References
Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23 NKJV
Series: “Colossians”
Subject Title: “Who is this King?”
Who is this King?
Introduction- Rapport: Hey everyone! Welcome to Great Commission Church my name is JC Russell I am the youth minister here and I hope you all had a great Christmas and I am so glad yall are here. This is my first time preaching in what is commonly known in the youth ministry world as “big church” so I am pretty excited to dive into God’s word with you this morning but before we get started let’s go to the Lord in prayer. (PRAY)
Review: If you have your Bibles go ahead and turn to Colossians Chapter 3 verses 15-23. While yall are turning there let me give you a little background info this letter was written by the apostle Paul to the Believers in Colossae. In part he wrote it to help them deal with a false teaching of Jesus and to help them see just how amazing and mighty He truly is. As believers we want to make sure we see King Jesus clearly and correctly. So, with this in mind let’s dive into Colossians 1:15-23 I’ll read
Reading: Colossians 1:15-23- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
I asked Pastor Trevor a few weeks ago what he wanted me to preach on and I was expecting him to say some verses or some topic but he told me he just wanted me to talk about Jesus and to tell people who he is, which if you’re a preacher that is like the dream but here’s the thing most people think they already know him. Jesus is literally the most famous person in human history whether you believe in him or not does not change the fact that Billions of people know him or they know about him which can lead to a lot of confusion about something that was meant to bring…… clarity. So, I want to remind you of a few things, when the Bible speaks God speaks. This is the Word of God, that means that the Bible and the Author of the Bible will never disagree. So……the good news is that you do not have to guess or wonder anymore about who God is, you don’t have to be confused about who Jesus is………… because when the Bible speaks, Jesus Speaks and when Jesus Speaks God speaks. Instead of wondering what God is like or who God is I want to let God tell you who He is and as I was reading these verses, I realized something…… the first part of this passage… It almost reads like a Bio, like if Jesus was a keynote speaker somewhere this is what the guy who was introducing him would say right before he got out of the way and Jesus took the stage. So, if it’s alright with yall I would like to introduce yall to Jesus of Nazareth you might have heard of him he’s kind of a big deal…… I don’t know if anyone still has any Christmas music playing but I heard the song a few days ago called “what child is this?” yall know it right? And it got me thinking that’s a great question to ask…especially around Christmas time but I want to ask you another question and then see what the word of God has to say…… The Question is not what child is this but……….
Who is this king?
If you asked 100 people who is Jesus you would probably get a bunch of different answers, some might say He’s the Lamb of God, some might say he’s a good teacher or a prophet, and especially this time of year people might point to a nativity and say he is the baby in the manger. All too often we focus on Jesus being a child instead of him being the Child of promise. The question for us today is not simply what child is this, but WHO IS THIS KING. So, what do we notice about Jesus when we ask who is this king? The first thing we realize about King Jesus is that……
Jesus is God of the Heavens
Verse 15 says He is the image of the invisible God. This means…
Jesus is God of the Heavens
He is the perfect image of God
He is the exact likeness of God
He is Emmanuel because He is God with us
You want to know what God is like look to Jesus, you wanna know what God thinks of something look to Jesus, you wanna know how God would react to something look to Jesus. There’s no need to be in the dark anymore because the Light of the world has come to make visible the invisible God. You see Jesus Christ is Divine… He’s God and has been divine for all eternity. Colossians 1:19 says “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell”. That him there is Jesus. Some of your translations may say the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him. Jesus is not only fully man He is fully God. There’s a reason John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word here referring to Jesus. He was God, He is God and He will always be God. Because who is this King? He’s King Jesus, He is Divine. He’s the Light of the world and he has come to make visible the invisible God so you no longer have to walk in darkness. So, who is this King? Jesus Christ is the God of the Heavens. The other thing we realize about King Jesus is that……
Jesus is Lord of the Earth
He is the Owner of this world
He is the Creator of this world
He is the Sustainer of this world
Jesus is the owner of this world. In verse 15 when it says Jesus is the firstborn of all creation that does not mean he was the first being created. Jesus is the creator not a creation. He is the firstborn meaning he is the rightful heir of all of creation. Back in the day the first born got the inheritance. What belongs to the father belongs to the firstborn son. So, all of this world belongs to God and all of this world belongs to Jesus. It’s His world he can do whatever he wants with it. Not only is King Jesus the Owner of the world he is also the creator. For by him all things were created in heaven and earth in fact they were made by Him and they were made for Him. All things…… mountains and lakes, created by Jesus. Stars and planets……… made by Jesus. Plants and animals…… made by Jesus. You and me……… made by Jesus. Angels and Demons made by Jesus there is nothing that exists that was not created by King Jesus. Jesus is God of the Heavens and He is Lord over all the earth. Angels and Demons know who this King is. Creation knows who this King is. The waves and wind still remember the voice of the one who spoke them into existence.
