In this sermon, Pastor Joe Babij examines Colossians 1:15-20 and the apostle Paul’s presentation of the supremacy of Christ. Paul describes Christ’s supremacy in four different relationships so that you will also give Christ first place in your life.
1. Christ Is Preeminent in Relation to God (v. 15)
2. Christ Is Preeminent in Relation to Created Things (vv. 16-17)
3. Christ Is Preeminent in Relation to the Church (v. 18)
4. Christ Is Preeminent in Relation to Redemption (vv. 19-20)
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okay let’s take our Bibles this morning turn to Colossians chapter one if you do not have a Bible on your own you can use the Pew Bible which is Colossians is on page 1178.
let’s pray Lord thank you this morning because we have the privilege to come here to worship the god who’s created the Heaven and the Earth and who has Supremacy over all things creation the church and Redemption and thank you Lord we can place everything in your hands and be safe till the end because you’ve taken care of everything but Lord we know not everybody sees it that way but I pray Lord that people would see it that way and that you would strengthen us in our faith so we can go through this life in a way that pleases you gives us opportunity to minister for you and shows that our life has been changed because we met Christ and his Spirit lives in US and his word has Authority in our life and Lord I pray as people see that your name may be uplifted and glorified and that people would be brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and I pray this this morning in your name amen so this book of Colossians was written to warn against error which of course is much in evidence today also people then believe that between themselves and God was a long line of shadowy beings who demanded worship and pacification and that Jesus was one of these to get to God well whatever Satan uses from his toolbox of Tricks the enemy’s goal is always to distort biblical Doctrine and the true Christian way of living but specifically the enemy’s ultimate goal and Design in any kind of falsehoods is to Rob Jesus of his Central place and to cloud and distort the true Redemptive work of Christ and the person of Christ these Distortion distortions of Truth and heresies want to spoil and cheat you and take you captive and move you away from the true teaching of Christ’s Supremacy if you notice in Chapter 2 of Colossians in verse number eight it says see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according the to the traditions of men according to the elementary principles of the world world rather than according to Christ well for example just recently I read an article called the fallacy of fictionalism now I’ve never heard of this term basically it is a trend that is often used by atheists who live their lives and pretend God exists by definition a fictionalists is one who aims to secure the benefits of taking as if certain kinds of things that exist like numbers and moral properties and possible worlds that may exist or composite objects or whatever while avoiding a commitment to believing in their existence like in a vowed atheist who pretends God exists but makes because it makes them feel better he doesn’t know God he doesn’t know how to know God he may never care even to know God for an example uh Scott hersovitz is his philosophy professor and director of Law and ethics at the University of Michigan he gave up he was brought up in Pratt in a practicing Jewish Home feels attached to Judaism praise in the synagogue Feast on Yom Kippur has a son studying for the bar mitzvah and doesn’t believe in God neither does his son Psalm 14 Psalm 53 both say the same thing a fool has said in his heart why there’s no God so they’re fools he recently wrote an essay for the New York Times titled how to pray to a God who you don’t believe in it all his conclusion to his statement in his article was I pretend and I don’t plan to stop it solves a lot of problems sadly fictionalism is not confined to one person or one group maybe he defined the word but there are church-going fictionalists people who are just Pretenders they just go through the motions they think religion is a good thing just like Philip Goff a British philosopher and conscious researcher at Durham University in the UK says the contentious claims of religion such as God exists or Jesus rose from the dead are all strictly speaking false according to his opinion though he doesn’t believe in the doctrine of Christianity he believes in the practice of faith he believes the practice of faith is more important than believing in Supernatural claims for goth God is used as a fiction however pretending to worship a God or tonight to deny God is dangerous business according to scripture where the Bible says in Hebrews it is a terrifying thing to Falls and fall into the hands of a living God it was Warren wursby who clearly observed that this age is the age of syncretism people trying to harmonize and unite different schools of thought and come up with some kind of superior religious system they take mysticism and legalism and Eastern religion as an asceticism and man-made philosophies and secretly that secretly creep into the church and they try to make something out of it they are not denying Christ at least some of them are not but they are diminishing Christ and they are the throning Christ and ultimately they are re robbing him