Sermon
#1450[1]
Title: Christ
Pre-eminent
Text: Colossians 1:18
Subject: Christ’s Pre-eminence
Date: Sunday
Morning –
Tape # W-22b
Introduction:
I trust God
the Holy Spirit will enable me to bring one more message to you on the pre-eminence of Christ. I have not begun to even scratch the
surface of Paul’s words in our text.
Colossians
But I have tried to show you that it is the purpose of the triune God “that
in all things he might have the pre-eminence.” God has determined
to give Christ the glory of and pre-eminence in all things as the reward of his
obedience to the Father’s will as our Mediator and Substitute. Today, I want to
show you that Christ’s pre-eminence is the display of The Father’s Love for and Honor of His Son.
John 3:35-36 "The Father loveth the Son,
and hath given all things into his hand.
(36) He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him."
John 5:20-24 "For the Father loveth the
Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him
greater works than these, that ye may marvel. (21) For as the Father raiseth up the
dead, and quickeneth them; even so
the Son quickeneth whom he will. (22) For
the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: (23) That all men should honour the Son, even as they
honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which
hath sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life."
The Lord Jesus Christ is everything to
his Father. The Father loves the Son, delights in the Son, honors the
Son, exalts the Son and magnifies the Son. Therefore
he has determined that in all things his Son shall have the pre-eminence.
Christ is to his Father what Benjamin was to Jacob, the Son of his love. The
Father’s love for the Son is evident for all to behold in the honor he has put
upon him in giving the pre-eminence in all things and over all things.
Proposition: Nothing can more effectually
comfort and challenge the believer’s heart than the knowledge of Christ’s
pre-eminence.
Illustration: Spurgeon
after the
In Colossians 1:15-20 we are given
a picture of our Savior, drawn by the pen of the Apostle Paul under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What a glorious picture it is! Here we see the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Friend, our great King holding all things in his almighty hand. He
who loved us and gave himself for us has got the whole world, the whole
universe in his hands! He who died upon the cross knows the most distant star
by name. He not only knows it, he fuels its light by his constant command.
Still better, he who holds the universe in his hands guides it and controls it
with such absolute, sovereign power that he makes it serve the interests of his
people.
Romans
THE FACT OF
CHRIST’S PRE-EMINENCE
ASSURES US OF FOUR THINGS.
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is an
all-sufficient Savior. As in our day, there were many in Paul’s day, especially at Colosse,
who taught that Christ is not enough. They taught that Christ alone was
insufficient, inadequate, and incapable by his own merit and grace to save
sinners. To dispel this heresy, Paul simply declares that Christ is pre-eminently
all-sufficient as our Savior.
Colossians
1:9-13 "For this cause we also, since the day
we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in
all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
(10) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) Strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with
joyfulness; (12) Giving thanks unto
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light: (13) Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son:"
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is not only an
all-sufficient Savior, he is also a sovereign Savior.
He who died at
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is a rich and
bountiful Savior. He has all things; and he freely gives all things to
all his people. Yet, his riches are never diminished. To you who worry about
your daily needs, to you who fret about the lean years that may lie ahead, to you who fear you will have no pension in your
old age, the Holy Spirit says, “Be content with such things as you have.
Christ is pre-eminent.”
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Savior
worthy of our hearts’ trust and devotion. You can safely trust this
great God, our Savior, in all things and with all things, and give him the
devotion of your heart. He is pre-eminent in all things and over all things. He
who owns the universe does not need me. If he accepts me into his kingdom, if
he receives any love, honor, service, gift, or praise from me, it can only be
because of his love and goodness to me. He to whom God the Father has given
pre-eminence should have the place of pre-eminence in our hearts.
Divisions: I realize that parts of my
message this morning will be repetitious. I will intentionally reiterate and
re-emphasize some things that need to be clearly understood and remembered. I
want us to stand in utter awe before our great, glorious, highly exalted,
universally pre-eminent Savior. So I ask for your attention as I try to answer four
questions regarding the pre-eminence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. How has the Father given the
Son pre-eminence?
2. Wherein is the Lord Jesus
Christ pre-eminent?
3. Why should Christ have the
pre-eminence?
4. How can I give Christ the
pre-eminence?
I.
HOW HAS THE FATHER GIVEN THE
SON THE PRE-EMINENCE?
As I have stated to you so many times, in his
essential Deity as the second Person of the holy Trinity the Father gives
nothing to the Son, because the Son is in every way one with and equal to the
Father. But in his mediatorial character and office, as the Surety and
Representative of his people, the Father has made the Son pre-eminent and has
given him the pre-eminence in all things.
A.
Christ our Mediator is
pre-eminent in the affection of the Father’s heart.
Proverbs
8:30-31 "Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his
delight, rejoicing always before him;
(31) Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men."
