Was Jesus the Creator of Genesis 1 1?

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay, it's good to see everybody in again today, and once again, we'd like to welcome our television audience as well, that we're just an informal Bible study, and we've had comments from people all over the country, how they can tell that every one of you have got your own Bible, and of course that's what it takes if you're going to be in a Bible study. You have to have the textbook in front of you, and so for those of you on television, we trust you're doing the same thing, that you'll take your Bible and search these things, and line me up against the Scriptures, as well as everybody else. Anytime that you don't feel I line up with Scripture, then you have a reason to question me, because after all, this is where we have to draw the line. What does the book say? Doesn't matter what Les Feldick says, doesn't matter what anybody else says, what does the book say, which we believe is the inspired Word of God. Now again, for those of you who ask so often, all of our past programs are available on videotape, and the audio cassette tapes, as well as the little books, and we've been mailing them out. Oh my goodness, I wouldn't even venture to know, but if you're interested in any of this material, for a home Bible study, or for your own personal use, or for Sunday schools, whatever, you just give us a call, or write to us, and we'll give you the information that you need. All right, I think that's all the announcements, we want to get right back into where we left off in our last program, and that was in Colossians chapter 1, and we actually got through verse 16, but I'm going to go back to verse 15 for a few more comments, because repetition is the mother of learning, and I've had comment after comment keep repeating, keep repeating, and it does, it takes a long time for some of these to soak in, especially for folks who have never heard this before. And I've got folks sitting here in this room who know what I'm talking about, that when I come down to verse 15 and 16, and show that Jesus Christ, the One who went to that Roman cross, was the Creator of everything, and that just blows people away. I'll never forget the first time I taught it, way, way back in the early 70's, and that home Bible study, and almost to the last person, they were so shocked when I taught that Jesus Christ was the Creator of Genesis 1-1, that they just almost drove me into the corner, well, are you sure? Where do you get this? Well, I've showed you. And here is just one of various New Testament verses that show so clearly that the God of Genesis 1-1, who created everything, was in the person of Jesus Christ the Son. And that's why I'm going to repeat these verses again for just a moment. Colossians 1, verse 15. Speaking of the Son, up in verse 13, "...in whom we have redemption through His blood." So you know that has to be God the Son. And then verse 15, modifying that, is the image of the invisible God. In other words, Jesus Christ was the visible, physical manifestation of that invisible God, that we're going to be looking at quite often in the book of Colossians. Alright, and then verse 16. And again, I like these guys to keep that on the screen as much as possible. Verse 16, "...for by Him," by God the Son, "...were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible, invisible, whether it's thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things." Or today we would say, everything. Everything was created by Him and for Him. Now before we go into the next verse that shows how that He is also the glue that holds the whole universe together, I always like to show all the verses that pertain to His creatorship. And of course I'm going to take you back to John's Gospel a moment. John's Gospel, chapter 1, verses I think that everybody knows, and yet for some reason or other it escapes them, that this is the person of the Godhead who called everything into being. And He did it with a spoken word. And that also then enlightens us when we get to Revelation chapter 20, that it will be by the spoken word that He will destroy the nations at the Battle of Armageddon. It's by His spoken word that He accomplishes His power. Alright, John's Gospel, chapter 1, and we'll just read verse 1. In the beginning, see, same three words that Genesis 1 begins with. In the beginning was the Word, capitalized. And I always emphasize, what are words used for? To communicate. So I got to the place where I call Christ the communicator. Because He's the one who speaks the Word, see. And so regardless of whether He's communicating with the invisible things that will become visible, or whether He's communicating to the human race today, it's always God the Son who is the communicator. So in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning. And now verse 3 makes it so plain. All things, everything was made by Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. And then to confirm that we're talking about God the Son, or Jesus of Nazareth as we know Him back in His earthly ministry, verse 14 puts the frosting on the cake. The Word was made, what? Flesh. See how plain that is? The Word, the communicator, that person of the Godhead, who created everything, was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And John says, we beheld His glory, and the glory of the only begotten of the Father. Alright, then another