I had intended to preach from
these verses that I'm gonna preach to you now, but I didn't make
it past verse 14. So I wanna preach this to us
now and hear this, because it's still burning on my heart, and
it's a needful message. Down in verse 18, we have God's
purpose in choosing his son to be the God-man mediator. We have
the purpose of God for creating this world. We have the purpose
of God for you and me and everybody in this world. Because everybody
in this world is going to do what God says here. This is his
purpose at the end of verse 18. It says that in all things Christ
might have the preeminence. Every knee is going to bow and
give him preeminence. Every knee. Either we're going
to bow in this life by God's grace or in the day of judgment,
but every knee is going to give him preeminence. That's God's
purpose in choosing his son to save his people. That's God's
purpose in creating this world that in all things Christ might
have the preeminence. And here's why, verse 19, for
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. That brief statement is the one
reason for creation. That's the one reason man was
created. That's the one reason that God
saves his people, that in all things Christ might have the
preeminence. For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. Preeminence, what does that mean?
Preeminence is to be supreme, is to be chief, is to be above
all. Christ is preeminent. As the
son of God, he had all preeminence. As God, he had all preeminence.
He was equal with God, he is God, but Christ here is speaking
of him being preeminent as the God-man, as the mediator of his
people. Savior of his people. When men
come before a king, they call the king your preeminence. Well,
two cannot be preeminent. Only one can. And that one is
Christ. Christ alone is preeminent. He alone is preeminent. No other. My subject is only one preeminent. Only one. That's the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our divisions for our message
this morning is gonna be what we see here in verses 15 through
19. Here we see three reasons Christ is preeminent. First of
all, Christ is God. Verse 15, God's dear son, the
God-man, Christ Jesus, is the image of the invisible God. He's the image of the invisible
God. Second reason he's preeminent is he's the creator and the purpose
here is to declare that he is the king who rules all his creation. Verse 15 says, he's the firstborn
of every creature. What does that mean? Always read
the next phrase. What does he, he's the firstborn
of every creature, here's what it means. Because 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, and here's the main point of this, and he's before
all things. That word before means he's above
all, he's ruling all. That's what before means. He's
above all, ruling all his creation. And by him, all things consist. Thirdly, Christ is preeminent.
because he is the head of God's elect church. That's why, verse
18, and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, and this is God's purpose,
that in all things he might have the preeminence, for it pleased
the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. All right,
first of all, Christ is preeminent, because he is God. He is God. Verse 15 is speaking of God's
dear son, talking about the God-man, Christ Jesus, and it says he
is the image of the invisible God. Now let's go back to the
beginning. I don't mean Genesis 1-1 when
it says in the beginning. I mean the beginning before that
beginning. John 1-1 says, in the beginning
was the word, and the word was with God, And the word was God,
the same was in the beginning with God. That's the beginning
I'm talking about. When there was nothing but God.
Nothing but God. Before creation, there was only
the invisible God. The invisible God. God who is
spirit. God is invisible to the human
eye, he's spirit. That's why Christ said he that
worships him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And nothing
can be added to God by any sinner. We don't add anything to God.
We're nothing. He's self-sufficient. He's perfect. We can't add anything to Him.
He's infinitely, eternally blessed in Himself, in His own nature.
But before anything was created, before He made anything, it was
the will of God to give His Son all preeminence. It was His will
to give His Son all preeminence. So God the Father gave his son
this great glory. We're talking about when there
was none but God. He gave his son this glory of manifesting
the invisible God. He gave him this glory. God gave
his son the glory of manifesting the invisible God to a world
of people. To a world of people who would
be flesh and blood. They're not created yet. But
God's purpose was to give his son all preeminence to a whole
world of people. God the Father decreed that this
would be by the Son of God creating heaven and earth. God the Father
trusted everything into the hand of his son. He chose him to be
the savior, the mediator. And he trusted the whole work
into his hand. It's often in scripture the Lord
Jesus is compared to, he is the firstborn son. And by that, what
it means is a father would, his firstborn son would have the
rule over his whole house. He would be responsible for providing
for the whole house and making sure the whole house functioned
properly and the inheritance went all to the firstborn and
the firstborn then would divide the inheritance with the children.
