WWUTT 054 Preeminent (Colossians 1:15-20)

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What does the word proto - mean? Have you ever used proto - before? Well, it's a prefix that means first, foremost, the earliest form of, and you've used it in words like protolithic, protoplasm, or prototype.
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And in fact, it is a word that Paul uses to describe Jesus when we understand the text.
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You're listening to When We Understand The Text, committed to sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.
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And don't forget our website, www .tt .com. Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.
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Thank you, Becky. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians that they might know Christ as preeminent.
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That word preeminent appears only in Paul's letter to the Colossians, and nowhere else in the
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New Testament. It's in Colossians 1 .18. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
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The Greek word that appears there is proteuon. It is a variation of the word protos, or proto is sometimes how we'll use that, which means number one of the utmost importance.
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There is nothing else above that which is protos. And so Paul using that word to describe
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Christ, that he is top and above him there is nothing else. He is preeminent.
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And we've been studying through the book of Colossians that we might deepen our understanding of that as well, making
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Christ preeminent in our lives as he should be anyway, because he is preeminent in all things in the universe.
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And we deepen our understanding in this way and become better worshipers of God in the process as well.
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Colossians 1 .15 -20 is the passage that we are looking at this week before coming to the text, let's go to the
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Lord in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thanking you again for an opportunity to come to your scriptures and your word and know, come to know
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Christ as preeminent. We know that our eyes are open to that reality only by the guidance of your
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Spirit. We thank you for bringing us to this, for giving us the scriptures. So many people in the world can't even hold a
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Bible in their own language. They can't go down to a local grocery store where there's a book section where they can find a
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Bible as easily and as readily as we can come across Bibles here in the places where we live, that we can even load this up on the internet and be able to listen to Bible teaching like this.
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Thank you for giving us this opportunity, but let us not hold these things in. We take the gospel message to other people as we've been transformed by it.
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We know it is the only saving grace for them as well. So help us to learn and understand these things in such a way that we are ready to take the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
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Deliver us from sin and keep us steadfast in the hope of your truth.
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And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Colossians 1, verses 15 through 20.
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He, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
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For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.
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All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
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He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything
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He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
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We're going to jump right ahead to verse 17 here. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
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This is not the only place that we see it stated in Scripture that all things are held together by Christ.
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It is stated also in John 1, which we had read earlier this week, and in Hebrews 1.
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In fact, you'll find some striking similarities between John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1.
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If you get an opportunity later today to go read Hebrews 1 and see some comparative things there with Colossians 1 and John 1.
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Hebrews 1 .3, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
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After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
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Having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
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So all things being held together by Christ. This whole universe would fly apart.
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It would fall into chaos if it was not for the fact that Jesus is holding all things together.
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I've stated this before, but God is not a deistic God. He did not just set everything in motion and take
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His hands off of it and not interact with His creation. God is interacting with us even now.
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We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all of us who are in Christ. That is God interacting with His creation. The deist believes that God just created all things and then just left it to its own devices.
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But we have a God who is so active in His creation that He's holding all things together. That if God wasn't active in creation, everything would just fly apart.
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Jesus is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
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He is the head of the body, the church, which is an interesting statement for Paul to make.
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He says elsewhere that the church is the body of Christ. We see that stated in 1 Corinthians 12.
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But here he goes a step further in saying that Christ is the head of that body. And what does the head do for the body?
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Anytime we talk about Christ being the head of the body, the church, what does that mean? What does the head do for the body?
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It provides everything for the body. Nourishment is provided for the body. It's the control center of the body.
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All of the knowledge that the body operates by comes from the head.
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And so Christ is the head of the church means that He is providing all things for the church.
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All wisdom and knowledge being provided for the church. This should be tying everything in that we've talked about over the past couple of weeks as we've been studying through Colossians where we read in Colossians 1 9 that we in Christ are to be filled with the knowledge of His will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
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How do we do that? Because we are part of His body, the church, the head of which is Christ. And He is providing that wisdom and knowledge to us through Christ.
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He gives us everything that we need. We are fully satisfied in Christ because He is the head of the body.
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So think about this also in terms of like when you read in Ephesians 5 that the husband is the head of his wife, the father the head of his household.
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See how that plays into it as well. The husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.
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Meaning that the husband, it's not that he lords authority over here. Woman, you do what it is that I tell you to do.
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Go in the kitchen and make me a sandwich. Okay, that's not being the head of the wife. It's not the proper understanding of that.
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When we talk about a wife being submissive to her husband and a husband being a head of the wife, it means that the husband is the provider for his family.
