This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Stephens in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 4 February 2024. The Bible Reading was Colossians 1:15-20.
Prayer
Heavenly Father
I thank You for Your word
By the power of the Holy Spirit
May You speak to my heart
And change my life
In the precious name of Jesus I pray
Amen.
Introduction
It’s often said that familiarity breeds contempt. But there can be a step between familiarity and contempt. Might it be that familiarity leads to forgetfulness, which leads to contempt? This is true, I think, of the Colossian church. Familiarity with Jesus was breeding forgetfulness leading to contempt. Yes, they knew Jesus, yes, they worshipped him, but they hadn’t appreciated how wonderful he was, and, because of this, in this letter, we see they were ‘easy prey’ for the lies of false teachers.
So, what is Paul’s antidote? He reminded them that everything they needed had been found in Jesus. He reminded them that once they understand how amazing and wonderful the Lord Jesus Christ truly is, they’ll never be tempted by anything else. And that’s true for us today, too.
The title for my talk today is: Jesus, Lord Of All Creation (Colossians 1:15-20) and as we look at this quite extraordinary passage, there are three points I want to raise:
1) Never Underestimate the Person Of Jesus vs15, 19
In vs15, Paul wrote that Jesus is: “the image of the invisible God.” If you think about it, this is an outrageous statement, isn’t it? It’s a well-taught fact, particularly in the OT, that we cannot see God. But the claim of the NT is that God became a man who could be seen and touched.
In Jesus, God revealed himself to us, for He is the image of the invisible God. Its one thing for us to read of God’s words in the OT and hear of amazing encounters with him – Moses, Burning Bush. But it’s quite another thing for him to come down to our sinful world and take on human flesh.
And if we are in any doubt at all as to what Paul means, then look at vs19: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” There was nothing about God that is not fully revealed in Jesus. So, Jesus is not just a divinely inspired man, or a divine prophet, as some religions believe. No, Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Remember Jesus’ words in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” This is Jesus’ exclusive claim to be God. And our conclusion is that only Jesus reveals God fully to us. And that is because he claims exclusivity, not just uniqueness, and that there is no other way to know God apart from through Jesus.
Now it goes without saying that this is a very hard truth to declare in today’s society. Because the mindset seems to be that all religions are essentially the same and that all roads lead to God. We are living in an increasingly secular society – that’s certainly true for the UK and ex-pats over here, I’m sure. Will you have the courage to stand for the exclusive claims of Jesus in your places of work, homes and families? Of course, you must stand with grace and compassion, but will you stand?
2) Never Underestimate the Power Of Jesus vs 16-18
Paul tells us that his power is seen in two ways:
a) He’s the Lord over Creation. Our Gospel reading from John 1:1-14 reminds us that Jesus was with God in the beginning. That all things came through him and without him not one thing came into being. Verse 16b tells us that all things were created though him, literally, and for him. Jesus is the agent of creation and the goal of creation. So, the very universe exists for Jesus. It’s there to glorify him.
Have any of you ever read Stephen Hawking’s * bestselling book A Brief History of Time? It’s a really interesting read, especially his conclusion about the existence of ‘God.’ At the end of the book, he wrote these words:
Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing? … If we find the answer to that, we would know the mind of God.
But the answer is in Colossians chapter 1. It’s all through Jesus and it’s all for Jesus. Staggering, isn’t it?
God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, “Lord, we don’t need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the beginning!” “Oh, is that so? Tell me …” replies God. “Well,” says the scientist, “… we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of You and breathe life into it, thus creating man.” “Well, that’s interesting, show me.” So, the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mould the soil in his hands. “Oh no, no, no …” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt.”
Just think about the huge size of the universe that we live in. Cast your mind back to the 20 August 1977. James Callaghan was Prime Minister UK and Jimmy Carter was President of USA. I was still at school!
Star Wars was the top film which is quite interesting because it was on that day that Voyager II, the inter planetary probe launched to observe and transmit to earth data about the outer planetary system, set off travelling at 90,000 miles an hour, faster than a speeding bullet.
On the 28 August 1989, that’s over ten years later, it reached Neptune, some 2,700 million miles from earth. Voyager II then left the solar system. It will not come within one light year of any star for another 958,000 years, give or take ten years. In our galaxy there are 100,000 million stars like our sun. Our galaxy is one of at least 100,000 million galaxies.
Moment by moment Jesus sustains the universe. If Jesus stopped sustaining the universe for one nanosecond, the whole of creation would disintegrate and descend into chaos. It’s a breath-taking picture of Jesus. In status, above creation, the agent of creation, the goal of creation, the sustainer of creation – and he chooses to love, and be interested in, us!
b) He’s Lord over the New Creation. But he’s not just Lord over He’s also Lord over the new creation too! Vs18: “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” God’s new creation is his people and, eventually, he will redeem creation itself. But as God’s new creation, his new people, we have Jesus as our head.
Jesus was the firstborn from among the dead and this means that his people too will be raised from the dead, and his resurrection is the guarantee of that happening. What did Jesus himself say? The gates of hell itself will not prevail against his church. He is the one who watches over us, who sustains His church, just as he does creation.
And so, whatever you and I face this coming week, month or year, whether it be uncertainty, a broken heart, unemployment, exams, bereavement, illness, conflict, or even death itself. Whatever it is, Jesus is sufficient for those trials. Because only a sovereign Lord Jesus can give us security. And the challenge, or rather the invitation, is for us to trust him. Never ever underestimate the power Jesus has.
3) Never Underestimate The Price Jesus Paid vs 20
The Colossian church needed to know that their salvation, reconciliation and peace with God did not come from religion, superstition, or powerful angelic beings, but from the spilt blood of God’s Son.
It is a breath taking comfort to know that Jesus is the great creator and sustainer of the old and new creation. But to know why he came is perhaps the greatest joy of all. Vs20: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
There’s no doubt the universe is out of sync’ with its creator. We don’t have to look far on the TV, in our newspapers and social media to see that to be true. How we need the peace that only Jesus can give. And that peace restores not only our relationship with God but the entire universe. Of course, it doesn’t mean that everyone and everything will willingly submit to Jesus. But it does mean that Jesus has done everything necessary to restore order to the cosmos and that, one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
Conclusion
Is this Jesus your king? Well, if so, never underestimate the person Jesus is. Never underestimate the power Jesus has. And never underestimate the price Jesus paid.
* How interesting that one of the member of Saint Stephen’s was Stephen Hawking’s cousin! It’s a small world.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.
The following might be an interesting read given the theme of this talk.
revPACman 