The One We Please: Our Reigning King

Amen. You may be seated. Children, you may head off to your King's Kids class,

and if everybody else would turn in their Bibles to Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

15 through 20. In your pew Bible, it's 1168, 1168.

You are about to hear high ground of Jesus. Hear God's Word.

He 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.

God bless the reading and hearing of His Word.

You know, King Charles was recently crowned King of the British Commonwealth.

And we all know that's mainly a ceremonial position.

No real authority to wield.

But that crown with which he was crowned is a symbol of the dominion of the British Commonwealth.

Again, has no real authority, but that's what it symbolizes.

Do you ever think about the moment before His crowning?

Like, there must have been like a crown sizing appointment

where they like measured His head to make sure that crown fit.

You don't want a crown too big.

You don't want a crown too little.

Well, this morning you're going to see that Jesus Christ is the reigning King of two dominions.

And if each dominion had its own representative crown,

they could only be worn by Jesus Christ.

There's no other that could bear these crowns.

And they're not ceremonial.

They're real.

Now, if you were here last week, you learned God's will for your life.

Sounds audacious, doesn't it?

I asked a question.

What is God's will for your life?

And we saw from Colossians 1, 9 through 14,

God's will for your life is five letters, five words,

to please Christ in everything.

So let me ask you, what is God's will for your life?

To please Christ in everything.

Today's question is this.

Why Christ?

Why should He be the controlling center of your life?

Why should He be the one that you seek to please in everything?

What gives Him the right to that part of everything?

Why Him?

Colossians 1, 15 through 20 answers the question,

why Christ?

Why should we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus?

Why should we seek to please Him in everything?

I'm going to answer it in three ways.

He is the divine King.

He wears the crown of creation.

That's number two.

And number three, He wears the crown of redemption.

Why Christ?

Why should we please Him in everything?

Why?

He's the divine King reigning over all of creation

in all of redemption.

We please Christ in everything

because He's reigning over everything.

And if you're a Christian,

He's claimed you not just once, but twice.

So let's look at this divine King.

He is our divine King.

He is the divine King.

In verses 15 through 20,

if you look carefully at these six verses,

you will notice quickly that there's something missing.

Not once do you see the name Jesus.

You don't see the Lord Jesus Christ.

You don't see Jesus Christ.

But what you do see in an unusual accumulation

is what you heard me emphasizing as we read through it.

There is an abundance of third person singular pronouns.

Listen.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

Verse 16.

For by Him all things were created.

Look at the end of verse 16.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

17.

And He is before all things,

and Him all things hold together.

18.

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, verse 19,

all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

20.

And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things,

making peace by the blood of His cross.

Now the obvious question is,

who is this He, Him, Himself, His?

And that last one,

His cross is a clear giveaway.

Anyway,

what Paul is doing here is he's elaborating on what he said in verse 13.

We learned in verse 13,

that God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

That's the He.

He, in whom we have redemption,

the forgiveness of sins.

The subject of verses 15 through 20

is the beloved Son,

whom we know from chapter 1, verse 3,

is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now you may be asking this question,

hold on Pastor Mike.

I see the word kingdom in verse 13,

but nowhere in verses 15 through 20

do I see the word king.

You're saying that He's a divine king?

Where's the king?

Well, it's true that the word king

is not anywhere to be found in verses 15 through 20,

but did you happen to see the word firstborn?

In verse 15,

the firstborn of all creation.

In 19, the firstborn from the dead.

To our 21st century American ears,

when we hear firstborn,

we think in terms of birth order.

We think in terms of creation,

something coming into existence.

But the way that the word firstborn

is being used here in Colossians 1, 15 and 19,

and then how it's used

in Hebrews 1, verse 6

Hebrews 1:6

and Revelation 1, verse 5,

Revelation 1:5

these New Testament passages

are talking about firstborn

not in the way that we Americans think,

but in the way that Psalm 89, 27 thinks.

If you want to turn there,

let me show you how firstborn is being used.

It's on page 587 of your pew Bibles.

This is Psalm 89, verse 27.

