THINKING BIBLICALLY ABOUT JESUS - Colossians 1:13-20

All right, let's grab our Bibles and

meet me in Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Colossians chapter 1. We're going to be

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

reading verses 13- 20. Now, that sounds

familiar. It's because a couple of weeks

ago, Pastor Eric did an incredible job

during our Christmas series unpacking

the truth of what it means to have the

image of God restored in creation. He

did such an amazing job. I felt that I

would piggyback off of he taught and

what he preached from this passage in

order to dive into what I'm calling

thinking biblically about Jesus. Over

the last couple of weeks, we've been

diving into this theme of what it means

to think biblically. We've learned what

it means to think biblically about God.

Last week, we learned what it means to

think biblically about sin. And so, I

want us to continue to engage in the

scriptures so that we can develop a

framework for what it means to think

biblically about sin. Hey, you know what

I just remembered right now? I just,

man, I got so into it. I'm feeling some

angst this morning. Would you turn to

somebody next to you? Give them a high

five and a fist bump. Let them know

you're glad to see them this morning.

Remember,

if you don't know somebody, it's a great

time to introduce yourself.

>> Hey, brother.

I saw some of y'all in your seat saying,

"Oh, he he didn't do it." Yes. I hope he

doesn't remember. [laughter]

But Colossians Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

here's here's what's happening uh in our

passage. Paul is writing to this this

church um who is dealing with what we

would call heresy in the church. And

maybe you've heard that word before, may

maybe not, or maybe you've you've heard

it and you've never really quite

understood. What does it mean when when

something is called heresy or someone is

labeled a heretic? What that means is

that whatever message they're preaching,

whatever sermon they're delivering,

whatever Bible study they're leading, if

the content tense and the message of

that sermon, teaching, or Bible study is

completely

anti-Christian, completely against the

gospel, distorts its truth, pollutes and

adulterates its deep doctrine, that is

called heresy.

And so throughout the ages of the

church, there have been people who have

preached and said things like this.

Jesus didn't really rise from the grave.

That's heresy.

Whoever would teach that would be

labeled a heretic.

There have been other people who would

rise up among the ranks of the church

and would say this. We're not saved by

grace. were saved by works, that would

be labeled heresy and that teacher or

preacher would be labeled a heretic.

Well, there was heresy that was invading

the church in Colasse.

Paul heard about this and so Paul begins

to set the record straight. There were

people engaging the church and were

saying things like this. Jesus is great

and yes, he's savior and he's a great

teacher and yes, there were miracles

done at the work of his hands. But not

only do you need Jesus,

you need Jesus plus this. And they would

say particular works or they would say

particular obedience to laws or

standards or or things uh traditions

that were done in the Old Testament.

And Paul combats that

not by attacking the heresy that's

invading the church. And I love this.

You're going to see this here in just a

moment. Paul combats that by lifting

high the name of Jesus.

Because Paul knows what I pray we know

that when Jesus is lifted high,

when there is this towering view of who

Christ is and how Christ moves and works

in our life, that the shadow of his

mercy and grace is cast over the lies

and the heresies of this world. And so

often what we do in our life is we fall

victim to the entrapment of the enemy

who would take biblical truth, distort

it, twist it, adulterate it, present it

to us in a way that seems palatable and

we accept it not knowing anything

different. But when there is a high view

of Jesus, when there is a biblical view

of Jesus,

we're able to confront the heresies of

this world, the sins in our culture, and

with resounding voice and steadfast

faith, remain planted in a foundation

that is anchored in what is firm and

true, and be able to proclaim the truth

of God as it casts its shadow over the

lies and the heresies of this world. So

Colossians chapter 1, we're going to

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

begin in verse 13. We're going to read

all the way through verse 20. But but

before we get there, this is not on the

screen.

