Sermon Tone Analysis
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Do you ever stop to wonder why we talk so much about Jesus?
Do you ever pause to think about that emphasis?
In your mind, are you ever tempted to think that there are much more practical things that we could talk about or deal with?
I mean, think of everything that is happening in the world around us! Foreign governments attempting to affect our elections, others threatening warfare, tragedies like the horrific loss of life in Florida this past week.
Gender identity crisis, the economy, Donald Trump, The superbowl!
I mean honestly, can’t we talk about something else for once?! Don’t you pastors ever think about anything but the Bible and Theology and this God stuff?
These are valid questions.
Maybe you’ve thought this way, maybe you haven’t.
I know that many do - many who are sitting in church pews across our land today are thinking of these questions.
They’re examining the heartache both individually and nationally.
They’re hearing the chaotic cries of injustice, both valid and invalid claims.
They’re seeing the shifting of a culture before their eyes.
They’re feeling the weight of political arguments and social scientists from many perspectives.
They’re sensing unrest and unease - tension that at times could be cut with a knife, so to speak.
Are they distracted?
Are they dragged aside by these things?
Perhaps, but we unfair to totally dismiss their concerns, would we not?
I mean, we’re all living in this world today.
We’re all experiencing the narrative of history unfolding from our own perspective.
And they’re asking the same question - some in their minds, some on social media, some to their friends, some more vocally - why do we Christians spend so much time talking about Jesus?
I believe this passage does much to answer that question, if we will be honest enough to scale our priorities correctly.
He is before all things.
That is, temporally before all things (in time), logically before all things, and prerogatively before all things — that is, in emphasis, importance, influence.
As we look at this passage, we really see the comparison, or relation, of Christ to all things.
And without getting ahead of ourselves, may I say that it should cause us to view all things through this Christocentric paradigm - that is, the lenses of our worldview are tinted with Christ.
And furthermore, as we see the comparison of Christ to all things, we really will see that there is no qualitative comparison that can be made between Christ and all things!
Its not comparing apples to apples, its not comparing apples to oranges, its not even comparing apples to prime rib - its comparing apples to the creator of the apple.
Incomparable.
If we hear carefully, understand clearly, and believe firmly what the apostle has written here, we will be equipped for every threat and challenge that life might bring.
That is a bold claim.
It is warranted by this remarkable portion of God’s Word.
And there are many threats and challenges.
We see them physically in our health, we see them emotionally with the tragic newsreels of our culture, and we see them spiritually as we are tempted with faithlessness and unbelief.
Our society is changing.
I was only a boy when the events of 9/11 took place.
It is still vivid in my mind.
I remember people crying, people in panic, in utter disbelief.
I also remember a national emphasis on prayer.
I even remember some talking about the possibility of that tragedy leading to some sort of revival.
I don’t think that took place, but there was some sort of, at least respect, for spiritual things.
Fast forward 17 years.
When tragedy hits, it seems now that the only place for prayer in the public sphere is to be put up as something to be mocked.
Any spiritual remark is put down - and perhaps this is due to media emphasis, but they have the hearts of many.
The reality is this - many in our culture desire for the complete triumph of secularism and the abolition of any kind of belief in God.
The push is to be once again “Enlightened” by claims of evidence - to get “woke” as they say, to the real facts.
Of course, very few are actually thinking on their own when it comes to these claims - but rather thinking after those who have reached these conclusions.
Consider popular opinions on abortion or the gender identity crisis - how many individuals have actually processed what they claim to believe thoroughly and logically?
Very few, but they have all adopted the thinking emotionally.
Consider a few quotes.
“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
“One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers which are not really answers at all.”
“We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in.
Some of us just go one god further.”
Now, don’t be concerned - these quotes are not mine, but rather they are all quotes from Richard Dawkins, a renown Ethologist, Biologist, and outspoken Atheist author.
Undoubtedly Dawkins is a mastermind, an excellent communicator, and can spin a convincing argument - but the reality is this.
The arguments don’t have to be that convincing at all for the masses to flock to this thinking - why?
Because when you are looking everywhere but the right place for the answer to your questions, then just about any answer will do.
And so this is the society, at large, we are faced with.
Moral relativism, socialist ideals, postmodern thinking, these all flow from missing the point of everything - from missing the focus of everything.
Our call today from the text is to not miss the point of everything, but to keep our minds fixed on the Point of everything!
Our call today from the text is to not miss the point of everything, but to keep our minds fixed on the point of everything!
This text highlights the high, exalted, position of the preeminent Christ!
So as we examine it together, feel free to ask that question, “why do we spend so much time talking about Jesus?”
And let the text answer your questions.
Today as we study,
Let us rest assured that our Redeemer is the Incomparable Christ!
In order to see this, I want to look at this text in three modes of comparison, starting with Christ compared with all things, and leading to Christ as He relates to you and I.
1.
The Pre-existent Creator of Everything - Vv. 15-17
As we dive into the text, it is worthy of noting that there is good reason to believe that these verses we’re considering are some form of an ancient hymn.
And if that is the case, what a remarkable testimony to the fact that the truth of who Christ was pervaded the hearts and minds of the believers.
We sing many great songs and hymns in our fellowship, but what a rich song this is!
Perhaps one of the greatest songs about Christ!
He is the Image...
the greek here is Eikwn, which is where we get our word, (you guessed it) Icon.
Another way to say this is that Jesus is the very stamp of God the father - that is, before the incarnation, and now.
Image obviously denotes likeness or sameness, but it also, and perhaps more so, implies representation and manifestation.
Like the head of a ruler that is printed on a coin, Christ is the “Exact representation” of God.
You may remember that from our study of during advent.
Anyone who saw Christ, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, has in a way “seen” God.
Now, the term “image” in and of itself does not require the understanding of “exact representation,” but this paired with other scripture demands that understanding when it comes to Christ.
You may be thinking to yourself, “well aren’t we made in the image of God?” and you would be correct in your thinking!
However, man certainly is not the perfect image of God, or the exact representation of Him.
Consider what Dr. MacArthur says here.
“Humans are made in God’s image in that they have rational personality.
Like God, they possess intellect, emotion, and will, by which they are able to think, feel, and choose.
We humans are not, however, in God’s image morally, because He is holy, and we are sinful.
Nor are we created in His image in essence.
We do not possess His incommunicable attributes, such as omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, or omnipresence.
We are human, not divine.”
- John MacArthur
Furthermore, the image of God is marred in mankind through sin.
When Adam fell, and all of humanity fell with him, he forfeited much of the sharpness of that image-bearing.
Because of Sin, the curse, and death, which define the natural man, are not the image of God, but the consequences of rebellion against Him.
Gloriously, when we are saved we are set back toward being conformed to that image once again!
But unlike man, Jesus Christ is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God.
So by using this work “Icon”, Paul emphasizes that Jesus is both the representation and manifestation of God.
He is the full, final, and complete revelation of God - He is God in human flesh.
The Firstborn of All Creation
Now, as we read this, you should note that many cults both ancient and modern have taken this phrase and squeezed the life out of it to try to prove that Jesus is just merely a special created being.
Of course, when they do this they ignore the whole testimony of scripture, and even the immediate context of the very book the verse is found in!
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