[0:00] this evening but just to give us a bit of context we're going to start from verse 9 and read through to verse 23. So here's Paul the Apostle writing to these Christians. He's been telling them in the first few verses up to verse 8 of the wonderful faith and love and hope that is theirs in Christ and how that has come to them through the gospel, the good news.
[0:24] And then he's going to tell us and we're going to read now about his prayer for them and then he's going to tell us something more of the Lord Jesus in whom we put our faith and trust. So we'll pick up from verse 9. For this reason since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord, may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
[1:27] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him. All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He's the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
[2:01] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God, there were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body, through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. If you continue in your faith established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard, and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
[2:50] May God help us and give us understanding in his word. Before we come to Colossians, let us all pray. It seems very simple to say Jesus is Lord, and yet, as we thought this morning, O Lord, it is the most profound and glorious truth that we can declare Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God come into this world. Jesus is the king and ruler over the universe. Jesus is the one who is in control, of all things, of all things, the one who is actively at work in his world to accomplish all that he purposes.
[3:38] And O Lord, we ask and pray that the reality of what we have sung, the reality of what we believe, the reality of what your word tells us is true, may be felt by us this evening. That we may not simply talk about Jesus as Lord, but our hearts may come with a sense of humility and submission, because, Lord Jesus, we know that you are here, and we know that you want to speak to us, and that you will speak to us if we will open our ears to hear. And we confess that so often our ears are full of all sorts of other stuff. So open our ears, give to us the help of your Holy Spirit to hear, and speak in a way, O Lord, that we may understand, and that may affect us, and change us.
[4:33] We thank you for your gospel and for your word, and we thank you again for the powerful effect that that gospel has had in our lives, and that that powerful effect it is having still in the lives of men and women, and boys and girls throughout the world. We thank you, O Lord, for those who are still speaking and proclaiming your word today. And we pray again, O Lord, that where your word is spoken and preached, that there you would own it, and make it fruitful to the transformation, as we thought again last week, of those from darkness to light, from death to life, from sorrow to joy. And we ask again, O Lord, that you would watch over your people and encourage your people around the world at this time. We continue to remember the needs of the woman in Sudan, that she would be freed very soon and unharmed, and for others of your people who are imprisoned, that they may not only know your presence and nearness, but in your good time,
[5:35] Lord, as you see fit, that they might be set free. We thank you again that you are the God who hears and answers prayer. And we ask these things now, for we ask them in and through Jesus. Amen.
[5:50] So have Colossians, please, in chapter 1 open there. So I'm particularly going to be thinking about verses 15 and following. Now, in every sphere of life, it's necessary at times for us to ask people for references.
[6:10] References as to their suitability. When we're renting a house at the moment, when we wanted to rent the house, we had to produce references to show that we were not going to trash the place or turn it into a junkie's haven or something like that, to show that we were reliable sort of people. And usually, if you have a tradesman come to do some work in your house, particularly perhaps to build something, then you'll want maybe some references of things that he's done before that show that his work is trustworthy, and so on. And we need those references. They're important because, of course, in all of these aspects, in all parts of life, there is a matter of trust.
[6:48] You are entrusting something to somebody. Either it's your money, or you're entrusting your home, or whatever it may be. And you need to know that those people are faithful to do what you expect them to do, to do what they promise to do when they say that they will build this, or do that, or the other. And so references are very important. And it's the same in the matter of eternal life, in the matter of salvation. Faith, of course, is imperative, and knowing who to trust is imperative. But the question, of course, is who can you trust in the pluralistic society in this world in which we live, where there are a multitude of religions and cults and all sorts of other strange oddities? Who can we trust? And, of course, for many people, as we speak to them, out on the doors, or we go out and we're in the workplace, they'll often throw the question up. Well, you know, you've got your faith in Jesus Christ, but how do I know that the faith that somebody has in Muhammad is not just equally as good, or the faith that they have in the Hindu gods, or the faith that they have, which is the Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses? How can you be sure? And why should I put my faith and trust in this Jesus Christ that you're talking about? Who can deliver the real thing? Who can give real peace? Who can bring real forgiveness? Who can save and overcome death and make us right with God? Can we know?
