of all the people in the world
and all the people, as Brother John
was saying, that drive by while we're here. And the Lord has
us here. To hear His Word. To study His Word. And to hear
about the One who is wonderful. Tonight's message is called,
Christ's Majestic Power. Christ's Majestic Power. Let's read Colossians 1, verses
15 to 17. Who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature? 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 is before
all things. And here's our text. And He is
before all things. And by Him all things consist. So we'll look at verse 17 tonight,
which tells us that Christ is before all things. And this ties
right into what we looked at last week too. Everything is
created by Him. He's before all things. He's
God. And this ties in with verse 15
as well. He's the image of the invisible
God. The express image of the invisible
God. The true God. The one God. He is true God of true God, as
the old timers say. I got that from an old time commentary. True God of true God. I love
that. That's what He is. He is the representation of God
who is invisible and is now seen in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the express image of God
in the flesh. Another good illustration of
that I found today was that of a kingly seal imprinted. He used
to imprint the representation of the king onto seals, wax seals. He is the express image of God,
the reflection of God. God incarnate in the flesh. Let's
look again at 16 and 17. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth. We looked at that last
week. Visible and invisible. Things we see and things we don't
see. They're all created by Him. Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. They're for Him. They're for
His glory. They manifest His glory. And then we see today, "...and
He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Christ is supreme over all creation. All creation. He is supreme over
all things. All things. In the Greek, everything
is defined this way. It's individually, each, every,
any, all, the whole, everything, all things, everything. And that's
for all things. That's for the phrase there,
all things. I put down everything, but it's
for all things. Where it says all things, He
is before all things. It's individually, each, and
every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything. He is
before everything. He's God. He's God. The Lord Jesus Christ is God
and He created all things. And we'll look at tonight that
He sustains. Not only did He create everything, but He sustains
everything. Everything gets kept by Him.
Even the very breath we breathe is given to us by Him. And remember, Paul here is battling
the Gnostic error which stated that there were powers in the
heavenlies. In verse 16, he is contrasting them with the supremacy
of Christ. We looked at that last week.
All powers on earth or in heaven are subject to Christ because
He created them all. Think of this, all powers are
subject to one power. All powers are subject to one
power. which rules the universe. They're all subject to Him. They're
all subject to Christ. He is the one who holds all power,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything, everyone is subject
to Him. He's a king. He's a supreme king. Scripture says He's the king
of kings. And that ties right in with that. Everything is subject
to Him. So tonight is the last verse
showing us the supremacy of Christ in creation. Here's a short outline. Look at verses 15-17. They show
us the supremacy of Christ over creation. Verse 18 shows us the
supremacy of Christ over the new creation. And in verses 19
to 23, it shows us the supremacy of Christ in the work of redemption.
So tonight is the last verse in the heading, what we would
say the supremacy of Christ over creation. Paul is here setting
before the Colossian believers the supremacy or the preeminence
of Christ before all things and in all things. Again, our text
says, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. He is supreme in creation. So
let us remember that in light of what we'll continue to look
at. Christ is the power sustaining all things. When it says all
things consist, it's His sustaining power. He sustains everything. And if Christ is the power that
sustains all things, then as Scripture declares, it's
the truth that He does, then remember too that this isn't
up for debate. Scripture is stating the facts. People like to debate, don't
they? They like to twist things and make them think, well, no,
it doesn't say that. Well, it says this. He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist. And that's not up for
debate. He's the Creator. That's not up for debate. Scripture
declares it. He's redeemed His people from
their sins. That's not up for debate. And He paid it all, right? We sing the song, Jesus paid
it all. He did it. He paid it all. Everything demanded
for our sins, for we who believe. So let's look at our text again.
And He is before all things. So we'll look at that. And He
is before all things. Notice that He is before all things and by
Him all things consist. And notice in verse 18 it's repeated
in He. He is the head of the body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things
He might have the preeminence. Turn, if you would, to Proverbs
8 and put your finger in John 8. Proverbs 8. He is before all things. He's God. He is God. Proverbs 8. He is before all things, therefore
He is forevermore eternal. He's God. He's eternal. And He is before all things.
