Colossians is where we are today, Colossians chapter 1. If you don't know what these words mean, magnum opus, that's what comes to my mind when I read these verses we're about to read in Colossians chapter 1. This is the great work, the great revelation, this is the epitome, the climax, the highest point that is reached, I think, in the message that God gives, the revelation God gives to the Church, specifically the Church at Colossians, but to us also, because it's for our sake, to correct the errors that the Church was experiencing.

They were being attacked by many errors, mostly errors that mixed together man's work man's philosophy, and the mysticism that arises from the idolatrous imaginations. So the Apostle Paul is writing to the Colossians, and he's writing to address the errors that were they were being attacked with, errors that combined man's works with man's philosophies and man's superstition about angels. All these things were mingled together, coming from different voices.

And as the Apostle Paul does in all of his epistles, he corrects the error with the same message. And that message is the Lord Jesus Christ. Because if you see Him, if we see the Lord Jesus Christ with the eyes of God-given understanding, then the errors will melt away and the truth will shine brightly in Him. But until that happens, then we're easily like a mist in the darkness. We're easily distracted and deceived and led into all kinds of false notions of God. And the message of Scripture is that God is known in His Son. And this is really what we're going to be looking at today.

I've entitled this message, Christ Preeminent. Another place in the book of Colossians, it says in chapter 3, verse 11, Christ is all. And this is the theme of Colossians. And that is the correction. That is the way to correct error.

I was talking to some people who came to our house yesterday. and they had a denomination, and they referred to other denominations, and they referred to people in history, and I said, none of that matters. What do you think of Christ? That's what matters. And so I asked them, what do you think? How will you address, how will you answer Jesus Christ when you stand before Him and He asks you to give an account of yourself to Him as the judge? How will you answer? That's what matters. What do you think of Christ? It doesn't matter what denomination you belong to or whether you follow this or that politician or this or that commentary. None of that matters. It really only matters what God has said concerning His Son. And that's what the Apostle Paul is doing in Colossians.

And what we see here is that in verse 12 of chapter 1, he directs us to give thanks to God the Father. And he does that because God the Father has made us able to take part of His inheritance. His inheritance among all the saints in light. And how did God the Father do that? Well, He adopted us to be His children. I'm going to turn this off. He adopted us as His children. He put us among the children before the foundation of the world. And Ephesians chapter 1 says that. It says in Ephesians 1 verse 4, According as he hath chosen us in him, God the Father, chosen his people in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be, not because we were, but that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. And all of that is in Christ. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children. That was the adoption right there. When God wills something, it's done, it's established. He calls things which be not as though they were, and that makes it so. And so he predestinated us, he determined before that we would be his children. He put us, that's what adoption means, to be put among the children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.

So God the Father did that, and that's how he made us meet to be partakers through all that Christ did to make us his sons, children of adoption. We weren't natural sons of God. Only Christ is the natural son, the eternal son. We're children by adoption. through the Lord Jesus Christ.

So back in Colossians 1, he says, having delivered us from the power or the dominion, the rule of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom, the rule, the reign of his dear son, the son of his love. That's what the words dear mean here. It means the son of God's love. God has put us under the rule of the son of his love, the only one he loves. And he loves his people in him. All who are in his son are loved of God.

Now, in verse 14, Having told us about His Son, He now tells us about what He has done, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, our sins. And then in verse 15, He rises up to this level, and He's not going to leave the redemption. He's not going to leave the fact that the Son of God is the Son of God's love. He's not going to leave the fact that he has the rule over his people because look, look what it says in verse 18. He is the head of the body.

Now he said in verse 13 that he has translated us into the kingdom, the reign of his son, the son of his love. And here in verse 18 he says he's the head of the body. And so we can see he is continuing to lift up Christ to the highest position. To the highest place, the place of preeminence. Both in the fact that by God's grace he put us under his reign and rule, and also because he made him the head of the church, of the body of Christ.

And so the theme is the same, but he's using these verses here from 15 to 19, and even before and what follows, to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ before us in the truth of his person and of his work. And this is what guards us against all error. And this is not only what guards us against error, this is how we have life. God gives us the light of life. The light is the revelation of Christ and God known to us in Him. And that is life to us when God gives us that light.

