Christ Performs the Work of Creation and Providence

Synopsis of Inaudible Opening

0:00 This particular sermon was the 16th in the series, Here We Stand, preached by Pastor Albert N. Martin at the Trinity Baptist Church. However, in the actual preaching of this sermon, there were some technical difficulties involved with the recording equipment so that the first eight or nine minutes were inaudible and were not able to be reproduced. Now in place of that and the normal review that goes on with the introduction to each of these sermons, I have proposed simply to give a brief synopsis of the material that was covered during those first few minutes so that the trend of thought is clear when you actually pick up the recording as the sermon was preached,

0:47 at which point there is a reference to Colossians 1, verses 15 and 16. At this point in the series of sermons dealing with the person of Christ, I had been demonstrating that Jesus Christ is set forth as true God in the Scriptures. And I was presently considering the beginning of the third group of witnesses to the Godhood of Christ in the Scriptures, having considered the passages in which he is specifically called God, the second group the passages in which he is described as possessing the distinguishing characteristics of God. In this third group I began to introduce the passages in which our Lord Jesus Christ is described as performing works which only God himself can do.

1:36 I used an illustration relative to a construction site in which we are told there is only one man, the chief equipment operator, who can operate the bulldozer, the crane, and the concrete and dump trucks. And if we went to such a building site and found one particular individual who was operating all of that equipment, we would certainly be right in deducing that this was indeed the chief equipment operator. Likewise, the Scriptures say that there are certain works which only God Himself can perform. When we turn to the Scriptures and find Jesus Christ performing those works which only God can perform, we are warranted then in concluding that Jesus Christ is indeed God.

2:20 And then the second point of introduction was one in which I underscored the fact that although some of these works which Jesus Christ does are said in Scripture to be given to him, this in no way lessens the testimony of these passages to the essential deity of Christ, for the simple reason that Christ can perform no work greater than his capacity. And therefore, if the president of a multi-million dollar corporation should give to his three-year-old son the task of running his corporation, the son would be utterly incompetent to run it. However, the Father can give any work to the Son, because the Son has, if I may use the illustration, the broad shoulders of deity upon which that work rests.

3:07 Having then introduced the subject with these two basic concepts, I then began to bring forward the witnesses to the deity of Christ found in those passages in which Christ is described as performing the works of God. The first of those witnesses is that group of scriptures which speak of Jesus Christ as doing the work of creation. From Genesis to Revelation, the work of creation, that is, calling all things into being out of nothing, is ascribed as a work of God. Genesis 1.1 and Revelation 4.11, and then in between those passages, dozens if not hundreds of references to creation as the distinctive work of God, all together

3:54 bear down with this great principle that whoever has brought the universe into being is the supreme being himself. Then we turn to John chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 in which Jesus Christ is described as the creator. And in that passage it is essential to notice that there are but two categories of subsistences, the God who made all things and the things that are made. And there is no third category. And either Jesus Christ is a thing created, or He Himself is the Creator who created all other things. And so this passage then bears witness to the essential creator work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore points to him as being God. At this

Colossians 1: Christ as Firstborn and Creator

4:44 point, where the tape picks up from the live recording, your attention will be directed to Colossians 1, verses 15 and 16. What did he mean? He could have used a word that is the same compound begins with the same compound. That means the first created being, but he didn't use that.

5:04 He used a word that means firstborn, not in terms of something that is brought forth, but it speaks of position. Firstborn identifies the individual as the absolute heir and the sovereign Lord. And that the apostle had this concept of the firstborn in his mind is borne out by the context. Look at your Bibles.

5:32 He is the firstborn of all creation for, for, and here we have a technical description, a causal conjunction. He is the firstborn, the absolute heir and sovereign Lord because Because in Him were all things created In the heavens and upon the earth Things visible Here again see what things are Angels, archangels Things visible Things invisible Thrones or dominions Principalities or powers All things have been created through him and unto him, and he is before all things, and in him all things consist or adhere or hold together.

