Praise to the Son in Colossians 1:15–20

Colossians 1:15–20

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Why is Jesus worthy of praise? Colossians 1:15–20 counts the ways. These ways can be neatly divided into two broad categories: (1) Jesus’ Supremacy in Creation and (2) Jesus’ Supremacy in Salvation.

Jesus’ Supremacy in Creation

  1. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The Son of God is the perfect reflection of the unseen God. All his unrivaled beauty, all his radiant glory is displayed perfectly in the Son of God. And God delighted for all his fullness imaged in the Son to dwell in the man Jesus of Nazareth (Colossians 1:19). Thus, he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3). So when we desire to see and praise the glory of the unseen God who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16), we look at Jesus of Nazareth, because we behold “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). We praise Jesus because Jesus is God.
  2. Jesus is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15–17). The uncreated Son of God existed eternally in joyful fellowship with his Father before creation breathed its first breath. He was before all things. The Son of God created all things in concert with the Father and the Holy Spirit. All things were made by him and all things were made through him (John 1:3). The Son of God bears up the universe by the word of his power, keeping it from flying apart (Hebrews 1:3). In him all things hold together. And the Son of God is the goal of all creation. All things were made for him. We praise Jesus because we only exist through him and for him.

 

Jesus’ Supremacy in Salvation

  1. Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18). Jesus nourishes us in our faith, unites us together in our faith, and grows us in our faith (Colossians 2:19). We praise Jesus because he has united us in him, who is the head, source, and object of our faith.
  2. Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). Jesus is the Last Adam who is the beginning of a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus is the firstborn of the dead in that though all died in Adam, Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection so that all in him are made alive (1 Corinthians 15:20–22). While the first Adam was a living being, Jesus, the Last Adam, became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). In him the old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). We praise Jesus because he makes us new and gives us resurrected life.
  3. Jesus the Son of God reconciled all things, making peace by the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:19–20). Jesus through his death has given us peace with God. Through the cross of Jesus, God reconciled sinful man to him, not counting our trespasses against us (2 Corinthians 5:19). Through the cross of Jesus, God transferred 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 (Colossians 1:13–14). Jesus through his cross has given us peace with one another. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, making us one body, killing the hostility (Ephesians 2:14–16). Through the cross of Jesus, God brought all things back under the rightful rule of his Son by disarming all rulers and authorities (Colossians 2:15), and then bestowing on Jesus the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9–11). We praise Jesus because of the cross.

Jesus is worthy of praise because of his supremacy in creation and his supremacy in salvation. Jesus created and Jesus renewed. Thus, Jesus is worthy of praise because in all things, creation and salvation, whether in heaven or on earth he is preeminent (Colossians 1:18). Praise his name.

Why We Have Tongues: Carols Across the Centuries

Christmas carols! We hear the tunes and our minds conjure up visions of decorated trees, family gatherings, piles of presents. We recall the eager anticipation of Christmas Day we experienced as children, and try to help the children around us to feel the same.

So carols serve to tie generations together. Many of the songs we’ll sing on Sundays this month were sung in my childhood church fifty years ago; were sung in my mother’s childhood church eighty years ago; were sung in her mother’s church 120 years ago; and on back through the decades and centuries. Music and lyrics bind Christians together across time.

Scripture tells us Christians of every time, from every place, of every culture form one Body – we are members one of another. Music reminds us of that truth.

Thus, we aim at DGCC to include music and lyrics both old and new – and we include the year the lyrics were written in the bulletin. These dates remind us: we are part of that One Church that the Spirit is building and perfecting, from every tribe and tongue and nation, from every decade and century and millennium.

So praise God for familiar carols that have been sung regularly for centuries!

But our unity with believers from earlier eras can also prompt us to discover carols that have dropped out of modern hymnals, that are almost never sung today. By digging into the past, we delight that much more in our common worship with brothers and sisters from earlier eras.

Here is a carol you probably have never heard sung: Shepherds Rejoice, by one of the earliest English hymn writers, Isaac Watts. I came across these three-hundred-year-old lyrics in the late 90s, and then was delighted to find that a tune commonly used for this carol right after the American Revolution was composed by William Billings, perhaps the greatest early American composer.

The lyrics are below. You can listen to the first and last stanzas sung to Billings’ tune via this link.

The first two stanzas are spoken by the angel to the shepherds, proclaiming the coming of the King of kings – but this king sits on a humble throne. So the angel invites these humble shepherds to kiss the Son (echoing Psalm 2:12).