Well, this was what God the Father was pleased for Christ to be,
to be preeminent as the firstborn, as the one who created all and
saves all his people and gets all preeminence for it. So he
trusted the whole work to his son that he would create heaven
and earth, and he would create angels, and he would create a
people made of flesh and blood, and God purposed from eternity.
Is anything a surprise to God If he is, if your God is surprised
by things that come to pass in time, your God is not God. Because
God, we saw from Isaiah over and over this morning, God declares
the end from the beginning. He said, my counsel shall stand,
I'll do all my pleasure. Everything God purposed, God
brings to pass. Why did God choose his son to
be the savior in eternity? Why would anybody need a savior? Because in the will and purpose
of God, his people are gonna fall in sin. That was no surprise
to God. No surprise to God whatsoever.
God's not the author of sin. You are. You and me are. You're
the only one responsible for sin. Just you. God's not. But nothing is outside of the
purpose of God. Just think about it. Why would
he have chosen a savior in eternity? As Titus, we saw Titus said in
chapter one, the Lord said, God, who cannot lie, promised his
people eternal life before the foundation of the world. Why
would God promise you eternal life if there was not going to
be sin? Why would he promise you eternal life if God didn't
know you were going to fall and plunge yourself into sin and
death and not be able to save yourself? That's why he chose
his son. That's why he chose his son.
The invisible Son of God would take flesh like His chosen people. He would take flesh, and it pleased
God. This is how He's gonna manifest
His glory. The invisible God's gonna manifest
His glory by His Son being all fullness, being everything His
people need to be saved, being everything in salvation, so that
He gets all the glory and all the praise and you and me don't
get any, and you know God's people don't want any. We don't want
any. We want Him to have all the glory.
What do you have that you didn't receive? What do you have that
wasn't given to you freely? Why then do you boast as if you
didn't receive it? That we don't want the glory.
The glory goes to God. How amazing, brethren, and how
marvelous that the one reason God the Father chose his son
and gave him the glory of being the Christ, the surety, the mediator,
the prophet, the priest, the king, the lamb of God, for a
people the Father chose and gave to his son to save. What a marvelous
thing! What does Ephesians 1 say? We
received an inheritance according to the purpose of him who works
all things after the counsel of his own will. Where was that
counsel? In eternity. It was in his son. And he works everything after
the counsel of his own will. I'm not talking to you today
about this pygmy little imagination men imagine. It's a God that
can't do anything unless man lets him. You can't even take
your next breath without God permitting you to do it and giving
it to you. He can just cause one little thing in your mind
to be off, and you'll be a fledgling idiot. We'd have to wipe you
behind. Just like that. And you want
to brag that glory goes to you and me? Not at all. Not at all. It all goes to His Son. It's
that His Son might have all preeminence, because it pleased the Father
that in Christ should all fullness dwell. That means all fullness. all fullness as God and all fullness
as the Savior. He's all fullness as God and
He's all fullness as the perfect man who represented His people
and who is the salvation of His people. All fullness is in Him
as the God-man. He's the perfect God and perfect
man in one person. Do you really want Christ to
have all the glory? I do, don't you? God's people
want Him to have it. That's all we want to talk about.
We want Him to have all the glory. This right here is declaring
God's pleased that he have all the glory. All the preeminence
belongs to Christ. His son will become a man and
manifest the glory of the invisible God. That's one reason for creation
and salvation. It's the glory God the Father
gave his son, which Christ spoke about in his high priestly prayer.
