Hope Church LV Sermons
The Incomparable Christ :: Colossians 1:18
We continue our series today, the incomparable Christ, in the book of Colossians, and we're going to be in Colossians chapter 1, so if you have a copy of the Word of God, you can turn there right now. We're going to look at 1 verse today, verse 18. The truth is, over the past few weeks as we've been going through this series, the incomparable Christ, what we've seen is that there's something different about Jesus. In verse 15, the Bible starts out there and says that He is the image of the invisible God. And one of the things that Pastor Vance said that week was that Jesus is God. The verses go on to say that He is not only God, but that He is also the sustainer of life. He is the creator of all things. He was created before all things as you read down the passage. But did you know that throughout the history of the church, 2,000 years, the most divisive issue is this issue of who Jesus is, even among evangelicals who Jesus is, His deity, which He is God. Amen? All right, just want to make sure you're all we're here. He is God. He is creator God. He is sustainer God. He has always existed, never a time that He didn't. But today we're going to hit a passage or we're going to hit a verse, and it's just one verse. And the first part of the verse, I'm almost positive we don't have any problem with. Because when I say it, some of you are going to go, "Absolutely, amen." Some of you are going to want to say it, but you just don't because that's not what you do. Some of you will say, "Man, even if you don't know what I said," because that is what you do, but I want you to hear this today, the last part of this verse, I'm concerned that we're a little scared, to be honest with you, to really put our all into this. Because what we're going to say, we're going to agree with totally at the beginning, at the end, it's not that we're going to agree with it, we just don't know how to implement it. We don't know how to apply this part. So let's just dive right in today and look at this verse, one verse, Colossians chapter one verse 18. The Bible says, "He is also," the He is Jesus, "is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." Here's what we said. He is God. He is sustainer God. He is creator God. He existed before, He is the firstborn of all creation. And today, as we divide these two up, and I'll give you two applications, and we're going to go really fast today, you're going to be glad you came. It's going to be a short, short message for you. You're going to be glad you came anyway, but that's going to help you out. Today what we're going to see is that He is the head of us. Let's look at the first thing He says, He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. Now this is the first time this metaphor is used at all in Scripture. In fact, never using the Old Testament this issue of He is the head of the body. He is the head of the body. Never using the Old Testament. This is the first time that it's even used in the New Testament, but the first time by Him as well. In fact, most of the time when Paul talks about the church, he says it like this, that we are the body of Christ. Now he turns it a little bit and says, I want to get a little more specific and tell you that Jesus is the head. You say, Tom, what do you mean by head? What does that, I mean, is it like head or is it like head of a company, head of organization, head of sales, head of facilities. No, no, no, it's none of those. It's literally the head sitting on top of your neck, body. You understand what I'm saying? This head. One where all the thinking processes take place, where all the planning, where all the mental facilities are, literally the head. Here's what Paul says, Jesus is the head, we, and just in case we didn't get this part, the church is the body. Now here's the thing I know about bodies. Those without heads are dead. I didn't think of this in the first service, so this is an added extra bonus for you. When I was a little boy, I don't know if, what I'm about to say, if you love animals, just turn your head for a second as I say this. In the country where I grew up, the way you ate a chicken is you had to kill the chicken. That's pretty common here too, right? Even in Tennessee, that's the way we did. My grandmother, she would literally take the neck and she would sling, I know it's kind of gross, but she would sling it, right? But when she did that, I mean it would pop off really quick, but the chicken would dance around the yard, you know, but you get the point, right? It died. The Bible says here that Jesus, listen, none of us would live without a head and anything has got two heads is at best odd, right? There can only be one head. That's none of the pastors, none of the pastors are the head of this church. Not Vance, not Travis, not Jay, not Scott, not Teddy, not Aaron, not me, not Neil, none of us are the head. We're all under shepherds to the real shepherd, the head. He's the thinking part. He's the one that gives us the direction. And let me just say this, if he's not the head, listen to me close, then we are not the church. When he says head here, he is literally talking about that part of the body that contains the brain. The imagery here is of Christ being that part, that head, because that's where the life is, right? I can live without an