Turn your Bibles to the book of Colossians. Paul's epistle to the church in the Lycus Valley, the city of Colossae. We are in the middle of a song. A song that the Apostle Paul penned. A song of the heart. a song that highlights the supremacy of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We are going to be reading from verses 15 to verse 20 in chapter 1, and spending this morning looking at verses 16 and 17. Jesus Christ, the Almighty Creator. But before we do that, let us just turn our hearts to our God in prayer. Heavenly Father, often when I come into this pulpit, I wonder about the impact of the preached Word. There are skeptics, possibly, in this congregation, and I wonder how the preached Word can meet their needs and break down that stronghold. There are perhaps those who are hurting spiritually, And I wonder to myself, can the preached Word of God meet their needs? There are children in the congregation. There are those who have massive intellect. And I wonder to myself, how can the preached Word meet those needs? And then I think upon Your Word. And I think upon your words when you said, not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. And Lord, it is through the power of Your Holy Spirit that You make Your Word effective. And I would ask that You would do that this morning, that You would meet each and every need in this congregation and that we would see Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, high and lifted up in our presence. For it's in His name we pray, Amen. He, that is Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, Whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy, For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. I love to play sports. I think that was demonstrated yesterday as a group of us gathered to play some Ball hockey, back out in our newly paved parking lot. And I confess, there's a bit of a competitive streak in me. I like to think that I am competitive at all the sports I participate in. The sport of choice at Toronto Baptist Seminary seems to be table tennis, ping pong. And I remember being challenged by a new seminary student to play him. And I said to him, sure, and I thought to myself, what a cakewalk this is going to be. After all, he's a theology student. He is a converted Jamaican Rastafarian. You remember those guys that have the dreadlocks? Do they even play ping-pong down in Jamaica? After all, I'm the Iceman. That's what I was known as. Well, we rallied for a bit, and he asked me if I was ready, and then he proceeded to spot me 13 points. I reluctantly agreed to the handicap. I hate winning like that, but I should have known something was up. He absolutely dismantled me. And when all was said and done, the final score, I believe, was 21-15. I only got two legitimate points off of him. He was completely out of my league. I found out later that he had competed for the Jamaican national team. Jesus Christ. Our Saviour Jesus Christ. He is in a league all His own. And that is what Paul is reminding the Colossian believers of in his Anthem of Praise. No one compares with Jesus Christ. No one else saves except Jesus Christ. And therefore, there is no other Gospel except that which comes through Jesus Christ. No one else dares even come to the table. Jesus Christ is supreme. And indeed, I believe we saw Christ's supremacy last week. And I hope to demonstrate this again as we examine Jesus Christ the Almighty Creator. And specifically, I want us to look at three things. I want to look at the extent of Christ's creative handiwork, the intent of his creative handiwork and the cement of his creative handiwork. Extent, intent, cement. Well, we find the extent of Christ's creative handiwork in that very first portion of verse 16, for by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. Now, you may be saying to yourselves, hold on, preacher. Hold on, pastor. You haven't even established that Jesus Christ himself, the third person of the Trinity, is creator. How can you start to speak about the extent of his creative handiwork? That's a good point. Where do we even get that idea anyway? We see it in those three little words. For, by, him. The word for at the beginning of verse sixteen ties back to the truth that Jesus Christ is the firstborn. Do you remember that from last week? That means that he is the uncreated one. And he is eternal. Jesus Christ is fully God. If some of you have a revised standard version, I believe how that is translated is right. It shows it as one continuous sentence between verses 15 and 16. That little word for makes it seem to us that it is right and true to acknowledge God the Son as Creator in the same way where we could acknowledge the Father and the Spirit as Creator. But more importantly, we see that phrase, by Him. And I want you to notice Christ's place in the divine creativity. He is the agent of creation. Now, theologically, that should make sense to us. How is Christ referred to in John 1, verse 1? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus Christ is the eternal Word. He is the Logos. And I believe we see the Word of God demonstrated in the creation account. Did you notice, as we read that long passage of Scripture this morning, and we saw the universe created in all its vast array, we saw this phrase repeated many times. God said, God said, God said, God said. I believe eight or nine times it is repeated. And I thought to myself, is that God the Son speaking? Certainly, I think you can argue for that view, but we can't know for sure which person of the Trinity it is. But I must confess, I like to draw a parallel between the triune God's activity in creation and His activity in the new creation. Well, what do I mean by that? God the Father, He is the One that plans redemption. He is the One that plans salvation. And in that counsel of the divine Godhead, He is the One that plans creation. Jesus Christ is the One that accomplishes our salvation. He is the one that fulfills the Father's will. So perhaps, in the creation account, He is the one that is fulfilling the Father's will by speaking it into existence. Ex nihilo. That's a Latin phrase for meaning, out of nothing, He makes the worlds and the universe. In the same way, He accomplishes our redemption. And then what about the Spirit? He is also active in redemption. He is the One that illumines our hearts, that shines that light into our hearts. He is the One that re-creates us. He is the One that applies the plan of the Father and the accomplishment of the Son. Now perhaps you're thinking, well, where do you see that in the creation account? We see that beautiful phrase, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And He's applying the Father's plan and the Son's voice. That's what I think anyway. Well, Christ can legitimately be called the Almighty Creator. Well, let's get back to the extent of Christ's creative handiwork. Our text says, for by Him all things, all things, all things, all things. In those two verses, you see that phrase repeated four times. And do you think Paul is trying to tell us something? Well, absolutely he is. Of course he is. The Greek phrase here could literally be translated, the all things for by him, the all things. That's the definite article. It means it's an absolute statement. He created everything. I want you to notice two implications from that. First of all, there is the universalness of that creative handiwork. We see those words, for by Him all things were created. Then you should have a colon in your Scripture text. Things in heaven and on earth. They are describing the all things. Heaven and earth. That is describing the all things. And when you take those words together in the context of this passage of Scripture, it means everything in the universe. Jesus Christ created everything in the universe. What about galaxy M100? 56 million light-years away, give or take 6 million light-years. It's the furthest galaxy that the Hubble Space Telescope can view. What does the Bible say? Did Jesus Christ create that universe so far, far away that we can barely see it all with that telescope? And the Scripture says, for by Him, all things, all things, all things, all things were created by Him. Things in heaven and on earth. What about this produce here? What about the single-celled amoeba? What does the Bible say? Jesus Christ created all things. Things in heaven and on earth. Well, to ensure that you're not confused by what all things means, Paul continues in his anthem of praise. Not only things in heaven and on earth, but things that are visible, the text says, and invisible. What that means is that Jesus Christ created the material realm, and the material realm is this, what we can touch, what we can see with our eyes, what we can examine through a microscope or a telescope, what we can see, things that are visible, but also things that are invisible. He created the spiritual realm as well. He created the angels. Now, it is likely the Colossians had a little bit of a problem with angel worship. We'll come to that in chapter 2, verse 18. They wanted to worship angels, but Paul says in no uncertain terms, do not worship them. Worship Christ who created them. And not only the angels did he create. Because if he created those beings in the spiritual realm, he also created the demons. Have you ever thought about that? Jesus Christ created Satan. That is a profound thought. I'll leave that with you just for a moment. But I'll also leave you with this thought. There is a view in our world today that good battles evil, that good battles evil, and there are powers that are on equal terms. Philosophers would call that equal ultimacy. And we don't know who is going to win at the end of the day. But Paul says to the Colossian believers, Paul sings, no! Jesus Christ is supreme. He created even the demons. He sings in the invisible realm. No room for equal ultimacy. Not only do we see this universalness of Christ's creative handiwork in that extent, but we also see that He is King of kings and Lord of lords over His creative handiwork. The phrase, all things, also demonstrates that Jesus alone is King of kings. and Lord of Lords. It means that Christ has absolute authority when he