Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress.

Speaker 2

Before we begin today's podcast, I want to invite you to partner with us at Pathway to Victory. Every month, millions of people are watching and listening to God's Word through this ministry.

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Speaker 3

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress.

And right now, your generous gift will have twice the impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, active now through December 31st. To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 1

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you.

Speaker 2

Every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition, a Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 1

Who is this child that was born in the feeding trough in Bethlehem 2000 years ago? Was he just another tiny baby or was he more?

Well, the best answer to what child is this that was born in Bethlehem is found not in Luke, chapter two, the traditional Nativity account, but it's found in Colossians, chapter one.

Speaker 3

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. When you picture Jesus Christ, what image comes to your mind? Maybe a tiny baby in a feeding trough, a grown man teaching the multitudes, or a powerful monarch seated on a throne?

Well, today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress takes a look at an unexpected passage from the New Testament that reveals the identity of Christ. But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 2

Thanks, David, and welcome to this Thursday edition of Pathway to Victory. Many, many months ago, I sat down with our creative team at Pathway to Victory and carefully mapped out our teaching schedule for December. And for this important reason, I wanted to give you the gift of celebrating our Savior in a manner that's fresh and relevant for our times. And so we put our very favorite messages into this teaching series called Celebrate the Savior. At the end of today's program, David will explain how you can receive the entire teaching series on CD and DVD.

Now, much earlier in this year, we started working on another resource for you. I'm referring to the daily devotional I wrote for you so that we can walk together in God's Word every single weekday in 2026. If you think you already own this book, you don't. This is a brand new tan leather-bound volume that's more than 500 pages in length. So while there's still time, please get in touch and request the 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. It's yours when you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.

Remember that the Matching Challenge is active right now, meaning that every dollar that's given between now and December 31st has twice the impact. Paul said to the Romans, "The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." Now is the time to advance against the darkness. Now is the time to impact more lives for Jesus Christ.

I'm going to say more about the Matching Challenge and the daily devotional following my message, but right now let's give our full attention to the subject at hand. I titled today's message, "What Child Is This?"

Speaker 1

It's always risky for a pastor to use a movie as a sermon illustration. So I try not to mention titles of movies, and I'm not going to do that today. I've got an illustration. It's a great illustration. I'm not going to tell you the name of the movie. It is a mega hit comedy from about 10 years ago that many of you saw. You're not going to admit that you saw it, but you did see it. A lot of you saw it.

In one memorable scene in this movie, the family is seated around the dinner table, and the father is going to leave grace for the family before the meal. He has everybody bow their heads and he begins, "Dear baby Jesus." And he keeps going, "Dear baby Jesus. Tiny baby Jesus. Baby Jesus. Baby Jesus."

Then the wife interrupts the prayer and she says, "Honey, you do know that he grew up, don't you?" The husband replies, "Yeah, but I like tiny baby Jesus. I like the tiny baby Jesus better than the adult Jesus. That's the one I want to pray to."

At that point, the grandfather interrupts and says, "Well, I like the fully grown and fully bearded Jesus. He's the one I like to pray to."

Speaker 2

He.

Speaker 1

So they get in a huge knockdown argument around the dinner table about which Jesus is the right Jesus to pray to. Now I have to admit to you, when I first saw that, I was really offended. I thought this is really sacrilegious.

But the more I've watched that, the more I realize it illustrates a great truth. There are a lot of people who really believe that Jesus is whoever they imagine him to be. While the real Jesus, though the Jesus of the Bible, came into this world as a tiny baby, he was much more than that.

Speaker 1

Who is this child that was born in the feeding trough in Bethlehem 2000 years ago? Was he just another tiny baby or was he more? Well, the best answer to what child is this that was born in Bethlehem is going to be the focus of our study today. The answer to that question, who was this baby? The best answer is found not in Luke chapter two, the traditional nativity account, but in Colossians chapter one. If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Colossians chapter one as we discover the real identity of this baby born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.