As as I was reviewing this early this

morning,

I I I I I was reading the whole chapter

uh and and I got to verse 9 here and I

thought, man, this is a great setup

for what Paul is is doing as he steers

the hearts of the Colossians as he

steers their hearts towards a high view

of Jesus. Because when your heart is is

centered and and and your spirit is

focused on Jesus, it has less time to

focus on the lies of this world. So in

verse 9, let me read it to you real

quick, then we'll get into verse 13. He

says, "For this reason,

since the day we heard this, we haven't

stopped praying for you. We are asking

that you may be filled with the

knowledge of his will." And I love this

right here. In all wisdom and spiritual

understanding,

knowing that the passage we get into is

going to make a lot of sense. Paul is

writing to a church that is battling

heresy that it's crept way in. Paul

says, "I'm praying for you and I want

you to have knowledge and spiritual

understanding."

Well, Roland, how do we gain knowledge

and spiritual understanding? Notice that

here in our passage, Paul's going to

point them right to Jesus.

When you look to Jesus,

what the Holy Spirit does is the Holy

Spirit begins to stir you and form you

and mold you your thoughts, your speech,

your patterns. And as the Holy Spirit is

moving and working in your life and we

are stepping into obedience with

intentionality, remember you don't drift

into obedience. You have to set sail and

steer your life towards obedience. When

that happens,

the natural result of a life that is

intentionally seeking after the Lord,

that is gazing upon a biblical Jesus, is

this wisdom and spiritual understanding.

How many of us can use some wisdom and

spiritual understanding?

I know we can. You know, a transparent

moment for us this morning. My mind just

drifted this week.

And every morning I I I I wake up in the

morning. I wake up before everyone else

and I start the coffee pot. I sit in my

chair. Just have a moment with with the

Lord. And typically my routine goes like

this. I I drink coffee. I open up the

scriptures. I get out my journal. And I

just I just start to have some some time

with the Lord. But but several moments

this week that didn't happen because my

mind just just started drifting. And

here's the scary part.

I didn't recognize it immediately.

And and and and even when there were

hints of Roland, you got to open the

scriptures first. Let's seek the Lord

first. I silenced the voice. How many of

us have ever silenced the voice? Because

the flesh, the flesh is loud.

That sinful nature is louder.

And there was a moment, I don't remember

what morning, but there was a moment

where I just recognized I can't I can't

do this. I can't go down this path. Not

that there was anything immoral or crazy

happening, but but I got to the point

where I recognize if if I continue here,

then who knows what I happen down there.

And so often what happens, especially

when it comes to to following after

Jesus, to growing in wisdom and

spiritual understanding, what happens is

is we don't make the conscious and

intentional decision here

to close the door to the enemy

and to gaze upon Jesus until we've ended

up down here.

>> But isn't God so gracious enough that

even when we end up down here,

he calls us home? Amen. And

>> he pulls us into his mercy and he pulls

us into his grace and he calls you his

own. So, so let's go to verse 13 through

verse 20. Let's unpack this together.

He

has rescued us from the domain of

darkness and transferred us into the

kingdom of the son he loves. I love how

the NIV puts it. Has transferred us into

the kingdom of his beloved son.

This is Exodus language. You might have

picked up on that.

In him, verse 14,

we have redemption, the forgiveness of

sins.

In him, in who? In Christ.

And in Christ, we are made his

redemption. That's what it means. We are

like a slave set free from bondage.

and we are made new the forgiveness of

sins. Verse 15, he is the image of the

invisible God, the firstborn over all

creation. For everything was created by

him in heaven and on earth, the visible

and the invisible, whether thrones or

dominions or rulers or authorities, all

things have been created through him and

for him. He is before all things, and by

him all things hold together. He is also

the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from

the dead, so that he might come to have

first place in everything. For God was

pleased

to have all his fullness dwell in him

and through him to reconcile everything

to himself. I am I am so grateful

for reconciliation

as as I'm reading this. Even now, I'm I

I'm feeling conviction.

I'm feeling gratitude.

the fact that that God would take

sinners like us

and despite our sin, despite our

failures,

provide the path to reconciliation.

