Our scripture reading from the New Testament, the book of Colossians chapter one, beginning at verse 15 to the end of the chapter. This is the inspired, infallible word of God. Who, and this is speaking of Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God? the firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. and He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, 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, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations but now is made manifest to His Saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Amen. You may be seated. Genuine Christian conduct can happen only when people are thinking correctly about Christian truth. And Christian truth cannot be understood without an accurate knowledge of Jesus Christ, who he is, and what he has done. Without a knowledge of Christ, there can be no real meaning, there can be no real purpose, no certainty, no joy in life. We live in a world that is uncertain, if it's anything. World tensions, domestic crises, captivate the attention of everyone someplace. And sometimes sane and other times inane attempts have been made to locate where we are in biblical prophecy. I'm all in favor of making the Bible the touchstone for everything in life. But sometimes in our zeal to find where we are in the scheme of God's redemptive plan, We overlook the principle message for this and for every day, and that's the message of Christ and his gospel. The resounding theme of the book of Colossians is the supremacy, the preeminence of Christ. Christ is supreme. That is unalterable fact. It's not a truth that I believe into existence, It is not a truth that can be denied out of existence. Believe it or not, Jesus is absolutely supreme. Christ is all and in all. I say that's unalterable fact. But although that is the fact, the question is, is it really the experience of our lives? Tonight, in the time that we have together around the word, I want us to reflect upon this passage, in many ways the climax of Paul's assessment of Jesus as being supreme, asking that question then to us. Is Christ supreme? Is Christ preeminent in your life? What does Christ mean to you? And how does the knowledge of Christ affect your mind, your behavior, your life? Are we living? Am I living? Are you living in the reality of Christ? And that's my simple theme this evening. The reality, living in the reality of Christ. And our text highlights three truths about Christ that express his supremacy, but also should speak to us, to enable us to live in the reality of who Christ is, to go beyond just our creedal confessions, and to bring this to our heart of hearts and to our lives, how real is Jesus. The first thing that we see in our text is this, that the imperial Christ is our confidence. The imperial Christ is our confidence. The supreme sovereignty of the Lord. One of the most practical truths that we have revealed to us about God and about Christ in the word, the sovereignty. We speak of sovereignty, we're talking about kingship. the absolute kingship of Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the sovereignty. I know that there are theologians that like to argue as to the sphere of that sovereignty. It's always amazing to me how theologians can sometimes suck the joy right out of truth. Christ is supreme. Christ is the King of Kings, His rule is absolute. His power then ought to give us that confidence. So as we think of the sovereignty of Christ, let's not just relegate it to some doctrinal theory, but as we think of the sovereignty, the kingship of Jesus, is that really affecting our mindset? Is that affecting the way we live? I say the imperial Christ, is our confidence. We have confidence, first of all, in his right to rule. He has the right to rule by virtue of who he is. He's the image, see that in verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God. By virtue of who he is, he has the right to rule. And don't misunderstand the word image there. We tend to think of an image as a picture of something. We think of an image as a representation of something. I have pictures of this and pictures of that and it reminds me indeed of those realities. But there's always something deficient in that image. This is not saying that Jesus is just a picture of God. It's not saying that Jesus is just a representation of God. This word image has the idea of essence. He is the very essence. He is the very essential nature of who God is. The manifestation, the very embodiment of deity. And this text is not speaking just of the incarnation, but indeed of that eternal reality. I love the question in the catechism, who is the redeemer of God's elect? The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, became man and so was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures in one person forever. The eternal Son of God, by virtue of Christ having and being the very essence of the Godhead. He has the right to rule, not speaking of his physical form, but speaking, I say, of the very nature of deity that belongs to Christ. But it's no less true in the incarnation. It is no less true in the incarnation that that eternal God, now having become man, he is the image of the invisible God. What a remarkable statement that is when we put it in the context of the incarnation. God is invisible. Again, our catechism in describing God says God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. God is a spirit. No body parts, no human form, pure spirit. I can't comprehend what that is. But