elaborates now on the phrase invisible and visible. Look at your text again. For by him, All things were created. What are those things? What are those all things? Things in heaven and on earth. Visible and invisible. And now he goes even further down. What are those invisible and invisible things? Whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. That clause turns back on what is visible and invisible. What does it mean? What does it mean? How does it describe that phrase, thrones or powers? Well, let's think about it, first of all, in the visible realm, the things that we see. Thrones or powers. There is not a king. There is not a president. There is not a Prime Minister, a Member of Parliament, a Member of Provincial Parliament, a local councillor, a boss at your places of work, a teacher, a parent who has lived or lives that is not under Christ's Lordship. He is Almighty Creator. He is Lord of Lords. He is King of Kings. Now take that and put it into the invisible realm. Some commentators have said of this phrase, thrones or powers, refers to the throne spirits, those angels that surround the throne of God and worship Him. They are powerful beings. Turn in your Bibles just for a moment and look at the cherubim in Revelation 4, verses 6-8. In the center, Around the throne were four living creatures and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Magnificent vision that John has here. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around. Even under his wings, day and night, they never stopped saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Now, who is on the throne? It is Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, that is over those powerful cherubim. It is He that they worship. The ruler of creation. Paul continues. Visible and invisible. Thrones or powers. Also, rulers or authorities. Now, the Greek word there for rulers is very interesting. It could also be translated, as it is in verse 18, as beginning. As beginning. Rulers or beginning. The idea is of one who acts or causes things to happen. I want you to keep that in your minds for just a moment. He is the first cause. Jesus Christ is. The word authority means those who are given or are invested with power. Power is given to them and they exercise that power. Now, think about that again, looking at the visible realm and the invisible realm to remember that marvelous exchange with Pilate. In Jesus Christ our Savior, in John 19, verses 10 and 11, Pilate said, Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? And then I think Jesus Christ answered in a kingly dignity that was unmistakable to Pilate. Jesus answered, You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above. Christ is the one who sets up powers and bestows powers, whether it is a king or whether it is a boss at the work, whether it is a teacher in your schools. He sets those rulers up. The rulers and authorities believe that they're the ones affecting change. Jesus Christ is the first cause. It's a profound thought. Now, if you go to the invisible realm, Again, some commentators think that that phrase is referring to angels of a lesser rank, rulers and authorities. We have the cherubim and then there is all the other angels as well. Well, if the cherubim worship him who is king of kings and lord of lords over all of his creative handiwork, then logic would dictate that the lesser angels worship him as well. Let me paraphrase Paul in summary as we think about the extent of Christ's creation. Christ is king over all other kings in the physical and spiritual realm. And it does not matter whether they are thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. You can call them by whatever name you wish. Christ is supreme. He is Lord of all. Jesus Christ is the ruler over all things He has created, and all things are subject to Him as created. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. And He will brook with, He will put up with, no competition. There will be no challengers to His throne. Not a one. That's the extent of His creative handiwork. It gets more glorious. What about the intent? Why does the universe exist? Why do things exist? All things, in the second portion of verse 16, all things were created by Him and for Him. And Paul is singing here, this is unique. This thought, this idea is unique in the New Testament Scriptures. All things were created for Him. For Him. Why does the universe exist? It's for Christ. Why do you exist? You're for Christ. Why do the angels exist? They are for Christ. Why do the demons exist? They are for Jesus Christ. He is the end. The terminus of creation. He is what creation finds its purpose in. In Jesus Christ. Well, I still don't understand. What does that mean that all things were created for him? It means that all things serve his purposes and his will. All creation finds its purpose in him. He created all things for his pleasure and ultimately his glory. And yes, that even includes the demons. And in the same way, if you are sitting in your pews this morning thinking about these truths, you can only find meaning in this life in and