Just a little background: You remember Paul wrote this letter to the Christians at the church at Colossae. This church was being invaded by all kinds of false teachers who were distorting the message of Jesus Christ. There were Gnostics, there were Legalists, and there were those who promoted asceticism. They had all these heresies they were introducing in the church. Although each of these heresies was different, they all were the same in this respect: all these false systems sought to distort who Jesus really was. Some of these false teachers were distorting the person of Jesus. Some were saying he was God but not man. Others were saying he was man but not God. They were distorting the person of Jesus. Others of these heresies were distorting the work of Jesus Christ. What is it that he came to do? Some said yes, he came to die on the cross. But his death on the cross, as important as that is, isn’t enough for you. You need the death of Christ and something else in order to be saved. You need the death of Christ plus obeying a set of behaviors, a law, or you need Christ and asceticism, refusing any kind of pleasure at all. Or it’s faith in Christ and this deeper secret knowledge that is just reserved for a few people.

So Paul was combating all of these different heresies. The theme of this letter is simply this: Jesus Christ is sufficient for every need you have. He is sufficient to save you. He is sufficient to secure you. He is sufficient to sustain you through whatever problems you are facing. There are some of you here today, some of you watching, who need to hear that message more than ever right now, that Jesus Christ is really all that you need. He really is sufficient for that need you’re facing today. Whether it’s a financial need, some of you right now are facing health concerns, or some of you are dealing with the loss of a loved one this past year or in years past. It’s especially painful at this time. Hear the message: Jesus Christ is everything that you need.

You say, how do you know that, Pastor? Well, Paul answers that question in these five verses, 15 through 20, in which Paul says Jesus is sufficient. The way you know he is is because he is central in three specific realms of this universe. As you see the centrality of Jesus Christ in these three different arenas, you’ll become convinced that he’s sufficient for you.

First of all, Paul says Jesus Christ is the creator of the universe. He is central in the creation of the universe. You know, a lot of Christians believe that Jesus just came on the scene at Bethlehem. That was the first time he was created, at the conception and nine months later when he was born in Bethlehem. No, the Bible says Jesus Christ is eternal, just as God is eternal. In these verses, verses 15 through 17, Paul shows that by demonstrating the central role that Jesus had in the creation of the universe.

First of all, Jesus was pre-existent to the creation. He actually existed before Bethlehem. Look at verse 15: "For he, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God." Who is Jesus? He’s the image of the invisible God. Now, that word "image" is the Greek word "icon." The word "icon" can mean one of two things. It can mean a symbol; an image is a symbol of something else. If you have a quarter—hope that’s not what you’re going to put in an offering plate—but if you have a quarter with you today, you’ll notice on that quarter is an image of who? George Washington. Now, is that George Washington? No, that image is much inferior to George Washington. It is a symbol; it is a stamp of George Washington.

Now, that word "icon" can mean just a symbol, a lesser symbol of something that’s real. But that word "icon" can also mean manifestation, the full expression of something. If Ben and I were talking in the hallway about our minister of music, Tyler Brinson, and suddenly Tyler appeared in the hallway, that physical presence of Tyler is the full manifestation of the person Tyler Brinson. Well, that’s the sense in which the word "image" is used here. Jesus Christ is the full manifestation of God, the invisible God himself. In fact, Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ is the exact representation of God. He’s not lesser; he is equal to God. In fact, Jesus said in John 14:9, "What he who has seen me has seen what the Father." If you see Jesus, you see the invisible God.

Then Paul adds the phrase, "he is also the firstborn of creation." Now we’re going to get into that word "firstborn" a little bit later, but it is the Greek word "Prototicus." We get our word "prototype" from it. He is the firstborn of creation. Now, if you ever have some Jehovah’s Witnesses knocking on your front door, I’ll guarantee you when they try to convince you that Jesus is not really God, he’s a little lesser than God.

Speaker 2

They'll use this verse.

Speaker 1

They say, oh well, Jesus was born. He wasn't pre-existent. Look, he is the firstborn, the prototype, prototypus of creation. He was born. That's not what it's saying here. Prototicus isn't referring to time; it's referring to his place in creation. He is superior to everything that has ever been created and has ever existed. In Psalm 89, verse 27, God refers to the Messiah as the first, but then adds the phrase, he is the highest of the kings of the earth. Jesus Christ was pre-existent creation. Not only that.

