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The deity of Jesus Christ… (2 things)
Spend time with Jesus and you bear good fruit – proving you are connected to Him!
This brings us to the 2nd section of the book of Colossians…
There were some false teachings that had snuck into the church…
Paul wrote to address these false teachings – correct the doctrine of the church…
1st – The deity of Jesus Christ – Colossians 1:15-23
2nd – The ministry of the Apostle Paul – Colossians 1:24-2:7
3rd – The false teachings in the church of Colossae – Colossians 2:8-23
1st – Jesus is the creator of all things… vs. 15-17 (3 things)
1st – The person of Jesus Christ… vs. 15
Jesus is the image/reflection of the invisible God…
God is invisible – it is not possible for us to see God and live…
Jesus is the reflection – a perfect representation of God who cannot be seen!
Hebrews 1:3 – “The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly.”
Not only is Jesus the ‘image’ of God – He IS God almighty!
The world is full of false faiths posing to be from God – but denying the Gospel…
They talk about a Jesus but they are cults – their Jesus is not THE Jesus of the Bible…
Mormons believe Jesus is a created being – not God – but the brother of satan…
Jehovah witnesses – believe Jesus is Michael the arch angel – He is not God…
Muslims teach that Jesus was a ‘good man’ – a prophet of God…
The Bible makes it VERY clear – God and Jesus are ONE!
John 10:30 – “The Father and I are one.”
John 14:9 – “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”
Titus 2:13 – “The glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…”
John 20:28 – “‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed.”
I John 5:20 – “Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life…”
Isaiah 9:6 – “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!”
There is only One God – Ephesians 4:6…
One of the great mysteries of our Faith – there is only One God – Deuteronomy 6:4…
Yet God exists in 3 distinct persons – God the Father / God the Son / God the Spirit…
The Bible makes no effort to explain how this is true – only that it is a fact!
What makes a religion a cult – rather than a denomination – Mormons / Iglesia…
Is there denial of this ‘key’ doctrine – rejecting the divinity of Jesus Christ!
2nd – The authority of Jesus Christ… vs. 16
Jesus is the firstborn over all creation…
The word ‘firstborn’ has caused a lot of confusion –suggests Jesus was created…
But the actual word is not referring to the ‘birth of Jesus’…
It is referring to the fact that Jesus is FIRST – has authority over all…
Paul is telling us that Jesus has authority over all of creation!
3rd – The power of Jesus Christ… vs. 17
All things were created by Jesus…
Jesus had the power IN Himself to create all things – in His own power!
In Genesis 1:3 God said – the Word – and the world was created…
Not just the world – but the stars / galaxies / the universe…
But not just the things we can see – Jesus also created the angels / heaven!
God created the world – THROUGH Jesus Christ…
John 1:3 – “Jesus created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make.”
Since Jesus Christ – was the one who created EVERYTHING…
Jesus was therefore not created – He is God Almighty!
All things were created FOR Jesus Christ…
God created us for an incredible purpose – we were created to know Him…
John 17:3 – “This is eternal life, that we may know Jesus!”
Yet many spend their lives in vain trying to fill their lives with worldly things…
But We were not created by God to eat / or to wear the latest fashions…
If we settle for just food / sleep / pleasure – we miss out on life’s true purpose…
We miss out on the abundant life God intended us to have in knowing Jesus!
Only Jesus can satisfy the desire of our heart – we will only be content in Him!
Jesus holds all things together…
The example of the atom – the building block of all matter…
If you hold two positively charged magnets together – they repel each other…
It takes a significant amount of force to keep them together…
Within every atom there are positive forces that should cause it to fall apart…
For instance if you had a tablespoon of positive charges set next to each other…
It would take 30k tons of weight to keep them from flying apart…
A nuclear explosion is allowing an atom to do what it naturally wants – fly apart!
The question becomes – what is holding everything together…
The answer – is science does not know – they call it ‘atomic glue’…
But what science does not know – the Bible answers for us…
Jesus literally holds the whole universe together – atom by atom!
If it were not for Jesus – the whole universe would just fall apart!