of his rightful place of preeminence see we we should never let anybody kidnap us or try to plunder our treasury of truth that God’s given us we should never allow someone to forsake us of the truth of God’s word because all that is is just worldly wisdom half-baked truths that are juicy but they’re just uh crumbs of human wisdom packaged in words of Freedom which actually turn out to be slavery according to Theologian Graham scroggy he said the antidote the antidote of all heresy is true christology a true christology is a final answer to every heresy that ever has come down the pike and it always will be see the Bible is very plain it is clear the whole essence of the Christian position depends upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ from Genesis 1 to the last book of the Bible in Revelation it’s all appointing to Christ all of it one Theologian said this this is the thing that separates the Christian faith from all other religions their Founders while important are not absolutely essential to them if Buddha had never existed you would still have Buddhism if Muhammad had never lived you could still have Islam in other religions it is the teaching that matters and the person is non-essential other persons might have done equally well and the teaching would have remained unaffected but that is not the case with the Christian faith Christianity is Christ himself he is not just Central he is absolutely vital and therefore we have to see that we are concerned primarily and always with him so many who call themselves Christians are not Christians that is they the the person of Christ is not essential to them at all but the portion of Christ in Colossians it teaches about Christ probably to the superlative position of any book of the Bible it kind of can brings it all together it has Heights of Truth and expressions that are Beyond Compare that Christ is everywhere in Colossians he is God’s beloved Son he is God’s mystery he is this fear in which our maturity is realized he is the hidden treasure of wisdom and knowledge he is the spirit in which Believers live their life he is the soil in which we Thrive and the arena in which we are built up to become what we were designed to be all because of Christ amen the key verse in chapter in the really chapter one is verse number 18. it says he is also the head of the body of the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead so that he himself will come to have first place in everything see Christ is described in scripture as the preeminent one the Supreme one there is no one like him there’s no there was there has been no one like him there never will be anyone like him Christ is if you look in scripture and if you’re honest to read scripture you’ll find Christ is everywhere in Scripture it is all about him it is all about his work it’s all about what he has done in behalf of creation and behalf of the church and behalf of the Salvation of everything see it’s all about Christ so in chapter one here in Colossians it describes Christ as preeminent and at least four distinct relationships in relationship to God in relationship to created things in relationship to the church and in relationship to the work of redemption or the completion of salvation so Christ is supreme and sufficient for all human needs and does not need any help or addition at all whatsoever never so pay attention because your spiritual health depends on Christ being essential to you in every aspect of of your Theology and every aspect of your practical life because it will grow you to become strong in faith where Christ will will have first place in every single thing now let’s see what the Bible says there are actually four or five things I don’t know how far I’ll get this morning but I’ll I’ll I’m gonna wait move through them the first one is this that Christ is preeminent in relationship to God in verse number 15 of chapter one it says he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation Now Christ is the image of God it says here but if the two first words says he is and that points to Christ being continuously Without End existing eternally both in past and in future and this word image has two things to it first of all an image is a representation it’s just like a coin has an image the head of a coin is not only a likeness it is the image of the person it represents like a president we have on our money Washington or Lincoln or some other so it is derived from the president and it is a rep representation of him it is a copy of him but the Bible says that God is invisible because he is Spirit and we know from from the scriptures that a spirit is also a person the holy spirit is a person so God is an eternal person he is not limited to a physical body or to material things or to finite conditions or to time so how can Jesus be the image of one who has no image well the Bible is speaking of the character of the person the image of God The Identical mirror image of the attributes and identity of the almighty God because Christ himself is God so then Jesus is the invisible God made visible and that is exactly what the demons don’t want people to know they do not want people to know that in fact it says that exactly in second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4 where it says in whom in whose case excuse me the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God he’s trying to get people keep people blinded as to