Okay, so I want to look at these words here as it begins in verse 15. Last week I tried to show you that he starts with Christ as the image of the invisible God. And I want to talk more about that today, but he's emphasizing here that Christ is to his people what no one else could be. The revelation of God who is invisible. And so he emphasizes the role of Christ in his office as mediator, the one who goes between God and us. And then he says he's the firstborn of every creature, and last week I was trying to explain that by saying that he's The one who has preeminence, he comes before and has the highest place of dignity and honor. Everything is given to him. And because he's the firstborn in several ways, one is from the dead, he therefore gives life. He's the one who gives everything to his people.

Now, I want to go through these words, each one of them, and try to draw our attention to the magnificence the magnificence of what God is saying here, and the magnificence of who Christ is to us. This is really beyond, seeing this, I don't know how to express the thrill, it's exhilarating to see what God has determined to do in His Son. And the first thing I want to touch on here is the phrase, who is the image of the invisible God? Who is God?

I remember when I was a little boy in Sunday school, the teacher asked all of the boys there in our class, who is God? And my cousin came up with the explanation, well, he's an old man, he's in heaven, and, you know, he's some kind of, had some pictorial view of him. It's completely whatever we came up with in the imagination, right? Had nothing to do with who God is.

Do you know why it's hard for us to say who God is? You know why it's difficult for us to describe God? Because we can't. You know why it's not possible for us to describe God? Because God is indescribable.

Look at 1 Timothy chapter 1. In 1 Timothy chapter 1, And verse 17, he says this, and this is an expression, this is a praise that just leaps from Paul as he describes how the Lord saved him when he was a sinner. He obtained mercy, how it was a faithful saying that Christ came into the world to save sinners. And then he bursts out into praise and amazement when he says in verse 17, now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. So he tells us that God is the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.

Look at chapter 6 of 1 Timothy. Chapter 6, 1 Timothy 6, 14. He says, Paul says to Timothy, This is what he's emphasizing, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the all-powerful one. the King of kings, the Lord of lords, notice verse 16, who only have immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach to, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.

So I read those verses to show us God is invisible, God is in a light that no one can approach to. And this is his essence as God. And I read what people say, and they say, well, he's one in essence, or one in nature. And I'm trying to figure out, what does that even mean? What does it even mean to say what God's essence is? We don't know what his essence is. He's unapproachable. He's unknowable as God. And you know why? Because we're creatures, finite creatures, and He is infinite. And for God to be able to give a revelation of the infinite to the finite, would require God to not be God. You can't make the infinite finite in order for us to grasp Him.

So God is beyond our comprehension. He's infinite. And we're creatures. Besides that, we're fallen creatures. And so what was it that God did here? Well, He's immortal. He's invisible. He's from everlasting to everlasting. But there was a point where God did do something. He created everything. And there was a purpose behind that. And that's what Colossians is talking about. What is that purpose? And how did he do that?

It seemed good to God, the triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in their eternality, and power, and glory, and all that they are as God, the three in one, the one God with the three persons. It seemed good to God to reveal himself to the finite creatures that he would create, and specifically to men. Men and women. How would he do that? How would the infinite make himself known to the finite, the creatures? And why? It seemed good to him. It therefore became necessary because it was in his heart, his will to do this. How did he do that? Well, before he created anything, he determined to make himself known in a go-between. One chosen who would be the one who would embody the fullness of the Godhead in our nature. Now, that's still beyond our understanding. How can we say that there's one who can himself be all that God is in his infinite nature, and yet be also, be himself in our nature, which is finite? How can that be? Well, that's the mystery of the incarnation. Great is the mystery of godliness. It's without controversy, this is the great mystery. God was manifest in the flesh.

And so that one mediator was chosen by God. And this choice of him was an election. He speaks about it in Isaiah 53. I might elect whom I have chosen. And so, God, to make himself known according to his pleasure, to make himself known to creation, which had not yet been created, he decided to set up one, the mediator, the go-between, between the infinite, unknowable, unapproachable God who dwells in the light that no one can approach to, that in this one he would establish all of his person, his glory, and that it would be to Him that all of His people would look and see and know God Himself. And yet, they were still uncreated. And so this was God's eternal will to do this, and this was within the counsel of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And within this counsel, this eternally existing infinite God, it was determined that the Son would be the one who would be the mediator. And he was chosen to be the mediator. The one who would be man was chosen by God to embody God, the Son, in that nature, in his role as mediator, so that he would then be the one in whom all of God's glory would be seen.

