baldtheologian Jesus our Savior

He is Creator

God created the universe, everything in it (whether we see it or not) for His purpose, through Him, and to His glory. That is the plain truth.

 

Our tour through Colossians continues this week with a look at Christ in verse 16. Here we find out more about our Savior. Not only is Christ the image of God – that is, He is God – not only is he the firstborn (Chief in rank) of creation, but He is also the creator of everything.

 

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16 NASB

 

The Fact of Creation

Let’s soak this verse in for a moment.. He (Christ) created all things. Now when Paul says “all” he means “ALL”. Look around outside when you have a moment. All of it was created by Christ. He did not create some things and leave the rest to chance. Stuff didn’t just happen to come into existence. Jesus Christ – God Himself – spoke it into existence.

We can’t treat this fact too lightly. Darwinian evolution claims that everything we see and don’t see came about through happenstance. We are here through some strange cosmic accident. Their view directly contradicts what Paul writes here. This verse in Colossians regarding creation agrees with what is written in Genesis. Darwinian evolution and the Bible are incompatible regarding the origin of the universe and the origin of life. One must either believe the Bible or the Darwinian evolutionist. There is no way to mix these two. Which do you believe?

 

The Extent of Creation

Take a look at how Paul qualifies the extent of the creation described here: everything that exists was created by Christ. First Paul states that all things were created “both in the heavens and the earth”. So, how much was created by Christ? Well according to Paul, all that exists in both the heavens and the earth. That looks like everything to me.

But Paul doesn’t stop there, He goes on to say that not only is everything created, but he includes all that can be seen and all that can’t be seen. That cancels out any argument that the Darwinian evolutionist has regarding some evolutionary beginning of this earth being seeded by some other world (known as directed panspermia). There is no wiggle room here. To accept to Darwinian evolution means one must reject this passage.

Paul has stated that Christ has created everything both in the heavens (sun, moon, stars, planets) and earth (the earth itself, all things on earth including life itself). This is a majestic statement for sure. Everything was created by Christ – this would include angels, humans, rulers and the thrones on which those rulers sit.

 

The Reason for Creation

Paul restates that Jesus created everything. In the last clause of this verse, Paul says “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” There’s a lot packed in this little cause. First Paul states “all things” have been created. There is nothing in this verse – or section – that would limit what is included in the phrase “all things”. Therefore, when Paul states “all things” he means everything. There is no room for compromise.

An interesting Greek syntactical issue is here in this last clause. Whereas earlier in the verse, Paul used the simple past tense (Greek aorist) to describe that Christ had (from Paul’s perspective) already created everything.  In this last clause,  Paul uses the perfect tense. Why did he do this? Well this is a way to show that while creation happened in the past (a completed action in past time) there are continuing results of that completed action. Think of the perfect like this: an action began and was completed in the past but the results of that completed action continue to this day. So what then would the continuing results of Christ’s creative action? Hmmmm.

Well it seems to me that at the very least the continuing result is that the whole of creation stands a a monument to Christ’s work. Furthermore, the creation itself testifies to the glory of God:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6 NASB

The Implications of Creation

As I have stated elsewhere in this article, one must choose either creation of everything by Christ Himself or Darwinian evolution. There is no middles ground and no way to accommodate these two disparate statements regarding the origin of the universe. Which will you choose?

I am a simple six 24-hour day creationist. I see no reason to doubt the Bible or redefine the terms that have been used to describe creation either here in Colossians or back in Genesis. The biblical accounts are  remarkably consistent, though they were written at least 1400 years apart. But if there is no biblical reason to believe evolution, then does science help evolution? While others have given much more detailed and much more eloquent answers, my answer is an unqualified “No”. Then why the arguments?

The evolution arguments stem not from science, but from rebellion against God. Mankind’s long war against God is not over. The rebellion began against God that began in the Garden of Eden still rages on today. We continue to doubt His word, His goodness and His truth. But our doubt as a people in no way invalidates the truth of His word.

God created the universe, everything in it (whether we see it or not) for His purpose, through Him, and to His glory. Thats the plain truth.

baldtheologian Jesus our Savior

He Is Firstborn

The Son of God – also known as Jesus Christ – is God, always has been God and forever will be God.

 

This week I am continuing to look at one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Colossians 1:15-20. But instead of just looking at it all quickly, I am continuing to unpack it slowly and deliberately. This week we’ll consider the issue of Christ being firstborn. We’ll look at the meaning of firstborn, the misunderstandings of what it means for the Son of God, and the implications for us today.

 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whetherthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is alsohead of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. – Colossians 1:15-20 NASB

 

One of the most difficult concepts in Scripture is the this idea of Jesus Christ being the firstborn of all creation. The term firstborn has created some really poor perceptions of Jesus divine nature and ed some to create whole religions based on a mistaken impression. Lets take a look at what this firstborn thing is all about and how it affects our view of Christ.

