Scripture reading for next week: Isaiah 42-44; Proverbs 3; 1 Thessalonians 3-5

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1 Sermon Title: Jesus, Lord of All Colossians 1:15-20 To be read in the Service: John 1:1-5 For the top of the worship guide: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. -Revelation 22:13 Scripture reading for next week: Isaiah 42-44; Proverbs 3; 1 Thessalonians 3-5 Discussion Questions: Read John 1:1-5 Colossians 1:15-20 Revelation 22:13 - Where are the apparent power centers in our world today? - What are the various roles of Jesus in the Colossians passage? - What is implied by Jesus role as image of the invisible God? - Do you have a harder time grasping Jesus humanity or divinity? - What is our role based on this passage? What does it mean for us? Years ago, my friend Howie Batson was going to preach in view of a call at First Baptist Amarillo, so this was a big day for him. At the time we worked together at Meadowbrook Baptist Church outside of Waco. I remember talking with Howie about what he was going to preach on. And he settled on David and Goliath. He really put together a great sermon on it. So he went to Amarillo and preached David and Goliath. And was called as their pastor that morning. It was only after the service that someone mentioned, Well I m glad we finally got Goliath killed. Now, that seemed like a strange comment. Howie said, Well, what do you mean? And the man said, Oh, Brad Creed preached on that last week! Of all the passages in the Bible, they hit on the same one two weeks in a row! Hard to keep a 10 foot giant down! But you know, it sometimes is in life. Our worries, our fears; our opponents; so often seems so very, very big. And we feel very, very small. About 8 hours ago small groups of Christians gathered for worship in Northern Iraq in much smaller and dustier and plainer places than this. I imagine they fought hard to set aside anxieties to worship their Lord and to encourage one another. The Wall Street Journal reported this week about thousands of Christian men starting militia training to try to seize their homeland back from the madmen of ISIS. Some were picking up rifles for the first time in their lives. Its not what they want to do. They want to live in peace on the plains of Nineveh and worship like their ancestors have for thousands of years. But more than 150,000 have been displaced. So what s on their minds as they gather for worship? A goliath of war and hunger and wrestling with feelings of revenge. Of knowing that they face an

2 opponent that is better trained and better armed an opponent motivated with a homicidal and suicidal madness. Its a goliath. Its big. What they face. 1 Or about 6 hours ago believers in Sierra Leone gathered in mud huts or in the shade of woven mats strung between trees. And though the world s attention has moved on; I bet their minds are still filled with fear; even as they shake hands and embrace fear of that invisible Goliath of ebola and the devastating toll its taken on their families, and their village and their church. That s a big thing! An invisible enemy of terrible strength. Do you have something big on your mind this morning? I know some of you are dealing with cancer. Personally or in your family. And it, too, is largely unseen. But it looms so large over everything. An opponent you can t get your hands on so often beyond our control. Or maybe its market forces that are weighing on you. And the bottom has dropped out; and your work has been excellent but the opportunities just aren t there now. Global forces are buffeting you, and you don t have a way to change it So much in life seems out of our control. That its influenced in Washington by massive agencies lobbied by massive organizations. And we can feel very, very, very small. This year we have taken a fresh look at Jesus and tried to see him in a fresh light. And much of what we ve looked at has dealt with Jesus humanity. We sometimes miss how truly human Jesus was. Worn out in the heat of the day by the well. Kneeling on a dusty floor to wash the feet of the disciples Laughing around the table with friends. And I ve mentioned that sometimes we maybe miss the mark with Jesus by forgetting his humanity. He was fully human and fully entered human life with its changes and emotions and temptations and grief and joy Jesus humanity is an essential piece of the salvation he has won for us. Today, though, I want us to think about the other side Jesus divinity. That Jesus is divine, is God.is difficult to understand now. And it was difficult then. Of course some people deny it altogether or claim that Jesus was just a little more inspired than the average person. That he d reached a higher spiritual plateau. One early Christian heresy claimed that Jesus was an ordinary man adopted as God s son at his baptism that God s spirit filled him at that point in a special way. But that s not what Jesus said about himself. And its not what the New Testament says about him at all. So let s look at a passage that gives a sweeping look at Jesus divinity. Turn to Colossians 1 with me. In Colossians, Paul is writing to a church that was started by one of his coworkers. Colossae was an important city. And this church is struggling with some of the ideas and ideologies that were floating around in the 1st century. And there were lots of cults and religions and temples and patterns of worship. People worshipped all kinds of gods and angels and they would debate the ordering of the gods who was in charge of what and who was stronger than what and teachers would talk about secret knowledge that people needed to have to get in good with the stronger powers in the world. So lots of this is floating around. And these early churches and Christians were vulnerable because they didn t yet have the New Testament as a guide. 1 WSJ.com, Iraq s Christians Take Up Arms to Fight Islamic State 2/3/15

