Superiorities in Christ — Ken Baird

Christ’s Supremacy in Colossians 1

Tonight I'd like to refer you to the 1st chapter of Colossians, Colossians chapter 1. And I think I'll just break in, Paul's sentences are so long, oh I think we can begin at verse 9. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will, and all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye 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, and of 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 life, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin, 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 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, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.

And having made peace through 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. Tonight I would like to consider eight superiorities of Christ.

The Eight Superiorities of Christ

Eight superiorities of Christ. Now, not too long ago, and I can't remember just how long ago, I took up with you seven glories of Christ as revealed in Ezekiel chapter 1. If you recall that study perhaps.

Those wonderful things that are spoken of our Lord Jesus. Well, I used to have seven here and I had to add the eight, so that's, well, my perfect number. But that's all right. If it's true of the Lord, I want to talk about it.

Christ as the Revealing, Creating, and Sustaining One

Now, these things are found at the beginning of verse 15. With the image of the invisible God, here we have Christ as the revealing one. You'll understand what that means a little later. The firstborn of every creature, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth.

We have the creating one. Visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And by him all things, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The marginal reading in some Bibles has it, by him all, and he is before all things, and by him all things hold together. And so he is the sustaining one. Now this is logical progression. He creates the universe and then he sustains it.

Christ as the Uniting, Living, Preeminent, and Reconciling One

Then we read in verse 18, 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 preeminent. Here, as the head of the body, the church, and you'll understand this a little better later.

He is the uniting one. And then, the firstborn from the dead, he is the living one, the life-giving one. That in all things he might have the preeminent, he's the preeminent one. And then in verse 19, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell, he is the glorified one.

Then verse 20, and having made peace through 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. Here we have him as the reconciling one.

Eight superiorities of Christ. They're very, very full. This is a tremendous portion of scripture. I've always been thrilled by the way the Apostle Paul, of course led by the spirit of God, can pack into such a short space so much truth about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now here's something that is very precious to me in this portion of scripture. We have verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet the departures of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

And then from here on out, our Lord is not referred to except by personal pronouns. Now this is interesting, because the antecedent is his dear Son. Now for every one of those pronouns, you can just substitute the words if you want to, his dear Son.

It's very, very precious. We have he, and him, and his, and each and every individual case just substitutes the words his dear Son. That's the antecedent in each of these instances. Now notice, please, the superiorities of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God.

He is the revealing one. God is now known. He is the image of the invisible God. We know God now. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is almost like the first chapter of Hebrews. And yes, there are distinguishing characteristics between this, it's just a burst of praise. You recall the first two, first three verses of the first chapter of 1 Peter, speaking of the superiorities of Christ.

And the theme verse of the epistles of Hebrews is the word better. And Christ is superior, he's better than all of these others. Well here we have the same kind of truth, just hitting us with all its force in the first chapter of Colossians.

God just wants us, he just overwhelms us, so to speak, with a wave of glory concerning our Lord Jesus. It's just hard to find more about the Lord in a few words, any place in the Scriptures. So he is the image of the invisible God, and I think I will refer you to Hebrews chapter 1 in this respect.

Hebrews chapter 1, I'll just run through these, these superiorities of Christ. Verse 2, well, verse, God who at sundry times and in violent marriage, taking time to pass unto the father by the prophet, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, alright, he's the Son, whom we have appointed heir of all things, he's also the heir, by whom also he made the world, he's the creator, who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, there he's the revealer, and upholding all things by the word of his power, you see the similarity between the two?

He's the sustainer, when he had by himself purged our sin, he's the redeemer, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, as our great high priest, because so much of the time in the book of Hebrews we have him sitting in his office as our great high priest.

Now, notice please who is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. Now, man was created in the likeness and in the image of God that he destroyed, that that was destroyed by sin.

But here is the one who is the image. Now, there is a difference between a likeness and an image. A likeness resembles, but the image represents. And our Lord Jesus Christ is the image, he is the essence, he is the effulgence, he is the shining out of the glory of God.

And back in Colossians chapter 1, who is the image of the invisible God? He is the word, the word capitalized, the logo, the complete expression of God. I know what God is like now. There was one time when I think it was Nathanael wasn't it, that asked the Lord, show us the father in it, it was twice a thousand.

