MESSAGES
FROM THE
WORD
WHO IS THIS JESUS OF
Colossians 1:15-19
SERIES: Colossians Message # 8
I love the Christmas season. Especially the gathering of families and giving of gifts. When I was a child, our parents had a Christmas tradition. Before we went to the Christmas Eve service, we would open one present from under the tree. With few exceptions, we could choose any present we wanted. I don't know how, but every year the present I selected turned out to be socks. When our children were younger they had a tradition. Together they would sneak out to where the gifts were and our oldest daughter would somehow open a few gifts to see what was inside and then wrap them so well that we didn't know what they had done.
I don't know when the first Christmas was where people gave gifts to each other, but it goes back at least one thousand years. The practice is patterned after the gifts of the wise men as they came to the Christ child and offered Him gifts. Certainly in our society, the gift giving has gone way overboard. The average American will spend almost $1000 this year on gifts and travel. During the month of December, Americans spend more than one billion dollars on wrapping paper. It is important for the people of God to have a Biblical perspective on Christmas. What would a Biblical perspective be?
1) Understand the priority of Christ during this season
2) Practice contentment
3) Remember that things will never bring satisfaction
4) Keep in mind the less fortunate
5) Enjoy yourself
With that in mind, I want to look at Christmas from a different viewpoint. We often see Christmas through the eyes of Mary or Joseph, through the Wise Men, shepherds or residents of
As we come to the Christmas season, I am going to continue our series through Colossians, because the next passage in our text involves understanding who that baby in the manger really was. He was 100% a human baby. However, there is another side of the baby. We are told by Paul, COLOSSIANS 1:15-19 There is no other passage in the scriptures that more clearly lays out the other side of the baby in the manger. It is this side that we need to come to grips with today.
There is no more difficult doctrine in Christianity harder to come to grips with than the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ. He said, JOHN 14:6 When we state that only those who have come to Christ as their Savior will go to Heaven, it is very offensive to those outside of the faithful. Even those who are believers sometimes have a problem with this teaching. This morning we are going to see why Jesus has the right to claim that only those who come to Him will spend eternity in the Father’s house.
FIRST, WE SEE HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. There are few doctrines that are more difficult to understand than the trinity. However, it is essential to understand that being difficult does not equate with being wrong. It is true, even though it is difficult. There are many reasons why the trinity is difficult to understand, but let me just dwell on one. We understand that God is God and that He is all powerful. We understand that we are human and are bound by the limitations of that humanity. It is impossible for us to understand how Jesus could be all God and all man at the same time. Some think that Jesus was 50-50. That is incorrect. He was totally God and He was totally man. That is why He could claim to be the “great I Am” and at the same time be totally limited by His human frailty. We read, HEBREWS 2:14-18 The Son of God had to become a man so that He could identify with everything humans experience. Notice what Paul tells us about the relationship between this baby and God. Paul writes, “HE IS THE VISIBLE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD”.
Did you notice that the focus is on the Son? The previous passage discussed the plan of redemption set in motion and completed in the person of Jesus Christ. We read COL. 1:12-14 It is very interesting in this passage because the Kingdom established is that of the Son. This is important because of Old Testament references. We read DANIEL 2:36-45 It is clear in this passage that the Kingdom discussed is that of Jehovah. How many Kingdoms will there be? The answer is one. If Jehovah has a Kingdom and Jesus has a Kingdom, there are either two Kingdoms, or Jehovah and Jesus are intertwined.
With that in mind, go to our passage. “HE IS THE VISIBLE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD…” What a concept. Whatever God is like, Jesus is the visible image of Him. The word for image is the Greek word “icon”. An icon is a statute. In Matthew 22 you will remember that the religious leaders asked Jesus if they should pay taxes to
This concept is difficult for us to comprehend because we make a distinction between a picture and the real person. When we think of portraits, we think of an imitation of the real thing. This Greek word does not have that concept. Let me give you the concept that Paul is seeking to communicate. It’s as if Paul was to write, “HE IS THE VISIBLE DNA MATCH TO THE INVISIBLE GOD”. Paul is not trying to communicate that Jesus is similar to God in a few ways, but that He is the perfect match to God. He is God of very God.
