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| Jesus the Christ courtesy photobucket.com |
Saint
Paul was always stepping on the toes of someone, and he was placed in prison
and bound by chains. While there he was
allowed visitors, and wrote letters to the churches. One such letter was to the church at Colossi,
although he did not found that church.
15 The Son is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all
things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been
created through 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.
We
are fascinated by the monarchy and by kings and queens with all their news and
scandals. There are different ways that
nations are ruled, and for us we have a democracy and not a king, and gender is
not noticed. There are both men and
women in various jobs including politics and the church.
We
talk about Christ the King and cannot think of God without thinking of
Jesus. God equals Jesus and Jesus equals
God. This is difficult to explain and we
use illustrations to help us understand.
Pastor
Jerry asked us to notice that God is Honorable, Humble, Loving and Gracious:
Even
today we often do not know how to respond, for He left obedience up to the free
will of the people.
1. He is Honorable because God came unannounced when
no one was looking. God entered into
history in the form of flesh, arriving among strangers, in a time of political
controversy. He began to teach at
around age 30 and ministered for three years, and was then subjected to cruel crucifixion.
2. God is Humble as he does his
work. As a child he escaped into Egypt
on a donkey. He lived in poverty as most
everyone did. Thirty years later he
humbly rode a donkey into Jerusalem where crowds shouted Hosanna to the King.
3. God is Loving and is not
willing that any should perish. He
provided a way to reach His throne, by receiving Jesus as our Lord. The Gospel is based on Love. God so loved the
world that He gave us Jesus.
4. Graceful God is FULL of
Grace. He approaches us with Love even
when we do not deserve it. That is why
we like to sing the old hymn, “Amazing Grace”
Jesus
points us to God and to know Jesus is to know God.
Jesus
is the image of the invisible God.
Thanks be to God.