arm. I can live without a leg. I cannot live without a head. Now there are other vital organs too, but the head. He is the head. He further explains this head is the church. Now here, out of the more than 110, I think it's 115, 119 times, that this word ekklesia is used, the church. This is only one of very few times when the scripture is not talking about a specific church, like Hope Church in Las Vegas, but this is more of a global type church, okay? When he says church here, that Jesus is the head. He's either head, can we apply that to Hope? Absolutely. He's the head. And like I said when I started, none of us would have any problem going, "Hey man, Jesus is the head." Yeah, 'cause he is. Now that that's good, because that takes a lot of pressure off us, right, Teddy, Scott, I mean Jay, I mean that takes, whoo, whoo. Now we want to follow him, we want to go, but not just us, you. He's the head of us. He is the head of the body. The body needs a head, 'cause if not, then like I said, we'd be dead, but we are talking about a Christian community of believers, not just locally, but also globally. The head is the thinking part of the body. It controls the body. The head is the power source that gives the body direction. The body moves at the head's bidding. So get in. We don't move unless he says move. We don't go. We don't choose. We don't live. If he doesn't say it, we can't do it. The body is powerless. It is dead without the head. So who's the head of the church? Jesus. And we would say with the resounding, yes, Jesus, listen to this quote by William Barclay, Jesus Christ. This is the way I would like to say this, okay? Is the guiding, directing, dominating spirit of the church? Every word and action of the church must be governed and directed by him. It is at his bidding that the church must live and move. Without him, the church cannot think the truth. Without him, the church cannot act correctly. Without him, the church cannot decide its direction. The thought of the church must be governed, guided, and directed by Jesus Christ. And according to Scripture, Jesus is the head of the church. And I'll just say this too. I'll say it again. If he's not the head of our church, then we are not a church. We may meet. We may sing together. We may open our babbles and teach a great Bible lesson, but here's the deal. We're just people together. We are not the church. This is not ours. This is not any of the pastors. This is not any of the founding members. This is Jesus' church. Listen, that is a great responsibility for us to understand. It's not just a great responsibility for us to understand because he's the head and because we need to follow him as a group, but listen to me. You are part of the body. Your involvement in this body is key. That's what that means, that your personal spiritual life, not just your involvement in this service, not just because you give in the offering plate, not just because you lead a ministry, but listen to me, your personal spiritual life in this body matters. He's the head. And here's the deal. Here's the head, I've never seen a body doing opposite of what the head said. Once the head goes one direction, guess who follows the body? They don't go to separate places. He is the head of the body. It is Jesus who God's indirect us, directs us. It is the spirit who dominates us. It is he who governs and it is his bidding that we move and live and even, to be honest with you, breathe. We cannot know truth with him, without him nor can we live in a manner worthy of the gospel if he's not directing us. We cannot decide our own direction. You say, Tom, listen, I'm smarter than that, man. We got some great people in this church. Here's the deal. If we're not doing what he wants to do, we are missing the point. And there are going to be a lot of people who are going to miss the gospel. Second thing he says is Jesus is also the beginning. He is the source of the church. Source defined here is a person, place, or thing from which something comes or originates. The church exists because Jesus does. The only reason the church is in existence is because Jesus is in existence. He started it. He will sustain it. Now we say beginning. There are two different definitions for this and both apply one more than the other. The first one is beginning like in time. For instance, A is the first letter of the alphabet. That's kind of time. You got A, B, C, and anyway. Time. But we're not even talking about that even though it applies here, but the second one also in the sense of originating power as in the source from which everything came or the moving power which sent everything into motion. He is the creator. Everything exists because he exists. The church exists because he does. The church does. And he goes on even further to explain that. Not just the head of the church, not just the beginning, but he's the first born from the dead. A couple of weeks ago Pastor Vance actually explained this a little bit. This is the second time this word is used in this paragraph. This word, Prototokos, it literally means first born, but it doesn't mean it as we would take it primarily. Like born first, right? In order. That's not what it means at all. What it has to do with rank or status, Jesus wasn't the first human born. He was not. And as Pastor Vance described last week, I can't think eternity passed very