Great choice of songs. Brother John chose all those
songs according to the texts. Thank you, John. Well done, good
and faithful servant. Colossians 1, go back there with
me. Colossians chapter 1. Don't you
love this book? This book. Bible, that's what
it means. Don't you love this word, Colossians? Like Ephesians, like Galatians,
like Philippians, like Matthew. Don't you love it? Love it. If you're born of God, like these
Colossians, they heard the gospel, the word of truth, the grace
of God in truth. They heard the truth, and they
heard it. Boy, they fell in love with With
God, with His truth, with His salvation, with His Son. If you're
called by the gospel, if you've heard Christ's voice, that's
salvation. Christ said, My sheep hear My
voice. If you've heard His voice, you fall in love with His voice.
If you fall in love with a person, you fall in love with a person. You love their voice, don't you?
They call you. Someone you love calls you on
the phone. Someone you love, don't you love
to hear their voice? On the contrary, it's a telemarketer. Why? There's somebody you love,
hey, good to hear from you. And you
call on those you love, don't you? If you don't love them,
you don't call on them. Don't you love his gospel? Don't
you love his word? This was written by men, but
no, it was given by God. No scriptures of any personal,
private interpretation. given by God. This Colossians
is a letter from a man to a church that he loved, and they loved
him. If you love the message, you generally love the messenger. It's a letter from a man to a
people, but no, no, this is a letter from God to his people. This
is a letter from the Father to his children. This is a letter,
a word from the husband to his bride. He's been away. He's coming back. If you love
him and you miss him, speak, Lord. God's Word is a biography. You know that? The whole book's
a biography. About who? Jesus Christ. God's word is a history. It's history. About what? His story. About Christ and his
people. God's word is a picture book.
It's a family photo album. Do you have photo albums at home? Your family? God does too. It's all about his son. Picture book. God's word is a
letter of love. to his people. It's a letter
of instructions. It's a letter of instructions. He doesn't leave
his church there. It's a letter of instructions
to his family until he comes. And this letter is so full. It's
so full. We're still in chapter one. Full
of what? In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead. That's full of Christ. If you
love Christ, you'd love this letter. It's a love letter. Are
you with me? It's a salutation. He began,
as you know, to say, Paul, an apostle to the saints, to the
faithful brethren, in Christ, to those in Christ, at Colossae,
at Rocky Mountain. Those who know and believe God's
Son, who love His Son, who want to be found in Christ and want
to know Him, be found in Him. Is that you? This is to you.
You know what he says in his salutation? Praise to you. Peace
from God. You know, God is our Father.
God is the Father of His people. Christ is the only begotten,
and all His people are begotten by God in Him. A word of salutation. It's a word of thanks, verse
3 and 4. We give thanks to God for you. We heard of your faith
and your love. You have all the same. Do you
thank God for His church? You played, I love thy kingdom,
Lord. Didn't you? You played, I love
it. Love it. The church is one foundation.
Same thing. The church is one foundation.
It's Jesus Christ. For her my tears shall fall.
The kingdom of God. Who's that? Right here. Love to gather with the saints at
the river, with the sheep. Do you? Do you? Come on now,
do you? A word of thanks, a prayer. He prayed. He said, I pray, since
the day you heard of faith that God's given you in Christ, And
your love for the brethren, love for the truth, he said, I do
not cease to pray that you might be filled with the knowledge
of his will, all wisdom and understanding. You remember anything about that?
What's God's will? It's to gather up in one, all
things where? In Christ. You want to be gathered
in Christ? You'd like to be at that gathering?
You'd like to be at this gathering? Where Christ is free. I'll give
thanks. Give thanks for you. Be filled with that. Be filled
with that. The knowledge of that. The Lord
gathered me. The Lord gathered me. He didn't
leave me to myself. He gathered me to his people. Into his gathering. That you might walk worthy. How's
that? Like Christ. I want to walk like
Christ. You know those who you love and
admire? My oldest brother, he was my
hero. Since I was a little boy, I looked
up to him. He was a good friend of mine.