[8:26] Paul has been writing to these Christians in Colossus, and he's been telling them and encouraging them by rejoicing in what God has been doing in their lives, that they've come to faith in him and to hope in him and trust in him. And as we saw last week, they've been brought out of the kingdom of darkness, a dominion of darkness, a place of darkness, and they've been brought into this wonderful kingdom, this place of light, this place in which Jesus is the Lord. And all of these things, the blessings of redemption and forgiveness. Redemption is like being set free. It's a bit like a ransom being paid for us, and forgiveness, of course. These things have been secured and accomplished through Jesus. We see that there at the end of verse 14, or verse 13 and 14.
[9:13] For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom, that's Jesus, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. All that's been accomplished, all that has happened to them and to every Christian is because of what Jesus has done.
[9:31] But then we come to the question, how do we know that Jesus can be trusted to have done these things? And for the Colossians, Paul is writing to encourage them in their faith, to strengthen them in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that they can be certain. They, like us, like every Christian in every age, we're living in a pluralistic society, with all sorts of pagan gods and Roman gods and Greek gods and goddesses and temples and sacrifices. And again, in one sense, there's this sense of, well, how can we know for sure that we have trusted in Jesus, he won't let us down?
[10:11] How can we be strengthened in our faith? So that we can be steadfast in our faith and continue in our faith. He goes on a little later, and we included it in our reading, in verse 23.
[10:26] If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. So there's a susceptibility, isn't there, to be moved.
[10:38] We all, as Christians, struggle at times. We have real doubts. And they can be very hard to grapple with. And we find that sometimes when we face circumstances in our lives, that our faith is shaken.
[10:53] How can we know that we can trust Jesus? How can we know that he's dependable? And so, in that sense, we come to verses 15 and following. Because here, Paul is laying before the believers and us, references for the Lord Jesus Christ.
[11:08] Reasons why we can trust him. Reasons why we can depend upon him. Reasons why he will never let us down. And he is worthy of our faith, whoever we are.
[11:20] And in fact, he is not only worthy of our faith, but demands our faith. Demands our faith. Our single faith. And the first thing that he shows us is this, is that Jesus is worthy of our faith because of who he is.
[11:35] Verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God. What a statement. He is the image of the invisible God. Now, we live in an image-conscious world, don't we?
[11:48] Image is everything. Substance counts for very little today. It's better to look good, rather than to be good, if I can put it that way. As long as you put on a good impression, as long as you look beautiful, or you look handsome, or you look muscly, or you look shiny and glamorous, and all these sort of things, it really doesn't matter too much what's under the surface.
[12:12] Any product that you might buy, whether it be a car, or clothing, or perfume, they all have a public face, don't they? They all have somebody, usually a celebrity, somebody who you can recognize and associate with that item for sale.
[12:28] And these celebrities have paid lots of money, of course, to endorse a product, whether they use it, or whether they even like it or not. They just put on the face and say, yeah, wear these shirts and you will do this, and wear this body odor, not body odor, no, not body odor, body spray, and you'll be irresistible to the opposite sex, and so on, because I'm irresistible to them, and so on.
[12:54] These celebrities are the image of the product. You see, God's public image is not a celebrity. God's public image is not someone he's employed to sell his image to the world.
[13:07] No, God's public image is himself. He, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the image of the invisible God. It's just what has been said over and over again in the Bible.
[13:20] Here's John as he speaks about the Lord Jesus in John chapter 1. No one has ever seen God, he says. John 1.18. But God, the one and only, who is at the Father's right side, has made him known.
[13:35] In other words, the Son. No one's seen God. And yet, Jesus Christ, the one who has always been God and is God, he made him known.
