Ultimate Reality

Colossians 1:15-23

Who is the image of the invisible GOD, the firstborn {Greek,  prototokos – begotton, or to have initial beginning and final end} of every creature: For by {Greek, en – through} 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 {or through} him, and for him {or His purpose}: And he is before all things, and by {or through} him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence {or the highest rank}.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness {or completeness} dwell; And, having made peace through {or because of} the blood of his cross, by {or through} him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him {or through His life}, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by {or because of} wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.

Three Primary Expressions of GOD

1. A Father – in judgment & creation

GOD expresses Himself as our Father in His correction and His creation. Paul tell us in Romans 14:11 shows us that GOD is our Judge. In Psalms 51:10, David teaches us to pray for GOD to create within us His will and purpose, and of course we can’t overlook His creative Word expressed in Creation.

2. A Son – in redemption & re-creation

GOD expresses Himself as our Redeemer, or as a Son, through His redemptive power, and by re-creating—or re-birthing—us according to His desires and plans. In his letter to the Community at Galatia, Paul shows us that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the judgment of GOD (Galatians 3:13). In 1 Peter 1:18, Peter tells us that we were not redeemed with anything corruptible, but by the everlasting, precious blood—or essence—of Jesus Messiah. Jesus Himself tells us in John 3:7 that we have no choice but to be re-born in Messiah. Peter also shows us that we are re-birthed by the word—or expression—of GOD (1 Peter 1:23). The writer to the Hebrews shows us that Jesus—or the Son—was the express image—or exact imprint of the nature—of the Father:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, GOD spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us {through} his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of GOD and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs, Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV.

3. The Spirit – in comfort and keeping power

GOD is our Comforter and Sustainer because of His intrinsic character—His very nature. In John 14:18 Jesus told his disciples that He would not leave them comfortless, but that He, Himself would come to them. Peter shows us that Jesus is the Keeper—or Caretaker—of our souls (1 Peter 4:19). He also tells us to, cast all [our] cares on Him, for He continually cares for [us] (1 Peter 5:7). This is the intrinsic character of the Eternal GOD. Because this is His character, then we are connected to the eternal GOD-ness through our intimate knowledge of His Spirit.

The Blueprint of Creation

The Text insists that Jesus is how GOD put things together (Col. 1:17). It is here that Paul points out that in some mysterious way, Jesus is behind it all. Jesus is the arrangement, the design, the intelligence.

As Christians—or disciples of Christ—we aren’t to follow Christ’s teachings because they are a nice way to live a moral life. We should follow them because they are the best possible insight to how GOD really works. Jesus’ words teach us how things really are.

I don’t follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus because He leads me into Ultimate Reality; He teaches me to live in tune with GOD’s Reality. When Jesus said, No one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6), He was saying that: His ways, His words, His life is our connection to the essence of how things really are, which is GOD. For Jesus, the whole point is to help us connect with Ultimate Reality, GOD.

Even Paul tells us not to be so caught up and encumbered with religious relating to GOD: These religious acts and rituals are but shadows of the true Reality. The reality of the body is found in Jesus Messiah, (Col. 2:17).

Labels

It is a dangerous thing to label things Christian. The word Christian first appears in the Bible as a noun; a person, place or thing. The 1^st Century followers of Jesus accepted the moniker Christian because they had devoted themselves to living the way of Messiah. The moniker was used as a noun; a person—a person who follows Jesus, referring to a person living in tune with Ultimate Reality. 

Modern thinking has turned the word Christian into an adjective; a word used to describe a noun. The problem with turning a noun into an adjective—then tacking it onto words—is that this can create categories within the definition of Christian that limit the truth. This assumes that everything labeled Christian is both true or good.  For example, not all Christian music is good music; some is played with very little talent or regard to proper musical structure (not to mention that the goodness of music is very subjective). Movies are sometimes portrayed as Christian, but do all of them project the Character of Messiah? What if a preacher preaches or teaches something that is not biblically sound. Bear in mind that he is a Christian talking to other Christians in a Christian environment; yet he can still speak false doctrine. Just because you buy a Christian book in a Christian book store, doesn’t mean that every word of the text is founded in biblical truth. Christian is a great noun, but a poor adjective.

To be Christian is to do whatever it is that you do with great passion and devotion to Jesus Messiah. We do this because our actions reflect on our GOD, thus our actions are sacred as they are worship and consecration to Him. Paul said, Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus Messiah, (Col. 3:17). He goes on to say that whatever we do, that we should do it heartily, as if it were worship to GOD, (Col. 3:23).

As Christians everything we do must reflect the passion that we have for Him and His purpose. This is why our life-performance (job performance, school performance, etc.) should be the best we can make it—it is worship to our GOD. If I’m not giving my best in everything that I do, then I am not reflecting Ultimate Reality. If I’m not giving my all in everything, then I’m not giving my all in anything.

This is why it is impossible for a Christian to have a truly secular job. If you follow Jesus—and you’re doing what you do in His name—then it is no longer secular work. You are there; GOD is there; the difference is our awareness.

This truth has significant implications for how congregations function. Actions or talents don’t have to be part of a church service to be for GOD. A church is a community of people who are learning how to be His disciples wherever they are, so they can do whatever it is they do in the name of Jesus Messiah. The goal isn’t to bring everyone’s actions or talents into the church. The goal is for the Community to be these unique kinds of people who are transforming the places they live, work, play, exist.

Doing things for GOD happens all the time. Throw yourself into your life and give it all you’ve got; because you’re living your life in worship and commitment to Him. This is why labels ultimately fail. No matter how useful they are, they don’t always reflect the true meaning of the word.

We have to learn to distinguish between dark and light; GOD and flesh. The ancient Hebrew rabbis would say, The first thing GOD does is distinguish between dark and light, and the rest of Scripture is GOD teaching man how to do the same. The Text is filled with examples of GOD teaching His people how to think, how to discern, how to sort and shift and figure out what is or is not Ultimate Reality.

Being a Christian is about engaging the mind and heart more and more; not shutting them off and letting someone else think for you. Peter admonished the Community to be alert, (1 Pet. 5:8). Paul instructed the Thessalonians to test everything and hold on to the good, (1 Thess. 5:21). The danger of labeling things Christian is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we’ve been told as fact; we assume they are acceptable simply because they’ve been taught to us by people we respect. When we turn off our discernment radar dangerous things can happen. We have to test everything. Everything that we see or hear must be run through the filter of the Text. If it doesn’t gee haw with the Character and Essence of GOD, we should discard it.

Don’t follow anything blindly; because if you do then you are ignoring the passion by which you should live your life. Don’t swallow what I’m teaching uncritically; wrestle with it; challenge it; make sure it is founded in Ultimate Reality. No one has it completely nailed down; we’re only contributing to the discussion. GOD has spoken, everything else is commentary.

Then what is Ultimate Reality?

Ultimate Reality is GOD Himself; His very character, His expressions of Himself—ultimately, His purpose—is Ultimate Reality. Every aspect of our lives—our very existence—must reflect our complete and total devotion to His Ultimate Reality. Anything less than everything is nothing at all.