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He is the one who is to be the primary caregiver for his family. Providing for his family sustenance and needs, providing for his family all of the spiritual guidance, it primarily falls upon him to make sure that his family is being taken care of, especially of his wife, even if there are no children.
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That is the job of the husband. That's what it means to call the husband the head of his wife. So the husband therefore in the marriage covenant is the picture of the way that Christ is the head of the church.
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The wife being submissive to her husband is the picture of how everybody in the church is to be submissive to Christ.
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She is a picture of that role of submission that we all are supposed to have. So here
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Jesus being described as the head of the church, tying in all of these things that Paul has given to the
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Colossians about spiritual wisdom and understanding, being pleasing to the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing to the knowledge of God, all of these are possible for us because they have been provided through Christ Jesus.
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Remember Jesus said to his disciples, I am the vine, you are the branches. It has been appointed for you to bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
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Our ability to even bear fruit is because we have been provided for by God through his spirit.
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He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
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In 1 Corinthians 15 it says, If Christ has not been raised, then no one gets raised.
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So Jesus being the first one to rise from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
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We know that we have the resurrection of the dead as well because Christ was raised from the dead.
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And so because Christ was raised, we have that hope and that promise also. Because Christ has been appointed over all of these things, over creation, he has conquered death, he provides for the church, he sustains us by the power of his will.
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In all of these things we come to this understanding that in everything Christ is preeminent.
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And we need nothing else but Christ who provides for us our every need.
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Jesus is enough. Listen to this from Pastor Matt Chandler.
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And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is head of the body, the church.
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He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. That in everything he might be preeminent.
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Top. Nothing above him. Nothing else to gain. Nothing else to get.
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The goal, the end, what it's all about is Jesus. Look at me.
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I'm going to try to combat something as best as I can here. Look at me. Following Jesus is not going to make you wealthy.
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Following Jesus does not guarantee that you're going to be healthy.
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The message of scripture and the gospel of Christ is not that in following him everything goes right, but that he is enough no matter what happens.
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That's the message of the gospel. Not that everything's going to be okay.
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And it's maddening to me that the prosperity gospel is so unbelievably popular among people who then have to completely disregard scripture as well as Christian history.
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Every apostle in the Bible dies bad. I mean bad.
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They don't like to stumble in the street and get run over by a car. They get beheaded. They get crucified upside down.
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They get boiled in oil. They die poor. And they're slaughtered.
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Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, struggles with depression his whole life and then dies.
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Christianity has been built and has carried through the generations on the blood of men.
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Not on the wealth. This is an absurd idea that would make Christ not preeminent but what he could give you.
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That is not Christianity. That is something entirely different.
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And it's heresy that would have got you burned alive 200 years ago. It's a ridiculous notion.
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Jesus is enough. He's enough. He's enough.
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We pursue healing. Maybe we get it. Maybe we don't. He's enough if we don't. This is the message that Jesus is sufficient.
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Like it's all, okay, in Acts, the apostles, they get arrested. And this court says, if you don't quit this preaching stuff, if you don't quit talking about Jesus, we're going to beat you to death.
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And the response was simple. Do what you think is right. As for us, we cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and heard.
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And they beat the mess out of them and released them. And they did what? Rejoiced.
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I mean, they got beat nearly to death. This was the fruit of the gospel in their lives. Beatings. And they left rejoicing.
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They left there going, oh, you can see my spine. No, like literally it's exposed.
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So it seems like Jesus can transcend the most horrific of circumstances.
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This is not about what Jesus gets you. It's just about Jesus. Preeminent. Top of the chain.
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Nothing else to want. Nothing else to pursue. He is enough. Pastor Matt just says that so well there.
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I wanted to play that for you. So I hope that you understand how knowing that Jesus is preeminent.
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Knowing that he is enough. Even helps to solve the problem of a lot of other heretical teachings that are out there.
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There are some heresies that only work if Jesus is not preeminent.
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If he isn't enough. That's what makes them heretical. Because there's something else other than God.
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Other than Jesus. There was a false teacher that came into Colossae and was trying to woo the Colossians in the same way.
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It's great that you worship Jesus, but it's not quite enough. I have the philosophy that will help to unlock the secrets of the universe.
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And we'll get to that when we read in Colossians 2. But here again in chapter 2, we'll see this stated again.
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Colossians 2 .9. For in him, in Christ, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
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And you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. So these statements will come up again as Paul continues to cement these things.
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And even confront some false teachings that were attempting to woo the Colossians.
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In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Colossians 1 .19. And through him to reconcile to himself all things.