well. Can you? Attorney future, we got that. We're like, yeah, it's just way out there and it keeps on going where here's the deal. There was an attorney passed that has always existed too. You said there was no start. It hurts my brain to think about it, but yes. He's always existed. It's not like first born here could mean a birth order. No, no, no, to which we all say, amen. He is the head of the church. Absolutely. He's the beginning. He is the first born from the dead. He wasn't the first one that came from the dead though, right? I mean, he was even on the scene when he brought Lazarus out of the grave. And that's just one of many examples of people who were resurrected. So we know that he's not even talking about that. But here's the deal. He's the first born of the resurrection. What does that mean? Here's what Warren Wiersby says. Jesus was not the first resurrection from the dead, but he is the most important of all who have been raised from the dead. Amen. For without his resurrection, there could be no resurrection for any other. Now, think about it for a second. If he doesn't live, we don't. If he wasn't resurrected, we will never be either. That's our hope. Our hope is that -- and I don't mean hope as in wishful thinking, but in confidence that God, when he comes back, we'll raise those who have passed on and we'll grab the rest of us and we will meet them together in the sky. That's what the Bible says. Because he has been resurrected, listen, when you're resurrected, you're given back life. We need life because it's not just physical. It is also spiritual. He has resurrected us. Listen, we were dead and our trespasses and sins, and he raised us to walk again. He gave us life. He is the head of the church. He is the beginning, but he's the firstborn from the dead. He is life. His ability to raise himself gives him the ability to raise us. And with that, we would all say, praise the Lord. You say, Tom, but how do I apply this? Here's application number one. As the church we exist to accomplish his mission, his way for his glory. Now notice there, I didn't say my mission, his way for his glory. I didn't say his mission, my way for his glory. I sure didn't say my mission, my way for his glory. And Lord knows we don't want to say my mission, my way for my glory. His mission, his way. Listen. He's the head of the church, resounding amen. He's the beginning. We can go back and we can say, he has got a very God, the sustainer of life, the creator of all things. Never a time he didn't exist. It was all for him and by him and to him. So we get that, right? We exist to accomplish his mission. Listen, you do not exist. I do not exist to accomplish my mission. I know. I know we get off on that sometimes, you know, and we're Americans and we pull ourselves bar on bootstraps, you know, and we make our own way and, you know, we're going to be successful business people and we're going to have a big bank account and we're going to have a home and a home and a home and a home. And I'm all for that. Listen, invite me to that home. I'm just saying, I'm for it, his mission, his way for his glory. You know, when Paul began to write this, I believe that he actually had the last part of 18 in mind as he's writing 15 through the first part of 18. Go back and look at 15. If you have your Bible, I'll read it for you here. So if you don't know, big deal, I'll promise I'll read it right. The Bible says he is the image of the invisible God. Paul's writing this to the church there at Colossae, the first born overall creation. For by him, all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things that in him, all things consist. And he's the head of the body, the church who is the beginning, the first born from the dead. But then I think this is what he really wants to say. This is the second part of that verse that in all things, he may have the preeminence. Here's what Paul did. He listed all these things. He's God. He's sustainer God. He's creator God. He existed before all things. He is head of the body. He is the beginning. He is the resurrection from the dead. And I don't want to bore you on this point, okay, but to really grasp it. Some of you will appreciate this and some of you will go, what the heck is he talking about? And I don't even care if further. But I want you to hear this out, okay? Up to this point, he's been basically using the same verb, tenses and voices, not the same mood. No, even in our language, we in English, if you're an English teacher, you really get this today, but there's tense voice and mood. He's been basically using the same one. I'm not going to go through all what it is, but he's been basically using the same, he is. You can hear it, right? He is, he is, he is, he is, he is, he is, he is. And the way it's written, Paul is saying this is reality. This is definitely the way it is. I'm not telling you how it could be, how it might be, how it should be. I'm telling you exactly how it is. Here's the deal. Jesus is God. He's a sustainer. He's the creator. He is everything, right? He's the head of the church. I'm not asking if he's head of the church. He's head of the church. Plus, he is the beginning. No doubt about it. He is the resurrection from the dead. And as he uses these verb tenses, they're basically the same one. But here for the first time, he's going to do it a lot in