Go with me to John 17. May have you turn to some scripture
this morning. John 17, this is the glory Christ
spoke about in this prayer when he prayed as the high priest
of his people. John 17 one, these words spake
Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the
hour has come. Glorify thy son that thy son
also may glorify thee as thou has given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Now,
O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was. That's the glory
I'm talking to you about. This glory that God the Father
gave his son as being all fullness, all the fullness of God and all
the fullness of man to be the perfect manifestation of the
invisible God and to be the perfect savior for people who could not
save ourselves. That's the glory he gave Christ.
The man, Christ Jesus, is God. John 1.18 says, no man had seen
God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. That's
what Christ said. He's the one who declared Him.
The man Christ Jesus is not a God. When the Jehovah's Witness come
to your door, ask them to let you see the Gospel of John in
their Bible, and this is what it'll say. It'll say the word
was a God. He was a God. He's God. He's God. Lord Jesus is the image
of the invisible God. Hebrews 1.1 says, God, who at
sundry times and in different manners spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person. and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
That's who he is, he's the brightness of God's glory, the express image
of his person. The God of glory, who is himself
glory. That God man, Christ Jesus, is
the brightness of his glory. He's the express image of God,
as God, and man, the Lord Jesus Christ declared, I and my Father
are one. We're one. Invisible, inseparable. John 14, nine, the Lord Jesus
said, he that has seen me has seen the Father. So the first
reason Christ is preeminent in the hearts of his people, only
in the hearts of those he's given a heart to really believe him
and trust him, the reason he's preeminent in our hearts is He's
God. He's God. You know He's God.
He's the brightness of God. Now what does that mean for you
in terms of your salvation? Go to Colossians 2 and look at
verse 9. Here's what it is, that all fullness
dwells in Him, right here. Verse 9 says, for in Him, talking
about Christ, in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye, you who have been called
to faith in Christ and trust him alone for salvation, you
are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power, complete in him. This is a play on one word. The
word fullness is from the word called pleroma, and the word
complete is from the word plero. And what it's saying to you is,
As fully as the Lord Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead in
a body, that's how fully complete you are in him. That's complete,
brethren. That's why he said he has made
us meat to enter into heaven right now. Because our meatness
is not in us. Our meatness is Christ. He's
our meat. If your fitness for heaven was
something you did or something that you accomplished, you will
boast and brag and God won't have it. He'll cast you out.
I'm not your enemy for telling you the truth. I'm telling you
the truth. So you better find it out now than meet Him in judgment
and find it out. But you will not glory in God's
presence. The eternal God. Here's what
it means to us, brethren. Because He's God, eternal God,
everything Christ accomplished for His people is eternal. Listen,
Scripture describes it as eternal redemption. Eternal or everlasting
righteousness. Eternal life, eternal salvation. Why? Because everything he accomplished
is eternal, is eternal. If he was only a man, it wouldn't
be eternal. Because he's God and man in one,
it's eternal. The eternal God is thy refuge
and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he shall thrust out
the enemy from before thee and shall say, destroy them. All
right, secondly, Christ is preeminent in the hearts of his saints because
he's the creator who rules all creation. He's the creator who
rules all creation. Verse 15 says, he's the firstborn
of every creature. And here's what it means. It
means, 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. And he's before all things. The
word here, I don't quite know why the translator's translated
before, because the word really means above, with all power over. That's what the word means. He
is king over all. and by him all things consist. All things are worked together
and held together and worked by him. That's what it means.
Way back before anything was created, God the Father trusted
his son to do the creating. Now that doesn't mean that God
the Father and God the Holy Spirit weren't involved. They're one.
They're one. But he's giving his son the preeminence
for being the creator. Can you read that? It's that
he might have the preeminence The fullness of God be in him
that he manifest who God is to us. Christ is the firstborn of
every creature. That's what it means later down
there when it says he's the beginning. He's the beginning. John 3.35,
this is how Christ put it. The father loveth the son and
hath given all things into his hand. All things are in his hand. Proverbs 8.23, he said, I was
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth
was. Well, that's talking about wisdom.
