Title: I love Jesus (Colossians 1:14-17)
◎ Bible text: Colossians 1:14-17
i love you jesus
☞Text:14 In his Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 From him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, Whether kings or sovereigns or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him, 17 and he was before all things, and in him all things hold together.
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We shared grace while looking at the sufferings of Jesus in the second half of the last Red Sea operation. In the face of his suffering and death on the cross, we realize once again that we are at a loss for words. As the Son of God, Jesus was ridiculed and despised by men, scorned, pierced with whips and thorns, carrying that heavy cross, fell, and fell, broken knees, shoulders, and ultimately was nailed to a cross for a heinous criminal. ran and died.
No sin could be found in Jesus. But whose sin was it that he died as a heinous criminal? It's my sin, yours, and ours. So what more can we say before His cross? Those who believe in Jesus and know the sufferings of Jesus have what they have to say, complaining, complaining, and complaining while living a religious life? Nevertheless, I complain that I met a difficult task, that it did not go my way, that what I wanted did not come true, and that the mission I was given was thrown away, and I complained that nothing was achieved even though I worked hard. Some even complain about being told to serve the church, the body of Jesus. Are you saying everyone has a mouth? What do you say about the innocent Jesus hanging on the cross and then dead? If there are any words that can be said, only “I love Jesus”, “I will do what Jesus wants”, “I will not leave Jesus even if I die”, “I will be loyal to the body of Jesus”. I will always praise the grace of the Savior.”
You and I have certainly accepted Jesus as our Savior. So, I come out here and worship the God who sent Jesus. If it were not for Jesus, we would not be able to come to God as those who were destined for eternal destruction, and we would not be able to expect abundant life.
Who is the Jesus I believe in? Why do I have to love him? Let's take a look at the main text again.
1. He is the one who suffered and died for the atonement of my sins.
Verse 14 says, “In his Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.” In other words, the forgiveness of our sins was accomplished by paying the price of the blood of Jesus. It was given to us purely free of charge, but to Jesus it was accomplished by giving his life. Ephesians 1:7 records, “In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Nevertheless, Jesus willingly endured it to the end.
Romans 6:23 “The price of sin is death,” and Jesus paid the price for that death so that we can no longer pay the penalty for sin and have eternal life.
You can say life like this. It is as if we are walking towards an eternal paradise, where we will no longer have to bear the burden of heavy sins, and we are heading towards a city that will be destroyed forever, far from paradise.
However, as the burden was lifted by believing in Jesus, it has already changed to a life where we are allowed to live in paradise.
Also in John Bunyan's Journey to the Heavenly Ages, Christendom leaves Jangmangseong (the future ruined castle = the world) and goes towards the heavenly castle. He carries a heavy burden of guilt on his back. Then, in a certain place, you see the cross. When I looked at the cross, I saw the face of Christ who paid for all of his sins on the cross. That's the time. I saw the heavy burden of sin on his back fell to the ground and rolled down. It was so easy that the joy was beyond words.
Christians can sing this hymn. “After receiving the forgiveness of my sins and knowing Jesus, everything about me changed. The way I'm going now is the way to heaven. Your blood washed away my sins. My everything has changed and I am redeemed by that blood. God is my salvation; there is no condemnation for me” (chapter 210).
“Our souls, naked in sin, will rejoice and see the Lord. I will serve the Lord Jesus in heaven forever” (Chapter 313).
2. The Jesus who died for us was God.
Verse 15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Jesus, who suffered for us and shed His blood on the cross, was God.
Who is God?
First, God is the Creator.
Verse 16: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether kings or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.”
There is nothing in this universe that was not created by God. Not only the visible but also the invisible, the kingship, sovereignty, rulership, and authority the worldly power and the spiritual power there is nothing that is not a creation of God.
Second, He is the ruler of all things.
Verse 17 “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
All things were created by God, and all things are in God. The birds flying in the air from the wild grass sprouting on the ground are governed by God, and God is in control of all the Sun, Moon, and Holy Spirits in outer space, all power in the world, and the life and death of people.
Jesus was God who came to this earth in the flesh. Maybe some of you are the creator and the yangban who rules over all things to do something in the flesh to pay for their troubles, and everyone is under your authority, whether by command or authority! Did you really need to do that?
The mystery of Christianity is here. It is revealed from the crucifixion of Jesus that there is no perfect God other than God.
God created man and proclaimed to man that if we sin, we will die. This proclamation was a declaration that God Himself was perfect, without sin, and the other was a declaration that those with whom I had fellowship should be without sin. Therefore, he declared that sin must pay the price of death. A person's death means separation from God.
But man has sinned. As God declared, man was cut off from God, and the penalty of death was given.
However, God created human beings in His image for the special purpose of receiving praise from them, but their relationship was cut off because of sin. However, God did not plan to dispose of the sinner and build a new one, but instead created a project to pay the price for man's sins and save them again.
But the project of salvation was truly enormous, surprising, groundbreaking, and groundbreaking.
The content of the project is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
It was a project where God's only-begotten Son, He Himself, came in the flesh and shed His blood to atone for the sins that caused them to be cut off from God, and whoever believes in Jesus, who shed His blood on the cross, will become righteous and restore their relationship with God.
In response, Jesus came to this earth and spoke the words to support this amazing, amazing, and groundbreaking project of God, saying, “I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). What is abundant life? Eternal life with God, luxury life boasting the highest quality, life that cannot be imitated by anything in the world. In order to give us this abundant life, God Himself took the flesh and was crucified, not just in words. That is Jesus.
Saints, why? Did you know that you have to say “I love you Jesus”? These are the words that must come out of the mouth of the saved saint. During this Lenten season, think of God's wonderful plan once again, and deeply meditate on Jesus, who suffered and shed His blood for us on the cross, cry out "I love you" in your heart.