The Preeminence of Christ — Don Courville

Colossians Establishes Christ’s Preeminence

Colossians chapter 1 and verse starting. Let's just start with verse 9. It's we just have to cut in somewhere and we want to get down to 20 and our key verse pivot verse is going to be 18. Colossians chapter 1 starting in verse 9.

For this cause we also since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light who had delivered us from the power of darkness and had translated us into the kingdom of his dear son in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins.

Who is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him.

And he is before all things and by him all things consist. And our pivot verse. And he is the head of the body the church who is the beginning the firstborn from the dead. That in all things he might have the preeminence.

That in all things he might have the preeminence for it please the father that in him should all fullness dwell and haven't made peace to the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself by him.

I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And we'll just stop there a lot of stuff there. Let's pray now. Father we thank you for the love of God. We thank you for the presence of our God with us.

And father we don't always sense your presence or fill your presence. But we know that you're present and we don't always experience the power of your presence because we are not always one accord or we're out of sorts with you or with somebody else or with ourself.

But I pray this morning that the Spirit of God would would bring upon us a consciousness of your presence and that you would open up our eyes to see you. You would open up our understanding to understand you.

And when we leave here today father I pray that we would have known that God has spoken to us Lord. You use weak people. You use fallible men flawed. You use the weak things of this world. And so we come before you and humble ourself before you that we're we're unworthy.

I'm unworthy. But we thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ which makes us worthy in Christ. You give us a position. And so now we come as your children praising you and worshiping you and honoring you and thanking you that you love us you care for us that you continue to nurse us along.

And we thank you for what you're going to do now in Jesus name amen. Maybe seated. We have been studying doctrine and I'm gonna try not to go use up too much time because I've got quite a bit to share but we've been studying doctrine different doctrines and there were 10 major doctrinal areas that we mentioned way back in the beginning and the one area we haven't touched on and some of these areas we do a little bit on it was ecclesiology which is the study of the church in ecclesiology in studying the church.

You can't study the church without studying the head of the church who is Christ. And anytime we get away from the head of the church we get into trouble we have problems and how this sermon come about.

It's just God just put it like that because my week was just one of these wild weeks and I like to start the first day of the week if I can getting ready for the next Sunday. But by the time Thursday rolled around I saw this is really looking interesting everyday there's something coming up and I'm just giving myself not getting excited.

Okay this has come up and help this and help in that area and and I thought okay I have a message that I was going to preach last week that I didn't that I prepared and I'll just do it today. And so when I went to find it Friday finally got a little time Friday before my Friday got blown to pieces and I couldn't find it.

I looked all over my office. I went into the living room back in there and looked all over come back. I went through everything three or four times and I couldn't find it. And I finally began to think well Lord maybe you are trying to say something different.

He spoke to me about something earlier in the week and so I finally Saturday morning one more wild effort couldn't find it. Okay Lord I surrender. I will I will pursue the thing you showed me earlier in the week and as soon as I surrendered that I found it but I didn't go back.

So okay I think you want us to do this. And as I got into it yesterday I began to see something that is simple. I was telling when the men here is simple but it's so important in relation to the church that if we miss it we get into a lot of trouble.

And so what I'm going to talk to you about our key verse was Colossians 118. I'm going to talk to you about the preeminence of Christ. Who's the head of the church Christ is. And here's I got off into this.

I was reading some stuff from a theologian and I want to read you this statement because he jolted me. It just jolted me when I realized how simple but yet how powerful how true it is. And I'm gonna read you this statement.

You may not agree with it but it's got a lot of important truth to it. There may be some things to discuss. There are a lot of details but listen here's what he said. Government of the church by the ministry of the word does not mean government by the ministers of the word.

As head Christ exercises a lordship over the church which does not set him at such a distance that some kind of subordinate lordship can arise on the contrary. As head he is never without the members that constitute his body.

