A Big Saviour

Mary's going to come, she's going to read scripture for us.

She's going to read from Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 to 23.

Colossians 1:15–23

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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 once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

he has now reconciled in his 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.

Well, we're breaking into our series in James in the morning

to turn to this very famous passage in Colossians chapter 1 this morning.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

It's a big passage about a big saviour.

There's a lot in it, and we're going to try and get through it,

but more as a kind of helicopter view of the passage,

we could be in these verses in a long time.

But we're not going to do that this morning,

although you may beg to differ by the end of this sermon.

Many years ago I read a book entitled The Glory of Christ

by a minister down in England, a guy called Peter Lewis.

And in the beginning of the book he tells a story

about visiting a church, I think in Wales.

He's on holiday with his family,

and there was a lay preacher bringing the message that morning.

And the preacher concluded his sermon with these words.

He said,

I got to know him personally.

He was a keen angler, and I used to go fishing with him.

And on those occasions I was able to observe him

from an entirely different viewpoint.

I got to know the man, not merely the image.

And the nearer I got, the smaller he became.

But God eventually led that downcast schoolboy to a new hero.

And I've walked with my Jesus for 35 years now.

And in that time I've often disappointed him.

But he has never disappointed me.

I've got to know him better.

And that the nearer I get, the bigger he becomes.

The nearer I get, the bigger he becomes.

Now here in Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

it is evident that for Paul,

Jesus Christ was quite simply a massive figure.

Perhaps there are a few places in his writings

where we see this so clearly as here in these verses.

Here is Paul up close and personal with Jesus.

And in these words he spreads out before us

something of the majesty and splendor

and greatness and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses are really a doxology.

Worship.

Paul wants the hearts of his hearers to be warmed

and to be filled with Jesus Christ.

He wants our minds to be taken up with Jesus.

He wants our faith to be rooted in this Jesus.

He wants us to be strengthened by a personal knowledge

of this man, Jesus Christ.

He wants us to draw close and see just how great

and glorious and wonderful he is.

He wants us to see that Jesus Christ is indeed a big Savior.

And I want to highlight just four things

that Paul wants us to understand here

about the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ,

our big Savior.

And we'll go through them fairly quickly.

The first is this,

is Jesus and his unique relationship to God.

Jesus and his unique relationship to God.

One of the most basic religious questions

that people ask is this,

what is God like?

And Paul's answer here,

and indeed the answer of the Christian faith,

is this,

God is like Jesus.

He is the image of the invisible God.

That's quite an unusual phrase.

The Colossian church to which Paul was writing

was made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

The Jews worshipped, if you like, the invisible God,

and the Gentiles were known for worshipping images.

And Paul puts those two ideas together

when he says that in Jesus,

the invisible God became visible.

God's nature perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ.

Now, that was an outrageous claim

way back in the first century,

just as it is today.

How can flesh and blood

accurately reflect the eternal God?

And that's why some wanted to say

that Jesus wasn't really a man.

They suggested he was a spirit

or some kind of apparition or angel.

But Paul is very clear in these verses

that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood.

In verse 22, he talks of his body of flesh.

The language he uses couldn't make it clearer

that Jesus is to be understood

as being truly human.

Of course, there are many that object to that.

Those who say, well, if he was fully human,

he couldn't really be fully divine.

Maybe he was somebody who was anointed by God

in a special way,

or he was temporarily, temporarily filled

with God's Spirit.

Maybe he was just someone who was used by God

in an exceptional way.

But again, the language that Paul uses

in this passage makes it clear

that that could not be the case.

Verse 19,

For in him all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell.

Jesus was truly God,

truly divine, and truly human.

The life of God that dwelt or resided

in Jesus was not something temporary

or partial,

but something permanent and complete.

The fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ.

It's hard, really, to think

how Paul could make that any clearer,

that Jesus is both truly human

and truly divine.

And we might say, well,

maybe that's just Paul.

Maybe that's just one of his strange ideas.

But this dramatic claim

to a unique relationship with God

is one that Jesus himself made.

