Jesus: The Image Of God

How big is your Jesus? Does he fall down at his feet big?! There's only a couple of times in the New Testament where Jesus appeared in his glory.

! In Revelation it says, I, John, was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a voice like a trumpet.

And I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands. And among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet.

And with a golden sash around his chest, his head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like blazing fire.

His feet were like the bronze glowing in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars.

And out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

How big is your Jesus? How big is Jesus to you? Is it possible to slight him? To think less of him than what he deserves? We do it all the time, don't we?

Every time we sin, it's thinking less of Jesus than he deserves. There's a disconnect. There's a disconnect between who he is and what we understand.

Or there's a misunderstanding. We're not seeing him. We're not understanding him. His glory isn't... We're not bringing it into ourselves. And so we slight him.

Colossians is about showing us who Christ is. And who he is for us. The church in Colossae, the folks there, were wavering, or they were at least in danger, of compromising the doctrine of Christ alone, sola Christus.

And Paul's response is, let me tell you, let me remind you about who this Jesus is, who this Christ is.

So what do people who slight Jesus need? What do we need? Well, we need to see Christ. And so Paul is showing us the glory of Jesus Christ in Colossians.

And in verses 16 and 17, he says and he shows to us that Christ is the transcendent Lord of creation.

He's the Lord of creation. How big is Jesus Christ? Well, when we think about Christ, we need to think of him as the transcendent.

That's the above. The beyond. The totally in a different other category. Lord of creation. So children, do you have a toy box at home?

Do you have something that you keep your toys in? If you do, then you have a picture there of what Christ is like to this whole universe.

So here's a box. A toy box. A box. And in the box are all things created. Well, what goes in that box?

It's a big box. All things created. So very teeny tiny things are in there. Amoebas. Bacteria. Viruses. Paramecium.

Worms. Snakes. Lizards. Cats. Dogs. Elephants. Blue whales go in the box. Tomato plants. Apple trees. The grass in your yard. Horses and hay.

Rocks. Volcanoes. This planet. Our moon. Sun. Stars. Humans. Angels. So from amoebas. To angels in heaven.

They all fit into this box. And outside of the box. Is the son of God. He doesn't fit in the box.

He doesn't belong in the box. Angels. Amoebas. You. Me. Everything we see. Go in the box. The whole universe fits in the box.

But the box. Is not big enough. To fit Jesus Christ into. He's not in the box. Well. What does Colossians say?

In verse 15. He's the image of the invisible God. The firstborn. Over all creation. The firstborn. And now maybe someone.

Like a Jehovah witness. Says. Ah. See. He. He does fit into the box. He fits in the box. Jehovah witnesses. Say. Jesus is God's. First creation.

He's the firstborn. You see. The very first one. So he's important. He's the first thing created. But that's not what. That means here. Because the son of God.

Wasn't created. And how do I know. That just me. Believing. And parodying. What people have told me. No. Because the very next verse.

It tells us. For by him. All things. Were created. For by him. All things. Were created. So all things.

That were created. Were created. By him. John 1. Makes it even clearer. Through him. All things. Were made. Without him.

Nothing was made. That has been made. If something. Has been made. If something. Has been created. Then. He was the one.

Who was involved. In his creation. So. What does that mean? It means that. If there's something. That has been made. Then he made it.

And that rules out. That he. Was made. Rules out. That he was created. So firstborn here. Doesn't mean. That he was created. He wasn't the very first.

Of God's creations. It means something else. It means that he's the Lord. He's the preeminent one. Over all of creation. He's the son.

Who inherits. All of creation. The rabbis. In Jesus time. Actually even used the word. Firstborn.

And they. Gave that title. To God himself. Not because he was created. Or because he was born. But it was a place of. So. Showing that he was the Lord.

He was the owner. He. Inherited. It all belonged. To him. So. Firstborn. That word. It. In the Bible. It occurs most often. If you.

Look in your concordance. It. It. Most often. Is talking about the firstborn. Son. In the family. Has a very. Normal. Common. Literal. Meaning. But there is.

