Who is Jesus? Pt.4 The God Man

Colossians 1:19 and the Fullness of Deity in Christ

I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to Colossians chapter 1. And our focus today will be on one single verse. It's going to be verse 19, however as we have been for the sake of context we'll be reading verses 15 to 20 as this has been our study through this season.

Several years ago Ligonier Ministries began a biannual state of theology survey where they would call and ascertain where people stood in regard to their theological positions. And one of the most interesting things in that survey is that they tried to key in on evangelicals.

Now that word has come to be almost more political than it is religious in our modern day, but the term evangelical tends to indicate, it means gospel believing or gospel proclaiming, but it tends to indicate the group within Protestantism that still believes the Bible.

That's the idea because many Protestants have abandoned the scripture. Many of the mainline Protestant denominations have gone so far out that they've almost abandoned everything the Bible has to say.

But what is interesting is even among those who identify as evangelical, meaning they're supposed to believe the Bible, their answers to the most basic theological questions are, to put it mildly, abysmal.

Maybe that wasn't mildly, but it is. It's just abysmal. If you read it, you will see. And you can go to the stateoftheology .org, I think is where .com, you can find it and see the survey. But one of the questions, and I've mentioned this survey before over the years, I've been doing this for several years now and I've mentioned it.

Every time it comes out, I read it. I sort of digest the state of the evangelical mind. And one of the questions which caught my attention was question number seven, statement number seven of the State of Theology survey.

True or false, Jesus Christ was a great teacher, but He was not God. True or false, Jesus Christ was a great teacher, but He was not God. Now if you ask that question to the world, you might assume to get all kinds of answers.

Because the world has many different views of Jesus. If you were to ask that in a room full of Muslims, you would get an almost absolute answer in the positive. Yes, He was not God. But if you were to ask that to evangelicals, you would assume that they would know the answer.

But 43 of evangelicals surveyed said that Jesus Christ was a good teacher, but was not God. 43 of those who identified as evangelical said Jesus Christ is a good teacher, but was not God. By the way, they did that same question in 2020, two years ago, it was only 30%.

It has increased in the survey 13%. So in 2022, almost half of the United States evangelical survey denied a foundational tenet of Christianity. This is not optional. The divinity of Jesus Christ is not a take it or leave it, tertiary or secondary doctrine.

This is who Christ is. And you either worship the divine Christ or you worship a false Christ.

So what does that say?

43%. We wonder why there is so much perversion and confusion in the church. Might it be that we have become so ignorant of our faith, that the reason why we're seeing everything else go by the wayside is because we have let the very foundational doctrines that we hold dear go by the wayside?

Many years ago, I said this and I hold it to this day as truth. What you believe will impact how you behave. What you believe will impact. Orthodoxy produces orthopraxy. Orthopraxy means the working out of your belief.

Orthodoxy produces orthopraxy. Heresy produces impiety and sinful living. As I've said for weeks, if we get Jesus wrong, nothing else matters. I don't care how intelligent we are. I don't care how good we are at any of the worldly things.

If we get Christ wrong, it will not matter in the end. Only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for Christ will last ultimately. And it just saddens me to think of the state of the church.

Well, today we're going to address this question. And we're going to again answer it. And you might say, well, pastor, you've preached on this before. Well, the good thing about this particular topic is it is inexhaustible.

I could preach it every day for a year and we wouldn't get it all. But also, as I preach through a book of the Bible, as I am right now preaching through Colossians, I come to a passage that it drives us to this point and drives us to answer the question, is Jesus God or is he just a good teacher?

Is Jesus God or is he just a famous rabbi? Is Jesus God or is he just the most famous man in all of history? Well, that's the question we're going to seek to answer today in Colossians 1, verse 19. Let's stand together and let's read verses 15 to 20.

Speaking of Christ, it says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Our verse for today, 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. Let us pray.

Father and our God, we come to you now in Jesus' name. And I pray first and foremost that you would keep me from error. For Lord God, I am a fallible man and I'm capable of preaching error. And I pray that you would keep me from that.

I pray that for the sake of your name, that you would keep me from that. For the sake of your people, that you would keep me from that. And for the sake of my own wretched soul, that you would keep me from error.

I pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would be the teacher today, that I would decrease and Christ would increase, that you would fill me at this moment to be your vessel. And Lord, that through this preaching, that those who know Christ would be edified and those who do not know Christ would be pointed to the cross and the beauty of the one who was on the cross, who died and said, Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Father, even now, let us see that this man was no mere man, but was and is the God man. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In Colossians, we find the Apostle Paul, beginning at verse 15, providing for us descriptions of the person of Jesus Christ.