And the Lord says, Nathanael have I been long? I'm going to check on that, I wouldn't want to attribute that to somebody that it's, that I think it's Nathanael. Have I been so long time with you and you've not seen the father?

He's, no it's Philip. Philip saith unto him, I'm mixing up the first chapter and this chapter. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father in it, it suffices us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you?

And thou hast not known me, Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen the father. And how sayest thou then, show us the father? He was the complete outshining of the father. I know what the father is like, because I've seen Christ.

And he, he redeems the father. Now this is wonderful as far as you and I are concerned. Because it is hard, in an abstract sense, to comprehend the spirit. And God is the spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

But our Lord Jesus Christ could be seen, handled, felt. He was a man. Now, that makes him so much more accessible. You know, I think that God did such a wonderful job in the Garden of Eden, because he knew that in the coming days his son would be a man just like Adam.

Set apart. And he did a good job because he wanted his son in that image. And incidentally, he didn't do a bad job on you and me. I think he just did a wonderful job. And you start to think of him through the creation of so many.

But, particularly, our Lord Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. Now that is significant. God is invisible. But Christ wasn't. You see, God gave us something to see and know and feel. And we don't know how to be thankful enough for that wonderful truth.

Christ Incarnate and the Revelation of God

Christ incarnate. Now, we think of Christ as being made incarnate for the sole purpose of redeeming us from our sins. He was given a body so that he could die. Well, I think we're very selfish in that, really.

But I think God wants us to be selfish sometimes. After all, when David says, the Lord is my shepherd, he will permit that selfishness, won't he? Yes, of course. We want to appropriate the Lord and all his glory.

But, now think of it if you will. He wants to be known and he revealed himself to you and to me. Now we think, we think that he was made flesh solely for the purpose of our redemption. That's not true.

That's not true. It's part of it, certainly. Certainly it's part of it. That is, we might know God, we might see him. That language is used advisedly, who is the image of the invisible God. Aren't you glad that that verse is there?

He's the image of the invisible. I know what the Godhead is like me. I've seen Christ. I don't think we're not, I don't think we can be thankful enough that he did become incarnate. Because he knows all of us.

Even as Philip. I was thinking in the Samuel in the first chapter that I got mixed up there. So, Philip's the father and it's the fight with us. And I think Philip is speaking sincerely. And the Lord says, you don't need him.

You've seen him. If you've seen him, you've seen God. All right. So he's the revealing one. Now he is the creating one. The firstborn of every creature. And by him were all things created, or by him, were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be law or dominion or principality or power, all things were created by him and for him.

Christ the Creator and the Worship of Creation

He is the creating one. And you know, I think he did such a wonderful job. I'm thankful for good eyesight. I love this universe. I love the sunset. I love the flowers. I love the mountains. I love the blue sky.

I love this, of the many, many things that he's created. Didn't he do a superb job? I think that if anybody in all the world can appreciate this verse, verse 16, they ought to be a Christian. They ought to be the Christian that realizes that my Lord made all these things and he was well pleased with what he made.

Well now, God is well pleased with what he made. I am too. And I think he did a wonderful, wonderful job. And we haven't seen anything yet. Wait until the millennium. Wait until the new heaven and the new earth.

He's the creator. He made them all. He spoke the world and the existence by the word of his power. And this is all spoken of Christ. His dear son. Well, this is a wonderful, wonderful creation. The fourth chapter, the fourth chapter of Revelation, and in the fifth chapter, and this is probably been brought to your attention many times, in the fourth chapter of Revelation we have the worship that is generated when we consider the creation.

And then in the fifth chapter we have the worship that is generated when we consider the new creation or redemption. But, believe me, the angels worshiped. Simply because of God's creation. And I recall as a child, I recall as a child of worshiping, now this was before I knew the Lord, I was made to worship God for the wonder of his creation.

Just to lay on my back on a spring day and see the clouds, the female clouds float over and the birds fly by, I worshiped God. My admiration for him just went out to him. I worshiped. Psalm 19 tells you that you don't need the Bible to worship God.

There are voices heard in all the earth. What is it? His creation. Don't seek an atonement. I think that any Christian should be well equipped to admire and to enjoy the beauty of the creation of our Lord Jesus, creating power.

Christ the Sustainer of the Universe

Now he not only created this universe, but he sustains it. And he is before all things, you know, you know the physical, logical progression. And he is before all things, he's the antecedent of all things.