Another meaning. A non-literal. Meaning. The Bible. In Jeremiah. Talks about the firstborn.

Of the poor. The NIV. Translates it. The poorest. Of the poor. But literally. It's the firstborn. Of the poor. The greatest. The poorest person. You can imagine. The firstborn.

Of the poor. So the firstborn. He's the greatest. He's the Lord. The firstborn. Is the heir. The inheritor. The person.

Who is just. Like the father. And when the father. Dies. He becomes. The father. So in human terms. When the father dies. He becomes.

Like the father. So after. The paterfamilias. Dies. He becomes. The paterfamilias. So that was usually. The firstborn son. But not always.

Sometimes the firstborn. Wasn't the firstborn. Isaac had two sons. Do you remember? You remember their names? Esau. And Jacob.

Well who was born first? Esau. But before they were born. God said. The older. Will serve.

The younger. The older. Shall serve the younger. God was saying. That the younger. Will be the firstborn. The younger. Will have the preeminent place.

He'll be. The heir. To the promise. He'll be receiving. Everything that Isaac receives. He'll. Become. Like his father. Isaac. And so. Who are the fathers.

Of the faithful. It's Abraham. Isaac. And Esau. No. Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. The firstborn son. Was the one who owned everything.

Just like the father. And in a special way. That the father. Owned. And everything. The son. Owned everything. And everything. That the father was.

The son. Was. As well. They enjoyed. The same status. The same privilege. The same possessions. And so. In the story. That Jesus told. Of the prodigal son. You remember.

The father. Went out. To that older son. To the firstborn son. And he said. Everything I have. Is yours. You see. The older son's problem. Was. He was living like a slave.

Instead of a firstborn. He wasn't living up to his privileges. By right of birth. He was the firstborn. He owned everything. He had it all. But he was slaving.

Like he didn't have anything. And that's why. He comes across. So small. And petty. Toward his brother. And that's why. He was. He wasn't acting like it was his.

He was acting like he didn't have anything. And so the father came out to him. And said son. Everything I have is yours. Don't. You're the heir. Don't begrudge your brother. His place.

And so when it says. Jesus is the firstborn. Over all creation. He's saying. He is what the father is. He is the Lord. Of creation.

He has the same status. As God the father. So how big is the son? How big is Jesus Christ? He's as big. As God is. And really.

The next few verses. Are just working that idea out. So. He's creation's transcendent Lord. And his status. As the firstborn. As the Lord.

Over all creation. The Lord. Who. Everything that has been made. Is in this box. But he's outside of that box. It's based on three reasons. And you can see them in verse 16 and 17.

He created all things. He sustains all things. And all things are for him. For from him. And through him. And to him. Are all things.

So first he created all things. This is. Our. Lord. Jesus. He thought up. Amoebas. He thought them up.

And. He thought up. Angels. Angels. He created. Every angelic power. That's what it says. For by him.

All things were created. Things in heaven. And on earth. Visible and invisible. Whether thrones. Or powers. Or rulers. Or authorities. All things that were created. By him. And for him. So how vast.

Is the son of God's. Wisdom. Think about this. He thought up. He designed. Angels. Angels. Now we need to look at ourselves.

Where is your skill? Where is your wisdom? Where is your power? How great. Are you? Sitting in my yard.

Is a testimony. To my. Greatness and skill. I made. A rickety. Piece of junk. Bicycle. Ramp. For my kids. And if you saw it.

You would say. Wow. You're a real handyman. But you won't see it. And I'll tell you why. You won't see it. Because whenever someone. Comes to my house. I drag it around. The side of the yard.

So no one can see it. But let's say. That you are something. You have gifts. You are talented. You are skilled. At good. And good.

At putting things together. Now stack yourself. Up. To him. Jesus got his materials. From nothing.

He went to the lows. Where there is nothing. And he found his material. And out of nothing. He made all that you see. The chair you are sitting on.

That material. Was nothing. And Jesus made it. Into something. Jesus did that. And out of his own imagination. He drew. And he diagrammed.