Rule in the church belongs to the head. You got that rule in the church belongs to the head himself where therefore Christ is given his place there the church which is his body may be said to obtain the kingdom.

And we know the kingdom of God. Romans 1417 said it's righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This is to be the kingdom of the church. Righteousness and peace and joy and other things are there.

But when Christ is preeminent in the church there's going to be some things there. And then he said for Christ which is nothing in separation from his members. Now our wheels turning are we having thoughts come in.

How often do we think that elders are supposed to run the church. Some places think deacons are supposed to run the church. I've been to some churches where the women think they are supposed to run the church and I've seen guys that had a lot of money they thought they were supposed to run the church and and of course I've seen a lot of preachers that thought they are supposed to run the church.

But who is supposed to run the church. Christ he's the head of the church that doesn't negate or set aside our different giftings that we do. And if you look at the positions that come up to have more leadership or prominent positions like deacons or elders or pastors or whatever you take them to what Christ said and you're getting put into the level of being a servant and a slave.

Years ago I read a book about the church in China and the communists had come into this commune where Christians had gathered together to try to survive and they work together. And the communists come in there because this community was a real testimony to their theory of communism.

It was working. Christianity was working in communism wasn't working and they could see communism right there and Christ was the reason. And so they wanted to find the pastor and and so they told there he goes and they look over there and here he goes.

He's going along there pushing a wheelbarrow. His job in the commune to work together was to go around and sweep up all the dung from the donkeys and the horses and the cows that would go around whatever.

That was his job and that was the way they operated. Whoever had the higher positions spiritually so to say got the lowest job in the whole camp. Now who's the head of the church. Christ. Now I'll tell you what got me off onto this too from a scripture.

And it was third John 1 9 and we know about this John. John was praising Gaius and telling all the things nice things about him. And then he hits. One other fell in the church. I wrote into the church but dr. Fez who love it a doctor fees who love it to have the preeminence among them receive with us not.

Wherefore if I come I will remember his deeds which he do it pratting against us with malicious words and not content therewith. Neither does he himself receive the brethren and forbid it them that would and cast it them out of the church.

Dr. fees didn't go along with this idea of Christ being the preeminent one in the church he thought he should be the preeminent one in the church. I did a little. I looked up his name. It meant nourished nourished by Jovi.

And there are two national gods if I understand it. My last year my senior year in in Bible college I really about blew my average because we had to take a course on philosophy and everything inside of me resisted that and rebelled against it.

And I didn't get a good grade. I didn't want to go into that stuff with my mind. But you had to to graduate and it really hurt my average. I just barely passed it because I just didn't like it. I didn't like studying it.

But the national God for the Romans was Jupiter and for the Greeks was Zeus. This guy's basic name. They should have changed his name if he was a Christian again because that meant to be strengthened or nourished by by this national God.

But preeminence means to be first very simple. And he desired the preeminence. He loved to have the preeminence. And we go back to Isaiah 1412. We know where the root of this came from. When somebody else said I will I will I will I will.

I'm going to be like God. Let me share something with you. I thought that was really interesting. I went over. I wondered what did dr. J Vernon McGee say about diatrophies. Would you believe in his commentary.

He took to whole pages to talk about this guy. I thought that's amazing. In this whole study of the Bible of five volumes you've seen his volumes two pages to cover this guy. And let me just give you a little rundown of his evaluation of him.

I think you'll be amused. He said contrast him with Gaius. But he was a delighted brother. But here is diatrophies. He's a dictator. He opposed John. He's not hospitable. He's going to get his way. He puts on airs.

He's pretentious. He's vainglorious. He stretches a peacock. He's puffed up. He comes in a blaze of self-glory. He tries to control the pastor. He self opinionated self-sufficient self exalting self admiration.

Nice guy in the self-will self-satisfied self-confident. He could do it all he could teach he could preach. He could run everything. And he thinks he can. And he's gonna try if he can. Who would not bow.