The firstborn, as it's put in verse 15, the source of life. This is closely allied to the first chapter of John's Gospel, incidentally. He is before all things, he's the antecedent of all things. And by him all things consist for a whole together.

We have the same truth in the first chapter of Hebrews. They hold together. Now, I'm not here to deliver a lecture on physics, but each atom is composed by a nucleus and electrons that revolve around that center.

Around that center. Now, those electrons revolve around that center at the rate of 4 quadrillion times a second. Now that's inconceivable. You just, your mind will drift. Those electrons revolve around that center, 4 quadrillion times a second.

That creates some centrifugal force. You remember that in school? If you don't remember it in school, remember when you tied a string on a rock? And you swung that thing around and around over your head and it let loose.

And that thing went up into the wild blue yonder, trailing that string, flopping around. Well, it went up there because of your centrifugal force. You whirled it around and around and around and around.

And the faster you whirled it, the more you let loose, the higher it went. And I suppose that maybe you whirled it around, maybe two or three hundred times a minute. I don't know. Depends on the length of the string.

But think of a particle rotating at the rate of 4 quadrillion times a second. Think of the centrifugal force that is there. Now, man, in a very limited way, did release some of this centrifugal force.

When he released the atom bomb, and the hydrogen bomb, and the cobalt bomb. Who holds it together? Who holds the whole thing together? By him, all things consist. By him, all things hold together. He created it.

He sustained it. He didn't create it to simply let it go on its wild course, and just take chance as it came. No, he ordered it. And this universe is orderly, very orderly. There's a clock, there's a clock in Boulder, Colorado called the atomic clock.

I may have told you about that clock. If I did, don't stop me, I want to tell you again. That clock, time, gives us correct time by the rotation of those electrons around an atom. You look at that clock, and that is the last thing you think it was, was a clock.

Because there are tubes, and dials, and chambers all over the place, all over this room. I saw it. They allowed us to see in there. That is now, incidentally, the standard of the time of the world. It used to come out of Greenwich.

It used to come out of Annapolis, Maryland, at the Naval Academy. Does not any longer. It comes out of Boulder, Colorado. And then it broadcast to the world through a station that the dear Christian brother built.

He was an R .S .M .A. in Boulder. He built the station. And that sent out that time signal all over the world. Now that atomic clock is so accurate, that had it begun in the time of Christ, it would not yet be more than one or two seconds in 2 ,000 years.

Now what is the timing? The timing is that little tiny electron. Now that's how stable, and that's how constant it is. Christ created that. The structure of an atom, I said I don't want to make this a lecture in physics.

I don't. But this thrills me. But that little atom is as constant in its reaction. You ordinarily think of little things as being all more or less erratic. Big things are much steadier. Not so many atoms.

The course of that little atom is just as constant as the rotation of the earth around the sun. And the earth is always on time. And that little atom, within the atom, is just as constant. And Christ is the creator of every atom.

And he holds us together by his own power. I don't appreciate this to the full. And I don't even use. It's here. It's here. He is the sustaining one. And he is before all things. He's the antecedent of all things.

And by him all things consist. All things hold together. And his hand is over us all. And we don't need to be afraid that man is going to explode the universe by the atom bomb. We can't do a thing that the Lord doesn't permit.

Christ the Head of the Church

And he is head of all, of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminent. Now in, as being the head of the body, now I suppose, I suppose that you could find a number of different things.

You could find different ways of describing that. But I'm going to use the phrase, he's the uniting one. He's the one that unites. As far as the physical creation is concerned, he holds us together. As far as the church is concerned, he holds us together.

But he unites us. And I think that we can see this very plainly. Now I'm going to allow you, if you can find a better one, if you find a better one, let's see. The caption for that phrase, and he is head of the body, the church, he is the head of the body, the church.

I'm going to call it the uniting one because of the scripture that is found in Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2, verse 11,. Wherefore, remember that ye be in time past, and thou in the flesh, you are called on circumcision, by that which is called de-circumcision, and the flesh made by hand.

That at that time ye were without Christ, in Galileans, in the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now ye Gentiles, you on circumcision, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

For, and that conjunction of course connects it with what has gone before, for he is our he who hath made all one, ye Gentiles, and hath broken down the middle wall of petition which soon us, ye Gentiles, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself a plain one new man.