6:29 Oh, what a wonderful statement this is concerning our Lord. Why is he the prototokos? Why is he the firstborn? Why is he in the position of being the rightful heir of all creation?

6:44 For the simple reason that creation comes from him. He is the rightful heir because, and the apostle uses three descriptive phrases, in him all things were created, verse 16a, in him, that is with reference to him, all things were created. Creation has no meaning apart from Him or separate from Him. And then in a more definitive sense, He says, the latter part of the verse, all things created through Him as the agent and unto Him as the end or object.

7:26 In other words, creation has no meaning if we sever it from its true Creator, who is none other than the very One in whom we have redemption, even our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How do we know that Jesus Christ is God? We know that He is God because the third group of witnesses stand before us and say He does that work which only God can do, the work of creation. And this is affirmed not only in John 1 and Colossians 1, but very quickly now over to Hebrews chapter 1.

Hebrews 1: Heir of All Things Through Whom He Made the Worlds

8:03 Hebrews chapter 1.

8:06 The purpose of the writer to the Hebrews is to show the excellency of Christ over every other previous revelation God has given. He is greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater than Aaron, greater than the old covenant sacrifices and rituals and privileges. He is seeking to set forth the glory of Jesus Christ. And notice what he includes in that initial description.

8:32 God having of old times spoken unto the fathers and the prophets, hath in these last days or at the end of these days spoken unto us in a Son whom He appointed heir of all things. Now why was Christ appointed heir of all things? See the parallel between this and Colossians 1. Through whom also He made the worlds or the ages.

8:59 Christ is appointed the rightful heir of all things because it was through him that all things came into being and have their very existence. Now, as I continually asserted when contemplating the distinguishing characteristics of God as seen in Christ, this is not an abstract, philosophical, theological exercise. In each of these three passages that we've looked at and I've sought to expound, The burden of the writer is to press upon people the greatness and the sufficiency of Christ as a Redeemer. John says, These things have I written that you may know who Christ is,

9:46 and that knowing it you might believe, and believing you might have life. It is essential to our salvation to know that our Savior is God. Why does Paul write as he writes in Colossians throwing out of that rich mind and that disciplined pen magnificent and at times overwhelming concepts of the exaltation of Christ For the simple reason that people were coming along and saying to be a Christian, Christ is not enough. You need Christ plus these other intermediaries.

10:24 You need Christ plus the angels. You need Christ plus an ascetic life of discipline. You need Christ plus something else. Paul says, no!

10:33 If I have a Savior who is God, and He's given birth to all other things, what thing that He has made can give me more than what the Maker Himself has given me? My friend, if you're bored with this, God have mercy on your soul. You've never felt the pains of Holy Ghost conviction. You've never felt how dreadful it is to think of appearing before a holy God as a sinner.

11:03 If you did, you'd long to know that salvation for the likes of you rests upon the shoulders of one who is mighty, who is mighty with the might of God Himself. And in the passage in Hebrews, of course, that too is the great burden of the writer to the Hebrews. Here some people were tempted to turn away from Christ, tended to go back to empty forms and empty ceremonies. What shall he do to corral them?

11:34 Shall he warn them? Yes, he does warn them. Oh, the frightful warnings in the book of Hebrews. He seeks, as it were, to pluck them from the burning with the stiff hook of sober warning.

11:48 But oh, he does something more. He sets forth the loveliness and the power and the glory and the majesty of the Son of God, trusting that as they behold Him in His glory the eye that is filled with the majesty of Christ can't be filled with the pencil of empty religion.

12:09 How could they even think of going back to empty religion if their eyes are filled with the majesty and the glory of the Son of God?

Conclusion on Creation and Transition to Providence

12:20 And so this third group of witnesses say our Savior is God. He is God because He does the works of God. The first work is the work of creation. And He is able as a Savior because He has displayed His might as a Creator.

12:40 The one who could speak worlds into being can speak life to dead souls. The one who forms galaxies and worlds can form me into someone who will ultimately reflect the image of his own holy being. The one who can design and build the world can tear down this present world and reconstruct the new heavens and the new earth. Everything in his redemption is dependent upon the might of the Redeemer.

