Christ Is All You Need

Well, good morning.

Good morning.

I realized that it's so easy for this life to be out of kilter, isn't it?

Things don't work the way they should, and things are not right as they ought to be.

Obviously, shower heads and door locks can be fixed.

They're little.

They're mundane.

They're part of our everyday life in a fallen world.

But it reminds us that all is not as it should be in our world as well.

As Jonathan prayed, we think about countries around the world where famine and warfare are destroying people's lives.

They're dying in hunger and in violence.

We pick up the newspapers and we see how deeply affected even our own society is as racism shows its ugly head again and again.

Where the mistreatment of women shows itself again and again.

We think of the trials and the tragedies of this world and our heart cries out.

It's not right.

It's not the way it's supposed to be.

And we want justice.

We want righteousness.

We want things to be made right and to put back the way they're supposed to be.

So we organize protests, come up with clever hashtags, and call for change.

And that's right.

We ought to cry out against the wrongness of the world.

We ought to rail against the way the world does not work the way it was supposed to.

And this deep-seated sense that we all have that that's true.

That's right.

God affirms that.

But even as we look at this, particularly if you're a student of history like I am, you realize humans have been working since the beginning of time to make the world a better place.

And we haven't succeeded, have we?

If we are honest, the older I get, the bigger the problem looks.

The deeper the sin is.

The greater the dislocation between what is and what ought to be in our lives and in our world.

And I get weary of it.

I get weary of a broken world.

I get weary of not seeing things change.

I get weary of my own failure.

And I get weary of the things I have to walk through because of the fallenness of this world.

Maybe you're like me this morning.

Maybe you're still young and youthful and hoping by protest and change we can actually make this world no longer feel that way.

But I tell you that though that hope is right and even that work is right for us to do, the message of Christianity is that there is a greater hope in the midst of this.

There is something greater for us to look to and to stand on in the midst of this world.

And it is very simply the person of Jesus Christ.

In him we find answers both to the longings for righteousness and justice and an answer to the despair that we can fall into as we face it.

And this brings us to our passage this morning, the book of Colossians.

If you want to turn with me there, it's 983 in your pew Bibles.

We're going to look at Colossians 1 verses 15 through 23.

Colossians 1:15–23

The last couple of weeks what we have heard is an apostle writing to this church that he's never been to but that he loves.

He's writing to them to encourage them in their faith with a concern that they might be losing the clarity of their faith.

That Christ really is enough for them.

That they might be thinking they need something more or something else.

We've seen in verses 3 through 8 how Paul writes with thanksgiving for the work of God in their lives.

For seeing how the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed them.

We see how in verses 9 through 14 he then has prayed for them.

Praying that that would continue and even more.

That it would be abundant in their lives.

And then we come to our passage this morning.

In your Bible there's a break.

There's a new section heading.

But in the original it's actually a relative clause.

It's describing the beloved son from verse 13.

So let's read this together.

Colossians 1 verses 15 and following.

Colossians 1:15

He is, that is Christ, is the image of the invisible God.

The firstborn of all creation.

For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth.

Visible and invisible.

Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

All things were created through him and for him.

And 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.

The firstborn from the dead.

That in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things.

Whether on earth or in heaven.

Making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind.

Doing evil deeds.

He has now reconciled in his body.

Body of flesh.

By his death.

In order to present you holy and blameless.

And above reproach before him.

If indeed you continue in the faith.

Stable and steadfast.

Not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

Which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.

And of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, as we look at this passage this morning.

We do ask that you would open our eyes.

To see the greatness of Christ.

Lord, that you would help us to grow in confidence.

In faith.

In him.

As the all sufficient.

And all supreme one.

Lord, that in the face of this fallen, broken world that we live in.

Lord, that we can continue in hope.

Because of Christ.

Lord, I pray for your help this morning.

As we look at this passage together.

Lord, use me.

And speak through my words.

Lord, that we might hear.

You.

This morning.

We pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Friends, we are on rare ground as we look at this passage this morning.

The English versions don't show it, but this passage, particularly verses 15 through 19,

is actually a hymn of praise.

The prose actually changes in the original language.