through Jesus Christ. Well, let me give you an illustration to try to help you with this truth. I want to present a family Christmas to you. What would you think of an individual, let's call him John for a minute, who pours out all his creative energy and he manufactures a thing of absolute beauty? John then proceeds to wrap it very carefully and he awaits the day when it will be unveiled to his family. He brings the gift and places it under the Christmas tree. His father, who is the distributor of the gifts, finally comes across this one and reads the label with a smile. To John. Love from John. John then proceeds to open it with joy and displays his creation for all his family to see. And they, together, celebrate His pleasure. What do you think about a family Christmas like that? We would think that a family like that was a bit whacked or crazy. I mean, after all, John makes this creation. He wraps it up and then he gives it to himself. We would think that was not only rude of John, But it was also self-serving and it was unacceptable. And we think that way because we are creatures. We have no right or claim to any gifts. Now, I recognize the illustration is not perfect, but the individual is Christ and is God. The creation that He made is for Him. It's for Him. He is creation's goal. All creation contributes glory to Him, serves His purpose, and was made for His pleasure. As all creation pass out from Him, so does it all converse again towards Him. He is the purpose of creation. All things were created by Him and for Him. That is the intent of his creative handiwork. What about the cement? of Christ's creative handiwork. I admit that that phrase is a bit contrived and doesn't elaborate perfectly. What I want to tell you next in verse 17, when we see that phrase, he is before all things. And that just reinforces that Christ is the firstborn. He is the uncreated one. He is the eternal one. And then it goes on to say, and in him, all things hold together. Jesus Christ is the cement of his creative handiwork. He is the sustainer. He is the nourisher and cement of His creation. In the Authorized Version, it would say all things consist. They hold together in Him. They subsist in Him. Well, let me give you two examples as we consider creation. Think about the earth. Think about the seasons. Think about harvest time and Thanksgiving. The Earth's distance from the sun, 150 million kilometers, that distance, the energy received by Earth from the sun is just the right amount to maintain a temperature range that is roughly between 0 and 40 degrees centigrade. Jesus Christ holds that together. He holds that distance in perfection. Earth's orbit around the Sun, very nearly a perfect circle. What if that orbit changed to an ellipse, not a circle? Well, Earth's temperatures would be extremely high during its closest approach and extremely low at the outer end of the orbit. Why does it stay like that, in a perfect circle? Jesus Christ holds all things together. He holds that orbit perfectly. Now, what about the spin of the Earth? The Earth's speed of rotation? You know, if it was much slower, what would happen? Temperatures at night would plummet, temperatures during the day would skyrocket, and life would cease to exist on this planet. But who keeps it spinning like that? Perfectly. And there's even a little bit of a wobble, which also impacts our climate. and life on this planet. Who holds all that together? It is Jesus Christ, the cement of his creation. You think about our atmosphere. It was once thought that the planet Mars, the red planet, could sustain life. Our atmosphere is non-poisonous. Carbon Dioxide is lethal in large doses to living organisms like ourselves, and our atmosphere represents about 0.03%. In Mars, it's 95%. Who holds all that together? It is Jesus Christ. And then you think about our magnetic field. It's strong enough to deflect solar wind, which would be very damaging to us. Who holds that together? It is Jesus Christ. He holds it together. Who can bind the beautiful Pleiades? Who can loose the cords of Orion? Who can bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the bear with its cubs? Who knows the laws of the heavens? God says to Job, it is Jesus Christ who keeps it all together. He's got the whole world in His hands. Actually, we could change that song and say He's got the whole universe in his hands. Well, lest you think at this point that he is just concerned with keeping the cosmos together in his hands, he also keeps everything together at the molecular level as well. Those things that we cannot even see. You ever think about a blood clot? You know what a blood clot is. You get a scab after you get a cut. It's an amazing system. We think little about that function. It's a cascade system. Proteins work with other proteins. And if one protein is missing, the whole system absolutely fails and we would bleed to death. And who holds that system together? Who is the cement of that molecular creation? Jesus Christ. It's like a river's lock system. You know what a lock system is. There's the Erie Canal or the Rideau Canal. You