[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Paul’s prayer in the beginning of Colossians 1 continues for us today. Let’s go to verse 9, and then we will jump down to verse 12. “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (1:9, 12, ESV).

       The final element of the prayer laid out for the Colossians is that of “giving thanks.” Giving thanks. It seems we are pretty good at that these days, as Christians. It seems so. After all, there is a lot to be thankful for. It doesn’t seem like it’s hard to come up with at least a few things to thank God for. Materialistically, most of us have a lot of possessions and whatnot. Relationally, most of us have at least a few people in our lives we would consider blessed to be part of it. If we are a believer in Jesus Christ to begin with, it seems reasonable to presume we are thankful for the gift of salvation—for the gift of our relationship with God. After all, if it hadn’t been for what Jesus accomplished for us, we wouldn’t be in right relationship with God to begin with. This is the most important relationship and circumstance then, that we have to thankful for.

       Notice that the Colossians believers are said to be “qualified… to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” If the Christians are now qualified, that means there was a point in which they were unqualified. A transition has occurred for them. A born again-ness (which was mentioned last week). Unqualified to qualified. What has been gained, though? What has the qualification led to? It has led the Christian to “share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” It would seem that this inheritance encompasses a vast variety of features, and they are features that the Apostle Paul presumably assumes that the Colossian believers are already aware of. He will allude to this again in chapter 3.

       Inheritance. What is the inheritance with the fellow saints, with those now and with those who have already passed? It is intriguing. If we turn back in our Bibles a couple books, to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, we see that there in chapter 1 he also talks about the inheritance of the saints. In verse 14 he says that it is something that is acquired in the future. In verse 18 he refers to the inheritance as having “riches,” and that it is “glorious” (ESV). It is also stated that it to be understood over a period of time. So, we could assume that with experience, with our journey through the Christian life, with the working out of our salvation, with all this comes understanding, understanding of the inheritance. And in contemplating that thought, it does seem to be experientially true. What is meant is that the personal understanding of what will be in the future after this life seems to be greater in scope versus what it was, say, twenty years ago. What it was right after the conversion experience.

       Anyhow, Paul elaborates, moving now to verse 13, in saying that “He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

       The past tense of the word is used in discussing our transformation—the word “delivered.” We have come then from the “domain of darkness,” the domain of Satan who entrapped us—the domain of our sin natures which had us in bondage to sin, to an understanding of the world without enlightenment from God. No power was present to live a truly righteous life. There could be moments of doing right, or seemingly so, but it would be intermingled with doing really bad things as well, whether publicity or privately, or just inside our heads. It is as Jesus stated in the great sermon, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”(Matthew 5:46, ESV). (Tax collectors represents the ones without Christ). So, it is kingdom versus kingdom. Satan’s kingdom versus Christ’s kingdom. God had “transferred us” as Paul said. From one side to the other side.

       A good picture of what this looks like is what happened with the Israelites in the Old Testament, when, remember, God delivered them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians and eventually took them to the land he had promised them. Of course, he used Moses to accomplish this act, and so Moses acts as a type of Christ. But what is important to understand is that the Israelites were miserable, suffering in slavery, and God brought them out of that. That’s the way it seems when we think back to consider our pre-conversion experiences. It seems dark, unfulfilling, empty, and perhaps labor-some. We worked with our own effort and without God’s power. But then one day God delivered us when he brought us to the true message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The revelation to our minds that we could be delivered from our dark, unfulfilling, empty, and labor-filled ways. In comparison, like the Israelites of old, we ended up in a new land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

       Now we move into the picture of Christ presented to us by Paul. It is probably familiar to us, as this is a passage we’ve likely read over and over. Starting in verse 15. Paul says of the “beloved Son:” “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (ESV).

       First and foremost, we note that God is “invisible.” In contrast, Christ gives us a physical image of the invisible God, for he himself is God, and in fact equal with God. He is not created himself, but as the Apostle John has told us, “He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2, ESV). And if we stay there in John 1, in the next verse we read, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3, ESV). Now what about him being “the firstborn of all creation”? It seems reasonable to presume that what the Apostle has in mind is that Christ is the firstborn in the he is the first to resurrect within the new way—the way of salvation through trusting in him versus the salvation that would come through counting on his work in the future (i.e. The Old Testament way). Technically speaking, Lazarus was the first resurrection, recall, but his resurrection resulted in him returning to the earth still before the cross. Anyway, as Christians, we are all new creations, and Christ is the firstborn of all the new creations.