one, I'm going to take you, I think we covered these in the last program, but we're going to repeat them. Come on over now to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 3. And I do this so that all of you, all of you out on television, if you're teaching whatever, one-on-one, or if you're teaching a Sunday school class, or a men's group, or whatever, be able to show them these verses, that this is what the Word of God says. Alright, Ephesians 3, dropping down to verse 9. Ephesians 3, verse 9. And to make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mystery, or the secret, which was from the beginning of the world, or from the beginning of the world, has been hid in God, the God of Genesis 1-1 now, the God who created all things, how? By Jesus Christ. In other words, yes, the triune God was involved in creation, the triune God came together before any was ever created, and delegated the work of creation to the second person of the Trinity, as we many times refer to Him, to God the Son. And so the whole Trinity, of course, is involved in creation, naturally, but it was God the Son, it was Jesus the Christ, who spoke the word of creation, and everything, whatever it is, made its appearance. Alright, so much for review now then. If you'll come back to Colossians chapter 1, and now then we'll move on into the next verse, verse 17. And I'm sure every one of you have wondered like I have, you stand outside on a beautiful starlight night, and maybe you've just read something in National Geographic, or some other magazine, about the wonder of the universe, and how it's still expanding. There are still bangs taking place evidently, and new stars are being formed, and all that. And I stand there and I look up that, and I have to wonder, now why hasn't some scientific journal ever recorded that they've seen evidence of stars banging into each other? Have you ever read anything like that? No, I never have. Nothing ever bangs into each other out there. Everything is just like clockwork, and they're all in their particular place, and if people would just stop to think, accidentally? Accidentally? Well then they would be banging into each other, wouldn't they? But everything is in such perfect order, and such perfect timing, none of it is exploding out of order, and so who's in control of all that? The same Person of the Godhead, Jesus the Christ, God the Son, verse 17 now, and He, since He is the Creator, He was before anything, and by Him, in other words, by the Word of His power, everything, and what's the word? Consists, but the better word for consists is held together. Everything is held together by His power, and if ever He would relinquish that power, yes, you'd have worlds and the universe in collision, but it doesn't, because He's in total control. Now, I certainly don't claim to be a scientist, and I know science has come a long way since I was in Chemistry 101 and Physics 101, and I know that they've learned a lot more about the atom than what my professors even understood, but I did read an article not too long ago that they haven't come that much further, except when I was back there, they just thought there were only two particles in the nucleus of the atom, and that was the neutron and the proton. Now, of course, they've found many other little particles also in the nucleus, but the consensus is still the same. Why don't these particles break out of the nucleus and create fission? Well, there's something that even I don't think the scientists today can explain, and my old chemistry professor just simply called it nuclear glue. Nuclear glue, well, that's stuck with a little old freshman, you know, I've never forgotten it, and I know I've got scientists that are listening, and if they can correct me if I'm way out, I'm ready to be told. But something is still holding the whole atomic structure of the universe together. And they haven't really got the answer, but I do. I do. The answer is the power of Jesus Christ, and He is the One by whom all things consist, or are held together. Alright, now then, we've established that. He's the Creator. He's the sustainer of the universe. But for you and I as believers, He's even something greater than that. He is the Head of the Body, what Paul calls the Church. Now I'm always emphasizing that nobody but Paul refers to the Church as the Body of Christ. You won't find that term anywhere else in Scripture. Only in Paul's letters. And so it is uniquely insulated from all the rest of God's dealing with the Old Testament people, and that which is still ahead of us after we're gone. And that is that the Body of Christ is so unique in that we are attached to our Head, who is in Heaven, just like our physical body is attached to the Head here. And you know how long we'd last without the Head? Well, it's the same way with the Body of Christ. It just couldn't function without the Head. And so this is one of the basic doctrines of the Apostle Paul, that every believer becomes then a member of the Body of Christ, and He is the Head. And from the Head then, everything flows to keep the Body functioning. And see, that's why the Body of Christ is just not another organization. You don't just draw up a constitution and a bunch of bylaws and say, well I'm going to establish a Body of Christ. Now you can establish a church as an organization, but you can't establish the Body of Christ. Because it is a spiritually driven thing, and it has