If I were to ask you how to prove all of life hinges on Jesus Christ, how would you go about that? Just think about it for a minute. How would you articulate that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ? For me, one of the most compelling from a societal standpoint is our calendar system. We find our course of time and date based upon Jesus' life. It's not based on Buddha, on Allah, or Krishna. It is based on the days that were before Christ, B.C. or A.D. meaning anodal. I know that this calendar system originates with Julius Caesar in 54 B.C. and is then amended by Pope Gregory in the sixth century to include A.D. But regardless of these facts, this is the globally recognized way that the world understands and speaks of time. And it profoundly speaks to the importance of Jesus Christ. If the fabric of our time and our calendars are based on Jesus' life, why wouldn't more hinge on Him? This morning in our passage, I believe the Apostle Paul argues that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ. He makes this clear by telling us who Jesus is. He tells us that Jesus is Creator, Sustainer, and Reconciler. He tells us that Jesus is Creator of all creation. We see this in verses 15 to 16. He tells us that Jesus is Sustainer of the new creation in verses 17 to 18. He tells us that Jesus is the Reconciler of fallen creation in verses 19 to 23. If you have a bulletin with you, this is printed for you, and so you can follow along. In this, I believe that Paul makes clear that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ. And so this will serve as our outline. So let's look at our first point. All of life hinges on Jesus Christ because Jesus is Creator of all creation. Look at me at verses 15 and 16. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. All things were created by Him and for Him. That is my shorthand of those two verses. In this, Paul is arguing that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the Creator of all creation. Let us look at those first two terms. The image of the invisible God and the firstborn of all creation. If taken out of context, you might think that Jesus is neither God nor or in some way that He was created. But when put in context, you can see that Paul is trying to elevate Jesus, not degrade Him. That this is part of his argument of Jesus being God and Jesus being Creator of all the earth, not the other way around. So what does Paul mean by image and firstborn? Paul here is using language that is found throughout the Old Testament that is used specifically when speaking of a royal representative. The first time we see the word image used in the Old Testament is in Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 and 27. We will get to these verses in our service in a few weeks. But in these verses, we are told that God created Adam and Eve, that He created humanity in His image. In Genesis, we see that Adam was a representative of God. This is how he imaged God. It was not that somehow he looked like God, he was God's representative. And so like Adam, Jesus is a representative of God in His perfect humanity. But unlike Adam, Jesus is the revelation of God seen in His perfect divinity. He is the image of the invisible God in whom and by whom we come to know God. So this is how Jesus images the invisible God by His representation in His perfect humanity and in His revelation of His perfect divinity. The term firstborn is used throughout the Old Testament to speak of the rights and privileges given to the firstborn, typical son. It is a term of authority, not chronology. So the term is not telling us that Jesus was historically the first person created. Instead, Paul is telling us that Jesus has authority over all creation. That Jesus is the representative and revelation of God, the ruler of over all creation. That is what Paul is meaning in this passage. The one who created all creation, who created it, and who was created for. That is what Paul goes on to say in verse 16. Paul makes clear that Jesus is the agent and aim of creation. He is the one who made creation and the one who was made for. Think of when you cook a meal. The meal was created by you and for you. There might be secondary causes like other people eating with you, but it was primarily made by you and for you. Similarly, but different, Jesus created all things, visible and invisible. All thrones, dominions, authorities are created by Him and for Him. They have secondary causes, but at the end of the day, each person, angel, demon, government, principality is created by Jesus for Jesus. They might have other functions and opportunities, but their primary purpose is for Jesus. To accomplish His will, to bring Him glory ultimately. The first question is found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, what is the chief end of man? Or another way to say this question is, what is man's purpose? And the answer that is given by the Westminster Divines is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If that is man's purpose, will not Jesus, the King over all creation, bring that purpose about? Of course you will. That's what we do believe. That means that we can be comforted, that even when we feel or see that evil is quote unquote winning, that they are still accomplishing what Jesus wants them to. In this, whether the government that you might see as evil from the position of the right or the left, whichever political aisle you're on, they're still working for Jesus. It might be hard to imagine how God uses world leaders, especially the ones that we disagree with for His purposes, but this passage tells us that He does. That's what verses 15 and 16 comfort us with here, that all things are from Him and for Him. Later in this letter, Paul will tell us that Jesus conquers over evil, bringing open shame to evil. And even if we haven't seen that in full in this life yet, we know in the fullness of time that Jesus will right every wrong. That there will be consequences for defiance, for deceit and for death. That Jesus will judge the living and the dead. All of life hinges on Jesus Christ. He is the creator of all creation and all things were created from Him and for Him. So take heart today. Know that He is working all things out, as Paul says in Romans, for our good and His glory. Even if we're having trouble seeing that good and glory right now, all things were created through Him and for Him. So all of life hinges on Jesus Christ. And we've seen that in that Jesus is creator of all creation. Now let us turn our attention to our second point, that Jesus is sustainer of the new creation. Look at me at verses 17 and 18. Again, Paul tells the Colossians of the eternality of the Son. He says this, and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. That He is before all things and that He moves to the fact that all things are sustained by Him. That all things hold together in Him. I want you to think of the world as this magnificent tapestry. And if you know how tapestry works, you know that there is interwoven threads that make a unified image. And if that is what the world looks like, it is this world that every thread is held and woven by Jesus Christ. That is the image that Paul is presenting to us here by saying that He holds all things together. Every breath in our lungs, every thought in our minds, every ounce of strength that is found in our tiny bones is sustained by Jesus Christ. All of life hinges on Jesus Christ. And this is specifically seen as Jesus sustains the new creation, the church. Paul tells us that Jesus is the head of the body, the church. This reference to the church does not detract from Jesus sustaining all of life in the universe. Instead, it is the logical illustration of how He sustains life in the world. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus upholds the world by the word of His power. And so He sustains all of life, but this is specifically seen in the church. Without the head or without a head, the body cannot function. The rest of the body doesn't know how to move. It is the head that signals for where blood needs to go. Without a head, the hands could not greet, the mouth could not speak, and the feet could not leap. Jesus is the head of the church. The church is His body cannot function without Him. He leads it. He sustains it. He provides for it. Paul goes on to say that Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. As we remember, firstborn does not mean some form of creation. It means something of authority. By this, He is speaking of Jesus' resurrection. In this, Jesus is the one who rules not over just existing creation, but also the new creation. It is the proof that He is preeminent, which is a fancy word that means first in everything. What does Paul mean by this? That Jesus is not only the ruler of the existing creation, the trees, the peoples, the governments, but also the new creation. This is brought about by His death and resurrection. The first embodiment of the new creation is the church, apart from Jesus Christ Himself. This place locally and Christ's church globally is the community of new life. If you are alive in Jesus Christ, if you have known Him as your Lord, confessed your sins and trusted in Him, you are a new creation. Paul elsewhere says that if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. The old has passed away and new has come. And the gathered assemblies of those who have trusted in Jesus is the church. This is the community locally that have believed in Jesus, and in that He has sustained us, He is leading us, and He is guiding us. The elders and I are just under shepherds. It is Christ who is head of the church. Not I, not Glenn, not Reed, not any one of us. It is Jesus Christ. And church, how great of a comfort is that as we live in the midst of a pastoral transition? That Jesus is the head of the church. That we are trusting Him to nourish His body, to lead it, and to build it. Jesus promised, speaking of His church, universal, that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So for us locally, we can trust that Jesus, our head, will care for His body. That He will sustain us. That He will hold us together as He does all things. And may we experience that today, and in the days ahead, as we trust that Jesus will sustain us. And so we have seen that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ in the existing creation and in the new creation. Now let us lastly look at Jesus being reconciler of fallen creation. Look at me at verses 19-23. Paul tells us in these verses that the incarnate Christ lives and dies, and by His death on the cross, He brings about reconciliation for fallen creation. The same way that He brought all things into being, He will reconcile all things to Himself by the blood of His cross. Paul begins this statement by telling us of Christ's incarnation. That the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him. This reminds us that the Trinitarian God is not somehow compartmentalized. That the Son of God, and God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit are all God. That Christ in His coming as a man, He didn't cease to be God or somehow become like God. He is God. He is the revelation of God. He is the only mediator between God and man. It is by Jesus being fully God and fully man that we can be reconciled by the blood of His cross. Jesus had to be truly human to die the death that we deserve. And He had to be truly God to be the perfect sacrifice. The Nicene Creed, which is printed on the front of your bulletin, says this, that He is very God of very God, of one substance with the Father. And the Creed goes on to say, this portion is not printed in your bulletin, that Jesus was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, was made man, was crucified, was buried, and on the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And the Scriptures tell us here, this happened so that Christ would reconcile all things on heaven and on earth to Himself. The term to reconcile presupposes that there is a conflict. That creation and inhumanity is at odds with God. And this is true, that sin affects all of life, and because of it, things on earth and in heaven have become estranged from God. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that creation groans waiting for the redemption of man. And by the blood of the cross, by His death, Jesus brings all things into right relationship with Himself. That there may be peace on earth. We know that this doesn't happen indiscriminately. That people will not just magically be reconciled to God. It must be upon faith. And that is what Paul highlights in verses 21 to 23. He reminds the Colossian church of their previous condition before Christ, that they were alienated and hostile to God, doing evil deeds. But by Jesus Christ, they were reconciled that they would be made holy and blameless. That the record that stood against them was nailed to the cross. And this is made true by faith. That is why Paul says this if you continue in the faith. This does not mean that we can somehow lose our salvation. But it does mean that it shouldn't be taken for granted. There were false beliefs that were in contradiction with the truths that Paul outlined here. And they were taking root in the Colossian church. Beliefs of belittling Christ, not viewing Him as Creator, not viewing Him as sustainer or reconciler of creation. Instead, they sidelined Him for another. Paul in chapter 2 verse 8 of Colossians tells us a little bit more about these false beliefs. He says that they are philosophies, an empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to elemental spirits of the world, not according to Christ. In church, there are false beliefs, just like back then, that exist today that can sideline Jesus. Beliefs that can be shifting your hope from the Gospel. You might be wondering how do you know if this is taking place in your heart or your mind. A simple test to know if this is the case for yourself is to ask yourself, what does all of life hinge on for me? What does all of life hinge on for you? Is it actually Jesus? Is that just maybe what you say in word? Or is it something else? Like wealth, or intellect, or comfort, or prestige, or security. Maybe there are worldly philosophies that are swaying you just as they sway the Colossian church. May that not be the case. Just as Paul calls the Colossian church to repent and turn to Jesus, so do I call you. Paul makes clear that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ, that Jesus is creator, sustainer, and reconciler. He is not the one that just the date hinges on, but all of life. And so, if you have not trusted in Him, to be reconciled to Him, I ask you to see afresh, maybe today for the first time, the Lord of life, Jesus Christ. To believe in Him and to know God and to have the peace of God in your heart and your mind. For the believers in this room, would you see afresh that all of life hinges on Jesus Christ? That these truths would aid you in not shifting from the hope of the gospel. That this would be like good soil being patted down on your roots, so that your faith would be stable and steadfast. Seeing who Jesus is as creator, sustainer, and reconciler. May our God do this. Gotta spray.