He continues this thought in chapter 2. We read, COLOSSIANS The philosophers believed that there was a perfect Being who was totally filled with the nature of God. They called this the “PLEROMA”. However, because material things were evil, God had to create lesser gods who created lesser gods, who created lesser gods, until there was a god who was so carnal as to touch matter and He is the God of the Bible who created the universe. Paul turned this idea back on the pagan philosophers and claimed that this “pleroma” which is the perfect and highest nature attainable by God was not so distant to touch flesh, but rather, rested in the person of this little baby in the manger. Everything the Father is, resided in that baby in
If this idea is true, that Jesus is the visible image of the God of the Old Testament, is it seen anywhere else in the Bible? That is a good and critical question. Is the deity of Jesus something made up by the New Testament writers, or is it seen in the Old Testament? There are several ways to look at this. Inference seems to imply this. Moses wrote in Genesis 1:26, “LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE…” God could not be referring to angels, because God and angels have different natures. The speaker has to be referring to His equal.
There are appearances of God that lead us to believe this. These are called Anthropomorphisms, meaning “man appearances”. One of my favorite stories in the Bible tells us, JOSHUA 5:13-15 Joshua calls this individual the “CAPTAIN OF THE LORD’S HOST…” and then bows down before Him. This term means that He is the head of the angelic forces. Initially one might think that this is an angel. However, Joshua bowed before Him. No angel ever allowed someone to bow before them. That was reserved for God. In addition, this “CAPTAIN…” called for Joshua to take His shoes off because it was holy territory on which he was standing. That is what Jehovah called Moses to do at the burning bush. In the presence of angels you fall down in fear. In the presence of God you fall down in worship and remove your shoes.
There are passages where both the Father and the Son are referred to as the same individual. We read, ISAIAH 48:11-16 “I AM THE FIRST, I AM ALSO THE LAST…” has to be a reference to Jehovah. Yet, He refers to Himself as the one who was sent. How can that be unless they are linked? David wrote, PSALM 110:1 The first “LORD” has to refer to Jehovah. If there is only one Lord, who is the second “LORD”? It has to be the trinity.
We come into the New Testament and this same pattern continues. The issue that finally put Christ on the cross was not His teaching, miracles, or refusal to conform. The final issue was His claiming to be God. They accused Him of blasphemy, or claiming to be equal to God. This was not the first time this occurred. We read, JOHN 5:16-18 That word for “EQUAL” is an interesting word. It is used to describe the walls in Heaven which are all the same length. It is the word, “isos” from which we get isosceles triangle, which is a triangle in which all angles are equal. They are not close, they are identical. The Jews understood that Jesus was claiming to be equal to God.
Let me give you other concept. You will remember that the Jews were in slavery to
Here is the amazing fact. Being equal with God was not something Jesus had to hold on to. We are told, PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 He became a man so that He could experience everything man experiences and could take the sins of the world on to Him so that we could be redeemed from the penalty of sin.
Jesus did not hold on to equality to God, but the Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was making the claim to being equal. We read, MATTHEW 26:62-66 This is a well known, but not necessarily understood passage. In this passage, Jesus refused to say whether or not He was the Messiah. There were many who claimed to be the Messiah and they came and went. Jesus was different. He made an additional claim, to be God’s equal. When asked if He was the “SON OF THE LIVING GOD…” He quoted two passages from the Old Testament. We read, PSALM 110:1; DANIEL 7:13,14 Both of these passages were understood to be Messianic promises. By claiming to be the fulfillment of these prophesies, Jesus was claiming to be equal to God, and the Jewish leaders knew it. That is why they cried blasphemy and sought to crucify Him.