its livelihood, it has everything that makes it a living organism, connected to the Head which is in Heaven. And this is what makes it so uniquely different, that everything that pertains to our spiritual life is by virtue of the Headship of Christ who is in Heaven. Now I've also made the statement over the years, and so far nobody has made a big ado about it, and I say that Christ, in Paul's teaching, is never called the King. He is not the King of the Church. Now He will one day be King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, but He is not the King of the Body. And I'm always making the definition as such. If He was the King, then I could not have that functioning between the Head and a member of the Body, because then under His Kingship I would be a subject. And oh, what a difference! But see, as members of the Body of Christ, we're not subjects to some higher authority. We're part of it. You see the difference? We're part of that Headship which is in Heaven. And that's what makes us totally different from anything that even Israel has ever hoped for in the past, or can hope for in the future. Yes, they're looking for the King. They were looking for the King. He came and they rejected Him. But they're still looking for the coming King. You know, I've always more than once put the little analogy on the program, and I say this with tongue in cheek, because I know where our Jewish friends are coming from. They still can't recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. They just say, Yes, He's coming, but He has not been here before. And I would like to use the little anecdote, or whatever you want to call it, of this Christian clergyman who was arguing with this rabbi as to whether he had been here before. And the rabbi said, No, He's never been here before, but He's coming. And they kept arguing. So finally the rabbi came to a good conclusion. He says, I'll tell you what. Let's just wait till He gets here. And then we'll ask Him, Have you been here before? See? Well, that is the good view of the Jewish mentality. But, they're looking for His kingship. Rightly. He is going to be the King. But for us, as the Body of Christ, No, He's not a King, He's the Head of the Body. And that makes us, as Romans chapter 8 says, we won't bother to look it up, but Romans 8 makes it so plain, that therefore we are joint heirs with Christ. Heirs with Christ. What's His is ours. Well, naturally. Because we're hooked up. We're together. Alright. Now then, reading on in verse 18. So He is the Head of the Body, the Church. Now, there again, I suppose I could just go the rest of the half hour, but I'm not going to. I've put it on the program so often. What's the Greek word always translated Church? Ecclesia. Ecclesia. And I was reading again last night, in a little Greek type New Testament. And every time that the New Testament word Church comes up, it is. It's always Ecclesia in the Greek. And the word Ecclesia meant, a called out assembly. Separated from the Mass. So we always have to determine then, what called out assembly are we dealing with? We're not dealing with that same called out assembly that made the nation of Israel in the wilderness a church, according to Acts chapter 7. We are not part of that called out assembly, I don't think, on the day of Pentecost. Now, whenever someone disagrees with me on that, I say, that's fine. That's not going to determine your eternal destiny. Now when it comes to that, yes, then I have to get my hackles up and say, now wait a minute. Wait a minute. Because eternal destiny is in view. But some of these other things, I can live with people who disagree, and that's one of them. If they want to think that the church, which is the body, is in Acts chapter 2, and they can find it there, well, so be it. I can't find it. Because I just can't find any church language in Acts chapter 2. But whatever. That's not that big a deal. But, that word Ecclesia, is simply translated church in Acts chapter 2. Whereas I feel it should be translated assembly. Because it was. It was a separated group of Jews, from the main body of Israel, and they were in Ecclesia. They were a called out assembly. But they are never called the body of Christ. Paul reserves that for his converts, and I think Scripture is clear on that. So here is another instance, where the assembly that Paul is talking about, is that which he refers to as the body of Christ. Alright, reading on in verse 18. So he not only is the head of the body, which is the church, he is again a reference to his eternalness, to his creatorship, he is the beginning, he comes from eternity past, he is the first born from the dead. Now here is where we always have to qualify. I maintain that resurrection never happened, until Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Now you had people who were raised from the dead, back in the Old Testament, but they weren't resurrected. They were simply brought back to life, and they died again. Lazarus, the Lord Himself, called him forth from the tomb. But that was not resurrection. Lazarus died later. So this is why the Scripture makes a point then, that no one, no one had ever been resurrected from the dead, until Jesus Christ. He is the first to have ever been resurrected, never to die again. Now here the verse makes it so plain, that He is the beginning, He is the first born from the dead. And that's why I taught way back, I think, oh goodness, I