He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 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 and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. —Colossians 1: 15-18 NIV
This is the time of year when we think back to the baby Jesus: the baby Jesus who was born in Bethlehem. The baby’s parents, Joseph and Mary, who couldn’t find a decent birthplace for a king worthy of a four star hotel who was the creator of the universe. According to the Book of Matthew, Three Wise Men went to see the baby and, “presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Who was this baby Jesus born in a manger?
The truth is, though we were created in God’s likeness or image, we only resemble Him. This baby— crying, kicking and sucking his mother’s milk—is God. The baby Jesus is God’s exact image. He is the Creator. He is the Creator of all things, active from the beginning in calling the universe and all creatures into existence. John 1: 1-3 says, “Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make.”
Think about what it means to be Creator of the Universe. John McArthur wrote: The moon is a mere 211,463 miles away. You could actually walk there in 27 years if you covered 24 miles every day. Now, a ray of light travels at 186,000 miles per second (a little faster than walking). It could reach the moon in just 1.5 seconds. At the speed of light, we could reach Mercury in 4-1/2 minutes.
The baby Jesus is the Sustainer of everything – visible and invisible (He holds and keeps it together). Scientists have various theories, but have so far been unable to figure out what holds the elements of our universe together. Verse 17 says that Jesus not only created everything but that in him all things hold together. He is responsible for the order of the universe and everything operating in synchronization and harmony.
The scripture also makes clear the baby Jesus’s relationship to the Church. Paul often pictures Jesus Christ as the Head of the Body. Just as our brain sends the signals that make our physical body function, Christ sends the instructions for the functioning of His Church. Through His church, a living organism, it continues the work of impacting the kingdom.
The infinite love of God for you and for me was made known in the baby who grew to become a man who suffered and died that we might live, truly live in the knowledge of His great love and compassion for us. Jesus has come to make God known to each of us. There is no other who so fully reveals the heart of God because Jesus wasn’t a good man trying to do right, He was God simply being Himself.
From our family to yours, wishing you a blessed, safe, and very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Ben and Wanda Anderson, Pastors
December 2014