Whenever I talk to people about God, Eternity and the Bible one of the most common responses I get is this… They’ll say I’m not a Christian but I believe in God so I think I’ll be fine. James 2:19 comes to mind every time it says this “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”
Friend if that is you, if that is your mindset, I would like to congratulate you on finally reaching demon status in regards to eternity. Demons know who this King is, in fact it’s one of my favorite things to look for whenever I read the Gospels because there’s usually some confusion in the beginning about who Jesus is, right like some people think he’s john the Baptist others think he might be a prophet from the Old Testament like Jeremiah or Elijah but when it comes to demons…… They know exactly who Jesus is and they know exactly what He could do to them right then and they know exactly what He will do to them because of their rebellion. It’s never like it is in the movies like there is no cosmic battle between good and evil it’s just Jesus shows up and the demons freak out and then ask to be thrown into some pigs. Talk about anti climatic. Because they know who Jesus us. They know who this King is. He is the Owner of this world; He is the creator of this world and he is the sustainer of this world. Colossians 1:17 says “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Your translation might say in him all things hold together. He not only owns everything, He not only created everything he is also the constant force sustaining everything. Who is this king that holds atoms and molecules together? Who is this king that keeps gravity going? The one who puts air in your lungs, the one who sustains galaxies and set the universe in motion the one who causes mitosis on a cellular level is the same one and who keeps our hearts beating the one who commands the planets and the stars is also the one who calls you by name. So, who is this King? He is the owner, creator and sustainer of everything. He is preeminent. That simply means he surpasses all others. There is nothing greater or more important than this King. Jesus Christ is the God of the Heavens. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Earth and finally the last thing we realize about King Jesus is that……
Jesus is the Savior of the Sinful
He is the Reconciler of the Alienated
He is the Redeemer of the Wicked
He is the Righteousness of the Saints
We’ve spent all this time talking about this King now I’d like to wrap up with why you should care who this King is. Verse 21 says “you who were once alienated and enemies in your mind doing wicked works” This letter is written to Christians who were once alienated and enemies of God before God saved them so what does that mean for you my dear friend who keep living in rebellion to the Lord? It means your separated from him, it means you are at war with the King of the Universe. It means you are going to lose my friend. If you challenge this king, you will find out just how powerful He is so I am begging you to humble yourself and see King Jesus Clearly and Correctly. It reminds me of a game I played when Olivia and I went on one our first dates. It’s called punch or pray. We went to the zoo and while we were walking around, we would play punch or pray. Meaning if she fell into the cage could I punch and protect her from the animal. So, we start out walking and we see some flamingos and I’m like Baby……… they would not stand a chance. In fact, I wish a flamingo would come catch these hands. Then we get to the penguins and I’m like Olivia……I will drop kick these things. These butler looking birds won’t stand a chance. We go by some cute prairie dogs and I said baby you like soccer cuz I would smoke these things for you. So, we go on and eventually I’m feeling a little good about myself, I teach kickboxing so I’m flying high pretty confident but then…… then we get to big cat area of the zoo……… and we get to the lion’s den……… And we play Punch or pray. So, the question gets asked…… Olivia says JC if I fell in there with the lions would you be able to take them…… I said baby you fall in there and with out hesitation I will take both of my hands tighten then up look those lions dead in the eyes and then drop to my knees and pray for you Cuz there is a zero percent chance I can take that Lion and win. Our second date was at the zoo then our third date is gunna have to be in heaven Cuz I can’t win that one. I tell you that story because if you remain alienated and if you remain an enemy of God in rebellion then you have no chance against the Lion of Judah that is King Jesus. But your story does not have to end that way. Because Jesus is a redeemer of the wicked like me. If you humble yourself and call on his name and beg for his grace and mercy then he’ll save you and give you a new heart one that loves him and his word and longs to tell others about him. And you will no longer stand condemned before God for your rebellion against Him, because he is the righteousness of the Saints, those who have called on his name and who have admitted I can’t punch my way out of this one and who in faith fell on their faces and prayed for the Mercies of an all-powerful almighty King were given it. So, who is this king? His name is Jesus and he is the only one capable of saving a sinner like me I can’t wait to introduce you to him.
Let’s Pray…………
-AMEN--