[13:47] Later on, when one of the writers writes to the Hebrew Christians in chapter 1, he says this. The Son is the radiance or the outshining of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.
[14:02] When God took a human nature, when Jesus Christ came into this world and was born of Mary, when God took a human nature to himself, he who is invisible became visible.
[14:13] That's why Jesus cannot just be simply declared or owned as a great teacher or a great man or a great miracle walker or a socialist or a revolutionary.
[14:25] He either is who he claimed to be and what the Bible claims him to be. God manifests, seen, made visible in this world. Or he's a lunatic. He's not worth our time.
[14:38] Jesus was very, very clear about this. When his disciples, when he was about to leave his disciples, John 14, they asked him a question. And Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father.
[14:50] Show us God. People say that even now. You know, if you believe in God, show us God. How did Jesus answer? Don't you know, Philip, even after I've been with you such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
[15:05] How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work.
[15:16] Believe me when I say I'm in the Father and the Father is in me. In other words, here is God. You want to know what God looks like? Here he is.
[15:27] He's walked, talked, lived, breathed, eaten, slept, died in this world. Now, we can't fully comprehend that.
[15:42] And even as we listen to the words of Jesus, there's, in our minds, this sort of whirly gig going around saying, the Father is in me and I'm in the Father. And our brains just can't take hold of that.
[15:53] Because we're trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. We're trying to bring down God who is way and beyond and beyond above anything we can imagine.
[16:04] We're trying to bring him down to our level. And when we try and do that, all we're doing is making our arms tired. Because we just can't do it, can we? So we have to take the truth of what we read and accept it for what it is.
[16:20] We can't explain with words how this Jesus Christ is God made manifest amongst us. But it's true nonetheless. We can't explain the wonders of the stars and how they're held up in space.
[16:35] But we know that they're there. We know that they're there. Because we can see them. Because we can't understand something does not make it so. It means that we just have to be humble and accept we don't fully understand all these things.
[16:52] So who he is. But that's not really the full references. You see, the full references of Jesus are not simply who he is but what he has done. What he has done that proved that he is God worthy of our trust.
[17:07] That proved he is the savior that we can depend upon. That prove that he is someone here who is unlike any other person who has ever lived. Who truly is God.
[17:18] And to whom we must yield. And we must accept. As our Lord and Savior. And the first of these things is creation. He is the image of the invisible God.
[17:29] The firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth. Visible and visible. Thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things were created by him and for him.
[17:42] He is the one through whom all the universe was made. By which he has the title the firstborn over all creation. Now notice it does not say the firstborn of creation.
[17:58] Okay. Paul is not saying here that Jesus Christ or God the son was somehow the first created being. God created Jesus and then Jesus created other things.
[18:09] That's not what he's saying here. He's saying he's a firstborn over. And if you know your Bible a little bit. Then you'll know that firstborn has more of a sense of priority.
[18:21] It's more about position than it is about birth. And so one instance of that is found in Psalm 89. Where God is speaking about David.
[18:33] David the king. And he says I will also appoint him my firstborn. The most exalted of the kings of the earth. Okay. So he's the top king. Because he's the firstborn.
[18:45] And even in just previous generations of course it was the firstborn son who got everything. Didn't he? Who got all the inheritance. Because he had that primary place.
[18:57] That most important place. And that's what's being said here. Paul is not devaluing Jesus or devaluing Christ as saying he's a created being. He's exalting him as the one true ruler over all creation.
[19:10] We thought a little bit about that this morning. And the sentence following verse 16 confirms that. For it says for by him all things were created.
[19:21] Since all things were created by him it's impossible for him to be a created thing isn't it? Okay. If he created all things he's not a creation.
[19:32] He is the creator. He's the one through whom everything was made. Again John makes this same argument. When he speaks about the Lord Jesus Christ and speaks about him with this wonderful title the words.
