I feel quite unequal to the task
of dealing with what I would like to deal with, with the Lord's
help. And I suppose I ought to feel that way every time I preach.
But here is our subject. Who is Jesus Christ? Now, what could possibly be more
important for us to consider than that? Who is Jesus Christ? As I considered this passage
of scripture and what it says of him, I am in awe of his person. who is the image of the invisible
God. He's so big and I'm so small. And when I read this passage
of scripture and this description of him, it made me afraid of
him. I hope it's the true fear of God, but it just, not only did it make me afraid
of him, it made me adore him. and worship him. And I'm utterly
amazed and humbled that I know this one of whom I'm speaking.
And what's even more amazing is that he knows me. That is amazing. Who is Jesus Christ? He was prophesied in Isaiah 9,
verse 6, unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He was the light in creation
stories spoken of before the light of the sun and moon that
come along on the fourth day. He's the light of which God said
light be and light was. He was the promised seed of woman
that would come and crush the serpent's head upon his birth. The heavenly host sang out glory
to God in the highest and on earth Peace, goodwill toward
men. I love to think of him growing
up in obscurity, working in a carpenter shop. God manifested in the flesh
and nobody even knew it. They couldn't see who he was,
even his brothers and sisters, they didn't get it. They didn't
know who he was. But oh, how his father delighted
in him as he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God
and men. He delighted his father, his
father. You think of the Lord, the first
30 years of his life, living in obscurity, the father beholding
his life and being well pleased with everything about him. and
him delighting in his father. 30 years in obscurity working
in a carpenter shop. And then after 30 years, he left
the carpenter shop and he began to preach. And he said things
that people had never heard before. Turn with me for a moment to
Luke chapter 4. This is the opening of his public ministry Verse 16, and he came to Nazareth
where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written. The spirit of the Lord
is upon me. because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of Jubilee. And he closed
the book and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto
them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bearing witness and wondered
at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said,
is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, you'll
surely say unto me this proverb, physician, heal thyself. Whatsoever
we've heard of done in Capernaum, do thou also in thy country?
And he said, verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in
his own country. But I tell you of a truth. Many
widows were in Israel in the days of Elias. When the heaven
was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was
throughout all the land, but unto none of them was Elias sent,
save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was
a widow. He passed by all those Israelites. And many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them
were cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the
synagogue, when they'd heard these things, were filled with
wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city and led him
into the brow of the hill, wherein their city was built, that they
might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst
of them, went his way. Now, along with his preaching,
he did things that only God could do. He controlled the weather. He controlled the animal kingdom. Fish, get in the net. They got
in the net. They did what he said. He brought matter into existence
that was not in the universe before. Demonstrating creative
power in making bread. Demons knew who he was. and trembled in his presence.
When we think of demons scares us, doesn't it? Demons were more afraid of him
than we are of them. He healed the sick. He gave sight
to the blind. And on at least three different
occasions, at least three times it's recorded, maybe he did it
more. He actually raised dead people. Dead people who had began
the process of decay, dying, graveyard dead. He gave them
life. He went about doing good. And
yet men hated him. He said, many good works have
I showed you from my father. For which of these do you stone
me? The Jews answered him, for a good work we stone thee not,
but for blasphemy, because of thou being a man, makest thou
thyself God. You see, it wasn't what he did
that people became so enraged by, but the claims he made concerning
himself. When the crowd cried out, Hosanna! Blessed be the king that cometh
in the name of the Lord. The Pharisee said, Master, rebuke
thy disciples. They shouldn't be saying things
like that. And he replied, if these should hold their peace,
the stones would immediately cry out. He was falsely accused, arrested,
and even then he let everybody know he's no victim in this.
They come to arrest him. He said, whom seek ye? They said,
Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am, and omnipotence
drove them backwards, and they fell to the ground. They were
made to know that he was in control of this situation. When he's
brought before Pilate, Pilate's scared to death of him. Pilate's
confused by him. He says, speakest thou not to
me? Don't you know that I have power
to release you, and I have power to crucify you? And the Lord
said, you could have no power at all over me. except it were
given thee from above. He had no power to release the
Lord Jesus Christ because that's what he came to do. He came to
die on the cross. Pilate was nothing more than
a pawn and he is nailed to a cross. I love to think of his words
as he's hanging there in agony that we don't know anything about.