13:13 Well, I must hurry now to touch just one other part of this third group of witnesses that tell us that he does the distinguishing works of God, and that is the work of providence. He is not only creator, but he is the sustainer and the governor of his universe. There is no better definition of providence than that which is given in the Shorter Catechism. The question is, what are the works of God's providence?

Doctrine of Providence and Its Immensity

13:40 The answer to question 11 is, God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. Now consider what that involves. In the combination of infinite power, infinite wisdom, infinite intelligence, think of the millions of strands that are woven together in the fabric of just the group of people here today. If the doctrine of providence is a biblical doctrine that is that Almighty God in providence preserves and governs all His creatures

14:26 and all their actions. Think of what that means just with the 250 or 70, 80 people that are here this morning. Psalm 139 says he was there when I was conceived in my mother's womb. And all that went into my being knit together to make me what I am in distinction from even my brothers or sisters who were conceived in the same womb.

14:50 God was there. God was manipulating the gene pools. God was there determining the inherited characteristics. God was there in my mother's womb.

15:02 as though the whole rest of the universe was shut down when I was conceived and he planned to make me me. That's the teaching of the Bible. Now think of the millions of people conceived and at every conception God is there. God is there.

15:20 Now think of all the influences that mold and shape a life and how many times a chance telephone call, a chance meeting, becomes the very springboard of the opening up of a whole new dimension of experience. You think in your own life of all the hundreds of fine strands that have woven together to make up the fabric of what your life has been. Think of it. Now then, think of all the hundreds of strands and thousands in the person next to you.

15:50 And the hundreds and thousands in the person next to him. Now multiply that to all the population of Caldwell. And then of Essex County. And then of New Jersey.

15:58 and then in New York and then the United States and we're just a little piddling nation 200 million China's got 800 million India 500 million think of the immensity of the mind of God to hold all that together so that not one friend is ever pulled apart from the direction of almighty God you say Pastor Martin my head swims I hope it swims you never worship till your head swims your head is found swimming you've never known what he is to worship who hath known the mind of God oh the depths of the wisdom and the knowledge of God that's providence

16:44 that's why only God can be the being who controls providence you get confused when you read in Ezekiel about the wheels within the wheels and the wheels within the wheels well I don't know what that all is but I like to think of it in terms of a beautiful illustration of providence. Think of all the wheels within wheels within wheels in your own life. All the little plots and subplots that are going on in you right now, today. To think that a God of infinite mind and power and intelligence is controlling all of that.

17:19 Now, if in any way Jesus Christ is said to be doing that, He's God. I get confused when just more than three or four signals go in at once and I've got three or four things to do at once let me give a little confession Wednesday nights especially I feel like a one-armed paper hanger I usually come with a whole stack of stuff I have to give certain bills that have come to the house to Mr. Nixon and then I have other literature that needs to go to Phil and letters that he's given to me and I've dictated an answer that afternoon and I have to give them back to him and then there's usually this one to be seen and then I've had an appointment or two already made and by the time I'm trying to get from the front of the church to my appointment someone stops, can I see? And at times I just feel like I'm going to explode.

18:01 I just feel like too many brands. I just can't hold all the brands at the same time.

18:07 Think of God. Think of God.

18:11 Billions of strands of responsibility ordering the affairs of His universe down to the motions within every album. and he's never ruffled, never confused, never absent-minded, never says, oh boy, I blew it. I'm sorry I made two appointments at the same time. God never does it.

18:33 My friend, if anything in the Bible says that Jesus Christ is that God of providence, he's God. And the Bible does say he is just that God. And I want you to look at two texts of Scripture with me.

Text 1: John 17:2 — Authority Over All Flesh

18:47 Oh, time is going so quickly. I want to give you four. Well, I'll just quote them briefly, and I'll just open up two of them. The others I'll just simply quote and underscore them for you.