[19:47] He says in the beginning was the word. That's the son of God the Christ. The word was with God. And the word was God. He was with him in the beginning. In other words before anything was made. Through him all things were made.
[19:59] Without him nothing was made that has been made. If we want to be assured of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep us.
[20:10] To protect us. To uphold us. Then we only need to look at this great marvelous glorious universe. And we can see that he was the agent through whom all these things were made.
[20:24] And not just the things that we can see but the unseen things as well. Look at what he says. For by him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth visible and invisible.
[20:35] That's a parallel isn't it? Heaven invisible. Earth visible. That's what he's saying. There's a spiritual realm.
[20:46] There's a realm to this world that we do not see. But also there's a realm within the material world we do not see. Scientists acknowledge that. Even those who don't believe in creation or believe in God. Recognize there are unseen realities in the universe.
[20:59] Dark matter. You often get a scientist popping up from time to time. And talking about dark matter. He said we know it's there. They say we just can't find it anywhere. What holds this universe together?
[21:11] How does it keep from falling apart? All the stars out of the sky and all these sort of things. There's some power which is called dark matter that holds all things. Makes up all things which can't be seen.
[21:24] Black holes again are things that we see on Star Trek and on the movies. But you can't see a black hole. But they know there's a fact. There's something there. They just can't see it.
[21:36] They know these things exist. But here we read. He holds all things together. The great power and force within the universe. Is that the Lord Jesus Christ.
[21:49] God the Son. Holds all things together. Again we can explain it as best we can with science. But we can't understand it. We can't pin it down. There's something there.
[22:02] But Paul goes on to speak about thrones and powers and rulers and authorities. And so it's not just those tangible things or the material things of the universe. There are spiritual realities.
[22:13] There's a spiritual realm that is going on that we do not see. Unseen forces at work. In people's hearts and minds. We call them maybe communism or socialism.
[22:27] Or we call them one thing or another. A political party or movement. Or revolution. But there are these forces that seem to be working in our world.
[22:37] Directing governments and dictators. And all these things. Everything ultimately has its creative source in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that poses us a question doesn't it?
[22:51] An important question. If God in Christ created everything in the world. Including all the forces and the governments and the rulers.
[23:02] What about all the evil that's in the world? It's a question isn't it? People throw it up. Well if God made all things. Why is there evil in the world? Did he make evil? Did he make sin?
[23:13] Did he make wickedness? And of course behind all that. Of course is the great question. Well many people say. Well if there is a God in the world. Why is there evil and wickedness and sin.
[23:24] And these awful things that go on. Day by day in the world. And for many people they'll say. Well I can discredit God. Because if God was there. Then there wouldn't be these things.
[23:35] But you see that's because. We are fashioning a God in our own understanding. Rather than accepting God for who he really is. We're saying. If there was a God. Like the God I think there should be.
[23:47] Then he would be like this. That's not the same thing is it? No in fact. Christ did not create evil and wickedness. He did not create the wickedness that we see.
[24:00] Dictators and rulers exhibiting. He did not make sin. But men have chosen evil over good. Chosen evil over good. If we want to find fingers to point.
[24:12] Then we have to point them at ourselves. At selfishness and greed. We have to point them at our own disobedience to God. And rejection of God. We can't just point them at God.
[24:23] And say it's all your fault. But because we think it's all your fault. Therefore I'm not going to believe in you. It's counter argument. Argument isn't it? It doesn't make sense. We have to bear the responsibility.
[24:34] And we have to bear the guilt. And yet. And yet. And yet. As we thought this morning. And I said we were going to touch on this a little bit again this evening. Notice what it says here.
[24:46] All things were created by him. So we acknowledge that everything has its source in him. Doesn't mean that because he created it. That he created evil. I suppose in one sense.
[24:57] He's as much to blame. For evil. As Henry Ford. Is for. People being run over in the street. By a car. Yeah.
[25:07] He created the car. So it's his fault why people get run over. We can blame him. No. Of course not. It's what we do with. What God has created. But. Notice this. All things were created by him and for him.
