Christmas in Colossians

The Superiority of Christ

Teaching 1/4

We will be doing a deep dive into the book of Colossians over the weekend. And since the theme is Christmas, I have 4 Gifts that I want to give you. Each gift will be revealed at each session. The first gift that I have for you is the gift that knowing that Jesus Christ is Superior Over All...

Before we dive into session #1, I want to provide you with some insights and clarity regarding the Book of Colossians:

It was written by Paul. Paul was formerly known as Saul and was a persecutor of Gods Church up until he encountered Jesus on the road of Damascus…

It was on the road to Damascus where Jesus appeared to Saul and showed him mercy and grace… Saul’s life was forever changed after his encounter with Jesus Christ and as a result, Saul was given a new name = Paul.

Out of the 27 Books of the New Testament, 13 of them were written by the hand of Paul, including:

Romans,

1 and 2 Corinthians,

Galatians,

Ephesians,

Philippians,

Philemon,

1 and 2 Thessalonians,

1 and 2 Timothy,

Titus,

and Colossians.

Paul wrote the letter of Colossians to the church in Colossae when he was on house arrest…

Paul wrote this letter to a church that he himself had never been to… in fact one of Paul’s co-workers Epaphras was a native and responsible for founding the church…

Epaphras visits Paul while his is on house arrest in Rome to provide him with updates on how the church in Colossae is doing…

It is here in the first portion of Chapter 1 that we see that Paul is encouraged by their faith in Christ Jesus and for all the love that they have for the saints…

We also see that Paul prays that the Colossians would continue to grow and mature spiritually and he turns their focus to the Superiority of Jesus Christ…

And this is where we begin our session this evening…

The passage we will be diving into tonight is Colossians 1:15-21…

Colossians 1:15-22 says,

“15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him, 17) And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…

POINT #1) JESUS is SUPERIOR over all

VS) 18 says, “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be PREEMINENT.

PREEMINENT = “To Hold the highest rank in a group, be first, have first place”)

My goal tonight is to give you 3 Reasons why Jesus holds the highest rank in any group, why Jesus holds first place when compared to all of creation…

I think often times we have a box that we put Jesus in… we know who he is… we know what he has done for us… but we do not realize who he is entirely…

Tonight we are going to examine Jesus more closely to gather a greater picture of who he actual is…

I would explain it like this… A lot of can look at a diamond and understand and see that it is beautiful, that is gorgeous, and that it has value, just from taking a glance at it… But when that diamond is placed under a light, you begin to see its clarity, its color, and its beauty in full effect… you see how it shines and you are able to see the very essence of its core… the light brings forth and provides a greater picture of what that diamond actually looks like…

My goal this evening is to place a light on the Son of God - Jesus Christ… so that you may have a greater picture of how beautiful, wonderful, and truly breathtaking Jesus Christ is… and so that you can see that he is superior over all…

Reason #1) JESUS holds the IMAGE of God

VS 15) “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”

IMAGE in the GREEK Is EIKON = A visual representation of an object, scene, or person produced on a surface

I think sometimes we view image as a Polaroid picture or something we take on somebody’s phone. A 2 Dimensional flat image of something… that we post or keep in are phone for years and either forget about it or one day when we are bored we scroll through are phones and happen to stumble upon it… its flat, its a frozen moment in time, its nothing special…

When in reality this word image used in verse 15 is describing a 3-Dimensional, in HD, full color, surround sound, exclusive experience of who God is through watching the life of Jesus… its an image that you do not forget about on your phone… this image is living and active and puts on full display who God is through the life, burial, resurrection, and ascension of his Son Jesus Christ…

In other words Jesus is a living visual 3-D, all encompassing representation of God..

Hebrews 1:3 says,

“He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature...”

I bring up Hebrews 1:3 because it uses the language “Exact imprint of is nature”… Meaning the very nature of Jesus is the same as Gods! Jesus’ nature is identical to that of Gods!

Jesus is the visual imprint of the living God… But why does this matter, how does this profound truth impact you and me today? Why does it matter that Jesus is the Image, imprint, and holds the exact nature of God?

It matters because if you want to understand who God is, if want to know what God is like, if you want to see the character and heart of God, the only way to do so is by looking at and examining Jesus Christ…

I love how Hebrews 1:3 uses the term radiance… It says Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God… and the word radiance is expressing the concept of sending forth light or shinning…

Meaning that Jesus is the light that has been sent out by God to shine and displays Gods Glory in a dark, broken, and fallen world.

I want to make something very clear… God is not hiding or far off… God is not trying to conceal himself… God has made himself fully known… God wants you to know who HE is, what he is like, and how much loves you… God has presented himself and made himself known through his Son Jesus Christ… And if you want to know God, you must look to Jesus…

Here is an analogy that may help…

My Father is funny, loving, musically gifted, tall, brown hair, strong, and creative in a lot of ways. I have an older brother… his name is Tyler… and when I see him he resembles my Father. Tyler is tall, brown hair, creative, naturally strong, has broad shoulders like my dad, and is musically gifted… When I see Tyler he reminds me of my Dad…

I on the other hand resemble my mother, she is shorter, with hazel eyes, and brown hair...

