Episode 307 - The Center of Everything

Blistering thru Chapter 1...ok, kinda. The brothers talk about Jesus being at the center of everything. Vs 15-20

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Let's you put it that way.

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Yeah, there you go. That's uh that's exactly right. Okay, you ready?

SPEAKER_00 0:04

No, I'm not. Okay. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

You want to go ahead and get started? No. You do. You don't want to get started. Yeah, okay. Okay. We've got to change our mindset here. Yeah. Because I'm about to do the big Oh, this is we're okay. We're recording. Go ahead. Okay, here we go. Push play. Me, me, me. And welcome to Two Brothers One Bible Podcast. Uh, we are coming to you from New Song Baptist Church in Columbia, Tennessee. And we are, haven't said this in a while. We're in a windowed room. We are nice and bright. I know. Very, very comfortable. And we are very excited that you are here listening to us. I'm Robert Wakefield. I am Peter Searson. And we are uh in our study of Colossians. And boy, are we just blazing through chapter one? We are. Yeah. I think how many podcasts have we done on chapter one? Is it three or four? Maybe. Three, maybe. At least three. It may have been four. It may have been four. Yeah. It's amazing. So we're going to uh continue in Colossians because that's what we do. I like that. You like you like a plan. I do. You are you are just very organized in that way. Yeah. You don't know about that, but okay. No. My my garage would say otherwise. Yeah, mine too. Yeah. Mine too. All right. So here we go. We're going to start in uh verse 15 of chapter one, and where uh our goal is to get to 23.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So here we go. So the sun is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for in him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things had been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. If you continue in your faith, established and firm and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel, this is the gospel that you heard, and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Okay, so that is the word of the Lord, and that is so much stuff, and we're not going to get to We're not going to get to 23, because there's just so much good stuff in here. Starting there, the in the NIV, they call this the supremacy of the Son of God. And I like that. I do too. I think it's really good because he starts there in verse 15. Uh, the son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. So this word image uh is important because uh if you want to see what God is like, yeah, look to his son.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Which is what Jesus said in John 8. Exactly. Yeah, when when Philip said, Show us the Father. Show us the Father, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

And that's exactly what he said. So if you want to know what God is like, uh look at Jesus. Image doesn't mean a copy. No. Uh it's a perfect representation. Yes. So when you take a photo with with your camera and you don't like the way you look in that particular picture, right? Well, guess what? That's on me.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

That is exactly what you look like at that moment. Which is what James says. Who looks in the mirror and sees you got an egg on your face, and you walk away from the mirror, leave an egg on your face. Right. That's a Peter paraphrase. But that's what a mirror should do. But like you say, it's a reflection. What this Greek word, it's not, you know, we see this at family reunions. Well, he just looks like you. Oh, yeah. He's got your eyes, or he's got that that nose. And uh no, this is the sameness. It's not not a facsimile of it. It's the same. It's the sameness. And I, you know, if you want a definition of who is Jesus, he's the image of the invisible God. He's the visible image of the invisible God. Invisible God.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

That that is perfect. Yeah. That is absolutely perfect. And uh He's the firstborn over all creation. Now, this this creation thing really, when I got to this section, it really, really excited me. Uh for in him, this is verse 16. For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, or the thrones are powers or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. Yeah. That's heavy. Yeah. That's a lot. So let's talk about the first part of that. For in him all things were created. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Well, I've got to go to 15, Robert. Sorry. But uh the word firstborn.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Oh, okay. I missed that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Well, Jesus was not created.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

No, he was not.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

No.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

He was not created.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

He was the firstborn.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

So he is God. He's a part of God. And so, you know, we we read Genesis, the first two chapters, and we see where God speaks in the we. And in verse 2 of chapter 1, it talks about the spirit moving across the face of the waters deep and created in our likeness. Paul is really digging deep here and talking about how as a part of creation Jesus was there. And in fact, John John takes the same thing. When he opens his gospel in the first first chapter, he says, in the beginning, the word already existed. The word was with God, the word was God, he existed in the beginning with God, and God created everything through him. Right. And nothing was created except through him. And then he goes in 14 that that Jesus is that word. Right. He Jesus was a part of the creation process. And that's what he expands upon in verse 16.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