Nothing is so dear to the Father’s heart as his only-begotten, well-beloved
Son. The Father values, prizes, and cherishes the Son. He prefers his Son to
all and chooses his Son above all. The Father loves his Son. If we could pry into the very heart of
God, we would see nothing but his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is pre-eminence! The Father says of Christ, “This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well-pleased” (Matt.
·
The Righteousness of His Son.
·
The Sacrifice of His Son.
·
The Intercession of His Son.
·
His People in His Son and for The Sake of His Son.
B.
As Christ is the pre-eminent
object of the Father’s love, so too he is the pre-eminent object of the
Father’s trust.
God the
Father has entrusted everything to the Son. He has put everything into the
hands of his Son.
John
1.
The Father trusted the Son
with his people.
Ephesians
2.
The Father trusted his Son
with all his creation.
Psalms 2:7-8 "I will declare the decree:
the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten thee. (8) Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession."
John 17:2 "As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him."
3.
The Father trusted the Son
with his very glory.
1
Corinthians 15:28 "And when all things shall
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that
put all things under him, that God may be all in all."
C.
God the Father has made
Christ pre-eminent over all things by giving him the place of highest honor,
majesty, and dominion.
The Father has placed everything and everyone under
the rule of his dear Son, as the reward of his obedience and death as our
Substitute.
Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ both died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
Philippians
2:9-11 "Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."
Hebrews
1:3-9 "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (4) Being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (5) For unto which of the angels said
he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I
will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (6) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the
world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship
him. (7) And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of
fire. (8) But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of thy
kingdom. (9) Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows."
Hebrews
10:11-14 "And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins: (12) But this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of
God; (13) From henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool.
(14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified."
D.
God the Father will give his
darling Son everything he asks of him.
·
The Salvation of His People.
·
The Travail of His Soul.
·
The Joy Set Before Him.
This matter
of Christ’s pre-eminence is more much, much more than
words of adulation, pretty phrases, and religious sentiment. The crown he wears
is not a figure-head’s crown, but the crown of an absolute Monarch. Indeed, our
Savior is the only absolute Monarch who ever existed. And he is a worthy
Monarch. God himself has given his dear Son the pre-eminence by devoting
himself, his heart, his creation, yes, his very Being
to the glory and honor of his Son. We must, in our measure, do the same thing!
II.
WHEREIN IS THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST PRE-EMINENT?
Our text
declares, “that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.” That means
exactly what it says, “in all things” the Lord Jesus Christ has the
pre-eminence by the purpose and arrangement of God the Father. In recent weeks,
I have shown you the pre-eminence of Christ in the purpose, works, worship, and
Word of God. I have shown you our Savior’s pre-eminence in preaching, in
salvation, and among his people. This morning we will limit our thoughts in
this regard to that which is revealed in the immediate context of Colossians
chapter one.
A.
Christ is pre-eminent in the
salvation of God’s elect.
Colossians
Be sure you
do not miss the fact that the Holy
Spirit here declares redemption and the forgiveness of sins to be tantamount to
the same thing. All who were redeemed by the blood of Christ have, by
that same blood, been forgiven of all their sins. This is a clear declaration
of particular and effectual redemption.
B.
Christ is the pre-eminent
Revelation of the invisible God.
In verse 15 he is called “the image of the invisible
God.” He is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9). If we would know God we must
know Christ. There is no other way for men to know God but by Christ (John
14:6). Look at verse 15 again.
C.
Christ is pre-eminent in the
creation.
Our Lord is not here called a creature of God, but “the
firstborn of every creature.” He is the One from whom, through whom, by
whom, and for whom every creature exist. He is “the beginning of the creation
of God.
·
Adam was made in the image of him who is the image of God.
·
Christ is the firstborn of
every creature also in the sense that he is the pre-eminent, praiseworthy one,
for whose honor all creation exist.
·
He is himself the Creator of all things. - "For by him were all
things created.”
D.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is
pre-eminent in providence.
Colossians
1:16 "For by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: (17) And he is before all things, and by
him all things consist."
1. He upholds all things.
2. He rules all things.
3. He disposes of all things.
4. He shall have the praise of
all things.
E.
Christ is pre-eminent in and
over the church of God.
Colossians
In the church and
·
The Foundation of the Church.
·
The Head of the Church.
·
The King of the Church.
·
The Law-giver of the Church.
·
The Example of the Church.
·
The Bridegroom of the Church.
·
The Builder of the Church.
·
The Strength of the Church.
·
The Preserver and Keeper of the Church.
·
The Peace and Point of Unity in the Church.
·
The Message of the Church.
·
The Glory of the Church.
F.
The Lord Jesus Christ is
pre-eminent in the resurrection.