have different locks to bring boats up to different levels. Water is diminished in one level and water is pumped into the next level and the boat raises up. You want to get from one lower spot to a higher spot. And it's all working in tandem. There's gates at each lock. There's water pumping back and forth. That's what the blood clotting system is like. If you take one of those systems out, the whole thing fails. And Christ holds that all together. And we would say with David, we would sing with him as Paul was singing, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Well, perhaps Christ's grip can slip. After all, and this is where that word cement is imperfect, cement gives way after a period of time. Surely Christ can keep it all together all the time. What are the scriptures say? Yes, he can. All things. All things hold together, my family and I took a trip to Quebec City last summer. I love going to the old city. A lot of old cities have these market squares where artisans can sell their wares. You often see street performers there, and there was a unicyclist, and he was elevated about 15 feet up on the air, and as he was speaking in about three or four different languages, and he started to juggle, and it was amazing. It was incredible, but he dropped one of the things that he was juggling. I think my kids would probably remember that. Jesus Christ is not a juggler. He is the cement of His creative handiwork. He holds all things together in His fingers, in His hands. Whether that is personally in your lives, whether it is corporately in this congregation, whether it is provincially in Ontario, whether it is nationally in Canada, globally, galactically, universally, nothing, nothing, nothing slips out of His hands. He holds all things together. In Him, all things consist. Our Jesus Christ is a great and glorious God. He is Almighty Creator. Almighty. And His grip is firm. It is strong. And it is eternal. Does that not bring you comfort for those of you that have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ? And you think about the assurance of your salvation? None of them will be snatched from my hands. Who is a God like Him? It is the Son of God's love who holds in His almighty hands the reins of the universe and never, even for one moment, lets them slip out of His grasp. Well, how do we conclude all this when we consider the extent of His creation, the intent of His creation, and Christ as the cement of His creative handiwork. Last week, I stated that we all must have dealings with Jesus Christ because He is God. He is the Eternal Son. But this week, and remember I told you that Paul is building towards something in this song. This week it gets even more personal. You see, our text this morning teaches us that we are His creatures. We are for Him. We are for Him. Our lives must be lived on His terms and for His glory. And we can choose to ignore Him today and in this life. But if that is your response, there will become a day when you will have no choice but to have dealings with Him alone. You will not be able to ignore Him in that day. But I don't like the God that you've described. And further, I'll come to Him on my own terms and in my own time. And my friend, if that is your attitude, and I say this with as much charity as possible, you are being foolish. The Scriptures would say you are a fool. The God of the Scriptures is the one true and living God. You may only approach Him through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Creator. The Apostle said in Acts 4.12, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And your choice is simple this morning. Will you deal with your Creator in eternity when it is too late? Or will you come to the One who is out of this world, in this world, and remember, as Solomon said, remember your Creator in the days of your youth? I pray it's the latter. Remember Him today. Come to Jesus Christ in saving faith today. Find fulfillment in Him who created you to glorify Him. There is no other life like it. Jesus Christ, not only the Creator, but the One who accomplished the new creation. And that is wherein you will find satisfaction. Not in the trinkets that this world offers. Only in the One who created you will you find satisfaction and peace for your souls. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth and come to Him this morning. Let us pray. Lord, we have seen a glimpse of your majestic glory this morning, and we wonder why you would have any dealings with us, your creatures, why you would consider a worm such as I. But you do. And you have demonstrated your interest in your creation by sending your one and only son, the one who created this universe, you sent him to his creation to redeem a great host of people. And Lord, I would pray that you would bring that truth home to someone this morning. That no one would leave this place who would be outside the doors of grace. We pray that Your Holy Spirit would work in regenerating, revitalizing power, and that He would apply Christ's recreative handiwork in a saving way to the praise and the glory of His grace. Amen.