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The Bible is one unified story of God's love and redemption, but sometimes it can be difficult to see how all the pieces fit together. In Soaring Above It All, Pastor Skip Heitzig takes you on a one-year devotional journey through the entire Bible, highlighting the key people, events, and themes of scripture in a way that's approachable, encouraging, and easy to follow. Pre-order your copy of Soaring Above It All today wherever you buy books. Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: When it comes to being firstborn in ancient times, the firstborn child in a family, especially the firstborn son in a family, carried with it much more weight than even it does today. The firstborn was the child of inheritance, got a double portion of the inheritance, and things went on through him. The idea of the firstborn was even more important.

What I want you to notice is the word "over." This will clear it up for you. It sort of dawned on me as I've been reading the book of Colossians every day for 30 days just so I get it back into my system. What Paul doesn't say is he does not say he is the firstborn of creation, but he's the firstborn over creation. If he was the firstborn of creation, you might interpret that as being God the Father created Jesus first. That's what the Jehovah's Witnesses say. God the Father created Jesus first, then Jesus created all other things.

But it says he's the firstborn over creation. The idea of firstborn came to mean in antiquity not necessarily born first chronologically, but it meant having the supremacy. It meant having the most important position. Let me show you that.

When Joseph was in Egypt, he had two sons. The firstborn was Manasseh, the second-born was Ephraim. When he brought his two sons to his father Jacob to bless those two boys, it says Jacob was blind and he couldn't see very well. He crossed his hands knowingly to bless his grandsons. He put his right hand on one, crossed over, and his left hand crossed over to the other one. He knew that Joseph was going to bring the first and second-born sons in the position so that Jacob would place his right hand on Manasseh and his left hand on Ephraim. He knowingly crossed over. Joseph said, "No, you can't do that," but it was too late. He already touched them and already blessed them.

He did it knowingly because he knew that Ephraim, though second-born, would be in a position of firstborn and take the supreme position. To prove that to you, by the time you get to Jeremiah the prophet, who was long after Joseph, hundreds of years after Joseph, God says through the prophet Jeremiah, "At the same time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. The Lord has appeared of old to me saying, 'Yes, I've loved you with an everlasting love,' etc. In a straight way in which they shall not stumble, for I am the father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."

God takes Manasseh, who was firstborn, and gives him second place. God says though Ephraim was born second, Ephraim is my firstborn. Because of that scripture and because of that idea that firstborn, *prototokos* is the Greek word, means the supreme one, the firstborn became emblematic of not only a supreme position, but it became a code word for the Messiah.

In Psalm 89, God says, "I will make my firstborn the ruler of the kings of all the earth." It's a prediction of the coming Messiah whom God calls in Psalms "my firstborn." Picking up on that ancient phraseology, that's what Paul means when he says and uses the word *prototokos*, firstborn. He's the firstborn over all creation. He's the supreme one over all that he has created. It says he has created for that he created all things. By him all things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. These are all rabbinic terms for spiritual ranking of angels. All things were created through him and for him.

He is before all things, not all other things. Not that God created him first, not that he's an emanation. He is before all things, and in him all things consist. Go back as far as you want. Whatever you decide how old the universe is, you might say the universe is 6,000 years old, as some young earth creationists believe. You might hold to an old earth creation and they're saying now that the universe is 10.8 or 13 billion. Maybe it's 13.8 is the latest. It changes every few years of how old it is because science always disagrees with itself. Scientists do disagree, but 13.8 billion. Go back as far as you want and say that's when it began, and you will find that at whatever point you begin the universe, Jesus will come out of eternity to meet you.

He was there first. He is before all things, and in him all things consist. The word "consist" is cohere. It means to be held together. Jesus Christ not only created everything, but he holds all things together. They cohere.

We know that matter is made up of dynamic particles, particles that are moving rapidly. We know that within the nucleus, that's where the protons exist, they're held together by a force nobody really knows what it is. I've done so much research on this and I've Googled this. What holds since Coulomb's law of electrostatic force says that positive charges will repel each other, like charges repel each other, what keeps protons bound together in the nucleus of the atom? They say it's just some atomic force. It's given a name, but it's enigmatic what keeps them together. What keeps electrons swirling around them together?

