THE AWESOMENESS OF
JESUS
Colossians 1:15-20
V:15: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature."
A. The image of the
invisible refers to the divine nature of Jesus.
1. Jesus is the perfection of the Father.
2. Jesus and the
Father are one.
3. The image and
nature of God is perfectly revealed in Jesus.
4. Because of
our belief in Jesus, we are being transformed into His likeness.
B. "The First
born of every creature" shows Christ relationship to creation and His
Church.
1. Christ was
first to be in communion with the Father before any other
communion began.
2. Christ was
first to be in a relationship with the Father before any other
relationship began.
3. In Christ
were the first thoughts of creation before any creation began.
4. Christ was
first in eternity past with the Father which has no beginning.
5. Christ is
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.
V:16. "For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones,
or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and
for him."
A. " For by Him
were all things created."
1. The origin of
creation is Christ.
2. Everything
came into being because of His creative thoughts and His creative
powers.
3. Christ is the
first cause of everything.
B. "That are in heaven and that are in earth"
1. It is beyond my
comprehension to know that if Christ has no beginning, also
heaven and the
throne of God has no beginning.
2. The Apostle
Paul said , I was called up to the third heaven. He did not explain the
three
heavens. 2 Cor 12:2
a. Some say
that the sun, the moon, the stars and all of
the planets occupy the
first heaven.
b. Some say
the abode of the Angels occupy the second heaven.
c. Some say
the throne of God is the third heaven.
3. Perhaps in His
creative order, Christ allocated space for the three heavens.
1. Everything
that exists, has its beginning with Christ.
2. We have not
discovered everything that exists.
a. We are
discovering more and more of Christ creation in the earth, in the seas
and
in space as science and technology improves.
3. The vastness
of Christ creation is well beyond my limited knowledge.
C. "Visible and
invisible"
1. One of the
reasons we cannot know the awesomeness of Christ creation is
because he made
some things invisible to us.
2. The earth is
visible, but heaven is invisible.
a. Air is
invisible. I exist in it, but I can't see it.
b. People
we can see, angels we cannot see.
D. "Weather
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers"
1. The reference
here may be to angels; the rank, power and authority entrusted
to them.
(Eph 1:21)
a. God
created an unnumbered host of angels with different positions and rank.
b. There are
the Seraphim and the Cherubim.
c. Three are
called by name; Michael, Gabriel and Satan the fallen angel.
2. God used
angels as His messengers throughout the Old and the New Testaments.
E. "All things
were created by Him and for Him".
1. All things
were created by Christ for His glory.
2. We exist in this
earth for the glory of Christ.
a. The earth
was created by Christ with the right environment for the life of man.
b. To this
date, we have not discovered any other planet with the right
environment
for life. All
planets were created for His glory.
c. It should be
our desire to give Christ glory and honor for creating us.
V:17. "And he is before all things, and by him all
things consist."
A. Christ existed
eternally and everything flows from Him.
1. Christ is
before all things in time and above all things in rank.
B. The word
"consist" is the Greek word " sunistao" which means to
strengthen or
stand with.
1. Everything is
maintained by Christ.
a. Everything
has its beginning in Christ and cannot continue to exist without
Christ.
2. Christ is
active in His creation.
V:18. "And he is the head of the body, the church: who
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have
the preeminence."
A. Christ is the head of the body and the body is defined as
His Church.
1. Christ is the
head of all who believe in Him as their personal savior.
2. The Church has
many leaders, but Christ is the head of all of them.
a. It is
Christ who guides and governs the Church.
b. The Church
is the assemble or congregation of the redeemed people of God.
3. Membership in
the body comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
B. "Who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead."
1. The Church
began with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
a. Christ was
the first to be raised from the dead
into immortality.
2. We who
believe, die to self and are resurrected into a new life with Christ.
C. "In all
things He might have the preeminence"
1. Christ is
first in rank, power , honor and dignity in the Church.
2. Christ is the
first to be raised from the dead into immortality and is seated at the
right hand of
the Father.
3. All power over
heaven and earth was given to Christ.
4. All believers
were given to Him by the Father.
5. He is the
Shepherd, the provider and protector of all believers.
6. He made all
believers so that they would know His voice and follow after Him.
V:19. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fullness dwell."
A. In the original
Greek wording, the word "Father" is not present in this verse.
1. But whom
would Jesus please other than the Father?
a. A voice
from heaven was heard which was, "This is my Son whom I love,
with Him
I am well pleased." Matt 3:17
2. It pleased
the Father that His creation and plan of redemption were complete
in His Son.
a. The
Father reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 5:18 -19
B. The sin of Adam,
separated man from God.
1. The death and
resurrection of Christ reconciled man back to God. Gal 4:4
C. Christ is the
fullness of righteousness.
1. Christ is the
fullness of wisdom.
3. Christ is the
fullness of power.
4. Christ is the
fullness of all blessings.
V:20. "And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they
be things in earth, or things in heaven."
A. The awesomeness of
Christ is that His shed blood on the cross is the payment for
the sins of the
world.
1. We cannot count
the sins committed by all men against God in the past, the
present or the future.
2. Yet all sins
are covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross one Friday
evening.
3. Christ who is
spirit, had to take on human flesh filled with blood to die for the
sins of man.
4. There is
something special about His blood, because not animal blood or
any other
human blood has the power to save.
5. There is
something special about this blood because it never dries up.
6. There is something special about this blood
because it never looses it power to
save.
7. There is
something special about His blood because there is no sin to big or to
awful that it cannot
reconcile the sinner to the Father.
B. Sin has it origin
in Heaven.
1. Lucifer, an angel of God, a cherub in
the host of angel, made perfect by God
sinned against God. Isa
14:12
2. This Lucifer
was cast down from heaven and is now known as Satan, the father
of lies. Eze 28:12-16
3. The blood of
Jesus atoned for all the sins that separated man from God in
heaven.
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