But here we have now no creation yet. And so what does God do when He makes man on the earth? He creates things, water and dust and stars and light and everything. All of them just reflect the true image of God, which is Christ. And then He creates male and female. And what does He say when He creates man and woman? In the image of God, created He them. Male and female, created He them. And what he did then is he made man on the earth in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he couldn't be the image of God directly. What could he be? He could then be man. Adam was created in the image of Christ. So that in Romans 5.14 it says that he was a figure of him who was to come. A representation. a reflection of Christ who was to come. So that's the role that Adam had.

And in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3, this is an important text of scripture here, he says this in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he says, I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ. And he's not talking about, he's talking about specifically believing man. But it's true that Christ is the head of all things. But specifically, he's the head of every believer, every saint. Christ is the head of his people. And the head of the woman is man. And the head of Christ is God. Alright, so we can see in this short description here that Christ is the image of God. And as man now, as man, Christ is God and man. He occupies in his body the fullness of God dwells in him. And so he is the perfect image of God. And man is the image of Christ, or the head of man is Christ, and therefore man is to reflect Christ. And the woman is to reflect the man. Now that's true in our present condition, in earthly things. My wife was given to me by God, and by God's design, he delegated authority in the family to me. in order to reflect that Christ has the authority over his family. And within that family, the woman, which is the bride of Christ, the church, is subject to Christ. And he is the head of that woman, which my wife is just a picture of the church in that sense.

And so as long as this world goes on, there will always be this God-given physical relationship within the relationship between men and women, the husband and the wife in particular, where the man is going to be the head of the woman. Because that reflects the spiritual and the truth that Christ is the head of the church.

But in all those things, God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, is the head of Christ. And Christ, therefore, reflects perfectly that image of God. Can we know God? Only in His Son. Only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we see here in Scripture amazing things, don't we? We see that That what we know about God, we know in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, let's wind back now. Let's go back to the dawn of time. Before time began, Christ was chosen, set up by God as the wisdom of God. And he's called the Word of God because eternally he was God's wisdom and mind, and there was no existence of God without him. God has always been, and he's always been, and the Word, the eternal Word has always been. There was no time when he began to be. He was not originated. He always has been. Because God is not God without His mind, with His wisdom. And Christ is called the wisdom of God.

But also because it's only Christ who reveals God. And God has spoken to us in His Son. But here now we have Christ chosen and set aside in God's eternal everlasting covenant to be the one who would be the image of God. And so God created the world by him. And so we see, the first thing we see about God is what? His eternal power and Godhead. Right? Romans 1 says, through creation, everyone knows his eternal power and Godhead. And so Adam was created, and what did he know about God? Well, he knew his eternal power and Godhead.

What else? Well, he knew something about God's authority, because God said, of every tree, God is providing everything. Of everything I've made, you can freely eat, except this one. Just this one. Do not eat of that. If you do, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in that day that you eat, you shall surely die. Immediately we know both the authority of God, And the way that God prevents us from trying to live on the basis of our works, our knowledge of good and evil. And so he sets this down and then we know something then about the judgment of God, don't we? If you do, you'll die. So there was a condition set up. For life to continue, you have to obey. And if you fail to obey, you will die. That's judgment, that's justice.

But what else did we know at that point about the knowledge of God? Well, that was a lot. But then we fell in sin, and what happened? Our understanding was darkened. Even the knowledge of God's eternal power and Godhead, according to Romans 1, what did we do with it? We held it down, we suppressed it, we didn't like it. How dare God be in charge of me? How dare God demand of me? And so we became enemies of God in our mind, and by wicked works. And we were in dread of God, because we knew He held power over our life in judgment. And it was right for Him to perform that judgment, but we couldn't face that fact. And so we became alienated in our minds from God. and from Christ. We were without hope, without God, without Christ in the world, according to Ephesians chapter 2.

But that wasn't the end of it. Because God's purpose to reveal himself and his Son was not done. In fact, it was only begun. And that is why in Colossians 1, he talks about, in verse 14 and 13, he's now the son of God's love. We're under the reign of the son of God's love. Therefore, we're under the love of God in Christ. And we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through his blood.