And it is, as I've said in previous weeks, one of the most concentrated areas of Christology that we have in the New Testament. Any systematic theology textbook that you read that deals with the subject of Christology is going to, by nature, have to address what is said in Colossians 1, verses 15 to 20.

You could not escape it. We have seen five descriptions of Jesus Christ so far. We have heard that He is the image of the invisible God, which we learned in that week means that He is the exact imprint of His nature.

This refers to His co-equality and divinity with the Father. We learned that He is the firstborn of creation. Not that He is the first created, because that is not what prototokos means, but rather that He has the first rank or the first place among all that which is created.

He is over creation. This is why the Bible says that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. We have heard that He is Creator. It says in this section of text that by Him all things were created in heaven on earth, visible and invisible, leaving nothing out, leaving no character or quality or any molecule that would be outside of the realm of that which was created by Christ.

And it was all created by Him and for Him, according to this passage. We have read also that He is the sustainer of all things, because it says not only are we created by Him and created for Him, but that He holds all things together.

Our breath in our lungs moves in and moves out at the command of Almighty God. The heart within my chest beats at the command of Almighty God. The cells in my very body are held together by a force which is unseen, and that force is the command of Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So He is the sustainer of all things. And last week we saw in relation to the church, He is the head and the hope of the church. He is head in that He provides government and sustenance, and He is the hope of the church in that He provides us with our hope, because in His resurrection we are promised a resurrection of our own.

He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, the firstborn of the dead. Well, all of that is intended to climax in a grand statement in verse 19. I do believe all of that pushes to verse 19.

And what we're going to see next week on Christmas morning is we're going to actually see that it actually climaxes even further in verse 20, where it says, and through all of this He makes us reconciled with God.

He becomes our peacemaker. And that's going to be a wonderful thing to talk about on Christmas, that He is our peacemaker. But that's next week. But the climax is pushing to this idea, and this idea of in Him the fullness dwells.

And so what I want to do in the time that we have today is I want to simply look at eight Greek words. Because that's how many words are in the original language. I will note right away that every one of your Bibles, if you have different translations, and I know we have ESV, and I know we have KJV, and I know we have New American Standard Bible, I know we have various Bibles in this room.

All of them read different at this passage. So I had to spend some time this week, which I do every week in exegesis of the text, but I had to spend some time trying to figure out why the disagreement.

Because they all say essentially the same thing, but they all say it in a slightly different way. And so what we're going to do for the first part of the sermon is we're going to nerd out a little bit on some Greek.

And if that's not your thing, just know we're not going to stay there long. So if that's not your cup of tea, just know we're going to get past that quick. But I do want to explain why this is translated differently in different Bibles.

Then we're going to move on to the application which I'm excited about because we get to talk about Christ and the hypostatic union because that's the blessing and wonder of this passage is how we work this out in life and how that becomes a part of our worship.

But let's look first at the original language. The original language reads just like what I'm about to say. And then we're going to look at the different translations. The original language says, because in him was pleased all the fullness to dwell.

That's all it says. Because in him was pleased all the fullness to dwell. I could read it in Greek for you if you want. Hathe in auto. But I'm not going to get into all that. You don't need that. But the point I'm trying to make is most of your Bibles say more than that.

Most of your Bibles include a subject which is not in the original text because in English we tend to need to supply a subject to help us to understand the function of a verb. The verb has a subject that it's affecting.

Well the main word in this sentence is the word eudokason which is the word was pleased. Was pleased. That's the word eudokason means to be pleased with something. And that's the focal point. And so what it says, it says because in him was pleased all the fullness to dwell.

And you have to immediately say, well who was pleased or what was pleased? What does that mean that something or someone was pleased?

How does it work?

Well I'll read it to you in the ESV. Because this is our pulpit translation. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased. Notice that in the ESV it's personifying the word fullness. Because it doesn't say God was pleased.

It says the fullness of God was pleased. And that actually creates fullness as the subject. Now if I go to the new American Standard Bible which is the Bible that Michael has I believe. Michael Collier.

I don't ever call you Michael.

Then the good one. Notice what his says. For it was the father's good pleasure.

Right?

Am I correct? For it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him. Notice now the pleasure is now focused on the father. But if you look at the original language the word father is not there.

Pater is not there. Neither is the word theos there. So there is no subject in the Greek. And so it's being supplied by the translator. The subject is being supplied. And it's the same way in the King James Version.

Which I know we got represented by my brother Mike Smith. I always have to say your last names. Because if I just say Mike no one would know. But the King James Version says this. It says for it pleased the father that.

