Colossians 1:15-23, Believe The Truth About Jesus
1. Jesus Perfectly Expresses The Father (v15)
2. Jesus Is The Creator And Purpose Of All Things (v15-17)
3. Jesus Is The Head Of The Church For Eternity (v18)
4. Jesus Lives In Full Deity And Full Humanity (v19)
5. Jesus Is The Only Path To Peace With God (v20-23)
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:00:00]:
This morning as we look at Colossians chapter one, I've titled the message believe the Truth About Jesus. Believe the truth about Jesus. There's a lot of things that we could talk about about Jesus. There's a lot of things that can be said that is said. There's a lot of nonsense, there's a lot of falsehood, there's a lot of things that are are not true. And there are those who proclaim the name of Jesus, but with no basis in the reality of who Jesus is and who he has revealed Himself to be. And so it's very important for us to make sure that we don't just accept everything that is said in the name of Jesus or attached to the name of Jesus, but that we look and that we verify and that we clarify what it is that's being said, who it is that's being professed, and make sure that it lines up with what the Scripture teaches about Jesus. To make sure you believe the truth about Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:01:08]:
The Colossians at this time, as Paul is writing this letter, are in danger of believing a different Jesus. There is only one true Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the heavens and the Earth, who became man to die upon the cross. For us. There's only one true and living Jesus. But there are many different Jesuses that are preached. And Paul makes reference to that in writing to the Corinthians that some come preaching another Jesus. And the problem with that, of course, is, well, it's very deceptive because it's all under the banner of Jesus, but it's completely different and cannot save. The Colossian heresy is a mix of mysticism, legalism, asceticism, gnosticism.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:02:01]:
It's all kinds of things that are happening there in Colosse that's causing people to proclaim the name of Jesus, but mean something else entirely. Warren Wisbe says this about the false teachers in Colossae. He said they're like the false teachers of our own day. They wouldn't deny the importance of Jesus. They would simply dethrone Him, giving him prominence, but not preeminence in their philosophy. Jesus was but one of many emanations that proceeded from God and through which men could reach God. The proclamation of Jesus as one of many ways to reach God is the proclamation of a different Jesus. And that is not believing the truth about Jesus, to believe that Jesus is one of many, that is not who Jesus proclaimed Himself to be.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:02:56]:
It is not who the Scriptures reveal Him to be. And so here, as Paul refutes this Colossian heresy, it reminds us this morning to kind of shake away the ruffle, the riff, raft, the extra things, and to come back to the core of what we believe the truth about Jesus. Now, not all truth, not everything that we could ever think about and believe about Jesus we'll cover this morning. That would take us more time than we have, but five points, five truths for us to consider this morning to believe about Jesus. Starting in verse 15 for point number one. Jesus perfectly expresses the Father. Jesus perfectly expresses the Father to you, to me, to us, to the world. He is the perfect expression of our heavenly Father.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:03:52]:
Verse 15 here of Colossians chapter one says christ is the visible image of the invisible God, christ Jesus. He is the visible image of the invisible God. Here we're understanding Paul to be talking about Jesus. Jesus also referred to as the Christ, referring to the invisible God. He's speaking of the heavenly Father. He is referring to Jesus as the visible image of the Father. This is an interesting idea and concept to consider. We really have nothing that exactly compares to what Paul is saying here.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:04:44]:
Trying to think of some illustrations to help us understand and think about what it means for Jesus to be the visible image of the invisible God. We have the concept of identical twins. I had lunch with a coworker this past week and discovered that he had or he has identical twin daughters, but he didn't refer to them that way, he just said that he had twin daughters. I said oh, are they identical twins? He says if you've seen one, you've seen the other. Yes they're identical. And yet at the same time we refer to twins as identical twins. Perhaps, but they are but not quite. Hanging out with my nephews.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:05:32]:
This couple weeks ago when Ingus and Argyle were in town with the rest of the family that they brought with them, we discovered actually there's a new mole that Argyle has on his cheek that makes it a little bit easier for those who don't get to see him all the time to distinguish between one and the other. The identical twins, Angus and Argyle are not so identical anymore. But it's not just that if one gets a scar, it's not that a scar appears on the other one. That even in the best case of the idea, if they were identical twins it was maybe at a single point in time perhaps there was that identicalness to them, but from then on out there was a divergence and a difference and they're not always going to be identical. When one gets his hair cut, the other's hair does not also get magically cut to match him. And so there is this identicalness preserved it doesn't work that way. When we think about Jesus as the visible image of the invisible God, it's not quite like identical twins because Jesus is always constantly, consistently in unison with the Father. He's in perfect fellowship with the Father.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:07:01]:
He is always the image of the invisible God. Commentator FF. Bruce says to call Christ the image of God is to say that in him the being and nature of God have been perfectly manifested, perfectly revealed, perfectly declared. And you can think about this perfection, this image in a few different ways there is the reflection that he perfectly reflects the Father and shows to us who the Father is. In Hebrews, chapter one, verse three, the author of Hebrews tells us that the Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God. He reflects to us the character, the nature radiating God's glory to us. So you can think of it as reflection, but you can also think of it as representation that he is the father's representative, that he comes and he represents the father in that he perfectly speaks on the father's behalf. Declares the Father's Heart provides the Father's views and perspectives on all things, that he is the representative, the messenger of the Father, accurately and perfectly reflecting the Father to us.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:08:41]:
But you can also think of this idea of image as a manifestation. So you have reflection, representation and manifestation. The manifestation is the revelation that is Jesus, is the Father's method of revealing Himself. You remember in John, chapter 14, when Philip, one of the disciples, said, lord, show us the Father and we'll be satisfied. And Jesus said, Philip, I've been with you a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I am the image of the invisible God. You're wanting to see the Father.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:09:25]:
Jesus said, Just look at me. You're wondering how the Father feels about people who are diseased and hurting and in need of compassion. Well, look at Jesus, how he interacted with people who were diseased and hurting and in need of compassion. You're wondering how the Father feels about religiosity that keeps people from fellowship with God because of a focus on rituals and laws that he never prescribed. Just look at Jesus and his interaction then with the religious leaders in coming against those things that kept people from God. You're looking at, I'm wondering how much the Father loves you, or people in general. Look at Jesus and look at his willingness to go to the cross on our behalf. He is the perfect reflection.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:10:19]:
He is the perfect representation. He is the perfect manifestation, not just at one time, a long time ago, but ongoing, continually, consistently. Jesus perfectly expresses the Father. Do you ever get surprised talking to a husband or wife when you've talking to their spouse previously and you realized, oh, they never talked about this, had a conversation with them? Perhaps you were making a plan, you were asking a question, you wanted to borrow something or hoping to meet together sometime and thought you had it all resolved with the spouse, but then you talked to the other one, and they've never heard of this in their life. They never knew about it. They've never understood that this was a request or a desire. And sometimes we can kind of poke a little bit of fun at each other and joke around at how husbands and wives, they're not always in sync, they're not always in perfect fellowship. They're not always communicating.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:11:23]:
They don't talk about everything. And that way the picture of marriage breaks down in the representation of Christ in the Church, right? He's always communicating with us. But even more, Jesus is always in perfect fellowship and unison with the Father. When you know Jesus is hard on something, you know the Father's heart on something. When you know his perspective, you know the Father's perspective. If you have a conversation with Jesus, you're having a conversation also with the Father. Not that Jesus is the Father and the Father is not Jesus, but they're in perfect fellowship, in perfect unison. Jesus perfectly expresses the Father to us.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:12:09]:
Truth number two, continuing on here in verse 15, on through 17, here's point number two. Jesus is the Creator and purpose of all things. Jesus is the creator and purpose of all things. Verse 15 again, christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. For through Him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on Earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:12:54]:
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Jesus is the Creator and the purpose of all things. Paul tells us here in verse 15 that Jesus existed before anything was created, he's before in the sense of time. Jesus has always existed. He is not part of creation. He existed before anything was created. Now, there's a lot of teaching about Jesus that presents Jesus as a created being, and that is completely contrary to the revelation of Jesus that we have in the word of God. That is not the Jesus to believe in, to hold on to.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:13:54]:
That's a different Jesus and a Jesus that cannot deliver salvation and forgiveness from sin, because the Jesus revealed in the Scripture is one who existed before anything was created. And so here it says that he is supreme over all creation. Now, supreme in many translations, king James, new King James, you'll see the word firstborn, and a lot of people get tripped up over this idea. Jesus as the firstborn over all creation. But you don't need to get tripped up over that. The New living translation puts it this way supreme over all creation. That is a accurate understanding of this word firstborn. Do you ever go to the supermarket and you walk in through the doors and you just kind of, like, fold your arms? You're looking around and you're saying, wow, this is super.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:15:00]:
You went to the supermarket, right? So you should walk in and go, this is super. Now you can understand how it began, probably I didn't do any research on this, but just making up a story in my head. You had markets, but then came the supermarket, and then people would walk in and go, wow, this is super. But today a supermarket is just a market. In fact, if you go to a regular market, you go like this hardly has nothing I want to go to the regular market, not this little dinky one. Right? And so supermarket used to mean something different, but today it just means we go to expect to have everything that we could possibly want in one place for any type of food. The supermarket. Supermarket in a similar way, first born, we can understand how that word began.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:15:53]:
First born means the first one who was born. And the first born in ancient culture had really important roles within the family. The first born would be the one who would manage the inheritance. And so when the patriarch, when the father passed off of the scene, then the firstborn would inherit all of that authority, the estate, the responsibility for distributing the inheritance and executing the will of their father. The first born had this important role. And so we can understand that's how the word began, but also we understand that it wasn't always literally the first one born chronologically that received that role. We can look at many examples in the scripture, but I'm not going to dive down. I don't want to distract us too much down this path.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:16:58]:
But you can check that out and understand that first born doesn't have to literally mean in chronological order. So when it says that he's a firstborn overall creation, some make the argument that Jesus is a created being and he's the first of creation is their argument, even though the phrase right before it says he existed before anything was created. But still they kind of ignore that. Okay, let's say firstborn we have to take this ultra literally and make this to mean that Jesus was a created being, but he was just the first. But it's forcing something upon the text that doesn't work and doesn't fit and doesn't have to be that way. Who is the first lady? Now, you could answer that a couple different ways. You might have no idea. So you might say, I don't know.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:17:50]:
Or you might take that quite literally and say, Eve. Eve is the first lady. She was the first one created right there with Adam in the garden. Or you might say Jill Biden, she's the first lady. Is she the first lady who ever was? No, there was first ladies before. How can you be the first lady if you're not the first lady? We understand it's a position. It speaks of a rank, it speaks of a position. And that is the same idea here behind the firstborn, the supreme of all creation.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:18:25]:
I used to work for a company called First Financial because it was the first financial company that ever existed. No, it was a name. It fit well, perhaps you were in the army. There is the rank of first sergeant, but it's not the first rank that you can get that has the word sergeant in it. It's not the last rank that you can get. It's not the highest rank. It's somewhere in the middle. Why? I have no idea.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:18:51]:
It's just a title. Firstborn over all creation. It's Jesus'title. It's his position of authority and supremacy over all creation. It means he has all of the Father's authority. It means that he has been given the full rights of the inheritance and it's his responsibility to distribute the inheritance to all of the siblings, the other adopted children of God who come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. And so you don't need to wrestle with that word firstborn. It simply means that Jesus is supreme over all creation.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:19:33]:
And if you're still wrestling with that, you can check out Philippians chapter two. Doesn't directly use the word firstborn, but here's the concept. It's the same concept that Paul is describing here. Philippians, chapter two, verses nine through eleven, says therefore God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth. And every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That place of highest, that place of preeminence, that place of authority and glory over all that is the place that Jesus holds. Verse 16 goes on to say for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on Earth.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:20:32]:
Through Jesus, God the Father created everything in the heavenly realms. Now, you can take heavenly realms to mean two things. You can speak of the heavens in the sense of the atmosphere, and then space beyond it, and then space beyond that, and then more space beyond that, and galaxies upon galaxies upon galaxies beyond that. But of course, you can also speak about the heavenly realms as the spiritual realm. And really both are true that Jesus is the Creator. Through Jesus, God created everything on Earth, in our atmosphere, in what you might call outer space, and all of the universe and all spiritual things in creation as well. The Hubble telescope back in 2020 picked up a really incredible image of Saturn. You could see the planet clearly, the rings around it bright and crisp and clear.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:21:42]:
Did Jesus create Saturn, which orbits around 840,000,000 miles away from the Earth? You think about that. Jesus is the creator of that planet hundreds of millions of miles away. A few years before that, there was another spacecraft, Cassini, that was passing by Saturn, but looked back and took a picture of Earth, a little tiny dot, but you could see the rings of Saturn and then the little picture of Earth and understand how great the universe is. It's just a fraction. I mean, I can't even begin to imagine or understand the size and scope of the universe. There's a lot of excitement this month here. July 2023 is the one year anniversary of the James Webb telescope being launched, right? And for the past year, all of these incredible images have been coming out. And one came out recently showing just a black sky filled with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of galaxies.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:23:06]:
They're estimating more than 20,000 galaxies appear in this image that they've brought back from the James Webb telescope. 20,000 galaxies in one little slice and sliver of space that it's pointed at. And to think about, jesus created that one and that one and that one and that one, not just the Milky Way, but all galaxies across the whole universe that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of exploring or understanding. And you can go man depths and try to imagine the farthest of the far and how long it would take to get there and how did Jesus create all of that? But another fun exercise is to not go so far, to come back in close and then to kind of zoom in, to dial in your microscope a bit and to think about creation and what it is. Are you familiar with the hydrogen atom? The simplest atom contains one proton, one electron. Very simple, very small. Of course it's an atom. And to think that Jesus created that.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:24:31]:
There's many different types of atoms, all kinds of complexity and all kinds of things that I have no qualifications to explain to you or describe to you, but fascinating to consider, fascinating to uncover. Scientists estimate that more than 10 million hydrogen atoms would fit on the head of a pin. Now, they didn't say what kind of pin, but 10 million on the head of a pin. Just think about one of these pins, right? 10 million right there, smaller than my fingertip. Jesus created every single one of those hydrogen atoms that would fit on the head of a pin. Care to take a guess on how many atoms your body contains? Numbers I don't really understand. Seven octillion is the estimated number of atoms for an average adult weighing 150 pounds. I think they average, the adults outside of the United States.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:25:39]:
I'm not one of them. Seven octillion, also known as 7 billion, billion, billion. It's seven with 27 zeros after it. That's the number of atoms in your but just you by yourself. How many of those did Jesus create? All seven octillion or 25 octillion or how many ever are in your body? He created every single piece. He is the creator of all things visible and invisible. He goes on in verse 16 to say, he made the things we can see and the things we can't see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world. And so here we know for sure.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:26:33]:
Now, we're talking about spiritual creation. We're talking about angelic forces, fallen angels. Did you ever think about that? Did Jesus create Satan? Yes. Jesus created Satan. They're not equals. They're not brothers. Satan was created by Jesus and is in rebellion against His Creator and in rebellion against the purposes of Jesus. And thus the drama and the conflicts that we have, the battle of the enemy.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:27:12]:
But Jesus made it all. He's the creator of Michael the Archangel. He's the creator of Gabriel who announced his birth to Mary and Joseph. He's the creator of all things, rulers, kingdoms, authorities in the unseen world. Things that are visible because they're tangible and physical, things that are invisible because they're too far away for us to see them, or too small for us to be able to zoom in and look at them. He finishes verse 16, saying, everything was created through Him and for Him. Everything. There is no part of creation that Jesus was not involved with.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:28:00]:
Everything was created through him. But then also notice for Him. And here again, we get a callback to that perfect union with the Father. The Father created all things through Jesus, and for Jesus, there is this perfect unison between the Father. They were in exact agreement in all of creation from the very beginning. All things were created for Jesus. You ever wonder what the purpose of your life is? Well, now you know who to ask. Because you and I, we were created for Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:28:46]:
We're his created for him, not just by him. It's not that God is some impersonal creator who just kind know, wound things up and let them go, but it's for Him, for his pleasure, for his purposes, for his will. That's why Saturn was created. That's why galaxies were created. That's why atoms were created. That's why you were created for Jesus, for his purposes, for his pleasure. Verse 17 he existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. He was before everything else.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:29:39]:
He existed before anything else. Saying again what he said in verse 15. He is not a created being. He's before creation. Not only that, but he continues to be involved, holding all things together. He is the sustainer of all things. That is, if Jesus was not sustaining, then we would all be gone. We would vanish in a moment.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:30:07]:
In an instant, it would all just be gone. We don't just exist because at one point, a long time ago, god created and began this process. But we exist in this very moment because Jesus maintains and sustains us as his creation, for his purpose, for his glory. He created us for him. He holds us. He has our very breath in his hands, because he still has purpose. He still has meaning and value. He still has a plan.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:30:54]:
Jesus is the creator and purpose of all things, including, and you might even say especially you amazing. And so Jesus is the creator of all things. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Thirdly, as we move on to verse 18, jesus is the head of the church for eternity. Jesus is the head of the church for eternity. Verse 18 says, christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:31:37]:
Christ is the head of the church. Which church? The one down the street. I'm the head of this church. No, that's blasphemy. When we speak about the church, when Paul speaks about the church here, Christ is the head of the church. He's not limiting it to just a single individual local gathering of believers. The church is universal. All believers, not just even who live right now and are alive, but all believers who have ever lived are part of the church.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:32:12]:
Those who have believed in Jesus Christ are members of the church, and Christ is the head of the church. Jesus is in charge of all believers, all followers of God, all those who have right relationship and fellowship with God. There is no person who has right fellowship and right relationship with God that is apart from the authority of Jesus. We're all under the headship of Jesus. The church is his body. Now, it does scale down. And so we, as a local gathering, need to make sure that we maintain the headship of Christ and submit to and recognize the authority that Jesus has, that this church should belong to no individual, that there is no one who has a will that supersedes the will of Jesus. That our job as a church, is to seek the will of God and to fulfill what he has planned for us, to fellowship in accordance with his instruction and his command, that we constantly be submitted to the headship of Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:33:31]:
Every believer is a member of the body of Christ, and Jesus is the head. That means that Jesus is the source. It means that Jesus is the origin, and it also means that he is the ruler. We exist again, he is the source, the church, the body of Christ. This gathering of people who have fellowship with God and right relationship with God, he's the source of that, that there is not a means of fellowship with God through some other way. He is the head, he is the source, and he's the origin. You could think about it this way. Jesus is the first member of this group.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:34:24]:
He's the head. Not just first in authority, but he's the first member. That's why Paul is pointing out here, he is supreme over all who rise from the dead. Jesus was the first to resurrect from the dead permanently. Now, there were other resurrections, but more properly, we could consider them resuscitations. I almost forgot the word there. We see Lazarus. Jesus raised Him right, but he was really resuscitated.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:35:03]:
It's a little bit interesting and comical, maybe you might say, to consider. I didn't go back and look at all of the images to verify the accuracy of this, but one of the teachers I was listening to and thinking about, Colossians chapter one, was talking about early paintings of the church. Would always paint Lazarus a little bit grumpy, because how terrible it must have been to be in eternity for a couple days and then to be resurrected, to be brought back to this life. And so with that mindset, they kind of would paint Him, and expression on his face would not be like, cheerful and great. He's like, I've had better I've had better days than today here in this life. I was in the presence of the Lord. But Lazarus, although he was resuscitated after being dead for several days, he would later go on to die again. And that's another reason for Lazarus to be grumpy, right? Like, you finally get to that, and then now you have to do it all over again.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:36:15]:
But Jesus resurrected in a glorified state, the real fulfillment of all of the promises of resurrection. Jesus experienced that. He was the first one to experience that. And so he is the beginning, the supreme, the firstborn over all who rise from the dead. In this case, he is first in time, the first one to resurrect in this way, but also supreme in authority, in position, in importance. He is the head of the Church, the one who shows us what is in store for us, his followers, that this same resurrection is promised to all of us. And so all of those who believe in Him and follow Him will experience this kind of resurrection, just as he and so Paul says, so he's first in everything. He's the first member of the Church.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:37:12]:
He's the originator of the Church. He's the authority in the Church. He's the most important in the Church. He's the first to resurrect. He's the most important to resurrect. He is first and foremost preeminent above everything else. He's the head of the Church for eternity because this resurrection is permanent and eternal. Do not have in your mind this idea that we just got to get through this life and then we'll be liberated from the headship of Jesus for the rest of eternity.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:37:51]:
My life will be submitted to Jesus. He will be first and foremost the most important, the ruler of all, and we will all be submitted to Him. Every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Moving on to verse 19 for point number four. Jesus lives in full deity and full humanity. Verse 19 says, For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. The reality of Jesus is that he lives in full deity and full humanity, 100% both at the same time.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:38:47]:
It's the incarnation, the miracle upon miracles. God became man and dwelt among us. The Gnostics in Paul's day had a really different view of God. They would teach. That God was in bits and pieces. There's a long history to this and I'm not going to try to dive into all of that. But essentially what the result of the logic was that they believed that there were many gods spread out through all types and shapes and that Jesus was just one piece of those many gods, one piece containing certain elements of deity. But none of those pieces that they believed in had the fullness of God.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:39:47]:
The fullness of God could only be accomplished when all of those pieces were gathered together collectively. And so Jesus and all these other entities that they would worship and follow, that's what they believed. That's what the Colossians were in danger of believing. But that's not at all what the scriptures teach. God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, the fullness of the Godhead, fullness of deity. Paul restates this in Colossians, chapter two, verse nine. There he says, in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you have this combination, humanity and deity.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:40:45]:
And so we often say that when Jesus became man, he didn't set aside his deity. He added humanity to his deity so that he retains his deity. He is 100% God, he is fully God. But then he also became man. He put on humanity. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, our high priest, understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings that we do, yet without sin because he put on humanity, he experienced real life as a human being. The author of Hebrews goes on to say, that's why we can come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, to receive mercy, to find grace, to help us when we need it the most. Jesus lives in full deity.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:41:49]:
He is God, but he's not an unapproachable God. He is God who became men, added humanity to his nature and experienced life. He has compassion, he understands, he relates. And so Paul tells us in one Timothy chapter two, there is one God and one mediator who can reconcile God in humanity, the man Christ Jesus. In the book of Job, job is lamenting his condition and situation and wishing that there was one who could lay hands on us both is the way Job puts it. Someone who could mediate to put his hand on me and then to put a hand on the Father and to bring reconciliation, to bring information, to bring compassion and help. That desire that Job had is fulfilled in Jesus. He is the one who can put his hand on you and on the Father and bring peace and reconciliation and all that God has in store for you.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:43:00]:
Well, we're going to finish it up in verses 20 through 23 for truth number five, jesus is the only path to peace with God. Jesus is the only path to peace with God. Verse 20 says and through him god reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. This includes you, who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:43:56]:
Through him, through Jesus. God reconciled everything to himself. There is nothing outside of the realm of the reconciliation of Jesus. Through Him, God reconciled everything to Himself with the introduction of sin. Things were unreconciled, things were separated. Humanity separated from God. Sin destroyed everything. There was enmity between God and man, between the enemy and man.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:44:36]:
But God made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. He says everything twice here in verse 20, everything, to let us know it's fully encompassing. And that means for us that Jesus is the only means of salvation. He didn't just get carved out, okay, North Americans who believe in Jesus, he's the mode of reconciliation for them. But South Americans, they have a different path, a different order of reconciliation. No everything. People of the first millennium, they have this path of reconciliation. But second millennium, different path, no everything.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:45:28]:
Jesus is the only means of salvation. This is not teaching universal salvation. Again, part of the Colossian, heresy and heresy that continues today, the idea that it doesn't matter how anybody lives and what course they walk, what path they choose, everybody will all be saved eventually. That's not what Jesus is accomplishing. That's not what Paul is declaring here. You could see that when if you jump to verse 23, because he says, but you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. The potential for reconciliation is available for all. Everything, everything, all people, all humanity from whatever background have the opportunity of reconciliation.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:46:19]:
But there is the response of us, the responsibility that we have to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Jesus declared in John, chapter 14, verse six, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me, eliminating all other options. There is no other option. There is no other path of reconciliation. You only get to the Father through Jesus Christ. And so Paul says in verse 21, this includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemy, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:47:06]:
This is how we used to be separated from God, far from God, enemies of God. But Jesus made a path to peace with God by his blood and by faith in Him. We are reconciled to God. We enjoy that. We have that peace with God. Verse 22 yet he has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he's brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless. As you stand before him without a single fault.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:47:49]:
The work of Jesus upon the cross so thorough, so complete, the reconciliation so miraculous, you are brought into fellowship with the Father and you stand before Him as if you had not even a single fault. Not one sin, not one blemish, not one mark. Perfectly reconciled, perfectly reunited with the Father. But again, he gives this personal responsibility. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the good news. A lot of discussion that we could have about this verse. Let me suffice it to say this warnings are warnings.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:48:41]:
The Lord provides them to warn us, to remind us of the responsibility we have. The Author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews, chapter two, we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. We may drift away from it. So make sure you listen very carefully. That's why it's important for us to continue. Through the Scriptures, we've perhaps heard these things, learned these things, taught these things. And yet we need to come back and be renewed and refreshed in who Jesus is and reinker ourselves to the fact that Jesus is the only path to peace with God. To anchor ourselves to the fact that Jesus perfectly expresses the Father.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:49:30]:
To ink ourselves to the fact that Jesus is the creator and purpose of all things. To ink ourselves to the fact that Jesus is the head of the Church for all eternity. To ink ourselves to the truth. Jesus lives in full deity and full humanity. These are the truths that are presented to us about Jesus. And as you consider these truths, I encourage you, believe the truth about Jesus. These truths can land upon us in one of three ways. One way is that we've never believed, and so we need to start believing right now, these truths revealed about Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:50:17]:
A second way is that we have believed, but we haven't continued, as Paul says there in verse 23. But you must continue in these things which you have believed, and there are those who start that path and begin that way, but haven't continued and have drifted because they have not held fast. And thirdly, we can be those who believe and take heed to this warning, and we continue to believe this is who Jesus is. Believe the truth about Jesus. Make it personal to you. Jesus perfectly expresses the Father to me. He perfectly expresses that if I need to know what the Father thinks about me, I can look to Jesus. And yes, the physical body of Jesus is not here for me to look at, but the record of Him his nature, his character, his actions.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:51:23]:
We have recorded for us, we can see the perfect expression of the Father in regards to us, our heart, our failures, the grace provided, the fellowship desired. Jesus is my creator and my purpose. To believe in Jesus is not just out there, but to make it personal and to understand. He created me. All of those atoms, that seven octillion, he created and formed and fashioned me for his purposes, that the only way that I will find fulfillment in this life is to seek out and find out the purpose for which I was created. It's his purposes. His will, his plans and his purposes. Jesus is the head of the Church.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:52:17]:
Taken personally, he's the head of my life for all eternity. He's in charge. He's the supreme. He's the first and the foremost. He lives in full deity and full humanity. So he puts his hand on me and on the Father and brings that perfect peace and reconciliation. Jesus is my only path to peace with God. Believe the truth about Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:52:44]:
Lord. I pray that you would help us to do that this morning, to see Your Word clearly. I pray, Lord, that you would remove blinders that the enemy desires to use to keep us from you and deceive us. May Your Word penetrate through deep into our minds and into our hearts, that we would know certainty and clarity, who you are and what you offer to us. And, Lord, You Are far greater than we can imagine or understand. But, Lord, you reveal yourself that we might grasp hold of you. Help us to do that. Jesus.
Pastor Jerry Simmons [00:53:27]:
I believe in you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.