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Whether on earth or in heaven. Making peace by the blood of his cross. And as I stated earlier in the week. Verses 19 and 20 are that 10 second gospel.
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To reconcile to himself all things. I've preached about this before, but I'm going to repeat it again.
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Because that word reconcile is such a beautiful word. It is one of my favorite words in English. Not because of the way it sounds.
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But because in its definition there is deep meaning. To reconcile something.
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When something is reconciled it means to accept that which was not previously desired. So when we were in our sin.
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When we were dead in our sins and our trespasses. God did not desire us in that state.
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Worse yet. We did not desire God. It says in the scriptures that we were hostile to God.
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And we were enemies of God. So we did not desire God because of our sin. We were haters of God.
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Insolent, haughty, boastful, and arrogant. As we read in Romans 1 .30.
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I mean this is our condition before Christ came in. That we were haters of others and hating one another.
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We were following the course of this world. The prince of the power of the air. Which is at work in the sons of disobedience.
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As it talks about in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 3. Dead in our sins and our trespasses.
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We did not desire God when we were like that. And God is so holy and righteous. He did not desire us like that.
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In the book of Habakkuk in chapter 1. It says that God's eyes are so holy that he cannot even look upon evil.
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So when we were like that. When we were living in that insolence and haughtiness. God did not desire us like that.
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And he was not even looking for us like that. But God loves us so much that he did not leave us in that state.
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He sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. And now as it says in Romans chapter 3 verses 20 and 21.
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The righteousness that we have comes not from ourselves. It is from God. It is the righteousness of Christ that has been imparted to us.
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So now we wear his righteousness. Jesus died on the cross in our place.
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Taking upon himself the wrath of God. And it pleased God to crush him.
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As it says through the prophet Isaiah. So God crushed Christ who was the atonement.
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Atoning sacrifice for our sins. Paying the penalty that we could not pay by his perfect blood.
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And so now the righteousness of Christ that has been imparted to us. God looks at us no longer as sinful and unworthy.
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He sees us as holy. Not because of anything that we did. But because of what Christ did for us.
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So when he looks at us he sees Christ. And God loves us with the same intensity that he loves his own son.
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We have been adopted into the family of God. As it says in Romans chapter 8. Through this
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Jesus became the firstborn of many brothers. And so we become a brother of Christ in this way.
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Because Christ was the first one to die. He has imparted his righteousness to us. And he became the firstborn of many brothers.
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There were many more that were going to come after him. Those who are in Christ Jesus. So we have become an adopted son and daughter of God.
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Because of what our brother Christ did. And he became the first among many brothers.
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Cool stuff right? So because Christ's righteousness is upon us. We have been reconciled.
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God now desires us because we are in Christ. Christ paid for us.
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He ransomed for us. He redeemed for himself a people purifying us from all lawlessness.
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As it says in Titus chapter 2. So in Christ we have been reconciled.
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God desires us in that state. And being filled with the Holy Spirit. We now desire
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God. So the reconciliation goes both ways. We desire
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God because of this transformation that's occurred in Christ. And God desires us because we have been imparted the righteousness of Christ.
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Amen. Praise the Lord. Through Christ all things are being reconciled.
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It's not just the people that he has died to purify. He is reconciling all things to himself.
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As it says in Romans chapter 8. All things have been subjected to futility because of sin.
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The whole universe sent into chaos because of the sin of Adam. Because of the sin of mankind.
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Everything has been sent into upheaval. What Christ has done through his person and work.
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Is not only reconciling to himself a people. It is reconciling to God all things making peace.
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Whether on earth or in heaven. Making peace by the blood of his cross.
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The cross is the pivotal point of all of cosmic and human history.
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Just as one sin in the garden of Eden sent all of creation in the whole universe into upheaval.
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So one righteous act on the cross of Christ is being used to reconcile all things to perfection to the
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Father. When Jesus comes back and ushers in his peaceful kingdom. He will remove all evil including all those who do evil.
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Who do not have the righteousness of Christ. And by this wonderful glorious act ushering in his peaceful kingdom.
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He will make all things new. All things restored in all of creation.
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Not just his people but all things that have been created in heaven and on earth. Is this mind blowing?
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Are you staying with me here as we talk about these things? So everything in all of creation.
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Not just his people but all things that have been made. Being reconciled to God because of the work that Christ has done.
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Amen. Praise the Lord. Jesus is preeminent. He is top. There is nothing else above him.
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And through him all things are being made new. Revelation 21 5.