And now this expands, this explodes to us the glories of God. Because here in this, what we see is that God not only had a purpose to reveal himself in his son, but he did so in a way that would fully reveal God in such that his power and his wisdom would be set forth in the brightest possible display so that even the sin of his people against him would be something that he would overcome. And not just overcome in order to take the hit from it and then suffer loss and then recover, but actually designed that sin against him in order to make known his grace. and His love in that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the mediator between God and men, who was designated by God to be the epitome of His glory, that everything in creation was created by Him and for Him, God would set Him up in the highest place of honor and preeminence in all things, that this would mostly be seen in the fact that in Him God would be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

And this is phenomenal. that God and Moses' prayer in Exodus 32, for example, when he says, now if you destroy all these people, your enemies will say, he just couldn't fulfill his promise, he didn't see how bad they would be, he didn't know what they were going to do, and he didn't have the ability to restrain his wrath, or deal with them and be just, and yet keep them as his people, so he just wiped them out. But the Lord says, oh no, this is precisely what He intended to do. He was the Lamb slain before the foundations of the world. He was set up from everlasting in an everlasting covenant and it was a covenant made in His blood. I have given Him for a covenant for the people. Him, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so God put in him all of the glory. He gave him everything in John chapter 3, just a couple of verses to emphasize this. John chapter 3 and verse 35, he says this, the father loveth the son, the son of his love, and has given all things into his hand. Everything that belongs to the father is the son's to do with as he will. Do whatever you want with all that is mine. And he knows that he has entrusted it to the right one.

Who was there in heaven? The search was made that can open the seals of God's book and reveal what's in it. There was no one found. But then, the Lamb steps forward and He takes the book that was one found worthy. That's the Son.

And then in chapter 13 of John's Gospel, he says this in John 13 and verse 3. These things are wonderful. He says, Jesus, John 13 verse 3, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand, and that he was come from God and went to God, come into his descent and returned in his ascent and his glory, he rises from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel, and girded himself.

How did God reveal himself to his people? Well, eternal glory and power, sure. But how did he reveal himself in a way that would not not cause us this dread, but that would actually draw us out in our hearts, so that we would be so attracted to Him in this glory, that we would be compelled and drawn to Him, so that we could not live without Him.

He's preeminent to the Father, and God the Father has made Him preeminent to us. So compelling is the glory of Christ in His humility, that He stooped not only to take our nature to be the mediator to reveal His Father to us in His will, by His word, and in His glory, and in His work, but also that in that stoop He would become He would take on our nature and in that nature serve as a servant.

He would fulfill all of the obedience God required of us as the head of His church and shed His blood in order to fulfill that obedience and impute to us His righteousness and cleanse us from our sins by His blood that He would shed. And this is exploding now, isn't it? The glories of God are infinite in the stoop and in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinners.

Amazing grace, amazing grace. He's the image of the invisible God, isn't He? And we see that image so brightly in the Gospel that Jesus said when He was about to go to the cross, He says, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. He that has seen me has seen him that sent me."

Over and over again, he emphasizes that he came from God, he spoke only God's words, because he is God, but he came as the sun stooping in the humility, revealing the heart of God himself in his great stoop.

And let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and being found in fashion as a man, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." That's glory. That's the brightness of God's glory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So he's the image of the invisible God. And then he says in verse 15 of Colossians 1, He's the firstborn of every creature. And people think, well, firstborn, okay, so he had to be born at some point in order to be the firstborn, but that's not what he means by firstborn. He doesn't mean first as one who was created or was conceived and brought forth in birth. That's not what he means by this firstborn.

What he means is he occupies the place of preeminence just as in a home the firstborn occupies the place of preeminence. Indignity. In being given the whole inheritance of the father. Remember Abraham? His only begotten son, Isaac. He sent away Ishmael. And he gave everything to Isaac. He gave everything to Isaac. because he was his firstborn.

God the Father has given everything to his son because he holds the place of the highest dignity. And in fact, in Romans chapter 8 and verse 29, it says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to what? The image of his own dear son. So what we're seeing now is that not only is Christ the image of God, but as the bride of Christ, as the wife of Christ, we're united to Him, and we are made, we are conformed to His image.

To His image. Adam was made in the image of Christ. But the true image of Christ is not seen until it's seen in the church. And that's what he's talking about here. Now this image of Christ being the firstborn here, he's saying he was preeminent. He was in God's own will, in God's work, he was first. First. And last. In everything that God would do, His purposes, His work, in everything, Christ is the first and He's the last, from beginning to end. That's why the book could only be opened by Him. He's the first and He's the last. He's the firstborn.