who Jesus is also second thing when it comes to Christ’s preeminence in relationship to God in this sacred this uh thing of image is that an image means a manifestation that how if a representation is perfect enough it can become a manifestation it’s like Pastor David preaching in the Gospel of John chapter 1 the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father he has explained him Jesus has come and showed us in scripture when you’re reading the four gospels what do you get a sense of who God is what he does how he thinks how he responds to people all those things are there and that’s for a purpose so we can get to know God very personally also in John chapter 14 it says he who has seen me has what seen the father and then of course right here in Colossians chapter 2 verse number 9 for in him that’s Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form so the scripture is definitely stressing that God has come into this world God is taking it on flesh and now he dwelt among men he pitched his tent here on Earth so we can see who God really is so you see the sun bears the exact likeness of God that means that Jesus is not a mere resemblance or a reproduction or a mere reflection of God or a mere emanation of God or even a mere portrait of God no there is nothing missing Jesus Is God and shares completely in the fullness of his Divine Essence Hebrews 1 tells us he is the exact representation of his nature so you see the sun bears exactly the likeness of God’s nature the Divine image and the nature of God has been stamped on the Sun so when you see Jesus you know just with the god of the universe is like you know how he thinks you know how he talks you know how he relates to people you know that in his word he prescribes the will of God that we can actually know and follow so God has spoken it says in Hebrews 1 of his son in these last days so that means that Jesus is the image of God to us only because he is essentially and eternally His Image he always has been and except we see God as imaged forth in Christ we do not properly see God at all and because he is God In the Flesh Jesus holds the chief place he holds the first place in everything that’s why in verse 15 it says that he is the firstborn of all creation now that’s used metaphorically here to emphasize the honor the status the supremacy that is given to Christ we see in verse 15 he’s the firstborn over Creation in Colossians 1 verse 18 he’s the firstborn from the dead in Romans 8 verse 29 he is the fourth first born of many Brethren so consider this for a moment before it’s all over Jesus Will come to have first place in every single thing and if this defines our destination and that of all created reality audit not also describe our current Journey this very Jesus is first in the Father’s Heart in verse number 19 it says the Father the father because of the father’s good pleasure for all the fullness dwells in him ought we not to hold this Christ hold the same position in our own lives in our own heart that Jesus has Supreme place as the firstborn meaning that he is supreme in rank in everything a second thing I want you to notice in Colossians is that Jesus should have first place in everything and why is that it will see that in a minute but Christ is preeminent in relation to ship to created things in verse 16 and 17.
so why should Christ be first place in everything well there’s six things given right here in these this section of scripture the first one is that he is the origin of all creation it says he is before all things in verse number 17.
and in him all things hold together so that the pre-exist in Christ is the author of all that is created a second thing is that he is the sphere of all things in verse 16 for by him all things were created so in him by him denotes Christ as the sphere within which the work of creation takes place that means all the laws all the purposes which guide the creation and the government of the universe reside in Christ things were created they did not evolve to create is to make out of nothing something God made his perfect creation out of nothing Genesis chapter 1 verse one through three the last part of it says that God said let there be light and what happened there was light and onward and onward see God spoke and it happened also practically in Luke chapter 8 we see that when the disciples were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee a storm came up and these seasoned fishermen were scared to death that they’re going to lose their life and how did it go Jesus was asleep that awakened they said master master we’re perishing and he got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves and they stopped and it became calm and he said to them where’s your faith they were fearful and amazed saying to one another who is this that He commands even the winds and the water and they obey him why did they obey him because he was their creator and then in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 3 by faith we understand the worlds were prepared by the word of God and that what is seen is not made out of things which are visible wrap your mind around that one for a minute see biblical faith has a perception that the Universe can be seen but its Origins cannot be seen the believer knows that the origin of the universe is God himself but what is the invisible Source behind the universe it seems the best way to understand that passage of