 

First things first

The word at the center of our discussion is the Greek word prototokos. According to the standard lexicon for New Testament Greek, this word can mean 1) pertaining to birth order, that is, the one born first or 2) pertaining to having special status associated with a first born. This word can also mean both of these things. Here it appears to be concerned with Jesus’ rank in creation rather than His physical birth. I’ll explain my reasoning throughout this article.

 

The error

There was a group around in the third century AD that thought Jesus was just a man like you and me. They often pointed to His earthly birth as proof of this. They also minimized – or ignored altogether – His divinity. these foks were known as the Arians because they followed the teaching of a person named Arius. Arius was around in approximately 250 AD. In a nutshell Arius taught that there was a time where God the Father existed but the God the Son had yet to exist. He rejected the trinity (three distinct persons within the Godhead). This error is continued to this day through the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

Understanding the Firstborn

Part of the problem understanding how Jesus could have been eternal (no beginning) while being referred to as firstborn is a misunderstanding of tribal customs. Remember that Israel, even in Pau’s time, was a tribal cuture. Their attitudes and customs vary widely from our customs as a modern, western, non-tribal culture.

In a tribe the idea of being firstborn has less to do with birth order and more to do with the rank if the person born. Generally speaking the firstborn is the person who is chief in rank in a family. Lets take my family as an example. My oldest child is a girl. She is wonderful and I can’t imagine my life without her. However, generally speaking, she is not considered the firstborn in my family is we were living in a tribal culture. That title would pass to my first born son who is actually the second person born in my family. My son would receive the inheritance and would be considered the head of my family after I died.

 

What does it mean here?

I think Paul was emphasizing Jesus’ rank over creation rather than anything else. One reason I think is is what we discussed last week – Jesus is God. God does not have a beginning and is not birthed so how could Jesus have been born or created prior to the entire creation. Another reason is the discussion that follows the assertion here. Jesus Take a look at what is said of Jesus:v. 16 He is referred to as the Creator of all things

v. 17 He is before all things and is responsible for holding everything together

v. 18 He is referred to as the firstborn from among the dead. Was Jesus the first one raised from the dead? Nope. Remember Lazarus?  Jesus raised him from the dead while Jesus was waking on the earth. If the term firstborn simply referred to the order in which something happened and not the rank of the person involved, we would have a major problem here. But there is no problem because Jesus is most definitely the highest rank of all resurrected persons (and that will be every person ever to have lived).

v. 20 Says that all the fullness of God dwelled in Jesus. This means, once again, that Jesus possessed as part of His nature, the very nature of God. God didn’t have a beginning so the Son did not have a beginning either.

The Son of God – also known as Jesus Christ – is God, aways has been God and forever will be God. There is no way to invalidate tis truth regardless of how smart or charismatic a person may be.

So What?

So what does all this talk about tribes, birth rank, etc. have to do with my life as a Christian? Well actually it has quite an impact. As I mentioned last week, since Jesus is God we can rightly say that God died for those He created. Since it was God who died, that sacrifice was compete and whole, lacking in nothing. That sacrifice – and all the ramifications of it – are guaranteed by none other than God Himself. The salvation that you and I enjoy is never going away. You cannot throw it away or lose it because it was bought by God and distributed by God. That us something we can take great comfort in when we struggle in this life.

So when you mess up and sin  – we all do it from time to time – remember that your salvation is not lost because of your actions because it was not bought with your actions. It was bought as an action of God. An action that has no returns, take backs, or regrets.

baldtheologian Jesus our Savior

He Is

This truth – that Jesus is God – should greatly affect us.

 

Just who is Jesus Christ? What did He look like? What did He do? Oftentimes we brush off these questions with a  simple “He’s God, of course.” This is correct but I wonder if a fuller answer would be more proper.

We have such an answer found in Colossians 1:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whetherthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is alsohead of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.  – Colossians 1:15-20 NASB

Lets take a look at these verses and reintroduce ourselves to our Savior, the Incomparable Christ!

The first thing I notice is the use of “He is”. This small two-word phrase controls the discussion Paul is having with the church in Colossae. Paul repeats this phrase throughout this passage in an effort to stress that Jesus is indeed all these things. We don’t just hope He has these qualities…we don’t just want Him to have these qualities…we don’t just have a Savior who has these qualities. He IS these things!

 

He IS…

 …the image of the invisible God

What a magnificent way to begin a passage dedicated to establishing the identity of Jesus Christ! Paul states emphatically that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. But what does this mean? Israel knew they could not see God and live. This is the reason God allowed Moses to see His back (see Exodus 33:21-23). But Paul says that Jesus is the image of the unseen God…does this mean that Jesus isn’t God HImself?

