Giving Jesus His Rightful Place
1/16/05
Col. 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. 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; all things were created by him and for him. 17 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 and the firstborn from
among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20
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.
Jesus is not over here on the side helping
God out--He is the very center of everything!
Jo. 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do
nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because
whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves
the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even
greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead
and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give
it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all
judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as
they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the
Father, who sent him.
All through out the Old Testament is this
picture of Jesus.
Jo. 5:45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser
is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you
would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since
you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Lk. 24:13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with
each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and
discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along
with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They
stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas,
asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that
have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he
asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet,
powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The
chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they
crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going
to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took
place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the
tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and
told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24
Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had
said, but him they did not see.” 25 He said to them, “How
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then
enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning
himself.
Paul completely understood this!
Acts 28:23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even
larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he
explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince
them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24
Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
Again we see how Paul saw Jesus through out the Old Testament.
1 Cor. 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant
of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that
they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that
accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
All the New Testament writers saw Jesus as
the absolute center of everything!
1 Pet. 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace
that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11
trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of
Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ
and the glories that would follow.
Heb. 9:19 When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the
people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and
branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20
He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to
keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the
tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the
law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 It
was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be
purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made
sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now
to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to
offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy
Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ
would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he
has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and
after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to
bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
The innocent dying for the guilty and
forgiveness only through shed blood--was pictured in the Garden of Eden.
Gen. 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and
clothed them.
Here are some examples of seeing Jesus in a
beautiful way in the Old Testament.
First we need to see what Paul says...
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the
washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to
himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but
holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love
their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29
After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just
as Christ does the church—30 for we are members of his body. 31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his
wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a
profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Gen. 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of
the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what
he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was
its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds
of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper
was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep
sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up
the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib
he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she
shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and they will become one flesh.
Adam
Jesus
felt no pain Jesus
suffered beyond our comprehension
it was not his choice
Jesus said “I lay down
my life...”
gave his rib
Jesus gave his blood
God presented Adam with his
bride in
the end the Father presents Jesus with His bride
We need to see this first...
Rom. 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms
it in the Holy Spirit—2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in
my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off
from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the
people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the
covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of
Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. 6 It is
not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel
are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all
Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring
will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the natural children
who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded
as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated:
“At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10
Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father
Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good
or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not
by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to
Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Gen. 27