The cadence and the rhythm, it feels like and it seems like.

and many believe that it is an old hymn

that was sung in the early church,

whether Paul wrote it

or whether he was appropriating it

and using it for this particular context.

There's this song of praise to Jesus

that exalts the glories of Christ

and lifts up before us

how he is all that we really need.

He's all that we really need

when it feels like life is falling apart.

He is all that we need

when it feels like it's just getting worse.

And that's what we're gonna look at this morning.

In those two sections,

verses 15 through 17,

we'll think about how it is

that Christ is holding us together

when we feel like it's falling apart.

The second one,

how Christ is making it right

when it feels like it's all going wrong.

So let's look at that.

This morning.

First of all,

verses 15 through 17.

There's so many rich theological pictures here.

I wish I had time.

We could spend the rest of the fall

just preaching on this.

I'll just preach on 15,

the first half of it this morning

and then we'll go on.

Does that sound good?

No, I'm kidding.

We won't really do that.

We're gonna keep moving through.

But so much rich.

In referring back to this kingdom

of the beloved son that he says

believers have been brought into

by their faith in Christ,

he now lifts up,

what is the character and the nature of this son

who rules over this kingdom?

And he says, first of all,

he is fully God.

He is the image

image of the invisible God.

And by image,

he doesn't mean a replica.

He doesn't mean a projection of.

He means an exact representation

of the fullness of God

is seen in this one Jesus Christ.

And he is the firstborn of all creation,

which does not mean,

as a Jehovah's Witness would argue,

that he is the first created being,

but instead it means

that he is the firstborn

taking the place of preeminence

and priority over.

So he is the firstborn over all creation

is the best way to see that.

Firstborn in the Bible is a position.

It's not merely a temporal term.

Although Christ was birth,

because Christ existed

from all eternity past,

and yet also he takes this place

of being over all of the creation.

And we know that,

particularly because then in verse 16

it goes on and says,

for by him all things were made.

And so we know that Christ

isn't a part of what was made.

In fact, he was the agent

by which God created

all things in the world.

And so we're lifting up

this person, Jesus Christ.

And remember,

this is a generation

after Jesus walked the earth.

He was a man who had hair

and clothes that you could touch,

that you could eat a meal with.

And Paul is saying,

that man is this incredibly exalted

God in the flesh

who has come to be for you,

the one over all creation.

And he goes on and he says,

all things were created in him.

There's not a single thing

in this world

that doesn't come from Christ.

And particularly it seems

he's focusing,

as the concern goes on in the books,

he's focusing on powers

that we think might be

beyond his control.

It seems like

in the Corinthian church

there was some fear,

particularly that there might be

some spiritual powers,

maybe angels,

maybe,

it's not clear,

we're guessing,

because we don't know for sure.

But some power

that was beyond

what Christ

and the gospel

could actually address.

And Paul is very explicit here.

There is nothing

that was not created by Christ.

There is no economic

or socio-political structure.

There is no culture

and no worldview.

There is no spiritual power

or physical malady

or condition.

There is no addiction

or sin.

There is no government

or legal system.

No social clique

or grouping.

There is nothing

in this creation

that did not flow

from his created purpose

that does not come

from him.

Now look,

he is not the author of evil.

But in every structure,

in every power,

in everything,

Christ says,

I am over this.

Nothing is outside

of my control.

It has sprung from me.

And as you see,

it goes on

in verse 17.

It hasn't just sprung

from my creative power,

but I am the one

who sustains it.

There is nothing

that continues

in this world

that I don't uphold.

This is true

of the physical world.

It is God.

It is Christ

who makes atoms

spin around the nucleus.

It is Christ

who holds

gravitational constants

constant.

It is Christ

who makes life

flow from DNA

and biochemistry

and things

that are far

beyond my understanding.

And it is Christ

who sustains

countries

and nations

and societies.

It is Christ

who holds it together

so that it might not be

as bad as it could be.

Christ holds

all these things together.

together.

And not only

does Colossians

here say

they are from him

and they are sustained

by him,

but they are made

for him.

Do you see this?

The end of verse 16.

They were created

through him

and they were created

for him.