       Continuing on in verse 16: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

       The understanding that Christ created all things seems to be something that is easily comprehendible. And of course, and not to get too off track, but this does take us back to Genesis 1, and to the literal account of the six day creation process of which Paul tells us in this text that Christ was a part of (and this partaking appears to be with the Father and the Spirit, thus the Triune God). It would seem, in our day and age, and this even among some Christians, that the literal creation account is just simply bogus, having been carefully and thoroughly debunked by the greatest scientists of modern times. This idea is rejected entirely here, as Jesus himself rejected it 2,000 years ago, when he made clear that he believed in the literal creation (not to mention he likely had his own divine knowledge that he was part of that process). But the idea that God did not create the world but rather that it came about by natural processes has been driven into people’s minds so hard that it almost seems sacrilegious to suggest otherwise.

       Nevertheless, let’s back up in the verse a little bit, for Paul mentions before the physical earth that of heaven—specifically, things in Heaven. The obvious “things” “in heaven” that come to mind are angels—for the Scriptures describes a variety of them. That’s obvious. There are physical elements to the current heaven, namely the thrones—God the Father’s and the Son’s to his right. The writer of Hebrews also notes some elements in Heaven—a physicality. He gives mention to this in Hebrews 9. And, of course, we are aware of the scenes of Heaven in The Book of the Revelation. Not to mention, the departed souls of past brothers and sisters being in the physical Heaven.

       But it wasn’t just the physical earth and physical heaven that Paul mentioned in verse 16, but he also talks about “visible and invisible, thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.”

       Thus, clearly we have two differing areas of which Paul is talking about. First, he is talking about the obvious. That which we see with our eyes. On the physical earth then, we have all kinds of nations and people groups, those with governments and those without. We have governments that the Bible indicates God has setup for the sake of worldly order (Paul talks about this in Romans 13, and Peter talks about it in 1 Peter 2). Specifically, Peter said in 1 Peter 2:13 “Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him” (ESV). He also says in verse 17, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

       What is less clear are the invisible powers. We are told that too, just like in the physical realm, there are invisible “thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” We obviously know that, given a brief review in our minds of world history, that visible rulers and authorities do not always follow what God wants—that needs no real explanation. There are countless examples that could be cited in that regard. Going to the Scriptures, in we go to Acts 12, we can see a detailed interaction of how the visible interacted with the invisible, and how things played out in this instance. We are told, right at the beginning of Acts 12, that “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also” (Acts 12:1-3, ESV). Notice that Herod, who was the leader of people, was evil, and acted in an evil manner, going against the church. We are so used to the government usually leaving us alone in our day and age, but not so during this period of the early church. The government at this point was against the church.

       If we continue we read there in Acts 12, we see Peter in prison. This obviously was not what God wanted—God didn’t want Peter in prison. It would be nice if that that fact shouldn’t have to be stated, but it can clear confusion in this area of understanding. We know that it isn’t what God wants, because what does God do? Just like we’ve seen in the past (whether in Daniel 10 in the Old Testament, or even Matthew 1 in the New, we see God intervening to bring about what he wants—and interestingly enough, what the church wanted, what believers wanted, for they had been praying for Peter (hence, the difference prayer makes in the invisible realm, and this also in Daniel 10). But we are told that while Peter was asleep, and even chained to a couple of guards, that what? Let’s read the passage. “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands” (Acts 12:7, ESV). Now we are seeing the invisible interacting with the visible. The invisible powers. Satan had been using the physical government and the chained soldiers to show his invisible power, making it become visible, Now, the Lord brings about his invisible power making it become visible through the angel.

       After Peter is dressed, the angel of the Lord leads Peter out. Note verse 10: “When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him” (Acts 12:10, ESV). Consider and take note of the invisible power of the angel. To appear, to save (to get around the guards), to lead out (passed all the guards), and to have the gate open by its own accord. These are beings God has established to help us, as the writer of Hebrews will later tell us. They work against the evil powers—the satanically aligned powers—and what they want. For Peter himself concludes, in verse 11, “When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” (ESV). So, God rescues Peter “from the hand of Herod,” from, interestingly enough, the established governmental leader. So, Herod, again, was working through the invisible powers to work to accomplish what God did not want.

       Of course, as we’ve discussed in the past, a great passage to see these interactions is also Daniel 10, were we have angel held up by a fallen angel in the unseen realm. That also gives a blatant picture of some of what goes on behind the scenes. And that would be a good passage to read, or reconsider, for further insight into this subject matter.

       Going back to the text in Colossians 1, and let’s re-read the verse, now focusing on the end of it: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (verse 16, ESV).

       So, “all things were created through him and for him.” Does this mean that God has created the evil powers for his own sake, for his own purposes? It depends on who you ask—but the true answer would be no. Let us rewind for a moment and discuss the physical earthly kingdoms again. We know that certain leaders end up being evil leaders, or really, are already evil when they come into power. Again, we really need no explanation of this, and we just saw this with Herod. And we saw how God worked against this. It isn’t that God needs to have the evil present in order to show his power, as is often assumed. But it is that God works good out of the evil that is present, as he did with Peter (and again, this was in response to the believers prayers—don’t miss that). And he did use it to show his power, or course. It isn’t though that he desires it in order to show his power. Why, he created the world and everything in it, a very powerful act—a tremendous display of his power—with no evil present.