Secondly, he was the cause of creation. Look at verse 16. For by him, Jesus, all things were created both in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. Think of that. Everything that exists in this vast universe was created by who? Not God the Father. We think of God the Father as the Creator. No, it was that baby born in Bethlehem who is the creator of everything that has ever existed. Just think about it. That cross on which Jesus hung was made of wood from a tree that Jesus had created. And notice this word, all; all things were created by Him.

What's the point of all of this? If Jesus can create everything that exists in this universe, don't you think he can take care of whatever need you have? This is Jesus, the Creator of all things. I want us to explore that word all for just a moment. Think of the vastness of this great universe. You know, our solar system exists in the Milky Way galaxy. We are just one of hundreds of millions of solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way galaxy has 100 billion stars in it. And the Milky Way galaxy is but one of a hundred billion at least galaxies that exist in this universe.

But let's just think of our one galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy with 100 billion stars. You know how long it takes the average distances between each star in our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy? 30 trillion miles. That is five light years—the distance light travels at 186,000 miles per second in a year. One light year. We're five light years, 30 trillion miles away from the average star. To give you an idea of how far that is, the late Norm Geisler said, imagine you get hold of one of those decommissioned space shuttles and you were able to reactivate it. It travels at 17,000 miles an hour. You got on one of those space shuttles, on one star, you wanted to go to the next one.

30 trillion miles going at 17,000 miles an hour. It would take you 201,000 years to travel just to the next star going at 17,000 miles an hour. If you left that one star on the day of Jesus' birth, from that period of time until now, you will have gone exactly 1% of your entire journey just to get to the next star in our galaxy. And you'd have 100 billion more stars to travel to. And that would have been in one galaxy. There are 100 billion or more galaxies in this universe as well. Who created all that? Where did it come from? It all came from a word spoken by that baby in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ. He is the creator of all things.

And not only that, the Bible says he is the heir of creation. Look at verse 16 again. All things have been created through him and for him. The Greeks thought that for everything that happened, there were three causes. There was a primary cause, the plan; there was the instrumental cause, the power to execute the plan; and there was a final cause, the purpose of the plan. So creation had a purpose, a primary cause, it had an instrumental cause, and it had a final cause. Jesus is all of those things. Jesus is the one who planned this vast creation. He's the one who had the power to execute and actually bring it about. And it was all done by Him.

And why for him? The final cause was so Jesus could reign over this universe. He is the heir of creation. And guess what? If you're related to him by faith, it was created for you as well. And not only that, if that were not enough, not only did he create it, he sustains the creation. Look at verse 17. He is before all things. And in him, in Jesus, all things hold together. It's like the Hebrews writer said in verse 1:3, he upholds all things by the word of his power.

What is that talking about? You know, two of our forefathers, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were not Christians; they were deists. Most of our forefathers were Christians. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were deists. The deists believe that yes, there is a God, but he's a distant God and he's an uninterested God. And he created the world, but then left the world to run on its own without any divine intervention.

Speaker 2

No.

Speaker 1

The Bible teaches that Jesus not only created this world, but he is also the one who holds it together. He upholds all things by the word of his power. Let me illustrate that for you. Our sun is 93 million miles away and has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees.

Our Earth has an axis that is tilted at 23 degrees. If that angle changed even slightly toward the sun, we would burn up. Conversely, if we were to move further away from the sun, we would freeze to death. Think about gravity. Did you know that physicists tell us the only way life can be sustained on Earth is if the gravitational force on this planet remains exactly the same? If it were altered by just one part in 10,000 billion billion billion, even that slight change would cause Earth to cease to exist.

I saw, and you probably saw, that Oxford researchers sent out a paper stating they believe that intelligent life on other planets is highly unlikely. I don't know whether it is or not; it's hard to find intelligent life on this planet. But it's... you know.

Speaker 1

Maybe it exists or maybe it doesn't. But they said it is highly improbable. You know why they say it's improbable? Now? This is Oxford researchers. They said all of the conditions that had to be exactly right for intelligent life to exist on this Earth, for all of those to come together at the same time is a, quote, stroke of luck that probably can't be duplicated anywhere else.