18:57 The first one is John 17 and verse 2. John 17 and verse 2. If at any point my voice drops off and you cannot hear me at the back, please raise your hand. I've been working hard to sustain it.

19:11 It's been like preaching on the street corner in the old days. But if it drops off and I forget, raise your hand. I'll not be offended. You can't be edified if you can't hear.

19:21 You young men aspiring to preach, will you please remember that? It's the inexcusable sin. Not speaking up so as to be heard. God doesn't give magical edification if your hearers can't hear you.

19:33 All right? John chapter 17. The high priestly prayer of our Lord. These things spake Jesus in lifting up his eyes to heaven.

19:43 He said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son that thy Son may glorify thee. Even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh That to all whom thou hast given him He should give eternal life Thou hast given him authority over all flesh That is, our Lord is acknowledging In the presence of his Father That there has been delivered unto him For the accomplishment of his saving purposes all authority over all men Authority that is to be exercised in the accomplishment of the salvation of men That means that our Lord holds the strands of human government in His hands

20:35 It is the Lord who opens doors for the gospel to go and shuts them when there is political activity on the surface of the opening and the shutting. It is the Lord who opens the hearts of rebel sinners or leaves them to their impenitence and unbelief, as we read in Acts 16. Here is a statement by our Lord that He has this position of absolute right to rule in the administration of His work of salvation. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1.

Text 2: Ephesians 1:21-22 — All Things Under His Feet

21:11 Here is a statement of our Lord's post-resurrection position. Where is he now? The apostle says that the power of God has been mightily manifested in that Christ has not only been raised from the dead, but he has been raised to a position, verse 21 of Ephesians 1, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And he put all things in subjection under his feet.

21:53 All things in subjection under his feet. What are all things? Everything that has subsistence. All created entities are under his feet.

22:06 and He gave him to be head over all things to the church. Here again is an exposition of John 17. Our Lord is in a posture not only where He has the right to rule, but He has made the administrative head who rules from a posture in which everything is subject to Him. And now Colossians 1, the passage that I want to expound briefly now.

Text 3: Colossians 1:17 — All Things Hold Together in Him

22:34 We looked at the statement concerning our Lord doing the work of creation. We come now to something that to me is even more profound than the initial work of creation. For in the language of the psalmist he spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast.

22:55 But look at verse 17. The one who is the rightful heir of creation. The prototokos because he is the creator. He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

23:14 If you have a 1901 edition, you will notice that the marginal reading is, In Him all things hold together. We could give a very literal translation of this word, In Him all things stick together. In other words, Paul declares that Jesus Christ is the cohesive organizing power of every created subsistence. All things, angels, principalities, and powers, and archangels, and dominions, men, the great men of the earth, the mean and the low men of the earth, devils and demons, the stars in their motions in our own galaxy,

24:03 and the millions of the galaxies and the movements of the universe, from the tiniest motions within the atom, that which holds all together to the vastness of the farthest reaches of the farthest galaxy, in Jesus Christ all is held together.

24:31 You mean the apostle is saying that Jesus of Nazareth is the cohesive element of the entire universe? I mean to say that's exactly what he is asserting. There is no motion of the various electrons and the rest in an atom that are not controlled and governed by the power of Jesus Christ.

25:01 There is no operation of the law of gravity independent of Jesus Christ. There is no motion of the various planets in their orbits apart from Jesus Christ. There is no streaking star that falls from its appointed course without Jesus Christ nudging it out of its course and sending it on its blazing trail through the skies. In Him all things hold together.

25:37 As one author has said The one with whom and by whom and to whom All creation exists Is the one who maintains all that he has created The unity, the order And the adaptation evident in all nature and history Can be traced to the upholder And the sustainer of all Now do you see why some of us recoil with holy anger at the cheap, sentimental, tawdry presentation of Christ that goes in the name of gospel singing, gospel preaching?

