I suppose that when Brad was reading that, if you were able to get the heart of what Paul was saying to the Thessalonians, he saw his great love for them. He said he was to them as a nurse to the children, and he was as a father. And so you can see that the apostle is pleading with them, and he is identifying with them, and that what he suffered for them, he suffered for them, and even though he wasn't there with them in body, he was there with them in spirit. And it was in that recognition of being with them in spirit that he did all that he did with his joy, that he could bring the gospel to them.

Now there's many things that we could say about that chapter, chapter two, the end of chapter one of Colossians and the beginning of chapter two does that. And I wanna look at Colossians chapter one today again with you, because what the apostle does there in First Thessalonians chapter two, is he shows us, on the one hand, his own great love for the saints. These people in Thessalonica were in the region of Achaia, which was also where Corinthians and the Colossians were, and many of the other churches that Paul was sent to, and for which Paul labored and was imprisoned and suffered. More than any other apostle, the apostle Paul suffered, for the message that he brought. And you can imagine what it was like in those days.

The gospel was preached, and one of the things that they taught was that Christ had died and risen again, that Jesus was the Christ promised in the Old Testament. The Jews opposed that. They hated that message because it meant many things, not the least of which is that all that they did in their religion was unprofitable, was completely worthless. and they failed to honor Christ when he came, instead killed him. And so they continued by opposing the gospel and trying to kill Paul and the other believers then.

And so you can see that because of the labor of the apostle and the sufferings that the apostles all endured for the gospel's sake, that it brings a great weight to the truth that they preached. And that's the point I want to make through that. And it also shows the great love they had for those they brought it. If something is not true, why would you suffer for it? Why would you die for something that's false? If you made up a story about Christ dying and rising again, then what? Are you going to die for that?

No, but if this is something that no one knew about until God revealed it, and this was your life, then it's worth everything. And that's what it was for the apostles. It was worth everything because Christ had done this for them, and so it was worth serving Him and dying for Him. And it was worth everything for the church because Christ had sent them to the church and they loved the people for whom Christ died. and no cost was too high.

Now this had a great effect on the Thessalonians and the Colossians as the apostle hints at here in these words. And one of the things he says in Colossians chapter two in verse one is, I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh that their hearts, and here it is, that their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ.

So the apostle wants the Colossians to not only believe and receive the gospel, but to realize what would it cost for them to be saved and to have this gospel. If the cost is high, then it's dear. If the cost is high, then the cost to bring it indicates the truth of it. If the cost is high, then the one who brings it obviously has a great love for those to whom he lays his life down.

And that's what the apostle is doing here. All the believers in Colossians and Thessalonians and other places, and in our day today, have this common bond. And that bond is the gospel itself. We're knit together. and that knitting is God's work, the bond of that knitting is love, and the reason for it is Christ.

And I want you to appreciate these things because Paul wanted the saints to know his chains because not to be a burden to them, not to be a burden to them, but to bind them together in love and in assurance. That's what this is going to be about, but I want to I want to, as I often do, and I have to apologize for this in some sense, but I won't apologize really because it's important. I want to back up to verse 15 and read these verses here. This section of scripture is prominent because of the density and the immensity of the truth that is contained from verses 15 through 19.

And this is the basis of everything the apostle is saying to the Colossians and to us. One of the things you see in the book of Colossians and Romans and these other epistles that the Lord gave Paul the wisdom to write here is the genius, I don't know how else to say it, the genius of how God builds the foundation first and then on that foundation gives the instruction to his people.

The foundation is Christ. The foundation is his accomplished work. What God builds on that is that because of this, not to obtain something, not to achieve something, but on the basis of something accomplished. Not to make yourself, to bring yourself out of that pit, that darkness of Satan's realm. or to make yourself children of God, but because you are brought out and you have been made the children of God, on that basis then, he says in chapter three, for example, if you then be risen with Christ, then seek those things which are above.

In other words, live according to the truth. that has been revealed, which is true of you because you are in Christ and the evidence of that is faith in Christ. And so continue in the faith. That's what verse 23 of chapter one says. Continue in the faith. This perseverance is not to achieve something. It's not to bring a price by which we earn what we are looking forward to in expectation at the end. Perseverance is staying put. It's remaining where you are.

It's remaining in the truth revealed about what God has done, what God has accomplished. and where you are because of that. The relation you are in to God by Christ as children. God qualifying you and bringing you out of the kingdom of Satan and putting you in the kingdom of Christ. That's been done. God has done that. And faith in Christ is the evidence that God has done that for you. So continue in it. That's what verse 23 is saying. That's perseverance. It's staying. It's abiding. It's not departing. It's not going beyond, but staying in the doctrine of Christ. And we'll have more to say about that another time.

