Colossians 1:13-20 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 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 fulness 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 the cross. (ESV)
Theme: “CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL!”
- Because of who He is
- Because of what He has done
Dear fellow subjects of the King of kings, fellow redeemed by the blood of the King, grace and peace to you,
“Behold your King!” Those words of Pontius Pilate ring in our ears on Good Friday when we consider what the people were beholding in Jesus. Jesus told Pilate that He was a King, but never during His earthly life did He look like a king. His followers were a bunch of uneducated fishermen. He certainly had no palace to live in - He didn’t even have a place to lay His head at night. He had no piece of land on this earth to rule over. That is why Pontius Pilate was so surprised to hear Jesus say He was a king. Pilate’s soldiers robed Jesus in purple, placed a crown of thorns on His head, and mockingly began to salute Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” When Jesus was crucified the torment continued. Over His cross Pilate had placed a sign describing His sentence which read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
“Behold your King!” Does this sound like the description of a man that you would want to call your King? Someone who was bloodied and beaten, nailed to a cross and dying? That seems like a King who is on the losing end of things. Yet what did the thief on the cross say to this bloodied, beaten man, who was nailed to a cross? “Remember me when you come into Your kingdom!” The repentant thief was looking on Jesus with eyes of faith. He saw in Jesus his Savior and King. He looked for a spiritual kingdom over which Jesus would rule and longed to be a member of His Kingdom. And that day the thief entered the eternal kingdom of Jesus in paradise.
“Behold your King!” How well do you know your King Jesus? Our text for this morning magnificently presents for us the preeminence or superiority of King Jesus. One thing that sticks out in our text is the number of times the Apostle Paul uses the word “all.” “All creation,” “all things,” “all the fulness of God,” and “reconcile to himself all things.” So let us on this Christ the King Sunday, and always, “Crown Jesus Lord of ALL!” We crown Him Lord of all because of who He is and because of what He has done. May the Kingdom of God come unto us by the working of the Holy Spirit through His Word. Amen.
BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS
Why was it again, that Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was King? Because Jesus seemed nothing like any king Pilate had ever met of or read about. Jesus had no crown, no royal garments, no palace, no army, no loyal subjects fighting for Him, and above all else, He had no piece of real estate over which He ruled. But just because Jesus didn’t fit Pilate’s description of a king, doesn’t mean Jesus is not a King. He is a different kind of King. A King whose kingdom is not of this world. He is a King we crown Lord of all because of who He is.
First of all, King Jesus is true God. In verse 15 of our text we read that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. Unlike a painter or sculptor who can only recreate the external image of someone and not the true essence of the person, the writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus is the “express image of God.” (Heb 1:3) Paul emphasizes this truth again in verse 19 when he writes, “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Everything that God is, Jesus is. God is almighty, Jesus is almighty. God is all-knowing, Jesus is all-knowing. We crown Him Lord of all because He is true God.
Paul also says that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. Paul here is not saying that the Son was the first to born to God the Father, like Mary brought forth her firstborn Son. Rather this use of the word “firstborn” describes His position in relation to all creation. It is typical in many families that the firstborn son is the son of privilege. In the Old Testament the eldest son would most often receive the birthright from his father. Paul explains the superiority of Jesus over all creation as the firstborn in verse 16 -“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.” Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He was actively involved in everything that was created. The Apostle John tells us that the Son is the Word by which all things came into being (Jn 1:3). All things, whether seen or unseen, whether man, animal, or angel - all were created by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus.
Paul continues to amaze us about our King in verse 17, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” As the Son of God, Jesus is eternal. Before time was, Jesus is. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. And Jesus holds all of creation together. This is a really neat word picture of how Jesus is the glue that keeps everything from falling apart. Like a little boy who picks up a handful of snow and compacts it into a snowball, so Jesus holds all of creation together.
Like a salesman on TV, Paul continues as if to say, “But, wait, there’s more!” Verse 18, “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.” Not only is Jesus eternal, Creator, and in control of Creation, Jesus is also the head of the church. That means He is over the body of believers. He is her Head, her leader, her life. When the head of the church died on the cross and laid in the tomb, it looked like the church might die with it. But Jesus is superior over death as well! On the third day He showed that He is preeminent or the greatest in everything when He rose to life again.
“In him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.” Jesus is very God of very God. He is of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Jesus truly is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Crown Him Lord of ALL because of who He is!
BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE
Yet as Jesus stood before Pilate on Good Friday, He did not look like the fulness of God was pleased to dwell in Him. Rather Jesus looked God forsaken. He did not look like the image of the invisible God. Rather Jesus looked like a defeated and dying man. But this, dear brothers and sisters, is what makes King Jesus so amazing and so worthy of our praise. There standing before Pilate was the eternal Son of God. There robed in purple, crowned with thorns, bruised and bleeding was the very one by whom, through whom, and for whom all things were created. While it looked like Jesus’ world was falling apart around Him, He is the one who was holding all of creation together.