This means, one commentator said this, this means He has a transcendent,
eternal pre-existence. He's God. He's God. He's before all things. Christ
is the true, eternal, supreme, exalted God of the Old Testament
and of the New. The Old Testament and of the
New. He's God in eternity. He always
was and He always is and He always will be. Look at Proverbs 8,
starting in verse 22. The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of His ways, before His works of old. I was set up
from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. And when
there were no depths, I was brought forth. And when there were no
fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled,
before the hills, was I brought forth. Well as yet, He had not
made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world. When He prepared the heavens,
I was there. When He set a compass upon the face of the depth. When
He established the clouds above. When He strengthened the fountains
of the deep. And this is speaking of Christ.
When He gave to the sea His decree that the water should not pass,
His commandment. Do you know the waters of the
sea are bound and go no further than God commands? Oh, it's marvelous. What power. when He appointed
the foundations of the earth. Then I was by Him, as one brought
up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before
Him, rejoicing in the habitable part of the earth, and my delights
were with the sons of men. Now therefore, hearken unto Me,
O ye children, for blessed are they that keep My ways." Remember
our text, right? He's before all things. Now turn
to John 8. We saw that the one spoken of
here dwells in eternity with God. He's God. Look at John 8
here. Jesus Christ is God. And He always
will be God. He has all power and none can
stay His hand. None. No one can say to him,
what are you doing? What doest thou? No one can say
that to God. And the Lord Jesus Christ identified
Himself as the Great I Am in John 8. Look at verses 53-58. Art thou greater than our father
Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Whom makest
thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself,
my honor is nothing. It is My Father that honoreth
Me, of whom ye say that He is your God. Now they said that
God was their God. But look what he says. Ye have
not known Him, but I know Him. Remember Proverbs? Remember what
we read in Proverbs? I know Him. Proverbs says, He
was daily His delights. But I know Him. And if I should
say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you." Oh,
he just called them right out on the carpet, didn't he? God
wasn't their father. They didn't worship God. If they
worshipped and loved God, they would have loved Christ. But
they hated Him. But I know Him and keep His saying.
Look at this, look at this, beloved. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. He just identified himself. I
am. He is the great I am. He is the
great I am. He's before all things, beloved,
as our text says in Colossians. He's before all things because
He's the great I am. He's God incarnate in the flesh. Oh, He's before all things, and
everything is subject to Him. Everything is subject to Him.
He has all power. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
And what comfort this brings to God's people. We're feeble.
We're needy. And the Almighty God keeps us. Keeps us. Oh, what comfort this brings
to sinners who Christ is their only hope. What comfort we have
in Christ. Our salvation. Our hope, our
justification is wrought out, and we are saved and kept by
the I Am, God, the great I Am. He is the very one who has redeemed
his people from their sins. And he did. Now think of this,
too. I heard an old preacher say this.
In order for something to be accomplished, right? Because
we believe that Christ accomplished salvation for us, right? We who
believe that He accomplished salvation. Well, in order for
Him to accomplish something, He must be sent, right? There must be a mission. He came
to save His people from their sins. He shall save. And He did it. He did it. He shall save His people from
their sins. He did it. And this is God who
did this. And He is before all things.
He is before all things. What comfort this gives us. Now
I ask you this. Is He not a mighty Savior? Is
God not a mighty Savior? Is He not able to save all who
come to Him, no matter what they've done? Is He not able to save
them? Of course He is. All who come to Him by faith,
come to Him and trust Him, He is able to save to the uttermost. He's a mighty Savior. Is He not
a great God? What love. And think of this, the one who
has all power in heaven and earth, and all powers are subject to
Him, this is who His people trust. And I ask you this, is this salvation
we have in Him, is it not great? Is it not a great salvation?
