Christ is Life Podcast

A lot of you know this already, but about two years ago, my son Eli and I went on a hiking trip together little father son bonding time over a 26 mile hike in the watch of tall mountains in Arkansas. And so we loaded up backpacks. And we went on this two and a half day hike. And we made it through about the first 20 miles or so we set up camp and, and we got up the next morning had our last six miles to go. And so we we packed up our camp and, and we started, you know, the last six miles. I don't know how far along we were, I'm guessing it was about halfway about three miles or so into it. And we're walking along. And of course, I mean, we're, we're tired. We've been at this for two and a half days now. We're hungry, I'm hurting, I've got blisters all over my feet. And it hurts with every step that I'm taking in this moment. And so we're halfway out of it, we're not really paying attention. But all of a sudden, we look up and something catches our attention, and that something appeared to be a gorilla. Now I know, you're thinking that gorillas only live in Africa. And I thought that too. But in this moment, I'm thinking, Could this be a gorilla? I mean, could he have escaped from the zoo? I don't really know if it's not a gorilla. I mean, it's Bigfoot. It's something It's big. It's hairy. It's scary. And he's right on the path that we need to go on. And we're a distance away. He's but I mean, this is a bit of a predicament, right? I mean, we don't really know exactly what it is. And there's a little fear in the unknown whenever you see something like that, and that's the route that we needed to go. Now we could have turned around and gone the way that we had come. But that would mean we'd have to go 23 miles to get back. And that really wasn't an option in either one of our minds at that point. And so we just kept going, and we just kind of keep an eye out on what was happening. And as we got closer and closer, we could finally see the reality of what it is that we had seen. And that's it. Just a guy in a big gorilla suit. I don't really know why. I didn't notice a couple of empty liquor bottles on the ground, maybe that had something to do with it, I'm sure that had something to do with it. But he was out there and moving around and doing stuff. And in reality, this is what we walked up on. And we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get in a picture. Whenever we finally saw what it really was, you know, from far off, we really did think that we saw a gorilla. But again, we were too far away to really see the truth. And of course, when we got up close enough, we could see firsthand the reality of what this really was. I wonder sometimes, if that's the same way that some of us see Jesus, I wonder if sometimes we think we know who Jesus is we've kind of got our own preconceived ideas about who Jesus is, we've heard what other people say about who Jesus is, we can begin to explain to you some idea of what we think or who Jesus is. But the reality is, is that just like Eli and I, we're too far away to tell if this really was a gorilla that we were seeing, I think many of us are too far away, to really be able to tell if that's the real Jesus or not. And of course, the only way that we were really going to be able to find the truth is to be able to get up close and see the truth for our selves. And guys, this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is going to do for us today. He of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is going to take us up close and reveal to us who Jesus really is. There will be no mistake about who Jesus really is, when we get finished going through this passage today. Or one commentator says this about 50 verses 15 through 20 says this passage is the most famous in the letter, it is the most are one of the most Christological high points not just of the letter, but in the entirety of Scripture, and it provides a critical basis for the teaching of this letter. One of the distinctive contributions if not V. distinctive contribution is its comprehensive vision of reality, with the focal point of Christology. I love that phrase. compre pensive vision of reality. God again using Paulus, his instrument here is going to reveal to us he's going to give us this comprehensive vision of reality, he's going to help us see who Christ really is. And nothing could be more important. Nothing could be more important because if our view of Jesus is skewed, then the implications of that are could have implications on our salvation and our eternal destiny, or in the very least the way that we live out the Christian life. And so let's dive right in. And let's see what the Apostle Paul says in this very first verse. He says, The Sun is the image of the in visible God, the firstborn over all creation. Now, that's just a short little sentence there. But there is so much in what Paul says, in this one sentence in this one verse, the first thing that we see here is this reference to the invisible God, God is Spirit, He is invisible, he is spirit, not a spirit, he is spirit, right, and the first thing that we see is that the sun again, a reference to Jesus is the image, he says, of the in visible God, the Greek word is translated image here is where we get our English word icon. And it means to, you know that it's basically something that looks like or represents something, it can also refer to a manifestation, something that clearly shows or embodies something else. And so what Paul was saying is that Jesus clearly shows us who God is that He embodies God Himself, Paul, saying that Jesus is the exact representation of God. God may be invisible, he may be spirit, but anyone who has seen Christ Paul is saying, has seen God. Of course, this is the only place that we see this in Scripture. In Hebrews, we see in verse three, where it says the sun is the radiance of God's glory, and watch this phrase, and the exact representation of his being. We see this in John's gospel, chapter one and verse 18, where he says, no one has ever seen God. Again, he's spirit, right, but the one and only Son Jesus, watch this, who himself is Himself God, and is in close relationship with the Father has made him known. If you've seen Jesus than you've seen, God, this is who he is. Jesus even declared this himself. He Philip asks him, he says, Lord, would you just show us the Father and that will be enough for us? Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you, such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. This is who Jesus is, Jesus brought God into the Human Sphere of under standing, he shares the same substance as God. He's made God's character known to us through the things that he's said through the way that he carried himself through his actions. We know the character of God, God has revealed himself through the person of Jesus Christ, if you want to know who God is, look no further than Jesus. Now, that's the first half of what we looked at here, the image to Son is the image of the invisible God. But look at the other thing that the Apostle Paul says here, he's the firstborn.