What Oxford calls a stroke of luck, the Bible calls Jesus Christ. He is the one who created it, and he's the one who upholds this world. And here's the point. If Jesus Christ is powerful enough to uphold everything in this universe, don't you think he's powerful enough to uphold every detail of your life, to hold your life together? There is nothing without purpose that comes into the life of a child of God. There are no random people. There are no random circumstances. There is nothing that is out of control in your life, no matter how it seems. Jesus Christ is sustaining you. He's upholding you by the word of his power. That's how we know Jesus is sufficient.

Jesus Christ is the creator of the universe. His sufficiency is also seen in the fact that he is the generator of eternal life. Look at this. In verse 18, he, Jesus, is also head of the body, the church. The most common image of Christians in the New Testament is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head, and we are joined together to him spiritually. We are joined together with one another spiritually as well. He's the head; we are the body.

Now, that word head can mean in Greek. It can mean he is the authority over the body. No doubt about that. Jesus is in charge of every one of our lives. He's in charge of this local church and the universal church. It can mean the authority. But the word head in Greek can also mean the source of power. The power comes from the head. And I think that's what he has in mind here. Jesus Christ is the head, the power source, the generator for all Christians. The power flows through him into us.

What kind of power, Pastor, are you talking about? Certainly the power to overcome the power of sin in our life. We have that power. We have the power to sustain us through life's crises. But the primary power that comes from Jesus Christ is the power of eternal life. How do I know that? Look at the second phrase. He is the firstborn from the dead. And there is that word again. Prototicus. The firstborn of the dead. He is the prototype of the dead. Now, does that mean Jesus Christ was the first person ever raised from the dead?

Speaker 3

No.

Speaker 1

There were people raised from the dead before Jesus. In the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha and other prophets had the ability to raise people from the dead as a sign of power. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. There were other resurrections before Jesus Christ.

But here's the key difference. Everybody who got raised from the dead died again. They still had their old body with them. But Jesus Christ is the prototype. He is the leader, the first of a whole kind of new resurrection and a new body that will never die.

Speaker 2

It's stunning to realize that Jesus has inhabited the earth long before the earth came into existence. Paul, when writing to the Colossians, wrote these profound words: he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Please make it a point to join us tomorrow on Pathway to Victory when we continue our study in this passage. And on Friday's program, we'll enjoy some Christmas music together as well, performed by the First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra.

Before I turn things over to David, let me telegraph an urgent message about the matching challenge that's active right now. Generous friends of Pathway to Victory have set aside a fund of $1.7 million in faith. Their objective is to inspire people like you to give generously to the ministry as well.

Because of this matching challenge, every dollar that's given between now and the deadline on December 31st has twice the impact. For example, your generous gift today of $200 becomes $400, and your gift of $400 becomes $800. Some are able to give much more. Your gift will arrive at a critical time because we're asking God to use Pathway to Victory beyond our wildest expectations next year. As we double the size of your gift, we'll double our capacity to bring light in the darkness next year.

Here's an added bonus: when you give today, we'll be saying thank you by providing the brand new and exclusive 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. Without question, I believe this tan leather-bound edition, which is more than 500 pages in length and is among the most beautiful books we've ever produced, is yours when you give a generous year-end gift to the Matching Challenge today.

Here's David with all the details.

Speaker 3

When you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'd like to say thanks by sending you the brand new 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. To request your copy, call 866-999-296 or, even easier, simply go online to ptv.org. When your gift is $100 or more, you'll also receive the DVD, video, and MP3 format audio discs for Celebrate the Savior. That's a collection of the best Christmas teaching messages by Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Now don't forget, your contribution right now will be doubled in impact through our Now Is the Time Matching Challenge. So be sure to get in touch today. Call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could also send your donation by mail. Write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, TX 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins inviting you back for part two of the message called "What Child Is This?" That's coming up Friday on Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. As a devoted Christian and American Patriot, you understand that our freedom to teach the truth of God's Word is at risk. You can stem the tide and guarantee that your personal resources have a never-ending influence by investing in the Pathway to Victory Legacy giving program. Call 296-92400 or go to ptv.org legacy.

You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. Right now, your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge.

Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.