think it was back when we were in Acts, that the term, the only begotten Son of God, does not mean His birth in Bethlehem, for heaven's sakes, but it means that He is the only one, that was resurrected from the dead. And the Scripture makes it so plain, that that's what the term refers to. And here again, He is the first born from the dead. He is the first to have experienced resurrection power, and here is again the reason, that in all things, in everything, He, Jesus Christ, might have the, what? Pre-eminence, at least is the word in the King James, and how does that mean? He's above everything. He is above everything, and then verse 19 puts the cap on it. Why? Because it pleased the Fathers. The whole Godhead has been involved in everything that Christ has done, because it pleased the Father, that in Him, in Christ, should all fullness dwell. Everything of the Godhead. Now I may use the verse again a little later in the afternoon, but for now, just come back with me to Isaiah chapter 9. And this fits right in with what Paul is saying over and over here in Colossians, that Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible Godhead. And the Godhead, of course, is the whole Trinity. And here we've got Him in Isaiah chapter 9, way back in the Old Testament. And so it isn't just a figment of Paul's imagination, it's something that fits with all of Scripture. Isaiah chapter 9, and dropping in at verse 6 and 7. Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. I'll give you time to find it, because we want people out in television to do the same thing. Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. All know the verse. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Well, who are we talking about? Jesus of Bethlehem. And the government shall be, future, upon His shoulder. Now here's the part that I like. And His name shall be called, when He once again sets up His rule and reign. And His name shall be called, Consular, now watch it, the Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father. See these are all terms concerning Jesus of Nazareth and of Bethlehem. The Prince of Peace. And of the increase, verse 7, of His government and peace, there shall be no end. And when will that happen? When He comes and sets up His kingdom, and establishes His throne where David's was, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. And until that time, as we're going to see the word peace a little later in the chapter, the world will know no peace. My goodness, you know we like to pride ourselves that for the last several years at least, since World War II and the Korean and the Vietnam conflict, we've been at peace. Well maybe we in America have been fortunate enough, but I'll tell you what, at the millennial turn, I think I read in our daily paper, that there were 40 some wars, raging on the planet, January 1, the year 2000. Oh not great big world war type things, but for those people involved, it's war, it's misery, it's heartache, it's losing everything, it's war. And the world does not have peace tonight, nor will it have, until this point in time, when His peace will be without end, as He rules then upon the throne of David. Alright, and then the other verse of course, I'm sure it comes to your mind, as it comes to mine, and that's John 14. John's Gospel, chapter 14. And you know it as well as I do. I just doubt that there are very many people in my whole listening audience, that don't know this chapter. John 14, it always begins, let not your heart be troubled. You all know that one. And then you know, you come down to, verse 8. John 14, verse 8. After Jesus has said all these good things, and then Philip says, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And Jesus came right back in verse 9, and He says, Have I been so long time with you, Philip? And yet hast thou not known Me? He that hath seen Me hath seen, The Father. See how plain that is? If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show us the Father. Verse 10. Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Well, that leaves people hanging by a thread. But you come back to Colossians, and Paul clarifies it. That Jesus of Nazareth, and the crucified Christ, is the physical, visible manifestation, of that invisible Godhead. And we have to take it by faith. We can't understand it. I can't understand a three-person Godhead that can function as one. But the Bible teaches it. And so we take it by faith. One day we'll understand. I'm sure we will. But for now, we take it by faith. That Jesus Christ is the creator of everything. He is the visible manifestation of the invisible Godhead. And that in Him, verse 19 again says, that it even pleased the Father, and I think that also would include by implication the Holy Spirit, that in Him, in Jesus Christ, should all fullness dwell. Now, how can you argue with that? How can someone say, Well, He's not really God. How can someone say, Well, I can go another way. I don't need the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because there is, as I pointed out in our last program, there's not another religion on the face of the earth that can claim the creator as the core of its belief system. But we do. And that's what we take by faith. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the scriptures, and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Or call 1-800-369-7856. 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