scripture from Hebrews is to take what cannot be seen as parallel to the word of God in other words the God’s powerful word putting it all together really the sense of The Passage would claim that God’s word is an invisible power that produces visible results God speaks and there are the results but the source I know is God but I don’t know how it happens nobody knows how it happens nobody has the answer to that question nobody and they’re not going to get the answer but I tell you what that answer is wrapped up and found in Christ and I I tell people all the time that I’m a firm believer in The Big Bang Theory you heard this I wait for their puzzle look and and I said God spoke in bang the universe came into being and produced visible results of which I can now see Romans chapter 1 God made it visible and evident in creation about his divine nature he made it evident everybody was walking around cannot deny that there is not evidence there is so much evidence that’s overwhelming they desire to take the evidence and suppress it right they suppress the evidence of creation and they suppress the evidence of conscience right I’m going to shove all that down there because it makes my life uncomfortable to know that I may have to be judged for my life so they shove it down we all did that until you came to Christ and then you understood from the scripture oh that’s what happened oh that’s who I am oh that’s and you start putting the puzzle together so Faith because it is based on the character of God the Living God the invisible God The God Who Cannot Lie the scripture speaks of the formation of the universe as as God giving the command what was formed came into being the universe was formed and then it was seen how by the word of God which we cannot see so what this is passage in Colossians verse number 16 further say it says for by him all things were created both in heaven and on Earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities things in heaven would be the created Heavens the atmosphere around the earth as well as the universe beyond invisible things would be the spirit world the principalities and the powers usually refer to the domain of Lucifer Satan’s Dynasty and not merely Earthly kingdoms the domain of Darkness behind the scene the mystery of iniquity is working behind the scene even now setting the world up for what’s coming at the end you know it’s not done yet we’re at the end of the story but it’s not then done done yet God hasn’t consummated everything yet but the world’s being set up for satanic rule you know that right if you read the scripture you would know that we ought to know that but now just thinking about this thing about God creating everything I remember sitting in my friend’s father’s massive water company truck that had a skylight in it in the winter time my friend and me would take his father’s binoculars so that we could look at the moon and the stars and the planets and as we peered into outer space it was with Wonder because of the it the complexity of the heavens because and that was also coupled with admiration because we both thought just what existed behind the range of our vision how did it get there when did it get there now you may have had the same experience and questions but I didn’t realize then that I was glaring into the glory of God in the heavens and his handiwork I was having a David experience didn’t even know it not until I got saved because what does David say he says the heavens are declaring or telling the glory of God and their expanses declaring The Works of his hands so today as I look at the space photos taken by the Hubble telescope I am even more amazed at the Wonder the beauty the mathematical structure of the universe created by God the very orderliness and design of the universe still speaks very loudly of God’s awesome majesty and wisdom now I don’t know if you did this but my wife Jane and I uh caught the most recent lunar eclipse we got up at five o’clock in the morning to see that and it was perfect the night was clear everything was there but what it all I kept there I’m standing looking at this eclipse and all I began to think is that it just affirms the orderliness of the created heavenly bodies that God did that and everything is working like a clock everything’s on schedule so somebody who says I don’t believe God they’re a fool just as the scripture says it so when we come to scripture we find out who made all these things John chapter 1 again right it says the word made them the word is Jesus Christ and it says all things came into being through him and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being when I first read that passage of scripture I was shocked by it because I never really connected that Jesus created everything you may have not made that connection either not until you got into scripture and found out what it says about him now if you go back to verse number 16 there’s a third thing it says there he is the agent of all things it says all things have been created through him one linguist made a good point he said that Jesus is not in all things like some people believe but all things are in him Jesus is not in the tree through him describes Christ as the immediate instrument of creation also number four in verse number 16 he is the goal of creation it says for him the scribes that Christ is the goal it’s for him all of creation was created for him but notice in verse 17.