Overall creation. Now, this requires some explanation, because there are some colts, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses, who will tell you that because of this language here, that Jesus was created, therefore, he is not really ultimately God. But that is not the way that Paul is using the term firstborn here. firstborn, as many of you know, had come to mean, especially when you go back and look at it in context throughout the Old Testament, not just to refer to the child who was born first, but to the one who was superior, or who out ranked all of the other children in this particular culture. It distinguishes them in dignity and in superiority they outrank to the other children. This is the way that Paul is using the term. To say that he's the firstborn over creation really means two things. Number one is that he preceded the whole of creation, He exists outside of creation. But then also, it means that he is sovereign over creation, Jesus outranks all things in creation. This distinguishes him from all created things as before to them in time, which Paul will also reference in a bit. So again, there's you can see, there's a lot in just this one, verse, Jesus is the exact representation of God and he outranks all things in creation, because he exists. Outside of creation, Paul says, he moves on in the next verse, it says, For, in Him, all things were created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers are rulers or authorities, all things, he says, have been created through him. And for him. The reason that Jesus is supreme over all of creation, is because He is the Creator of all things. When you look at the mountains and the seas, and the valleys and deserts and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and planets and galaxies, they were all created by Jesus. When you think of things like gravity and atoms and molecules, created by Jesus, when you think of the angels and all things in heaven, again, he says, visible and in visible, they were created by Jesus. And of course, you you were created by Jesus, I was created by Jesus, you are not here by accident, you were born on purpose. And that means that you have meaning and that you have value you are thought of in God's mind, before He created you just the way you are. Now, there's important phrases here that come out that we need to just highlight and talk about for a second, he uses the phrase in him. He uses the phrase through Him and for Him. In other words, first of all, Jesus is the source of creation. Secondly, he's the agent of creation. And finally, he's the goal of creation. In him means that he is the source of creation. Everything that was created came from within Jesus, he was the location from which all things came into existence, In Him was everything that was necessary to be able to create everything from nothing. All of the creativeness that was required, the power that was required the knowledge that one would have to have the wisdom to know how each thing would fit together to place them, where they were the earth, just the distance from the Sun to make sure that we're not too close to it to where we were all going to burn up and not too far away from where we would all freeze to death in him was all of those things necessary. So then that weighed him, the agent of creation, he was able to carry those things out. We'd see this highlighted in Scripture and other places as well that he's the agent of creation. Again, the first chapter of John we looked at earlier, this is in verse three, through him a reference to Jesus, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made Hebrews back to Hebrews, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by His Son Jesus, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through him also, he made what the universe, Jesus is not just the source of creation, he's the agent of creation, He created all things. And then finally, again, we see that as we highlighted earlier, he's the goal of creation. Everything that was created was created for him to display his glory to display his honor to bring him worship. When Eli and I were out on our hike that I referenced earlier, I mean, we saw some of the most beautiful creation, I mean, the tops of mountains, we got to see the view from the top of the mountain and look down in the valleys. And we got to camp out by these beautiful streams and hear the flowing water and gaze up and see the stars at night in a way that you can't really see them in the city and being around here. And each time we would look at those things, it would cause our attention to fall upon him, oh my gosh, how powerful does he really have to be how much creativity and knowledge and wisdom again, to know how it all fit together, it all speaks of him and was created for him and for his glory. You know what that also means? You too, as part of his creation, were created for him, to be in union with Him and to for him to enjoy a relationship with you, and for him to express his life through you so that others would look at you. And it would give him again, glory, honor, and allow other people to worship Him for what they're seeing, again, his activity in and through you. Jesus is the source of creation, the agent of creation, and He is the goal of all of creation. He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn, over all creation. And again, in Him and through Him. And for Him, all things have been created. He goes on to verse 17, it says He is before all things Jesus is not a created being. He