The whole company of angels then gives glory to God in the third stanza.

In the fourth stanza, Isaac Watts addresses us: Angels are praising God in song – shouldn’t we men do the same? He then writes one of the greatest lines in all hymnody:

O may we lose these useless tongues
When they forget to praise!

God created us for His glory. He gave us tongues so that we might praise and glorify Him – including in speech, in song, in counsel, and in comfort.

So do so this season! Join Christians across the centuries by praising Him with old carols! And express our culture’s different forms of praise by singing new carols! And then also: praise Him through this new old carol from centuries past, that reminds us why we have tongues.

‘Shepherds, rejoice! lift up your eyes
And send your fears away;
News from the region of the skies:
Salvation’s born today!
Jesus, the God whom angels fear,
Comes down to dwell with you;
Today he makes his entrance here,
But not as monarchs do.

‘No gold, nor purple swaddling bands,
Nor royal shining things;
A manger for his cradle stands,
And holds the King of kings.
Go, shepherds, where the Infant lies,
And see his humble throne;
With tears of joy in all your eyes,
Go, shepherds, kiss the Son.’

Thus Gabriel sang, and straight around
The heavenly armies throng;
They tune their harps to lofty sound
And thus conclude the song:
‘Glory to God that reigns above,
Let peace surround the earth;
Mortals shall know their Maker’s love
At their Redeemer’s birth.’

Lord! and shall angels have their songs
And men no tunes to raise?
O may we lose these useless tongues
When they forget to praise!
‘Glory to God that reigns above,
That pitied us forlorn!’
We join to sing our Maker’s love,
For there’s a Saviour born.

A Midnight Kiss

The middle of the night. I’m wide awake, with Beth beside me. Sleep is not returning. Thinking about my sweet wife, thanking God for her, I lean over and kiss her lightly on the forehead.

What value was in that kiss?

She had no idea I kissed her. Indeed, I tried hard not to disturb her sleep. The kiss was brief; my lips barely grazed her.

So the value was not in communicating to her my love.

As related in her 1974 book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, at six years of age Annie Dillard would take pennies and place them in random places, so that others would have the gift of finding them. She didn’t want to know who found the pennies. And she didn’t want anyone to know she put them there. She simply had joy thinking about the little delight others would have in finding pennies.

Similarly, I didn’t want Beth to be aware of the kiss. But dissimilarly, I wasn’t looking forward to a joyful surprise I wouldn’t witness. The act was sufficient in itself.

Why?

Expressing love in ways that others see surely is valuable – God does that all the time, in provision of good gifts, in reconciling us to Himself through Jesus, in millions of other ways. When we show others genuine love, we are shining forth with the image of God. It is good for others to see that image. We are fulfilling a purpose of our creation.

But there is value in kissing Beth even if the act goes unnoticed. For God does that all the time also. In distant galaxies, on far planets, in the depths of the sea, in the tiniest cell – God is at work. Yes, He often acts in ways that bring Him praise. But He also works in ways that are unseen, yet similarly display Who He is. And we cannot know all those works. He just does them. Again and again. He displays Who He is – for Father, Son, and Spirit alone to see.

There’s a saying: Character is what you are when no one is looking.

God displays His character when no one else is looking. When no one else can possibly look.

Do the same. Show who you are in Christ. Love when no one is looking. Shine forth with His image every minute of every day.

And if you’d like to hide some pennies, that’s good too.

 

At Last! The Psalms!

This Sunday we begin a multi-year sermon series on the book of Psalms. If our Lord is willing, over something like 75 sermons, we’ll cover the entire book from “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1) to “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:5). Most weeks, as on October 9, we’ll consider more than one psalm. We’ll also break up the series into groups of about 15 sermons, returning to Romans to complete that series after the first set of psalms, and interspersing other New Testament series with the remaining psalms.

Why the book of Psalms?

At one level, it’s about time to consider it! While we read Scripture from this book almost every Sunday, only a handful sermons at DGCC have taken any of the psalms as their text.

At another level, the book of Psalms fits well with where we are in our preaching. Both Fred and I have focused in the past several months on key doctrines of the faith – who is God, what is man? How are we not condemned before Him? Where is the world headed? The psalms help us to see and to live out what must follow from such doctrines – the emotions, the affections, the praise, the crying out – as we live life in a sinful, fallen world.