In fact one day – after the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ / Millennial reign – it will…
II Peter 3:12-13 – “On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
Often we strive to get things – that in the end will just end up burning away…
What we should be striving for – is growing closer to Jesus – that lasts forever…
Because just like with an atom – Jesus can keep us from coming ‘unglued’…
He is the only one who can keep our lives from falling apart!
2nd – Jesus is the head of the church… vs. 18-23 (6 things)
1st – Jesus rules over the church of God… vs. 18
The church of God is founded on the person of Jesus Christ…
Matthew 16:18 – “On this rock I will build My church…”
There are those who seek to ‘replace’ that foundation…
They want to build the church upon a denomination – name – rather than Jesus!
When a church uses a man’s name / churches name – more than Jesus names…
When a denomination becomes more important than Jesus – wrong foundation!
I Corinthians 3:11 – “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Jesus is also the ruler of the church of God…
The human body – is made of many different parts – but all work together as one…
Guided and directed by the brain – coordinating each part to fulfill its purpose…
In the same way the church of God is made up of many different individuals…
Each possessing different talents and gifts – all working together as one church!
But all are under the authority and direction of the head – who is Jesus Christ!
We do not tell Jesus what to do – how the church should function…
No pastor or leader is the one in control – we do not follow any man…
It is our responsibility to listen to and obey Jesus – He makes the decisions!
It is the church of Jesus Christ – and He is the ultimate authority!
2nd – Jesus was the first to be resurrected…
This does not mean that Jesus was the first person to be resurrected…
Lazarus was resurrected – John 11:43 / Jairus daughter – Luke 8:50…
But all of the people resurrected before Jesus – still ended up dying one day…
Jesus was the first one to be resurrected – and never die again!
When Jesus defeating sin through the power of the cross – He defeated death!
The Gospel is God so loved the world – that HE – Jesus/God – gave His life…
But the Good news is not that Jesus died – everybody dies – it is the resurrection!
By believing in Jesus – we also have the hope of eternal life in heaven!
3rd – The fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ… vs. 19
All that God is can be found in Jesus Christ – EVERYTHING …
John 1:16 – “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”
And everything that that Jesus has He has given to us!
II Peter 1:3 – “His divine power HAS given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.”
God has ALREADY given us everything we need to be able to live a holy / righteous life!
Maybe you are like me – you wonder many days if you can really live for Jesus…
With all the temptation in this world – as many times as we seem to make mistakes…
Is it really possible to live a holy / righteous life for the Lord – and if so HOW!
The answer – YES – because God has given us EVERYTHING – through Jesus Christ!
4th – We are restored to God through Jesus Christ… vs. 20-21
Whether we realized it or not – before Jesus were the enemy of God…
And because God was opposed to us – we were under the wrath of God…
The only thing we deserved – was to be sent directly to hell…
Only living to please ourselves – destined to face the wrath of God…
This is who we were before Jesus came into our lives!
But through the work of the cross – through the blood of Jesus Christ…
We who were once the enemies of God – have been forgiven / restored…
No one else could save us – there was nothing we could do to save ourselves…
It was only God who could step in and change our fate – save us from our sin!
5th – The reward of Jesus Christ… vs. 22
Jesus will present us Holy / Blameless / and above reproach in His sight!
Now we might look at each other and think – not holy / lots of blame…
When God looks down – He does not see us – our mistakes / our sins…
God knows every sin – every flaw – every mistake we have ever or will every make…
Yet God does not see us in light of our sin – He sees us as we will one day be…
He sees us a beautiful – perfect – spotless – pure – He sees us in the light of Jesus!
Song of Solomon 4: 7 – “You are so beautiful, my beloved, so perfect in every part.”
6th – The requirements… vs. 23
If you are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel…
If we sin the Lord convicts us – and if we repent there is restoration…
But if we refuse to listen – justify our actions – we end up hardening our heart…
If we continue reject the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives – over and over…
It is possible to come to the place where we reject the Gospel message!
Hebrews 6:4-6 – “It is impossible to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened – those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come – and who then turn away from God…”
Since (if 1st class) you continue in the faith – grounded and steadfast…
But Paul was not worries about that for us – he was convinced we would stand!
As we abide in Jesus – John 15:4 – there is no concern about our salvation…
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