Father, forgive them. And you know, when the Lord said
that he, he was talking about me. This wasn't some generic
prayer. He was praying for all of his
elect when he said, Father, forgive them. He said to his mother,
woman, behold thy son. And then he said to John, behold,
thy mother, you're to take care of her now. Then darkness covered
the land and he said, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken
me? And we know the answer to that
question because that's what I deserve. He took my place. He said, I thirst. He said to the thief, when the
thief said, Lord, remember me when you come back in your kingdom,
he said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. He said, it is finished. Who could describe what he must
have sounded like when he said that. And he said, Father, into
thy hands, I commend my spirit. And then he bowed his head, and
he's the only one to ever do this. He gave up the ghost. Death
couldn't take him until he gave it permission. When he died,
the earth quaked, graves were opened, and the veil in the temple
was rent from the top to the bottom. That veil of separation
was taken away. A lifeless body is taken down
from the cross and laid in a tomb. And three days later, he's raised from the dead. In that dark tomb, he opens his
eyes. He walks out and he showed himself
alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen
40 days. And after giving instructions
to his disciples, He was taken up and a cloud received him out
of their sight. I repeat, who is Jesus Christ? Well, back to our text in Colossians
chapter one, verse 15, who is the image of the invisible God? That's who he is. The writer
to the Hebrew says he's the one through whom God has spoken,
the one who is the brightness of God's glory, the express image
of his person, his substance, his essence. If you would take
a blow to show what in a, this is what this word is, the image.
If you would take a blow in something that the image, you took a blow
of God, what the image would be would be the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the image of God. God is spirit. God is invisible. Jesus Christ is the visible representation
of God. He's the sole representative
of the being and character of God. When it says he's the firstborn
of every creature, this is not a reference to a birth in time,
but a fact irrespective of time. He, a person, possesses every
attribute of pure Godhood. He is the image of the invisible
God. He's not like God. He is God. So much so that He said, He that
has seen me hath seen the Father. is Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature, for by him, verse 16, were all
things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible
and invisible. He's the creator. I love the
opening words of John's gospel. In the beginning was the word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. You know,
it's thrilling just to hear who He is. That's the Creator. All
things were created by Him, whether they be things visible, the earth,
everything we see, God created it. Christ created it. The heavens,
the stars, the moon, the vast expanse of the universe. He created
it all. He created life. He created things
invisible. Whether they be throne, seats
of authority. You know, whoever sits on a throne
is there because he put him there. Isn't that comforting? Every
position of authority that we know of, whether we're talking
about human authority, angelic authority, or demonic authority,
he is in control of. Dominions are lordships. He's
the Lord of lords, and he's the king of kings. Principalities,
the same word is translated beginning, John 1.1, in the beginning, and
it also means rule. He rules. He rules. He reigns. He's in absolute control. He's His own rule. Powers are
authority, freedom of action. He is behind all power. All things were created by Him
and for Him, for His own glory. You know, we know why He does
what He does. Everything God does, everything Christ does,
He does for His own glory. Any motive Other than that would
be beneath the dignity and the excellency and the glory of His
person. Now, if you and I do something
for our own glory, it's offensive, it's wrong. But for Him to do anything but
for His own glory, He's God. It must be that way. He's the
brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person. Look in verse 17. It says, He
is before all things. He's prior to, he's in front
of, he's superior to all things. Whatever there is, he is before
it. He's superior to it. He's better.
He's better. Don't you love that description?
The Hebrew, the writer of the Hebrews, how many times, 11,
12 times, Christ Jesus is better. Whatever you're talking about,
he is better. And by him, the scripture says
in verse 17, All things consist. All things are held together.
The writer of the Hebrew said he upholds all things by the
word of his power. You see, he's absolutely, immutably,
uncontestably, sovereign in control of all things whatsoever the
Lord pleased. That did he in earth, the seas,
and in all deep places. Now you just took a breath, didn't
you? You just took a breath. There's one reason why you took
that breath. He willed it. And when he wills for you to
stop breathing, that's when you stop breathing. He is in control
of all things by him. All things consist. Look in verse
18, who is Jesus Christ? He's the head of the body, the
church. Me and you, if we're believers,
we are the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's mysterious. That's glorious. It's something
that cannot possibly be understood. Just believe this is part of
the mystery of the gospel. You are the body of Christ and
members in particular. That's why every believer is
so special. If you're a believer, think of
this. You think, you think, God, what's special about me? Something
very special. You're part of the body of Christ. You're in
the body. What a blessed privilege to be
in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ dwells in you
by faith. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the house of Christ. And he is the head of the body. Now, what is the body without
the head? Can't even recognize it, can you? The head is the
identification of the body. The body is known by the head.
Now you cut my head off and there's all kinds of bodies that are
sitting. Nobody knows who it is. I'm known by my head. Christ Jesus is my head. The body obeys the head. The body takes all of its commandments
from the head. He's the head of the body. What a glorious thing our Lord
Jesus Christ is. It's glorious to be in the body,
but to have him as my head, that's my identification. That is why
I'm perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. He's my head.
That's how I'm in the body. He is the head of the body who
is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead. This one we're speaking of died. And to me, that is always such
a hard thing to grasp, how the God-man died. But he did. He actually died. When's the last time you buried
a loved one? Very difficult. Well, the God-man
died. just like they did, not just
like they did, because he didn't go through the process of decay
because of something he did. You see, the scripture says in
Hebrews 1 3, he by himself purged our sins. That's what he did. in dying for us. He made purgation
for our sins. He made purification for our
sins. He purged them away. That's why there is no purgatory.
