My subject this morning is the
preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And my text is taken
from Colossians chapter 1 verse 18. Now listen to the text. Jesus Christ is before all things. And by Jesus Christ all things
are made. And Jesus Christ is the head
of the body, the church. And that one true church of our
Lord Jesus Christ is made up of the elect of God. Every sheep,
every believer of every generation, from every tribe, tongue, people,
and nation on the earth are all one in Jesus Christ. As God formed
Eve, our mother Eve from the first Adam, So God formed the
church, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He formed him out
of the second Adam, our Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ is the firstborn,
the firstborn from the dead, that in all things Christ might
have the preeminence. Yes, Jesus Christ was made flesh
and dwelt among us. And God suffered for sin. God
in Christ suffered for sin to bring us to God. And Christ arose
from the dead to give us eternal life. And because He lives, we
shall live also. All of this is the will of God
and the purpose of God that in all things, in all things, Jesus
Christ might have the preeminence. In sonship, No one is a son like
the only begotten Son. In election, He, Christ, is God's
elect, and we are chosen in Him. In the covenant of grace, Jesus
Christ is the surety, the mediator, and the messenger of the covenant. And in redemption, He fought
it, He wrought it, and He bought it. And in eternal life, He quickeneth
whom he will. In death and resurrection our
Lord conquered death. He conquered death, hell, and
the grave, because he shall have all preeminence. One of the old
Puritans wrote this, The royal bath of mercy was drawn from
the veins of the Son of God, and sinners plunged beneath that
flood lose all their guilty stains. Lord, now indeed I find thy power
and thine alone can change the leper's spots and melt the heart
of stone. Nothing good have I, whereby
thy grace to claim. I wash my garments white in the
blood of Calvary's Lamb. Hear me now, hear me. Jesus Christ
is the head of the body. the church, Jesus Christ is the
first begotten of the dead. Why? That in all things he might
have the preeminence. What is this preeminence that
Christ has? Well, I'll tell you. First of
all, he has the preeminence in God's affection, in God's love. Lo, a voice from heaven saying,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Christ has
all preeminence in the Father's love. The Father in heaven loveth
the Son, and He has given all things into the hands of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And nothing, nothing is able
to separate His people from the love of God which is in Jesus
Christ our Lord. The Lord Jesus has all preeminence
in the Father's love. And then secondly, Jesus Christ
has all the preeminence in power and in authority. That's right.
He has all power. Listen to Matthew 28. Jesus came
and spake to the disciples, saying, All power, all authority is given
unto me in heaven and earth. You go, therefore, and preach
the gospel to every creature. In John 17, the Father said,
Thou hast given me power over all flesh, that I should give
eternal life to as many as Thou hast given me. And Hebrews 2
says, The Father hath put all things under the feet of Jesus
Christ. God the Father left nothing that
is not under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, what
is this preeminence? Christ Jesus has preeminence
in the Father's love, in the Father's power and authority,
and in the worship of God. When the Heavenly Father bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, the Heavenly Father said,
listen, listen, let all the angels of God worship Christ. Let all the angels of God worship
Christ. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is
the Lamb, John wrote in the book of Revelation. Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive all power, riches, wisdom, honor,
glory, and blessing. And every creature in heaven,
on earth, and under the earth heard I saying, honor and glory
be unto the Christ, the Lamb of God. And all fell down and
worshiped Jesus Christ, who lives forever." Here's the command. Listen to it. The Apostle John,
on the Isle of Patmos, fell down before the angel of God to worship
that angel. And the angel said, don't do
it. Don't do it. See that you do it not. Worship
God. Worship God. And then the angel
cried with a loud voice, Fear God. Give glory to God. For the hour is come of his judgment. So worship God that made the
heaven and the earth and the seas and the fountains of all
waters. Yes, Jesus Christ shall have,
does have, will have all preeminence. What's that second part? Well,
listen. Why? Why should the Lord Jesus
Christ have all this preeminence, authority and power? I'll tell
you. Listen to me now. Why should
the Lord Jesus Christ have all power all preeminence in all
things. Number one, because it pleased
the Father. Because it pleased the Father. The scripture says, for it pleased
the Father that in Christ should all fullness, power, authority,
worship dwell in Christ. Philippians 2 declares, God Almighty
hath highly exalted Jesus Christ, and given him a name above every
name, that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God Almighty. Christ shall have all preeminence,
because it pleased the Father. And Christ shall have all preeminence
because He created the world. He bought the world. He redeemed
it with His own blood. Listen to what the Heavenly Father
said. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. God hath visited and
redeemed His people from their sins. Galatians 3. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. being made a curse for us. Listen
to John in Revelation, O Lord, thou art worthy, thou art worthy,
O Lord, for thou was slain. Thou hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, and people on the earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ shall have,
should have, will have all preeminence, for by himself He purged our
sins. He walked the winepress alone. He took on Him the forces of
evil. He took on Him the wrath of God. He took on Him all our sins and
they're paid for, paid for by His precious blood. One of the
old Puritans, one of these old writers who wrote years and years
and years ago said this, the banquet of mercy the banquet
of mercy is prepared and served by one host, and that is the
Lord of mercy, the Lord of grace, the Lord of goodness, the Lord
of salvation. And then he said this, the royal
bath of mercy, the blood of cleansing was drawn from the veins of the
Son of God. No blood of martyrs, no blood
of prophets, No blood of noble confessors has entered that serm,
that stream, that stream. What can wash away my sins? Nothing,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon, this
I see. What? Nothing, nothing but the
blood of Jesus. And for my cleansing, this is
all my plea, nothing but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In closing, this message on the
preeminence of Jesus Christ, I ask this question of you listening
to my voice. Have you bowed to Christ? Does
the Lord Jesus Christ have all preeminence in your heart? Answer that question. I can tell
you this. A person who loves the Lord Jesus
is overwhelmed by the grace of his Lord. Oh, the grace, the
love, the mercy that God has given us to redeem us in our
Lord Jesus Christ. He redeemed our souls by the
blood of Christ. A person who loves Christ is
not only overwhelmed by the grace of his Lord, but he's overwhelmed
by the greatness the wisdom and the power of our Lord. Our Lord
was made flesh and dwelt among us. Our Lord obeyed the Father
in all things for us. He took our sins in His body
on the tree and paid all the debt we owed. He arose from the
grave, the firstborn of the dead, and He now sits at the right
hand of the Father on high interceding for us. A person who loves the
Lord Jesus is overwhelmed by His grace, overwhelmed by His
greatness, and overwhelmed by the certainty, the certainty
of His love. My sheep, Christ said, hear my
voice. My sheep, follow me. And I give
them eternal life, and they shall never, they shall never perish. for they shall be one foe and
one shepherd. When I stand before the throne,
dressed in beauty not my own, when I see the Lord Jesus, the
Lord Jesus as thy art, when I love thee with an unsinning heart,
then, Lord, shall I fully know, and not till then How much I
owe. Chosen, not for good in me, Waken
up from wrath to plea, Hidden in the Saviour's side, By His
Spirit sanctified. Teach me, Lord, on earth to show
By my love how much I owe. Often I walk beneath the cloud,
Dark as midnight's gloomy shoud, But when fear is at its height,
my Savior comes, and all is light. Blessed Savior, help me to show,
help me to show on this earth how much I owe the preeminence
of Christ. Join us next Lord's Day at this
same time. Until then, may God bless you,
everyone.