Colossians 1:3-14
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you f to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Honoring and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and life, His and ours in His…
John 1:1414
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:15-21 - The Supremacy of the Son of God
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of g your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation
Hebrews 1:3-4
3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
And despite this radiant and divine glory, Jesus is… not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters
Heb 2:6-11
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,a son of man that you care for him?7You made them a little lower than the angels;you crowned them with glory and honor8and put everything under their feet.”In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. 9But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.10In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
The Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-11
16-20 1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
As His siblings, adopted into His family, we now - having been made by Him co-heirs with Him in the kingdom, as He came to seek and save the lost, we now - we, who have put our trust in Him, are the lost found, and now we have the privilege of turning and finding those who are lost; we, having been in darkness, now seeing the light we bring the light of God’s kingdom to bear in this broken world -
2Cor 3:18; John 17:22; Rom 8:29
Glory to glory
We will reflect Jesus. One kernel of wheat falling to the ground produces many. Jesus, the one kernel. We are the next, the life of Christ in us, by the Spirit of GodWe now go around reflecting Him
2Cor 4:6 for God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
Eph 1 - 5 times referring to God’s glory in His work with humanity; Eph 3 God’s glory being explicitly magnified by His grace to mankind - Our lives in Christ are (to) the glory of His grace - we are His glory.
When we live in grace, by grace, God’s grace is put on display for all to see - all of the heavenly powers and authorities
God has chosen to have the light of His glory to be most manifest in His grace toward us - that as sin increased, His grace increased - this to the consternation of any holy being watching, this to any evil being trying to thwart God’s work in sinful humanity - this is God’s glorious grace overcoming evil with good, or better stated, by His inherent goodness (2Peter 1)
We are, who have been made in His image, and not created in Christ Jesus, by grace, through faith, the living expression of God’s glory in and by His grace extended to us by His loving mercy, in us by His faithfulness, and through us by His the Spirit of His eternal wisdom and good pleasure
Matthew 28:16-20
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Closing prayer… from Eph 3:14-21; 4:1-6
