resurrections didn’t. Hebrews 2:15 says, “. . . through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death.” It’s by virtue of Christ’s resurrection, that He’s been elevated to a rank and a position higher than anyone else who rose from the dead. Romans 1:4 says, he was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 2:9 says, “. . . God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” It’s only through Christ’s resurrection that the future resurrection of others is secured. John 5:28 says, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs who will hear His voice and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” All of this is so that He might be known . . . Christ might be known . . . and seen . . . as preeminent in all things. “So that” . . . as we see at the end of verse 18 here, “He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Preeminence. Alfred Mace once wrote this, an old evangelist from the early 1900’s, he said: “Christ cannot be second anywhere. He is the ‘firstborn of every creature,’ because He has created everything (Col. 1:15,16). He is also the firstborn from the dead in connection with a redeemed and heavenly family. Thus, creation and redemption hand the honors of supremacy to Him because of who He is and of what He has done’ . . . He is first everywhere.”
“He’s not second anywhere.” But “He’s first everywhere” and that’s exactly right. What an answer that would have been to those who, in Paul’s day, were trying go bring Christ down a few pegs, as though they could. To strip Him of His preeminence, as though they could. They promoted their heretical teachings there in Colossae. To those who have presented such a false Christ, a weakened Christ, a cheap Christ. Paul here says “no.” Christ is preeminent. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all Creation. He is the Creator of all things. All things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him. He’s the sustainer of all things. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning. He is the firstborn of the dead. He is, as we see at the end of verse 18 here, to have “first place” in everything.

Alright, we’ve considered here in these verses, the extent and the scope of Christ’s preeminence in the creation and in the church. Now we need to ask ourselves . . . as we get ready to head out of this place. Does Christ have preeminence in My life? That’s the natural outworking, the natural question we have to ask ourselves, as we’ve taken these truths. Does Christ have preeminence in My life? Or are there other things . . . Business. Family. Football. Fishing. Hunting. Hobbies. Lusts. Laziness. That are crowding Him out? As you leave here this morning. Ask yourself, sincerely. Am I so stuck in my own little world, my own little fishbowl. My own little bubble, that I’ve failed to bow my knee, daily, to the One who created the world and sustains the world? Do I have such a slender view of the church, as being a place full of programs and rhythms and people I’ve been around my whole life . . . that I fail to acknowledge, daily, that it’s the Lord Jesus Christ who governs and reigns in His church? Am I allowing . . . in what I read, or what I watch, or who I associate with . . . influences in my life that would take away from Christ’s preeminence over my life? Or at least my recognition of His preeminence over my life?
It surely is through His death and resurrection that we have been saved. We praise Him for that. But the Christian life doesn’t end there. It really starts there, and it demands, once we acknowledge His death and resurrection, that we live in light of, His preeminence.

Let’s pray.

God, thank You for the treasures that we’ve been able to mine out of Your word this morning. Thank You, that the Christ we worship, is this preeminent Christ. The beginning of all things. The firstborn of all creation. The image of the invisible God. The One who receives and is do for first place in everything. As we leave here this morning, I pray that we would not take these truths and simply allow them to go in one ear and out the other. To think of this church as a place of mere learning, in our academic growth. As a place where we grab for thoughts about Your word and refuse or fail to put them into practice in our lives. God, I pray that as we would leave this place, we would be transformed by the power of Your Spirit. As we consider the preeminent Christ who has saved us. The preeminent Christ who created everything. The preeminent Christ who we live for. God, I thank You for this day. Thank You for these dear people. We thank You for the preciousness of Your word. It’s in Christ’s name we pray. Amen.