existed before all things came into existence, He is eternal. That is one of his attributes is eternality. He's just always existed is didn't come into being one day. He's just always been and continues to be he referenced himself when he was talking to other religious leaders of the day when he said before Abraham was I AM, I've just always been here. He is before all things in because he's before all things that also means that he's in a prominent position with respect to all things to creation, He is supreme. He's first rank, if you will, over all created things. My favorite part about this is what he says next in him. all things hold together. In other words, the universe is not self sufficient. Geez, Jesus is the basic operating principle controlling existence. When I was reading different Commentaries this week, and seeing what other writers had to say about this, when they're doing deep dives into it, I just loved what Douglas mu and his commentary had to say about it. And it's short, I just want to read it to you here he says, the verb here means in this context hold together cohere. And the use of this imperfect tense suggest a state of idea that the universe owes its continuing coherence. to Christ liquid, he says here, what holds the universe together is not an idea or a virtue, but a person, the resurrected Christ. Without him electrons would not continue to circle nuclei, gravity would cease to work and the planets would not stay in their orbits. Jesus holds all things together.
But guess what that also includes you everything that's going on in your life. Many of you are probably walking through difficult situations and circumstances and sometimes they can be really dark things that we're walking through through but be reminded or know today, if this is the first time you're coming across this truth that Jesus holds all things together, including you during this difficult, stressful, dark time in your life. Jesus is the exact representation of the invisible God he outranks all created things in him through Him and for Him, all things were created and he continues to hold all things things together. But Paul is not done yet. Verse 18, he goes on and says, And he continuing to refer to Jesus is the head of the body, he says, the church, he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, he might have the supremacy, again, so much that we see in there, the first thing that he references is that Jesus is the head of the body, which he says is the church. It's just this, this image that he gives that those of us who have said yes to Jesus, we put our faith and trust in Him are connected to him, we are a body, He is the head, the head is the operating center of the body, it is the source, he is the authority. He's the one who provides direction, life and sustenance for the body. And so when you think about that, and how we're in a spiritual union with Him, if he's the one who is God, he's the creator of all things, he goes before all things and He holds all things together, himself, then if you're attached to him as the head as the source, then doesn't that mean that you'll have everything that you will ever need? Of course it does. means there's never a moment in time, if you're always connected to the head, and the source, the one who holds all things together, then there's never a time that you don't have everything it is that you need, as Peter says, for life, and godliness. This is why we have been saying it really is a Jesus plus nothing equals everything kind of gospel, whatever situations or circumstances are going on in your life, or in this world, you are connected to the head, who holds all things together. So that's the first thing he says here. The second thing that he says is he's the beginning and the first born from among the dead. Now, Jesus was not the first to ever be resurrected. There were other people who came back to life, according to the Bible, we can read about those Jesus even resurrected people from the dead, Lazarus and a few others that we know of. But while they were all raised to die again, Jesus is the first one to be raised to never, ever die. Again. That's who he is who the resurrected Jesus is. We're also told that these are for a reason. He's the head of the church, and he's the beginning and the firstborn, so that here's why, in everything he might have. The supremacy supremacy, of course, means first place to outrank or to be superior to all others and all things in authority and status and in power, and in every other way. Your feelings. Don't outrank who Jesus is, and the direction that he has for you and for your life, your truth, whatever you think that that is, doesn't outrank His truth, because he is truth. He's the essence of truth, your truth really isn't even a truth to begin with. This is who Jesus is, he is first rank and outranks or a superior to all others and things and of course, we know this to be true. The apostle Paul even declares in Philippians two, that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. He is supreme. He is superior to and outranks everyone, and everything that exists anywhere. Verse 19, For God was pleased, pleased to have all his fullness, dwell in him. In other words, the totality of God exists in Jesus, there was nothing lacking in him that made him any less than God. He is equal to God. God exists as a Trinity God the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. This word fullness is a key word. We'll see it again in the next chapter. If you were here for the introduction. We