In relationship to the Father, Jesus is equal.
SECOND, WE SEE HIS REALATIONSHIP TO CREATION. There is no greater hot button issue in today’s culture than that of creationism. In 1927, a
The idea that a creator was involved in this elaborately; intricate process called the creation of the universe is seen as a silly notion in many segments of our society. The Bible is not hesitant to state what the truth is. On this subject, the Bible is just as clear. Paul writes that Jesus is, “THE FIRST-BORN OF ALL CREATION. FOR BY HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED, BOTH IN THE HEAVENS AND THE 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”. That is a Biblical answer to the teaching of evolution. The evolutionist states that things took place accidentally and the creationist claims that things came about by design and with order. Look at the universe and see which pattern fits the evidence. Scientists can map a trip to the farthest planet in our solar system because the universe has order to it. We know what time the sun rises and sets, when an eclipse will occur, and what time the stars will be at a certain point in the evening sky. The reason is very simple; this order was created into its DNA.
Science tells us that the universe began with a big bang. In a split second, everything in the universe came into being. The Bible agrees and states that Mr. Bang has another name, Jesus. It is important that we understand that the Bible is not a science book. However, we also need to understand that all that the Bible says about science is true. There are no scientific statements in the Bible which are false. There are many disagreements over what the Bible claims to be true and what some scientists believe. It is critical that we understand the difference between what scientists claim and what is scientific. Let me give you an example. A majority of scientists believe that evolution is scientifically proven, that evolution is fact. Yet, we read in the papers all the time about discoveries that change what scientists believe about evolution. We will read that man evolved from a lower form 50,000,000 years ago. Then an anthropologist will make a discovery and the dating will change. Why does this happen?
It happens because evolutionists have confused science with faith. Let me give you what I mean. The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines science as, ”knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method”. In other words, science is the pursuit of information discovered by using scientific methods. Most people would buy into that and let it go. Not me. I needed to know more so I continued my quest and looked up the definition of scientific method. Merriam-Webster’s states, “principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of the data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses”. In other words, for something to be “scientifically provable”, it must be observable, it must be repeatable and it must be testable. Science cannot prove evolution any more than science can prove that Martin Luther nailed his 97 theses to the door of the
Christians believe that God created everything that exists. Why do we believe this? It is because the Bible tells us that this is true. In other words, we accept this on faith. Both evolution and creation are accepted as faith systems. Neither creation nor evolution can be scientifically proven, because neither can be repeated and observed. Therefore, they are both faith systems. Let’s look and see what Paul tells us about the creation of the universe.
First, the agent of creation is Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the one who got it all started. Let me give you some information that astronomers believe. The sun is the closest star to earth at about 93,000,000 miles away. The next closest star is Alpha Centauri which is about 24 trillion miles. It takes the light from the sun four years to reach that star. There is a star in the constellation Orion by the name of Betelgeuse which is larger than the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. We are told that the Milky Way, which is our galaxy, has 100 billion stars. Some astronomers believe that there are billions of galaxies. If that is true, there are more stars than there are grains of sand in all of our oceans. The universe as we know them go on forever. How did that happen? Scientists say it is by accident. The Bible says, HEBREWS 11:3; GENESIS 1:1 Everything that exists does so because Jesus said exist. Can either of those propositions be repeatable or observed? The answer is no. However, there are some things we can check out.
If the universe were a result of absolute chance one would expect that everything was random and would have no order. If the universe was a result of an architect, one would expect to find an order to what is around. Which “faith system” fits into that order? The stars fit into a precise orbit, the sun rises and sets on cue, the rotation of the Earth is done in such a way as to provide seasons and a livable environment for us to exist. Everything in the universe follows a pattern. That does not prove creation, but it fits into what one would expect to find if creation took place.