He did much for me. Taught me many things. Let me
sit on his lap, Stephen. I was about 12. Sit on his lap
and drive his 57 MG. Whoa! I loved that man. Taught me so many things. He
protected me. I had two older brothers in school,
so nobody touched me. He protected me. Loved him. He died. I love him
even more now. That's my Lord. That's my Lord. You love those that you admire. You want to walk like him. I
always wanted to be just like my older brother. Now I've got
an elder brother, Jesus Christ. And he said, I pray that God
might strengthen you with his glorious power who believe according
to that glorious power, and all patience. I want to patiently
wait on the Lord, don't you? I want to be long-suffering. The Lord is long-suffering with
me. I want to be long-suffering with others. I want to wait and
watch with joyfulness. That's a prayer, isn't it? I
murmur and complain too much. If we murmur and complain at
all, it's too much, isn't it? I want to be thankful, don't
you? Joyful, not just thankful. Joyful. The joy of the Lord.
Paul said it over and over again, didn't he? He said, in everything
get thanks. Rejoice every more, didn't he?
And again I say rejoice. Why? God's made you his people. And everything he does is for
your good. Everything. It's not one single
thing that's not for our good. And everything's undeserving.
We ought to be a joyful people. And then he said, giving thanks,
verse 12. He said it again. We need to
be so thankful. And God's people are, but not
thankful enough. Give him thanks. He's made us
qualified and meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in lights. Delivered us from darkness into
his marvelous light. Translated us. Came and fetched
us like Omer Pibishek. Brought us into his house. Sit
at his table like his son. My, my. What a blessing. The kingdom
of his dear son. Is he dear to you? in whom we have redemption, bought
with a price. The price is His precious blood. Forgiveness of sins. The Lord
has forgiven everything. Anybody got any past in here
that you would love to wipe out, to blot out? Anybody? Anything
in your past? Anything this morning? God has forgiven His people. What a blessing. So there's a
salutation and a giving of thanks and an exhortation and a declaration
of his salvation. Now is a description of Jesus
Christ. All right? If you love him, I'm
going to describe him to you. I'm going to try to describe
him to you right now. And you know, I could describe
my brother to you. You've never seen him. You haven't
met him. It wouldn't do any good, would it? But to those who know him and
love him. All right, look at verse fifteen.
Here's a description. He's the image of God, the invisible God. He's the firstborn
of every creature. He's the image of God. Turn to
Hebrews 1 with me, and you might want to mark that, and I'll flip
back and forth between them. He's the image of God. You know,
God is Spirit, whom no man hath seen nor can see. God is Spirit. God the Father is Spirit, OK? But God was manifest in the flesh. Yes, he was. God came to this
earth. Look at Hebrews 1. God, who at
sundry times in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, Hebrews 1, hath in these last days spoken to
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also
he made the world. Worlds. Who be in the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person. upholding all things by the word
of his power." And on and on he goes, a description of him. The express image. God took an
image. God took a body. Not just the
likeness of God, the express image of God. This is God in
a body. Right? A child is born. A virgin shall conceive. and
bear a son, and his name is Immanuel, being interpreted, God with them.
A child is born, the son is given, called his name what? Wonderful
Counselor. The mighty God. The Father. They're blessed with the Father.
You say, I don't understand. I don't either, but I believe
it. I believe Him. God was manifest
in the blood. God came to this earth. In the
Old Testament, All the Old Testament saints, the Jews, the Jewish
saints like Isaiah, Jeremiah, they were looking for God to
come to the earth, weren't they? The Holy One of Israel. God is
going to come down here. He'll save us. And Isaiah 25,
9 speaks of Christ's coming. And this mountain will swallow
up death and victory. And it says they will say when
He comes, this is our God. We've waited for Him. He'll save
us. He did! God came back. In the
beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word
was God. And what took place? The Word was made flesh. God became a man. Or that is, took on the likeness
of sinful flesh without sin. I don't understand. No, we don't.
No one can, but we believe. It says, that's why it says he's
the firstborn in our text, verse 15. He's the firstborn of every
creature. Turn to Proverbs 8 with me. Old
Hebrews. Old Hebrews. Proverbs chapter
8. Go back there. The firstborn. This is such a
mystery. Such a mystery. But God walks
this earth. The creator of this earth walked
upon this earth. It wasn't the first time. When
he came 2,000 years, it wasn't the first time he walked this
earth. Look at Proverbs 8, verse 22. And this is Christ. The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of his way, and before his works of old, I was set up
from everlasting, from the beginning. Wherever the earth was, when
there were no depths, I was brought forth. Does that mean that he, at some
point, took a body? Now, I'm speaking things that
I don't rightly understand. Do you understand? No. A body. Did he always dwell in
a body? I don't know. But he had a body,
even here, millenniums ago. Right? Look at verse 20. While he had not made the earth,
verse 27, he prepared the heavens. I was there. Verse 29, he gave
the sea his decree and appointed the foundation. Verse 30, I was
by him, brought up with him. I was daily his delight. Like the sun. But he's eternal. He never had a beginning. And look at this, verse 31, rejoicing
in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with
the sons of men. Do you remember we looked at
that? It's many messages on his pre-incarnate appearances, how
he came. When Adam and Eve sinned, the
voice of God came walking. Someone, the Lord, came walking
in the garden and talked to those first sinners. Who was that?