Whoever would not bow down to him. This I added in myself. He would not want them around if they wouldn't bow down to him. And he wants to run the church. And dr. McGee said or it's a little click in there.

They want to run the church he said if what quote I have watched such people wreck church after church and he said I've met mrs. diatrophies many times. He's probably met her and he and he said and John when he got there said he would deal with him because dr. fees didn't think anybody would oppose him.

And he said he reminded us that John was a son of thunder. And quote he said if you want to wreck a church just have a man like this or a little group like this and you will wreck the church. Do you want the preeminence in the church.

I don't. I don't. You don't know how many times I would like to get out of the way and go and run. And would have if God wouldn't tear me to pieces. And it's to come up into this type of position. You should only do that if God is doing it it's a scary place to be.

And I have ran my first church. I ran who's to have it Jesus. I went into a church you know I traveled around for a few years doing some revival ministry. I went into a church out in Arizona and usually when this evangelist revivalists would be invited in and I would go in ahead of time be there a few days or a week or whatever and sort of look the place over save him a lot of trouble.

And so I went into this one church and they they had a building that was seat belt like this about 400 people and it was half empty or half full whichever of nature you are pessimists it'd be half empty but anyway they had a battle going there.

The pastor wanted them. This is typical stuff that goes on wanted them to move the church out into the suburbs where all the people had went because this was downtown Phoenix in that area and and a lot of people moved away.

It was not a nice place to be. I remember you you parked outside the church you locked the car you ran inside for 30 seconds you come back out and unlocked your car. It wasn't safe. But the old-timers some of them they wanted to stay there.

They'd been there who knows 40 50 years or whatever. And so they had this battle and they were needing revival and so it goes on. And I was thinking about this this week. Couldn't that have been solved if they would let Christ be preeminent and all they would do is lay down their way and their wishes and come in prayer and fasting and seek the Lord what he wanted.

This is the way the church is to operate with Christ being preeminent. Let me go over some things with you Colossians. I want to say this about Colossians. Colossians was coming out of a problem with false teachers who had gained a foothold in the church and they were wanting to get the preeminence.

False Teachers and the Sufficiency of Christ

If you go back to Colossians chapter 2 and verse 8 beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. I was going to share with you a couple of the main philosophies that there's trying to get in there but you don't want to know about it.

Neither one of them were good but two basic philosophies were trying to control this area and he said beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. Trying to get this into the church after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.

Christ in the church is to be preeminent and this was not according to the Lord Jesus Christ for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power.

Not only is he the head of the church he's head of the whole shebang. He's God in the flesh nothing happens that he doesn't isn't aware of and he's the Lord. But in the church he is to not only be the Lord but he is to be preeminent lead the Lord of everything that goes on.

And when we make decisions that has not been based on prayer and seeking the will of God. Guess who becomes preeminent we do now. I don't know if it's going to get a little rough this morning or not. But it was an interesting day yesterday as God began to show me these things and over in my corner praying and weeping as God is showing me my failure in years.

Oh Lord I see I see I see so many things. Now what I want to do questions is directing our attention to the head. It's really focusing on Christ as the head of it of the body and the body is to be secondary.

Christ is to be the theme and he's a sinner. If I were to I was going to get a overhead and put it up here and draw you some things. One thing I draw wheel and we'd have a big wheel with the hubs and with a hub in the center and the spokes going out now how good does a will work without a hub.

It doesn't work. That's the same way the church is without Christ being the hub. It doesn't work if he is not preeminent. Oh we don't need this hub. In the middle of this thing all your spokes fall out you will collapse.

You can't hook it to anything. Okay now. Ephesians on the other hand is about the body with a head and that's very important. Let me I'm gonna take you back over to Ephesians and basically I'm gonna try to stay with Colossians but I'm gonna go back to Ephesians every now and then because Ephesians talks about Christ being the head also Ephesians 4 the whole chapter 4 is really good all the way down to 16 in this area.