Why would one who is so great, so powerful to be so humiliated? What Jesus was doing, He was doing for us. We needed to be rescued from the dominion of darkness. We all were enemies of God and members of the kingdom of Satan. We were all destined for hell and we had no one to blame but ourselves. But God was determined to rescue us. And so the Son of God became Man. The Word became flesh. The invisible God appeared in the person of Jesus to rescue us.
In order to rescue us He had to become one of us and take our place. Because we failed to obey the Commandments, Jesus had to keep them perfectly for us. He had to honor His father and mother, even though He was their Lord and God. He had to love His neighbor as Himself, even when His neighbor was spitting on Him and pounding nails into His hands and feet. And He had to love the LORD God will all of His heart, all of His soul, and all of His strength. Loving the LORD God meant obeying Him. Obeying His will even when Jesus knew it meant He would have to be whipped, slapped, mocked, crucified, and die.
Becoming one of us to take our place meant not only keeping the whole will and law of God in our place, Jesus also had to suffer for all of the wrongs which we had done. He had to endure the wrath of God over our disobedience and sin. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Is 53:5) This was the only way our sin could be forgiven and our guilt removed. Jesus had to remove it from us by taking it on Himself. He had to die as a consequence for our sin.
In verse 14 Paul writes, “In (Jesus) we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” That word “redemption” is an old word from the slave market. It was the ransom price to set a slave free. We are all slaves of the devil and slaves of sin. Sin is what we served day and night - and there was nothing we could do to free ourselves from this brutal slave owner. But Jesus ransomed us. With the purchase price of His own blood, He bought our freedom through the forgiveness of sins. In Jesus we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The King of kings did all of this because He loved us. He did it to make peace between us and God. The last verse of our text Paul tells us that we who were at odds with God because of our sin and rebellion against Him, God reconciled. He made peace with us through the blood of the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross removed that enmity and hostility which separated us from God. Our sins were put to death in His body. Now through Jesus we are at peace with God. He is our Father and we His children. Has there ever been a King who was willing to do this for his subjects, let alone his enemies? Indeed, crown Him Lord of all because of what He has done for us!
Thanks be to God, who has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. By calling us to faith in Jesus He has made us members of Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus has set up His throne in our hearts and rules us by His grace. What an amazing King we have! A King who rules over all creation! A King who rules over His Church. A King who loved us so much that He laid down His life to redeem us and deliver us from the dominion of darkness. Is there nothing our King cannot and will not do for us? Behold your King! Crown HIM Lord of ALL! Amen.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Colossians 1:13-20 "And Crown Him Lord of ALL!"
Colossians 1:13-20 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 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 fulness 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 the cross. (ESV)
Theme: “CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL!”
- Because of who He is
- Because of what He has done
Dear fellow subjects of the King of kings, fellow redeemed by the blood of the King, grace and peace to you,
“Behold your King!” Those words of Pontius Pilate ring in our ears on Good Friday when we consider what the people were beholding in Jesus. Jesus told Pilate that He was a King, but never during His earthly life did He look like a king. His followers were a bunch of uneducated fishermen. He certainly had no palace to live in - He didn’t even have a place to lay His head at night. He had no piece of land on this earth to rule over. That is why Pontius Pilate was so surprised to hear Jesus say He was a king. Pilate’s soldiers robed Jesus in purple, placed a crown of thorns on His head, and mockingly began to salute Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” When Jesus was crucified the torment continued. Over His cross Pilate had placed a sign describing His sentence which read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
“Behold your King!” Does this sound like the description of a man that you would want to call your King? Someone who was bloodied and beaten, nailed to a cross and dying? That seems like a King who is on the losing end of things. Yet what did the thief on the cross say to this bloodied, beaten man, who was nailed to a cross? “Remember me when you come into Your kingdom!” The repentant thief was looking on Jesus with eyes of faith. He saw in Jesus his Savior and King. He looked for a spiritual kingdom over which Jesus would rule and longed to be a member of His Kingdom. And that day the thief entered the eternal kingdom of Jesus in paradise.
“Behold your King!” How well do you know your King Jesus? Our text for this morning magnificently presents for us the preeminence or superiority of King Jesus. One thing that sticks out in our text is the number of times the Apostle Paul uses the word “all.” “All creation,” “all things,” “all the fulness of God,” and “reconcile to himself all things.” So let us on this Christ the King Sunday, and always, “Crown Jesus Lord of ALL!” We crown Him Lord of all because of who He is and because of what He has done. May the Kingdom of God come unto us by the working of the Holy Spirit through His Word. Amen.
BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS
Why was it again, that Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was King? Because Jesus seemed nothing like any king Pilate had ever met of or read about. Jesus had no crown, no royal garments, no palace, no army, no loyal subjects fighting for Him, and above all else, He had no piece of real estate over which He ruled. But just because Jesus didn’t fit Pilate’s description of a king, doesn’t mean Jesus is not a King. He is a different kind of King. A King whose kingdom is not of this world. He is a King we crown Lord of all because of who He is.
