[**This was my assigned candidacy text by the CRC]
Read: Colossians 1:15-23
I. Introduction
This
passage from Colossians is one of the greatest passages in the New Testament
which declare the majesty and glory of Jesus Christ. However, even though this
is a magnificent passage; it is also a very difficult passage. It is very
difficult because there are many themes and doctrines touched on in this
passage—out of the 7 heads of doctrine—this passage covers 6 of those. Thus, it
becomes overwhelming at times to read it and study it—I even found a pastor who
preached 15 sermons on these 8 verses. There are also many repeated words and
phrases which foreshadow what Paul is going to write about in the letter as a
whole.
This
passage is also the most debated in the history of the interpretation of the
New Testament. There is much ink spilled about these verses in commentaries
arguing for certain positions. Some scholars think this was a hymn in the early
church, others do not. Some think that is a poem, while others think it is Paul
just doing what he does best—displaying the glory of Christ.
Therefore,
even though it is difficult to determine many things about this passage—there
is clearly one theme running through this passage—the Supremacy of Christ. In
saying that Christ is supreme it is pointing to the highest rank and authority
that is found in Christ.
And I hope and pray that as we
hear God’s Word this morning that we can continue to stand in awe and amazement
of Christ’s majesty and glory for the work that He has done and the work that
He continues to do. And there are three truths in regards to Christ’s work He
has done and continues to do that are clear in this passage—
·
first, we learn that Christ is the creator of
all things
·
second, we learn that Christ is the sustainer of
all things
·
third, we learn that Christ is the reconciler of
all things.
II. Christ is the Creator of All Things (vs 15-16)
The
first truth about Christ’s work that we come to is that Christ is the creator
of all things. Paul begins by declaring that Christ is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Just
as we, human beings are made in the image of God; so too Jesus Christ—the Son
of God born in the flesh—is made in that same image.
Jesus
Christ is also the “firstborn over all
creation.” This phrase can be troublesome for people. The Jehovah Witnesses
use this phrase to argue that Jesus Christ cannot be divine because He is the
firstborn of all that was created. However, what they are missing is the
surrounding context to this phrase—this passage as a whole is clearly exalting
the divinity of Christ to prove that He is supreme over everything. Therefore,
they have taken this phrase out of context to the benefit of their belief
system—a clear danger that is very easy to do.
So
then, what does it really mean that Christ is “firstborn over all creation”? Well, the word firstborn here as
well as in verse 18 is in reference not to a physical or temporal birth before
creation, but to rank and authority.
We can know this by finding other places in the Bible
that this word, “firstborn” is used.
It is used of David in Psalm 89:27 where the Psalmist says: “I will also appoint David, my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” If you remember correctly,
David was not the firstborn of his family—he was actually the youngest;
therefore this too proves that the word “firstborn”
stands for one who is of a high rank. Therefore, what Paul is declaring here is
that Christ is firstborn of all creation meaning that He is of the highest
authority and highest rank above creation.
And
Paul continues to prove that Christ is first born over all creation in vs 16
stating that Christ is the creator of all things. “For by Him all things were created.” That is, by Christ all
things were created—He is the agent of creation. All that was created was
created by means of Christ. Christ was with God, in God, and was God as God
created all things through Him as John says in the opening of his Gospel account
and Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 echoes this same truth as well—that Christ created
all things.
And notice a minute what these is contained in these two
words “all things.” “He created things in
heaven and the things on earth; the visible things and the invisible things;
the thrones or powers or rulers or authorities—all things (in case you
missed it before) were created by Him and
for Him.” You see, “all things” created by Christ literally means all of
creation. All things were created by Christ and for Christ as Paul says.
