This Sunday I will be preaching from Colossians 1:15-20, which states about Christ Jesus, "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. 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."
In preparation for my sermon I came across these words from William Hendriksen and found them so moving that I couldn't wait until Sunday to share them!
"Col. 1:15-20 pictures a Christ who holds in his almighty hand and embraces with his loving heart both the realm of creation and that of redemption. He who is 'the firstborn of all creation' is also 'the firstborn from the dead.' He who died on the cross knows by name the most distant star. He not only knows it but guides it. Still better: he controls it in such a manner that it will serve the interests of his people (Rom. 8:28). The so-called 'laws of nature' have no independent existence. They are the expression of his will. And because he delights in order and not in confusion it is possible to speak of laws. He who in answer to prayer grants assurance of salvation is also able in answer to prayer to grant rain!
"The present-day application of this truth is immediately evident. Since the Christ of Calvary rules the heavens and the earth in the interest of his kingdom and to the glory of his Name, always over-ruling evil for good, neither automation nor bomb nor communistic menace nor depression nor economic unbalance nor fatal accident nor gradual decline in mental vigor nor hallucination due to nervous disorder nor any invader from outer space (about which some people have nightmares!) will ever succeed in separating us from his love (Rom. 8:35, 38). He who tells us how to go to heaven and actually brings us there, also knows how the heavens go; for he, all things having been created and 'holding together' in him, through him, and unto him, causes them to perform their mission and to go to the place predestined by him."
From Baker's
12 volume New Testament Commentary by Hendriksen & Kistemaker
, Doriani
, Ferguson
, Stott
) in addition to commentaries on Matthew from my two favorite sets by Calvin
and Hendriksen
.
Another commentary on Matthew that was recently introduced to me by a friend is Frederick Dale Bruner's Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1-12. I've only had the commentary for a couple weeks and I can't speak to all of Bruner's theology. What I can say though, is I have already been richly blessed by the devotional nature of his writing and some of the insights he offers on Matthew 5. Included in this would be the following words I came across today preparing for this week's lesson on being "the salt of the earth":"Blessing is given to believers so that they will be blessings -- to the world (cf. especially the seminal promise of Gen 12:1-3: "I will bless you and make you a blessing; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed"); salt is made salt in order to be salty in food. We are put on notice that while it is from nothing (gratis) that we have been made salt, it is not for nothing (frustra). We are to live for other people. Christians, we learn here for the first time explicitly, are in danger if they do not live as Christians. This is what is meant by the warning's sad conclusion, "It is absolutely useless except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Here is deserved persecution. In the world this "persecution" often takes the form of simple contempt or of complete disinterest."