>> That doesn't give us an excuse to

continue down the p the path of

sinfulness.

It doesn't make an excuse. Nor does it

excuse us from the consequences,

the worldly consequences of the

decisions and the choices that we've

made.

But it does point us to hope. It does

point us to someone who is greater and

better [clears throat] than than any

action you and I can commit. And maybe

this is just for one person this

morning, but but let me just say this.

You know, no matter how dark of a pit

you find yourself in spiritually, no

matter how heinous you think your sin

is, and let me just say this, that pit

is dark

>> and that sin is heinous and it is evil

and it is an affront and it is spitting

in the face of God in your rebellion and

sinfulness against him. But even in

that, God calls you.

He invites you in

and he stirs you BECAUSE WITHOUT HIM,

YOU'LL NEVER turn to him.

Without the spirit in you and moving

through you, we remain lost for ever. So

I am grateful that through him

everything is reconciled to himself. And

he continues here at the end of verse

20, whether things on earth or things in

heaven by making peace through his

blood, shed

the cross. And all God's people said,

"Amen."

>> Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

Spirit, would you stir our hearts?

Incredible.

It's incredible what what the Lord is

doing here through Paul again as he's

reminding the Colossian Christians of

who Jesus is.

And here's what I want us to understand

this morning as as we go back to our

passage and unpack some things.

When we have a biblical view of Jesus,

then that means we are going to with

with with greater strength and greater

empowerment

be able to combat the lies and the sins

and the evil that is set up against us

to rob us, to destroy us, to take our

peace, our joy away, to make us look at

life with bitterness and and anger. And

I also want to say this, what you

believe about Jesus matters. And not

only that, how you've come to believe

those things about Jesus matters. I've

been in ministry for over 20 years. And

and in my time in ministry, I I've had

the opportunity obviously to speak with

people about Jesus.

And I don't know why I I I am still

surprised at this that I'll sit with

people who've been in church for decades

and we'll begin to unpack what the

gospel is and who Jesus is.

And I'll leave those conversations

asking myself, I don't think this person

really knows who Jesus is.

Because their understanding of Jesus

has not come from the voice of

scripture.

It's come from the voices of the world,

the voices of social media, the voices

of literature that are anything other

than the truth of scripture. what you

believe about Jesus and how you've come

to believe those things absolutely

matters.

So what I want to do is is I want you to

be challenged by this question

as you are growing in wisdom and

spiritual understanding. How are you

getting there?

Because if the voice of this book

is not as loud as voices of this world,

then we risk believing in a Jesus that

is not biblical.

We risk believing in things that are not

biblical. And you know this, this has

crept into the church.

We've tolerated particular sins in the

church that we've become desensitized

to sins in the church. So much so that

particular denominations are now openly

accepting

particular sins in the church.

Church, that only happens when this is

not the loudest voice in your life.

And when the truth of God is the loudest

voice in your life, it's going to shape

how you think.

>> Amen.

>> It's going to shape how you interact

with the world around you, men. It's

going to shape how you lead in your

marriage, how you lead in your homes,

>> how we engage with the community,

and for the purposes of our message,

it's going to shape how we think about

Jesus.

Let me tell you why this is important.

If we do not have a biblical

understanding of Jesus,

then we will have a false understanding

of salvation.

And there are so many people and and and

maybe this is this is a point of

accountability for some of us. If

anything, it's to cause us to do some

spiritual reflection.

There are so many people in the church

today who have a false salvation

because they believed in a false Jesus.

Let me make it as plain as if you don't

believe in the Jesus of the scriptures,

then you are not saved by the Jesus of

the scriptures.

>> This is the truth that transforms. This

is the truth that shapes who Jesus is.

And I know the rebuttal because I myself

have asked it before. Well, how do we

know this is true? I'm glad you asked

it.

continue attending every Sunday because

we're going to spend an entire Sunday

morning unpacking how we need to think

biblically about God's word. Why we can

trust God's word.