And we see that in the Gospels,

most notably in John's Gospel,

the 14th chapter of John's Gospel.

John 14, from verse 8,

we read these words.

Philip said,

Lord, show us the Father,

and that's enough for us.

And Jesus said,

Have I been with you so long

and you still don't know me, Philip?

Whoever has seen me

has seen the Father.

How can you say,

show us the Father?

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father

and the Father is in me?

The words that I say to you,

I do not speak on my own authority,

but the Father who dwells in me

does His works.

Believe me that I am in the Father

and the Father is in me,

or else believe

on account of the works themselves.

The unequivocal claim

of the New Testament

is that the very form, image,

and glory of God

belong to Jesus

in exactly the same degree

as they do to God the Father.

Jesus Christ has a unique relationship

to God

because He is truly God.

I came across these words

of John Owen

writing on this,

the image of the invisible God.

He writes this,

This is the foundation of our religion,

the rock on which the church is built,

the ground of all our hopes

of salvation,

of life,

and immortality.

All is resolved into this,

namely,

the representation that is made

of the nature and will of God

in the person and office

of Jesus Christ.

Here is Jesus

and His unique relationship

to God,

truly God,

truly man,

God in the flesh,

the image

of the invisible God.

That brings me

to the second thing here,

and that is Jesus

and His unique relationship

to creation.

The firstborn,

He says,

over all creation.

By Him,

all things were created.

Heaven and earth,

visible and visible,

thrones,

dominions,

rulers,

authorities,

all things created

through Him

and for Him.

He is before all things,

and in Him,

all things hold together.

Paul calls Jesus

not just the image

of the invisible God,

but the firstborn

of all creation,

the Lord of creation.

Now,

some suggest that

these words mean

that Christ was a creature,

the first created being,

indeed a heresy

that developed

in the first centuries

of the church

did just that.

That was known

as Arianism.

And today,

those who take such a view,

generally speaking,

liberal Protestants

or Jehovah's Witnesses.

But Paul does not say

that Jesus

is the first created.

He says,

firstborn.

And in the ancient world,

this title

was a designation

of supremacy.

The law of primogeniture

means that the firstborn

was the inheritor

of a father's wealth,

power, and status.

And so,

calling Jesus

the firstborn of

or over all creation

is actually just another way

of saying that Jesus

is equal with God the Father.

Jesus shares equally

in the Father's power

and authority

and supremacy

over creation.

He is incomparably great.

And that thought

is developed

in the verses

that follow.

You notice how Jesus

is described

as the agent

of creation.

By Him,

all things were created.

Now,

if all things

were created

by Jesus,

it stands to reason

that He Himself

could not be

a created being.

All things

were created

through Him.

He is the creator

of all things

and therefore Himself

not a created being.

Jesus is not

part of creation

at all.

How can this be?

Because He is

truly God.

every last corner

of this universe

was created

by Jesus Christ.

He is sovereign

over all that He has made.

Even those unseen powers

and authorities

in this world

were made

and controlled

by Him.

He rules over all things.

And Jesus here

is not just the agent

of creation.

He is the sustainer

of creation.

He is before all things,

verse 17.

In Him all things

hold together.

And the claim here

is that Jesus

sustains,

preserves the very

fabric of the universe.

Why we live in a cosmos

and not a chaos?

Because Christ

holds all things

together.

Because of Him

there is structure,

order,

stability.

So,

behind all that there is,

it's not some

grand

unifying theory,

some abstract

mathematical principle,

but a divine personality.

It's Jesus

who gives order

and structure

and coherence

to the universe

He's made.

In Him

all things

hold together.

He sustains everything

by the power

of His Word.

And so,

as we explore

this universe,

as we enjoy

this world

that He has made,

as we work in it,

as we discover

more of its grandeur

and beauty,

we come to see

that it's all really

the theater

of His glory.

Jesus is the agent,

He's the sustainer,

and also here

the goal of creation.

All things were created

through Him

and for Him.

The universe

has a purpose

or a goal,

it is for Him.

Jesus Christ

is the key

to unlocking

the mysteries

and the deepest

secrets

of the universe.