But today, I want to focus on verse 15. through 19, and I want you to see this as the foundation for everything that follows in this book. So when he says in chapter two, verse six, as you have received, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, he's referring back to this. Or when he says in chapter two, verse 10, you're complete in him, who's the head of all principality and power, this is what he's referring back to. And in chapter three, if you then be risen with Christ, then seek those things which are above where Christ sits, the right hand of God.

He's pointing them back to this foundation. And it's this foundation that's said in such compact and dense language here in these verses from 15 to 19 that we need to unpack it. We need to understand, and we understand it by what follows as well as what's said here explicitly. So let's look at this together. So this is like this, we've entered, when we hit verse 12 through 19, we've entered into the sunlight.

How it is in the morning, you wake up and the sun's beginning to shine and you go outside, it feels nice. But when the light is fully out, then you're standing in the bright sun. That is the brightness of the revelation. That's where we are here. And the one who the light is shining on is Christ. And the reason it's so bright is because he's so bright.

But the reason it's so significant is because what he is, he is not as a private individual, but as a representative for all of his people, as a surety, the one who stands for his people in order to make them sure to God and gives himself for them. Now this is what is being said here. Notice what he says in verse 15.

Having said, first, that God the Father has made us, qualified us, in verse 12, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, which means we're heirs now. We've been made heirs and we've been made holy by God the Father. who delivered us from the kingdom of darkness, brought us out, rescued us, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

He put us into that kingdom. Christ is the ruler of it. Christ reigns as king in this kingdom over his people, for his people, and in fact, in his people. And in verse 14, he shows us that the one who rules over us, The one who rules over us died in order to bring us out, in order to bring us to God. And this was through his blood. And this has purchased for us the forgiveness of our sins.

And now he's going to extol Christ. He's going to show who he is. He says in verse 15, he's the image of the invisible God, the image of the invisible God. This is a difficult phrase, because we don't know what that means. When we read it, we might conjure up something that's not true. But what he means here is image. In the Old Testament, especially, you saw people creating idols, and they called them images. Because they had these idols, and they said, this is what our God looks like. If you could see him, this is what he would look like.

What God is saying here is that His Son, the Mediator, Christ, who came and took our nature and was born of a woman and made under the law, He is the expression of God, the unseen and unknowable God. Christ is the revelation of God. the image of God. It doesn't mean that he is a copy or a representative of God, that we would see him as if we were looking upon God at a distance, that somehow behind him is the true God. That's not what it means here. It means that he's the one who makes God known because He is God. He's God revealed in His human nature. This is, look at verse nine of chapter two. Chapter two, verse nine says, in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. You see, now we understand that the image of God is the expression of God, the revelation of God in, what would we use? Would we use an object?

No. Because there's nothing on earth that's like God. Could we use a man? No, because man is a fallen, he can't be the image of God. He's a sinner. Could we use angels? No, they don't reflect God's glory. but he uses his son, because there's only one who could exactly, without any lack, without any deviation from the true, be the exact representation, not representation, the express image, the substance. This is God in our nature. So when we look upon him, now this has many, many significant implications for us.

The Bible even says, When he says he's the image of the invisible God, it's showing here that God is way beyond our ability to comprehend. Incomprehensible. He says this in other places in 1 Timothy chapter six, that he's not only the unseen God, but the unapproachable. He dwells in light, unapproachable.

And so the invisible God in this verse is showing us that God is transcended, he's above all, he's beyond all of our ability to understand. But the image here affirms that God is giving a revelation of himself in Christ. And so we go, well, what is that revelation of God in Christ? Well, this is the wonder of it all. This is the amazing part of the gospel. As we were singing the first song today, a prodigal, I wandered far.

I wasted my father's gifts on riotous living. And then I tried to live off the husks of my own self-righteousness. But God, in His mercy and His grace, He emptied me and He brought me back. I didn't know what to expect, but when I came back, what did the Father do? He fell on my neck and kissed me much, and then He sacrificed the lamb for me, and clothed me, and put a ring on my finger, see? So when we come to God and see Him in Christ, what do we see? Well, we see all that God is in Christ. There's nothing lacking. Nothing lacking. And what do we see in Christ?

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might be made rich. Who is God? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you see him? Oh yes. And what is it like? It's bright, it's glorious, it's the noonday sun of who God is in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what else? We see him in his humility, don't we?