In scripture, it says in Acts chapter 13 and Psalm chapter 2 verse 7, that He is the only begotten. Because he's the begotten, the first begotten from the dead. In Acts chapter 13, let me read that to you. In Acts 13 and verse 33. Paul is speaking there in a sermon, and he says, As concerning, verse 33, he says, God has fulfilled the same. the promises to the fathers, to us, their children, in that he has, notice, raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Alright, and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption. He said, on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

So here we see that Christ, and in Colossians chapter 1 verse 18, he says he's the firstborn from the dead. So Christ is the firstborn, and he highlights the fact that he's the firstborn from the dead, and this is the way he's identified. Now, this is the way he's identified. Not made, but identified as the eternal Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. How did God make him known as the only begotten son of God? He raised him from the dead. He's the firstborn from the dead, the first in resurrection.

In fact, Jesus said in John chapter 11, what? I am the resurrection and the life. So what he's saying is that no one is raised again from death Except Christ. Raise Him from death. Because He is the resurrection. And no one has life once they've been raised from death, unless it's His life. Because Christ is the life. And Christ is our life. And so we have no life. And God's eternal life is in His Son. There is no life except in His Son.

And so we see then that Christ being the firstborn means primarily that he's God's only begotten son and that this is demonstrated when he was raised from the dead so that he himself is the resurrection and the life. How did he become the resurrection and the life? He had to die, didn't he? He had to die for our sins. And he had to therefore, having died for our sins and made satisfaction, rise again. And this God did when he raised him from the dead. This is the exceeding power of God we read about in Ephesians 1.

So the firstborn means first in dignity, first in purpose, first in cause. Everything God would do, he did it through the firstborn. He did it through him, the firstborn. He gave him everything to do according to his will, because he was faithful to his father. As a son, as a son he was faithful. Not as a servant, but as a son he was faithful. Hebrews chapter 3.

Alright, back to Colossians 1 verse 16, he says, for by him By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, 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." Alright, so this is telling us that our mediator, The one who is the image of God is God and man, and in his eternal Godhood, his eternal power and Godhood, according to God's will, in the Godhead now, the Father's will, given to the Son to perform, Christ, the Son of God, the Mediator, creates everything. Now, what happens when you perform such an act? Everyone stands back and says, wow, look at what he did. No, wait. Look at the one who did it. The creator is always greater than his creation. The builder always has more honor than the house. And where does all the honor go to, therefore? The Lord Jesus Christ. And this is according to God's purpose. He says all things were created by him and for him. Because God is pleased to exalt His Son in everything.

Creation, first of all. And in creation, He creates His people. He actually created His own human nature. He couldn't. He couldn't be the mediator unless there was a man created. So in the Lord Jesus Christ, as God created all things, He's creating His own human nature that God had assigned Him to take on. And He would, in that nature, reveal the infinite eternal God. to us, not only in His power and Godhead, but in His redeeming work, His grace, His mercy, that the fact that He could overcome even the dreaded enemy of sin and Satan and all these things to His resplendent glory by answering all of His own perfections in the death of His Son.

And so the Lord Jesus Christ creates everything. He creates angels, He creates elect angels and fallen angels. He creates reprobate men and elect men and women and boys and girls. He creates everything. And He creates everything for the man, Adam. But that man was typical because everything was created for Christ. And Christ didn't create it because He needed it. But because he would give it to his people with himself as the mediator, he created it for himself, for the church.

And that's why, if you notice those words we read in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 22, he says this, God the Father has put all things under his feet. Christ now is supreme. Everything must report to Him. Just as Pharaoh told Joseph, I'm going to make you ruler over my own house and all the people in my kingdom. God the Father made Christ the ruler, the highest, the preeminent, sovereign over His people. The Son of His love was given by such great goodness to rule over us that when we see Him, In his love that gave himself for our sins, we say, my Lord, my God.

I don't know about you, but I grew up all my life wanting to say Jesus is Lord and really mean it. I couldn't, because I only dreaded God. I thought I had to produce something in order to make myself acceptable. And I could only hate a God like that. But when I learned that God did everything to His glory in my salvation, though I opposed my salvation and was His enemy in my mind and by wicked works, and yet He, to the praise of the glory of His grace, removed my sin to show His power and grace and glory in justifying an ungodly sinner like me, Then suddenly, the one who rules over me, being the son of God's love, like Thomas, seeing the prints of the nails and the spear in his hands and side, I realized, this is my Lord. This is my God.