Colossians
1. He was the first to rise
from the dead to die no more.
2. He is he only one raised by his own power.
3.
His resurrection is the pledge, promise, and pattern of ours. If he is the first, that means others
are to follow!
4. His resurrection is the
proof of our justification (Rom
G.
Christ is pre-eminent in his
mediatorial possessions.
Colossians
1. All the fullness of the
eternal Godhead is in Christ.
2. All the fullness of grace is
in Christ.
3. All the fullness of the
glory of God is in Christ.
H.
Christ is pre-eminent in the
work of reconciliation.
Colossians
1:20-22 "And, having made peace through the
blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (21) And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
he reconciled (22) In
the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight."
1. He has reconciled the
offended God and us, his offending people, by the blood of his cross.
2. He has reconciled us to God
by effectually applying to our hearts the blood of his cross.
3. And the day is coming when
he will reconcile all things unto himself. Everything that is, has been, or
shall hereafter be shall give praise to him!
Isaiah
45:22-25 "Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am
God, and there is none else. (23) I have sworn by myself, the word is
gone out of my mouth in righteousness,
and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Surely,
shall one say, in the LORD have I
righteousness and strength: even to
him shall men come; and all that are
incensed against him shall be ashamed.
(25) In the LORD shall all the seed of
In a word, wherever we look, in heaven or in earth, in time or in eternity, among men or in the immensity of the infinite God, even in hell itself, Christ has pre-eminence in all things!
III.
WHY SHOULD THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST HAVE THE PRE-EMINENCE IN ALL THINGS?
Why is it that all things are put under him? Why is
it that he has no rival? Why is it that nothing and no one can be equal to him?
Why does the Lord Jesus Christ possess this singular, high, and distinct honor?
I will give you five reasons for our Lord’s great, universal
pre-eminence.
A.
Christ must have the
pre-eminence in all things because God the Father said he must.
Psalms 89:27 "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of
the earth."
Why was Joseph made prime minister of
B.
Christ must have the
pre-eminence in all things because he was born to it.
Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of
the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD
of hosts will perform this."
As the
firstborn Son, our Savior has the right of inheritance. As the only Son of the
Father, he rightfully possesses all the Father’s
property.
C.
Christ must have the
pre-eminence in all things because he paid for it.
He who buys
an estate is Lord of the estate. And Christ bought the right to rule over and
dispose of this world as he will for the salvation of his people.
Isaiah
53:9-12 "And he made his grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth. (10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the
transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors."
D.
Christ must have the
pre-eminence in all things because he alone is able to manage such pre-eminence.
There are too many irons in the fire for anyone but
him!
Isaiah 52:13 "Behold, my servant shall
deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high."
E.
Christ must have the
pre-eminence in all things because he alone deserves it.
1. He earned the right to
pre-eminence over God’s creation.
John 17:1-4 "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up
his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that
thy Son also may glorify thee: (2) As
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. (3) And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent. (4) I
have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me
to do."
2. He has certainly earned the right to have the pre-eminence in our hearts.
Psalms 116:12 "What shall I render unto the
LORD for all his benefits toward
me?"
It is truly
but a small thing for me to extol him and give him the pre-eminence of my heart
and life. Would to God that I could do so perfectly!
·
Who else has loved me so freely?
·
Who else has done so much for me?
·
Who but Christ has given so much to me?
·
Who else but Christ has been so constantly faithful to me?
IV.
HOW CAN I GIVE CHRIST THE
PRE-EMINENCE IN ALL THINGS?
In much the same way as God the Father has given
Christ the pre-eminence, so I must give him the pre-eminence in all things. John
Gill was exactly right when he wrote, “Christ ought to have the
pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the
contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest
praises of our lips.” If I would give Christ the pre-eminence
in all things, I must....
·
Trust Him with All Things. -
(John 5:23-24) "That
all men should honour the Son, even
as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the
Father which hath sent him. (24) Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life."
·
Love Him above All Things. -
(Matthew 10:36-39)
"And a man's foes shall
be they of his own household. (37) He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (38) And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is
not worthy of me. (39) He that
findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall
find it."
·
Yield to Him the Rule of All
Things.
·
Obey Him in All Things.
·
Render Praise to Him for All
Things.
Application:
If God the
Father has given Christ the pre-eminence in all things, as indeed he has, then
these two concluding statements ought to be obvious to us all.
1.
You must get Christ!
1 John
5:12-13 "He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the Son of
God hath not life. (13) These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God."
2.
If we would be in harmony
with God, we must give Christ all pre-eminence in all things.
In all our preaching, in all our worship, in all our
service, in all our affairs, in all our gifts, in all desires, in all our
relations, let us be in agreement with God our Father and determine “THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE
PRE-EMINENCE!”
Amen.