But I want to just right now pick up one verse 15. But speaking the truth and love may grow up into him in all things which is the head. Even Christ coming back up to 11 he gives some gifted people to the church and there to perfect the Saints in 12 for the work of the ministry.

If you've ever stopped if you ever stop and think about all the things that we do that the church does that's not even mentioned in the Bible that has no biblical basis. It might shock you all the things that are done that and especially today we're really getting Wow matter of fact we're just going back into Satan's realm.

But he comes down in 15 saying all these things that we're to grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ. So Ephesians is about the body with a head. And of course 16 goes into from whence the whole body coming from the head.

If I had my thing I could draw a body with a head. But 16 from whence the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that whichever joint supply it according to the effectual working in the measure of every part make it the increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Now we're going to say some things about the body and the head in connection. Let me go back over to 1 Ephesians 1 and pick up again on something Ephesians 1 if you're there with me. And there's other verses to 17 coming on down.

Just good that the God of our Lord Jesus the father of glory may give it to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes you understand and all these things. But look at where was it 22.

I wanted to go and had put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. You mean the building committee. I was just talking to the pastor back earlier this year.

He's got problems. If you can ever imagine that he's got problems. He's got problems with a guy that he got in to be over the educational department. He's got problems with the building committee. And he's got probably.

And you know what he said. My this guy I got in here. I read and I remember when he was pushing to get him in. I don't know if you should be pushing so hard on this thing. And now he said this guy would not work with me.

He does his own thing. And he said not only that they were redoing their whole church. The whole building committee is doing whatever they want. They redid his office and you know it's nice to have your desk.

There's no lights around anywhere. They never asked him if he'd like to have a light. You know I have to get you an extension cord and maybe run went over and he said didn't even ask me. And who's running the show.

Well this little group over here is running this area and this group here is running this area and he's trying to do his. And I've been thinking who's to be running the church. Christ now 119 of Colossians said that he is to be preeminent.

He is to be preeminent and there's a two little words all things all things. And also I would see this in other places. Everything in all things he is to be preeminent. I think that we have sometimes got so used to running our lives without Christ being preeminent that we can just do fine without him.

Are we really doing fine. I want to do something. I did a little a little thing for myself. I just went back through. Well if we go through the book of Acts was he preeminent. And I picked on back up to the Gospels in Luke in Luke 24 49 Christ gave instruction Terry he in the city of Jerusalem and John 21 22 he told Peter to follow me.

He's given instruction. You come on over to Acts chapter 1 and for he commanded them. They commanded them to wait. And if you go through the book of Acts it was really interesting. I just went through there just watching.

Well was Christ preeminent. And he was. They were checking with him. They were listening to the Holy Spirit. They were meeting together. You can tell he was he was there. There's several evidences of the preeminence of Christ.

And I went down through there and only went down to like chapter 16 then I quit. But like they chose men. They chose the men for this and they prayed until the Spirit of God gave them direction and the Holy Ghost said to do this.

And they're trying to go over into Galatia and the Holy Spirit will not let them. The Holy Spirit is operating with the preeminence of Christ and they had to go over to Macedonia. Okay the Lord was preeminent in the early church.

And by the way what happened when Ananias and Sapphira come along. They didn't just buck the church. They were bucking God. They were lying to the Holy Spirit. They were lying to God. They were trying to get the preeminence and look pretty good then that's what it is to make yourself look good.

And of course they got burnt and buried. I want to share with you several things now what it means for Christ to be preeminent. And as I kept going I had about six. I even picked up a couple more this morning and so by the time I'm done I've got 11 I got 12 and they all start with P.

But let me tell you you can do this and pick another letter and you can look at the scripture in and you can begin to see how the preeminence of Christ will produce areas having to do with a certain letter.