You know, and when you think about that, when you think about that, he was the one who was all this was created through, and it was created for him, that really changes your perspective on the Savior. Yes. It changes your look of outlook on Jesus. He's not just someone who just happened to in history and you know, we've hey he died on a cross and was raised three days ago. No, he was at the very beginning. Yes. And when I think of everything that's made through him and exists through him, that means that he is in everything that we're here right now. Everything that we are experiencing in this world, the sunsets, the sunrises, the wind blowing, the birds chirping. Um name a few. Everything. Jesus is there. So with the set with uh a son of God like that, we have access to him in every everything that we see, all of our senses. Yeah. That is the thing that really struck me in this particular uh paragraph.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Well, when we take what John said in the opening of his gospel, we take what what Moses wrote in Genesis, you know, we we're familiar that God spoke.

unknown 7:54

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Well, John is saying, Jesus is the word. Jesus is is what God spoke. Right. And so when God said let there be light, he used the word Jesus to let there be light. That everything he spoke, Jesus was the word. And and the the cool thing in here is is the tense of the word created. Uh when he says all things have been created, that's the heiress tense. We've talked about uh the importance of the heiress tense. It means there was a particular point in time and it's a continuous action. Right. And if you talk to the people that study space, our universe is still expanding because in after we read Genesis and God spoke it all into happening, he never said stop.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

So it is still doing what he commanded it to do.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

It's just it's just amazing uh that verse 16 it just really it just really floors me, for in him all things were created, things in heaven, on earth, visible and invisible. Um that's uh uh incredible. Whether thrones are powers or rulers or authorities, uh all things have been created through him and for him. This is not only was it created through him, but it was in a way a gift for him.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Which I've never thought about before. No, you know, when you think about this, okay, he created this world for us to to inhabit, he did that for him.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Yeah. I've never thought of that like that. Well, and the for him turns in to be for us. Right. So as he created humanity, he longed to be in relationship with us. And so we were alienated from him because of sin. And so he said, How can I have a relationship with these people I created intentionally, long for, want, worship, and praise from? I'm gonna have to die on a cross for that.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Right. I'm gonna have to give, I'm gonna have to give myself for that to redeem these people. Yeah, that that's just amazing love. That is just amazing. So we get to verse 17, and he says, He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Okay. In him all things hold together. Yeah. I I'm going back to the sunset, the sunrise, you know, the 24 hours in a day, right, the the earth tilting on its axis in a certain way. If it was one degree off, we couldn't live here. Right. I mean, everything holds together. Now, think about that. Everything holds together through him. My relationships with people, that's held together through him. Yeah. I mean, it's it's everything. I cannot wrap my head around that. I it's just that verse really just floors me.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Well, yeah. Well, I mean, you can you can take it universe looking at orbits and planets and stars and alignment and axis and phases of the moon and all that. You can just look physically. I mean, there's about a million things happening in your body all the time. Oh, yeah. I didn't even think about it. We don't even think about. You know, we don't think about the beating of our heart and you know, moving of muscles and cells and dividing and all that kind of stuff. It's just amazing. And he spoke it and it and it happened. You know, we we have a bad habit of having Jesus arrive on the scene in Bethlehem, right? And the Holy Spirit arriving in Acts chapter 2. But Paul is being very clear here in these verses that he was there at the very beginning. Right. Before there was even a single word spoken, he was there. That's why he says in verse 17, he is before. He was eternal, he was present. Right. Before all things. Before all things, and in him all things hold together. Which which talks about sustain. You know, we we don't we never want to have an image of of God being aloof and distant. So the reason we keep beating, the reason the planet keeps spinning and all that is because he remains who he is.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Right. And and you you brought up a great point. He is the sustainer. Yes. Uh without that, I mean, what what will we have? Chaos. Back to where we came from. Exactly. So he is the sustainer there in verse 17. All right. Well, verse 17 just really, I just really had to spend a little time on it. Sure. Because it's just that's just an amazing statement. Uh verse 18 says, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning in the firstborn from among the dead, so that everything he might have the supremacy. So we're here is uh another example where Paul is showing the roles of everybody and showing what Jesus' role is. He is the head of the church.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Yeah, Paul's putting a lot here in verse 18. So he he's saying that, you know, we've got the church, and and who's the head of the church? It's it's Jesus. You know, I'm very careful as a pastor. This is not my church. This is this is his church. It's his church. You know, very rarely do I try to I I want to pick the right pronouns. Right. And and and which reflects in your attitude. So I don't have any ego. I try to keep that at bay because this isn't about me. Right. It's about him. And so he he shares that, but then, you know, this, he's he's the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead. I mean, that he paved the way. So, you know, obviously there was there's people that died before. Uh, you have one who was raised from the dead before Jesus did, that's Lazarus, but Lazarus was determined to die again. Jesus was the first one post-crucifixion, who became the firstborn from among the dead.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Isn't that amazing? Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