Furthermore, when you read the psalms – personally, in your family, or in corporate worship – you are linking yourself with followers of God over the last three thousand years. Over centuries and millennia, these psalms have expressed and shaped the affections and emotions of God’s people. We pray that God will do the same with us – that our prayers might be shaped by these psalms and our attitudes might become more consistent with biblical doctrine as we hear and speak and live out these psalms.

Let’s look at seven forms that this expressing and shaping of emotions takes (modified from Mark Dever’s similar list in The Message of the Old Testament):

Praise: We proclaim the greatness of our God to all peoples and, indeed, to all creation, citing who He has proclaimed Himself to be:

Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! 
Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!  
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Psalm 96:1-7

Remembering: We remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness to His covenant, especially as shown in the history of His people:

When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77:16-20

Thanksgiving: Giving thanks in the psalms is not private, between an individual and God. Rather, thanksgiving in the psalms is always a form of public praise. Whether the psalmist is thanking God for assisting him personally or for helping the people, the thanksgiving praises God for such acts:

Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 
they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 
He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Psalm 107:17-22

Trust: Praising God for who He is, remembering His covenant love and faithful deeds, and thanking Him for His work on our behalf all serve to deepen our trust in Him. So the psalms call upon us to trust Him always, especially in the midst of trials and difficulties:

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 20:6-8

Honest Lament:  Yet while we are in such trials and difficulties, God often seems distant and confusing. We cry out and don’t see an answer; we ask God to intervene, and don’t understand how He is at work. Many psalms reflect this confusion, this darkness; indeed, more than one-third of the psalms contain a lament. One author says there is so much lament in the psalms to “show that the experience of anguish and puzzlement in the life of faith is not a sign of deficient faith, something to be outgrown or put behind one, but rather is intrinsic to the very nature of faith” (R.W.L. Moberly, as quoted by B Waltke et al, The Psalms as Christian Lament, p. 1). Often these laments sound similar to Job’s cries:

O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 
Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 
They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
Psalm 88:14-18

Love for and Obedience to God’s Law:  We delight in God’s revelation of His character in His Law, and strive to follow it by His grace, knowing that in following Him we find true life, true joy.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. 
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. 
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. 
I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 
I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. 
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 
Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:97-104

Repentance: Though we love His Law and strive to follow it, we often fall short. So we turn from our sin, confessing that God rightly condemns us and seeking forgiveness by His grace and mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Psalm 51:1-4

May God be pleased to express and shape our affections and emotions through this great book, and so continue to transform us into His people who live to His glory among all the nations.

 

Why Does God Save Anyone?

In this Sunday’s sermon, we will consider the link between the baby born in the manger and the call to missions. What is that link? What does Jesus becoming man, becoming Immanuel – God With Us – have to do with our making disciples of all nations? The link is partly explained in Revelation 5:8-14, which we will read during the service.

In the opening verses of the chapter, John, the author of Revelation, sees God sitting on His throne, holding a scroll. An angel asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” But no one is found worthy. This leads John to weep. But an elder tells him not to weep, for there is One who is worthy: The Lion of the tribe of Judah. John looks up to see the lion- but instead sees a Lamb, looking as if it has been slain. The Lamb takes the scroll. Praise then erupts in the throne room of God.

These words of praise are well-known to many of you. To help us see why God saves anyone, I’m going to quote those words incorrectly. Without looking at your Bibles, see if you can identify what is wrong:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10, modified)

That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? There is no obvious heresy in those modified verses.

However, that modification leaves out the most important part of our redemption. That modification leaves out the main point of the incarnation, the main point of the cross, the main point of the resurrection.

Here is how it really reads, with the previously left out words in bold:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)

The point of redemption is not primarily to save us from hell.

The point of missions is not primarily to save people groups from hell.

The point of evangelism is not primarily to save our neighbors from hell.

The point of redemption, the point of missions, the point of evangelism is to purchase a people FOR GOD, a people who will live TO HIS GLORY, a people who will DELIGHT IN HIM ABOVE ALL ELSE, and MAGNIFY HIS name.

The incarnation is not primarily about you.

The cross is not primarily about you.

The resurrection is not primarily about you.

The incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection are primarily about GOD.

Indeed, if we are to leave out any words from Revelation 5:9, we should leave out the word “people.” For that word is not in the original language. The middle of verse 9 reads, literally:

“You ransomed for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

The word “people” is clearly implied – it’s right to include that word in our English versions. But the Greek shows even more clearly than the English versions that GOD is the focal point of our redemption!