That God, the one who was equal with God, he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and came in the likeness of man. And as a man, he obeyed in all things, even unto the death of the cross. And this is the righteousness of God. This is God making himself known in his son because his son is God. God in our nature does this, and we see His grace, we see His humility. There's no humility except His.

We can stoop and try to be humble, we'll never get to where we ought to be, but Christ is God and He stooped below us, taking our sins and bearing them and fulfilling all righteousness to God's law, to fulfill the law and to answer its demands. So here we see the invisible God, who cannot be known and is unapproachable, makes himself known in his self-sacrifice in his Son, for sinners.

Now that's incredible, isn't it? Who is the image of the invisible God. He's not a partial representation. He's not a defective express image. He's the exact image because he is God. He's not like God. He is God. And so he wants us to understand this. He's the exact expression of his person. He's the precise exact God because he is God in our nature.

And he comes to us and he says, come unto me. All you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Learn of me. I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest for your souls. You see, you see, God's God says these things in scripture. He says, this is a faithful saying. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

And so we know what? We know something about God. We know everything, the brightness of his glory in his son. Hebrews 1 verse 3 says, when Christ had by himself purged our sins, that's God. Taking our sins away, those offenses against God, God Himself initiated the reconciliation and performed it and brought us to Himself all in His Son. And when we see Him, what do we see?

We see the Lamb of God on the throne. If we don't know the Lamb, we don't know God. Until we know the Lamb, we won't know God and we'll run from Him. and we'll make him out to be a monster in our minds because we're sinners and we'll blame him for it and make ourselves the victims.

So God remains God. He's the image of the invisible God. God remains God and yet he comes to us with nothing undisclosed, nothing unknowable because in Christ he is the exact person of the Father. And so that's why he says these things, the radiance of God's glory. Now, this gives us great confidence, great assurance, and no speculation, because Christ is the image of the invisible God. Therefore, what do we know? Well, we don't have to guess, do we? What is God like? No guessing here. It's Christ, Christ crucified. We don't have to wonder about what's God's attitude towards me. We don't have to wonder about that. From our circumstances we say, well look, things are going bad, God must be mad at me, or this or that, and God must be this ogre, this austere, unapproachable, we can't have anything to do with him because he'll zap us. Is that what Christ is? Is that what he did? No, he says I came not to judge the world, I came to save the world. to save His people.

And so this is what we see here, is the Lord who is God comes to us in the person of His Son in our nature. We know what He's like because it's Christ. We don't have to wonder from our circumstances about whether He's disposed towards us or not. We can look at His word and see how He came. We don't have to fear a hidden God behind Christ because to see Christ is to see God's heart. And it's one thing, you know, you meet people, you talk to people, you might live with them your whole life and you never really know them, do you? You kind of infer what they are like, but when they disclose to you their very heart, then you know them. And that's what God has done. He's given us an open, full exposure of His own heart in the person of His Son.

And so we see here that the cross shows us God. The cross shows us God. Christ's grace shows us God. Christ's lowliness, His meekness shows God to us. His humility shows us God. His mercy, His patience, His holiness, His compassion towards sinners. He had compassion on sinners. And this is God. This is God in our nature. There is no other God yet to be revealed. Jesus is not one who is in a step in the revelation of God. He's the end of that revelation. The full consummate end of the revelation of God is in Christ.

And then he says here in Colossians 1, he's not only the image, but he's the firstborn of every creature. Now, firstborn can be very misunderstood. It doesn't mean that he is the one who was born first. as if he was created first. A lot of heresies have been developed which suggest that or claim that. That's not what it means here. In scripture, firstborn is a title of rank and inheritance. It shows his preeminence in his rank and the fact that everything is his. Okay?

So when, for example, Abraham had, he had Isaac, he had, before Isaac, he had Ishmael through Hagar, and then after Isaac, through another wife, after Sarah died, he had other children. But when it was all said and done, he gave everything to Isaac, because Isaac was his only promised son. And what he was showing is that God is giving everything to Christ and to all those who were the promised children. And so he's the heir of all things.

Jesus said in John 3.35, the father loveth the son and has given all things into his hand. And Jesus in John chapter 13 says, when he rose from supper, he knew the father had given all things into his hand. Then he lays aside his garments and he takes a bowl and a servant's cloth and he washes the disciples' feet. He had all things.

Hebrews 1, verse 2 says He's the heir of all things. Everything is His. And the inheritance, therefore, only flows to Him and from Him. It's only given to those who are in him. And that's why it's so significant that he says in verse 12 of chapter one, he said that he has made us meet or qualified us to be partakers of that inheritance with the saints in light. It's because we're in Christ.