Text 4: Hebrews 1:3 — Upholding All Things by His Word

26:22 My friends, our Savior is this majestic, this glorious God who upholds all things in whom all things adhere. The parallel passage to this and the final passage that we look at this morning is Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3. No doubt some of you have already thought of this verse. Again the writer to the Hebrews concerned to show the glory of Christ as the Savior of men Describes him in verse 2 Not only as the one through whom the worlds were made But will you notice verse 3

27:08 Who being the effulgence of his glory The very image of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had made purification of sins. You see, these things are brought into the closest proximity possible in language. Upholding all things, making purification for sins. Who made purification for our sins?

27:48 The one who ever was and is and continues to be the upholder of all things. And the word in the original in this context means nothing less than the preserver and the governor of all things. It's the word often used to bear something. He is the bearer of all things.

28:11 What are things? every created reality, angels and archangels, principalities and powers. You say, Pastor, you told us that before. Yes, but I hope somehow the Holy Ghost will take the repetition and burn it upon your heart that no child of God will ever have a moment's doubt concerning the identity of His Savior.

28:36 As one has said, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. has the weight of the whole creation upon His hand and disposes it by His power and His wisdom. But now bring them together, upholding all things when He purged our sins. Before He could purge our sins, He had to have a body.

29:01 You mean when I gaze upon that bed in that manger at Bethlehem, that he who there lies upon a bed of straw is the upholder of the universe. The Scriptures affirm without any equivocation, yes, upheld by straw, he is the upholder of the universe.

29:27 When I gaze as we did today upon that scene when our Lord is found resting in a boat or coming at midnight in the midst of a storm. There is a parallel scene or a similar scene when he's sleeping in the midst of a storm. Am I to believe that he whose wearied humanity has reached such a state of exhaustion that he must sleep in the midst of a storm upheld by the thin planks from what seems to be to the disciples absolute destruction? Is he the upholder of all things?

30:03 Yes! and he proved it by waking up and saying, Storm! That's enough.

30:09 And the waves were still. That's what happened to the disciples.

30:15 They thought that they were being victimized. And the Lord said, You're not being victimized. I'm upholding all things. I'm upholding you.

30:24 You don't believe it? Storm! You'll be quiet for a while.

30:28 And everything's still. And they cry out Surely This is the Son of God This is God the Son It was the identity of His person manifested in what His creative power Just shortly before that, He did the work of creation. He took five laws and two fishes, and out of it He fed a multitude. He manifested creative power!

The Upholder Upheld on a Cross

30:53 Now with the storm He manifests Himself as the God of providence. and wonder of wonders hanging upon a tree. I behold and say, it is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit and I see the lifeless form upheld upon a Roman cross.

31:15 And I say, is that the upholder of the universe? And the answer of the Scripture is yes. Truly it is, upholding all things when he had purged our sins And He never relinquished that mighty power of upholding all things in the process of purging our sins. Oh, dear people, as I draw our study to a close, have you beheld your Lord as the Lord of John 17, who has authority over all flesh?

Application: Desperate Sinners, Unbelief, and Whole-Souled Worship

31:49 Ephesians 1.22, beneath whose feet all things have been put, the one of Colossians who holds all together, the Christ of Hebrews who upholds all by the word of His power. If you've seen that, then you understand something of what God is saying concerning the desperate plight of sinners. None but this omnipotent Savior who is God, the God who creates and sustains, none but He can meet the need of miserable sinners such as you, such as I.

32:29 Whenever the biblical doctrine of sin begins to be watered down, begins to be diluted, it's only a matter of time before the biblical doctrine of Jesus Christ and His essential deity is diluted and watered down and then ultimately denied. Listen to me, men and women. Do you want to curse your children and grandchildren with mealy-mouthed liberalism? Then you begin to have a hard heart and an insensitive conscience to sin.

33:02 And then you begin to justify your sin. And you begin to find polite names for your sin. And before long, you'll feel no desperate need for this mighty Savior from sin. And you'll curse your unborn children with an anemic human Jesus.

33:19 because of your own love of sin, because of your own carnal passions.