3 So look at what Paul writes to this church that is struggling with some of these things. Let s start at verse 9. Its a beautiful prayer. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. -Colossians 1:9 14 For people who are being tempted to distraction by the gods and idols and philosophies of the people around them, Paul re-centers them on Jesus. And I love the imagery of verse 14. That Jesus was on a rescue mission; a secret raid, that has resulted in our freedom our rescue, our redemption and forgiveness. Its good stuff right here. Big stuff about what Jesus has done. But then look at verse 15. 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 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. For it was the Father s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. -Colossians 1:15 20 This is a stunning thing to say about someone who had been alive just 30 years before. Imagine saying of someone who died in 1985: They were God incarnate; existant at the cretion of the world. People would be able to say, I knew him and he wasn t all that. Or I knew him, and from the things he did, that s exactly right! When Paul wrote this, people who knew and had seen Jesus were still alive. So describing him in these cosmic, timeless terms is incredible. It says he s the image of the invisible God. That word is image is the Greek work, icon. Since the 10 commandments and even before, God had said, Do not make a graven image do not even try to make a visual representation of me. It will inevitably fall short. And the people would worship the image rather than the real thing. But maybe they weren t to make an image, in part, because God was going to give them the true image Jesus Christ. If you want to know God, look at Jesus. And this is why Jesus is the fullest representation of God. Its why we interpret the Bible through Christ. He is the image of God. An amazing thing to say. And the firstborn of creation. I don t think this is saying that Jesus was the first created being I don t know that that makes sense as a part of God. But one way the Bible uses firstborn is in terms of status or honor. He has the highest honor of creation. Then Paul points to Jesus as the agent of creation. Verse 16. By him all things heaven and earth, visible and invisible, thrones dominions rulers authorities. And in verse 17 he holds all things together.

4 This is a staggering statement. And it explains a lot. In Christian theology the created world is good. And so the beauty that we catch in that crimson horizon of sunset. The wonder we can feel in our chest seeing the morning birds gliding across the water. The peace the aspen woods and the dancing leaves. The glory of the night sky far from city lights. Those are because of the hand of Jesus. And from what Paul says this extends far beyond our world. Some of the images the Hubble space telescope has captured really exceed science fiction. This is an amazing one: called the Pillars of creation. This is a massive cloud of gas and dust where stars are being formed. That Jesus put this here for His good pleasure a testament of the glory of God. Or this is the cat s eye nebulae. Its actually a dying star--that pulses every 1500 years creating these rings of light. That Jesus would have been there at the star s creation and now his creatures are able to watch the beauty of that star s dying light from 3,000 light years away. So the expanse of the universe; the creation of amazing things; the beauty of creation. Jesus is behind it all. In this amazing, cosmic, language, I think Paul has a key point and a goal. That the Colossians would know...and that we would know that when we have Jesus, we don t need anything else no secret teaching; no esoteric wisdom; we don t need to be looking for others answers or other gods or beings or angels or whatever but Jesus is above all and over all. That there is no other name in heaven or in earth that is greater and there is no other name that saves. And for us today, there is no astronomical discovery no subatomic discovery; there is nothing turned up in the scientific journals that is news to him. Paul transitions in verse 18 from things of heaven to things of earth. And he is the head of the church. We can get frustrated with the church and feel burned by the church. By we shouldn t give up on the church, because Jesus is its head. And while the church may look weak or wavering; Jesus, the Lord of all is its head. And just as he was the firstborn of creation, he is the firstborn of new creation the first through death to resurrection. And in verse 20, reconciling all things. I mentioned the beauty and goodness of creation. But you can t live with your eyes open and fail to see the brokenness of our world and the marks of disorder and sin. But even in the pain of this world, we find Jesus, passing through suffering and into resurrection, fixing what is broken not with force but with sacrificial love. This is a truly remarkable hymn of praise to Christ one that starts with the beginning of time and those spoken words, Let there be light. Its a statement that sums up the beauty of the world and the vastness of the universe. Its a revelation of God and a great act of sacrifice. For the Colossians, Paul was laying down a universal rule. There is nothing nothing greater than Christ. Nothing. If a traveling teacher tried to sell them on some cult or angel or being as worthy of worship, what is Paul saying? Jesus is supreme. Over everything.

5 And this is important for us to remember as well. People today are chasing all kinds of religions or philosophies searching for something searching for peace. But there is nothing greater than Jesus. We need nothing added to him. Its important for our struggles, too. When we re facing something big something strong and something nasty We need to remember there is no nation or president or party, there is no union or league or bloc...tthere is no king or emperor. There is no wicked ideology; no medieval madmen dreaming of terror there is no virus, no bacteria, no mass of cells, there is no force or power in heaven or on earth, greater than our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is supreme and he is worthy of worship. He is the greatest the fulness of God. This passage covers lots of territory. And yet it ends it ends with blood pooling at the foot of a rugged cross. Here is a great mystery! Maybe the greatest wonder of all. That Jesus Christ, Lord of all, gave himself to death so that creatures like us could have life. Do you wonder what God is like? That is the image.the icon for us. And its what we come to remember and celebrate and taste and ponder this morning as we have the opportunity to take our Lord s Supper. As we share in this time, in this quiet time as we wait for one another to be served; as we feel the texture of the bread; and stare into the deep color of the juice, that you would reflect on the nature of our Lord on the mercy of a God: Lord of all, who has given all. And sacrificed for you. This is a practice for those who have made Jesus Lord; I know some of you are visitors to our church today, and I would invite you to join with us if you have taken the steps in your church or tradition to make Jesus Lord in your life. Deacons