It's because of Him

that there is purpose

and meaning

in any of it.

As human beings,

we have embedded

deep within us

an intuition

of destiny

and purpose.

No matter

how hard we try,

some today

are trying very hard,

we cannot erase

or eradicate

that sense

of ultimate

significance.

Consistent

atheists

like Richard Dawkins

and others

say that even

to ask

the question

about purpose

and meaning

in human existence

is stupid

and irrational.

Everything is

a cosmic accident.

And theirs

is an unbearable

and,

I think,

in the final analysis,

an unlivable

perspective.

Whether or not

we believe

in a Creator

makes a profound

difference

in how we look

at ourselves,

how we look

at other people,

and how we live

our lives.

It makes all

the difference

in the world.

And Paul asserts

here that

everything

that exists

finds its origin,

existence,

and purpose

in Jesus Christ.

And that is true

for you

and for me

today.

Jesus Christ

is the only place

where you can find

eternal meaning

and purpose

in life.

Tim Keller

once wrote,

if you don't

let your thinking

lead you to

Jesus Christ,

it will end

in despair.

Jesus is the Lord

over all creation.

That is a dramatic

and outrageous claim,

an astounding claim.

Jesus and His unique

relationship

to God.

Jesus is truly God.

Jesus and His

unique relationship

to creation.

He is the Creator.

Thirdly here,

Jesus and His

unique relationship

to the church.

Verse 18,

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.

Jesus is forming

a new community

around Him,

the church of Jesus Christ.

It comprises all those

who have been joined

to Him by faith.

The Lord of creation

is the Lord of the church.

Jesus is ushering

in a new creation.

And one of the marks

of that new creation

is the formation

of this new people.

Excuse me a second.

The New English Bible

translates to

Corinthians 5, 17.

When anyone is united

to Christ,

there is a new world.

The old order is gone

and a new order

has already begun.

In other words,

Christ's people

belong to a new humanity

of which Jesus Himself

is the head.

Now, that picture of Christ

as head of the church,

Paul uses it

in places like

1 Corinthians 12, 12,

Romans 12, 5.

And there he often

is emphasizing

the mutual dependence

of the body.

But here,

the significance

he is emphasizing

is Christ as the head.

This is as men and women

are connected to Christ

that they come

to belong to one another

in this new community

of faith

we call the church.

He alone

is head of the church.

The church is dependent

on him

for its life

and health.

Westminster Confession

says,

there is no other

head of the church

but the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ alone

rules and reigns

over his people.

all must be in submission

to him.

He is preeminent.

He is the beginning,

the firstborn

from the dead

that in everything

he might be preeminent,

says Paul.

And when Paul speaks

of Jesus being

the firstborn

from the dead,

he is clearly

referencing the resurrection.

Jesus was the first

to rise from the dead,

a pioneer

gone before us

into death

and then out of death.

He has conquered death,

drawn its sting.

And so,

what is true for the head

is true for all

in the body.

What is true for Christ

will be true

for his people.

our very mortality

is sucked up,

is, if you like,

hoovered up

in Christ's resurrection life.

He is our only hope

in the face of death.

And yes,

there's much

in this life

that we can avoid

and evade,

but we cannot avoid death.

We cannot outrun it.

We cannot defeat it.

But the good news is this,

that Jesus Christ

has triumphed over death.

He is its victor.

He is its conqueror.

He is its king.

And because Jesus

has been raised,

so then all who are joined

to him by faith

will also be raised.

He has been led out

from death,

and so also will we be.

He partook of our flesh

and blood

to deliver us

from death.

He walked

into the valley

of the shadow

and came out

the other end

in resurrection power.

And so in Jesus Christ

there is good news

for a world

under the curse of death

because this Jesus

is still able

to lead his people,

his church,

through the valley

of darkness

and into the light.

Jesus,

his unique relationship

to God,

his unique relationship

to creation,

his unique relationship

to the church

as its king and head.

But there's a fourth thing

here about Jesus

and why he is such a big

or such a great Savior,

and that is because

of his unique work

upon the cross.

Verse 19,

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.