All of these things,

the physical world,

the social world,

the world of humanity,

all of these things

were created

so that in them,

in their created goodness,

they would glorify Christ.

That they would be centered

around him.

That he would take

the first place

in all of them

and that they would live

for his glory.

Glory.

Paul says,

this is the son

who rules the kingdom

that you've been brought into.

The one who created

all of these things

and he is over all of it.

Now I know,

I know that's hard to believe.

That's a hard message

to swallow

because I see you

as you sit in my office

and as we talk

about your lives.

Christ is really

holding all things together

in my marriage

that's falling apart.

Christ is holding

all things together

when the society

that I live in,

the school system,

is completely

coming unraveled.

Christ is holding

all things together

when I don't think

I'm going to be able

to pass my exams

or make it

through my program.

Christ is holding

all things together

when I've lost my job

and I'm losing

and I don't have any money.

Christ is holding

it together

when I'm in the hospital

again

and all the procedures

and all the diagnoses

don't seem to be fixing

what ails me.

It's easy, isn't it,

to lose sight

of the fact

that all of this

is from Christ

and through Christ

and for Him.

He's got the whole world

in His hands.

Even the worst of it

is not outside

of His sovereign power

and control.

Paul says,

remember Him.

Look to Him.

See Him high

and exalted

over all things

and trust

that when it all

looks like it's

falling apart

for you,

He's got it

in His hands

because He is the one

over all creation.

You see,

our greatest fear

I think is that

when things fall apart

we think

it's truly out of control.

We think it's bad

and it's only going to get worse

and we think there's no way.

It's out of our control.

It's out of anybody's control.

I think we fear

and so we don't trust.

But the good news

as Paul goes on

is that not only

is Christ

the one who

is over all

in creation

even in its fallenness

but now He says

He is

in the midst

of this now

fallen creation.

He is making

a new creation.

He is over

a new creation

that He has begun.

We see this

in verse 20

where it talks

about Him

being the one

who is going to reconcile

all things

to Himself.

And this is where

we see that Christ

is not only

holding it together

when things are falling apart

but Christ is also

making it right

when it feels like

it's all

going wrong.

Reconciling

all things.

Have you noticed

by the way

in Colossians 1

how often

the idea

of all

has been repeated?

Look with me

just in the verses

that we have

before us.

In verse 15

all of creation.

In verse 16

all things

were created

and again

all things

were created

through Him

and for Him.

In verse 17

He is before

all things

in Him

all things

hold together.

Verse 18

in everything

He might be

preeminent.

Verse 19

all the fullness

of God

and verse 20

through Him

to reconcile

to Himself

all things.

Christ is saying

that He's going

to take

all of these things

and He's going

to make them right

by reconciling

them to Himself.

And what does that mean

reconciling

all things

to Himself?

We often think

of reconciliation

as a relational term.

Right?

We have a broken

relationship

and we need

to reconcile

them.

And that's

inappropriate

and that's

a good

biblical

picture

and a good

understanding

of what

reconciliation is.

And it's

very clear

in other places

for instance

in Ephesians 2

it talks about

God reconciling

Jew and Gentile

and bringing

them together

and that's

very clearly

bringing together

of broken

relationships.

But here

I think

it might actually

be

there's a

different way

that we

use reconcile

in our

world today

I think

might be

helpful

and that's

an accountant.