it says fifthly he’s the sustainer of creation it says he is before all things and in him all things hold together so this is the principle of cohesion in the universe that God is the unifying band which encompasses everything and he holds it together this applies to the largest things to the smallest things to the visible things to the invisible things he did not create and then abandon his creation he spends time with it as it says in Hebrews chapter 1 he upholds all things things by the word of his power so the son is the sustainer of all things that Jesus did not create and then let his creation continue on its own no but he upholds it he Bears it he supports it that Jesus actively exerts his divine power in the conservation of creation by keeping it from sinking back into its original state of confusion and nothingness some people have called this that he is the one he is the nuclear glue that keeps it all together Christ keeps the cycle of nature in order that we depend on so much we expect the sun to come up the next morning right we expect the sun to go down in the evening we expect certain things that are a given because of the Crea is creation he prevents the atoms from splitting at the wrong time we all know what happens when atoms are split right they have destructive force that we’ve discovered massive destruct destruction it can cause Christ creates life he creates he allows death that means he is the king of creation he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of creation the Prophet Jeremiah said this it is he who has made the Earth by his power who established the World by his wisdom and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens Jeremiah chapter 51 verse 15. that’s what it says so Brethren because the understanding we are given in our text about Christ we never have to give into fear or to worry or to doubt and be Shackled by those things Our God who has all things under his control he will safely guide us through this life to our Eternal home so we need to stop once in a while and look up and catch a glimpse of his glory and Majesty not only in the heaven but in the word of God and if you do that on a regular basis your Earthly concerns will not seem so daunting this life won’t seem so worrisome or confusing because Christ is taking care of it the third thing is that Christ is preeminent in the church if you notice in Colossians 1 verse number 18 it says very clearly Christ is the head of the body the church he is the head of the body of the church that means that the God man is in a living spiritual relationship to the church his body all spiritual life and power of the church are drawn from Christ he is the head and this reconstruction indicates he himself and there is no other so that is the one who is the creative Center and focus of the universe and the source of its cohesion is also the head of the church therefore the stress is always Christ and no one else is the head and of course who’s the church well the church is the Assembly of Believers right called out from Darkness to light all True Believers in Christ those chosen before the foundation of the world called out of the World by regeneration and conversion and those given a new heart and the indwelling Holy Spirit that’s what he’s talking about when he’s talking about the church the church is the body of Christ and Christ is the Bible head the body is servant of the head and is powerless without the head just like if I we lopped off your head this morning you would you would lose all power all control Christ is the head it can be no different but that’s exactly what the false teachers are denying in this and has always done if you notice in chapter 2 verse number 19 Jesus these false teachers were not recognizing Jesus as the head that’s why Paul writes and verse number 19 of chapter 2 and not holding fast to the Head for from whom the entire body being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments grows with the growth which is from God so in other words Christ was not essential to them and to their teaching Christ was not Supreme to them Christ was not preeminent to them he was just one of many emanations or Angels that’s all he was but Christ is the head and supplies the church with energy and with life he also exercises authority over the church and guides it and directs it by his word and his spirit because Jesus is the Creator and organic and ruling head of the church then the church is in no sense whatever depended on any creature or teaching or angel or power or authority it is all about Christ he has all that also Christ is the beginning of the church in verse number 18 Christ and he is the beginning that means that Christ is supreme in rank he is the origin and source of the church’s life and then in verse 18 it says Christ is the firstborn from the dead he is first in rank when he comes to the resurrection unto life Christ is first to come from the dead in true Resurrection Life Never to die again that’s what he says to us in the Gospel of John for he says I lay down my life I can take it back again I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it back again and that’s what he did he laid his life down and he took it back again in the resurrection and of course the promise is that you who believe in Christ who are Saints would be resurrected to live with him Jesus says I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me will live even if he dies everyone who lives and Believes In Me will never die and that means that Christ is supreme in all lordship in verse number 18 at the end of the verse so that he himself will come to have first place in everything so nothing in life or death can bind him he has the preeminence in creation he has the preeminence in the church and he has the preeminence in Redemption which we’re going to see here in our text that means the Creator and Redeemer are one and the same the all-powerful God in Jesus Christ so a fourth thing we see in our text is that Christ is preeminent in Redemption in verse