Colossians and you're going to hear it say it quite a bit. But for the first time in this book, he uses a different mood. He uses the subjunctive mood. That doesn't mean anything to you. But when you hear it in these next few weeks, it's going to help us to see something a little bit deeper because I'm not here to impress you on all I know because I don't really know that much. Here's what I do know. In this passage, when he says, look how he says it again. Second part. So that he himself will come to have first place in everything. You hear how that reads? You hear all of a sudden it's not is. He is. He is. I am. I am. No, no. He goes to. So that he will come to have. Now, some of your versions are different from mine. This is the NAS, some other versions say stuff like this. If you have a King James that says this, that in all things, he might have preeminence. New King James says this, that in all things, he may have the preeminence. English standard version says this, that in everything he might be preeminent, even the new American, new international version says this, so that in everything, he might have the supremacy. Now, here's what I want you to hear. Out of those other four or five that I read, versions, every one of them say one of the two words, either may or might. That's big because for us to understand it, we've got to see it in those terms, okay? That he might have the preeminent, that he may have the supremacy, all right? New American standard doesn't say that it says will come to have first place in everything. Here's why that's important because for the first time, he's saying it's not reality necessarily. Now, before I move on and you think I'm a heretic, let me explain something. Jesus is God. I believe all that. I believe exactly what 15 through 18A says, he's God, he's a standard, he's creator. I believe all that. It's all true. And Paul even goes on to say in Philippians that there will come a time. On that day, he says, every person that has ever lived and lived will bow the knee, right? Reneal bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That's a foregone conclusion, but listen to me. That's then, that's in the future for those who didn't. You can actually do that now. See, we don't have a problem with the first part, head of the church, praise God. Yeah, preach it, Tom, you better believe it, give it to him. But then he says, so that not just the first part, all the back of the 15, he's all this so that he can be first in your life. And what the subjunctive mood tells us is, you don't have to let him. It says, well, the subjunctive mood expresses, listen to this, action, which is not a reality, but is objectively possible. This means in the mind of the speaker or the writer, there is a good possibility of the action taking place, but it doesn't have to. You say, Tom, why would you tell us this? The Greek language was so specific. The Greek language was the perfect language which you know God chose on purpose so that it would be, right? It's a language that hardly has any general areas. Listen, we know there are four words for the word love that we got one word. There are two words for the word no, like K and O-W. There are two words for the word another, one that's opposite and one that's the same, and that's important in Scripture, especially when Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit coming. He said, another like me, not another opposite from me, to be very specific in the language. Not only the words but the grammar, whether you're talking about present tense, perfect tense and all that stuff that boards you and you didn't even want to take all those years in school, right? But the truth is, is it helps us to know what, when all of us stand up here before you, we're saying what we studied and we're saying what we know to be true just from the spirit absolutely takes us over, but listen, this word, if you look at it close enough, looks like it could be a future tense and you may not know what that is, but here's what it means. It's going to happen. No, no, future tense always means it's going to happen, problem is it's not future. I'm telling you this to shake us a little bit this morning to help us to know just because you think someday you're going to give everything to him doesn't mean you ever will. We either, the Bible says here that we can, that it's possibility, that in the mind of the speaker it's even a probability, but it's not a reality. He is, he is, he is, he is, he is, that's reality, that you will come to know. There's another verb at the end of this, at the end of this, in the New American standard here and it's the word have, it says to have first place. Some of you English scholars would say, that's a verb, now what is that Tom, come on man, you know that's got to be a present tense, that's got to be a reality top verb, right? I mean that's his right on, well here's the deal, it would be if it weren't a participle, you say what's a participle, let's don't get into it, but it is, okay. It's a participle, here's what participles do, they modify the main verb, the main verb is guess what, come to know. The main word, the timing and come to know is listen to this, not now, it could happen but not now. So the participle has to take whatever the main verb is. So it's saying the exact same thing, God wants us to know, listen, he wants