The inner beings. Of angelic powers. From the lowest angel. To the highest. Now what about you?

We don't even know what an angel is. Well. They're a spirit. Well. What's a spirit? How do you put together a spirit? Spirit.

Jesus drafted. In his own mind. Spirits. Jesus drafted. In his own mind. A process. Where space and time. Would fit together. And they would relate.

To one another. And he created. The three dimensions. And then the dimension. Of time. That we see. And experience. And he created.

Who knows. How many other. Dimensions. That we don't see. And experience. And the water cycle. Which is so fascinating. To us. Right?

We teach it to our children. It's one of his most obvious. And simple. Processes. It's a stick figure.

For children like us. To understand. Jesus has other processes. Other creations. Creations of electrons.

And quarks. And strings. And who knows what else. Particles that. Apparently. The physicists think. They leap. From one space. To another. Without any time.

In between. What does that even mean? How do you. Disappear in one place. And then appear in another place. With no time passing.

What does that mean? It just means. That our Lord. Plays with. And designs toys. That our puny minds. Cannot even begin. To understand. Or imagine.

It means that whatever. Dimension. Or non-dimension. The angels and demons. Operate in. Jesus created it. And he works within it. And it means.

That you and I. Are absolutely nothing. Compared to him. Nations are a drop. In the bucket. Less than nothing.

And that's why. He's the Lord. And you're not. That's what.

He's big. And you're not. He's wise. And you are not. He is strong. You are not. He's sufficient.

He's enough. He's awesome. He's all you need. Paul is trying to. Stoke their faith. In Jesus Christ. He's all that you need.

Why? Because. He made all things. Do you have a problem. That involves creation? Jesus is the Lord. Of creation. And so the practical thing to do.

Is to humble yourself. And worship him. He's the beginning. He's the Lord. He's the creator. And as we're going to see. He's the middle. And he's the end.

And so. Humble yourself before him. In worship. This week. This should be on your mind. I will worship Jesus Christ this week. Because he created all things.

He's big. I'm not. He's wise. I'm not. He's strong. I'm not. I'm going to worship him. And if you don't worship him this week. If you just walk out of here. Careless. And unthought. Thinking. Then.

I don't say this. In a mean spirit. But that is the most wicked. Unjust. Cold hearted. Callous. Thing. That could be.

And you might say that's harsh. But. If you were the beginning. And the middle. And the end of all things. Then I would say go do whatever you want. But you are not the beginning.

The middle. And the end. He is. The world is his. It's for him. It's not about you. It's about him. He is. Frighteningly. Gloriously. Big. And you are not.

And so humble yourself. And worship him. Worship him. Fall down before him. Give him your heart. Give him your life. Give him your obedience. Give him your faith.

Exalt in him. It's his due. Glory and rejoice in him. He is. Your God. He's the firstborn over all creation. Why?

Secondly. Because he is before all things. And in him all things hold together. So let's look at this. In him all things hold together.

Jesus is not only the beginning. But he is the middle. He is the sustainer. He upholds it. He carries it. He keeps it together.

He's the glue. He keeps everything together. And so he holds all the strings. He holds the weave of the fabric. Of an angel.

Of everything. And so go inside. Go inside of everything. Go inside of you. Go inside of Michael the archangel.

Go inside the fabric of Satan. Go inside of you. What powers. And what forces. Hold you together. Underneath all of that. And throughout it all. Is Jesus Christ.

Upholding and holding. Everything together. Hebrews says. He is sustaining all things. By his powerful word. And so.

If we're going to. Picture this correctly. We can't picture Jesus. Holding all the fabric. And holding up. The universe. With his hands. We can't think of him. Grunting.

And groaning. And sweating. As he carries all of creation. On his back. He's not straining. His muscles aren't rippling. As he holds. The creation together. By his word.

By his word. His softly spoken word. The breath of his mouth. Carries it. All. His voice holds it all.

His wish. Does it. So right now. His power is upon you. Think about that.

His power is upon you. Unfelt. Unrecognized. But you are held. Your physical presence. Your soul.