       Thusly, it only makes sense that God does not work toward evil. Even Romans 8:28 makes that clear in the simplest sense. Though that verse also tells us something—and that is that God works for the good of those who love him. It is qualified. It isn’t that God works for the good in all things, and let’s be clear, for that is because he cannot. Why? Freewill. People have freewill. God cannot go against people’s wills when they do not choose to freely love him. That would be force. God doesn’t operate by force. Where the misunderstanding comes, is when we believe that God puts bad people into power because he wants to accomplish good. Though, that’s not to say, he would love to see good come about from it in people turning from their sins. And, it’s not to say that God will not work good where he can, which includes any kind of situation in which he can—but he will not go against people’s freedom to choose. This is serious business we are discussing. What about Romans 9:17 and 18, and Pharaoh, and the fact that God raised him up and hardened his heart? It would seem that God in that instance already hardens a heart that is hardened.

       So, again, the verse stating “all things were created through him and for him” shows God’s original purpose for the creation—for the “thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” And technically speaking, and not to get too off track, really it would appear that God never originally wanted governments to begin with—for they are a result of the fallen world. Now, we do know that Revelation 21 tells us of the New Jerusalem that, “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there” (Revelation 21:24-26, ESV). Governments then could be part of the New World. To reiterate, though, evil is present in the current governments not because God is perverted—but rather it is because people are that way. God is not authoring evil. Remember, mentioned last week was the verse in Acts 12 where the angel of the Lord struck down Herod. If God had chosen Herod for evil purposes to bring about good, then why would God have struck Herod down? One could say that it was because God was through with him, but the passage doesn’t seem to imply that.

       Moving along to verse 17: “And he [God’s beloved Son] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

       This just didn’t come from Paul’s fanciful mind, but recall, John recorded for us in John 8:58: “Jesus said to them [the Jews], “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” This verse in Colossians shows the eternality of Christ. Jesus not merely the man, but God, God who becomes man at a point in time. Incredible and hard to fathom—perhaps impossible to fathom. It makes good sense that in the Son “all things hold together.” Notice that all things are said to be holding together as if there is a force that works against “all things.” What constitutes that force? Obviously coming to mind is Satan. That’s obvious. But also it should be noted the rebelliousness of mankind, as we just discussed. The negativity of people—their sin. If it wasn’t for Christ’s consciousness—Christ’s love—that holds the world together, certainly everything would fall apart. This invariably would mean that the love we as good people, as obedient people, as Christ followers, the love we emanate—also contributes to the world holding together. In other words, the love we display toward others has a major positive impact in the unseen realm. Remember, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”(John 13:35, ESV).

       Verse 18: “And he is the head of the body, the church.”

       Familiar to us by now is the biblical metaphor of the church as a physical, human body. It’s used a lot, and specifically in this instance, is the fact that Christ is noted as the head of this physical body. It may be asked, and it seems like the logical thing to do, as to what a head does? What is meant is what does it do speaking in terms of the human body? There are a variety of observations we could make, and one of those is that the head of the body commands, through signals, what the body is supposed to do. Though, behind the command, is a consciousness. Within the consciousness is a mind. Elsewhere Paul would say, ““For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16, ESV).

       Finishing verse 18: “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (ESV).

       So Christ, as we know by now, is the beginning of the church. Indeed, he establishes the church, and then ascends back to Heaven, where he will receive each one of us individually as we complete our time in this life and move on to eternity. He is the beginning of it because his life, as well as our own lives, continue after this life is completed. It’s not that once this life is over we ascend into some mystical cloudy state of awareness were we float around as random consciousness or something like that, with no meaning and no aim. Rather, really, in reality, life continues after this one, with the same kind of consciousness, though the external surroundings are certainly different, and not to mention the internal differences (lack of a sin-nature, eventual new body, much greater understanding, etc). And, it is there, in the next life, where Christ’s preeminence is visible for everyone to see for all eternity, for in the New Jerusalem, it is stated, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, 23, ESV).

       We often refer to Christ in the body during his earthly ministry as being limited by the earthly body—and certainly that was true to some degree, though, to what degree that may be debated. The point is that “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” Because he has gone before us in being first, and in dying and rising from the dead first, that makes him in a special place. No one, like Satan tried to do way back when, can say he is greater than Christ, or a more worthy son or daughter of God over Christ. This then, invariably, would include any other gods who would try to make such a claim. This brings us to the familiar passage which the Apostle John concluded with in his first epistle. He said, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:20-21, ESV).

- Daniel Litton