Every now and then, God is pleased
to send something that has a tremendous impression upon our lives, whether
it be some experience in his good providence or something
that he calls us to cross our minds and our hearts in hearing
the gospel, a message preached with unusual power to our own
hearts, or something we read. Several years ago, this has been
a long time ago now, before I came here, when Brother Dan Parks
was a missionary in the Virgin Islands, he picked up a little
booklet by a man who he knew had a warm place in my heart
by the name of Tobias Crisp. And very little, matter of fact,
I don't know of anything at that time that was in print by him.
It was a little booklet that had been just photocopied. called
Christ Alone Preeminent. And in that booklet, Crisp expounded
that which is in my text this evening, and it had a profound
effect on my heart and ministry. I want us to look together at
Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18. This passage I had read so many,
many, many times, I had never understood with any great detail
as I was given understanding of it through the help of Mr.
Crisp. And he, the Lord Jesus Christ,
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. Now the title of my message tonight,
if you're taking notes, is Christ Preeminent. Christ Preeminent. Oh God, help us to understand
what is implied in that statement. It was Paul's purpose in writing
this letter to the Colossians to both set forth and defend
the glorious person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ as the
incarnate God. As you read this first chapter,
it's just remarkable how he was inspired to give us description
after description of the Lord Jesus Christ and his great glory
as the God-man, our Savior. In verse 13, he calls the Lord
Jesus Christ the King, into whose kingdom we have been translated
by the new birth, telling us that God Almighty is that one
who has translated us, who has delivered us from the power of
darkness in which we walked by nature with delight, and has
now translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. The new birth,
faith in Christ, conversion, is nothing more or less than
a man being brought under the dominion of Jesus Christ the
King voluntarily. Faith in Christ is not just giving
assent to him, it is a bowing of our hearts to him willingly
as our Lord and King. In verse 14, he describes the
Lord Jesus Christ as the Redeemer. through whose blood we have redemption
and the forgiveness of all our sins. And notice in that 14th
verse, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. I called your attention to this
just a couple of weeks ago, but please note it. Redemption and
forgiveness is the same thing. Redemption and forgiveness is
the same thing. That is to say, those who are
redeemed are forgiven, no exceptions. Those who are forgiven are forgiven
because they have been redeemed. That verse alone, standing as
it does with its parallel passage in Ephesians chapter 1 verse
7, declares plainly the glorious gospel doctrine of particular
effectual redemption. If Jesus Christ has redeemed
all men without exception, all men without exception are forgiven. And of course that is not the
case. But Jesus Christ our Lord is that one in whom we for whom
he lived and died, in whom we, who are the objects of his mercy,
love, and grace, have, without question, possess, redemption
through his precious blood, which is the forgiveness of our sins.
Bless God, by his blood he put away our sins. Look on the passage
with me, verse 15 and verse 16. Here the apostle declares that
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is God incarnate, and the God who
is the creator of all things, who is the image of the invisible
God. Now there are many, many things
that could be said about that, and should be said about that,
and need to be said about that, but not much is said that's accurate. When the scripture speaks of
Him being the image of God, It is telling us that Jesus Christ
is that one in whom God is made known to men. He is that one
whom the Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit spoke of when
God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness. So that Adam, who is the first
man, was made in the image of Christ, who is the last man,
the Lord from heaven. both morally and physically and
symbolically as our covenant head and representative. By this
means God Almighty ordains from eternity to make himself known
to men through that man who comes as the representative man, our
substitute and savior. He is the firstborn of every
creature, for by him were all things created that are in heaven
and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created
by him, now get it, and for him. Everything was made by him who
is the firstborn of every creature. That simply means the beginning
of the creation of God. Not the first creature of God,
as many heretics would have us to believe, but rather he is
that one who is the one from whom creation sprang. As we're
told in Revelation 3.14, he is the beginning, the firstborn
of every creature, the beginning of the creation of God, that
one through whom everything comes into existence and for whom everything
is. This world and all the events
and affairs of this world were created, are ruled, and are disposed
of by God Almighty for Him. For Him. Secondarily, for his
people. Bobby read earlier in the office,
that passage in Psalm 57.2, God performs all things for me. He
does, only as I'm in him. Only because I'm in Christ. This
world was not made for James Jordan. It's made for God's Son. It was not made for our pleasure,
but for His pleasure. It was not made for our happiness,
but for His honor. It was not made for our whims,
but for His will, for His glory. Everything made for Him. That
includes you and me. Our wives, our husbands, our
sons, our daughters, everything. Read on, verse 17. Here the apostle
tells us that Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, the God-man who died
for us at Calvary, is the eternal, self-existent God who upholds
and rules all things in providence. He is before all things. And
by Him, all things consist. I'll say more about that in a
minute, Lord willing. Look at verse 18. He's the head of the
body, the church. The first one to be raised from
the dead to die no more. He's the head of the body, the
church. Now, speaking of this local church,
though in a sense that's so, it's talking about the whole
of God's elect. Not all churches together, certainly
not that. Not all professed Christians
together, but all who are truly God's people. They are his body.