I found something that I thought you would be interested in. This is by Carl Darrow, a physicist from Bell Laboratory who said, speaking of the physical nature of the atom, "Do you grasp what this implies? It implies that all the mass of nuclei have no right to be alive at all. Indeed, they should have never been created. If created, they should have blown up instantly. Yet here they all are. Some inflexible inhibition is holding them relentlessly together. The nature of the inhibition is also a secret, one thus far reserved by nature for herself."

Paul says no, they're not mysteriously held together. Jesus Christ is holding them all together. He created all things, he's before all things, he pre-existed. He is the only one who lived before he was born. Get your head around that one. Jesus is the only one who lived before he was born. He's before all things and in him all things are held together.

The question is what happens if he relaxes his grip? That is exactly how I believe the universe is going to end. At some point, Jesus is just going to go, "I'm done," and will relax his grip. Let me just read something to you that you are familiar with. This is 2 Peter 3:10: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." It's exactly what Professor Darrow said should happen. It will happen. Then he says, "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?" Jesus, who holds the universe together—it coheres—will relax his grip. The creation will instantaneously become uncreated and dissolve, burn up with fervent heat.

I want you to apply this to your own personal life. If Jesus Christ is indeed the creator of all that exists, if he pre-existed before all matter, all time, if he created the universe and he holds all things together, do you believe he did that? If he did that and if he's doing that, if he can hold the universe together, do you think he can hold your life together? Would you take a little bit of solace in the fact that you are trusting the one who holds the atoms, the nuclei, together? He can hold you together. He's got you. He knows what you're going through. Nothing that you're going through surprises him. Lean into him. Trust him. If he can hold the universe together, he can hold your life together. He's before all things and in him all things are held together.

Guest (Female): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life. If you've ever wondered how to stay grounded when our culture is constantly pulling you in different directions, Pastor Skip's study through Colossians is for you. In Expound Colossians, you'll get a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, why he is completely sufficient for every season of life, and how God's truth gives you confidence to stand firm in your faith. Your generosity helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people around the world to God's word. Request Expound Colossians when you give $50 or more at connectwithskip.com/offer or by calling 800-922-1888. Now, here's more from Pastor Skip.

Skip Heitzig: He continues with the supremacy of Christ. He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. He's the head, he's the source. He's the originator of the church. It was his idea. "I will build my church," Jesus said in Matthew 16. He's the one who came up with the idea of the church. He is the source, he is the head, he's the one who controls things that go on in the church.

He's the head of his body, the church, who is from the beginning. Here's that word again, the firstborn, but notice this time, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he should have the preeminence. Same word, *prototokos*, firstborn from the dead. It didn't mean he's the first one who was ever resurrected. We know that's not true. There were people resurrected in the Old Testament. The first recorded resurrection we read about in scripture is in the book of 1 Kings, the son of the widow of Zarephath. Elijah the prophet was summoned because this boy had died. Elijah takes this boy up to his upper chamber where he was living in this little town, prostrated himself over the child, breathed on him and prayed, "O God, bring his soul back." God restored life to that boy. It's the first recorded resurrection.

The second resurrection is with Elisha, and that was the woman from Shunem. The Shunammite's son was resurrected by him. Then my favorite resurrection story in the Old Testament is Elisha the prophet, the successor of Elijah. Elisha was buried in a cave. A man had died and they took his bones, not knowing it was Elisha's tomb, and threw the remains of this man in the cave. It touched Elisha and that man rose from the dead. So that's one, two, and three resurrections.

Was Jesus the first one ever raised? Not by a long shot. Even in the New Testament he wasn't the first one who was raised from the dead. The first one recorded raised from the dead was the son of the widow from Nain that Jesus raised from the dead, then Jairus's daughter, then Lazarus was raised from the dead. Then Jesus was raised from the dead. But here Paul says Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. Same idea of the supreme one. The most important one who was ever raised from the dead would be a better way of looking at it.

