Have you ever experienced the situation where you've listened to something being said and thought you heard them saying something that sounds utterly ridiculous. Like in the middle of a conversation, someone says, so I went and picked up my daughter from school and murdered the mailman. You think to yourself, did I just hear them confessing to a murder of a mailman? And then a little further in the conversation, you piece it together and you realise that they actually said they picked up their daughter and heard her talking to the mailman. Not murder the mailman.
It happens from time to time, doesn't it? A few years ago, you might remember this song. One of the greatest songwriters in the world, I'm talking about Taylor Swift, obviously, wrote a song called Blank Space. And in it, there's a line where she sings about having a long list of ex lovers. But when the song first came out, everyone thought the song sang, I got along with Starbucks lovers.
Starbucks being that big coffee franchise from America. So everyone thought T Swizzle just really loved her coffee and therefore loved everyone who loved her coffee as well. But the Starbucks lyrics didn't make sense in the context of the song at all. But again, if you keep listening to that and you just assume that's what she's saying then, okay, then you sing along with I got along with Starbucks lovers. So all along I thought Taylor Swift just really liked people who enjoy bad American coffee, but that is not what she was singing about.
But I would like to hazard a guess that in life, as in Taylor Swift songs, we often hear messages that don't really make sense and aren't really true even though we believe they are. As human beings, we can hear messages that are directly counter intuitive, in fact, to our deepest sense of identity. What we know reality should be. Even as Christians, there can be things that so illogically go against what we think and say we believe, and we believe these messages anyway. Where it gets even more confusing is we see very well dressed teachers and preachers saying these things or we can pick up a hard back, a glossy hard back from a bookstore somewhere and we read those messages and we believe that they are true.
We might believe a message bouncing around in our head that says, if you are not achieving daily progress as a Christian, you are a failure to God. We might believe a message that says, the numbness in your heart can only be overcome by hurting yourself. We might hear other whispers in our mind that says, you are the black sheep in the family and you will not be anything else. Just live that narrative out.
There are just so many of those messages, those narratives that we can find ourselves being influenced by. But God wants to tell us this morning that there is only one message that is really worth listening to. One message that actually weeds out all the other false messages. All the Starbucks lover messages. The things that dim and obscure the purpose for which we were designed to be.
There is a truth that recalibrates all the other truths that we find sort of projected into our minds all the time and the message is that there is a father hearted God who has created you, who has known you from eternity past and has set His heart on you in order to break you free from all the untruths that will destroy you. This God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. And this Jesus has shown how supremely true and trustworthy He is by showing us that He is king of absolutely everything. Jesus is supreme, we'll hear this morning, over every aspect of our existence and Tony prayed about that even this morning about not only being the creator, but the sustainer. The energy, the force that keeps everything going.
And the truth this morning we will hear is that we belong to this Jesus, body and soul in life and in death. And so I want to read this morning from God's word where we hear exactly this message. We're going to turn to Colossians 1 and we're going to read from verse 15. Colossians 1:15. The apostle Paul writes, He who is Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
The first born of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether they were 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 also the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the first born 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. So far our reading. Now that is a fairly short sort of passage, but it is just absolutely jam packed with information that we're going to try and explore a little bit this morning.
Paul is writing to a church in a place called Colossae, which is in modern day Turkey today. And the situation of the church there seems to be one where there was a growing influence of really well dressed teachers, really right sounding preachers that were beginning to tell these young Christians that faith in Jesus is okay, it's fine, but it is not completely adequate. There is something more that you must add, something more that you must do, something more that you must be in order to really deserve the love, the forgiveness of God. And Paul is saying that in its very essence, the good news of Jesus through that sort of message is beginning to be undermined. Paul writes in his letter to these new Christians in order to combat this sort of problem.
We get an evidence of that in Colossians 2:8. So just a few verses later, if you want to look at that. Paul says in Colossians 2:8, see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty, or the other word hollow deceit according to human tradition. According to the elemental spirits or another translation, the elemental principles or the elementary principles of the world and not according to Christ. See to it that no one takes you captive by hollow philosophies.
Do we believe in hollow philosophies today? What does a hollow philosophy look like? Well, it's the sort of things that we say so often that we don't even question them anymore. They're the pop psychologies of today. To use an example, I'm sure you've heard of someone say, don't judge.
We must not judge. Who are we to judge? But have you ever asked yourself the question, why? Why don't we judge? Who made up that rule?
Why is it necessarily a good rule to follow? You could argue that it's not wise to judge too quickly, that we should get as much information together as possible to have a fair understanding. But to not make any judgement at all? Well, that's impossible in the first place because the statement do not judge is already, of course, a judgement. You are judging that we shouldn't judge.