They are his church. He's the head. Not me, not that
silly old man in Rome, but him who sits upon the throne of glory.
He's the head of the body. He's the head of the church.
Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things
he might have the preeminence. In verse 19. He is that one in
whom all the fullness of God and all the fullness of grace
permanently resides. You asked a little bit ago about
the meaning of the word Selah. I'd like to use it right there.
You need to stop and roll that over a while. That man who sits
upon the throne of glory, that man who lived as our representative,
that man who died as our substituted cavalry, that man who intercedes
for us, that man who rules the universe for us, is that one
in whom alone all the fullness of grace and all the fullness
of the triune God permanently resides. That's more than possibly to
think about understanding, much less explaining. But understand
this. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. All that God is, the incomprehensible
God. God who is spirit, God who is
omnipresent, God in all the incomprehensibility of his eternal being, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit is in that man who sits yonder in glory. Everything God is. Everything
you'll ever know of God, everything you'll ever see of God, everything
you'll ever hear of God is Him. That's Him. He is the one by
whom God makes Himself known to men. And you are complete
in Him. Complete. Complete. That glass is not completely
full. Because I still put my finger
in it. If it's full and I put my finger
in it, I've got to push something out. And if there's anything that
can be put in you, anything, that can be put in you, anything,
by you, by me, by anybody else, you've got to push Christ out. You understand that? You're complete
in Him. Complete. Have everything in
Him God Almighty can give to a man. Everything, everything, nothing
like it, nothing missing. Haven't experienced the joy of
it all yet, but I've got it all. I haven't seen it all yet, but
I've got it all. I haven't taken possession of it all yet by personal
experience, but I've got it all complete in Him. All right, look
at verse 20, Colossians 1 20. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one in whom and by whom we are reconciled to God. and having
made peace, not having provided it, having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things to himself,
everything. I do not yet see how. I do not
yet pretend to understand how. But I do understand and believe
with confidence that soon The Lord God Almighty is going to
demonstrate plainly how that all things that are, have been,
or shall hereafter be will be reconciled to His praise. Everything. Every heartache and
every joy. Every laughter and every tear.
Every event, every demon in hell, every man on the earth, every
thought that's been, every beast in the world, every angel in
heaven, everything shall bring forth glory to him. And Christ
is going to fix it so the whole world sees it. All right, read
on. By him I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. And you, O wonder of grace, that
were sometime alienated and enemies in your minds by
wicked works. That's where God found us, David.
On his part, the warfare had been taken care of a long time
ago. But we spend our lives hating God, enemies in our minds, by
wicked works. Yet now hath he reconciled. He persuaded you to give up the
battle. Not only to give up the battle,
but to kiss the king. Not only to lay down the weapons
of your warfare, but to embrace him whom you once hated with
all the joy of a loving heart, to embrace him. He's reconciled
us, how? In the body of His flesh through
death. And when He gets done, He's going
to present you. Me. and unblameable and unreprovable
in God's sight. I'm going to keep preaching that
until I get it right. And I suspect that means I'll
keep preaching it until I quit breathing. Holy in God's sight. Unblameable. I can't quit blaming myself for
what I am and what I do. That's even more painful than
what I have been and what I have done. I am reprovable in the sight of
men, any man. There's not a man walking who
cannot legitimately and rightfully stick his finger in my face and
reprove me. No man. But God Almighty will not and cannot, because
he has given his darling son for me, blame me for anything
or reprove me for anything. That's what it is to be redeemed.