>> Why why when we say things about God and

sin and salvation and Christianity and

all that God has planned for us, we can

believe it and hold fast to it. Not

because Christianity is blind faith,

but because we hope and we trust in what

has been scrutinized over generations

and millennia and is withtood

withtood the persecution set out against

it.

So the question this morning is not do

you believe in Jesus. The question this

morning is, do you believe in the

biblical Jesus? So, here's what I want

to do. We're going to go back to our

[snorts]

These are identityshaping truths Paul

gives to the church in

truths that if we get right or rather

that we receive,

we'll get to know Jesus rightly. So,

here's the first one. I don't know if

you like taking notes.

Jesus doesn't need to be changed to fit

our life.

The contrary of this is is is so

prevalent in our culture, is it not?

We create a Jesus that fits our

preferences, that fits our desires, that

fits what we want. We redefine, we

recreate in order for Jesus to be the

kind of savior we want. But Jesus

doesn't need to be changed to fit your

life. Actually,

it's quite the opposite.

>> We are changed to fit the life of Jesus.

Now, I had some tension coming into this

point in particular because I have used

language and lingo and phrasing that

that that if we're not careful and we

don't understand what is really being

said or we can be swayed. And so we say

things like, "I'm inviting Jesus into my

heart. I I'm I'm giving my life to

Jesus." I'm not against saying those

things as long as we explain what we

mean by those things because in reality,

right, let's just lay down the straight

theological truth here. We don't give

our lives to Jesus. Jesus takes your

life

>> and he makes you his own.

>> That's what he does. We we we don't

invite Jesus into our life. Jesus calls

us into his

>> life. And so when we use those phrases,

that's what we mean.

It helps us grab a picture of what is

taking place here. And I love how Paul

begins with kingdom language right here

in verse 13.

He has rescued us from the domain of

darkness

and transferred us into the kingdom of

the son he loves.

The domain of darkness.

He's rescued us from that

which claims has power, control, and

authority over you.

I think one of the biggest successes,

let me put that in quotations because

the devil's not successful at all for

lack of a better phrase. One of the

biggest successes

the devil has is making us believe that

we're in control,

that we're choosing our own path.

But if you are living a life in

rebellion to Jesus,

you're not in control. Guess who is the

devil and his demons?

They're in control. Now, now, no one in

their right mind would get up and say,

"I'm controlled by the devil and his

demons." But a life that is lived

contrary and in rebellion to the

holiness of God is a life lived for the

devil and his agenda.

And because we know that,

we attempt to shape Jesus to fit our

life so that we can wake up in the

morning knee deep in our sin and still

feel holy

>> and still feel good about ourselves.

But what does Christ do? He rescues us

from that, from that domain, from that

authority, from that lie, from that

which blinds us. And not only does he

rescue us, what does he do? He transfers

us,

our citizenship is changed, we're now

adopted into his family, his kingdom.

And what it tells us is that Christ,

Jesus salvation,

what he calls us to is not just a

helpful addition to our life. It is

about God rescuing us through Jesus

from one authority and relocating us to

another

>> and that's his son Jesus. You may have

picked up on this. This this is a

language of rescue.

Um the transfer is strong, right? It

implies bondage.

And and and this is language that that

the Christians in this church would have

immediately understood as an arrow

pointing to the Exodus.

The Jewish faith,

their foundation

of who God is

was revealed and seen and experienced

through the Exodus story that God raises

up a deliverer and he sets his people

free out of bondage and slavery and into

life eternal into the promised land. And

I've shared this before, but I'll remind

us again. We right now church between

the first advent, the birth of Jesus and

the second advent, the return of Jesus,

we are living in a spiritual exodus.

The moment you were raised to new life

in Jesus,

you now became part of the spiritual

exodus. So one day, either Christ

returns first or we draw our last

breath. We're on our way to the promised

land. We're on our way to the new

heavens and the new earth, the new

kingdom, the one that we've been rescued

to, the one that we've been transferred

to. And and right now, as we deal with

all the limits and all the chaos and all

the burdens that is the world as we know

it, we are in this exodus. And guess

what? We're not in it by ourselves.