It's a mighty salvation. And it's only in Him. It's only
in Him. Oh, it's only in Him. He is the
Savior of sinners. Praise His mighty name. And the redeemed of the Lord
rejoice. We rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in Him,
because we know we can never save ourselves, but we rejoice
in the One who can save anyone who comes to Him. Anyone. And we know, we know from Scripture
that His elect will come to Him, and they're the only ones who
will come to Him. But I'm telling you, He came to save sinners,
and His elect are sinners. every single one of them. And
He saves His people from their sins. Oh, may we just praise
His name. May we praise His name. It's
wonderful. What a wonderful salvation we have in Christ. Paul is writing
here to the Colossian believers that Christ is sufficient. That
Christ is supreme. That He is the Creator. that
He's before all things. There's not a hierarchy like
the false teachers are saying. No, He is the only mediator between
God and man. There's no other one. There's
no other needed. God Himself became a man and
died on Calvary's cross for the sins of His people. He is supreme, beloved. He is
the creator, and He is the redeemer, and He is our ascended Lord.
He is seated at the right hand of the Father in majesty and
power. Majesty and power. I thought
about the elections as you were reading the psalm about Him.
He says, take one down and puts another up. That's exactly what
He does. That's exactly what he does.
He does whatever he pleases. Whatever he pleases. Take a look
at verses 16-20. I want to point something out
here. Look at this. Paul uses the word all here by
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The small word all. And all,
we know that the word all means all. There's nothing left out,
right? All. Look at how it's used in
verses 16-20, seven times. For by Him were all things created. There's nothing outside of that.
It's all. That are in heaven and that are
in earth. Visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions.
So all thrones, all dominions, all principalities, all powers. And look again. All things were
created by Him and for Him. Okay, so all things were created. By Him all things were created,
and all things were created by Him again. He stresses it again
in the latter part of verse 16. And then look at verse 17, our
verse. And He is before all things. Everything. Nothing left out.
He is before all things. And look at this, and by Him.
In case someone thinks, well, no, come on. God's not in charge
of everything. By Him, all things consist. He is absolutely, people, you
know, and I gotta give grace because I was there, I was there
and I didn't believe in the total sovereignty of God, but verses
like this prove the absolute sovereignty of God. That He is
absolutely in full control. By Him, all things consist. There's nothing that does not
consist. without Him allowing it to consist.
Oh, it's marvelous. And then look, and He is the
head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things... Look at this. We know Christ
is supreme, right? We know that Christ is to get
all the preeminence. And it says right here, that
in all things He might have the preeminence. That in all things
He might get all the glory. That He might get all the praise.
That He might get all the honor. All things. He is preeminent
over everything. What a great God we have. This is our Savior. We who have
been redeemed, this is our Savior. He has all power. He is supreme
over all things. Oh, what a mighty God. Look at
this. It continues. For in pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Nothing left
out. Oh, my. And Heaven made peace
through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself. He redeems every single one of
His sheep. Every single thing. Every one
of them. There's not one sheep that's
left behind. Not one. He is a great God. A great God. By Him I say whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. One commentator said
this, Paul, by using this word in tireless repetition, is showing
us that all the work of the Almighty God in creation and redemption,
and that it has been all done in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ alone. He has all the pre-eminence.
He is the supreme God. He's the only one true God. All fullness is in Christ. And
think of this. All the elect are complete in
Him. All of them. Every single one
of them. Now with this fresh in our minds,
let's move on to the latter part of this verse. It says, And by
Him all things consist. He holds all together. There is nothing that is not
held together in its existence by the immanent, sustaining providence
of Christ. He rules supreme. He holds all
things. And beloved, He has all power. Do you see how foolish the God
of free willism is when they say, God's done everything He
can do. That's a powerless God, isn't
it? They say God's done everything he can do, now the rest is up
to you. Not my God. He has all power, beloved. All
power. He is magnificent. He is majestic. He is supreme. He holds all things
in his hand. And he has all power. And this,
this is the one who redeemed his people from their sins. This is the one who became a
man and died on Calvary's cross. The one we read about who was
spit on. The one we read of who didn't say a word. The one who
died the sinner's substitute. This is the one. Do you see what
I mean when I said on Sunday he could have destroyed them
all with a word? But He must redeem His people
from their sins. He must. He must. And He did. He did. He holds all things. And by Him,
all things consist. Now here's a little historical
note about ancient Colossus. It was located in the Lycus Valley.