 

The Greek word used here is the word eikon. According to the standard lexicon for New Testament Greek (known as BDAG to Greek students) this word means here in Colossians 1 “that which is the same form as something else; living image.” So the idea of Jesus being the eikon of God is saying He has the same form of God – He is the living image of God. In other words, He is God in the flesh. Essentially Paul is saying to the Colossians “If you have seen Jesus, you have seen God.” This is a weighty theological statement: Jesus Christ is none other than God in the flesh.

 

When we think of God, we must think of Jesus at the same time. Though they are different persons, they are the same God. Yes that can be confusing. It can give us a headache or two when trying to understand it. But we must not let difficulty in understanding change our view of truth. Since He is God, what does this mean? How does it affect my life? Your life?

 

This truth – that Jesus is God – should greatly affect us.

 

The first way this should affect us is in our reverential awe of Him.

So often we marginalize Him. So often we minimize who He is because our vision is set too low. Somehow HIs rank in the trinity affects our thoughts of His ability to answer us. This is so wrong! He IS God, and He IS able!

 

Another way this should affect us is in our thankfulness for the incarnation, life and death of Jesus.

Since He is God, God came to HIs creation, clothed Himself with flesh, voluntarily gave up the ability to independently exercise some of HIs divine attributes. So God put limits on Himself when He came in the flesh. Think about that for a moment. He did this out of love for us. And when we consider the final act of His love, we are just gonna be awestruck…or at east we should be.

 

He came to be the perfect and only acceptable sacrifice for sin.

Now this means that there is only one way for sin to be effectively and permanently dealt with. This sacrifice had to be perfect – it just HAD to be perfect. No bull, no goat, no dove would suffice. So God decided to sacrifice Himself for our sins. Yes, you read that right: because Jesus is God, God died for the ones He created. And He died not when those He created were lovely. No, He died for us while we were in the midst of being unholy, unrighteous, selfish and rebellious. Wow. I mean, WOW!

 

How do you view Christ?

Is He your buddy? Is He your friend? Your Savior? The answer should be “Yes” to those questions. But He is much, much more. Not only is Jesus my buddy – not only is Jesus my friend – not only is Jesus my Savior –  Jesus is God. May we never forget this simple little truth. May we never overlook this in the life He has called us to walk.

 

God loves me so much that He died for me. He limited Himself (for a time) for me. He loves me so much that He chooses to dwell inside me to guide me into truth and righteousness.

I must understand His deity if I am ever to appreciate HIs sacrifice. Before I can understand His teaching, I must first understand His nature.

When I recognize these truths, my life – and yours –  and outlook must change. When I  understand these truths, my life – and yours –  will forever be changed.

 

Take some time today to simply give thanks for the incomparable Jesus Christ.

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A Tribute

John

Have you ever met someone who personified a virtue you would like to have? Have you ever known a man who embodied that virtue? If you have you have been blessed. I, along with many others, have been blessed to know such a man. That man went on to glory last week. This little tribute is all I can do. I hope it captures how I feel about the man I knew.

John was a man who was all about serving God. He would serve and encourage others to serve in their giftedness. John loved the Lord with all he had. How do I know this? Did he tell me he did? No, he showed me he did. He showed me in his life with his wife of 51 years. He showed me with his quiet strength he so ably used as an elder. He showed me when I would pray with him. He showed me with all the small projects he fixed and worked on at church.. John was all about God and so very little about himself.

I remember when I was a Pastor of a church that was fragmenting due to the actions of a few selfish individuals. I was sharing what was happening with a group of elders when John spoke up. He said he felt bad about my situation. I asked him why. He said “We’ve got each other to lean on in difficult times. You are not alone.” This was John. He cared for me and my dying flock almost to the point of tears. John cared so much for God’s people.  He was and is an inspiration to me.

John was a man after God’s own heart. I believe John will receive great reward from our Father in heaven at the appropriate time. John never stopped doing good. He seemed to never tire of doing the right thing. He seemed never to grow weary while running the race God had set out before him. Whether he was healthy or not, John was always joyful…he loved the Lord and it showed. He studied God’s word and loved to learn. I had the honor of both learning from him and teaching him in a class on hermeneutics. He was so hunble. So very humble.

John was an example to me of a godly husband. Again, he never had to say he loved his wife of 51 years. But if you were around them for more than a few minutes, you knew he adored his wife. There was something in the way he spoke to her…and about her. What a wonderful couple. I hope I never have to tell people of my love for my wife and family.I hope I can be like John and treat my wife and family in such a way that people just know how much I love them.

John was a treasure to my little church family. A treasure of faithful, quiet, joyful service to each member in our fellowship. It hurts not to see him on Sunday.   I’m sure others are hurting more than I, and to them I pledge the undying love of me and my family. We are here to serve you and love on you.

I know this isn’t my usual blog article.  But I felt I had to take a moment and let you know what heaven surely gained in the last week, a devoted Christ-over and Christ-follower. And while we who are left behind here have suffered loss, we know we will see John again.

I look forward to the day I see him again.