And so the firstborn here in verse 12, 15 Colossians 1 15 the firstborn of every creature notice creature really its creation He's saying in creation Everything is Christ He's the ruler over everything and it all belongs to him. I And in order to make sure we understand that, verse 16 says, let me explain what this means, this firstborn.

By Him were all things created. So God the Father has given Him the work of creation to do in order that He might inherit creation and rule over all of creation. God the Father only works through his Son, he says, Son, you know my will, you know my heart, perform my will, and he does, precisely because it's in his heart. And so it says in verse 16, for by him, the one who is the image, who's the only one who reveals God, and who reveals him fully, and because he is God, and he is the firstborn of creation, that means he's the ruler over and the inheritor of it all, He explains that, for by him were all things created that are in heaven. He's going to enumerate them now. All of creation that are in earth, visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him.

And notice, here's the firstborn part, and for him. So he's the heir because it belongs to him in total, and because he rules over it, because the father was pleased to give it all to him, and because he's the creator of it all. And to be the creator of all things means he himself had to exist outside of time because he created time. It also means he has all power to bring creation into existence by his word and to uphold it. He says that in the first part of verse 17. He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. Not only are they upheld, but He does that upholding by His Word, by the commandments.

So there's gravity. Why is there gravity? Why do we stay on the earth and not fly? Why do the planets continue spinning? Why does the sun continue shining? Why are the seasons so predictable? Why do the ocean waves keep coming and going and coming and going endlessly?

Because Christ, by His word, commands it. He upholds it. The radio waves wiggle because He wills it and He commands it. It all consists, but also it consists because it's all connected to His purpose. Every point in creation, every point in the events of providence are all connected to His will and to His purpose to bring about what pleases Him. And so that's why it's emphasizing this. This is what it means to be the firstborn. To be the firstborn as the Creator.

Nothing was created apart from Him. And so what this is saying to the Colossians then, is you don't have to look for another intermediary to God, like angels, or you don't have to approach God by something that you do, because the Father Himself has transferred us out of the kingdom of Satan, underneath the rule of His Son, and the one who rules us is the Lamb of God who redeemed us, and has been accomplished. And now he illustrates to us the great person of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we would be convinced there's none higher, none before, none who has the inheritance to give it except him. And so this is very, very significant, isn't it?

This firstborn, this notion of this firstborn connects Christ to creation and the inheritance. He's the image of God, the firstborn of all creation. He's the one who reveals God and the one to whom everything belongs. And he prepares all of this for something even bigger. Something even bigger. Notice, he says, in verse 18, and he is the head, the one who is the creator, the head, the ruler, and the inheritor of all of creation. Notice what he says here, something even bigger, and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, here's the word again, the firstborn, only this time, not creation, but what?

From the dead. All right, that in all things he might have preeminence. Creation, providence, and what else? Redemption. You see, when he's the firstborn from the dead, it means that the one who is the creator, the one for whom all things were created, by whom all things were created, the one to whom all of creation belongs, has a people. that he had to redeem out of a fallen creation by his own blood, and that's why he's the firstborn from the dead. He's, as he's the ruler and the creator of the first creation, He's the Redeemer and the Creator of the new creation.

That's what this is talking about here. So these things go together here, don't they? We can see the build-up in what Paul is saying about the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just simply presenting to us accolades, which it is, and these are causes for the utmost awe and admiration of who He is. But he's doing this to protect his church. so that we would be not displaced from Christ, not be tempted to move away or beyond him, that we would be, that these words that follow that says, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, who is above all and the creator of all, not only the original creation, the physical creation, but the people of God who are the church were created as his new creation and joined to him in body. so that they're not just an entity outside of Him, but they're joined to Him, they're in Him, and He is in them.

Can you imagine this? It would not be imaginable unless God had revealed it. The One who is the Creator of all things is the Redeemer of sinners. The one against whom we had sinned and offended has undertaken to remove the offenses himself in the death of his son. And Christ, being the heart and the revelation of God, does it himself. This is amazing, isn't it?

God is in Christ. He was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, that world, that new world, that new creation that his church is. And therefore, there's nothing outside of Christ, is there? There's nothing more to be gained, nothing to go beyond. He's everything. God has fully revealed Himself in His Son. You already have God fully revealed. You have creation's heir. And His creation's heir and creator itself, the creator himself, is fully given. There's nothing to add. Nothing to add. Nowhere else to go. Nothing else to add.