And it was an area where there were repeated earthquakes. There
were repeated earthquakes that occurred there. And in AD 60
or 61, there was an earthquake that hit the region that devastated
much of the city, laid it right out. And there was many, many
lives lost in the city. A lot of the city was destroyed. Now, most scholars believe that
this letter, this epistle was written around AD 60 when Paul
was in prison. And think of this too. You know,
when we look at this, think of what meaning this had to the
Colossian believers that were there, that were in that area,
that experienced those things. And by Him all things consist.
I talked to Vicki about this. She went through a few earthquakes
when she lived in California. And I said, Are you powerless
when there's an earthquake? Oh yeah. You hide. And think of it for where we
are here. Sometimes John was saying the
odd time you get a tornado or something. What do you do? You
seek shelter, don't you? On the coast, when a hurricane
comes flying through, they seek shelter. They're helpless. We're helpless before the storms
that come our way. So when an earthquake happens,
we realize, or a tornado, or a hurricane, or just a bad storm
even, we realize quickly as humans that we have no power. We have
no power. Oh, no power. And we flee for
refuge, don't we? Sinner, you have no power. We
who've been saved are sinners who just fled to the one who
has all power. all power and all might. He has it all. He
has it all. All of it. Oh, we need Christ so desperately. Our Lord Jesus Christ has all
power. And look at our text. It says, "...and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist." Turn, if you would,
to 1 Samuel 2. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. And then, put your finger in
Job 38. We're going to go there and spend quite a bit of time
there, but I want to read 1 Samuel 2. Christ is not only the Creator
or Founder, He is the Supporter and Upholder of all things, right? Whether they be visible or invisible,
they are created by Him and they are sustained by Him. Look at
2 Samuel here. Chapter 2, verses 7-9. The Lord maketh poor. 1 Samuel
2, verses 7-9. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He bringeth low and He lifteth
up. He raises up the poor out of
the dust and lifted up the beggar from the dunghill. Did He not
do that for His people? Is that not a picture of us? Oh, to set them among princes
and to make them inherit the throne of glory. Look at this.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set
the world upon them. What a great God. And this is
speaking of Christ. He will keep the feet of His
saints and the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength
shall no man prevail. So let us remember this as we
turn to Job 38. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. He controls and sustains all
things. The earth has its foundations
on which it's laid and its pillars by which it's supported, but
these are supported by no other power in providence of God. And it's the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the very One Turn with this Job 38. We're going to go
through several verses in here. This is just incredible. Look
at this. It says, then the Lord, verse 1, and the Lord answered
Job out of the whirlwind and said, and let's go to verse 4.
Here's some of the things the Lord's going to say to Job. Where
was thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? And remember this,
beloved. I'm going to read one more time
our text. And He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist. Let's keep that in mind as we
read this. Where was thou when I laid the foundation of the
earth? Declare if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof,
if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line
upon it? Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof,
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy? Then go to verse 8. We'll read
8-11. Or who shut up the sea with doors
when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment
thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and break up for
it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said hithero,
Thou shalt come no further. Hither shall thou come, but no
further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. Brother John,
you sailed on that ocean. I talked to Roy today. He came,
and him and I got talking about the ocean, how vast it is. And you get out there, he said,
you get out there, and you're just a little wee speck on this,
even though you're in a big boat, you're just a little wee speck
in this vast ocean. Christ the Redeemer is the one
who set the bounds of that ocean. And they shall go no further.