Who's that? Of God is Christ made unto us
wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1.30. Isaiah 42.1,
I want you to see this. Isaiah 42.1, and let's listen
to what God the Father says, and let's obey God the Father. Will workers are so, they claim
to be so adamant about obeying God. All right, let's obey him.
Isaiah 42, 1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flack shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall
not fail. Don't that, don't that. Oh boy,
that's good news. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged
till he have set judgment in the earth, and the owl shall
wait for his law. We know who that is. The gospels tell us that's Christ.
He's God's elect. You can't hate election without
hating the first elect God chose. That's His Son. He chose Him
to be the Savior. Our Lord Jesus is the firstborn
of every creature. Everything created came by Christ
doing the creating. Colossians 116, Christ created
all things that are in heaven and all things that are in earth
and all things were created by Him. That means visible and invisible. whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by our
Savior, brethren. There's a host of angels we can't
see. Go with me over to 2 Kings 6. There's a host of angels you
and me can't even see. There's a world that you and
me can't even see. And it's an active world. It's
an active world. The devil was a created angel.
Lucifer fell from heaven because of pride. He said, I'll be as
the most high And God cast him out. But you know what? Christ
rules him. He rules him. He's God's devil.
Who initiated it with Job? God said to the devil, From whence
comest thou? And the devil said, From going
up and down in the earth, seeking whom I may devour. God said,
Have you considered my servant Job? There's none like him. And
the devil said, You put a hedge about him. That's why I can't
touch him. He said, but if you take that
head of his down, let me touch him. He said, he'll curse you.
God said, you can take his stuff, but you can't touch him. So he
took his children, he took his estate, he took all these things
from him in one day. And then he comes back and the
devil said, he said, you let me touch his flesh and he'll
curse you. God said, okay, now, that was Christ our king ruling
all that said you can touch his flesh now. but you can't take
his life. Who's ruling who? Christ is ruling
the devil. Either your God is too weak and
the devil's ruling your God, or your God rules the devil.
Which one you want? I want the God who's God. That's
who I want. Well, look here, 2 Kings 6. There's a host of good angels
too. 2 Kings 6.15, Elisha, The king of Syria surrounded
Elisha with his army at Dothan. And verse 15 says, when a servant
of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host
come past the city, both with horses and chariots. There's
the king of Syria with all his host of horses and chariots all
around him. He walks out and sees all this
army around him. And his servant said to Elisha,
alas, my master, how shall we do? And Elisha answered, fear
not. for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them. Verse 17, and Elisha prayed and
said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes
of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Oh brethren,
there's more with us than there are with the enemy, all the time. All things were created by him,
and for him, visible and invisible, and he rules all things. He made
all things to bring glory to himself. That's what it means
when it says they were made by him and for him, by him and for
him. Everything created was created
to bring him glory, and it's all gonna bring him glory. That's
right. Christ created Lucifer as an
angel, and the devil's rebellion, for that rebellion, he cast him
out of heaven, Satan's beguiling Eve, Adam's fall, it was all
ruled by Christ to glorify Himself as the Savior who can save His
people and shall not fail. Every bit of it. Our Lord gave
many illustrations when He walked this earth. He would give illustrations. He created those things for the
purpose of illustrating Him. It wasn't a second thought that
he just picked up something and went, I think that illustrates.