Well I'm gonna just take the letter P when Christ is preeminent from Colossians chapter 1 in verse 20. And having made peace through the blood of his cross is the first place when Christ becomes your Savior he becomes preeminent in your life and that's because of the blood of Christ and he is preeminent.

And not only that but if Christ is preeminent in the church there's going to be peace in the church. He's not going to let a bunch of stuff go on if he's preeminent but there's something about his working.

He's so delicate he'd just back off. We're going to fight. Ok you guys can just fight. But if he is preeminent and what I mean by him being preeminent is that he is Lord and he's running the show. It's going to be peaceful.

So if it's not peaceful who's running the show? Dr. Feats. By the way yeah Dr. Feats is characteristic of the world the flesh and the devil and Satan is actually it's God running our life for Satan. He loves Dr. Feats and he loves Ms. Dr. Feats.

You've never experienced anything until you've been chewed out by a Ms. Dr. Feats and I've had it happen. Whoa my eyes get big. Whoa boy that poor husband of this woman. My that's really quite an experience.

Something like climbing down in a volcano. Lot of fun. When you get out there's peace. But let me tell you something else. There's some really neat things that come along with the preeminence of Christ.

There is provision when Christ is along and he is preeminent. Look in the book of the Gospels they're going along and they have God himself walking along in the body with them. And the disciples are looking around at this crowd and said hey there's not enough food to feed this bunch.

But he is preeminent. He's in charge. What problem. What do you got. Oh we got a few fish. When Christ is preeminent there will be provision. And if he lets something go tight if he makes things get tight for us like he does sometimes with the children of Israel in the wilderness it's so that he can come back and show us that he is sufficient to provide.

So if he is preeminent how many churches have killed themselves because they've run out of money. We run to the bank. Would you give us some money please. Christ is not preeminent. And we got to keep our program going.

Oh we won't look good or I'll lose my job. We gotta we gotta look prestigious in the community. If he is preeminent he will provide. If Christ is preeminent you'll never come up short unless he's got a reason for it.

And by the way here's something neat. Philippians 419. You know how we like to quote that verse. My God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. That word supply is the same word.

It is the same word. It means full. It's it's complete. And by the way I don't know if I tell you Colossians 2 10 and ye are complete in him. That's the same word. When he is preeminent we are complete.

We're full. We have the head. But you take the head off your body and you're going to get missing. You're going to be missing communication systems gone. Heart doesn't work right. Lungs don't begin to work right.

Your arms won't work right. Your feet won't work right. What's wrong. Well the body's been severed from the head. Spiritually speaking if Christ is not preeminent in the church it's spiritual suicide.

You take our head. Christ often said we're operate without you. They'd like a chicken with their head cut off. That's the way we operate. Here's something else. Listen to this when Christ is preeminent and by the way this carries over into our life these things.

If he's preeminent in the church we'll have these evidences also have these things in our life. Here's another one. There's purpose Colossians 2 10 and year complete in him which is the head of all principality and power.

When Christ is preeminent then we operate under his purpose. He's the director he's the head he's in charge. And so what happens. As long as the body is connected to the head it has purpose. But you take the head off the body.

The body doesn't have any purpose anymore. It's dead. And spiritually speaking this is what happens when we do not let Christ be preeminent in our fellowship. And it's to be the most gentle flowing life.

I've only experienced that probably in such a powerful way. Once in my life in Christ is showing me. And we lost it at 18 months. It was a incredible experience. When Christ is preeminent in the devil then come in to try to blow it up.

And he did. But purpose purpose. Here's something else. And by the way when the disciples they were given we went over the discipleship methods of Christ go teach and make disciples. This is what that was the purpose.

And we're going to come back to this how this ties together in a minute. But prayer. And of course we know prayer. If Christ is preeminent we'll pray. Because prayer is nothing more than fellowship with our head.

How many times do have we tried to operate in our personal life or our church life without prayer. But look in the book of Acts it looked like everything they were doing was coming out of prayer. Why is because Christ was preeminent.