And Revelation 5 is not alone in this regard. All the great texts on redemption make this clear – if only we would open our eyes!

  • Consider Ephesians 1:7: “In him we have redemption through his blood.” Is redemption then about us? No, for Paul begins by saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and he goes on to say that this redemption is “to the praise of his glory.”
  • Or consider Romans 3:25-26: “This was to show God’s righteousness. . . that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Redemption is to show GOD’s righteousness. Redemption was not accomplished because of how special man was. Rather, redemption displays God’s righteousness.
  • Or consider the closing words of Romans 11, as Paul wraps up the great doctrinal section of his letter: “From him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever!” He is the center!

So: God’s eternal plan of redemption is not primarily about saving man from sin. It is primarily about bringing glory to God. The Gospel is God-centered, not Man-centered.

So be careful not to talk about it in a man-centered way! Christ did not ransom people just to ransom them from hell. He ransomed people FOR GOD. He sends us out on mission FOR HIM.

Know that if you are ransomed, you are ransomed for HIM.

If you are not yet ransomed: Yes, He offers to save you from hell. But He doesn’t stop there. He saves you FOR GOD – so that your life will be lived for Him. He will love you, hold you, wipe away your every tear. You will find your joy in Him, and in nothing else. He saves you so that you might fulfill the purpose of your creation: To glorify Him.

So remember this Christmas season: Christ became man FOR GOD. Jesus died on the cross FOR GOD. Jesus rose from the dead FOR GOD. We make disciples of all nations FOR GOD. And you too can be saved – FOR GOD.

 

(Much of this devotion is taken from a sermon on Revelation 5:9-13 preached Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005. Text and audio are available.)

Why Do We Have Tongues?

From Isaac Watts’ “Shepherds, Rejoice!” (1709) – his rendition of the appearing of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2. I expect to quote these lines in tomorrow’s sermon on Matthew 12:15-50:

Lord, and shall angels have their songs,
And men no tunes to raise?
O, may we lose our useless tongues
When they forget to praise!

Glory to God that reigns above,
That pitied us forlorn!
We join to sing our Maker’s love,
For there’s a Savior born.

Why Give Thanks?

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What does the Bible tell us about thanksgiving?

Not about the American holiday. Not about pumpkins and Indian corn and turkeys. But about the giving of thanks to God. How does the Bible emphasize the importance of giving thanks? When are we to give thanks? To what end? For what reasons? In what manner should we give thanks?

In preparation for the holiday, I read all the verses of Scripture that contain the words “thank,” “thanks,” or “thanksgiving.” I encourage you to read a subset of these verses, available online at this link. Here are a few key verses to answer these questions: (more…)

Forget Not All His Benefits

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

David writes in Psalm 103:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

Pray with me as I recount some of those benefits:

  • I praise You, Lord, for though I deserve your wrath and judgment, instead in Christ I have forgiveness for all my iniquities.
  • I praise You that Your love and mercy follow me all the days of my life.
  • I praise You for giving me health and energy – all the health and energy I need to fulfill Your plans for me. In particular, I thank You for the physical ability to go out for a run on this brilliant autumn day.
  • I praise You that You work justice for all the oppressed – that You will eventually right all wrongs, that You will eventually see that perfect justice is done. In the present, Lord, I thank You that it is possible today for a man to be elected President of this country who only a few decades ago would not have been allowed to sit next to me at a lunch counter in this city. (more…)

How Do I Respond to God?

In the sermon text for this coming Sunday, God says that missionaries will bring “all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD” (Isaiah 66:20 NAS). In this context, the grain offering is a particularly powerful symbol. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will have time to bring out the rich imagery of this offering on Sunday. So here is an excerpt from a sermon I preached ten years ago on this offering. You can see the entire sermon – about twice as long – here. May we present ourselves – all of ourselves – as this type of offering, holy and acceptable to God – Coty

How should we respond to God’s love? The grain offering described in Leviticus 2 pictures our proper response beautifully.

In this offering, God shows us that we should respond to His love by offering our entire lives back to him. And He shows that a life holy and acceptable to God is not the result of our naturally sweet disposition; there should be no self-glorification, no pride in our status before God. Instead, a life offered to God needs to be characterized by prayer, infused with the Holy Spirit, and based on the promises of God

This is the picture of the grain offering. Let’s look at now in greater detail. (more…)