So it's a self defeating statement. But I'm sure we're not surprised when I say that these statements, these pop psychology statements are being communicated to us all the time. And just like teachings that are infiltrating the minds of the Colossians, there are teachings today that are taking us away from the central truths of the Christian message of hope. And you may have already experienced some of these things. Those whispers that infiltrate our deepest hearts.
Is it really that straightforward to simply believe in Jesus Christ and be forgiven of absolutely everything. That's too easy. How is that fair? Can I really trust to know God and believe that He knows what is best for me? Is the Christian life really the most satisfying life?
Can I live something else along with it as well? Well, I think our passage this morning goes a long way in actually helpfully dealing with those sort of questions. Scholars have said that these five verses that we read are actually a poem. So in other translations, I think the NIV, it sort of puts it in this sort of paragraph that looks like it's sort of got stanzas in it and so on. It looks like it's sort of a quote.
The entire five verses is an example of Hebrew poetry. And it employs this characteristic Hebrew poetic tool which is called parallelism. Saying one thing by using two sort of complementary statements. So someone might say, someone is beautiful in this, using this poetic term or tool by saying, to me she is radiant. To my eyes she is gorgeous.
Saying the same thing, just in two different ways. There are plenty of examples of this in the Psalms. Psalm 27:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Hebrew parallelism. Now something of that is actually happening in our passage this morning. We see at one point that that one central message is being made.
Jesus Christ is king. Jesus Christ is supreme. That is the statement that is being made. He is preeminent. It means He surpasses all others.
There is no one like Him. But Paul explains a single truth by using parallelism by holding up two aspects of His preeminence next to each other. Jesus is supreme in these two areas or these two areas that are really the only things that matter. Firstly, our creation and then in our redemption. So I'm gonna show you in on the PowerPoint and I hope it's sort of clear.
It's again a bit too small to really see, but we see two things being said here. The son is superior, firstly, in creation from verses 15 to 17, he says that. And then from verses 18 to 20, he says the son is superior in redemption. And these are the structured sentences or verses that explains that. And they are held next to each other to say, Jesus is king.
Jesus is the best thing that exists. Paul is saying that in Jesus, God Himself has become evident. Paul begins to explicitly argue the case for Jesus' divinity. He says, in Jesus, we see the invisible God.
In the visible Jesus, the flesh and bone Jesus, we see the invisible God. He says that in verse 17. He says, Jesus existed. This Jesus existed before all things. That God created all things in heaven and on earth.
The things that are visible, the things that are invisible, the forces, the laws of physics, those things have all been created. Whether they are human thrones, human powers, or authorities. All things God has created and these things have been created by Christ and for Him, verse 16 says. Then Jesus, the son of God, shows this divine character by the fact that in verse 17, all things are said to be dependent on Him. Not only does He create it, like Tony said, He sustains it.
All things hang together in Him. It's like our muscles that keep our skeleton upright. That is how Jesus is intricately involved in every thing that goes on. All things hold together in Him. And so Paul is making that first statement.
The son is superior in creation. He is king over creation. But then in the same breath, Paul moves on and says in verse 18 that He is also the king of redemption, the king of salvation. He is the head of the church, he says. That group of people that have accepted God's forgiveness and redemption.
Verse 18 says that He is the first born from among the dead. Now what is that referring to? Well, it's talking about the resurrection of Jesus. It's talking about the fact that three days after His death, He was raised back to life. But in that resurrection, it shows that God has conquered death in Jesus.
John 14:19, Jesus says to His disciples, because I live, you too will live. Because I live, you too will live. Jesus is the firstborn, meaning He is the oldest child, and because He is the oldest child, He is the pathmaker. He's the pathfinder. He is the pioneer of the faith.
He goes before us and because He's going before us, He is the first to live this new life. And so Paul is saying that Jesus is the king of that redemption. He is the king of that salvation. And so in this sweeping poetic statement, Paul declares that Jesus Christ existed before the with the Father before creation, that He Himself was God's agent in the creation of everything that exists, that in His incarnation, His becoming flesh, Jesus has made God visible. But also as He was the first to rise from the dead, Jesus has proven that He is able to beat sin, conquer the consequence of sin which is death because He has reconciled.
He has brought together God and man. Now what does this all mean? Why would Paul sort of say this to a bunch of confused Christians that are being overwhelmed by other messages? But all of this is true so that verse 18, the second half there, that in all things Christ might have preeminence. Preeminence.
In other words, it's like the Trinity said to Jesus, the son of God, You are going to be our poster boy for our glory. The majesty and the magnificence of God is fully displayed in the face of Jesus. And because He is the first born of creation, the first born of redemption, He has now shown Himself to be the point of reference by which we need to calibrate our lives around. As the agent, as the goal, as the forerunner, the governor of all creation because He is all of these things. He is the only one who can claim supremacy.