So, making peace, for this he is the head and the dentist, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the cross, and in slaying the enmity thereby, and came and preached to you which were far off, and to them that were nigh, the far off would be the Gentiles, and to them that are nigh, the Jewish people, for through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father.

He is the uniting one. He unites the Jew and the Gentile. The church is composed of Jew and Gentiles, and he unites us, having slain the enmity when he died on the cross, the law of commandments that was against us.

The Trinity and the Mystery of the Church

Now in verse 18, we have one of the largest verses in the Bible. There are only 13 words, but I wanted to show you what's there. For through him, that's Christ, we both have access by one spirit unto the Father.

You have the trinity in that verse. There are very, very few verses in the Bible where you have the whole trinity mentioned in one verse. Did I say the least? Thank you, thank you. I'll tell you what I may have done.

When I was looking for Ephesians, I may have gone by Galatians, so what do I say? When I look at the word, what do I do? I say it. It's Ephesians, sorry. Now, I don't think that, I think probably the most of you were reading, were following me, were you?

It's E, not E, or Ephesians, or you should have done it. Okay, okay. I won't need to read it again. Thanks, thank the Lord. I can't believe sometimes that I do those things until I monitor my faith through the radio broadcast, and then I say, why can't I do those things?

And thank the Lord I can change those faiths and put them in the right books. At this time I wasn't monitoring myself because I didn't have time. Now, verse 18 of Ephesians chapter 2, For through him, that's Christ, we both, you and Gentiles, have access by one spirit unto the Father.

Now there are some tremendous prepositions in that verse. Through him, by one spirit, unto the Father. Now that's the whole order of our relationship to God. And we both, takes in both Jew and Gentile.

Now imagine, if you will, getting both Jew and Gentile, and all three members of the Trinity, in one verse, with 13 words. And there they are. Now, God has given you and me the privilege of being with the Jew in that church.

Because the church is one new thing, and I could have gone to the third chapter of Ephesians and I don't believe I did. So where it speaks to the fact, the mystery of the church. Paul says, well we might, we're there.

Let's look at the third chapter. He says in verse 6, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of grace of God, given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Well, verse 6 gives the composition of the church. That's the mystery. That's the mystery, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.

Now, as the head of the church, he's the uniting one. He unites the Jew and the Gentile together in that church. They have one head. Now I realize, and I haven't given it to myself, that when you link Christ with the church, you can go beyond that one phrase, the uniting one, because think of all his relations with the church.

But I've chosen it, and I'm just going to leave it with you. It brings before us, when we say, now I'm back in Colossians chapter 1, and he is the head of the body, the church, he is the uniting one. He's the living one, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

Christ the Living and Preeminent One

I like this. He's the living one, and he says, because I live, you shall live also. Who came into that church because he was the living one. The firstborn from the dead. And I suppose that we would have to say here, the firstborn is the preeminent.

We're thinking of the preeminent ones in connection with the church. He's the wave's chief in connection with, he is the first proof. The first proof as far as the church is concerned. He's resurrected first.

And because he was resurrected, we will be resurrected because he is the living one. We are in him, and we are going to live forever as he is. Now, he is also, in verse 18, the preeminent one. That in all things, he might have the preeminent.

I think of another verse in Ephesians, and this time it is Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1. That's exactly what I did a while ago. I turned up Galatians and when I saw the word, I said it. Ephesians chapter 1.

And where do you break in in Paul's sentences? Verse 8. Wherein hath he abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained and inherit, and so on.

Now, Garvey, and I like Garvey's translation of verse 10 very much. That in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might head up all things in Christ. I like that translation. That he might head up all things in Christ.

Now, this is what that means to me. Christ is going to be the head of everything. Now we talk about the business world. We talk about the educational world. We talk about the music world. We talk about all the different worlds.

And of the people that are prominent in those worlds. In that day everything is going to be headed up in Christ. That in all things he might have the preeminence. He's going to be the center of everything.

Now I think that this will certainly take place during the millennium. And I think it's going to carry on into eternity. That in all things he might have the preeminence. Now, here is a thought that I like in connection with the 18th verse.

Now, we have been considering in verses 15, 16 and 17, the material creation. And it's wonderful. I think it is wonderful. We have seen him as the revealing one, the creating one, the sustaining one. Revealing the character of God even in creation.