[25:20] For him. Everything in this creation. Everything in this universe that Christ has made. Is worked by Christ. Ultimately to fulfill his purposes.
[25:32] So even those evil men. And those wicked men. And the things that they do wrong. They do not hinder the work of Christ. From accomplishing his purposes in the world.
[25:45] You see he is before all things. Do you notice that? He is before all things. And in him all things hold together. He's the author and the creator of all things.
[25:55] And in that sense he also. Is the one who will bring all things to their conclusion. Just like in one sense we might say a writer of a book. He begins it and he closes it.
[26:07] Jesus is the one that holds all things. Within the front and back cover. Of history and time. Doesn't mean that he agrees with evil. Doesn't mean that he turns a blind eye to evil.
[26:19] But even the actions of evil men. Do not stop him. From doing his will. And as I say. We thought about this quite a lot. More this morning.
[26:30] Now this is a mystery we don't understand. Is it? It's another one of those things. Where we don't understand. God could make this universe.
[26:43] He could make all things in this world. Knowing. What would happen. Throughout history. Knowing. Knowing.
[26:54] Knowing. That sin would come. Knowing that evil would come. And you say. Well why doesn't he. Stop it. Why didn't God stop it. Why didn't God say. Right. As soon as sin came in the world. That's it. Bang.
[27:06] Because dear friends. That would cause. A terrible. Calamity. You see. If we were to say. Why doesn't God act. As soon as evil acts. Then the question then becomes.
[27:18] At what stage of evil. Does God act. And at what stage of evil. Doesn't he act. Yeah. So if we say. Well God. If you're a God of love. And a God of power. Then as soon.
[27:29] As somebody. Goes to kill somebody. You've got to stop it. Okay. But what about. Hating that person. That's what leads to.
[27:40] Killing them. Doesn't it. So. So really. We should go back a bit. And what. What about. When they just sort of. Raise a fist to hit them. They're going to kill them. But they just beat them up badly. Well yeah. Of course. Well you should stop it then. And so.
[27:50] What do we do. We find ourselves going back. And back. Until in the end. Sorry. Wait for the mic. In the end. What have we got. We are controlled. In every single way.
[28:01] So that we are. Robotic. Perfectionists. So if you say. God should stop. Evil from happening in the world. So that means. That God should stop you.
[28:12] When you're about to tell a lie. To somebody. And God should stop you. When you're about to. Call somebody. An unpleasant name. And God should stop you.
[28:22] When in your heart. There rises anger. Do you see where we're going? Nothing. But the wonderful truth is this. That all the evil. And the iniquity.
[28:33] That goes on in this world. Is under. The lordship. Of the lord Jesus Christ. So that ultimately. God's purposes.
[28:44] Will be accomplished. And fulfilled. And that brings us to the second point. The first thing we've seen is this. That Jesus as God. Christ as God. Is someone we can trust. Because he's proven himself mighty. Because of the creation that he's made.
[28:56] In this world that he's made. Faulty and foolish though it is. He still is under his control. It's not running out. Chaotically. That's why we never had a third world war. You know.
[29:07] That's why we never had a. Russians sending. Intercontinental ballistic missiles. In America. And America back. All those things that went on. During the cold war.
[29:19] Why did that not happen? Everybody said it was going to happen. It didn't happen. Why did it happen? Because God was over it. Christ was ruling over it. He's not going to let it happen. It's not going to happen. Until. He.
[29:30] Comes again. That this world will bring. Be brought to an end. But. Here's the purpose. Which Christ is bringing. Here's the second reference. Here's the proof. Of Christ's faithfulness.
[29:40] It's this. It's seen in his new creation. First of all. In his original creation. But then in his new creation. Which we see. Is indeed. Found in the church.
[29:52] Verse. 18. And he. Is the head of the body. The church. The beginning. And the first born. From among the dead. You know. There's a similarity. In language there. Isn't there? So you've been talking.