If the human race was a result of chance, one would expect to find random acts of change. A monkey would accidentally conceive a human baby. An alligator would by chance give birth to a hippo, etc. If there is a creator, one would expect to find a pattern of humans giving birth to humans. This is why Genesis tells us that like gave birth to like. This is so precise, that if you have set of parents and their baby is mixed up at the hospital, their DNA can prove which set of parents is the real one. Solomon could have used this in his issue over which mother was the real one. Does DNA prove creation? It does not. However, if one where to seek to discern which system is accurate, would DNA fit into a model of chance or a model of design? It is pretty obvious.
Here is the proposition upon which evolution rests. Given enough time, anything could happen. That may be true, but it is hardly scientific. Let me give you two facts that counter the notion that millions and billions of years are necessary to explain how everything came into being. Those of us who believe in the Biblical account of creation do not see billions of years as needed to explain anything. In fact, many scientists believe in what is referred to as a “young Earth”. That is that creation took place 6000-10,000 years ago. Many of you remember that July day in 1969 when man landed on the moon. Previous to the launch, there was an entire debate over whether it was even possible to land a vehicle on the moon. Scientists have learned what the rate of dust settlement is in outer space and some were concerned that the millions of years of dust settling on the moon would make the dust so thick that the space module would simply sink into the dust and never be seen from again. When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface the dust was only a few inches thick, which those who believed in a young earth had predicted.
There is another fact which is usually overlooked in dealing with the time necessary for evolution to occur. The sun is about 860,000 miles in circumference. Because it is a ball of gas and the gas is burning up, it is gradually getting smaller. Some have estimated that the sun diminishes in size about 1/10 of 1 % every 10,000 years. That means that the sun will be half the size it is today in about ten million years. If this rate is constant, that also means that ten million years ago the sun was twice the size it is today. Rounding off the numbers the sun was two million miles around. If you continue that rate, the sun was four million miles around twenty million years ago, and so forth. If you continue the same rate, fifty million years ago, the sun was the size of the orbit of Mercury. Sixty million years ago the sun was the size of the orbit of Venus and seventy million years ago, the Sun touched the moon. I have no degrees in science. However, I can predict with relative certainty that if the sun was as close to the Earth as is the moon, nothing lived and therefore, nothing evolved into anything else. If the rate of the sun’s burning is constant, nothing could have existed fifty million years ago. Does that prove creation? It does not, but it does fall into what would be expected if divine creation took place. It also opposes what is necessary if evolution were true. The reason the sun is the size it is and the distance it is from the Earth, is because that is what God created it to be. The universe exists not by chance, but by design because God is a creative designer.
Second, the ruler of the spiritual world is Jesus. When we think of creation, we usually think about the planets, stars, and solar systems. There is another sphere of creation and that is the spiritual world. Paul writes that Jesus oversees that which is, “VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, WHETHER THRONES OR DOMINIONS OR RULERS OR AUTHORITIES…” Those are all aspects of the angelic and demonic world. Jesus not only created the physical universe, but the entire spiritual world as well. The Bible does not talk a lot about the spiritual creation, but we know that he created servants called angels. They have an order and a hierarchy and the highest of the angels had the name Lucifer. For some reason he decided that he wanted to be equal to God and lead a revolt. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 explain this event. It did not end well, but when he was cast out of Heaven one-third of the angelic world followed him. Those are now called demons. While they are opposed to God with every fiber of their beings, they are still under the authority of Jesus. On many occasions in His human ministry Jesus rebuked or commanded demonic forces and they obeyed His command. At the end of time, every demonic force, even Satan will bow the knee to Jesus.
Third, the purpose of creation is Jesus. Paul tells us that everything that was created was “FOR HIM”. I don’t understand all the implications of the phrase other than to say this; the universe exists to give glory to God. We read, PSALM 19:1 Evolution claims things exist by chance. The Bible says everything exists to praise God. We see this in another passage. We read, REVELATION 4:6-11 We usually think of that passage in regards to worship. However, as they bowed down at the throne, they cried out that God was worthy because everything in the universe was created for Him.