That's what it is to be forgiven. That's what it is to be justified.
That's what it is to be sanctified. And in doing this, God fixed
it so that he who did it has the preeminence. Having declared
all these glorious truths about our Lord Jesus Christ, Our God
and our Savior, the Apostle Paul concludes by divine inspiration
that it is the purpose of God Almighty that Jesus Christ in
all things have the preeminence. Now what does that mean? Preeminence
can belong only to one person, to one thing, preeminence. Preeminent. One thing stands out. One thing
is lifted up. One thing is held before your
eye. One thing is the focus of attention. One thing is dominant.
One thing is central. You can't have 20 things preeminent.
You can't have two things preeminent. You can't have three things preeminent. Just one. Just one. Well, why
is that so important? God the Father, indeed God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, determined from
eternity that Jesus Christ as the God-man mediator surety and
substitute of his people our Savior he alone in his glorious
incarnate deity have preeminence in everything in everything it
must be stressed This universal preeminence, and I mean universal,
I mean universal. In the scriptures, in the purpose
of God, in the saving revelation of God, in the goodness and grace
of God, in the earth, in heaven above, in the earth beneath,
in hell beneath the earth, in everything, Jesus Christ has
this preeminence. But it is given to him not as
God the Son. That cannot be. That just cannot
be. He's God Almighty. As the Son,
He's one with the Father. One with the Spirit. And nothing
can be given to Him. He made all things, created all
things, possesses all things, upholds all things. He's the
owner of all things. But it was given to him, Bobby,
as our mediator, as our substitute. It was given to him because he
earned it as our covenant should have been before the world began,
and it was given to him when he came here and actually accomplished
what he said he'd come to do before the world began. He said,
Father, restore unto me the glory which I had with you before the
world was. Well, now, what's that? He lost his glory as God when
he came into the world? I don't know. No. He makes that claim. He is the
Lord God whom the angels worship even when he's in this world.
Well, what's he talking about? before the world was, as the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, as that one whom
the Father looked upon as having finished His work before ever
the work was begun, declaring the end from the beginning, who
looked upon us in Him and declared us to be justified, sanctified,
and glorified in Him, He gave Him the glory of preeminence
from eternity, as our covenant showed it, on the basis of the
fact He said, I'll go, I'll redeem them, I'll bring them home. Lo,
I and the children which Thou hast given Me, I've lost none
of them. And now the Savior has come, and he has actually fulfilled
his pledge, promise, and covenant grace. And he says, Father, give
me the glory. This glory, this preeminence
is given him as our covenant head in surety because of his
obedience to God as our covenant head in surety. He said, therefore
doth my Father love me because I lay down my life for the sheep.
That cannot have any reference at all to his divinity. The Father
loved him always because he's God. But the Father's love to
him, which he won by his obedience, is that love which he won as
our surety and won for us as our surety. So that he says,
thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. That means, Larry
Brown, if God Almighty looks on you and me and smiles on us
with favor, He loves us exactly as He loves our Mediator. For
the same reason. To the same degree. With the
same character. He loves us in Him. We're His
body. He's the head. And He's given
preeminence as our head. He's given preeminence as the
Savior of His body. This preeminence is given to
him as our mediator in surety, that one who would become incarnate
to save us, and that one who did become incarnate and saved
us. He is that one who is given preeminence
as the appointed heir of all things, and who now has taken
possession of all things. Christ has this preeminence now.
He had it from everlasting before the world began. Did you ever
wonder why when Adam sinned in the garden God didn't kill his
race? Why didn't God kill him? He said in the day ye eat thereof
you will surely die. Well why didn't he die? Well he died spiritually
but that's not what he said. That is not what he said. Somebody
tries to interpret it and say, well, that means die and thou
shalt die. That's bearable, but that's not what the text says.