No, he made it to illustrate him. Listen, he created a corn
of wheat to glorify him. He said, verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a corn of wheat, you take any kind of seed, it's
going to have to fall into the ground. It's going to have to
die, be broken. And he said, and except it dies
and is broken, it dies alone. It abideth alone, but if it dies
and is broken, it brings forth much fruit. That's Christ the
seed. He's called the holy seed. He's the seed of woman, was not
conceived in the womb by man. That's why he's holy from the
womb. He is the seed, and he came into this earth and laid
down his life and was broken in the place of his people, and
from him comes life. He said, I'm the vine, you're
the branches. All life comes from him. He created
rain and snow to glorify Him. Look at Isaiah 55, verse 10. Isaiah 55, 10. It shows how His
word goes forth by Him and is effectual to save. It gets the job accomplished
because Christ accomplishes the salvation, the quickening and
regenerating by His word. Isaiah 55, 10. He made the rain
and snow to illustrate it. He said, for as the rain cometh
down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth in bud, that it
may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereinto I send it. Am I worried, brethren,
that man's gonna destroy the climate? I'm not telling you
to litter, and I'm telling you to be, you know, do everything
you ought to do to not be polluters, but you're not gonna destroy
this climate. God made this climate to illustrate how God saves his
people, and he based his covenant on it. He said as long as there
are seasons, the winter and the summer and the spring and the
fall, he said, my covenant shall stand with my people. That's
the scripture, as long as it is. So that tells me it's going
to be held in store. But at the end, there's going
to be global warming on a devastating level. Peter said he's going
to consume everything. And the elements shall burn with
a fervent heat. He made gold. Gold's one of the
most lasting things that can withstand fire. Pure gold can
withstand fire. But that gold's going to melt
when he returns. That gold is a picture of that
precious faith he gives to his people that can't be destroyed
by him. He made everything to glorify
him. He created the multitude of the stars in the sky. When
you look up, you see all those stars in the sky. He created
these by him and for him so that one day he could take Abraham
out there and say, Abraham, look now toward heaven and try to
number the stars. If you're able to number them,
he said, so shall thy seed be. That's how many children I'm
gonna save, Abraham. He made the stars so he could
tell him that. And thou, Lord, in the beginning
has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the
works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest,
and they all shall act as the oldest of the garment, and as
a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed,
but thou art the same when thy years shall not fail. That's
our Savior. He rules the host of angels,
that Elisha's servants saw so that they minister to us who
Christ has made heirs of heaven. Hebrews 1.13, to which of the
angels did God ever say, sit at my right hand till I make
thine enemies thy footstool? He said, those angels, are they
not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them that
should be heirs of salvation? Christ created them for that
purpose. Now look back at our text, Colossians 1.17, and he's
ruling all things that he's created. Verse 17, he's before all things
and by him all things consist. Before means above all things,
ruling all things. By him all things consist. I
read in Hebrews 1.3, it said he's the brightness of his glory,
he's the expressiveness of his person and upholding all things
by the word of his power. That's what Christ is doing.
Now, isn't it wonderful to know that our Savior is the one spoken
of in Romans 8, 28, when it says, all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. He's working everything according
to His eternal purpose. They don't just, well, all things
happen for a reason. Oh, well, what will be, will
be. No, no. Christ is working everything
together for the good of those he's called and made to love
him, and he's doing it according to his purpose from eternity.
He declares the purpose right after that. For whom he did foreknow,
them he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,
and whom he predestinated, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? That means A to Z, salvation
is of the Lord. All fullness dwells in him. He
has the preeminence in all. When you read about Christ being
the firstborn as it is here in our text, think of him as being
king over all. Psalm 89, 27, I will make him
my firstborn higher than the kings of the earth. Revelation
19, 6, said he hath on him a vesture and on his thigh a name written.
King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ is upholding all things,
working them all together. So you know what Peter tells
us? He said it's not his will that any of us, his people, those
he chose for eternity, now he's not willing that any of us perish,
but that we all should be brought to repentance. And he said this,
so you account, you reckon, you charge, you impute, that God's
longsuffering shall result in the salvation of all his people. That's what Peter said. Lastly,
and here's why this is all such a blessing to us, because Christ
is preeminent in our hearts as our head and we his body. He's our head and we're his body. This is so of all his saints,
verse 18. and he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
Christ is the head, and his body is the church. What our head
did when he walked this earth, head means representative, in
Adam all died. In Christ, all who he represented
shall be made alive. If you want to understand Romans
5, when you read Romans 5, Read, all who Adam represented were
condemned. That's everybody, because we
all came from Adam. But all who Christ represented
were made righteous by Christ. Righteous by Christ. Look, he's
the beginning. I said to you this morning, God
never looked to his people. He always looked to Christ. He
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places,
according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. We've been in Christ from eternity.