Fourth, the sustainer of creation is Jesus. This is a remarkable passage. This was written before the discovery of the atom, DNA, and cell construction. Thousands of years ago, no one understood that most of what we see, sit on and handle is space. Any item consists of a group of atoms and most of the atom is empty space. Electrons, neutrons and protons are buzzing around the cell at incredible speed and connecting to different cells to create form, density and color. If the atom is mostly space, why don’t we fall through it? There is a law of physics called Coulomb’s law. It is the law that says that like magnetic charges repel each other and opposite magnetic charges attract each other. This creates a very interesting situation, because in almost every atom there are like and opposite forces. Why don’t the opposite fields attract and collapse the atom? Or, why don’t the like fields repel each other, causing a split in the atom? There is a simple reason; because Jesus keeps them together.
This is another problem the evolutionists have to confront. We are told that millions of years ago simple cells began to mutate and reproduce. Suddenly two cells came together and become a simple two-celled creature. Then it was many cells and so forth. The only problem with this is that we can now look into the cell and it is anything but simple. The more we discover; the more complex they discover the cell becoming.
Let me give you just one example. Have you ever wondered how you receive energy from the food you eat and the rest you take? In 1997 physicist John Walker discovered the reason and won the Nobel Prize for his work on Adenosine Triphosphate. In essence, ATP is a cellular battery. When energy is needed, an enzyme gives a message to this battery and it goes to work to create energy. When energy is not needed this little unit goes into hibernation until it is needed. Here is the thing. We know how small the cell is. Inside the cell are hundreds of these ATP molecules waiting for the command to get busy. They are 200,000 times smaller than a pin head. Each of these motors has 31 different proteins which are made up of hundreds of differently arranged amino acids. ATP works by losing the endmost group when instructed to do so by an enzyme. This reaction produces a lot of energy, which the organism can then use to build proteins, contact muscles, etc. The reaction causes the ATP to then become ADP Adenosine Diphosphate. Here is the amazing part of this entire process. After the energy is released and the organism is at rest, the unattached phosphate reattaches to the ADP to reform ATP so that the molecule can later split to create more energy. This little tiny molecule thus stores energy when it rests, releases energy when needed, and then recharges its own battery so that it will produce more energy at a later time. How in the world did it think up this process? The evolutionist claims that simple cells gathered to become complex. However, that premise is based on an erroneous premise, that the cell is simple. As ATP and DNA have proven in our lifetime, cells are not simple. Again, this does not prove creation, but if a model were to be drawn, would a complicated, intricate, and self sustaining cell be more likely to be the result of chance or of a creative designer? Again, the answer seems self answerable. Why doesn’t the cell run out of gas? It is because the one who sustains it gave it the ability to reproduce itself.
THIRD, WE SEE HIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH. This is where the passage gets down to the nitty-gritty. How does this passage relate to us? It is very simple to determine because of the relationship that Jesus has with the Church. We read VERSE 18 In this one verse, we are told of five specific attributes Jesus has in His relationship with the church.
Before we get into these attributes, it is important that we define what we mean by the church. When many people talk about the church they have in their mind the building in which religious activities take place. When people ask what church you attend, you answer them by telling the name and location of our facility. This is not wrong. We read 1 COR. 1:2; II COR. 1:2, ROM. 16:3-5 These letters were addressed to congregations that met at a certain time and in a certain location.
However, there is another way that “the church” is used and that is in reference to the people of God. Jesus stated, MATTHEW 16:13-18 Whatever this church is that Jesus was going to build, it was not a building. Let me show you how this word is used. We read, ACTS 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:5; 14:27 In this situation, the church obviously refers to the people who are a part of the church. There is a visible church which meets at a certain location and has a system of order and function. There is also an invisible church made up of those who follow Jesus Christ. We read COLOSSIANS 1:24-27 In this passage, Paul mentioned the spiritual aspect of this church and he refers to it as “HIS BODY…” That is the spiritual make-up of the church. All of those who are followers of Jesus are a part of the “BODY OF CHRIST”. When we talk about Jesus being the head of the church this is what we are referring to. Let’s look at how Jesus is head of the church.