The only purging that ever took place is on the cross of Christ
and he put away our sins by his death. He died and we know the
reason he died. The sins of God's people became
his sins and he put them away and he did something by his death. He is the head, the firstborn
from the dead, that look what it says next, that in all things,
he might have the preeminence. Now, to have the preeminence
means to be first, to be first. whom he did foreknow, the scripture
says, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he, the Lord Jesus Christ, might be the firstborn,
the preeminent one among many brethren. Now, the Lord Jesus
Christ, he has a preeminence with us, doesn't he? I mean,
I think of Lynn. Lynn loves me. I love Lynn. I'm thankful she's my wife. You
know, if she loves somebody, any of you men better than me,
we'd have a problem. However, she loves the Lord Jesus
Christ better than she loves me, and I'm glad she does. I wouldn't want it to be any
other way. You see, here is where our fellowship
is. We all want the Lord Jesus Christ
to have the preeminence. Not only do we want it, we know
he does. And this is what we rejoice in. If you love Christ
better than you love me, he makes me love you. I admire you. In all things, he must have the
preeminence. And you think of In the Scriptures,
He has the preeminence. It's a hymn book. In every doctrine,
we believe He has the preeminence. You talk about election, we were
chosen in Him. You talk about justification,
we're justified by His righteousness. You talk about redemption, redeemed
by His blood. Everything in the Bible, He has
the preeminence. And with all of God's people,
we love Him having the preeminence. That's the way we want it. We
rejoice in that. In all things, he has the preeminence. Truly, the lamb is all the glory
of Emmanuel's lamb. Now look what it says in verse
19. Four, it pleased the father. This is
who he is. He's the one in whom it pleased
the father, that in him should all fullness dwell. You know, a natural man would
look at that passage of scripture and think, what in the world
does that mean? And we look at it, and we don't
know what all it means, but we know it's altogether glorious.
It pleased the Father. This is what pleased God. You
know, the scripture says in 1 Samuel 12 or 15, I can't remember which
chapter it is, but it says it pleased the Lord to make you
his people. You know the reason you're one of the people of God?
It pleased God to make you that way. The reason it's not found
in you, the reason it's not found in me, it's found in the good
pleasure of God. It pleased the Lord to make you
his people. And I think that scripture in
Isaiah 53.10, same word, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That's the language of scripture.
It please the Lord. That doesn't mean he got some
kind of sadistic pleasure in doing it. But all of his justice
was satisfied. All of his purposes were accomplished.
His full glory. You think of the cross. The cross,
I want to say this as readily as I know how, but the cross
is the most God-like thing God ever did. And it pleased God. God manifested
himself. the cross. And it pleased God
that in this one who died on the cross should all fullness
dwell. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Psalm chapter 40 verses 12 and
13. I realize that this is the Lord speaking as the sinner's
substitute when he says mine iniquities have gone over my
head so that I'm not able to look up. They're more than the
hairs of my head, therefore my heart fails me. That's the Lord
speaking as the substitute of his people, no doubt. Psalm 40
speaks of the word of Christ. He said, lo, I come in the volume
of the book that's written of me. I delight to do thy will,
O God. Same psalm. I tell you what, it's my prayer
too. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They're more than
the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased,
O Lord, to deliver me. Make haste, O Lord, to help me. And it pleads the Lord that in
him should all fullness dwell. Colossians 2.9, in him dwelleth. all the fullness of the Godhead
in a body. Now, this is among the many things
that we just believe but don't understand, but the Lord Jesus
Christ is whole. He's not made of parts. He's
not made part this and part that and part that and end up being
the whole. You know, He's part justice and part grace and part
love and part mercy and part any of His attributes. All of
His attributes, He's the whole thing. He's absolutely sovereign. You can't take it too far. He's
absolutely just. He owe justice and judgment of
the habitation of his throne. He's absolutely gracious. His
love is absolute. He can't love less. He can't
love more. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in his body. Fullness of holiness, fullness
of power, fullness of humility, meek and lowly in heart, fullness
of grace, of His fullness, the scripture said, don't you love
this scripture? Of His fullness have we all received. And grace
for grace. Do you know it takes grace to
receive grace? You won't even receive grace unless He gives
you the grace to receive it. And of His fullness have we all received. Now what a glorious description
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? This one I've been describing,
or that the Bible describes. These are not my words. These
are the words of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself for me. He's the one who said all that
the father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me. I will in no wise cast out. He's the one who said, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I'm meek and lowly in heart, and you'll find rest
for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden
is light. Who is he? I say with Thomas,
he's my Lord. And he's my God. He's my savior. He's my high king. He's my best
friend. You know, he's the only one who
really knows me. And he's the only one who really
knows you. He's the altogether lovely one.
And he's called the friend of publicans and sinners. This one who is so altogether
infinitely glorious, I believe one of his, you know,
he loves all his titles, no doubt. He loves all his names. But I
think one of his most special names is the friend of publicans
and sinners. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God,
manifest in the flesh. Let's pray together.