Excuse me.

Yeah.

It pleased the father that in him should all fullness dwell.

Correct?

All right.

Just making sure. Because I wrote them all down. I just want to make sure I had them all here. Well I went through every translation. Even the Young's literal translation. Which is probably the most clunky reading translation that exists.

Because it's literally just a literal translation. Even he implants a subject. He says because in him it did please all the fullness to tap. Well I guess not. He didn't include the word God or the word father.

But that's what we have to deal with. What is being pleased? Who is being pleased in this sentence? And you may say. Pastor Keith why are you making such a big deal about this?

Listen.

It matters to me. I hope it matters to you. That we understand what's being said here. Because this sentence is huge. In regard to how we understand who Jesus is. And this whole series has been about the question.

Who is Jesus?

And there's three ways that we can understand this verb. Udo Cason. We can either understand it as applying to Jesus himself. It pleased Jesus that the fullness should dwell in him. That don't work. Constructively and semantically does not work.

Jesus is not the subject. You can make the fullness the subject.

And that's what the ESV does.

For all the fullness of God was pleased. The fullness becomes a subject. And I honestly don't think that works. However I'm going to return to that in a moment. Because there is a way that could work.

So what our translators do is they include a subject. That it would make sense that it would please. And the subject would be God himself. Or in this case. Because when we talk about God in relation to Christ.

We talk about God as father. So we would say it is the father's good pleasure. The father is the one who is pleased. Y 'all with me so far? Boring you? Hope not. Again this is important. The father is pleased.

But what is the father pleased about? By the way that is the way I think it should be translated. I think the NAS for it was the father's good pleasure. I think that's correct. I think the King James for it pleased the father.

I think that's true. So what is it that he's pleased about? If that is in fact the right way to translate it. Which I believe that it is. What is it that he is pleased about? He is pleased that in his son.

That is the in him. All of the fullness should dwell. And you take a step back and you say wait.

That's it?

That's all? That that's what you're making a big deal about? That God is pleased that all the fullness should dwell? But now we ask this very important question. The fullness of what? Because if you don't understand that next part.

What the fullness is. Then one you're not going to understand why it would please the father. And also you're not going to understand why it's going to apply to you in such a dramatic way. So it pleased the father.

That all the fullness. Should dwell in him. So let's talk about that word fullness. Because to us I mean fullness. I mean that's right after a good meal right? That's the fullness?

No.

The word here. Is play Roma. And this word. Indicates more than just what we might think of a jar. That is empty and being filled with something like water or another item. You know you can fill a jar with rocks.

You can fill a jar with sand. You can fill a jar with water. That is not the idea of the fullness here. Because what is being referred to as the fullness. Is something that cannot.

Cannot.

Cannot.

Be encapsulated. Because the fullness. Is the divinity of God himself. Turn to chapter 2. Just for a moment. In chapter 2 verse 9. The apostle Paul. Says almost the exact same sentence. It's interesting because this sentence is.

Constructed almost exactly the same. In fact I could read it to you in the Greek. And read it to you in English. You might not even notice the difference. Except for a key word. Because in chapter 2 verse 9.

It says. For in him. And that's the exact way that chapter 1 verse 19 begins. Hathe in alto. For in him.

The whole fullness.

That's the word play Roma. The whole fullness of what? Now this is going to be different. Different Bibles. Yours says divinity.

Or deity. Deity.

The ESV says deity. Yours says the Godhead. Now I love that. Because we step back and we say wait a minute.

What is that?

What is the Godhead? The Greek word here is an interesting Greek word. It is theotetos. The theotetos is the fullness of God's nature. Now here's the thing about the fullness of God's nature. The fullness of God's nature is infinite.

The fullness of God's nature cannot be encapsulated in a jar. It cannot be encapsulated in a room. It cannot be encapsulated in all of the universe. You realize we live in a universe that is so vast. That we can't even fathom how large that it is.

That our sun as big as it is. According to astronomers our sun is a small star. And compared to some of the larger and more dramatically large stars that exist in the universe. That we among our planets.

All nine of them.

Don't you give him that Pluto business.

It's all nine.

All nine of them.

We're a very small planet. But the fullness of God cannot be contained in earth. It cannot be contained in Neptune. It cannot be contained in Jupiter. It cannot be contained in our sun. And it cannot be contained in the greatest star beyond our sun.

The fullness of God is without end. And yet the fullness of God was pleased. I'm sorry let me back that up because I just contradicted myself. God was pleased that his fullness which is immeasurable. Would find its home in the person of Jesus Christ.