First, Jesus is the head because it is His body. We mentioned this just previous, but let me expand our thoughts. While the church needs organization, it is not an organization. The church is a living organism, made up of living individuals. Paul explains this when he writes, 1 COR. 12:12-27 Paul uses the analogy of a body and informs us that we are each a part. We are all different parts, but we are all a part. The thing that holds us together is the head. In the physical body our head keeps us properly functioning. The head tells the lungs to breathe, the heart to beat and the eyes to blink. To the degree that the body responds to the head is the degree that the body functions well.
We have all watched Olympic events and watched as gymnasts and skaters performed amazing feats of beauty. The reason for that is because the body responded to the impulses of the head. When the head asked the body to respond, the body did what it was told. That is true in the spiritual world as well. Throughout history, people have done things thought impossible because they yielded to the impulses of the head. As you read Hebrews 11 and understand that which was done in obedience to the head, you get a picture of what it means for Christ to be the head of the church.
Second, Jesus is the head because He is the originator. Paul writes that “HE IS THE BEGINNING…” There are two ways to take this phrase and I believe both fit. The first is to use beginning in the sense that He was the first one in the church. He stands at the front of the line, as it were. The second, and more practical, is that He is the one who began the church. That is what Peter was discussing in Matthew 16. Jesus said, “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH…” Jesus is the one who brought the church into existence on the Day of Pentecost and He is building His church today.
Some have questioned how we can have such strict standards in the church today. I don’t know that they are that strict. All we seek is that the members of the church live holy lives. In today’s culture I suppose that is very strict. In a culture where no standards apply, a group that sets any standards becomes too much to handle. Here is the answer to that question. The church is to set the standards that the one who founded the church wants set. Since Jesus is the one who founded the church, He gets to establish the rules. What rules He lays down are to be observed by those who are a part of His body.
The conflict arises over the areas in which Jesus has not given instruction. Over those areas, we can debate. Over the areas in which Jesus has spoken, there should be no debate, there should be obedience.
Third, Jesus is the head because He is the life source. Paul tells us the Jesus is, “THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD…” That refers to His resurrection. The term “FIRSTBORN” is used several times in this letter. When we use the term it is almost always chronological. It means the oldest child in our family. While that was often the case in the Old Testament, it wasn’t always so. Esau was the oldest, but Isaac was the first born. It had to do with the one who would receive the blessing from the father.
What is it about the resurrection that made Jesus the firstborn? There are seven individuals in the Bible who were raised from the dead. Jesus is not the first one, He was the last one mentioned. What made Him the firstborn? It was the fact that Jesus came out of the grave never to die again. The writer to the Hebrews states, HEBREWS 2:9-11, 14-18 Jesus had to become a human to become one who would identify with death. However, He had to come out of the tomb so that He could prove to be death’s master. We read, REVELATION 1:12-18 Jesus identified Himself as the one who had died and was now alive. This is why He has the right to rule. As John continued his vision, he wrote, REVELATION 5:1-14 Three times He is referred to as ‘WAS SLAIN…” He was dead and is now alive. It is because of His resurrection that our resurrection is secure. That is the entire argument made by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. If Jesus has not come out of the grave, then neither will anyone else. Because He has arisen from the dead, so might we.
How does this fit into Jesus being the firstborn? We read, PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 It was Christ’s willingness to face death for everyone that allowed the Father to exalt Him and make Him the first of many who would emerge triumphant out of the grave. Paul wrote, ROMANS 1:1-4 It is the resurrection that sets Jesus apart from everyone else.