Psalms 89:27

God is speaking about David.

And I, God, will make him, David, the firstborn.

Do you remember, David was the youngest

of seven sons of Jesse.

Firstborn is being used here in a different way.

It's talking about a position.

And then what we read is this,

and I will make him the firstborn.

God says, I will make David the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

Not only is this a position,

but it is a kingly position.

And not just a kingly position,

a high king position.

Firstborn is describing the authority of a king.

The high king of heaven.

And God is explaining that of David.

But there's even a higher king than King David.

It's David's greater son, Jesus.

So this firstborn is a reference to Jesus.

Not to his creation.

Sorry, Jehovah's Witnesses.

But his authoritative reign over all.

You can say firstborn is talking about

the king of kings.

The last thing I want you to notice

about this divine king

is not just he's a king,

but he's divine.

He's a God king.

If you want to look at verse 15,

speaking of the beloved son,

he is the image of the invisible God.

He is God seen.

Hebrews 1.3 says it like this.

He is the radiance of the glory of God,

the exact imprint of his nature.

The beloved son is God seen.

And it's not just limited to his incarnation.

It even happened before.

So do you know who Adam and Eve saw in the garden

when they would walk with God

in the cool of the day?

The beloved son.

Do you know who Isaiah had a vision of?

The king sitting on his throne

with seraphim all around him?

Beloved son.

115, this image of the invisible God

is a claim of deity.

And in verse 19,

if there was any question,

for in him,

the beloved son,

all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell.

This beloved son,

who makes the invisible God visible,

possesses the entire fullness

of God-ness.

this he,

him,

himself,

his,

is the divine king of kings.

This is the one whom we please.

And this is the one in whom we walk

in a manner worthy of.

It's him we seek to please

in everything.

And he claims you twice,

Christian.

So let's move from

who he is,

this divine king,

to his first domain.

His first crown.

In verses 15 through 18,

we are shown

his first dominion,

that which he reigns over.

Imagine a brilliant crown

of yellow gold

and gilded throughout

the perimeter of this,

of this crown,

you have golden mountains

and golden rivers

and golden forests.

And there's this golden Adam and Eve

in the garden

walking together.

And in white gold,

you have this,

these words,

the center of this crown,

the firstborn

of all creation.

The crown

represents a dominion

and it only fits

the beloved son

who is the image

of the invisible God

in whom the fullness

of God is pleased to dwell.

He's the high king

of all.

And what we're talking about here

now is

one of his dominions.

And so let's look at

the nature of this dominion,

his right to it,

and the goal of it.

The nature of his dominion.

We see it in the title,

the firstborn of all creation,

and then it gets spelt out.

It's spelt out

with this little phrase,

all things.

Look at verse 16.

For by him,

all things were created.

At the end of verse 16,

all things were created

through him and for him.

Verse 17,

and he's before all things

and in him all things

hold together.

And so he then,

Paul,

helps us to kind of get a sense

of what all things is

in heaven and earth.

That's everything.

Visible and invisible.

Things you see,

things you don't see.

That's his dominion.

And then he goes into

thrones,

dominions,

rulers,

and authorities.

Whether there are thrones,

rulers,

dominions,

and authorities

that are seen or unseen,

whether they're in heaven

or on earth,

he has dominion

over them all.

If you look over

chapter 2,

verse 18,

you can see some

of the false teaching

that was infecting

the Colossian church.

Let no one disqualify you,

insisting on asceticism

and worship of angels.

What Paul is doing here

is simple.

He's getting ahead

of that problem.

He's saying angels

are created things.

Why are you worshiping them?

They're under the domain

of the firstborn

of all creation.

This firstborn

is someone greater

than angels.

He is greater than demons.

He's greater than the devil.

He's greater than dictators,

politicians.

He's definitely greater

than any Super Bowl athlete.

The nature of this domain

is all creation.

So what gives him the right?

Why does he get

to wear that crown?

On what basis

does the second person

of the Trinity,

the beloved son,

get to be the high king

of all creation?

In verse 16,

we see it.

For by him,

all things

were created.