First of all, King Jesus is true God. In verse 15 of our text we read that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. Unlike a painter or sculptor who can only recreate the external image of someone and not the true essence of the person, the writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus is the “express image of God.” (Heb 1:3) Paul emphasizes this truth again in verse 19 when he writes, “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Everything that God is, Jesus is. God is almighty, Jesus is almighty. God is all-knowing, Jesus is all-knowing. We crown Him Lord of all because He is true God.
Paul also says that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. Paul here is not saying that the Son was the first to born to God the Father, like Mary brought forth her firstborn Son. Rather this use of the word “firstborn” describes His position in relation to all creation. It is typical in many families that the firstborn son is the son of privilege. In the Old Testament the eldest son would most often receive the birthright from his father. Paul explains the superiority of Jesus over all creation as the firstborn in verse 16 -“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.” Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He was actively involved in everything that was created. The Apostle John tells us that the Son is the Word by which all things came into being (Jn 1:3). All things, whether seen or unseen, whether man, animal, or angel - all were created by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus.
Paul continues to amaze us about our King in verse 17, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” As the Son of God, Jesus is eternal. Before time was, Jesus is. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. And Jesus holds all of creation together. This is a really neat word picture of how Jesus is the glue that keeps everything from falling apart. Like a little boy who picks up a handful of snow and compacts it into a snowball, so Jesus holds all of creation together.
Like a salesman on TV, Paul continues as if to say, “But, wait, there’s more!” Verse 18, “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.” Not only is Jesus eternal, Creator, and in control of Creation, Jesus is also the head of the church. That means He is over the body of believers. He is her Head, her leader, her life. When the head of the church died on the cross and laid in the tomb, it looked like the church might die with it. But Jesus is superior over death as well! On the third day He showed that He is preeminent or the greatest in everything when He rose to life again.
“In him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.” Jesus is very God of very God. He is of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Jesus truly is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Crown Him Lord of ALL because of who He is!
BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE
Yet as Jesus stood before Pilate on Good Friday, He did not look like the fulness of God was pleased to dwell in Him. Rather Jesus looked God forsaken. He did not look like the image of the invisible God. Rather Jesus looked like a defeated and dying man. But this, dear brothers and sisters, is what makes King Jesus so amazing and so worthy of our praise. There standing before Pilate was the eternal Son of God. There robed in purple, crowned with thorns, bruised and bleeding was the very one by whom, through whom, and for whom all things were created. While it looked like Jesus’ world was falling apart around Him, He is the one who was holding all of creation together.
Why would one who is so great, so powerful to be so humiliated? What Jesus was doing, He was doing for us. We needed to be rescued from the dominion of darkness. We all were enemies of God and members of the kingdom of Satan. We were all destined for hell and we had no one to blame but ourselves. But God was determined to rescue us. And so the Son of God became Man. The Word became flesh. The invisible God appeared in the person of Jesus to rescue us.
In order to rescue us He had to become one of us and take our place. Because we failed to obey the Commandments, Jesus had to keep them perfectly for us. He had to honor His father and mother, even though He was their Lord and God. He had to love His neighbor as Himself, even when His neighbor was spitting on Him and pounding nails into His hands and feet. And He had to love the LORD God will all of His heart, all of His soul, and all of His strength. Loving the LORD God meant obeying Him. Obeying His will even when Jesus knew it meant He would have to be whipped, slapped, mocked, crucified, and die.
Becoming one of us to take our place meant not only keeping the whole will and law of God in our place, Jesus also had to suffer for all of the wrongs which we had done. He had to endure the wrath of God over our disobedience and sin. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Is 53:5) This was the only way our sin could be forgiven and our guilt removed. Jesus had to remove it from us by taking it on Himself. He had to die as a consequence for our sin.
In verse 14 Paul writes, “In (Jesus) we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” That word “redemption” is an old word from the slave market. It was the ransom price to set a slave free. We are all slaves of the devil and slaves of sin. Sin is what we served day and night - and there was nothing we could do to free ourselves from this brutal slave owner. But Jesus ransomed us. With the purchase price of His own blood, He bought our freedom through the forgiveness of sins. In Jesus we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The King of kings did all of this because He loved us. He did it to make peace between us and God. The last verse of our text Paul tells us that we who were at odds with God because of our sin and rebellion against Him, God reconciled. He made peace with us through the blood of the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross removed that enmity and hostility which separated us from God. Our sins were put to death in His body. Now through Jesus we are at peace with God. He is our Father and we His children. Has there ever been a King who was willing to do this for his subjects, let alone his enemies? Indeed, crown Him Lord of all because of what He has done for us!
Thanks be to God, who has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. By calling us to faith in Jesus He has made us members of Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus has set up His throne in our hearts and rules us by His grace. What an amazing King we have! A King who rules over all creation! A King who rules over His Church. A King who loved us so much that He laid down His life to redeem us and deliver us from the dominion of darkness. Is there nothing our King cannot and will not do for us? Behold your King! Crown HIM Lord of ALL! Amen.
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