You're in it. I'm in it. We're locking

arms together and we're on our way to

the glory and majesty that awaits God's

people.

So you don't need to redefine Jesus

because the greatest type of joy is

found in the biblical Jesus.

And I think this is why the gospel

confronts us so directly

because Jesus is not just an accessory.

He is king who reigns and rules. Here's

the second thing. We've we've touched up

on this, but I'll go through it rather

quickly. Jesus defines truth. He doesn't

affirm

preferences.

The first part of verse 15 says this, he

is the image of the invisible

God.

That that's not a functional statement.

I want us to know that it's not just

showing us the function or the do of

Jesus.

It's showing us the identity of Jesus.

So often we seek the hand of God without

ever seeking the face of God. We want

the blessings of God without ever

participation in the family of God.

And Paul makes it absolutely clear here

who Jesus is. Remember, he's combating

heresy that has infiltrated the church.

And what does he do first? He doesn't

attack the heresy. He's going to do that

here in chapter 2.

But what is he going to do first? He's

going to point our gaze towards Jesus.

looked to Jesus first. I share my

favorite, one of my favorite Bible

verses often, Matthew 6:33.

Matthew 6:33

Seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness,

then everything else will be added to

you.

What does that mean today for us? That

means when when your heart is aimed at

Jesus,

when your marriage, your family,

everything about your life is centered

on Jesus, then everything else is given

its proper order.

your perspective shifts regarding

everything else. Why? Because it's

viewed through the lens of Christ.

This is why we need to think biblically

about Jesus. I shared this a couple of

weeks ago.

How heretical

will it be

if I came up here and said, I'm going to

teach us to think worldly about Jesus

>> and then begin to preach to you a false

Jesus.

He loves you right where you are.

Doesn't matter what you do. Go on and do

it. He's a forgiving God anyway. What

Paul combats that throughout the New

Testament, particularly in the book of

Romans.

He's like, "No, a heart that says that

is a heart that doesn't know the

biblical Jesus." So Jesus defines the

truth,

not affirm our preferences. It's it's

it's actually as we look to the biblical

definition of Jesus and we see how he

defines truth, we often find, and you

can testify to this, I know you can. We

often find that he attacks our

preferences.

He attacks them to empower us to put

them to death. We learned this last

week. When we deal with sin, we need to

deal aggressively with our sin. We need

to deal with it in a way that puts it to

death.

That's what Christ calls us to do. Now,

now look at verse 19. It says, "For God

was pleased to have all his fullness

dwell in him."

That language leaves no room to redefine

Jesus.

No room to change who he biblically is.

This is what the culture often resists.

This is what the culture pushes back at.

Oh, they're just too traditional.

They're just too conservative.

They just want people

to be robots and not have fun and not

experience joy. I was talking with with

a group this morning and I said, "When

when the scripture lays out boundaries

for us, when the scripture puts up these

guard rails for us, it's not to hinder

your joy. It's not to rob you of joy. As

a matter of fact, the boundaries of

scripture are set up in such a way so

that you can experience the fullness of

joy. But you can't know that until you

have a biblical understanding of Jesus.

It's there to create a fullness of joy

in him. And so the culture resists this.

The culture wants a Jesus who affirms

what we already believe. The culture

wants a Jesus who never confronts sin. A

Jesus who never challenges authority. A

Jesus who never demands repentance.

But Jesus defines truth because Jesus

reveals to us who the father is. And let

me just say this real quick before we

move on. Truth is not something we vote

on. Truth is not something we feel our

way into. Truth is revealed in a person

and this and that person is Jesus

Christ. Here's the third thing that we

understand. Jesus is not discovered

internally.

He's revealed scripturally.

No one searches themselves to find the

biblical Jesus.