It says you die. Why didn't he die? Because the
Lord God had already established the last Adam, in whose image
this first Adam was made. And in his wounds was this man
right here. And Adam couldn't possibly die
until you had been born of God's Spirit, because Christ already
stood as your Savior. Why doesn't God destroy this
world? Because there is yet a seed who shall serve him who has the
preeminence. And that's the reason God does
things as he does. The Lord Jesus had this preeminence
from everlasting and he shall have it to everlasting. In all
things, Jesus Christ is and must forever be preeminent because
his father decreed it. He said, Thou art my son. Sit thou at my right hand until
I make thy foes thy footstool. And the Lord Jesus Christ fully
deserves it. He said, Now, Father, I've finished
the work you gave me. Give me the glory which you promised
me before the world was. Give me power, dominion, authority,
the right to rule, govern, and dispose of all flesh for the
saving of your people. And he did. The Lord Jesus has
this preeminence rightfully forever and his saints desire it. Oh, nothing thrills my soul like
the thought of Christ's exaltation and glory in absolute preeminence. Listen to me, children of God.
He who undertook your calls before ever God calls the sun to shine
in the sky. He who bare your soul on his
heart for everlasting. He who came here to live as your
representative to establish for you perfect righteousness that
you could never establish. He who died bearing your sin
in his body on the cursed tree and put away your sin. He who
makes intercession for you at the right hand of the majesty
on high. He has preeminence. Why should I fear anybody or
anything? Why should I dread anything or
anyone? My Savior rules. He sits on the
throne. He has preeminence. He performs
all things for me. I guarantee you this. I guarantee
you. I don't have any question about
it. If my daughter, if I could falsely
convince her, if I could just falsely convince her That I have
absolute authority, and absolute power, and absolute dominion,
absolute control over every emotion, in every heart, and every power
there is in everything in hell. I'll guarantee you she wouldn't
bite her nails about anything. How come? Well, my daddy's in
charge. And I haven't even begun to love
her as he loves me. I haven't even begun to demonstrate
to her the faithfulness he's demonstrated to me. I haven't
even begun to testify to her the goodness he's testified to
me in experience. And he really does rule. He really
is in charge. He really is in control. So that
the Not a dog is going to bark against you unless he said bark.
That's right. That's what the book says, isn't
it? Not a dog. No evil thing shall happen to
you. How come? Because he who died
for me has preeminence. He sits on the throne. The Lord
Jesus has this preeminence because his father decreed it. He deserves
it. His saints desire it. and his
satisfaction demands it. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Not only did the Son of God die
to have us with him as his seed in glory, he died to take possession
and possession of the throne of God Almighty in human flesh. And he could not be satisfied
if he didn't have what he died to get. Therefore he sits. So many things portrayed in him
sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high. He sets. He sets because his work's done,
yes. He sets, however, with ease,
comfortable serenity, in the undisturbed peace of total
sovereignty. I'm talking about kings. He sets king in his holy hill
of Zion. He sets. Nothing bothers him. Nothing disturbs him. I sit and
try to act like I'm in control of things, but you'll see me
fidget. He doesn't fidget. You'll see
me tap my fingers and wring my hands. He doesn't tap his fingers
and wring his hands. He sets. Preeminent in glory. Well, Pastor, why stress this? I want you to know who He is,
and I want you to worship Him. You who are yet without faith,
oh, how I pray God will be pleased to grant you faith in Him. Oh, God will make you to see
Him. If ever you see Him, listen to me, if ever you see Him, you'll
trust Him. And just to the degree that we
see Him and look to Him, Lindsay, we trust Him. Just to that degree,
no more. And I want to stir up our hearts
continually to consecration to Him. Faith in Him. Confidence in Him. Our Savior is that one to whom
God has given absolute unqualified preeminence. Christ is preeminent. Make him ever preeminent, our
God, in our hearts, I pray. Amen.