Your body. He holds them together. And he's moving them to his appointed end. Think of that. Right now. Jesus Christ. The son of God. Is holding you together.

He is happening. To you. In him. You live. And move. And have your being. You are a fish. He is the ocean. He's not a person far away. He's under you.

He's all around you. He's in you. Everywhere is his wisdom. Everywhere is his power. And without him. Everything.

Flies apart. Think about that. And then. Go sin. Try to. Think about him.

Holding you together. As you are sitting there. And have a small. Thought about him. See it's not a force. It's a man.

It's a God man. Who lived. And who died. On a Roman cross. That's what Paul is saying. That's doing that. And that's stunning. One commentator writes.

What holds the universe together. Is not an idea. Or a virtue. But a person. The resurrected. Jesus Christ. Without him. Electrons would stop going around.

Nuclei. Gravity would cease to work. The planets would fly. Out of orbit. Let that thought. Sanctify you. And let that drive you.

To Jesus. For salvation. If. If you're not right with God. You're not right with this Jesus. Think of your danger.

You are in the hand of Jesus. He's upholding you. He's holding you together. He keeps you alive. And what a terrible thought. To think that you're scorning him.

You aren't living for him. That you don't care for him. That is not. Safe. And he will. And he will.

And he has the ability. To unravel you forever. To pull the strings of your being. Until you get less and less. But always keeping you. Together. To know the anger of God. Jesus Christ.

Is the most delightful. Savior. And Lord. But he is a terrible judge. And executioner. I wouldn't dare say it.

If it wasn't in the Bible. But think of your own safety. And children repent. Think of you especially.

We love you young people. Think of. yourself. And repent. And fly to Jesus Christ. For mercy. This God will save you.

This God can save you. Well he's the Lord. He's the firstborn of all creation. Why? Thirdly. Because. All things are for him. He created all things.

He sustains all things. And now. All things are for him. Because it says here. All things were created by him. And. For him. Now we talked about last week.

What does it mean. To be a human. And we said it means to be. A reflection of Jesus Christ. It means. That we were meant to live with God. As our father. That's what it means.

To be a human. But this tells us something more. We exist. For him. For the son. So I don't exist for me.

And this is so counter to everything. That we think. This is so. Counter to what we. Naturally believe. What we think in our hearts. This is so counter to everything. We naturally feel.

But we. Exist. For him. His pleasure. His will. His use. And so we begin with Christ. We exist through Christ.

And we end at Christ. And it's not just me. Suns exist for him. And moons exist for him. And a million stars exist for him. And galaxies of stars exist for him.

And little boys. Exist for him. And little girls. Exist for him. And teenagers. You don't have. You just didn't show up here. And now you're trying to figure out.

What am I here for? Why? What's the point of my life? He created you for him. That tells you. Where you began. What your life is about.

You're for him. And so give yourself to him. Adults. Angels exist for him. You exist for him.

He's the sovereign. This is what that means. He's the sovereign. The resurrected Christ bends all things towards himself. Towards his will. They all begin with him.

And then he uses them to accomplish his purposes. It's all for him. For his use. And we can put this in very human terms. That are so easy for us to understand. I have a car.

It's my car. I paid for it. It's mine for me to use. If I wanted to. I could drive my car to Texas. But let's say.

You don't want me to go to Texas in my car. You don't want me to take my car to Texas. But I own it. It's my car. It's for my purposes. And it's for me to use how I please.

Jesus Christ owns everything. And he uses everything. He uses angels. And he uses demons. And he uses the authorities of heaven. For himself.

They exist. For him. And you notice especially what Paul points out. Exists for him. He breaks out these four things.

That were on the Colossians minds. He says. Thrones. Powers. Rulers. Authorities. These are heavenly powers. These are heavenly authorities.

And they are somehow. They are heavenly powers. And authorities. That somehow. Exert their influence. And their power. And their force. And their authority. On the earth.

Daniel. Talks about the prince of Persia. He's talking about some sort of angel. The prince of Persia. And the prince of my people Israel. And so there are these angelic powers. That somehow control.