everything from you, your thought life, your relationships, your finances, your everything, you say Tom, there you go again man, how do you give all that to God? I'm compartmentalizing here, I'm going there's my spiritual life, there's my family life, there's my financial life, there's my vocational life, there's my relationships life, I mean it's all, it can't be the same because there's also my spiritual life. But here's the deal, your spiritual life is not a part of the pie. Your spiritual life, this is what John Orkberg said when he wrote a book, the life, it's called the life he's always wanted, here's what he said, and man when I read it, and it comes from this, here's what he said, your spiritual life is your life. Listen, you get hold of that, you won't ask any other questions. Your spiritual life is not a slice of the pie, it is the pie. It's not a part of how you live, it is how you live. Your vocation is dictated by your spirituality, your finances are dictated by your spirituality, your relationships are dictated by your spirituality, your marriage, your parenting, your finances, your every, I don't know, your exercise, your life, your life, your spiritual life is your life, and what he says here is that in everything, if you have a King James or a new King James it says preeminent, listen to this, the only time this word is ever used in the whole pipe, that he may be preeminent, that he may have first place, but let me reiterate this again, you don't have to give it to him, you can, and listen, there's coming a day when everybody will, every kneel bow, every tongue will confess, but you don't have to, but you'll be the loser. And listen, as the church, it'll be hard for us to go when part of our body is not cooperating, or worse if a big part of our body is not cooperating. You say, Tom, listen outwardly, you'd never know outwardly, you know, I'm faking it, I'm bringing it, I want to be, but I'm not, listen, I'm with you, I hear it, all right? My kids, I was in bed last night, and two of my kids, my youngest two came to me, and they said, hey dad, look at this, look at this half dollar, Pat Paul gave us. I said, okay, my dad, he collects money, you know, and I spend it, but he collects it. So he has 12 grandchildren, and so he's, you know, he'll save for them, and then he'll like, give them something special, and he gave, he actually gave my youngest child, Caden, he'll be nine this week, he, a couple of years ago, he gave Caden a stack in this clear cylinder of half dollars, and it was, I forget, I think it was 20 dollars worth of half dollars, or maybe it was 10, I forget. So as kids would do, they took it out and just kind of act like it was Legos, I guess, I don't know how that happened, but anyway, when they did, something happened to one of the half dollars, and they ran to, and they said, dad, look at this half dollar, this is, this is weird, and I said, okay, let me see it. And they gave it to me in two pieces. And I said, what in the world? And I looked at it, and my daughter, Mary, she said, dad, on one piece, it looks like the back of the half dollar, but when you turn it over, it says one penny, and it's got a British flag on it. If you want to see it, I'll show it to you out there. It's obviously a fake, my dad bought it, I guess, he lost his money, but you know what the truth is? This is like many of our lives. It looks good, it's a fake. If we put this under fire, I'm sure this is ten, it would dissolve quickly into something else. I mean, it has the president on the front. You know, for all intents and purposes, it looks real, but God wants everything. I don't even know what place to push on in your life, where it's a sore spot for you, but I hope that the Holy Spirit is doing that to you right now as he is me. What area of your life have you not given over to Jesus? When the rich young ruler came, now we find out he's rich after he asked the question, but when the rich young ruler came to Jesus and said, Jesus, I'll follow you wherever you go. Just tell me what to do. Tell me what I need to do. Tell me what the requirement is and Jesus said, here's what you got to do. Take everything you have, sell it, give it to the poor. The Bible says, but he walked away, for he was very rich. That one thing for him was his success. You know what Jesus knew it? Jesus, he hadn't turned over everything. Salvation is not raising of the hand, signing a card, going through a baptistry, through a pool of water to be baptized. That's not what salvation is. Those things are part of the process that we use to keep up with you, but that's not salvation. Salvation is a surrendering of self. But it really does matter how we live our lives. What we choose to do, what we choose not to choose to do, what we choose to say. And listen, I'm not talking about legalism here, but I'm telling you, the God who lives in you, that is your life. Your life is not your own, that in all things, he may have the preeminence, the King James says, that he himself will come to have first place in your life. Your rich young ruler could not give Jesus' first place. He turned and walked away. Many of us in this room would claim Christianity today, I know. But have we given him all of us? The Bible knows no Christianity otherwise, that he may, doesn't have to, that he may come to have first place in our lives. [BLANK_AUDIO]