Colossians: Lesson 9: It is all about Christ
Notes
Transcript
There is a television commercial for black colleges in America, that promotes funding for black colleges. Most of the time, when these television advertisements are aired, they show some young African American that is poor, and they close the advertisement by showing a close-up shot of his face, and saying, “The mind is a terrible thing to waste”!
We all agree with that statement. It is a terrible thing to see anyone waste their mind. We hear a great deal about the need to make sure that our boys and girls get the benefit of a good education.
When it comes to ignorance in this country, we see a great deal of it in the fields of MATH, SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES AND HISTORY.
However, the place that you will see the most ignorance, will be found in the field of RELIGION. It is absolutely astounding how little non-Christians, and professing Christians, know about God or the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is evident in churches today because they worship man; promote man; seek to elevate man’s accomplishments and please man while almost ignoring God - what promotes God, what elevates God and what pleases God. There is not study of true worship, true holiness, true discipleship either.
Christians today know of the latest self help books, Disney movies, and the latest sports stats but still do not know or allow God to truly be exalted in their lives.
Christ needs to be in charge. It is all about Him! Why? We are going to look at what the Scriptures say.
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. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
I. He is the head of the church
I. He is the head of the church
v.18a “And he is the head of the body, the church
It is very interesting how the Holy Spirit through Paul
A. The beginning of the church
A. The beginning of the church
v.18b “…who is the beginning...”
The word “beginning”, also means FIRST IN TIME.
Christ is the first member of the church.
Charlie & Doris Weis have been faithful members of this church through thick and thin for 65 plus years, yet, they weren’t here first, Christ was the first member of the church, He started it.
B. The firstborn in the church
B. The firstborn in the church
v.18c “…the firstborn from the dead...”
Jesus is the first to rise from the dead!
Some may argue that in the old testament there are accounts of people being raised from the dead, and in the New Testament, there were some who were raised from the dead before Christ died. Yes, this is true. But all those who were raised from the dead, died later and were buried.
But after Christ died, He was raised to life, He lives, and will never die again.
He truly, is, “…The firstborn from the dead…”
C. Of Everything about the church
C. Of Everything about the church
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
It is amazing that we try to operate often in this life as Believers, but are not attached to Christ nor to His local church. I meet people so often that say that He is their Lord, but they won’t identify with a local church.
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
People say that this is referring to the great church of God in general, but as we often mentioned, there is no assembling of the entire body of Christ until we are all in heaven, so this is referring to our local church. We stand before Him and are accountable to Him, and He provides everything we need.
1. The Head Identifies
1. The Head Identifies
How do we identify each other?
For example, if I saw you coming down the street, I would be able to identify you from everyone else immediately, by looking at your face.
If you were walking down the street with ten other people, and all of you had paper bags over your heads, I would probably have a hard time identifying you. However, if everyone took the bags off their heads, I could identify you immediately.
The same thing goes for the head of the church. You can walk into any church in the world, and you can almost immediately tell if Christ is the head of the church, or if someone else is.
2. The Head Directs
2. The Head Directs
The church can not get along without the head.
We used to butcher our chickens when I was a young 12 or 13. And he would take the chicken over to a stump, and with a hatchet, cut the chicken’s head off. You would think the chicken would fall over dead, but did you know sometime? That chicken with no head, would run across that chicken yard. But after a short time, it would be flopping all over the ground, and then die.
This is the perfect picture of some churches. They are trying to operate without a head. And if it wasn’t so serious, it would be hilarious in a morbid kind of a way.
The church is totally dependent on Christ. There is not a person here, who knows the first thing about running a church.
Christ is the head that rules and reigns over the body of Christ, and woe be unto any man or any woman who gets in the way, or who tries to remove Him from His rightful place.
Eph. 1:22, we read, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.”
II. He is the Preeminent One
II. He is the Preeminent One
v.18d “...that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
No doubt He is preeminent.
As in our last study, we saw that He is the Creator, Sustainer, Life giver: He planned it all, nothing happens without His consent; He new we would sin, provided a payment for the sin, became the offering for our sin, presented His own sin offering Himself, on the altar in heaven to Himself.
He is the all in all, King of kings, Lord of Lords:
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
III. In Christ dwells the Fullness of God
III. In Christ dwells the Fullness of God
v.19 When you look at Christ, you are looking at your God. Along with the Holy Spirit, they make the trinity.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
A. All of God is in Christ
A. All of God is in Christ
Referring back to Eph 1:22:
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
B. It Pleased the Father
B. It Pleased the Father
While Christ was on Earth and certainly in heaven, Christ pleased God.
It pleased God to have all that we was be in His Son Christ Jesus.
Every parent desires that their children would do as well as and surpass them. Christ was all the fullness of the Father but in for of man.
1. He was always conducting His Father’s business
1. He was always conducting His Father’s business
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
2. He was always desiring and following the Lord’s will
2. He was always desiring and following the Lord’s will
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
3. He was always seeking the glory of God
3. He was always seeking the glory of God
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
As Christ lived to please the father we should seek to do the same.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The very concept of God having pleasure--the mighty Maker of the Universe being pleased, like a child, at things that take place on Earth--staggers the imagination. Most amazing of all is the revelation that it pleased Him to put His own Son through a terrible, bruising death,for us.
Nevertheless, this was the only possible way whereby "the pleasure of the LORD" could be accomplished in the redeemed lives of lost men and women, whom He had created for eternal fellowship with the Triune god. "For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people. (Psalm 149:4).Five times we read in the New Testament that God the Father spoke from heaven assuring us that He was "well pleased" with His "beloved Son". Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Had it not been so, none of us could ever have been saved, but the Lord Jesus Himself has confirmed to His own "little flock" that "it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).Thus, not only have we been created "for Thy pleasure" (Revelation 4:11), but also we have been predestinated "unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" (Ephesians l:5). This is far beyond our comprehension, so we merely rest in the great truth that "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). We know that "the LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy" (Psalm 147:11).