You need the truth of God to show you

that. Because if you remember last week

as we dove into the book of Romans, the

scripture says there is no one who does

good, not one. There is no one who is

righteous, no one who seeks after God.

We need a movement of God in order to

see the face of God. And so what often

happens is we search internally

for what can only be revealed

spiritually.

And when we search internally, we're

searching from a heart, from

experiences, from a past that is rooted

in nothing but sin and evil. So you

can't discover holiness

in a birthplace of sin and evil. Which

is why we need the truth of God revealed

to us. Go back with me to verse 15.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation. For

everything was created by him in heaven

and on earth, the visible and the

invisible, whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities. All things

have been created through him and for

him. He is before all things and by him

all things hold together.

No one looks to themselves and concludes

this about Christ. No one does.

This is why Christ must be revealed.

This is why us as ministers of the

gospel and make no mistake if you have

placed your hope, faith and trust in

Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are a

minister of the gospel, this is why the

scripture calls us to preach the good

news.

Sharing the gospel is not exclusive to

pastors, Sunday school teachers or

evangelists. Sharing the gospel is an

expectation for you, son of God, you

daughter of God. That is the command and

expectation over your life. You say,

"Well, how do I do that?" Well, look at

the ministry God has given you. Well,

Roman, what do you mean the ministry God

has given me? The sales call, the

classroom, the engineering meeting,

that's your ministry to put on display

the works of God in your life.

And when people recognize the work of

God in your life, this is the sermon on

the mount. This is what Jesus says. They

see the light that you shine. They give

honor and glory to the father who is in

heaven. Why? Because it opens the door

for questions. why are you different?

And through a relationship over the

course of of months and weeks or years

with co-workers,

you've established enough credibility to

speak into their life. And and I've

heard your stories. You know, people,

co-workers

who are going through hard situations,

whe whether it's health issues,

financial issues, familial issues, and

you're able to speak clarity and

guidance and direction into their life.

Here's the fourth thing. We'll close on

this.

Jesus cannot be reduced without being

replaced.

To believe in a Jesus of your own making

is to believe in a false Jesus.

And there are so many belief systems and

ideologies

that use Christian language. Jesus, God,

salvation, repentance.

But because they define those words

differently than how the Bible defines

them, it's a false belief system. It's a

false salvation. They've replaced Jesus.

And you cannot be saved by a Jesus that

has been replaced. Let me close by

reading 18 and on. He is the head of the

body, the church. He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead, so that he

might come to have first place in

everything. For God was pleased to have

all this his fullness dwell in him and

through him, praise God, to reconcile

everything to himself, whether things on

earth or things in heaven, by making

peace through his blood shed on the

cross.

You cannot keep Jesus as a moral teacher

while denying him as Lord.

You cannot keep Jesus as loving while

rejecting his authority.

You cannot keep Jesus as savior while

refusing his supremacy.

So maybe this morning

some of us need to have an encounter

with the biblical Jesus.

And maybe this morning, the Holy Spirit

is stirring us to turn

from the false Jesus that we've clung to

for so long and to embrace new life

in the Jesus of the scriptures. Would

you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we

thank you for your work. We thank you

for your direction, for your guidance.

We thank you that you are a God who

saves.

How incredible is it, Lord,

that when a sinner comes to repentance,

there is rejoicing.

God, I pray that your hand would be upon

our time of response,

as we seek your direction, as we submit

to the beckoning of the spirits. May it

be all of you and none of us. In

Christ's name we pray. All God's people

said, "Amen." Hey, would you stand to

your feet with me? Let's sing together.

[music]

Let's lift up the name of Jesus. He's

good. He's great. Let our voices be the

praise that's ushered up to the throne

room of heaven. Our altar is going to be

open. This is a time for you to respond.

If you need prayer, Pastor Eric and

myself, we'd love to pray with you. If

you'd [music] love to celebrate a

victory, we'd love to celebrate that

with you. Our altar will be open. If you

want to have some one-on-one [music]

time with the Lord, this is what this

moment is providing for us. I love you,

church.