All things were created

through him.

He's the high king

of all creation

because he created

all things

in creation.

John 1.3,

John says it this way,

all things were made

through him

and without him.

Not one thing

was made.

Not anything

was made

that was made.

It's the same point

of Hebrews 1.2.

The beloved son

is the creator

of all.

And not only

did he create

everything,

it's not like

the second person

of the Trinity

was like this,

all of creation

is like this clock

that he wound up

and let it go.

he's not only

the creator

of all.

Verse 17,

he holds all things

together.

He sustains

all things.

Ultimately,

you were created

and are being

sustained

by this firstborn

of all creation,

the beloved son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Whether you are

conscious of it

or not,

you were created

by him

and you depend

on him

for your next breath.

He's actually

numbered

your days.

He has claimed

you

by virtue

of creating

you

and sustaining

you.

That's what gives

him the right

to wear the crown,

who he is,

what he does.

That's why we seek

to please him

in everything.

But there's one more

thing I'd like you

to see.

The goal of it all.

The aim

of his reign

over all creation.

It's

in verse

18.

Excuse me,

it's in verse

16.

And for him.

All things

were created

through him

and for him.

Every square inch

in all of creation

in heaven and earth,

visible and invisible,

he claims

as mine

for him,

for his glory.

Every mountain,

every river,

every forest,

every image

bearer created,

it's created

for his glory.

Anybody

who liked

watching the PBS

antique road show?

I began loving it

when I turned 50.

I'm not sure

if it's got to do

with that.

Well,

this show is basically

about finding hidden

treasures.

And it goes from city

to city in the United

States,

and people bring

their stuff,

and they bring their

stuff to these

experts in particular

fields.

So,

they bring kind of

a painting they found

in their attic,

and they bring a bracelet

that was given to them

by their great aunt,

and they bring this

piece of pottery

they bought for $3.50

at a garage sale,

and they bring it

to see what these

experts have to say,

and lo and behold,

the show unfolds,

and you find treasure.

There's this painting

in someone's attic

that is signed

Remington.

There's a bracelet

that has a silver

mark stamp

that's Tiffany.

There's a pottery,

a piece of pottery

that's made

by Dave Drake.

The value

then goes

off the charts

because the value

of these created

things

is given

by its creator.

Biblically speaking,

every created thing,

all things,

bear the maker's

mark.

the firstborn

of all creation.

His mark

is on everything.

We bear His image.

We are living marks

of our maker,

Jesus Christ.

We were created

by Him

and for Him

and like Him.

Our sin

is a

de-creative

act.

It pushes

back against Him.

So when we

ignore the maker's

mark,

when we

kind of

attribute

beauty of something

not to Him

but to something

else,

when we try

to scratch

out His signature

on us

and put in

our own,

we're decreating.

We're denying

the crown.

We're trying

to take the crown

that's only for His

head and put it

on our own

heads.

when we deny

our Creator

and attribute

things to

something else,

it's a capital

offense against

the High

King of all

creation.

This is His

domain.

All things

is His domain.

And you are

by virtue

of your existence

part of His

domain.

And if this

domain of all

creation had a

crown with a

title,

gilded in white

gold,

it would read

the firstborn

of all creation.

And that crown

can only fit

on one person's

head,

the beloved

Son,

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

He claims

you by virtue

of His creation

and sustaining

of you.

This is the

first crown

and there is a

second.

In verses

18 through

20,

we encounter

the second

domain of

this king.

If the

first crown

of yellow

gold with

white gilding

that says

the firstborn

of all creation,

this second

crown is

spectacular

as well.

It's yellow

gold and all

around its

perimeter you

have men

and women

from every

tribe to

tongue and

nation with

hands raised

to the

one who

redeemed

them.

And at the

center of

this crown

gilded in

red gold

are the

words,

the firstborn

from the

dead.

Remember,

the one

whom is

over this

dominion,

the first

dominion,

the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

He's the

image of

the invisible

God.

In him is

all the

fullness of

God

pleased to

dwell.

This second

dominion is

Christ's

authoritative

reign over

all things

reconciled by

the blood of

his cross.