What an amazing thing to consider. What an amazing powerful thing that this man would house. The infinite. That he would have not part of God but the fullness of God. You understand why that matters so much.

Because it says in chapter 2 verse 9. It says the fullness of divinity was held bodily. That in the person of Jesus Christ. The unlimited God. Made his home and dwelt among us. Isn't that what John 1 says?

Doesn't it say that the word became flesh. And dwelt among us. I love the word. It actually is the word tabernacled. He made his abode with us. In the person of Jesus Christ. It pleased the father. That the son would have the fullness of divinity.

In bodily form. I just I can't even. I just just to imagine. Because it doesn't make sense. It's like trying to describe and comprehend with fullness the trinity. That God is one in essence and three in persons.

And these three persons are co-equal co-eternal and distinct. That's what the trinity is. But when we try to really dig down into the crevices of the trinity. We begin to find ourselves in a place that's too high to see.

And too wide to feel. Because it's an amazingly deep subject. So too is the hypostatic union. And by the way don't let that. Don't let big words bother you. Because hypostatic union simply means the union of natures.

The word hypostasis is the word for nature. And the idea of the hypostatic union is the union of natures. That the full nature of God. And the full humanity. Were united in the one person of Jesus Christ.

Not part of God. And not part of man. Jesus was not Hercules. You know the myth of Hercules, right? Hercules was half God, half man. Jesus is not. Please don't ever think that. Don't say Jesus is half God, half man.

Because in both cases you're wrong. He was not partially man. He was fully man. The old Latin father said.

Vera Homo.

Which is Latin for truly man. And then they said Vera Deus. Truly God. Fully man. And in that sense was all that man was ever intended to be. The perfect man. The sinless man. The last Adam. The one who walked among us and showed us what a man is.

Man of men. Not half man. Full man. But also not half God. The text doesn't say the halfness of God was pleased to dwell in Him. Or the portion of God was pleased to find its abode in Him. But it says the fullness of God.

It pleased the Father that His fullness should dwell in the Son. And by the way that word dwell. Ought not escape us either. Because that word dwell. There are two words which are related in the Greek language.

One is the one that is used here. Katoikason is the word that is used here. And there is parakason. And I want you to just for a moment. Think about this verse. It's Genesis 37 verse 1. If you want to make a note of it you can.

I don't.

You don't have to go there. But in Genesis 37 verse 1. If you were to read it in the Greek translation. Which is called the Septuagint. If you were to read it in the Greek translation. Because remember it was written in Hebrew originally.

You would notice it says. Jacob lived. In the land of his father's sojournings. Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings. The word lived comes from the same as katoikason. But the word sojournings is the other word.

Sojourn means to be temporary. We talk about us as being sojourners.

Amen.

Like we're not. Like this is not our home.

Right.

This is a sojourn. We're here until we go to our final home. But katoikason. Is the idea of dwelling permanently. So this is what Genesis 37 it says. Jacob was dwelling permanently. In the land that his father only.

Camped in or sojourned in. So now we bring that idea back to Colossians 1. And we come back to Colossians 1. Where it says. In him. The father was pleased that all fullness should permanently dwell. You see it's not just that the fullness dwelled in Christ.

But the fullness continues to dwell in Christ forever. You understand that Jesus is still the God man. What does 1st Timothy say?

1st Timothy.

Well it says a lot right. Now let me clarify. 1st Timothy says. There is one God and one mediator between God and man.

The what?

The man.

Christ Jesus.

You see when Jesus died and went into the tomb. And he came out three days later. He was the glorified God man. But he was still the God man. And when he ascended into heaven. And he ascended into heaven.

That glorified body was still the glorified God man. And when he took his seat at the right hand of the father. He took his seat as the glorified God man. And he continues to this day as the glorified God man.

Because this fullness that dwelt in him. Doesn't stop dwelling in him. Christ took on flesh for us. And in that glorified state will reside with us forever. The Bible says when we see him as he is. We will be as he is.

Not gods. We don't become gods. But we are glorified. The body you're in now. Is not the same. As the body you're going to have there. But it is the body in the sense that it will be translated. From this world to glory.

This is why when a person dies. What we do with the body is really inconsequential. Because God is going to be able to resurrect bodies. That were died at sea. Or were burned. Or were eaten. Or any of those things.

You know back in the early Christian life. When Christians were fed to lions. And all of those lions digested those Christians. Guess what? Their bodies are just as resurrectable.

New word.

I think I made it up.

Just as resurrectable as anyone else's. Because God is able to give that glorified body. That Christ-like body to us all. So it pleased God. It pleased the Father. That in Christ all the fullness. And I would say all the fullness of deity.