God's people have been in Christ from eternity. God never writes
a new name in heaven. He wrote our names in the Lamb's
Book of Life from eternity. That's why He promised us eternal
life from eternity. And then Christ came forth and
what Christ did when he walked this earth, all his people were
in him. Do you understand what the scripture means, what Hebrews
means when it said, Levi paid tithes in Abraham because he
was in his loins. When Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek,
Levi paid tithes. Before God, he really paid tithes
in Abraham because he was in Abraham. Well, when Christ walked
this earth, all his people were in Christ. And what Christ did,
we did. My perfect obedience to God's
law is not by me. I can't fulfill it. I can't. My thoughts, I can't. Do you
ever have a bad dream, a wicked dream? That could condemn you
to hell. Christ is my righteousness before
God. Paul said, I see the Pharisees.
I bear them witness. They going about to establish
a righteousness. but they have not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of God. For Christ is. He's the righteousness
of God. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. The law says do. Do the whole
law and you shall live. Nobody ever did it and can ever
do it except for one. That's the Lord Jesus. And then
He went to the cross and took all the sin of all His people,
and God justly poured out judgment on Him in our place, and He satisfied
the justice of God. Everybody He died for, He justified
us. And for that reason, go to Galatians
4, I want you to see this. You don't become a son of God
when He sends you the Holy Spirit. He sent you the Holy Spirit because
you are a son of God. Galatians 4 verse 4, When the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. That means that we might
be given the adoption of sons. He said, and because you are
sons. He's talking to believers here,
true saints of God. Because you are sons, God has
sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying
Abba Father. You see that? You didn't become
a son of God when he sent the spirit and regenerated you. He
sent the spirit and regenerated because you are a son of God.
Why did he do it? Because Christ justified his
people and therefore each one that he justified must be given
a new heart and faith to trust him because he justified them
and God's just and he will not pour out justice a second time
on anybody Christ justified. Now if you object to this, I'll
tell you why you're objecting to it. You want man have the
glory. You're saying, my will, what
about my will? You're saying, what about my
faith? What about my works? What about my, my, my, me, me,
me? That's why you're saying it. God's gonna have to break that
heart and give you a new heart. Make you say, you are the sinner.
There is none righteous, no not one. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. When Paul was a believer, been
a long time in the faith, toward the end of his life, he said,
this is a faithful saving worthy of all acceptation. Jesus Christ
came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Not was, I am chief. God's gonna have to bring you
there to see what the head did, the body did. That's our righteousness. That's our holiness. Hebrews
10. I've got to show you this. Hebrews
10. I know if men can't boast in
their righteousness, they'll try to boast in their holiness.
All right, let's go to Hebrews 10. I'm trying to shut up all
the loopholes for you. Hebrews 10, verse 7. Then said Christ, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it's
written to me. That means this whole book's about Christ. I
come to do thy will, O God. He said in verse eight, he said,
sacrifice, offering, burnt offerings, offering for sin, thou wouldst
not, neither had pleasure therein, which are offered by the law,
they were all pitchers. He said, then said he, lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He takes away the first covenant,
that he may establish the second, the everlasting covenant of grace.
Now watch this, by the witch will, by Christ doing the will
of God for his people, we are sanctified, made holy, through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Look
down at verse 12. This man, after he had offered
one sacrifice, four sins forever, sat down, the work was finished,
he sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expect
until his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. And this
is what the Holy Ghost is a witness to us of. You see that in verse
15? The Holy Ghost comes and tells you this, teaches you this.
And that's the covenant he makes with you, a new covenant. He
says it's all done. And now you want to serve him.
Now you're willing to serve him. Now you do what you do because
you see it's all finished. He's accomplished your salvation.
