Colossians 1:15-20 Christ And vs Christ Alone

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Colossians 1:15–20 NIV
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For 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. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and 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.

Colossian Background and Heresy

Date = 60 A.D. while Paul was under house arrest in Rome
The Heresy of Christ AND
Other teachings, philosophies, “mystery cults” of special knowledge, ritual, etc...
Paul has battled this heresy before. It often has shown up as Christ AND the Jewish traditions/laws/rituals in other letters… Here, there is a bit of that struggle, but it is more the struggle of Christ and pagan traditions and pagan teachings...
Syncretism
Colossians 2:16–19 NIV
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Christ is Supreme according to Paul’s theology

Colossians 1:15–20 NIV
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For 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. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and 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.
An ancient Creed of the Church?
Used to proclaim the supremacy and power ALONE of Jesus Christ to save...
Christ is the very image and nature of God
He created ALL things (even the other powers and authorities)
He is primary above all things
He is the ONLY head/source of the church
No other teaching, philosophy, ideology will do
Because God fully dwelt in Him and through him and his death on the cross God paid the price of reconciliation… No other philosophy, ideology, law, religion can do that...
John 1:18 NIV
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

This belief must be applied to our lives

Colossians 1:21–23 NIV
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But 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— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
It’s not enough to KNOW this creed about Christ - it must be applied to our lives.
That WE were the ones who were also reconciled to God.
We once were alienated, separated, divided from God, but GOD came to us in Christ’s body and because of this we have the Hope of being presented to God as being holy and blameless as we allow Christ’s supreme, ultimate power to wok in us.
Christ disarmed and dealt with all other power and all other authorities by the cross. He did this to RECONCILE us to God - leaving NO room for any other authority. They have all been shown why they were lacking and wanting and have been ultimately dealt with and done away with.
Colossians 2:13–15 NIV
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Yet, we must remain faithful to this teaching

The Colossians did not deny that Christ had some power to forgive and transform, but they could not let go of their idea that they might need just a little more than Christ. They needed Christ and...
So Paul reminds the church what they were taught and the hope and assurance this teaching produces… BUT, a part of that reminder is to continually follow that teaching.
After writing about Christ’s work for them personally Paul stated,
Colossians 1:23 NIV
23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul uses the conditional phrase “IF YOU CONTINUE in your faith...”
Hmmm, do you mean we can lose out? YES!! You can turn from Christ alone and look for other ways of salvation.
The church in Colossae needed to be remind ed of Christ alone and their hope that remains if they stay committed to Christ alone.
But, the church seemed content with Christ AND...
Colossae and Laodicea were near each other...
Revelation 3:14–16 NIV
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Are we any different?

Have we settled for Christ and?
Christ and a good job
Christ and a spouse
Christ and government
Christ and a big red letter Bible
Christ and Financial Peace University
Christ and the Republican Party
Christ and the Democratic Party
Christ and traditions
Christ and a neck tie, or skirt,
Christ and NO HATS in CHURCH
Christ and knowledge
Christ and Joel Osteen, or Dr. Phill, Oprah Winfrey, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS
Christ and a rockin’ worship team
Christ and a skinny jeans hip pastor...
Christ and the American Dream
Christ and Capitalism
Christ and Socialism
May we hear again the challenge of Christ Alone!
How do we live our lives in such a way that our children, friends, family members see that we depend upon Christ ALONE?
Will Christ lead us, individually, to certain personal practices of our faith? Yes, most likely.
Fasting, prayer, Scripture reading, attending church services faithfully, be a part of the life of the Body of Christ...
HOWEVER, it is CHRIST ALONE who remains supreme and Christ alone who saves. Those may be expressions of our faith in Christ alone. Yet too often we replace Christ alone with Christ and an expression of the faith. And, at times, that expression grows in power and supremacy in our lives to the point where Christ’s power is no longer drawn from and the expression of our faith takes the power that once belonged to Christ...
Colossians 2:20–23 NIV
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
May we be challenged to continue to believe CHRIST ALONE! May we stay rooted and bound to the Gospel, the Good News, that we heard and that we proclaimed - CHRIST ALONE is all you need.
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