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Behold I am making all things new. Lord thank you that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
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That you are continually working in us to make us new. Commit us to these scriptures.
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So that we might learn them and understand them and become better worshippers of Christ. The idea cemented in our hearts that we fully understand
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Jesus is enough. Thank you for doing enough. Thank you for doing it all for us.
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Keep us faithful to your word. To your commands. In the name of Jesus we pray.
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Amen. Judge not that you be not judged.
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Does Jesus really say that? Yes he does. Matthew 7 1. But do not miss the context.
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Jesus is not saying that we should not judge at all. He is saying do not judge hypocritically. Continuing on he says how can you say to your brother let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye.
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You hypocrite. First take the log out of your eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Did you get that?
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First take the log out of your eye and then take the speck out of your brother's eye. By this the
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Bible is actually telling us that we are supposed to judge. Proverbs 27 5. Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
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Proverbs 31 9. Open your mouth judge righteously. Matthew 18 15. Tell your brother his faults.
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John 7 24. Do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgment. First Corinthians 2 15.
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The spiritual person judges all things. First Corinthians 5 12. Judge those inside the church.
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Second Timothy 3 16. The Bible is useful for reproof. Now we are definitely not supposed to be jerks when it comes to judgment.
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We also read in Second Timothy that the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone. Correcting opponents with gentleness.
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Titus 3 2 says to be gentle and show perfect courtesy to all people. The purpose is not to point out everyone's wrong so that we can show how much more right we are.
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The purpose is to point them to Christ who forgives sin and gives eternal life.
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Know the word of God so that we are able to instruct each other properly when we understand the text.
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Our question comes from Jeremy in Canada who says dear watch. Thank you for your ministry and for your video on judging others.
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That for me is like the quintessential Bible Mythbusters video. Christians and non -Christians alike quote that verse to ward off being judged by someone else.
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But that's not what Jesus was talking about at all. The teaching you offered in just a minute and a half has changed the way that I interact with others when it comes to engaging with the gospel.
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Thank you. My question has to do not with Matthew 7 1 through 5 but actually with the verse that comes right after that.
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Do not give dogs what is holy and do not cast your pearls before swine lest they trample on them and turn to attack you.
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Does that verse start a new thought or how does that connect with Matthew 7 1 through 5 where Jesus talks about judging.
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Thank you for your time. Jeremy thank you for taking the time to send us an email. Let's look at all this together.
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So going to Matthew chapter 7 starting in verse 1 judge not that you be not judged for with the judgment that you pronounce you will be judged.
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And with the measure that you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye.
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Or how can you say to your brother let me take the speck out of your eye when there's a log in your own eye.
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You hypocrite first take the log out of your eye and then you will see clearly then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
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Do not give dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
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OK so basically here's the context. When we go out with the message of the gospel of Christ it is necessary for us to judge.
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We have to because we would have to be able to discern whether or not a person is saved and walking with Christ or whether or not a person remains unsaved and unrepentant needing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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That in itself is a judgment and we make judgments every single day. An employer picking between two candidates for a particular position at his place of employment is going to pick one candidate over the other because that person is more qualified to do the job than the other person is.
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That's a judgment and it is a right judgment. It is absolutely necessary for an employer to pick the best person for the job that will benefit his business.
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OK so we make judgments like this every single day. There is nothing wrong with judging others as long as we are not being hypocritical about it.
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First we need to take care of our own sin. We need to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to repent of our sin before God so that we are in a right state of mind and pure of heart when we go out with the gospel and discern whether or not a person has the gospel or not.
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And when we see that a person needs to be saved we present the gospel to them. Now if as we're doing that a person will not be receptive to it.
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They won't even accept what it is that we're telling them and they turn on us and they fight with us and they argue and we can tell that it's a big waste of our time.
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Then don't continue to try to cast your pearls before them. They will just trample them underfoot.
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Move on to the next person because there's somebody else that probably needs to hear the gospel yet you're wasting your time with this person.
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Now that's going to be a discernment issue. It's on a case by case basis. You can determine whether or not you should continue to invest your time with that person or move on to somebody else.
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But I hope that that gives you a better idea of the context that's being presented there in Matthew chapter 7.
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Lord we thank you for your word and we thank you for guiding us in these things and give us discernment. Give us a right judgment so that we know who needs the gospel and who does not.
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And how much time we need to invest with a person until they understand the gospel. Guide us in these things according to your wisdom in Jesus name.
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Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand The Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. We hope you are a part of the church family committed to gospel teaching.
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And we thank you for including us in your Bible learning. If you would consider a gift to this ministry please visit www .tt
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