Now I'm not

very good

at being

an accountant

but I remember

when I was

younger

and for those

of you

who are under

the age

of 40

you're just

going to

have to

imagine

that this

is true

but when

you used

to get

a bank

statement

in the

mail

right

some of

you still

get that

on the

back page

there was

a blank

chart

and you know

what you did

with that

chart

you wrote

down all

of the

withdrawals

and all

the checks

you wrote

and then

you checked

the math

to reconcile

your accounting

with the

bank's accounting

to make sure

that it was

brought back

to a proper

orientation

right

the idea

is that the

bank makes

mistakes

and sometimes

they count

wrong

and to have

an unreconciled

account is to

not know

whether it's

actually been

made right

or not

and it's

out of

joint

and to

reconcile

it is to

make sure

that it's

brought back

to its

proper place

and its

proper order

now clearly

some of you

who are

accountants

I just

mangled that

pretty badly

but that's

the idea

the idea

is that

by reconciling

accounts

you have

two things

you're making

sure this

is like

this

and it's

meant

the way

it's

meant

to be

and you're

bringing them

back into

harmony

and to

rightness

and this

is what

God

is doing

with the

world

he does

this

look with

me again

in verses

19 and

20

right

he does

this by

being the

one in

whom the

fullness of

God

dwells

and doing

this

as you

see at

the end

of this

by making

peace

through

his

blood

what the

Bible

says

is the

way

that

God

is

going

to

reconcile

the

whole

world

to

himself

is by

the

death

of

Jesus

Christ

on the

cross

now

how

in the

world

does

that

actually

work

I'm

going to

step

back

and do

a little

bit

of

biblical

theology

so

you

can

think

about

this

in

the

Bible

storyline

God

created

a

world

and in

Genesis

1

it

said

that

it

was

all

good

and at

the

very

end

he

said

it

was

very

good

and

it

was

a

creation

that

was

in

perfect

alignment

with

God

and with

his

purposes

and it

reflected

his

glory

in

every

way

possible

and

just

as a

side

note

I

think

that

we

have

so

little

imagination

to

think

of

how

it

would

be

to

live

in

a

world

where

sin

was

not

we

have

a

hard

time

imagining

how

beautiful

and

perfect

it

was

we

think

about

worlds

like

that

and

we

often

have

very

warped

pictures

of

it

where

it

feels

very

vanilla

and

bland

and

there

are

sort

of

clouds

and

people

in

long

white

things

and

it

just

feels

very

unattractive

but

that's

not

the

picture

at

all

because

God

created

a

world

that

was

full

of

life

and

abundance

and

goodness

and

richness

and

beauty

and

joy

but

into

that

world

then

sin

came

and

it

didn't

just

come

out

of

nowhere

it

came

particularly

in

the

form

of

the

rebellion

of

humanity

you

see

at

the

pinnacle

of

this

creation

God

had

created

human

beings

male

and

female

to

be

over

the

created

order

and

under

him

in

perfect

alignment

and

attend

this

created

world

and

to

glorify

God

by

enjoying

all

that

he

had

made

but

instead

of

receiving

that

gladly

and

humble

submission

to

God

living

out

that

calling

humanity

rebelled

and

rejected

God

and

said

I

would

rather

be

my

own

God

I

would

rather

be

my

own

Lord

rather

than

be

in

control

or

rather

than

submit

to

you

and

your

control

I

would

rather

be

my

own

source

of

life

rather

than

believing

and

trusting

that

you

can

bring

me

life

and

the

whole

world

was

broken

and

so

as

sin

the

rebellion

of

humanity

against

God

then

according

to

Romans

8

corrupted

all

of

the

world

all

of

it

was

subjected

to

the

curse

and

to

futility

and

so

this

is

the

world

that

we

know

well

and

we

live

in

where

sin

is

not

only

in

our

hearts

because

we

are

selfish

and

because

we

don't

love

God

the

way

we

ought

to

and

because

we

are

hateful

and

jealous

and

envious

and

proud

and

arrogant

and

stubborn

and

all

the

things

that

we

know

are

part

of

our

hearts

but

we

also

live

in

a

fallen

world

where

ease

and

decay

and

we

see

from

in

the

whole

breadth

of

human

experience

this

fall

has

corrupted

the

world

such

that

nothing

is

as

it

ought

to

have

been

and

Christ

who

rules

over

it

all

and

made

it

all

for

himself

has

a

plan

to

redeem

it

to

reconcile

this

