"Held Together"

Overview

Held Together

When war, violence, immorality, and even pandemic press in on every side, it can feel as though the world is coming apart at the seams. Paul's letter to the Colossians answers that anxiety with a soaring vision of Jesus Christ. Written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome, the letter was prompted by Epaphras—likely the founder of the church at Colossae—who traveled some 1,300 miles to seek Paul's counsel against false teachers blending Jewish ceremonial law, Greek philosophy, and Christian terminology into a strange stew. Paul's response was not to argue point by point, but to lift up the supremacy of Christ.

In Colossians 1:15-17, Paul makes four staggering claims about Jesus. First, He is "the image of the invisible God"—when we want to know what God is like, what He thinks, how He loves, we look to Jesus, who alone has made the Father known John 1:18. Second, He is "the firstborn of all creation." Contrary to the teaching of Arius in the fourth century—and the Jehovah's Witnesses today—this does not mean Jesus was created. As with Ephraim in Jeremiah 31:9, who was born after Manasseh yet called firstborn, the term means preeminent. Third, He is the agent of creation: all things visible and invisible, including every rank of angelic power Ephesians 1:20-21, were created through Him and for Him John 1:3. Fourth, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

That last phrase is where pastoral comfort meets cosmic reality. If Christ holds all things together, why does life so often feel as though it is unraveling? The temptation in such moments is to drift toward deism (a God who created and then withdrew) or even atheism (a universe with nothing greater than itself sustaining it). Scripture says otherwise. Hebrews 1:3 declares that the Son "sustains all things by his powerful word." The same Christ who flung stars into being stretched out His hands on the cross, bore the sin of the world as the spotless Lamb, and rose from the tomb to reconcile us to God. The One who holds the atoms together is the One who holds you.

Will the world one day be undone? Yes—2 Peter 3:10 tells us the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements be dissolved. But that day is tied to the second coming of Jesus, not to the headlines of any given week. Creation will not collapse a moment before God appoints, and when that day comes, it comes with resurrection and eternal safety for those who are in Christ. So when fear whispers that everything is falling apart, answer it with the better word of the gospel: the Lord Jesus Christ is still in charge, and in Him all things hold together. Come, Lord Jesus.

Transcript

Would you open your Bible, please, with me, to the great letter to the church at Colosse, 1s

the book of Colossians, for our study this morning. 6s

Colossians, the first chapter. 11s

I have a question for you. 15s

Do you ever feel as if the world is falling apart? 18s

Do you ever feel as if the world is falling apart? 24s

War is in violence and strife and immorality and the coursing of society on and on can 29s

go the list. 38s

And then, of course, add to it a pandemic. 39s

Do you ever wonder if the world is just falling apart? 43s

Is it? 51s

Is it? 55s

As we turn to this great book in Holy Scripture today, I'd like to give you a little background 58s

because we're going to examine that question about the world falling apart. 63s

Just a little background for the book. 71s

Paul had a co-worker by the name of Ephraus. 74s

And Ephraus was most likely the founder of the church at Colosse. 78s

Five years after the church had been founded, the Apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome. 85s

And Ephraus, he had his hands full at the church at Colosse, all kinds of false teachers 93s

had come in. 101s

It was an interesting mixture of beliefs that became this strange stew when all stood together. 104s

You had false teachers talking about Jewish ceremonial law, Greek philosophy, and then Christian terminology. 114s

Putting all of that together in the pot, it was an odd teaching. 124s

And Ephraus, trying to deal with these false teachers, wondered what to do. 130s

He was struggling with it and he wanted the counsel of the Apostle Paul. 136s

So what he did is he traveled 13 hundred miles to talk to Paul. 142s

I just think about that travel in ancient days to go 13 hundred miles to talk to Paul about the 151s

problems that he was experiencing at the church in Colosse. 158s

As he talks to Paul, that occasions this letter, this letter that he writes to the church at Colosse. 166s

And Paul just lifts up. He just lifts up the supremacy of Christ. 177s

We're going to study but two verses of this text for today, this chapter one, 185s

it is so rich and it is so wonderful. So look what they please at verse 15 of our text, 194s

chapter one of the book of Colossians. Speaking of Jesus, Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy 203s