number 19 notice what it says it says for it is it was the father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Christ that means that Christ is the god man permanently and he came into this world because it was a good pleasure of the father to send him to be the second Adam to be the one who would live a perfect life in obedience and because he lived that perfect life he would be the one who would go to the Cross to die for Sinners Like You and I so he’s the God man permanently but he is also Christ The Great reconciler and look at verse number 20 it says and through him to reconcile all things to himself that Jesus Will reconcile all things that exist once for all permanently and this very word reconcile means to transfer from one state to another to a quite different state it means to affect a thorough change it couldn’t mean a thorough change back so Jesus will also bring peace it says in our text having made peace that means he will bring peace in harmonious relationships it will be a restoration of universe and a restoration of relationships how will this change take place how will this restoration take place well it’s going to take place in our text in verse 20. it says having made peace through the blood of his cross that’s how the change takes up takes place it means and so that means by means of Christ Blood on the cross all these things are going to be restored or reconciled without the cross do you know Abraham couldn’t have been saved unless it was the cross Moses couldn’t have been saved unless it was for the cross the cross had to happen for their salvation as it well is our salvation so it’s all everything’s pointy Old Testament New Testament all pointing to the cross they’re looking forward we’re looking back but it’s all about the cross see everything is going to be made Peace by his blood so Jesus is just not did not just come to preach the gospel he came to be the gospel to pay the price to redeem the church with his own blood therefore he took upon himself the form of a man and as a man he had to die that’s why he became a man but there first must be a death before there could be a resurrection and only death could pay the the penalty for sin that’s all over scripture and the only one who is able who is willing and who is qualified to die in the place of Sinners and pay their penalty is Christ Jesus Christ who is the creator and Redeemer sin ruined everything in heaven and in Earth in the whole universe the curse Came Upon everything Jesus death on the cross changed everything so Christ is the aim and the purpose and the objective point in the whole plan of creation and the whole Plan of Salvation so Christ as the reconciler will restore the whole universe I want you to take your Bibles and turn to a passage of scripture in Acts chapter 3 verse 21 we did read that today but I want to just focus in on just one section there Acts 3 verse 21 because this same word that Paul uses in Colossians about Christ being the reconciler is the same word the the Dr Luke uses in writing the book of Acts because he’s unfolding here the future of Salvation and notice in verse number 20 he says and that he may send Jesus to Christ appointed for you and then Acts chapter 3 verse 21 whom Heaven Must receive until the period of restoration of all things now let me just stop for a minute Heaven Must receive Jesus that’s the Ascension that’s when Jesus went back to heaven right so what is he doing in heaven he’s reigning and ruling right Till the End of the Age it says in uh Matthew that all authority has been given to me in heaven and on Earth all right until the end of the age in Matthew he is calling people to himself while he’s in heaven he is interceding for us in heaven he is preparing a place for us so he is in heaven now he’s seated at the right hand of the father his work is done as far as creation and Redemption but he’s also waiting to restore all things and this process will come in the end and so if you look at verse 21 Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God will come back into this world he is talking here of the return of Christ he will come as the King of Kings and the Lord of lords he will come writing the Clouds Of Heaven surrounded by an innumerable host of Holy Angels and redeemed Saints and why is he coming he’s coming to re -constitute all things that Christ will come back to reconstitute the universe there is the word restoration which means to place things back in their former condition he’s going to reverse the curse in other words that’s what he’s going to do Jesus is going to do that Ephesians says this summing up all things in Christ things in heaven and things on earth Philippians says this by the exertion of power he has even subject all things to himself now why must he do this well the fall of Man into sin brought chaos upon all of humanity and upon the whole universe the universe was cursed because of Adam’s sin and rebellion and yes because of our sin and Rebellion and when the curse came it brought disease it brought Thorns it brought Briars it brought War it brought murder of all kinds it brought social disorders it brought earthquakes and hurricanes and the wearing down of the whole creation that’s why we have what we have today is because this whole world is wearing out like an old garment you want to call it global warming global cooling Global anything it’s wearing out and why we live on a disposable planet it’s just temporary and that’s exciting to think about because Paul says in Romans chapter 8 he says this for the anxious longing of creation wakes eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God amen for the creation was subject to futility not willing because of him who subjected in hope so when God sends his Christ his son again into the world he will send him back to put things right again Messiah was to lead the whole universe from bondage to Paradise in Christ it will be delivered and restored again in Romans 8 verse 21 the creation itself also will be free