33:30 You see how foolish is timid unbelief in the light of this teaching. I speak to some who are guilty of timid unbelief. And oh, how foolish it is. You say, my sin is greater than the sin bearer.

33:45 My bondage is too great for Christ to break it. My friend, the Savior who invites you is God. He created worlds. He can take that world of iniquity from off your back and out of your heart.

34:01 Timid unbelief is damning unbelief.

34:05 Timid unbelief that keeps you at a distance from the Savior is as damning as is the second kind of unbelief. Reckless, stubborn unbelief. that says, I will not bow to the Son of God. My friend, as God who upholds the breath in your nostrils, He will raise you from the dead.

34:28 As God who sustains your life, He'll bring you to His judgment bar. And as God, He'll pronounce the sentence. And as God, He'll see to it that you sink into hell.

34:40 You're dealing with God in the gospel, my friend. The Christ we set before you is God, both in mercy and in judgment. And oh dear children of God, if this is what our Savior is, behold how worthy He is of our unfamed love and confidence. Do you see how wicked is unbelief in the face of so mighty a Savior?

35:06 When you do not believe He is good and wise and kind in that strange providence, you're saying in essence that somehow a few threads got out of your Savior's hand and the devil wove them into your life.

35:23 He's never dropped a stitch in the fabric of His own wise administration of your life. Oh, how worthy He is of our unfeigned love and confidence. How worthy He is of whole-souled obedience. You know what I mean by whole-souled obedience?

35:42 I don't mean the obedience With heavy leaden feet That walk in the way of God's precepts But they do not run Oh what a wicked thing it is Who summons us to follow Him Our mighty Creator is our Redeemer Our mighty Sustainer And upholder of the universe And oh how unworthy of Him Is half-hearted worship Oh, dear people, have you caught something of the biblical privilege of worship? When you sing praises to your Savior, how can you do it half asleep? I don't care if it's muggy. I don't care if it's hot.

36:26 I care not if you had a bad night's sleep. Stir yourself up from your lethargy. Throw your soul into the praise of so great a Savior.

36:39 He's worthy of this. is worthy of more than I can ever bring Him, worthy of more than you can ever bring Him, but certainly worthy of nothing less than what we can bring Him, certainly worthy of nothing less than what we can render to Him. May God seal to our hearts the wonderful testimony of the Word concerning His own dear Son, who is Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of God's elect, the Redeemer of God's elect, is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the Son of God became man, and so was and continues to be both God and man in two distinct natures in one person forever.

37:26 He is God. The first group of witnesses call Him God. The second say He possesses characteristics peculiar to God. The third have begun their testimony, And they've declared that He does works which only God can do.

37:43 He is the mighty Creator. He is the mighty Sustainer and Upholder. And oh, my friend, He's all of this in the plentitude of this glorious person. To every believing soul, is He your Savior?

38:00 Is He your Redeemer? Is He your Lord? Is He your Master? trifle not with so glorious a Savior kiss the Son lest ye be angry and ye perish in the way let us pray oh our Father we confess this morning that we are driven back by the sheer light of the mystery of His person.

38:44 We cannot fathom how the upholder of all is Himself upheld on the arm of a little virgin mother, how the upholder of all is Himself pinioned upon a cross. But we thank You. We believe it to be true. and we thank you that many of us have known something of the almightiness of his power transforming us in grace oh may some who in timid unbelief are kept at a distance from so great a savior beholding his glory as reflected in the preaching this morning may cast themselves upon him we pray for us who are joined

Closing Prayer

39:31 to him in bonds of faith and love. Forgive the weakness of our love. Forgive the fickleness of our love. Forgive our half-hearted worship. Forgive our half-hearted prayers. O God, if it were not for the continuous intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would be swallowed up with hopeless discouragement as we see our own failures.

39:57 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, and seal the word to our hearts. Dismiss us now with your blessing resting upon us. Help us to sanctify this day to your glory and to our profit. Through our Lord Jesus Christ we pray.

40:17 Amen.

40:24 Thank you. Thank you.