As you look around you throughout this week; isn’t
magnificent to notice all the various created things—birds, clouds, sunsets,
sunrises, grass, dirt, mud, humans, snow, rain, sunshine, thunder, lightning,
stars, moon, lakes, rivers, etc. etc. etc. You see, all things were created by
Christ and for Christ. The purpose of creation was and is to display the
greatness of God and to declare His glory! The Psalmist echoes this also in
Psalm 19 saying, “The heavens declare the
glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands. Day after day they
pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”
You see:
·
As the sun rises in the east and sets in the
west; it does so for the glory of God
·
As each bird soars in the sky or builds its
nest—it does so for the glory of God
·
As the grass turns green and the dirt enhances
this greenery—it does so for the glory of God
·
As the weather elements do what they do—they do
so for the glory of God!
·
As the ocean tide comes in and out each day—it does
so for the glory of God
·
As all things in the created order do the things
that they do—they do it for the glory of God!
It is amazing to think of the vast amount of the created
order and just stand in awe of the greatness of our God. However, I have not
always done this. As I have been on top of mountains in California and Colorado
or as I have stood at the bottom of the Grand Canyon or as I have watched the
tide come in from the ocean—it has been easy for me—at those times in those
places—to stand in awe of the greatness of our God. But throughout the normal
week here in Byron Center; all things in the created order; don’t seem to do
the same thing for me. But a few months ago; the greatness of God became an
even bigger realization for me.
Two months ago I visited one of the college students of
this church—Brian Keuning. Brian is a junior at Michigan State University
studying horticulture—studying plants—and Lord willing he will graduate in the
spring of 2015. I was very excited to get to visit him at college to see the
campus and to see the various things that he does on a daily basis.
As Brian showed me the part of campus where he spends the
majority of his time; I stood in amazement at two things—the wealth of
knowledge that he has and the greatness of our God in the creation that He has
made. As we walked through several gardens of plants, shrubs and trees, Brian
would point to a plant, tree or shrub and ask me, “Do you know what that is?”
Now, I must say that I was a landscaper for close to 7 summers during my high
school and college years; so I assumed that I had a good knowledge of plants
and trees and how this stuff works. However, I was proven wrong.
I think I only knew one plant that he asked me about and
that was the “White Pine”. But for every plant he asked me, he would then go on
and name the common name for the plant and then the scientific name. I was
blown away at his knowledge of them and how we walked around for close to 3
hours and didn’t see the same plant again. This is where the greatness of God’s
creation was expanded.
Let me explain further—there are about 600 plant families.
You see, a plant family means that these plants have the same characteristics
as other plants such as the grass family, rose family, pea or bean family. And
inside those families; there are multiple genes and species of plants. This
means that there are about 350,000 plant species that have been identified with
many, many, many more that have NOT been identified. And get this; of those
350,000 there are about 1,800 plant species that are native only to Michigan.
And one of these plants absolutely amazed me. It was a
tiny plant that didn’t look like much, but it is absolutely amazing. It is
called the “Sensitive Plant.” This plant is in the pea or bean family because
it produces a pod. Since it was smaller plant, Brian and I bent down to get a
closer view. Brian then proceeded to take his finger and rub it gently over its
leaves. And immediately after rubbing it; the leaf closed up. I thought that
this was the coolest thing ever!
Brian then explained that it folded up because of a
chemical response that happens when it is touched. It folds up for numerous
reasons—one is to keep off bugs that may eat it and another is to reduce the
amount of water that passes through the plant from roots to leaves.
As I continued to look and stand in awe of this plant and
the others that Brian had showed me; all I could think about was the greatness
of our God. And this is just 1 plant of 350,000 that have been identified. I
share this story, not to brag about Brian and his knowledge, but to show you
that even this little tiny plant is created by Christ and it is created for
Christ. As it lives; as it folds up to prevent from itself from being eaten and
to prevent water from exiting itself; it is doing this for the glory of God and
to display the greatness of the one who created it! Now how awesome is that!
And you see, all things that have been made were created by
the one who is “the firstborn over-all
creation.” And nothing, nothing in the entire creation exists for its own
sake.