from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pain of childbirth together until now what does Peter tell us the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense Heat but according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells then we come into Revelation then I saw the new Heaven and the new Earth and the first Heaven and the first Earth passed away it’s gone and there’s no longer any sea Revelation 21 5 he who sits on the throne said behold I am making all things new so he will restore the universe but he will also restore relationships and what I and of course the scripture like Romans 5 says for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son and then in Colossians 1 22 right here it says yet he has now reconciled you in his flesh fleshly bodied through death in order to present you before him holy and blameless and Beyond reproach see Christ became a curse for us he became a curse for us so we can be saved we were bought with the price the precious blood of Christ so this could never have happened if Jesus did not shed his blood on the cross by the shedding of blood he made peace with us and with all of creation so he can come back and restore it and make it new that’s the hope that we have there’s no greater hope so do you realize if somebody says they don’t believe Jesus Is God has no idea what they’re talking about all you have to do is bring them to this passage and he says this is not just the carpenter this is not just a good teacher this is not just the example of the follow this is the supremacy of Jesus Christ as God In the Flesh ascended into heaven seated at the right hand of the father coming back again and he’s coming back for us he’s coming back for us and that’s something to be thankful for if you’re going to be thankful for anything this week you have to be thankful for that even if you don’t have a turkey you may have a ham whatever you have all these things come from the hand of God and so one other passage that means that Christ is preeminent over the Saints in verse number 20 it says and in him you have been made complete and he is the head over all Rule and Authority he is the head of the church and of every individual Saint in Christ and since this is true let him have first place in your life so if you never received Christ as your lord and savior then you are already rejecting the almighty God himself is that what you want I hope not especially when rejecting him means that there will be a resurrection also of unbelievers and it will be a resurrection to damnation and why is that because a person dies in their sin and they remain under the condemnation of and Judgment of their sins so God must hold them responsible so right now if you’re in that condition right now is the time to repent turn from your sin and pray and ask Jesus to save you he is the savior and he is the Lord and He will do that that’s why he came in this world to seek to save that which is lost but if you were a Christian this morning can it be that we are putting ourselves ahead of the Lord we do live in a self-centered Society everything’s about self IES everybody’s making selfies and all that it’s about self-self me me me me me what can I get you know if I don’t have any benefit to it I don’t want it do we put Christ’s first place in our home or do we close the door on Godly Behavior as soon as we close the door of our home we’re a different person does Christ have first place in our thoughts in our imagination or are we always thinking about ourselves that needs to change so in light of this passage this morning Christ must be essential he must have the first place in everything and because he is our caring Creator in our Merciful Savior and because Jesus Christ is Lord he must have the first place you know I read the story about a man named George Truitt he was he was a pastor he was visiting someone um that he knew a very wealthy Oil Man in Texas and after dinner the pastor uh the oil man took the pastor to his roof and he showed him he says listen I’m I came into this country poor I was penniless and he says if you look in front of me you’ll see the oil fields and the oil Derricks I know I own all those 25 years ago I came here penniless then he looked in to the other side of him he says here’s see these fields of grain I own them also then he pointed him to the his herds and his cattle and he says I also own those see I’ve worked hard when I came to this country and I made a life for myself and I own all that you can see north south east and west and he paused and expected the pastor to praise him but to his astonishment the pastor laid his hand lovingly on his shoulder and he pointed upward and he said to him my friend how much do you own in that direction and the man dropped his head in shame and says I never thought of that see we are privileged to be Christians don’t ever take for granted of that but remember we’re growing so Christ is first in everything and when he is you will find that your peace and your joy will be intact so when your peace and your joy are not intact look for sin because you become first and not Christ let’s pray Lord this morning I thank you again for the awesome passage of scripture that describes who you are in your preeminence and Lord what a privilege to have this even come into our ears as human beings to know that Lord you are the god who’s done all these things you are The God Who is preeminent in creation you are preeminent in the church you are preeminent in Salvation you will bring everything to consummation and so I pray that in our life as Christians you would always have the first place grow us to that point Lord so we bow Before You In Worship and I pray Lord you would guard our heart and mind that we not let any person Rob us of those truths so bless us now Lord as we go our way and as we meet with family and friends this week and have gather around a Thanksgiving dinner whether we’re home or not Lord just let us remember how thankful we ought to be for so great a Salvation and I pray this in Christ’s name amen