Would dwell.

Now.

That was the text itself. Now I want to build on that idea. And begin to drive home some points. First thing to consider. Is this is written. Probably around AD 60. And as I said in an earlier sermon.

It's likely that this particular section of Paul. May have already been spoken among Christians. It may have been part of the verbal. Tradition of the church. Because it's such a concentrated. It reads as a statement of faith almost.

Like the Christians believed this. So whether or not it was. We know that this particular section. About Jesus. Becomes one of the earliest written sections about Jesus. That is this profound. And you might say.

But wait a minute. Didn't John and his gospel. Write something like. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. Wasn't that just as profound? Yes but understand that came later.

John would have written. The gospel of John. Later than Paul wrote Colossians. So consider for a moment. This would have been among the early church. One of the most profound statements of faith. In regard to Christ.

And one of the earliest.

In regard to who he is. And when John later pens his gospel. When John does sit down to pen. Those words. He writes.

With the same. Tenacity. And the same.

Focus as Paul. In wanting to clarify that we understand. Who Jesus is. So real quick turn over to John. And I want to show you three very important passages. We'll go to the first one which I just mentioned.

But I do want to mention it again. Go to John 1 .1. You can't talk about the. Hypostatic union without at least focusing a bit. On the first chapter of John. Because Paul. I'm sorry John. Gives us in this chapter.

A beautiful. Prologue to his gospel. Which addresses who Jesus is. And again remembering that this came after Paul. And after the writings of Colossians. Rather not after Paul. But after the writings of Colossians.

It's interesting to consider.

That he's saying the same things.

Listen again to John chapter one. In the beginning was the word. By the way that is the Logos. The Logos. Refers in Greek. To the idea of wisdom. To the idea of knowledge. So the Greeks had what they called the divine Logos.

Which is the idea of the divine mind. John is co-opting that term. And using it now in personification of Jesus. Saying that Jesus is this divine mind. Jesus is the divine Logos. In the beginning was the word.

And the word was with God. And the word was God.

Explain that.

That he was both with him. And he was him. What a powerful thought John is saying. Because he is expressing. By the way the only possible way to explain that. Is a Trinitarian way. Those who try to explain that in other ways.

Such as the Jehovah Witnesses. Will always diminish the nature of Christ as divine. The Jehovah Witnesses translated a God. They said Jesus was with God and he was a God. Some kind of lesser deity. Some type of demigod.

No.

Jesus is not a God. The fullness of God dwells in him.

Amen.

So when it says he was with God and he was God. It's saying not partially.

Not partly.

But fully. In the beginning was the word. The word was with God. Because beloved there is a relationship within the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have been in relationship in eternity.

We don't even understand that. I've heard people say God created the world because he was lonely. First of all God doesn't get lonely. A perfect, complete and ultimate being doesn't get lonely. Because that shows a lack.

And if there's one thing God don't do is God don't lack. God did not create the world because he was lonely. He had a full relationship within himself. Father, Son and the Spirit. The God and the word was with God.

But at the same time the third clause in John 1, 1. And the word was God. Actually in Greek it says and God was the word. But it's because of the predicate nominative. We translate it and the word was God.

Notice what it goes on to say. He, that is the divine Logos. He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him. And without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men.

Think back through what we've learned the last four weeks. What Paul has said. In him we live and move and have our being. What does he say? We are sustained in him. We are made for him and by him and by him all things are held together.

John is saying the same thing. Beloved this is a different writer writing at a different time. But writing under the same Holy Spirit giving us the same Jesus. And the fullness of God that Paul proclaimed is here proclaimed again by John.

My point in all of this in case you're missing it. Is don't think for a second that Jesus is only partially God. Because that's not the message the Bible gives us. The Bible says the fullness dwelt in him.

Verse 14 of the same chapter. We talked about it earlier. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory. The glory of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. What an amazing thought.

Now verse 18. No one has ever seen God. But the only God who is at the Father's side. He has made him known. It's John's point to us that we understand the divinity of Christ. The entire first chapter of John cannot be rightly understood if we deny the divinity of Christ.

And by the way this is why it is a good idea. If you're looking for what do I give my unbelieving relatives. Sometimes the gospel of John is a good way to start. Because John writes at the end of his gospel.

These things that I have written were so that you might believe in the Son of God. John begins with the deity of Christ. And he ends with an evangelical proclamation. I wrote this so that you would believe it.

This gospel of John is a tract. These things have been written so that you will believe in the Son of God. Turn over real quick with me to chapter 17. I know I got a lot more and I got a lot to say. We have to start moving quicker.