Jesus Christ. And on and on. So, here's the
description. He's the image of the invisible
God. The body, the only bodily manifestation of God. The firstborn
of every creature. The first body, as it were, of
every creature. Look back at our text now. Colossians
1, verse 16. By Him were all things created
in heaven and earth. Visible, invisible, whether they
be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by Him. God is our Creator, isn't He?
Well, it says here that Jesus Christ created all things. Who
created all things? God did. That means Christ is
God, doesn't it? I have six verses of Scripture
I want to share with you. And Paul keeps saying over and
over again, that by Him all things were created. Let me just share
this one with you, and you go back to Hebrews. Let me share
you this one in 1 Corinthians 8. It says here, 1 Corinthians
8, of Him, same thing, of Him are all things. We in Him, one
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things. and we by him. Hebrews 1, 2 says he, by whom
also he made the worlds. Look at chapter 2, Hebrews chapter
2, verse 10. It became him, Jesus Christ,
for whom are all things and by whom are all things. See that? Christ made everything. Everything. He's the creator.
Brothers and sisters, And all who listened to them, if Jesus
Christ is not God, he's a blasphemer. He let people worship him. All of his disciples fell at
his feet and worshiped him as God. And he said, You do well. You call me Lord and Master,
you do well. I am. I am. Thomas fell at his feet, and
with his mouth said, My Lord and my God. And Christ let him
worship Him. He's God. Not robbery to be equal
with God. No, no, no. Because He is. Look
at Hebrews 1. Oh, don't you love this? Let's
listen to what the Father says about it, shall we? Shall we? Oh, I love this. Don't you? Hebrews
1, look at verse 6. Now, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, Let all the angels
of God worship him. Verse 8, But unto the Son he
saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever a scepter of
righteousness, is a scepter of thy kingdom. God the Father said
of God the Son, Your God, equal with me. There's a story in the
Old Testament. Why am I saying all this? Because
it's true. Because that's who he is. Because
this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true
God. Who's that? That's God the Father
and God the Son. Jesus Christ whom he sent. If
he wasn't God, everything he said was a lie. If he wasn't
God, he didn't purge us from our sins. If he wasn't God, he
still, you'll find some ashes or bones somewhere in a tomb
somewhere. No, he's God. Let all the angels,
let everything that hath breath, Scripture says, worship him.
Why? Because he's God. Because he's God. Oh, man, the scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. God, our creator. God over all. Look at our text again. It says
in verse 16, oh, if you love him, you'll love this description.
All things were created by him, whether it be thrones, dominions,
principalities, or powers. All things were created by him
and for him. A servant. All things. What's that? Devils.
Good, evil, no matter what it is. Enemies, friends, everything
created by him. They all do his bidding. There's
nothing that's not under his absolute control and power. It's all according to his purpose.
And he worked at all things after the counsel of the purpose of
his own will. And nobody can stay his hand. Nobody's independent,
doing anything of himself. No, it's all of him, by him. He upholds all things by the
word of his power. All things. Are you with me?
Boy, this ought to put a smile on your face. There's nothing
and no one that Jesus Christ doesn't have under his thumb. Manipulate Do it His way. He's Lord. He's not a figurehead.
He is Lord. He is Lord. And it says in verse
16 that the things were created by Him and for Him. For Him. Now, stay with me. I haven't
been long. You know, I get tired of my own
voice. I really do. But I'm the preacher. And many of you have been listening
to me for years. I'm saying the same thing. You better be glad
I'm saying this. But please, I'm doing this for
God's glory and for your good. I'd rather be sitting where you're
sitting. I really would. But I enjoy this, and if God
gives me a glimpse of His Son, I love to tell people about it.
All things were created by Him and for Him. Everything is for
Him. Everything is for His glory.