[30:03] About the first creation. The original creation. And then we have. This link word. And. Which in one sense. Is not just. Stuck on the end.
[30:14] But it's showing us. That there is a link. Between the two. There's a comparison. Between the two. So in the same way. As Christ was the. Original. First born.
[30:25] Over creation. So he is also. The first born. Over new creation. Out of that. Old humanity. There has been created. A new humanity. A new humanity.
[30:35] Which is. A different humanity. A returning. To. What was good. And Christ is the.
[30:46] Head. Of the church. It's again. That title. The top church. Is seen as his body. The head. Is the place. Of authority. The place. Of power.
[30:56] The place. Of priority. Just as he was the source. Of the original creation. So he is the beginning. Of the new creation.
[31:07] And we don't really have. An equivalent. English word. For the word. That we've translated. Beginning. The Greek word. Is far more complicated. Than that. But it has that sense of. Source.
[31:18] Of creation. A fountain. In one sense. Of creation. The one who brings. These things. Into being. The great designer. As Hebrews calls. The Lord Jesus.
[31:29] In chapter 12. Verse 2. The author. Of our faith. And so in the new creation. Which is the church. Of Jesus Christ. Made up of every single.
[31:40] Redeemed person. Every single person. Who has been. Brought into. A new creation. Made a new creation. By God. This is Christ's work. And of course.
[31:51] We see that this. Is happening. Because we see it. In Jesus himself. Because we find there. That he is the firstborn. From among the dead. So that in everything.
[32:01] He might have the supremacy. The first place. Jesus' resurrection. Is the evidence. Of the new creation. Which takes place. In every single person.
[32:12] When they come to faith. In him. His new creation. Began with his resurrection. If I'm put it that way. Because nobody was raised. From the dead. Like Jesus was raised. From the dead. Nobody was resurrected.
[32:23] In the same way. He was resurrected. Beforehand. Now. You read your Old Testament. You'll find that there were people. Who had died. And they were raised to life again. Elijah and Elisha.
[32:33] Both had. Given. That power. As it were. From God. And of course. Jesus himself. Lazarus. Jairus' daughter. The widow of Naim.
[32:45] The widow's son. They were all raised. To life again. But they didn't receive. A resurrection body. A newly created body. Simply all that happened. Was that that dead body.
[32:56] Simply says. That dead body. Was given life. To live again. But then to die later on. When the Lord Jesus Christ. Rose from the dead. He did not. Rise from the dead.
[33:07] Simply to die later on. That's why we have the ascension. That we've been thinking of. Just recently as well. No. He experienced. An eternal resurrection. As a new. And eternal.
[33:19] Body. And every Christian. Shall share in that. And receive that same. Resurrection. New creation. Eternal body too. Here's Paul. Describing what happens.
[33:30] So it will be. He says. With the resurrection. Of the dead. The body. That's this body. That we're in now. Is. Which is sown. Is perishable. In other words. It wears out. It is raised.
[33:41] Imperishable. Never to wear out. It is sown in dishonor. In other words. With sin. In it. And tainted. And fallen. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. Subject to death.
[33:53] It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It's raised a spiritual body. When the Lord Jesus Christ. Was raised from the dead. It was the evidence.
[34:03] And the proof. That he is the son of God. Paul writes in Romans 1. Declared. With power. To be the son of God. By his resurrection. From the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ.
[34:20] Is at work. In this world. In a new. Creation. Which is his church. So that. There may be.
[34:31] Fulfilled. God. His original purposes. For the world. In other words. When God. Created this world. He created it.
[34:41] Good. Genesis 1 tells us that. Perfect. He created men and women. In a perfect relationship. With God. But when sin. Came into the world. That creation. Was ruined.
[34:52] Man and woman's. Relationship with God. Was ruined. Death. Came into the world. And with death. Came all. The evils. The sins. The. The sorrows.