broken

world

back

to

himself

but

just

as

the

corruption

happened

through

humanity

so

the

redemption

happens

through

humanity

I

don't

know

if

it

struck

you

how

odd

the

order

feels

sometimes

in

this

but

what

I'm

trying

to

get

at

is

this

is

the

center

piece

of

how

God

is

going

to

reconcile

the

world

to

himself

look

with

me

again

he's

coming

through

verses

15

16

17

8

or

15

16

17

God

is

Christ

is

the

one

who's

over

all

of

creation

he's

holding

it

all

together

and

then

in

verse

18

it

says

and

he

is

the

head

of

the

body

the

church

has

that

ever

struck

you

as

weird

why

why

why

does

he

suddenly

bring

up

the

church

when

he's

getting

back

to

in

verse

20

this

idea

he's

going

to

reconcile

the

whole

thing

to

himself

because

sin

subjected

all of

creation

to the

fall

the

sin

of

humanity

so

the

redemption

of

humanity

is

the

beginning

of

God's

reconciling

the

whole

world

to

himself

the

redemption

of

men

and

women

is

the

centerpiece

it

is

the

lead

foot

it

is

the

engine

that

drives

the

rest

of

reconciliation

and

the

church

as

fallen

and

as

broken

and

as

full

of

warts

and

ugliness

as

it

has

been

is

God's

intended

plan

that

through

the

church

the

proclamation

of

the

good

news

of

the

gospel

and

the

lifting

up

of

Christ

would

be

the

leading

edge

of

God's

redemptive

work

in

this

world

until

the

day

when

he

comes

back

and

makes

all

accounts

final

and

brings

a

final

judgment

and

a

final

redemption

when

he

reconciles

everything

to

himself

this

picture

of

God's

redemptive

work

in the

church

as the

centerpiece

of his

redemption

is part

of what

Paul wants

us to

get

from

this

passage

see

we

wrestle

with

the

fallen

world

don't

we

we

wrestle

with

why

can't

God

just

fix

it

why

hasn't

he

just

snapped

his

fingers

and

made

that

wrong

right

why

hasn't

he

cured

that

disease

and

of

course

as

we

step

back

and

we

think

with

a

little

bit

more

broad

we

see

that

God

has

always

been

at

work

and

God

is

graciously

restraining

evil

and

as

many

new

diseases

as

have

sprung

up

so

others

have

abated

and

gone

away

as

many

evils

have

been

perpetrated

others

have

been

stopped

we

have

seen

God's

gracious

hand

in

history

but

the

centerpiece

of

that

has

been

what

he

is

doing

in

the

church

and

this

is

why

Jesus

Christ

is

the

centerpiece

of

it

because

the

fullness

of

God

came

in

human

form

and

offered

himself

up

to

redeem

fallen

humanity

the

fullness

of

God

for

the

fullness

of

our

sin

so

that

he

might

redeem

us

so

that

then

through

this

church

and

through

his

resurrection

from

the

dead

he

might

now

bring

us

into

this

new

hope

and

this

new

place

where

this

fallen

world

doesn't

have

the

last

word

where

what

is

wrong

isn't

going

to

continue

to

be

more

wrong

forever

but

because

Christ

came

and

lived

and

died

and

rose

again

we

know

that

that's

not

the

end

of

the

story

look

friends

Christ

is

or

God

is

not

sitting

up

in

heaven

bemoaning

the

world

wondering

oh

I

don't

know

maybe

I

can

try

to

fix

this

it's

a

little

hard

he's

not

looking

at

the

trials

in

your

life

and

saying

oh

I

don't

know

that's

really

hard

I

don't

know

how

to

give

him

a

job

I

know

you're

lonely

sorry

I

can't

do

anything

about

that

God

is

not

sitting

up

impotent

hoping

for

us

to

fix

it

but

he

has

acted

clearly

and

decisively

and

powerfully

in

the

person

of

Christ

the

creator

dying

for

his

creation

the

righteous

one

dying

for

the

unrighteous

the

image

of

God

dying

for

those

created

in

the

image

of

God

by

pouring

out

his

life

and

death

he

frees

us

from

death

by

rising

from

the

dead

he

breaks

the

power

of sin

and

death

by

rising

from

the

dead

he

makes

us

as we

see

at the

end

of

this

passage

holy

and

blameless

as we

saw

last

week

in

verses

12

through

14

qualifying

us

to

join

in

the

inheritance

of

the

saints

in

light

being

freed

from

the

kingdom

of

darkness

friends

it

is

this

good

news

of

the

gospel

that

it

is

the

center

piece

of

what

God

is

doing

and

how

we

can

endure

when

it

feels

like

things

are

falling

apart

and

how

we

can

endure

when

it

feels

like

it's