Psalm 19 talks about Christ, the whole psalm. It says, God
created a tabernacle in the heaven for the Son. Who came as a strong
man, rejoiced to run a race. Who's that? Jesus Christ. God
made a universe. Why? To display His Son. That's why He made it all. Yes. Do you love that? God made all
things for His glory. A place to display His Son. Look at my Son. Angels, before
there were men. There were angels. Had my son. And they bowed and they worshiped
him and they served him. God was pleased with them. And
then one of them rose up and said, We want to reign. My son reigns. That's what this
is all about. That's what this globe is all
about. That's what this universe is all about. The Son. The Son. All things created for his pleasure. Listen to Revelation 4. I moved
my marker, didn't I? Revelation 4 says this. The people in glory are saying
this. Thou art worthy, O Lord, speaking
of Christ, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created
for his pleasure. And remember in Proverbs 8, he
says his delights were with the sons of men, the first sinners. Brother Martin, what should the
Lord have done with Adam and Eve? What should He have done
with those ungrateful creatures of them? Why would they do that? Why would they do that to such
love and such mercy? Why did we do that? But God,
rich in mercy for His great love, He sent His Son. He sent His
Son to go down there and talk to these sinners. Son, go down
there and show them. Show them. I'm going to cast
them out, but I'm going to bring them back in. Show them this
good news. Tell them the good news, son.
He said, I will. And he went down there. The Word
made flesh. Walked among them in the garden.
The voice, sinner, Adam. Eve, come here. Come. And they came. Look. He cut a lamb's throat. Now, it's not hopeless. There's hope that's in me. But go out into that world. But look to me. Call on me. I've
made you a promise. I won't cast you out forever.
His delights are with the sons of men. For His pleasure, He
pleased the Lord to make you His people. Why would he want
me? He just did. Nothing wantable about you. He just did. Oh, for his pleasure,
for his dominion. All things were created for his
dominion, for his rule. It's his kingdom, everything.
This world is the Lord's and the fullest thereof. Earth, inhabitants
thereof belong to him. Psalm 8, the whole psalm speaks
of him. Hebrews 2 quotes that song where
it says He made Him a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, but crowned with glory and honor. But He
put all things under His feet. We do not yet see all things
under His feet, but we're going to. But everything is under His
feet. Everything in this world, from
the highest ruler at government to the lowest germ, is under
the absolute control of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. for His dominion, for His work
of redemption. You know why He created this
world and everything else? For His work of redemption, to
show forth His greatest glory. God, His creation is glorious,
but His salvation is infinitely more glorious. This is His crowning
achievement. This is His crowning glory. God
made a world for Jesus Christ to come into it and die for sinners. His crowning achievement, His
greatest glory, He made this world to show forth the glory
of Jesus Christ crucified. He's called the Lamb slain before
the world began. See, that was the purpose of
God. That's the whole will and counsel and purpose of God. Oh, who has entered into these
things? The mind, the will, the purpose
of God, His work of redemption. And in the fullness of time,
before the world began, Christ was with the Father, and they
purposed this covenant of redemption in Christ, that Christ would
come down here for fallen people and save them by His own death. Galatians 4 said, In the fullness
of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman. Made under the
law to do what? To redeem them. He made a world for God, for
His Son to walk in it. He made a woman for His Son to
be born in her. He made trees for Him to hang
on one. He made the clouds to take Him
back to glory and bring Him back to earth. All things are created by Him
and for Him, for His remembrance. Everything is that human beings
might see clearly that the Son of God reigns and rules. There's
a sun that rises every day. Check that. It doesn't move. The sun doesn't move. It's always
in the same place all the time, isn't it? That's Jesus Christ. We're the ones that turn away
into darkness. He's the one that must turn us into his marvelous
light. That every human being sees that sun in the sky. He
created all things for his son, the son of righteousness, his
glory. He created the sea for him to walk on it. He created the wind. Worship my son. Worship my son. Right? The Spirit of God is the
wind. What's he saying? Worship my
son. There's a breath of life and
holy. You can't say that without rolling
up your sleeves. Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God,
the breath of God, with every breath of God, he saves. Worship. That's it. He created the wind. for his
glory. He created the sky for Christ
to rise in it and go back to glory and to come again for every
eye to see it. He created the clouds, as I said,
as the dust at his feet, as the chariot to take him up, the chariot
to bring him back, the trees, as I said, that he was to hang
on, the water The rocks? Created the rocks?
Why? Because He's the rock of ages.
He's the cleft of rock. He's the sure foundation. He's
the foundation stone. Everything in the universe hanging
on Him. For Him. It's all about Jesus. All of that. Look at the next
verse in our text. It says in verse 17, and he's
before all things, and by him all things consist. Before the
world? Yes. Above the world? Above everything
and everyone. Above everything. God's Son.