Edge of the invisible God. Let's just pause there. When we want to know who God is, 215s

we want to know what he's like, we want to know how he thinks looked to Jesus. He is the visible 224s

manifestation of the invisible God. In John the first chapter, right after it talks about the word, 232s

designation for Jesus, the word becoming flesh, the scripture says this, 242s

no one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son who is close to the Father's heart, 250s

who has made Him know. So Paul in verse 15, in describing, he says, Jesus is the image of the 259s

invisible God. He then goes on in the description, the next part of verse 15. The first born 273s

of all creation, the first born of all creation. What does what does first born mean here? 284s

Have you ever had a Jehovah witness knock at your door? If so, I hope you invited them in and 296s

witness to them. A Jehovah witness believes that the Lord Jesus Christ was created. A Jehovah 303s

witness doesn't believe in the Holy Trinity. One God, three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 315s

They maintain that Jesus Christ was God small letter G and that He was created. 322s

When you hear that knock on the door and it's the Jehovah witness, it's really a knock that goes 333s

a long way back. Goes all the way back to the fourth century to a person by the name of areas. 339s

What did areas believe? Areas believed that Jesus was created? 348s

But if Jesus was created, then a different word would be used here. Regardless of what the 358s

Jehovah witnesses may be looking at, the actual word in the ancient text in the Greek is 368s

first born. What does that mean? First born means preeminent, preeminent. 377s

Let me give you an example. In Jeremiah the 31st chapter, the Lord is speaking and the Lord says, 389s

for I have become a Father to Israel and Eph from is my first born. 396s

You see, Scripture tells us that Manasseh was born before Ephraim. 404s

So first born there means something else. In Colossians, the first chapter, when it speaks of the 412s

Lord Jesus Christ, not as being the first created, but the first born. What is meant is that 421s

He is preeminent. So the Lord Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and then the second thing 430s

that Paul says is that He is preeminent. Well, how is He preeminent? How is He preeminent? 439s

What's the reason for this? Look when he plays at verse 16. For in Him, Jesus, 450s

all things in heaven and on earth were created. Back to John the first chapter again. 460s

We read this. All things came into being through Him, speaking of Jesus, and without Him, 471s

not one thing came into being. So the Lord Jesus Christ, everything that is, 479s

was created through Him. He always has been the second member of the Trinity, 489s

Father Son and Holy Spirit, one God, and all of creation was created through the Lord. 495s

Jesus Christ, we go on. Next part of verse 16, things visible and invisible, whether 503s

thrones or dominions or rulers or powers. What's that? That's a rank of angels. 512s

We hear Paul talk about it in Ephesians the first chapter. In referencing Jesus, 523s

seated at the right hand of God, it says, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. 529s

So what Paul is emphasized here is Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the second member of the Trinity, 541s

so surpasses all of the angels. In fact, all of the angels were created through Him. 550s

We go on the next part of verse 16. All things have been created through Him and for Him. 560s

So all that exists exists, take of glory and praise to God Almighty, Father Son, Holy Spirit. 576s

Everything that exists exists to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. For 17, 588s

He Himself is before all things. So when there was nothing, just to try and God, 601s

to try and God alone, then there was creation, everything through the Lord Jesus Christ. 614s

So He is before then creation and He has authority over the creation. This is such a beautiful picture 622s

of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? He is the image of the invisible God. When we want to know what 634s

God is like, what He thinks is hard, how much He loves us, we look right to Jesus. He is preeminent. 643s

He is the creator of all, He is before all, He has authority over all, 651s

and then Paul says it. The next part of verse 17, 661s

and in Him all things hold together. In Him all things hold together. 670s

But here's the question, right? If all things hold together through the Lord Jesus Christ, 691s

then why is it that sometimes we feel that things are just falling apart? 704s

If everything is held together by the Lord Jesus, why is it that sometimes we feel 715s

as if all things are falling apart? James Montgomery, voice used to tell the story 726s

about a mountain climber. The mountain climber was climbing away one day and he had come to this 739s

edge of this cliff. Well, instantaneously all of a sudden his foot slipped on a loose rock 748s

and he went tumbling down. Thankfully though, he caught himself holding on to this branch that 758s

was coming out from the face of the cliff. But he could tell immediately that that branch wasn't 767s

going to hold him, that the roots were very quickly coming right out of the side of the cliff. 775s