Why is he the most important one who was raised from the dead? Because Jesus, in his resurrection, is the only one who can save people. Death, burial, and resurrection. He, of all people who have ever been raised from the dead, takes the supreme slot because only by believing in him can a person have everlasting life. Therefore he is the supreme one. He is the firstborn. He takes that title, supreme one, firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father, watch this term, that in him all the fullness should dwell. That word "fullness" was a buzzword used by the Gnostics, that group that was developing into Gnosticism, these heretics from Colossae. It was one of their favorite words, fullness. The Greek word is *pleroma*. What they said is the fullness of God, the *pleroma* of God, has been distributed through many emanations that went out from God. Paul knew that. He's saying that in Jesus Christ, it pleased the Father that in Jesus all the *pleroma*, the fullness, should dwell in him.

I'm going to cheat a little bit and take you to chapter 2 where we're going to be next week, but let's skip ahead. Look at chapter 2, verse 8. You see where he's coming from. "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him," that is Christ, "in him dwells all the fullness of God bodily, or the Godhead bodily, the God in bodily form, and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power."

This is a slap to the Gnostics. This was a way of confronting the Gnostics, that in Jesus Christ and him alone is all the fullness of God. Back to verse 20 of chapter 1: "And by him, by Jesus, to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled." How? "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight."

God reconciled us to him. The word "reconcile" means he changed hostility into friendship. We were enemies of God, we were at enmity with God. He changed the relationship of hostility into friendship and acceptance. The idea of being reconciled is to remove the barrier that stands in the way of acceptance and unity. Thus, by removing the obstacle, the enemies become friends. The hostile ones accept each other, love each other, are in right relationship with each other. It is a word that is used in 1 Corinthians 7 to speak of a woman being restored in relationship to her husband. It's also a word used in Matthew 5 of a man being restored to his brother. It's an idea of, in relationships, what would change hostile ones into friends.

In the Greek language, the word "reconcile" also carries with it a financial element. That is, there is a financial transaction that takes place whereby two parties are reconciled. We sort of use the idea of reconciliation in financial ways as well. We say we need to reconcile the checkbook. We have to balance the checkbook, make sure that the statement I get in the mail matches what I put down, if you even do that anymore. That is old school, I recognize it. Or if you do it in little books on your computer, you reconcile their statement with your statement. When they match up, we say they're reconciled.

There is a financial element. All of that to say this: in God's economy, there must be some transaction that takes place for God and us to be reconciled. The transaction that takes place is through the blood of his cross. It's what he did on the cross that became the transactional element whereby these two parties at hostility and odds with each other can now be reconciled. It's a beautiful, beautiful word that he uses here.

We're reconciled in the body of his flesh, verse 22, through death to present you holy, blameless, irreproachable in his sight. Verse 23: "if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister." When you read that, you go, "Wait a minute. He just said that he reconciled us and the transaction was at the cross. We couldn't do it ourselves, he did it for us, it's all through that one single act. Why does he now say if indeed you continue in the faith?" Is he contradicting himself? Or is he adding to the work that was done on the cross? Is he saying you have to add to it?

No. What he is saying is he's just practical. Paul is saying if it's a reality that you've been reconciled to God, real faith will show that it's real faith by having real results. The real results are your continuing in your walk with him. If you have a real faith, it will really continue in real time throughout your life. That becomes the gauge as to whether or not you have real faith. Want to know if a person has real faith? James says look at his works. Look at what he produces. These things are not contrary to one another; one authenticates the other.

Real faith leads to real results. The real results are you continue in the faith, you're grounded and steadfast, and you are not moved away from the hope of the gospel. It's all by grace, and the proof that you've experienced the grace of God is your life is transformed.

These truths together should give us a little bit of pause. A lot of people say, "I prayed years ago. I went to church and I made that little prayer and accepted Christ and now I'm just kind of doing what I want." Remember Jesus said not everybody who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will come to me in that day and say, "Lord, look at what we've done this and we've done that," and Jesus will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." They're resting on their laurels of something that happened in their past that isn't continuing into the present. This is simply a gauge that he is giving us: "if you indeed continue in the faith, grounded, steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which is preached into all the world to every creature under heaven of which I, Paul, became a minister."

Guest (Female): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life. Before you go, remember that when you give $50 or more this month, we'll send you Expound Colossians as our thanks. This encouraging verse-by-verse study will help you discover why Christ is enough, how to stand firm in God's truth, and how to live each day with confidence in him. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry reaching people over the world with the life-changing truth of God's word. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time.

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