And so for all of us in Christ that come after that, we follow that pattern. And then he says, you know, he sums up really verse 15 through 18 and says, it's all about supremacy. And if you if you wonder what supremacy means, it it means the the rank, the position, the authority. Who is Jesus? And so Paul is saying he he's it, he's the ultimate. There's no one greater. You can you can search the world over, you will not find anyone greater than who Jesus is.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Wow, that that's so good. And I think that is, you know, we kind of hit up that uh in an earlier podcast of where this this guy thought that you read the book of John as a new Christian to learn about Jesus, and then you read Colossians to learn about his supremacy. Yeah, and how he's over everything. Uh verse 19, for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. And I'm gonna read 22, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on a cross. Those two kind of go together. But but in verse uh verse 18, is that what I started? 19. 19, I'm sorry. Uh for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. You know, that that is really, really uh an amazing statement. God's not in competition with himself. Yeah, you know, he's he's pleased to have all the fullness dwell in Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah. You know, I want to go back to what we talked about, that 18, 20 minutes a day spending time in the Word. And if you look at, I want to read the Bible with a checklist in your mind, you're not going to hear what he says. Remember, every word he used, he wrote, not because Paul's a great writer, because of the influence of the Holy Spirit. So this is the word you need to use. And so when he says God was pleased to have all his fullness, he really says it twice. He says because all and fullness mean the same thing. Yes, he does. So why is he saying it twice? Because he wants us to know that God put every bit of himself that Jesus could hold. Again, going back to verse 15. You have this invisible God that you can't contain. He's just too big, he's too infinite. And then you have Jesus who is finite, he is limited, and so God poured as much of his deity into the physical flesh of Jesus' humanity. Right. And so that was all the fullness of God dwelling in Jesus. Isn't that something it boggles my mind?

SPEAKER_01 16:41

It does mine too. And the thing is, he's he's telling this to these Colossians right at the beginning, like there may have been some kind of uh influences that were were saying otherwise that he's not the that Jesus was not the fullness of all of everything.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Which, you know, you hit right at the heart of the issue, Robert, because there are so many people who want to say Jesus was something other than what Paul's describing here.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

So they're wanting to say, you know, Jesus was a good teacher, or he was a good man, or he lived a good life, or you know, he was a historic figure in time, you know. And if you don't have in your mind the definition of what Paul talks about here, the supremacy, that that there's no one above him, there's nothing greater, that that he was pre-existent before anything was spoken, all these things, that he's the sustainer of things, then you don't know who Jesus is.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Right, you've missed the vote.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

You really have. It's just amazing to me how he is just really honing in on this point uh with these Colossians, right at the right at the very first of the letter, really. Um let's see, verse 20, and and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Talk about that reconciling all things.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Well, it picks back up what he said uh, and we talked about in our previous podcast about that being transferred, being rescued, reconciled, redeemed. Those are all the same kind of words. So we were before Christ, the only means humanity had to have a relationship with God was through sacrifice. And at best, you might leave refreshed from sins you committed because you sacrificed a ram or something on the altar. But that sin, that stain, that stigma was still there. You can never get rid of it. Right. And so when we were reconciled, we were re we were brought back, we were in a right relationship once again, and that can only be done through Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

And I think the fact that he says all things, reconcile all things, shows the completeness of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. I think that's that's key. He didn't do it just halfway. No, we're we're completely redeemed, and then he talks about right there by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. There's where our redemption is. Yeah. That we have peace through his blood. Yep. You go you can't write a better story than this.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

No, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Yeah, because Jesus is the one that did that for us, and through him we were created, and through him we're saved. Yes. Now, isn't that crazy? Only only a God that loves us that much could do something.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah, and the crazy thing is that when he spoke us into existence, when he created us, he knew the cross is in the future.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

This this this particular part of Colossians has blown me away. Yeah, it's it's awesome. It's really so good. So uh thank you so much for listening to Two Brothers One Bible Podcast. I'm Robert Clayton. I'm Peter Tyrson, and we will pick up in verse 20. Did we get to 19? Yeah, we did 22. Oh, we did 20. Oh, okay. I've been done. 20. Alright, so we'll pick up uh at the next verse wherever that is. 2020. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Thanks so much for listening. God bless.