the invisible God. But can you see in Jesus? In Jesus, the invisible God. has now forever taken on visibility. Think what you will of, think what you will of Wesley, but I love that line in that Christmas carol that we sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It's a line in there that says, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail incarnate deity. What an amazing truth this is. that in Jesus, to see Jesus is to see the Father, to see Jesus is to see God by virtue of who He is. He has the right to rule. There's nothing outside of His authority. But He has the right to rule also by virtue of what He has done. And our text particularly highlights His work of creation. He's the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible, invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers. All things were created by him and for him. When you think of the work of creation, creation is uniquely the work of God. Creation is something that man cannot do. Creation is something that man cannot duplicate. Creation is uniquely and solely the work of God. It testifies, therefore, to the power of God. It testifies to the authority of God, the ownership of God of what He creates, and the prerogative of God to govern and to rule what He creates according to His own purpose. power, authority, sovereignty. And Christ, I say, has the right to rule because of what he has done as the creator. He's the firstborn of every creature. That word firstborn more literally has the idea of the preeminent one. It's not a term of time, but rather a term of rank. He is the preeminent one over all of creation, not a part of creation. Not a part of creation, but he is the creator, that preeminent one over all creation, the agent of creation. And you see the extent of that creation, the world of matter, the world of spirits, those things that are seen, those things that are unseen, those things that are small, those things that are vast. He made it all. And he made it for his own glory. He made it for his own glory, everything that was created. Some years ago, I saw this documentary on this unmanned submarine that was able to go down into the depths of the ocean. A place that was dark, a place that was deep, a place that was invisible, beyond the sight of mankind. And now for the first time, and now for the first time in the history of humanity, there was a means of going down into that dark depth. And I remember when the lights of that submarine came on. There was a world down there that was absolutely incredible. There were creatures there that were fascinating, creatures that were spellbounding. I remember seeing them and saying, this is amazing. Weird things, but things that were absolutely fascinating to see. And it dawned on me for the first time, for the first time in the history of this old world, man was seeing something of God's creation. Seeing it for the first time, This was the 20th century when I saw that. But it's been there since day five of creation. On day five, God said, let all those things be. And they were. And for all of those thousands of years, God saw what we were now seeing for the first time, existing not for us, but for his own glory. Oh, I say the right. to rule by virtue of what he has done as the creator. He owns it all. The imperial Christ, that ought to give us confidence. That ought to give us peace in this old troubled world. But we have confidence also in the realm of his rule. See that in verses 16 and 18. He's the head of everything, preeminent over everything. thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, all part of his kingdom. Is it true? Certainly it's true that the authority of any government depends upon the borders. Only within the borders of a particular country does that government have any authority. Outside the borders, outside the borders, there's no authority. I wrote a book some time ago on the book of Daniel. And you know, in Daniel, you have this overview of history beginning with the Babylonian Empire, and then the Persian Empire, and then the Greek Empire, and then the Roman Empire. All of these powers that God elevated and God tore down. And I thought it would be good to have some maps. So I put a map in the book. of the Babylonian kingdom, at that time the greatest kingdom on the face of the earth. But I was able to shade in the borders of the Babylonian kingdom. And then came Persia. Geographical boundaries beyond Babylon, but I was able to shade in the borders of the Persian empire. And then came the Greek empire, and far more extensive yet, but I was able to shade in the borders of the Greek Empire, and then the Roman Empire, larger yet, but able to shade in the borders of the Roman Empire. And I put a map in there as well of the kingdom of Christ. There was nothing to shade in. There was nothing to shade in because there were no borders. His kingdom is from sea to sea, everlasting. But I say the power and the authority depends upon the borders. I preach in Canada every once in a while. And you go to the border, and the agent there says, where are you going? What are you going to do? Why are you going? And I'm saying to myself, it's none of your business. None of your business. But the fact of the matter, it is their business. because I'm entering into their country and they have a right. I'm saying Christ has the right to rule by virtue of his domain. Everything is his, he's over everything. He's over everything. Does that make a difference in your life? I know we live in a world that seems