And we're delighted, aren't we? We're in the kingdom, we're in the reign of the son of God's love. The one who redeemed us by his blood. Unto him who loved us and gave and washes from our sins in his own blood. Give him all the glory.

So here he says, God has put all things under his feet and we're glad. And gave him to be the head over all things to the church. God's purpose was to create the world in order to exalt His Son as the mediator and to make Himself known, but He did it for the people who would be the body of His Son. Again, our minds are blown by these things. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, in verse 12, it says, As the body is one, our bodies, we know this, right? And has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body. Notice the next words. So also is Christ.

Now what is he talking about here in this chapter? He's talking about the church, isn't he? And he's going to go through this comparison about the eye. The body can't just be an eye. Otherwise, how are you going to hear? And the body can't just be hearing. Otherwise, where are you going to see? And you can't just be a foot. Otherwise, you're not going to know anything.

Right? Moses was telling me the other day, he says, God has such a sense of humor. And I'm trying to think, where? Well, this is an example, isn't it? The way that he describes the body, our body as being one in order to Help us understand, because of our dull head, that this is very important. The body is one. There's not a body unless it has all of its parts. That's what he's saying here. And notice what he says, the body is one, so also is Christ.

Now we have a hard time with this. Jesus talked to Nicodemus, he says, the son of man is the only one who ascended up to heaven because he descended. And he's also in heaven. Standing here talking to Nicodemus, I'm in heaven, and I descended from heaven, I'm going to ascend up to heaven. And our minds, we just can't understand it. How can this be? How can he be in two places at once? One person, two natures. As God, he's everywhere present. As man, he was standing before Nicodemus.

Christ is one. One body. The head, that's Christ. The body are his members. And he says in the next verse, 1 Corinthians 12, by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. Now here we see how God has made us his children. By the Spirit of Christ, Christ indwells us. And that is the seed of God in us, making us his children.

But that seed, the Spirit of Christ, is given to us because Christ rose again, the resurrection and the life, and gave us his life, having overcome our sin and death. And now he has, by his Spirit, made us one with himself, one Christ, one body. And now we see this infinitely wonderful purpose of God to exalt his son to the church. To the church, he says in Ephesians. And then in verse, that other verse in Ephesians 1.23, he says that, let me read it to you. Ephesians 1.23, he says, Verse 22, He has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church.

This is why the Lord did this, putting Christ preeminent. Which is His body, the fullness, His body is the fullness of Him that fills all in all. Christ is one body, and Christ will be incomplete unless every member of His body is with Him in glory. He predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His dear Son. He gave us His Spirit. He joined us to Christ. He gave us what? The eyes of our understanding, faith in Christ. And faith is that breath and that mouth that drinks and eats from Christ, drawing our life from Him. And when we do that, we're taking from our creator, the one who created us because he rose from the dead and conquered death and gave us life and made us, joined us to himself in this eternal union now. And here we're breathing by faith and taking in and we're seeing him and we're living upon him and we're looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And so it was created for him, by him and for him.

And verse 17 of Colossians 1, He's before all things. He precedes everything in time, but He mostly precedes everything in purpose, and in honor, and in glory. All of God's purposes are in Him. And by Him all things consist. He couldn't be the mediator unless he gave, created the worlds. And he couldn't be our mediator unless in his eternal life he upheld all things, especially his people.

And verse 18, he's the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, Christ 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 fullness dwell. Everything you need is in Christ, from whom the head, everything, comes to us. Never look or ask or do anything for anything except you ask it from the Lord Jesus Christ. And then give thanks to the Father by Him. and say, I've seen the son, I've seen the father, all that Christ is, that's who the father is in him. It's beyond our ability really to capture.

I often do this at home, I walk around the house or outside, how great thou art, how great thou art. Oh, Lord, my God, Thou art very great. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your word. We wouldn't know these things if you didn't reveal it. And thank you that your word tells us about your son, whom you have determined to exalt to the very highest place, and now have exalted him to the very highest place as the God-man, our mediator, our head, the one we are joined to by Spirit and to know Him by faith and to live upon Him by faith. Help us, Lord, to live this life of faith upon Christ and realize this is an eternal purpose that will not fail. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. and everything that you have purposed, you've promised in Him, and has its fulfillment in Him, and because He's one with His people, all of His people will enjoy the fullness of all of the blessings and promises made sure to us in the everlasting covenant made in His blood.

Amazing grace, amazing grace, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.