It won't go into the type and the reflections of what God is by his creation. But we do find in the scriptures that he's the lamb of the child of Jesus. We find out he's the lamb of God. Those animals bring forward to us characteristics of Christ.

And he's the rose of Sharon, suggesting his beauty and pregnancy. These particles, these wonderful creations that he has, reflective. And that's part of the image of the invisible God. He reveals from him.

We find something about his character in his creation. And now in verse 18, we talk about the new creation. We're talking not about material things now. Not about physical things, we're talking about flesh and blood, men and women, souls and spirits.

Now, notice please, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Now that is the last phrase, that's the last part of the 18th verse. Notice the way the verse starts. And he is the head of the body, the church.

Now I wonder if we realize what place of prominence, what exalted position that church has. And the verse ends, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Now he's the head of the church, that he might have the preeminence.

Now, I don't know whether you can catch this or not, I have trouble catching it myself. But think of what that church is. That God would say, he is head of the body, the church, that he might have preeminence in all things.

What does that make the church? It makes the church the new creation of God, yes. It absolutely is. That in all things he might have the preeminence. He's head of the body, the church, that he might have preeminence in all things.

Now, separated as they are, you don't get the connection. But the connection is there. And it's wonderful, the exalted position that God gives us. He talks about creation and the wonders of it. Ah, there's something more to talk about with church.

That masterpiece of God, that in all things he might have the preeminence. He's the head of the church. And we could talk about that indefinitely, but we won't, about his ministry to the church, because he is the head, and his connection, he directs it.

But we won't consider that any further. Now, he's glorified, one, in verse 19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. A marginal reading in the Schofield Bible, and I like this.

For in him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell. Now, since Christ was the visible one of the Godhead, the image of the invisible God, thanks God he was made visible, so we could see him.

Christ as the Fullness of the Godhead

Here we have, did it please, and you notice the word the Father there, they are in italics. You notice that, don't you? They shouldn't be there. But I think the better rendition, the better translation, is for in him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell.

Now, he is the glorified one. God has permitted all his glory to be exhibited in Christ. Now that's a little hard to grasp. Now God, God is not jealous. The Godhead is not jealous. Now we see a little bit of this, a little over in the next chapter.

Paul says in chapter 2, For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them of Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God and of the Father, and of Christ in whom I give you all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

They're centered in Christ. We can see him and God wants us to see him. God wants us to see all the fullness of the Godhead. So what does he do? He reveals it in Christ. And when we see Christ, we see everything.

Now this is very important. This is very important in the book of Galatians. This is very important here because the results that we're teaching in that damn age, that there was a mystery about the angels.

There was a kind of a, what shall we say? Mysterious things are always interesting. Have you ever noticed people get together sometimes and have a very interesting fugue of a conversation talking about mysterious things that have happened in your life.

And you can't explain and all that sort of thing. And get going on that subject and man oh man, what you can bring up. Okay. Now in our Lord Jesus Christ, he is the glorified one and you don't need angels.

He even mentions it in verse 8 of this same chapter. He's bringing before us the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, beware lest any man foil you through philosophy and vain deceit. This is chapter 2 verse 8.

After the tradition of men and after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. For in him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now we have it in this Christ's correct rendition. And ye are complete in him which is the head of all sensibility and power.

Verse 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels intruding into those things which ye have not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, capital H, the head of the church.

From which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, uniting, that's the united, the uniting one, knit together and increasing by the increase of God. They didn't hold the head.

Now, the spirit of God takes particular pain to bring it before us. But the glory of God is centered in Christ. For him it is pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. I like 2 and 9, for in him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead.

Body. When you've got Christ, you've got it. You've got all that the Godhead intended that you do have. In Christ. Because all the glories of God are collected in him. Now, I wonder if that's what we're going to see.

Oh, we're going to see. You haven't heard of me. Now, here's the reconciling one, verse 20. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him shall reconcile all things unto themselves. By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.

Christ the Reconciling One

The blood of his cross. Of all the glories of grace spoken, I think the glory of redemption probably to you and to me is the greatest of all. Having made peace. Harmony. The underlying thought of the word peace here is harmony.

You can substitute the word harmony. That's what it means. Having made harmony through the blood of his cross. There's harmony now between the soul of God and him by reason of that precious blood. By him shall reconcile all things unto themselves.