And how this anchors us, doesn't it? How this assures us that the one who is creator of all things, that's just simply the canvas, the picture. that teaches what the meaning of the artist was in creation. To show us that this is all trying to lead up to and unfold to us the heart of God in His disposition, His love for, His redeeming grace for His people, the Church of God. He rules, just like He rules over creation, Christ rules over His people to save them from their sins.

I wasn't able to sleep last night very much, but I was laying there awake, and I was thankful that I couldn't. Because as I did, I realized, Lord, I'm in your hands. You're the one who's good. I'm nothing but sin. But you can save me from my sins, not just a little bit, but to the uttermost. And you do it by yourself. You do it by your blood. You sit in heaven having conquered my sins, having conquered death by going through death, by bearing my sins and rising again, you see. That's why he says the firstborn from the dead here.

Because the One who is the Creator, who spoke creation into existence and upholds it by His Word, could not, by His mere Word, accomplish our redemption. He had to do that through His own blood. He had to fulfill the law in all of its requirements to honor God and to honor his law in order for God to be honored.

Sometimes we think that God's law failed, but it didn't fail, did it? It didn't fail. It perfectly describes Christ, doesn't it? And he perfectly fulfilled it. And now we see God's law honored in his son, the image of the invisible God, the revelation of his heart. This is incredible. It's incredible, isn't it? He created a new humanity, a new humanity.

Look at this verse with me in Ephesians. Look at Ephesians chapter three. Ephesians chapter three. I want to read from verse, I'll read from verse eight. The apostle Paul is saying he was given the gospel as a minister of it. Listen to these words, unto me, This ministry was given to me, whom less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles, what?

The unsearchable riches of Christ. You see, this is the message we carry. We don't preach ourselves. We preach Christ and Him crucified, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and ourselves your servants for His sake. Verse 9, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of this mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hidden God who created all things by Christ Jesus.

We look at creation, you know, you go out, it's so pleasant. You stand by the seashore, you're in the forest, you smell the Oh, it just smells so good, it feels so fresh, the moist air and the solitude, the quiet, the beauty of it. And you think, is this what God is like? No, you can't see, you can see the power of God in creation, but you can't know God in creation. Pantheists, I think it's Pantheists, they think God is in creation. No, he created it. He's not in it. He's in his people. God is in his son.

The revelation of God is in Christ crucified. Anyway, he says, to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hidden God who created all things by Christ Jesus. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God. So the church now, God's new creation, shows God's wisdom.

Verse 11, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. This was not a secondary idea. This was God's eternal purpose, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence. How? By His faith, by the faith of Him, His faithfulness.

Wherefore, I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you, which is for your glory, which is your glory. For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. The Father, the Son, and everyone who belongs to Him are named in Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, verse 16, that He would grant you, notice, according to the riches of His glory, this is God's glory to do this, to be strengthened with all might by His Spirit in the inner man, Christ in you, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, not by works, but by looking to Him, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, His love towards us, and therefore our love to Him, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now, unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. Notice this next verse. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, what?

World without end. There's the world. There's the world. Who did Christ die for? For that world. What did he do when he died? He brought that world into existence. He created it. We are new creation in Christ Jesus, the work of God. We are God's work. He's the worker. He's the workman. We're the work. And he's interested in us because he gave us, he made us in his son. He gave us to his son. Christ created us. He's the creator, the ruler, the inheritor. especially of the church, the head of the church.

This is why Paul was willing to suffer. This is why Paul loved the gospel. And when Paul speaks to the church here in Colossians, you can hear the echo. of the words of Christ to the Apostle Paul of his own sufferings and his own love, his redeeming love in blood to have a people for himself. And the Apostle is telling the Colossians, don't go further. Why? Why would you do that? You have everything in him. Look to him only.

And this is the way we live, from beginning to the end of our lives in faith. And when we die, we will die in this faith. There won't be a huge transition from things we didn't know to things we know. There will be, but not in the truth. The truth we know now is the same truth, the eternal truth. It's all Christ. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word concerning your Son, in whom all of your glory is made known to us. in his humiliation, his stoop, his self-sacrifice, offering himself to God for our sins, to bring us to God, to make us children, to make us co-joint heirs with him in all that God has given him, because he's the head of the body, joined us to himself in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, and now in glory, help us to stand on these things and to live our life by faith in this hope, by the power of your Holy Spirit, We would not live as we used to be. But as we now are in Christ, risen with Him, set our affections on things above, Lord, cause us to know that our life is already given to us. Christ is our life and He is in glory. There's no doubt, no insecurities. We'll be there with Him. We are with Him. Thank you for the certainty of the Gospel, for the wisdom and the grace and the love of your heart revealed there. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.