You who once

were alienated,

hostile in mind,

doing evil deeds,

he is reconciled

in his body of flesh

by his death

to present you

holy and blameless

and above reproach

before him.

And the key word

that Paul uses

in these verses

is this word reconcile.

We use it,

don't we,

when we're describing

the healing

of a restored,

or restoring

of a relationship

after some kind

of breakdown

or fallout.

And here Paul speaks

of the whole creation,

of all things,

being reconciled

through Jesus

and through his blood

shed on the cross.

The root of the brokenness

of this world

is in our alienation,

our estrangement

from God,

our creator.

As human beings,

we have turned

our backs on God,

we have rejected

his authority

and rule,

and the consequence

of that alienation,

Paul says here,

we've become hostile

to God in our minds,

and that hostility

is manifest

in evil deeds.

And yet,

from the very beginning,

God has not resolved

to allow evil

to win the day.

His righteous character

is such

that he has been determined

to defeat

all that is broken

and wrong

in his creation.

He has chosen

not to abandon

his creation

to judgment

and wrath,

but to rescue it

and redeem it,

to reconcile

the world to himself,

to make peace.

And how has he done this?

He has done this

through the cross

of Christ.

When a close

personal relationship

breaks down,

often there is

a profound sense

of anger,

resentment,

hurt,

hatred,

contempt even

that can take root.

And sometimes

these feelings

and emotions

may be justified,

but if reconciliation

is ever to take place,

if restoration

is ever to be affected,

if the breach

is ever to be healed,

then someone

has to bear

the pain.

Without that happening,

forgiveness

cannot be offered

because true forgiveness

is never cheap.

Restoration

is not easy.

We know this

in our own lives.

There is always hurt.

There is always pain

that has to be born.

And that's precisely

what the cross

tells us.

On the cross,

we see God

in Christ

reconciling the world

to Himself,

absorbing all the pain

and injury

awoken in Him

by our hatred

and sinful rebellion.

We see God

making peace

through the blood

of the cross.

And it's interesting

here,

the language

of Paul,

the physical language

he uses.

Making peace

by the blood

of the cross.

reconciliation

in His body

of flesh

by His death.

Fashionable,

theologically fashionable

today to downplay

the blood of Christ.

Something primitive,

barbaric,

even to despise

the old rugged cross.

Friends,

we must never fall prey

to that temptation.

But as the old hymn put it,

what can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood

of Jesus.

What can make me

whole again?

Nothing but the blood

of Jesus.

A crucified Savior

stands at the very heart

and center

of the Christian gospel.

There's an old path

not far from where I grew up

in Lanarkshire,

in Lesmahagel.

It runs over the muir

to Muir Kirk

in Ayrshire.

It's a part of the

Scotland that was

a strong

covenanting area.

And there are

covenanting

memorials

littered all across

the landscape.

And on that path

near to Muir Kirk,

there lies

a memorial

to the

covenanter

John Brown

of Priest Hill.

Brown was executed

May the 1st,

1685

by

a man known as

Bloody Claverhouse.

He was a kind of enforcer

for the king.

Treasonable papers

were found

in his house

and

he was taken out

and he was shot

in front of his wife

and family.

It said that

the soldiers

hesitated

to carry out

the sentence.

And so Claverhouse

himself

shot him.

And after

he'd shot him,

Claverhouse

is reputed

to have said

to Brown's wife,

as she cradled

the bloodied

body of her man,

what thinkest thou

of thy husband now?

And she replied

through her tears,

I ever thought

much good of him,

but even

more

now.

And when

by faith

we come

to see

Jesus Christ

mangled

in the blood

of the cross

for us,

are we not

tempted to say

something similar?

I ever thought

much of him,

but even

more

now.

Paul says

Jesus suffered

and died

on the cross.

You notice it

there in verse 22,

in order to present

you holy

and blameless

and above

reproach

before him.

Isn't that an amazing

thought?

We,

stained,

despoiled

by all our sin,

burdened

and weighed

down by all

our guilt,

presented as

one holy

and blameless

before a righteous

and holy God.