Everything
·
from the bottom of the oceans to the top of the
mountains,
·
form the smallest particle to the biggest star,
·
from the most boring school subject to the most
fascinating science,
·
from the ugliest cockroach to the most beautiful human,
·
from the greatest saint to the most wicked
genocide dictator
Everything that exists, exists to
make the greatness of Christ more fully known.
III. Christ is the Sustainer of All Things (vs 16-18a)
Not
only is Christ the creator of all things, but He is also the sustainer of all
things. In vs 16 Paul says that
“For by
Him all things were created…” The word for “created” here in the Greek is
in the Aorist tense. The Aorist tense is used to describe an event that has
happened in the past. However, at the end of the verse when Paul says
“all things were created by Him” he
doesn’t use the Aorist tense anymore; he switches to the Perfect tense. And the
perfect tenst means that it is an event that has happened in the past yet there
is continued significance even today. So Paul’s purpose in doing this is to
proclaim that not only has the creation been created in the past, but Christ is
still in the process of creating today—in other words, Christ is “preserving,
sustaining and governing”
the creation which He created—all of it!
And
Paul continues this truth of Christ sustaining the creation in vs 17 stating, “He [meaning Christ] is before all things, and in Him [again, meaning Christ] all things hold together.” The
firstborn of creation, created the world and now He sustains the world by
holding all of it together! And again, in the Greek, Paul uses the perfect
tense for the words “hold together” implying that Christ didn’t just once hold
things together in the past; rather, He still holds all things together!
The Heidelberg Catechism echoes this truth in Question
and Answer 26. It asks, “What do you believe when you say, ‘I believe in God,
the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth’?” And the answer is this:
“That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who out of nothing created
heaven and earth and everything in them…still upholds and rules them.”
For
me, this has been an essential truth to remember; especially as of late. As
graduation is nearing and marriage is right around the corner; I have no idea
what will happen after graduation. I wonder if I will get a call to a church
right away or will I have to wait? I wonder where Denae and I will be live
after getting married. And then as I wonder about the future ahead; I begin to
worry about these things. Admittedly, it is scary to have an unknown future. It
is nerve wrecking to think about getting married (but exciting at the same
time!). Therefore, even as I studied this passage; this truth has rang clear in
my head and I hope it does for you also—“in
Christ all things hold together.”
Maybe
you have a child on the way and you are nervous about being a parent or how
good of a parent you will be. Maybe it is finances and you wonder how you are
going to pay each bill at the end of the month. Maybe it is your job which
seems to be going nowhere quickly. Maybe you lost your job and are searching
for a new one and nothing seems to be coming up.
There
are moments in life where we want to simply give up because we feel like we
can’t go on any longer. But you see; Paul is combating against this by
reminding us of a marvelous truth: “in
Christ all things—that means your job, your marriage, your future, your
present situation, your family crisis, your finances—in Christ all things hold together.”
When these times come; we must remember this truth that
Christ has not left the creation to operate on its own—He is continually
sustaining it and will always continually do so.
One
specific area which Paul mentions that Christ will sustain because He is
supreme over it; is the church. Paul states in vs 18; “And He is the head of the body, the church….” Now, without going
into too much of this; this also has the same implications of the above verses
in regards to the created order—Christ hasn’t left the church to function and
operate by herself—the church is Christ’s bride and He will continually sustain
and provide for her daily needs. Therefore; as a church we must trust this
truth and acknowledge this truth in our decisions and operation of the church.
So
as we continue through our life facing difficulties and trials; Christ has held
all things together and will continually hold all things together; therefore we
shall not fear what lies ahead, nor shall we lose hope in what is to come—for
Christ sustains the creation which He created now and forevermore until His
glorious return.
IV. Christ is the Reconciler of All Things (vs 18b-20)
And now we come to the third truth found in
this passage in the latter half of vs 18 through vs 20 which is that Christ is
the reconciler of all things. Now Paul points to Christ’s resurrection which
highlights Christ’s supremacy over the New Creation.