And he tells you this when he calls you, He says, verse 17,
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. You can stop trying
to offer God your pitiful little sinful sacrifices to get God
to accept you. He won't. There are no more offerings
for his people. Christ perfected us forever. That's why He's the firstborn
from the dead. The grave couldn't hold Him. He conquered death.
He came out of that grave because He conquered death. He's the
firstborn from the dead. And when He arose, all His elect
arose in Him. Go with me to Ephesians chapter
1. Ephesians 1. I'm going to keep you just a
little longer, brethren. But I've got to show you this. Verse
19. He talks about the exceeding
greatness of His power. Ephesians 1.19. to us were to
believe according to the working of His mighty power, which He
wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him
at His own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality
and power and might and dominion and every name that's named,
not only in this world but also in that which is to come. See
that word above? That's the same word in our text
that's translated before. He's far above all principality,
power, might, dominion, every name that's named, not only in
this world but in that which is to come, and has put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him." His body won't be full until
he's called everyone his children. Because his body is the fullness
of him. And look, he's the one that filleth all in all. He fills
all in all his people. He fulfilled the law, he fulfilled
the prophets, he fills all in all his people. You hath he quickened
who were dead and trespasses in sin he did it you see that
now I want you to look down with me look down with me now at verse
5 Even when we were dead in sins he quickened us together with
Christ by grace are you saved? and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. He raised,
when Christ arose, all his people arose in him. And when he sat
down, we sat down in him. That's why he sent you the Holy
Spirit. That's why he called you. He called you because he
did that in ages to come. Think how many ages have passed
since Christ arose. And he's been calling his people
and showing the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. Why? What's God's purpose? That
in all things, Christ might have the preeminence. Things is added
by the translators. It means in all his people, Christ
shall have preeminence. Because it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell. Whatever you need, Christ
is the cure. Whatever you need, whatever you
need. Do you need to be accepted of
God? All fullness for acceptance with God is Christ Jesus. Are you struggling with your
sinful flesh? The only one that can strengthen you with might
by his mighty power is Christ. Go to him, go to him. Do you
want to see your fallen brother stand? You got a brother that's
fallen in sin, you want to see him stand? Paul said Christ is
the master who is able to make his servant stand, and he shall
make his servant stand. Go to Christ. Are you faced with
enemies of the gospel that are persecuting you and causing you
trouble? Give Christ all the preeminence
by fearing God our Savior rather than man. Trust him, he'll save
you. Do you want to see sinners saved?
Do you want to see more sinners saved? Give Christ all the preeminence
by bearing witness of Him. Don't let them sidetrack you
with all this little smoke rabbit trails they try to take you down.
You keep declaring Christ. Keep declaring He is the first
elect of God and God chose His people in Him. He's the perfect
righteousness for His people, the fulfillment of the law for
His people. He's the holiness of His people. And when He enters
in, He creates a new holy man in you so that you're fit, meet
for heaven, translated out of the kingdom of darkness into
His marvelous light, delivered from the kingdom of Satan into
the kingdom of God's dear Son, fit for heaven. God the Father's
purpose is that God's glory be seen in His Son, manifest in
His Son. We couldn't see God By faith
now he's made you to see the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man. For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. Go to Christ, believe Christ,
rest in Christ, declare Christ to sinners, depend upon Christ,
and wait upon Christ. His name shall be called Jesus. That means Savior. And the angel
said, why his name's Jesus? For he shall save His people from their sins. That's who He is. All preeminence
is His. You're gonna do it now by His
grace, or you will do it in glory. He's getting it all. Amen. Lord, thank You for this Word.
We pray You bless it. As You've promised, Your Word
will not return to You void. Lord, we pray You bless it. However
you've intended, we're a saver of life unto life in some and
a saver of death unto death in others. Lord, we pray you do
with the word as you will. We thank you, give you the praise
and the honor. Lord, make us to see you more
and more that we might give you the preeminence more and more.
Thank you, Father, for choosing Christ and choosing us in him.
In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, Brother Adam.