[35:03] The griefs. That we see around about us. The Lord Jesus Christ. Came into this world. That he might create. A new creation. That he might restore.
[35:15] What was. Broken. That he might bring it back. Into its right. And proper. Setting. His original purpose.
[35:26] For this world. Still stands. And will be. Fulfilled. And is being. Fulfilled. By the Lord Jesus Christ. Through his death.
[35:36] That's what we read there. By making peace. Through his blood. And by his resurrection. They are the. Evidences. And proof. And the power. To bring these things. Into being.
[35:47] And so. Paul tells us. That through Jesus. To. Reconcile. To himself. All. Things. When you reconcile. Something.
[35:58] It means to bring it back. Into its proper place. To bring it into. It's sort of. When it needs reconciling. It's out of kilter. It's out of joint. It's out of line. I remember.
[36:09] Some years ago. I dislocated my shoulder. And pulled it right out. And made horrible noise. And I had to go to the. To the hospital. I had to go in my friend's car. With my arm like that. Because I couldn't put it down.
[36:20] All the way to the hospital. In the middle of Birmingham. And. They gave me some gas. And air. And all that sort of thing. And they were. Went to just take my jumper off. And something. Plop. So my shoulder. Was reconciled.
[36:30] With its shoulder joint. And it's never been the same since. But. It's the repairing. Of what was broken. In one sense. Humanity. Was out of joint.
[36:40] With God. And if you're not a Christian. That's exactly where you are now. That's exactly why. In life. And in all sorts of things. You sort of scratch your head. And say. Why doesn't it seem to run smoothly.
[36:51] Why doesn't. Why doesn't it seem to be. In the right place. As it were. Why do I feel. That I'm out of place. It's because. There's a. Dislocation.
[37:04] That's taken place. By sin. And Christ has come. To restore that. To reconcile all things. To reconcile the original creation.
[37:15] To its original creator. Now God is doing that. In two ways. The first way. Is as we've already seen. Through the church. When you become a Christian.
[37:27] You're brought back. Into that right place. Which God created you. Created you for himself. That you might know him. And be in fellowship with him. He created you for himself. That you might live for him. And enjoy him.
[37:38] And that you might glorify him. And honor him. And when you come to faith in Christ. And put your trust in him. That's exactly what happens. And so much more besides. That's Christ.
[37:48] Reconciling this world. By making peace to the cross. But. There's another reconciliation. Going on as well. I'm sorry to keep going on about it. I didn't plan that it would be.
[37:59] That there'd be these ties. Between this morning and this evening. They just seem to have come out. From the scriptures. But there's also. A reconciliation. Which Christ is at work. In the world.
[38:10] Which will find its fulfillment. When he comes again. Here's what. Peter writes. Concerning the return of the Lord Jesus. And what will happen to this world. Listen to this.
[38:21] But in keeping with his promise. We are looking forward to a new heaven. And a new earth. The home of righteousness. In other words. There's a new creation.
[38:32] A world. Which is right. Not wrong. A world. Which is complete. And perfect. And in relationship with God. Unlike the one that is now. Here. And so again.
[38:44] Paul is encouraging us. And stirring us to faith. This Jesus. The creator. The new creator. This Jesus. God. Who has made himself visible to us.
[38:56] This Jesus. Who has done everything. And is over everything. And is working in everything. To bring about. That restoration. And reconciliation. He is the one.
[39:07] That you have put your faith in. And trust in. And you know. He's not going to let you down. He knows. That he's going to bring. It all together.
[39:19] Either now. And in the end. So the question comes to you. Dear friends. This evening. Do you trust. Jesus Christ.
[39:31] With your life. With your world. With your sins. With your future. With your death. Nobody else.
[39:43] Has the references. That Jesus has. Nobody has the qualifications. Nobody can do. What needs to be done. In your life. Apart from him. Therefore trust him.
[39:54] With everything. And he'll not fail you. Let's sing together. 151. And then.