Fourth, Jesus is the head, because He is the reconciler. Paul writes VERSE 20 What was it that God used to reconcile sinful humanity to a holy God? It was the blood of Christ shed on the cross. Some think this is a barbaric thought, but it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God killed an animal to cover their sin. The entire Jewish sacrificial system was a picture of the lamb offered on the cross for the sins of all humanity. There are many scholars who believe that the exact moment when Jesus cried out “IT IS FINISHED”! was the moment the high priest killed the lamb and took the blood into the Holy of Holies. There is no way to prove that, but certainly both actions would have happened at about the same time. We do know, however, that the death of Christ on the cross was the atonement for the sins of the world. We read, II COR. 5:21 We are going to spend next week looking at this entire concept of how God reconciled us to Himself and what our response to that should be. Let it suffice for us today to understand that Jesus is the head of the church because He is the one who shed His blood that the church might be holy before God.
Fifth, Jesus is the head because of His pre-eminency. Paul tells us, “THAT HE MIGHT HAVE FIRST PLACE IN EVERYTHING”. That sums up the Christian life. There are probably dozens of ways we can define the Christian life. This is one. A Christian is one in whom Christ is first place in everything. Doesn’t that make sense? I received a call recently from an individual looking for a church to attend. He had visited one church and felt they were teaching salvation by grace and works. He then asked me if I believed that an individual was saved even if they never did anything other that “pray to receive Jesus”. That is a sermon all unto its own. I do not believe one can do anything to save themselves, keep them saved, or make themselves more attractive to God. On the other hand, Jesus warned that there would be people who would come to Him and claim, “DID WE NOT SAY, ‘LORD, LORD…’” It is those whom Jesus rejects. It is not sufficient to just say something. This is why Paul wrote to the Romans, ROMANS 10:9,10 We must verbally confess Christ, but we must also believe in our hearts. To claim one can believe for a split second and then un-believe has no Biblical support at all. The scriptures clearly state that belief always leads to behavior.
The one who believes that Jesus is pre-eminent will begin to act in accordance with that belief. Let’s get down to where we live. Are there areas in your life in which Jesus is not first place? Look at your family? Are you in obedience to the rules God has set? You might say, “there are some things we need to do first”. Might I be so blunt as to say, “nonsense”. The first thing you need to do to put Christ first.
Look at you finances. I came across a demographic study this week on our community. It was done by a denomination seeking to determine what the giving capacity of its congregation was. The average per capita income for our community is about $90,000 per home. You may be over that or under that. Our congregation has about forty families that call us their church home. If those families are average and everyone tithed, our yearly giving would be $350,000 per year. It is about $125,000. We are one of the best giving churches in our city. That just shows how short many in our fellowship fall. Some of you might say, “I can’t give, you don’t know how in debt I am”. Might I be so blunt as to say, “nonsense”. If you are in debt, you cannot afford not to put Christ first in your giving. How can God give what you horde? The Old Testament required people to give 10%. The New Testament demands loving generosity. If law demands 10%, love must go beyond that. If you are not giving to God off the top and generously, you have not put Christ first in your life.
Look at your moral life. We have seen in the past decade an incredible slide in morality. However, God’s standards have not changed. Whether it be in our finances, sexual conduct, business ethics, neighborhood conduct, or a dozen other issues it is not our culture which decides our behavior. If we put Christ first, He decides. The Ten Commandments were chiseled in stone, not written on a chalk board. There are many issues on which God gives us freedom to decide, but when God speaks that decides the matter.
Who is the final arbitrator when you have a decision to make? Do you decide? Or does God’s word have the final vote? Does this go against the norm in our culture? You bet it does, but that has always been so. Christ has always called His people to stand against the whims of the culture. What issue are you struggling over today? The call of God is obedience today. That is what it means to have Christ as first place in all things. Anything less than this is disobedience.
This message is from the teaching ministry of Glen Jackson, Pastor of Faith Christian Church in
