Who Is This Savior?
INTRODUCTION:
Has anyone ever said to you, “I have some news for you, some good news and some bad news, which would you like to hear first?” I have some good news and bad news this morning as well, and I like to always start with the bad news and get it over with so that we can get on to the good news. The bad news is that we are all sinners, and maybe you ask, “What is a sinner?” or maybe you say, “So what.” Well, let me give you the facts, the Creator of the universe, the One who created each one of us wants us to be morally perfect, that is how He originally created the first man and the first woman. He created them, He placed them in a beautiful garden, He showered His love and goodness on them, and they had a perfect relationship with the Creator. Part of the Creator’s goodness was to provide for this first couple and He did so with a multitude of fruit trees in that garden that they could eat from, but the Creator told them that there was one fruit tree in the middle of the garden that they were forbidden to eat the fruit from, the tree was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, one tree out of all the fruit trees in the garden. The Creator said if they ate from that one tree they would surely die. This tree was to test the first couple’s love and loyalty to their Creator. They failed; they ate the fruit from that tree because God’s great enemy Satan told them if they ate from that tree they would become like their Creator. They disobeyed God, they rebelled against Him by doing what He had forbidden them to do because they believed Satan and chose to follow him, and immediately they began to age and eventually died, they became separated from their Creator, their relationship with Him was severed. They came under God’s judgment, and they passed their sinful nature down through history to all of their descendants and we all are descended from that first couple, so we are each born with a sin nature and have a natural tendency to sin, we too are separated from God and have come under His judgment for our sin. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves from this judgment, because we are sinners, we are helpless to save ourselves and we must die to pay the penalty for our sin. That is the bad news, and it truly is bad news for each one of us to be separated from our Creator because of our sin and rebellion and we are in bondage to sin and to God’s great enemy, Satan. Let’s pray and then I will share with you the good news.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
I want to begin to tell you about the good news by reading a passage of Scripture to you, this passage of Scripture is found in the book of Colossians, chapter one, verses 13-22. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Colossians 1:13-22,
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—” (Colossians 1:13–22, NASB95)[1]
REDEEMER (Colossians 1:13-14)
The good news that I have for you this morning begins with a deliverance or a rescue mission. This rescue mission is performed by God. The first verses that I read to you say that God has rescued you from the domain of darkness. What is the domain of darkness? That is where we each live when we are born into this world, this domain of darkness is Satan’s domain and because we are sinners, we belong to him and are enslaved to him. Paul describes our life in Satan’s domain of darkness like this in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, NASB95)[2] Because we were dead in our trespasses and sins in the domain of darkness there was nothing that we could do to escape Satan’s rule and so we lived in rebellion to God, as a slave to Satan committing sin just like everyone around us. But God reached down and rescued us from the domain of darkness, and He transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. This word translated transferred means that this change from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son is a permanent change, there is no question, no worry that we ever have to return from where He rescued us from, our address has been permanently changed. But how could this happen? I thought because of sin we were separated from God and under His judgment. Paul goes on to tell us how this happened, this beloved Son of God the Father became our Redeemer. This word in Paul’s day, the verb “to redeem” means to buy out of the slave market, to pay the ransom price for a slave. The ransom price for a slave to sin is death, the price set by God and it was paid to God through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His beloved Son. The result of this redemption, Paul writes, is the forgiveness of sins. God could rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, because that Son became a substitute for us, paid the ransom price for our sin by dying in our place so that our sins could be forgiven and God’s judgment for sin was satisfied. Paul speaks as if this is a done deal in these verses and for his original readers it was, they had already been saved from God’s judgment against sin, they had already been rescued, redeemed, and forgiven. For many that are here this morning, this is true for you too. Rescue, redemption and forgiveness come when we realize that we are sinners, that we are dead in our trespasses and sin and we repent of our sin, or we agree with God that we are sinners, helpless to save ourselves from His judgment, but we in faith believe that His beloved Son, Jesus Christ died in our place, took God’s judgment for our sin on Himself and died as our substitute. When we believe this, we are rescued, redeemed, and forgiven and become a permanent citizen in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Who is this beloved Son, who is this Redeemer that can rescue and forgive us? Paul goes on in the remaining verses to tell us who this Redeemer is.
CREATOR (Colossians 1:15-17)
First, Paul tells us that this Redeemer, this beloved Son of God is the image of the invisible God, in other words, He is the physical representation of God for us in human form. That is to say, He is God. He could not be our Redeemer, there could be no forgiveness of sin unless Jesus Christ was both God and Man, because only a divine act could pay the price for sin and bring about the removal or the sending away of our sins which is the meaning of the word forgiveness. Paul is not the only one to say that God’s beloved Son is God. The Apostle John in John 1:1 wrote concerning Jesus who he calls the Word, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NASB95)[3] Jesus himself said, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, NASB95)[4] Our Scripture reading this morning from Hebrews 1:1-4 says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:1–4, NASB95)[5] Here the author says that Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature. Simply put all these passages are telling us that this Redeemer, God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ is God.