Think back

over your life,

think of your

mistakes

and your errors,

the ways that

you have

hurt or let

down other

people,

the way that

you have

shown contempt

for God,

all the ugly

pride and

selfishness

that has

disfigured

your life

and your

heart.

How on earth

can someone

like you,

someone like

me,

be presented

as one

holy and

blameless

and above

reproach?

It does

not seem

possible.

And yet,

it's not

simply possible,

it is actual.

It's not a

fantasy,

it's a reality.

It's real

because it's

been accomplished

by none

other than

the eternal

Son of God.

And this

reconciling work

of Jesus

Christ is

not simply

something personal

and individual,

though it is,

it's also

something cosmic

and universal,

because Paul

speaks here of

God in Christ

reconciling to

himself all

things on

earth or in

heaven, the

whole created

order.

He has opened

up the way

for a new

heavens and

earth in which

righteousness

shall dwell.

There as

King and

Lord over

that new

world will

be none

other than

the Lord

Jesus Christ

in all his

risen power

and majesty

and glory.

And C.S.

Lewis is

we always

have to have

either a

quote from

Lord of the

Rings or

C.S.

Lewis in

every sermon

here, so

this is the

C.S.

Lewis one.

His second

book in the

Chronicles of

Narnia is

called Prince

Caspian, and

there's a scene

in that book

where Lucy

experiences a

personal visit

from Aslan.

This is what

we read.

The great

priest rolled

over on his

side so that

Lucy fell,

half sitting and

half lying between

his front paws.

He bent

forward and

just touched

her nose with

his tongue.

His warm

breath came

all around

her.

She gazed

up into the

large, wise

face.

Welcome,

child, he

said.

Aslan, said

Lucy, you're

bigger.

That is because

you are older,

little one,

answered he.

Not because you

are.

I am not.

But every

year you

grow, you

will find me

bigger.

Every year

you grow, you

will find me

bigger.

I was at a

meeting last

year, I think,

one of these

Zoom meetings

with ministers,

and an older

minister, well,

I thought he was

an older minister

until I realized

he was actually

younger than

me.

But anyway,

that's another

story.

He was sharing

something about

his experience

in ministry

over many

years.

And he

confessed that

at times his

ministry had

been about,

this is what he

said, a big

me and a

little Jesus.

And then he

spoke about

his desire

that his

life and

ministry in

his later

years would

instead be

about a

little me

and a

big Jesus.

What

characterizes

your life,

your ministry,

your heart

this morning?

A big

me and a

little Jesus?

Or a

little me

and a big

Jesus?

Jesus.

The closer

you get to

Jesus, the

bigger he

appears to

be.

How close

are you to

him?

In a moment

we'll share

the Lord's

Supper.

And this

table is a

place where

we get close

to Jesus.

As we come

to him in

repentance and

faith, he

meets us, he

blesses us with

his presence.

We come in our

weakness and he

strengthens us.

We come in our

guilt and he

forgives us.

We come in our

failure and he

lifts us up.

At the table we

see him in the

glory of his

cross and

realize afresh that

he must have the

place of

supremacy in our

lives.

I wonder if he

has that in your

life.

Does he have

first place?

Does he have

preeminence in our

church?

Does he occupy

that place of

supremacy in your

heart?

Come to the

table spread with

bread and wine

and draw near to

a big Jesus.

Come and bow the

knee before him

and discover afresh

just how big he

really is.

For the good news

is this.

He is bigger and

greater than all

the wickedness and

all the evil and

all the injustice of

this broken world.

He is bigger than

your every sin and

your every failure.

And friends, that is

good news.

Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you

for a big Jesus.

We thank you for a

big Savior.

And Lord, we ask

that you may draw

us closer to him

by your Spirit.

and as we come to

the Lord's table,

that we might meet

with him in a very

real way, in the

power of the Holy

Spirit, that our

eyes would be

opened to see him

as he really is.

The great,

eternal God,

maker of heaven

and earth,

king and head of

the church,

the one who is

the Son of God

and who loved us

and gave himself

for us.

And we pray these

things in his name.

Amen.