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Volume. XXV, No. 7 Exaltation of the Son (Part I)Tourists stand in wondering admiration before some of the palaces of the old world that have endured for more than a thousand years without a crack or seam. The Pantheon at Rome stands just as it did well over two thousand years ago. This would be impossible had not its foundations been right. The Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal in Venice was erected in 1588. It has stood as it now stands for over four centuries, but that bridge rests on twelve thousand piles driven deeply into the soil. Dear friends: What is true of buildings is also true of life. God cannot and will not fill us with His Spirit for His service until the proper foundation of receiving Christ and Him crucified as our Lord and Savior has been laid. Christ warns us that our faith must not be built on sandy grounds but on the Rock of Ages—Christ Himself. Unfortunately, some of us might have failed to establish a solid foundation but expected God to fill us with His Spirit for His service. The question is, how should one build a solid foundation for his faith? One can only establish a firm foundation when he exalts the Son in his daily lives by understanding the theological implications laid out for us in the Scriptures. Let us consider how Christians should exalt Christ according to Col 1:15-20. Exalt the Son as the Eternal God, the Sovereign Creator
Christ as the Eternal God (Col 1:15)
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (v.15)
In verse 15, Apostle Paul reminds his readers that Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (John 1:18, 14:9, 15:24; 2 Cor 4:4,6; Phil 2:6; Heb 1:3), was not created to be the Son nor would He cease to be the unique Son of God because He was, is and forever will be the Son of God – He is the eternally begotten Son of the Father. Christ was not elevated to be the Son of God as some Christian cult groups suggest. He did not earn the position or title as the Son of God by His work of obedience. He is the eternal Son of God even before His incarnation or before the foundation of the World (Prov 8:21-31; John 1:1-3; 17:24; Rev 13:8). This means that Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is equal in essence, substance, power and glory (Rev 5:12,13, 7:12) and possesses all the same characters and attributes as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He is worthy of all our veneration and worship (Rev 4:11). We should render all the glory, wisdom, power and honor to the Son of God when we come for worship every Lord’s Day. Christ, being “the first of every creature,” (v.15b) is also unique as the eternal Son of God. Since Christ is the only eternally begotten Son of God, born again Christians will never become little gods when they arrive in heaven neither will they become omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient as the eternal Son of God. The teaching of the church of Mormons (or church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints) is an Ancient Satanic lie that came out from the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-5) which is nothing new, but equally subtle and deadly that have mislead millions. Our Lord warned such false piety and false preachers who preached the false gospel and said: “Woe unto you…hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Matt 23:15)
Christ as the Sovereign Creator (Col 1:16,17)
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (v.16,17)
Christ is not only the eternal Son of God, He is also the Creator of all things in the Universe (v.16a). The “all things,” which He created includes “visible and invisible” (v.16b) and all those who were given “dominions ,principalities or powers” in the Universe (v.16c). What does this mean to Christians today? This means that Christians should denounce the beliefs of ‘evolution,’ ‘theistic evolution,’ progressive creation,’ ‘gap-theory’ and all other related Satanic lies and human philosophies concerning the origin of this wonderful and magnificent World which God has made. Since there is nothing that is not made by the Son of God (John 1:3.10 Heb 1:2, 11:3) including all the angels and all the unseen objects in the universe, this inevitably implies that we should not wonder whether if there are aliens or extra-terrestrials in some remote part of the Universe. All living creatures are created by God and the fantasy of aliens from outer space is simply whims and fancies of those who believe in biological and cosmological evolution. Some may argue, “What does the belief of extra-terrestrial life forms have anything to do with evolution?” It is because the biological and cosmological evolutionists believe that since man evolved out of evolution through billions of years, there must be some other creatures out there in the vast Universe which houses hundreds of trillions of stars and planets. However, the problem is there are no billions or even millions of years. All we have is at most six to eight thousands of years of history since God created the Universe according to most biblical and conservative scholars. One Christian scientist argues, “The Earth\'s magnetic field is decaying at the rate of about 5 % every 100 years. This means that about 1450 years ago it was twice as strong as it is today, and 2900 years ago it was four times as strong. Therefore, assuming that the rate of decay has been constant for the recent past, then only 10,000 years ago the earth\'s magnetic field would have been 128 times as strong as it is today: so strong that the amount of heat produced would have prevented life as we know it from existing on earth. In other words, it seems likely that the Earth\'s magnetic field is quite young, and suggests that the earth itself is also young. “
Christ is not only the Creator of this universe, but He is also the sustainer of this universe. Apostle Paul says in verse 17 says, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” How does it help us in our understanding of the Son? Decades ago, Astronomers and Physicists hypothesized that most of the matter in the universe is made of “dark matter” and “dark energy”. According to them, dark matter is matter that is inferred to exist from gravitational effects on visible matter and background radiation, but is undetectable by emitted or scatteredelectromagnetic radiation. Dark energy is a energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of expansion of the universe. In the recent years, they further hypothesize that the latter (dark energy) works like a gigantic cosmic web that catches all the stars and planets in the Universe. If this is true, then there is really nothing “dark” about the energy in the universe. It is Christ who created this universe and sustains it with His infinite power or energy! If it were not for Christ’s sustaining power, the entire universe would have instantly collapsed and all of the creatures that He created would have died. What does it mean to you as a Christian? This means that there is no such thing as “deism” which believes that God has simply created the world but left it to wind up like a big clock or to allow it to run by its natural laws and He does nothing to preserve and maintain His creation, No. The God of the Bible is not like that. The Psalmist says, “The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.” (Ps 75:3; cf. 1 Sam 2:8; John 5:17-18; Acts 17:28; Heb 1:3). Henceforth, we ought to be grateful that God did not allow any stars, moon, giant meteorites or comets to strike the earth while we are walking on the streets. We ought to be thankful that the atmosphere does not collapse and the earth does not disintegrate while we are sleeping. We ought to be thankful that we are alive each morning when we wake up and brush our teeth (Acts 17:28). This also means that there is no such thing as a so-called battle between ‘good and evil,’ or battle between ‘God and Satan,’ nor any power struggle between a good force and an evil force! Because Christ the Son of God is the one who created the universe and who has also defeated Satan and his cohorts on Calvary’s Cross. Col 2:15 says, “(Christ) having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” What an awesome God we have and what a great assurance we have in Jesus, the Son of God the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.
To Be Continued…
Ps Weng
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