Oh, what a mighty God. Look at verses 22-24. Hast thou entered into the treasures
of the snow? Every snowflake is different,
they say. That's what they say, every snowflake, every individual
snowflake is different. They've looked at some of them
under electron microscopes, they say, and they say that everyone
is different. And they're beautiful. I've looked
at some of the pictures and they show the close-ups and they're
stunning. They're absolutely stunning. hast Thou entered into
the treasures of the snow? Or hast Thou seen the treasures
of the hail, which I reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war? By what way is the light
parted which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?" And then
go to verse 31-35. Canst Thou bind the sweet influences
of Pleiades? I looked that up. It's a constellation
in the sky. or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Meseroth
in his season? Or canst thou guide Arctus with
his sons? It's speaking of star clusters
and stars. Knowest thou the ordinances of
heaven? Canst thou set the minion thereof
in the earth? Canst thou lift up thy voice
to the clouds that abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst
thou send lightnings that they may go and send thee? Here we
are. This is the God of the Bible
speaking. He is at no one's control, but He controls all things. He is the mighty God. The Lord
Jesus Christ has majestic power. This is why we say, He's mighty
to save. He's mighty to save. Oh, what
a great God. Turn, if you would, to Acts 17,
verse 28. And may we marvel As we looked at tonight, this
is the God of the Bible. This is not the God of a person's
imagination. This is the God of the Bible.
Now, people have a God of their imagination, and that's a God
who can't do what He wants to do. His hands are tied. That
is not the God of the Bible. Oh, He's majestic. He controls
all things, has all power. And it is none other than the
Lord Jesus Christ who came to save His people from their sins.
Look at this in Acts 17-28. And keep in mind our text. Oh, beloved, all things consist
of God and by the Word of His power. Look at this. For in Him
we live and move and have our being. It's certain also of your
own poets have said, for we are His offspring. In Him we live
and move and have our being. He sustains us. He keeps us. And turn with me, if you would,
to Hebrews 1. He upholds all things by the
Word of His power. all things by the word of His
power. He is the One. I'll read from verse 1 actually.
The verse is 3, but we'll read. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son,
The very one spoken of in our text in Colossians 1.17. Whom He hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also He made the worlds. We saw that in verse
16, didn't we? He created all things. Who being
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
look at this, and upholding all things. Do you remember our text? By Him all things consist, right? and upholding all things by the
word of His power." That's our God. The Lord Jesus Christ. Look at this. When He had by
Himself, by Himself, purged our sins. By Himself. There goes works. Gone. By Himself. By Himself. Purged our sins. Purged our sins. Beloved of God,
purged our sins. What a mighty God. What did He
do? sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. It is finished. The work of redemption, and God
raised him from the dead, right? He raised him from the dead.
Raised for our justification. And he sat down. The great high
priest sat down. In Israel, when the high priest
squirms up, they never sat down. There was no chair. But our king
sat down. It's finished. Redemption is
complete. And he did it, our text says
in Hebrews there, by himself. By himself. Do you see the difference
of the God who we preach here and the God who's being preached
in some churches out there? This is the God. This is the
Almighty, Majestic, Sovereign, Supreme God. And He is the very
One who saves His people from their sins. Oh, think of this
too. The heavens have their stability
and their continuance in Him. In Him. He sustains everything. The sun rises every single day,
right? At His command. And when it's all over, it'll
roll up like a scroll, won't it? At His command. At His command. The pillars of the earth are
held up by Him. And think of this, the elect of God are held
in His hand. See the folly when people say
a person who truly trusts in Christ can lose their salvation?
The very One who holds everything holds us, holds we who believe. By Himself you purge our sins
and by Himself you'll keep us. Oh, what a mighty God. What a
wonderful God. What a wonderful God. And because
the elect of God are in His hands, they will never perish. Never. Never perish. And think of this, too. By His
benevolent, majestic power, right? He has the rainfall on the just
and on the unjust, doesn't He? It's amazing. And by Him all
things consist. All the affairs, one commentator
said this, all the affairs of providence relating to all creatures
and all things visible and invisible are governed, directed, and managed
by Him. He is over everything. He is
before everything. And by Him all things consist. He is supremacy over all creation. Over all creation. All preeminence
is His. All supremacy is His. And do
you see now why He is worthy to receive all the praise? Why
He is worthy to receive all the glory? All the honor? All of it. Oh, before us tonight
in our text, we've seen Christ's majestic power. His majestic
power. If you're saved, praise His mighty
name. Just praise Him for His goodness
to you. Brother John, can you do a song for us tonight?