to be so contrary to what I'm saying. If God is great, if Christ is on that throne in heaven, then how come? You ever ask that question? How come? How come all this stuff is happening today? How come all this hostility against the church? How come all this hostility against Christ? How come this hostility against the Word? How is it that evil seems to reign supreme if God is on His throne? Can I say that God is so powerful? Christ is so powerful that He builds in the opposition. He builds in the hostility to His purpose, to His plan, so that when everything is said and done, all the glory goes to Him. We know from Genesis 3.15 that there's going to be a battle, that there's going to be hostility between the two seeds, and the devil is going to do everything he can to thwart the advancing of the Church of Christ. There's hostility. Interesting statement that the prophet Nahum makes, opening verses there of Nahum's prophecy called the Song of Majesty. It's a statement there giving some of the characteristics, the virtues, attributes of God. And it says that God is slow to anger and great in power, or maybe great in power, slow to anger. But those two ideas are juxtaposed, put right side by side. that God is slow to anger, but great in power. We tend to think of the long-suffering of God, the long-suffering of God, as part of his compassion. And indeed it is. It's a long-suffering of God that has led us to repentance. So it does speak to us of the compassion of God for certain. But Nahum, interestingly, links the long-suffering of God to the power of God. I speak as a fool, but can I say that God can afford, there's my foolish statement, that God can afford to be as long-suffering as he is because he is as powerful as he is. He's as long-suffering as he is because he is as powerful as he is. You remember that scene, God calls Moses at the burning bush, and he tells Moses, you're gonna deliver my people out of the land of bondage, out of the place of slavery. And I guarantee you're going to bring them out. And you're going to worship me right at this very mountain when you bring them out. But God says to Moses, you're going to go to Pharaoh, and you're going to tell Pharaoh, let my people go. And Pharaoh is going to say no. He's gonna say no, but not to worry. I'm gonna bring you out and you're gonna worship me right in this very spot. And so Moses goes before Pharaoh. He goes before Pharaoh. And he says, Jehovah, my God, says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says, no, no. You can almost see Moses, can't you? You can almost see Moses just pumping his fists saying, yes, don't you love it when a plan comes together? This is exactly what God said was going to happen. What if? What if Moses goes into Pharaoh and says, let my people go? God says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says, yeah, you guys have been doing some pretty good work for me over these years. Go ahead and go. History would forever be talking about how beneficent Pharaoh was. But no, he hardened his heart. He hardened his heart and he dug in his heels. And God, with his omnipotent power, God with the power of his right hand, and God with the blood of the sacrifice, brought the people out. I'm saying that God factored in that hostility. He factored in that opposition so that when everything was said and done, the glory goes to him and not to some man. We look at our day and it appears, it appears that wicked men are having the upper hand. But God's on his throne. And I can tell you exactly what God is doing on his throne. Read Psalm 2, God's laughing. God is laughing at all of the machinations and all the plans and all the hostility. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Are you living? in the reality of the sovereignty of Christ. The sovereignty of Christ, the imperial Christ, ought to be our confidence. I may not know exactly where we are in the scheme of God's redemptive purpose, but I do know this, that everything, that everything is working on time. Everything is working on purpose. Everything is going exactly as God has purposed it to go. that all glory belongs to Him. So let us live. Let us live in the reality of the imperial Christ. That's our confidence. That's our security. But the second thing we see is this, that the incarnate Christ is our peace. The incarnate Christ is our peace. You see that in verses 19 and following. Verse 22 particularly speaks of the body of his flesh. There's the incarnation. Focus here now upon the mission of Christ as God became man. And we have peace then because of his mission, a mission of reconciliation. If you remember reading, perhaps in your school days, some of you youngsters may be yet to read some of the Greek mythology and the Roman mythology, these pagan gods would very often come down into the affairs of humanity. They would mingle with humanity. They would get themselves in some trouble. They came on an adventure and they would get themselves in some trouble, then they go back to wherever they were supposed to go. But Jesus did not come into this world on an adventure. He came into this world on a mission. And his mission was the reconciliation of his people. The necessity of that mission because of our alienation, you see that in verses 21 following. alienated, we were enemies in our mind by wicked works, sinners by nature, sinners by action, sinners by behavior, strangers, alienation, foreigners to God, and our natural state separated from God, under God's wrath, under God's condemnation. We needed