They were checking with the head. It's like Miro said one time he had so much to do that day he had to spend three hours in prayer. What is he doing. He was checking with the with his head. And that's so prayer Colossians 4 to while you're there in Colossians what's he say.

And this I say. I say to that their hearts might. Whoops I got to go over by focus or not focused right for to continue in prayer and watching the same with Thanksgiving. Once we stop continuing prayer as a church we are disconnected from the head.

Praying is just staying connected with the head. He's in charge. He's to be working and where to be working with him. And vision 618 you go over there. How often do you pray. Well I think you ought to pray three four times a day.

The scripture says always in everything in prayer Philippians and everything in prayer. First church we went in it was nothing. I mean they scrounged around and got three families together and we come in there and God began to bless and to begin to grow.

We had people coming and after a couple years I noticed something that we were getting people in. But there wasn't hardly anybody that liked to come out and pray. I said Lord this is not right. There's something wrong.

Would you send me some people to pray. And people began to come. Hey when's prayer meeting. That Wednesday night. But also at that point we began to have some opposition. Same old thing warfare. So if you're going to be connected with your head the Lord Jesus Christ he's going to be preeminent.

It's just like I was talking with the pastor who God is working in his area. People are getting saved in the community and and they're reaching out to drug addicts. And it's just amazing. What's going on.

It's a touch of revival. And and he said and I said you got any problems. Oh my I have been having some opposition. I said whoa great praise the Lord. I was worried for a little bit there that and and then he told me a couple deacons you know what I'm gonna do with these.

We don't we don't have the finances to handle these problems people you know. And he worked with him and brought him along. And then another one got out of sorts and he brought him along. And both these men confess their wrongness.

But it was Christ who was working. And if we're not careful we can work against Christ. Oh you want to get into trouble. Well I give myself unto prayer. David said. And Jesus said my house shall be called house of fun and games.

Basketball volleyball. You we got a skating rink. We got it all when you pray. Oh well we have an opening prayer Wednesday nights and a closing prayer. What more do you need. We got youth groups. We got it all when you pray.

What's that is Christ preeminent. Here's something else now this one's neat. I shouldn't get. So I've got to keep going. I'm getting hung up too long on these and I may even have more than 12 by the time I'm done.

I did see some more. But listen here's this a neat one. When Christ is preeminent there is pleasure. There is pleasure. There's joy. You said where'd you get that. I don't know. Let's see. Where did I get that.

Colossians 119. For it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness of dwell. And 18 it said in all things that he might have the preeminent. Since I began to look on that I said Lord there is there is great pleasure in your presence.

And when you were preeminent in my heart and in the church it's a real pleasant thing. Like when the oil ran down it was just a pleasing thing because it was a testimony of the saturating presence of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 119. It pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness dwell. Go back over to verse 10. That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. When he is preeminent we want to please him.

If we are out of sorts we want to please ourself. That it that you might walk worthy of the Lord into all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God strengthened with all might according to his glorious power into all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.

And I want to say this about about this. David said that will show me the path of life. And in thy presence is fullness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures evermore. What more of a blessing could you have than to have Jesus himself present in your fellowship.

It's a very pleasant thing to experience. Even in the book of Acts in chapter 5 it was very pleasing to the community around. But they wouldn't even join the Christians because they were afraid they knew that they were not right with God.

But it was a pleasant thing to have them around. And the fragrance and the presence and the preeminence of Christ drew people not to the church. Come to my church. Come to my. We got the best band in town.

No they were drawn to Christ. If they don't get to Jesus they won't make it anywhere. That's profitable. The church is to be a drawing power to not itself its buildings. We got the biggest buildings in the world.

We can hose 500 ,000 people. Is Christ preeminent. Yes. Well great. But if he's not preeminent who's getting the glory you are. It's very pleasant. Let me say a couple things on this. I'll move to the next one.