All things.

The high

king of all

creation is

also the

high king

of all the

redeemed.

So let's

again look at

the nature

of this

domain,

Christ's

rightful claim

on it,

and the goal

of it.

we get to

the nature

of this

particular

domain by

some titles.

The first

title is in

verse 18,

and he's the

head of the

body,

the church.

The body

of Christ

is the

church of

Christ,

and that

body metaphor

for the

church is

one of

Paul's

favorites to

describe all

that's been

purchased by

the blood

of Jesus.

The

church

is not

a building,

it's a

people,

and we've

already

encountered

the church

in Colossians

1.

It's in

verse 13,

all those

who've been

delivered from

the domain

of darkness

and transferred

into the

kingdom of

the beloved

son,

in whom we

have redemption,

the forgiveness

of sins.

The universal

church are

all those

people from

all of time

who've been

reconciled to

God by the

blood of

Jesus Christ.

Jesus is

their risen

king.

And him

being the

head of

the body

is a

picture of

both his

authoritative

reign over

his church

and the

church's

dependence on

him.

So the

domain we're

talking about

here, the

nature of

this domain,

we're not

talking about

all of

creation.

we're talking

about all

those who've

been

reconciled to

him.

There's another

title, he is

the beginning,

the firstborn

from the dead.

Again, it's

getting at the

nature of this

reign.

The beginning

is not a

reference to

in the

beginning God

created.

This is a

different

beginning.

because it's

tied to that

title, the

firstborn from

the dead.

And that is a

reference to

Jesus'

resurrection.

What Paul is

getting at

here is the

beginning of a

new creation.

The

resurrection

was Christ's

inauguration to

his reign over

all things

redeemed.

his

resurrection.

We just

sang it

moments ago.

It's his

victory over

sin, death,

and the

devil.

It's the

great reversal

of sin as

far as the

curse is

found.

It's the

beginning of

a new

creation work

bearing fruit

and increasing

in the whole

world.

So the

nature of

this second

dominion

is one

dealing with

spiritual

rescue,

redemption.

Check it

out.

The creator

of all

things became

like one of

his creations,

taking on

human flesh,

lived a

perfect life,

died to

reconcile all

those who

rejected him,

all those who

were decreating,

and was

raised then

triumphant over

all that

opposed him.

and ever

since that

happened,

Christ's death

and resurrection,

the gospel,

the good news,

has been

recreating

people

bearing fruit

and increasing

throughout the

whole world.

what we're

talking about

here is the

beginning of a

new creation

reign.

In the

scope of it,

we see in

verse 20,

all the

earth and

in the

heavens.

This

redemption

work of

Jesus

is

cosmic.

What gives

him the

right?

what gives

him the

right to

rule over

all the

redeemed?

Why does

he get to

be the

head of

the church?

Remember

verse 19,

all the

fullness of

God was

pleased to

dwell in

him.

He is

fully God

and he

is fully

man and

he is

the divine

king and

he is the

only one

of all

creation who

can reconcile

us to

God through

his blood.

There is no

other.

what gives

him the

right to

exercise his

domain,

his authority

over all

that will

be

reconciled

is who

he is,

God,

and what

he's done.

His work

on the

cross,

the blood

of his

cross.

He

reconciled

us to

himself

and will

one day

reconcile

all of

creation to

himself.

If you

look down

at verse

21, I'm

going to

preach on

this next

week.

If you

look at

verse 21,

you're going

to see

our state

before we

were

reconciled to

Christ.

Christ, and

you who

once were

alienated and

hostile in

mind doing

evil deeds.

In our

decreating

sinfulness, we

are hostile to

God, but God

in his grace

towards us

sent Jesus

and he did

something

remarkable.

He made

peace with

us, not

us with

him.

He made

peace with

us through

his cross.

Only he,

could do

that.

Only this

king could

do that,

being who

he is.

Our

creator paid

the price

of our

decreating

in order to

recreate us

in his

image in

order to

live for

him.

We are

new creations.

The old

is gone,

the new

has come.

