7-20-03 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Colossians 1:18~20

This letter was written as a warning to that little church in an earthquake prone area we know today as Turkey. The author was a prisoner facing execution, so does he write this as a warning to keep the church out of trouble with the Romans? No way! Throughout this letter the subject remains Jesus Christ and His rightful place in our hearts. If our eyes ever become fixed on anything in this world other than Him, our lives quickly become a miserable entanglement of emotions, and they become our master. Even worse, the misery is compounded as we turn our gaze toward ourselves, because the resulting worry, uncertainty, and fear always causes us to look at other people, and all the while our view of Jesus gets more cloudy. When I begin walking around letting my feelings get in the way, worrying about what other people are saying, and feeling sorry for myself, I know I've reached a crossroad. It's impossible to love the Lord Jesus and at the same time feel sorry for myself. That's when I realize the error of my way and I look to Him to put everything back in perspective. He was before everything, He created everything, and everything is held together by Him.

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:

Jesus is the head of the church. No matter how large the hat may be that they put on their head, no other person has any claim to that title. In every sense of the word, Jesus is exclusively the Head of the church. Any church body that loses sight of this fact or waters it down in any fashion whatsoever may not immediately perish, but it's only a crazy dance around the barnyard away from being plucked and cooked. This body is designed to respond to the Head, to make an impact on a dying world in a way that glorifies Him; not to be pew potatoes, but to implement the gifts we've been given by our Creator, the head of the body...

...who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;

As if there wasn't already an abundance of reasons to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He sent us His image in the Son Jesus Christ; the firstborn of a virgin; the firstborn of the resurrection; the only person to rise from death, never to die again. Just as Isaac, the child of God's promise, was proof of the resurrection of Sarah's lifeless womb, so too the Roman executioners, who were experts in death, verified the lifeless body of our Lord on the cross, and hundreds of people later witnessed that He lived again as proof that through faith we can join Him, our elder Brother who is the pledge, the earnest, and the only hope of the future resurrection unto eternal life. Only He rose from the dead never to die again.

...that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.

It's very unlikely that you're fulfilling the purpose for your life unless He comes first in your heart in all things. Placing Him first in our thoughts, first in our desires, and as the utmost and highest in all the praises of our lips will break the chains of misery in our lives. Where does He place in your heart at this moment? Is your heart eagerly anticipating the words that His Spirit would say to you this morning? After you leave here today, how long does that feeling of anticipation last? Is Jesus first and foremost in your heart only on Sunday morning?

Colossians 1:19 For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell;

Have you ever noticed that when you're not walking with Jesus, you feel empty inside, but the closer you get to Him, the more fulness you feel? When I live my life in separate pieces of time; work time, social time, recreational time, family time, church time, I'm missing out on the fulness that ties all of creation together. Each of these times are different, but we should approach each of them as opportunities to praise and serve the Lord Jesus, not to take a break from Him. If the untold things Jesus did were written down, the whole world couldn't contain the books. We don't even understand the half of it, but if we're ever going to live the quality of life that God gives, then Jesus must become our "all, and in all."

Colossians 1:20 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.

Whenever you hear someone say they've "Made their peace with God," you know right away they're Biblically illiterate. Who can make peace with God? We certainly can't, because we've got nothing to barter with. Reconciliation is a two-way street, and Jesus is the only person who has the wherewithal to meet God's demands. The price was paid with the most precious commodity ever known, which ironically was given freely, the blood of His cross.