divine intervention, and so Christ came on this mission to reconcile. The execution of that mission was through His death. Look at verse 20, 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. Verse 22, in the body of His flesh, through death He has done this. that work of the atonement, the sacrifice of Christ, taking upon himself that real humanity. We'll be thinking of that in a moment or two as we come around the table, that real humanity of the Lord Jesus that enabled him to die in behalf of his people. But he came to do that. If we were left to ourselves, man left to himself would never take the first step in reconciling with God. You remember in the very Garden of Eden, as Adam said, what was the first thing that fallen man did? He hid himself from God. He hid himself from God. And it had to be God coming looking for Adam, not Adam looking for God. But God did come. God did come. And here comes the gospel. Here comes that seed of the woman that we know to be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. God took the first step. God initiated this work of reconciliation. This is why we make much of the blood of Christ. It's through the shedding of that blood, the sacrifice, that atoning sacrifice on the cross that has given us peace. We have peace because of his mission. We have peace because of his motive. Our salvation was the ultimate reason. That was his motive. He came to save his people from their sin. He did not come just to make salvation a vague possibility, but he came to save his people, to present them unto the Father. You see that in verse 22, to present you holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight. That word present has the idea sometimes of an offering that is made unto God. Sometimes it's used for a bride that's presented to her husband. Sometimes used as a legal matter presented before the court. Any of those images work here. But Christ presents us to be holy, to be set apart from condemnation, to be set apart from the sinful world, entire consecration, to be holy, to be without blemish, no disfigurement, free from any imperfection. And it's not without significance that both of those words elsewhere apply to Jesus. They describe Jesus, the very righteousness of Christ, imputed to us so that therefore we're unreprovable, impossibility of any accusation. So perfectly, so perfectly are the merits of Christ applied to the believer. that there can be no accusation. Now there's peace, peace with God through Christ. The incarnate Christ is our peace. Ultimately, there's no greater peace that's possible. There's no greater peace that matters. So come what may, Yeah, come what may in this uncertain world in which we live, we can have peace with God. The incarnate Christ is our peace. Are you living? Are you experiencing the reality of Christ as your peace? And the final thing that we see is this. Not only is the imperial Christ Our confidence in the incarnate Christ, our peace, the indwelling Christ is our hope. Verse 27, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, this mystery that which we could not conceive of by ourselves, that which is knowable because God has revealed it to us. What is it? What is this mystery? It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. The indwelling Christ is our provision. Not just the theory of Christ, not just the doctrine about Christ, as important as that is, not just rules of conduct, not just rules of living, but it is the person, It is the person of Christ that is our provision. It's Christ. And don't just skip over that expression. Every time you see the word Christ as a title of the Lord Jesus, it brings to us the entire mediatorial operation of the Lord Christ. He's the prophet. He's the priest. He's the king. He's the Christ. And that is our provision, the indwelling Christ who is the prophet that reveals God to us. He is the priest that has taken upon himself the sacrifice of the sins of his people. He's the king that rules on behalf of his people. It's that Christ that is our provision. And the indwelling Christ is our possession. It's Christ in you. It's Christ in you. It's that little statement that makes the difference between just an academic doctrine and a vital living religion. A vital life-sharing union that the believer has with Christ. Intimate, personal, real union. We in Christ, he in us. Christ is welcomed to the soul by repentance. He's enthroned in the heart by faith. He's enjoyed in the mind by our surrender to Him, and He's manifested in a life of obedience. He's our possession, and the indwelling Christ is our prospect. He's the hope of glory. The presence of Christ in the heart is both a pledge and a foretaste of that which is to be. Hope is not just a crossing our fingers Of course, hope is not just squinting our eyes and just really hoping that something will happen. Hope is one of the vocabulary words of faith in the scripture. It's the future anticipation of faith, but it's solid. It is not just wishful thinking. It is not make-believe. This hope is not make-believe. This hope, anticipated, expectant end of Our faith in Christ, our redemption, is going to be complete. To have Christ is to have peace, to have pardon, to have purity, to have power, to have heaven be gone. Everything that makes us blessed in heaven, we have now. It's Christ. the hope of glory, our refuge for the past, our stay for the present, our hope for the future. Christ is all and in all. So we come full circle. Excuse me. We come full circle. It's a fact. Undeniable.