If there's ever anyone that you want to listen to, that you should listen to, He is that one. And so when He tells us, child, I have truly saved you. You are really Mine. I will not lose you. We can.
We should believe that. It's like the story of a young boy who bought a model yacht, a model boat. I don't know if anyone here does that sort of model stuff. He bought a yacht. And he, for a whole summer, spent gluing all the pieces together, lovingly painting it, sealing it beautifully.
And then towards the end of summer, the day came. It was ready. He had done up all the rigging, all the sails. It was good to go. And he goes out onto the lake.
At the lake's shore there, he puts the boat on the water. But then his joy turns into despair when a big wind comes and it picks up the boat and it just takes it out far into the lake, far beyond his remote control can even reach. And he stands in horror just watching this little boat just drift away over the horizon. Years later, this boy has grown up into a man and then one day he's walking down the road to work and he spots something really interesting in the shop window. It's model boat that looked astonishingly similar to the boat he had built.
The man went inside and he investigated the object and to his absolute astonishment, it was the very same boat. He had somehow found it. He had somehow recovered his long lost and very prized possession. A man grabbed inside his wallet, gave whatever the shopkeeper asked for this boat because in his mind, the cost was irrelevant. He simply had to have his boat back.
And the man walked down that street on his way to work in complete satisfaction that this boat truly belonged to him because he had built it and now he had bought it back. That is what Paul is saying. Our situation is in Christ. This is the truth the gospel wants to give us with unshakable comfort. That when Jesus sees us who have put our trust in Him, He says, she's Mine.
He is Mine. I own them twice because I've created them, I know every part of them, and I paid for them. That is the power that cuts through all the noise. It's the truth by which we calibrate and which we absorb everything that will try to cause us to despair, to doubt, to turn away. William Hendriksen in his commentary on Colossians writes that we get a picture in this passage of a Christ who holds in His almighty hand and embraces with His loving heart both the realm of creation and that of redemption.
He says, He who is the first born of all creation is also the first born from among the dead. He who died on the cross is also the one who knows by name the most distant star. And He not only knows that star, but He guides it. But still better, better. He controls that star in a manner that it will serve the interest of His precious people.
God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Hendriksen continues. He says, since the Christ of Calvary rules the heavens and the earth in the interest of His people and to the glory of His name, it means that neither automation, nor bomb, nor political menace, nor depression, nor economic unbalance, nor fatal accident, nor nervous disorder will ever succeed in separating us from His love. Friends, we will face daily hollow and empty philosophies and deceptions. And they will wage war against our minds and our hearts.
But we will win those battles by reminding our hearts and our minds of this comfort that Jesus is king over everything. Read that passage again and highlight the amount of times the word all is mentioned or everything. There is not a square inch of our lives. There's not a square inch of this universe over which Christ doesn't say Mine. Mine.
And so in this life, even when we hear those voices of doubt and when we hear the enticements of sin and we feel the weight of guilt, the voice of inadequacy, the voice of loneliness, these voices are no match for the voice of Christ. And that voice is saying, I own you twice. Once because I created you, twice because I paid for you. And so we don't have to believe the Facebook articles. We don't have to believe the Instagram images.
We don't have to trust the trashy talk back radio or the current affair shows. At least not without comparing it against the supremacy of Jesus, and we will see all those things just dissolving into mist. You will not find a better saviour. You will not find a better hope for your heart and your soul because in all things, Christ is preeminent and He has shown you His power. You are owned twice.
Believe it. Trust it. Receive it this morning. And then daily reflect on it. Let's pray.
Father, we thank You for this incredible truth and we know, Lord, there's so much of us that knows this, that believes this, that says amen. But just how wonderfully succinct, how wonderfully powerful is this idea that we are created for a purpose and through the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, we have been set free to pursue that purpose of knowing our God, of experiencing the greatest satisfaction that this life has to offer, a joy that cannot be compared to anything else. Father, for those of us who might be wrestling, feeling that there is not much joy, we all ask on their behalf that You will let these words penetrate so deeply that they will understand and sense and know. And Lord, we know that that does not simply come through our minds through understanding and knowledge. Lord, we pray for Your Holy Spirit to reveal that, to apply that, to open spiritual eyes to see that.
We thank You, Lord, that there is no doubt that if You have set Your heart on us that we cannot be lost. We will never lose what You have set Your heart on. So we rejoice in that. We find comfort in that. And Father, we just pray for protection against all those other things that will try to cast doubt, that will try to bring us into despair, that will try and take us back to that old way of thinking that we have control when we don't.
Thank You, Lord, for that truth. Sow it into our hearts. Seal it in our hearts so we will never forget it. In Jesus' name. Amen.