He looked down, it must have been a thousand foot drop, he knew he would never survive if he fell. 783s

And so he looked up to heaven and he said, if there's anybody up there, would you, would you just help me? If there's anybody up there, would you just help me? 792s

And then he heard this beautiful, baritone voice that said, 809s

I am here. Let go, trust me, I'll take care of you. That by the way is my best God voice. 818s

So he looks up, he hears the voice of God saying, I am here. Let go. I'll take care of you. 835s

But holding on to that branch, he looks down once again. He sees how far down the ground is. 848s

And he looks back up to heaven and he says, is there anybody else up there? Is there anybody else up there? 859s

Sometimes, sometimes we can be tempted to believe that God just isn't in charge. 872s

When that happens, we can start to function like a deist. A deist believes that God created, 886s

then God just said, well, I'm done. Went and sat on his throne in heaven and whatever happens to the earth happens. 896s

Sometimes we can act like a deist, even though we don't intend to. 908s

Sometimes we can even be tempted to act like an atheist. An atheist believes that there is no God. 915s

An atheist believes that all there is is the universe. 922s

When you think about that, well, that's truly a terrifying thought. Isn't it? Because if the 928s

universe is all that there is, then there's nothing greater than the universe holding it together. 933s

So logically, then the universe can just come apart at the scenes. 944s

No. Martin Luther said, that sometimes it just feels like heaven and earth are like an old 951s

creaky house that's just about ready to fall apart. Do you see? 965s

That just shows that creation expresses the effects of sin. That creation is indeed 979s

expressing the reality that sin exists. But to use the phrase from the old song, 992s

God's got the whole world in his hands and he's not letting go. 1006s

God who has the whole world in his hands sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the cross. 1020s

The second member of the Holy Trinity became enflashed. 1031s

Jesus walked this earth for 33 years. And then he went to the cross. 1038s

And with his hands extended, he took the sin of the world upon him. 1047s

The spotless lamb of God who died for the likes of us sinners. 1058s

The substitute, the perfect one who died in our place. 1067s

And because the Lord Jesus Christ died in our place, 1074s

a reconciliation was affected between us and God. 1079s

Jesus was raised up out of the tomb. The sacrifice for sin has been accepted. 1086s

That glorious message is that message that we hold dear to and proclaim 1094s

and we read that in him Jesus all things hold together. They all hold together. 1104s

Hebrews, the first chapter, records this, he Jesus, 1124s

is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being. 1130s

And he sustains all things by his powerful word. Let me read that again. 1141s

He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being. And he sustains 1149s

all things by his powerful word. 1159s

Scientists call it the anthropic principle, the anthropic principle. 1170s

And the principle is simply this. That creation is so designed for the benefit of humans. 1177s

Why if the earth had a different rotation or a different axis, the world would become either too hot or it would become too cold? 1196s

If the moon was not exactly where it should be in relationship to the earth, 1211s

then the waters on the earth would simply swell and overwhelm the continents. 1220s

If the mass of protons was just slightly different, 1228s

nothing, nothing, what exists, nothing. It's all held together by the one who died and rose for us. 1236s

Is the world falling apart? No. No. Will it one day fall apart? 1263s

Yes. Yes. We read in second Peter the third chapter, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief. 1277s

The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth 1289s

and everything in it will be laid bare or you can translate it burned up. 1296s

Will one day everything fall apart? Yes. But notice, 1306s

that day is associated with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1312s

associated with the second coming. The culmination then of his second coming will be the falling apart 1320s

of the world, the end of the world. But that's associated with the Lord's second coming. 1329s

Why for the Christian? We long for that day. We cry, come Lord Jesus, 1341s

for when that final culmination of the second coming occurs, 1347s

the resurrection of the dead has already occurred. We are with and protected with God, 1351s

for all eternity. That's the joy of the Christian. The world will not fall apart 1362s

until God says it is time. It won't occur a second earlier than God's timing, 1374s

and it will not occur apart from the second coming of Jesus. 1384s

The Lord Jesus Christ is still in charge, and in Him the Lord Jesus, all things hold 1396s

together. 1416s