And he hath offered him. By him all things consist. Were made and are still controlled
and operated and live and move and have their being and their
purpose and their direction from Jesus Christ. Every single day. I've said that three times now.
Let me say it a fourth, shall I? Because what does that do? No fear. No fear. My Lord runs this place. He's
running me. He decides my breath. He gave
it to me. And He's going to decide what
to do with it. He's already decided. He upholds all things. And look
at this, verse 18. He's the head of the body. He's the head. He's the head
of all things. Of the body. He's the supreme
one. Chapter 2, verse 10 says you're
complete in him, which is the head of all principalities. What will happen if they cut
off your head? Well, you have no life. You have no life. You can't hear, you can't see,
you can't do anything. It all comes from your head. He's the
head. Christ is the head. The so-called church today is
a headless body. They run around like chickens
with their head cut off. Doesn't the next chapter say
that don't hold the head? Doesn't it, Jeanette? But verse
19 says they're not holding their head. Catholicism talks about
the body, the church, the church, the church, the church. The church
is nothing without the head. The head doesn't answer to the
church. The church answers to the head. The body answers to
the head. The body serves the head, doesn't it? The body. Every
part of our body gets everything from our head. Everything. Like I said, our life, our understanding,
our hearing, everything comes from the head. The body serves
the head. Whatever my head says, my hand
does. It's not independent. My foot
does. Right? From the head. Well, that's
the body of Christ. We serve Him. We take our orders
from Him. He said, I'm the vine, you're
the branches. Without me, you're just a dead
branch, fit for the burning. But in me, you'll bear fruit.
Fruit of what? Faith, love, joy, peace. In Him. The head. We serve the
head. And His body. We serve His body.
That's His true church. And it says here, He's the firstborn
from the dead. My, my, we need another Iowa. The firstborn from the dead.
He's the first begotten of every creature, first bodily image
of anything, anyone, the Son of God, eternal Son, the firstborn
from the dead. All things die. In Adam all died,
but in Christ, all made alive. I'll show you a mystery. Everybody's going to die. We
know that. But no, there's a mystery. In
Christ, we're made alive. We're going to live again. We're
going to rise out of these bodies. And when Christ comes to this
earth, how do we know there's going to be a resurrection? Because
Christ said, I'm the resurrection. I'm the life. He can't kill life.
He's life. We're in Him. I'm the resurrection.
How do we know he's God? He walked out of that grave.
Three days later, he said, before he died, he said, now nobody
takes my life from me. No man takes my life from me.
I lay it down on myself. It's my Father who has given
me this. I came down here to lay down my life as a ransom,
as a burnt offering for my people. I came to do it for my people,
to put away their sin, to endure hell for them, to go through
hell for them. But I won't be consumed. I won't stay dead. He will not allow me to suffer
corruption. In three days, I'm going to come
walking out proving everything I ever said was true. that in
me is life. If you believe me, you'll never
die. And he came walking out of that
grave three days later. God. And then they saw the clouds,
the angels, take him out up into the sky. You know what the disciples
said? He is, isn't he? He is. They may have had some doubts
before, but they don't now. He is God. He said, you men of
Israel? The angel said, don't stand here
gazing at the sky. The same Jesus whom you who came
shall so come in like manner. He's the head, he's the firstborn,
that in all things, all things, he might have the Oh, what a poor preacher. What a poor attempt. As good
as you can get. He has all three eminence. Eminence means station, rank,
and repute, or reputation. And it says of Christ, He had
all preeminence. He not only had this eminence,
this station, rank, and reputation as all before the world began,
but even when He came, He has all preeminence, He has all eminence. Do you know that they call some
of these red-robed devils, his cardinals. You know what they
call them? His eminence. That's what they
call them. Jesus Christ had all preeminence. Station, rank, and repute, because
Philippians 2 says, he made himself of no reputation, but took upon
him the form of servants, made in the likeness of sinful flesh,
without sin, and suffered death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore, God hath given him a name above every name. with all preeminence, that at
the name of Jesus Christ, every knee when you hear it should
bow, and every tongue should confess, He's the eminent one. He's the Lord. He's all and in
all. And next time, we're going to
try to talk about His fullness. Praise the Father in Him all
fullness. Nothing will fill you. Nothing
will fill you except Jesus Christ.