even already highlighted it a little bit. Some places it's referenced complete. Remember Paul's writing to a church who was who is teaching some false teachers were teaching a Jesus plus Gospel Jesus is good, he's important. He's necessary, but he's not enough. He's not everything and when you add these certain things, then you'll finally ended up having everything. And Paul is making sure that they know and that we know that He is everything that he is every thing, that he is the exact representation of the invisible God that he outranks all created things that in Him, through Him and for Him, all things have been created, that he continues to hold all things together, that he is the head of the church, and that the fullness of God, the totality of God existed in him, trying to remind them again, that they have everything that they'll ever need in Jesus, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. And he goes on in verse 20, through Him through Jesus, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth, or things in heaven, by making peace, through His blood shed on the cross, Jesus, the God of the universe, came here left the glory and the riches of heaven, to reconcile us to God. And he could do that because he was fully God, because he had no sin to pay for himself. Right, the wages of sin is death, he had no sin to pay for, so he could pay for our sin. And that's exactly what he did. Also, being fully human, he could represent us, he took all of my sin and all of your sin, He placed them upon himself, and he took him to the cross, and He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins there so that we could be reconciled to Him. Just think, again, who it is that we've been reading about this entire time. Again, no one who is before all things, one home, in Him and through Him and for Him, all things were created. And he left the glory and riches of heaven to come here to suffer, and to die for what does that say about you? How much do you have to be loved? For the one who is before all things, to subject himself to the humiliation excruciatingly painful death on a cross so that your sins can be forgiven? If you're here today, if you're watching online, and you have not been reconciled to Jesus, would you be reconciled to him today. It's what he left the glory and riches of heaven for, to be reconciled to you to enter into a relationship with you to be able to love you and provide life for you and direction for you and to express his life through you and to be with you for all of eternity. And so if that's you, and you are starting to clearly see who Jesus is, maybe you were from the distance you were one of the ones who I think I know who he is. But today, as we've seen what the Apostle Paul says, he's brought you nearer to him. And he's revealing to you that this, in fact, is who Jesus really is. And that as a senator, you're separated from him, and you need to be reconciled to Him. He offers this forgiveness and reconciliation to you as a gift. But just like any gift, you have to receive it. It's not really yours if you don't take it and you don't open it for yourself. And so I'm asking you, would you receive it today? Would you take His free gift of salvation by placing your faith and your trust in Him today?
If that's you in where you're at, and what the Lord's doing in your life, I will give you in just a moment, the opportunity to to pray to receive Him and be reconciled to Him and honestly have your life transformed and changed forever. But for those of us who are here today, there's application for those of us who have already said yes, to Jesus as well. I mean, first and foremost, and hopefully you've seen this when we begin to clearly see or we're reminded who Jesus is, then this should bring us to worship. I mean, if he really is the G The G the one who is the exact representation of the invisible God and outranks all created things, and in Him and through Him and for Him, all things were created and continues to hold all things together, and he's the head of the church and the fullness of God dwells in him, then that should cause us to fall on our knees and worship Him and glorify him and honor him and thank Him for who He is and what it is that he has done. It's what we've gathered here together today to do it's what we do when we leave as the church because we don't have Stop being the church. But also again keep in mind that guys if this is who you are in union with if you've said yes to Him, and you're in a spiritual union with Christ, the one who is before all things and holds all things together, then you have everything that you will ever need. He holds you together, you move and you live and you have your being in him. What more could you possibly be missing outside of him? What more could you possibly need more followers more likes more money, more fame or success? More situations are better situations or better circumstances? No way Jose. You have everything that you need in him.
In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song, this cornerstone the solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm, what heights of love what depths of peace, when fears are stilled. When striving cease my comforter my all in all here in the love of Christ. I stand no guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me from life's first cry to final breath. Jesus commands my destiny. NO POWER OF HELL NO scheme of man can ever plucked me from his hand till he returns or calls me home here. In the power of Christ. I stay here