If this

domain had

a crown,

it would

be titled

with red

gold lettering

that read

the first

born

from the

dead.

The high

king of

those raised

from the

dead.

The high

king of

an eternal

life.

The high

king of

a new

creation.

And it

fits only

him.

Only on

his head.

You can't

bear the

weight of

your own

redemption.

Only he

can.

The goal

of this

reign we

see in

verse 20.

to reconcile

all things

to himself.

That he

might be

preeminent.

That he

might be

Christ

central.

He created

you.

He died

for you.

He was

raised for

you so

that you

would live

for him.

So that you

would walk

in a manner

worthy of

this king.

So that you

would seek to

please him

in everything.

Christian,

you've been

claimed not

once but

twice by this

king.

the first

was your

very creation.

Your next

breath is

evidence of

his kingship.

And his

second claim

on you

was his

death on

the cross

for you.

His

redemptive

dominion

is reclaiming

more and

more of

his created

dominion.

and one

day his

work of

redemption

will reclaim

it all.

And there

will be a

new heavens

and a new

earth.

And we

will be

with him

in his

place.

And it

will be

good.

I've got a

question for

you.

What is

God's will

for your

life?

Give it to

me.

Five words.

Christ died

Let me

back up.

Let me

ask myself

this question.

Mike, what

is God's

will for

your life?

To please

Christ in

everything.

This

morning we've

been asking

the question

why Christ?

Why him?

He's the

divine king.

He alone

bears the

crown of

creation.

He has

the title

the first

born of

all

creation.

He alone

bears the

crown of

redemption.

He alone

has the

title the

first born

from the

dead.

He's

alive.

Christian,

you have

been claimed

twice by

this divine

king.

He created

you and

he redeemed

you.

Why

Christ?

Who he is

and what he's

done.

But let

me just

ask one

more

question.

Why

bother?

Why

bother?

Why

bother

taking the

time and

effort to

daily recognize

him as the

reigning king

of all?

Why bother?

Well, you

can make an

argument for

the quality

of your

life.

That when

he is the

reigning king

of your

life, the

controlling

center of

your life,

you'll

experience joy

and peace

and growing

in abundance

despite your

circumstances,

right?

If he is

the reigning

king of

your life,

controlling

center,

Christ

center,

you will

be realizing

more and

more what

possibly could

anything happen

to me and

anyone do

to me that

is a threat

to him.

Nothing.

When you

realize who

your king is

and that he's

for you,

it's a

tremendous

source of

confidence.

So your

quality of

life.

But there's

an even

basic

argument.

Why bother?

Here it

is.

Because it's

reality.

Because Jesus

right now

is the

reigning

king of

creation.

Because Jesus

right now

is the

reigning

king of

redemption.

The new

creation.

creation.

He's got

the spot.

He's got

the right

to your

reigning

of you

and all

of the

world.

Don't swap

him out

for U.S.

politics.

Don't swap

him out

for international

conflicts.

Don't make

the state

of your

marriage

the controlling

center of

your life.

Don't make

the spiritual

well-being

of your

children the

controlling

center of

your life.

There's only

one.

One.

Don't make

your health

the controlling

center of

your life.

Don't make

who will win

the Super

Bowl,

what are the

snacks at

the Super

Bowl,

the controlling

center of

your life.

Why bother?

Because the

reality is

this.

Christ is

reigning

over all.

And we

please the

Lord Jesus

in everything

because he's

the high

king of

everything.

And that

is reality.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

you do call

us to

daily deny

ourselves,

take up our

crosses and

follow you

in seeing

you for who

you are.

That you are

the firstborn of

all creation

and the firstborn

from the dead.

You are the

king of creation.

You are the

king of

redemption.

You are in

the process

of reclaiming

this fallen

world.

And so when

we think about

this call in

our lives to

deny ourselves,

take up our

crosses and

follow you,

we say yes

in light of

who you are,

in light of

what you've

done and what

you're doing

and what you

will do.

You are

worthy,

Lord Jesus,

of all that

we are.

and we

crown you

Lord of

all.

Amen.