Just
as vs 15 began with acknowledging Christ being the “firstborn over all creation” so too this section begins in similar
fashion—“He [that is Christ] is the beginning and the firstborn from
among the dead.” Again, the word “firstborn” doesn’t refer to a physical
sense, because if you remember; Lazarus was raised from the dead by Christ
while Enoch and Elijah didn’t even die; therefore “firstborn” refers to rank—Christ
is supreme over the dead because He conquered death; thus ushering in the New
Creation.
Christ
was able to conquer to death as vs 19 states “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him [that is
Christ].” When Christ became a human
being, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem; all the fullness of God dwelled in
Christ—He was 100% human and 100% divine.
You
see, Christ needed to be fully human and divine so that He could reconcile all
things back to the Father. Paul speaks of the need for humanities need for
reconciliation in vs 21-22 saying, “Once
you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil
behavior. But now He has reconciled you…” Notice the contrast here: Once we
were alienated from God and were enemies of God, BUT NOW Christ has reconciled
us back to the Father.
The
term reconciliation is one that can be misunderstood and hard to understand for
some people. You see, Adam and Eve were once able to be in God’s presence;
however, because of their sin, they were casts out of God’s presence. This
became true for all of humanity also; we are all alienated from God apart from
Christ.
However, Christ has now brought us back into God’s
presence through the shedding of His blood on the cross. We are no longer
enemies of God; we are at peace with God. Therefore, a simple definition of
reconciliation is that Christ has brought us back into peaceful fellowship with
God through the bloodshed of His cross.
The
bloodshed of His cross has reconciled, as Paul says in vs 20, “all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven”. There are some who take this verse to mean that because
of this reconciliation of “all things” then there will be none who go to hell
for eternity—however, this is not true; for the Bible clearly teaches that
there will be some who go to hell and others heaven. So what Paul means here is
that there is the opportunity to have eternal life through the sacrifice of
Christ, yet some reject this opportunity by seeking their own way to be saved.
V. Our Response to Christ’s Work (vs 21-23)
You
see, this act of reconciliation is the heart of the Gospel; we are soiled
sinners in need of a sinless Savior to rescue us from our sinful state.
Therefore, this is what Christ has done for us; if we believe that He is our
Savior; then we can be assured that He has presented us before the Father now
AND on judgment day as “holy in the
Father’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation”. We are no longer
soiled sinners; we are now spotless saints because of the shedding of Christ’s
blood on His cross. This is the goal of the sacrifice of Christ—reconciling us
back to God.
We
continue to live holy, without blemish and free from accusation by the grace of
God and by the mercy of God extending to us daily. His grace allows us to live
as forgiven sinners and His mercy grants us freedom to do things we don’t
deserve. This is why Paul encourages the Colossian believers and believers
today in vs 23 to continue daily in the faith—established and firm; not moved
or shifted from the foundation that Christ offers us. For Christ is the only
foundation to which we should build our faith upon. Christ is the only
foundation because He is supreme over all things.
VI. Conclusion
And the supremacy of Christ
absolutely and wholeheartedly makes me stand in awe of His majesty and
greatness. Christ’s majesty and greatness should stir in our hearts a longing
to worship Him for:
·
He is the image of the invisible God, in whom
all the fullness of God dwelt.
·
He is the firstborn of all creation; which
doesn’t mean that He was created first, but that
·
He is the creator of all things—things in heaven
and things upon earth, invisible things and visible things, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created by Him and for Him
·
He is the
Pre-existent Creator, who is before all things
·
He is the cosmic glue, in whom all things hold
together—sustaining the creation He created
·
He is the head of the body—the church
·
He is the beginning, and the book of Revelation
adds; the end
·
He is the firstborn from the dead, having been
raised from the dead
·
He is the reconciler of all things to God—the
things in heaven and the things upon earth
·
He is the bloody peacemaker who presents soiled
sinners to God as spotless saints if only they continue in their faith built
upon the only solid foundation—Christ, the Supreme Being over everything.
Pray