Next Paul writes in Colossians 1:15 is that Jesus, our Redeemer, is the firstborn of all creation. Now be careful that you don’t get hung up on this word firstborn thinking that it means that Jesus Christ was created first. This term firstborn does not refer to time, but to place or status. Paul is not saying that Jesus Christ is the first being created, because Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things. This term “firstborn” simply means of first importance or of first rank. Think about Solomon who succeeded David as the king of Israel, he was not the firstborn of David’s sons, but he was given that distinction by succeeding his father as king. Firstborn of all creation means prior to or before all creation. Jesus Christ is not a created being; He is eternal God. Paul had already made that clear by stating that our Redeemer is the image of the invisible God. Image means an exact representation or revelation. It is only in Jesus Christ that the invisible God is revealed perfectly. Since no mere creature can perfectly reveal God, Jesus Christ must be God.
The next verse tells us that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things. Everything was created by Him, whether those things are in heaven or on earth, even all authority was created by Him, both visible and invisible. Whether angelic in the spiritual world or physical in the natural world. Paul goes onto tell us that all things have been created through Him and created for Him. Paul then clearly states that Jesus Christ existed before and reigns over His creation and that His creation is held together by Him. Jesus Christ brought this creation into being and He sustains His creation. Only God could do that, and this is just another affirmation from Paul that Jesus Christ the Creator is God. Paul has shown us that our Redeemer is God, not only is He God, but He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, and He created it for Himself. But Paul has more to tell us about our Redeemer.
HEAD (Colossians 1:18-20)
Paul tells us that Jesus Christ is the head of His body, the church. As head He is the source and founder or origin of the church as well as the leader or ruler of the church. The church mentioned here does not refer to a local church in a community, but it refers to the universal church that consists of all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ believing that He died for their sin and rose again from the dead. The moment a person does this he is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ which is the church. Paul not only tells us that Jesus Christ is the Head but also the Beginning so there is no doubt that He is the Originator and the Leader of the church.
Paul uses that term “firstborn” again and tells us our Redeemer is the “firstborn from the dead” again informing us that Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead to never die again. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus Christ is the “firstfruits of those who are asleep.” Those who have died physically in Jesus are promised by His resurrection that they will be raised as He was and that they will live forever as He does. This is why His resurrection from the dead makes Him the firstborn from the dead because His resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Then we come to the theme of this passage, that He Himself will have first place in everything. The phrase “first place “ is actually the word preeminent. Jesus Christ is preeminent, and this was God’s purpose in making His beloved Son the Redeemer, the Creator, and the Head of the church.
Paul now declares that it was God the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in His beloved Son. This word translated fullness is a technical term that Paul uses eight times in this book, and it means “the sum total of all the divine power and attributes.” Paul is declaring unequivocally that Jesus Christ is fully God in every way. The term that is translated “to dwell” also is very important, it does not simply mean “to reside” but it means “to be at home permanently.” Again, Jesus Christ is fully God. Because He is fully God, He is able to do what no mere man could ever do, reconcile lost sinners to a holy God. As I said before, we as sinners deserve God’s judgment, we are at enmity with Him because we have disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him. Paul describes our sinful state as being alienated from God, hostile in mind and engaged in evil deeds but he says that can all change because God has come in human flesh, and we can be reconciled to God by His death. God loved us so much that He sent His Son, His Son loved us so much that He went to the cross and became our substitute and died in our place thus making peace between God and us. He has reconciled us to God when we agree with God that we are sinners that have rebelled against Him, but in faith we believe that Jesus died for us and rose from the dead on the third day proving that his death paid the price for sin so that we could be rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. The Lord Jesus Christ became our Redeemer Paul says so that He could present you before His Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach and that can only happen when we have had our sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation can be yours today.
CONCLUSION:
About 50 years ago I was rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I was sitting in a kid’s club in the church that my dad pastored, my mom was teaching us the Bible lesson and she told how Jesus, God’s beloved Son, came to earth and took on human flesh, he was born as a baby and grew up to be a man and He went to the cross and died for my sin, took God’s judgment for my sin upon Himself and died in my place. Then He was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead proving that His death had paid for my sins and your sins. That day I knew I was a sinner and I repented of my sin by agreeing with God that I was a sinner and unable to save myself. I believed that Jesus died as my substitute and that His death paid for my sin and that He rose from the dead and is living today and someday because my sins are forgiven, I will spend the rest of eternity with Him. That day my heart was cleansed, my life was forever changed, I had a purpose in life and that was to live for God, and my destination was changed, I was no longer headed for hell, I was headed for heaven. Everything became new and I have never regretted the decision I made that day; it was the most important decision I have ever made in my life.
What about you? If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? The Lord Jesus Christ has done everything that needed to be done to rescue you from the domain of darkness and transfer you into His kingdom. He has paid the price required for your redemption by His death on the cross and He has proved it is paid for by His resurrection. If you will agree with Him today that you are a sinner and helpless to save yourself from God’s judgment against sin, but you believe the Lord Jesus Christ can save you because He died for you and His death paid the price for your sins and He rose from the dead three days later then your sins will be forgiven and He will bring peace between you and God and one day He will present you before His Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach. This is the most important decision you will ever make in your life and from one who made this decision 50 years ago it is fully worth it, and I would never change the decision I made. You can make that decision in the quietness of your own heart, but don’t keep that good news to yourself, share it with someone.
If you have made this decision, then you have already been made new in the Lord Jesus Christ. You have been rescued, redeemed, and forgiven. Don’t keep that to yourself, tell others about what God has done for you.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.