Dominate. Exert influence. Orchestrate. Earthly powers. And nations. I don't know how it works. It doesn't say very much about it. But the bible teaches. That behind the authorities.

Of governments. There are angelic beings. And that's why Paul says. Our fights. It's never been against flesh and blood. But with powers of darkness.

In high places. And so brothers and sisters. We are out of our league. We are fighting in a war. With frontiers.

That we don't even understand. With fields of battle. That we don't even understand. Comprehend. We're fighting against forces. That we can't see. We are swimming with beings. That are far.

Beyond us. The swimming pool. Is a whole lot larger. Than we ever realized. And we are worried. About earthly powers. And earthly governors. But look behind the scene.

And there's even more going on. And it would be easy. As we look behind. And see. That. All these evil. Angelic forces.

Are against us. It would be easy. For us to lose heart. To quake. But don't fear. Don't fear. Look at our Lord Jesus.

All governments. All powers. Serve his purposes. He has deep purposes. That. And he has deep ends. He has deep places. That he is taking all things. That only his eyes can see.

He has ends. That no man can fathom. And he uses the good. And the evil. To accomplish. His ends. Our Lord Jesus. Is inescapably. Strong. No one.

No one. Not in heaven. Or on earth. Or under the earth. Escapes. His strength. He. He. Will. Use them.

For his purposes. And so look up. Jesus. The one. Our savior. Our friend. Our brother. Is not even. In the same category.

As our enemies. We talked about this. They fit in the box. He is outside of the box. He's the biggest bully. On the block. He holds.

Whatever. Puts together. An angel. Or a demon. He holds that. In his hands. And he uses all things. According to his will.

They're his. They're for him. They exist at his will. They are no threat. To him. They're no threat to him.

So how can we be afraid? The worst men can do. Is kill us. The worst men can do. Is to send us.

To heaven. And it's almost. Laughable. To the eye of faith. The worst you can do. Is send me to my savior. Why? Because.

My lord. Conquered death. We're going to see. Next week. He's. Or two weeks from now. He's the firstborn. From among the dead. He put death. To shame.

There is no sting. In death. Anymore. For the Christian. And he has put his enemies. To open shame. The governments. The world. The terrors. Of human law. Are a joke. Psalm.

Two. Read it. He laughs. As they rage. Rage. See. It's all this. Sound. And fury.

That ends up being nothing. It's a barbie car crash. My kids. Crash things. And you know what? It seems like a big deal to them. But it's nothing. In the big scheme of things. It's a lot of noise. That amount to nothing.

And that's exactly what. The nations are. To our lord Jesus. Nothing. Less than nothing. The world is nothing. Angels and demons are nothing. Presidents. Congress.

Justices. Tyrants. They are all. Quickly. Rushing. To judgment. They are no threat to him. There is no war.

They rage against him. But there's no war. Any more than there's a war. Between maggots and humans. Any more than there's a war. Between ants. And my children. On their bicycle. The ants might rage.

But the wheel. Will come down. And they'll be squashed. In due time. We are meant to take heart. At how big. Our Jesus is.

We are meant to. Hate sin. As we think about. How big. Jesus is. We are meant to be. Encouraged. And bolstered. As we think about. How big. Jesus is.

And we are to put away. Fear. When we think about. How big. Our Lord is. We began with a quote.

From Revelation. And we'll end with one. Out of his mouth. Comes a sharp sword. With which to strike. Down. The nations.

And he will rule them. With an iron scepter. He treads the winepress. Of the fury. Of the wrath. Of almighty God. And on his robe. And on his thigh. A name is written.

King of kings. And Lord. Of lords. Let's pray. Lord Jesus. You are majestic in glory.

Forgive us. For our small thoughts. About you. We fasten your word. Upon our heart. This evening. Don't let us shake it off. Save.

Tonight. Sanctify tonight. And we bless you. And we honor you. For all that you are. We thank you God.

For this day. Thank you for the blessing. That we received. In hearing your word. And having dealings with you. Thank you for this day. And it's in Jesus almighty name.

We pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.