You have never met my parents but I could tell you what they were like, what they hold dear, what is important to them, how they lived their life, their careers, the cars the drive, where they live, where they grew up, how they met. I could tell you about what is important to them and what they hold dear because I know them better than you, I have lived them, and they have shared their life with me bc they love me…

I know my parents better than anyone…

I resemble my parents… in the way I look, the way I act, and what I hold dear… I know what they value… what they have taught me… and I carry their DNA… I even carry the same sin nature they have… I desire sin… my flesh turns to and craves sin… =

Jesus is of the same nature of his Father God… He is holy… perfect… all powerful… all knowing… He acts like his Father… resembles his Father… knows his Father better than anyone… He knows what his Father values… He knows what is Father has taught him… He carries the same nature as his Father…

no one knows God better than Jesus… in fact no one can know God unless they first look to Jesus - the image of God…

John 14:6 says, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Question: Do you know God? Do you know what he is like? Do you know his Nature?

Its crazy to me how people today know so much about celebrities or influencers on instagram… we get so excited about concerts, albums, songs, or life drama from people like Taylor Swift & how she is dating Travis Kelsey… we know their stories and can recite their songs and obsess over them… but we don’t know God… We don’t know his nature… because we have not taken the time understand and look at the life of Jesus and how he is the image of God…

Who do you know more about, Jesus Christ or Taylor Swift? What do you follow more, the Word of God and the life of Jesus or an influencer on social media?

Do you truly know who Jesus Christ is? or do you just know the clift notes of what he has done?

Reason #2 why Jesus is Superior over all is because

#2) Jesus is the only one who can present you HOLY & and BLAMELESS

21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…

Notice verse 21), it says “21) And YOU [meaning me, you, and everybody else in this room] , who were alienated and hostile...

This word ALIENATED in the Greek means = estranged and a foreigner to God

This word Alienated takes on the sense of a foreigner… meaning that we were from another country entirely… we were not born into a life that sought the presence of God… we were not born in a country that worshipped the living God… we were not born in a country that looked to please God… or show God affection… rather we were alienated from God… estranged from God… and a foreigner to God…

We were born in and come from a country that shows no affection towards God… We were born into a country that seeks to satisfy sin… that searches for shameless acts… that worships wicked ways… We hold a flag that promotes pride, sin, self-indulgence, ignorance, self gratification, and evil… this is who we are at our core… Alienated from God…

This same word alienated is found in Ephesians 4:18, it says, “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart”.

I don’t know about you, but I do not need to be convinced of this… When I look at my life and things that I have done… I think back on the sins that I have committed and I feel nothing but regret and shame… l can remember being trapped in sexual sin for years… I can remember making fun of a girl on the bus throughout middle school and high school… I can remember frustrating my brother to the point of tears… I can remember loving the attention that soccer gave me… I can recall pursuing popularity… and I can remember running from God because I was to busy running after my sin…

What about you? Can you relate to what I am saying? can you remember a time in your life when you have been alienated from God? Has there been a time in your life where you have been far from God? Living for yourself and your sin?

Lets look back at the text…

I hope we understand what the Word of God is telling us here… it is telling us that no only are we foreigners of God… we are also HOSTILE towards GOD…

HOSTILE in the Greek means = Enemy

So not only are we foreigners but we are also enemies and haters of God… Please understand, that if someone does not know Jesus Christ as the savior, they remain far off from God and his enemy…

SIN is rebellion against a Holy God… every-time you and I choose to sin we choose to wage war with God… cause what are actions are saying is God… I know how you call me to live… I know what you want for me and my life… I know that you call me to submit to you and trust Jesus… BUT… I don’t want to… I want to call the shots, I want to make the decisions, I know what is best for me… In other words, I want to be the God of my life…

Sin is not an act of indifference or personal preference, it is an act of rebellion against a Holy God.

But I love verse 22), lets look at it, because it says “22) he [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…

Friends, I want us to focus on this RECONCILED!

RECONCILED = refers to the act of restoring a relationship to harmony.

In other words Jesus “brought us back in right standing before God”.

Jesus brought us back in right standing before God, are relationship with God is restored through Jesus because of the sacrifice he made on the cross…

Why did it have to be Jesus… Why did he have to die and be crucified in order for people like you and me to have a relationship with God?

The consequence of our sin is death… in fact the wages of sin is death… we earn and receive death every time we sin… and since all of us have sinned all of us have earned and received death…

And since we have sinned we are tainted, stained, and covered in the blackness of our sin, guilt, shame, and rebellion against God…

But you see Jesus lived a life of perfection… without sin… without shame… without rebellion against a Holy Perfect God… In Fact he obeyed God perfectly…

Meaning that he was spotless, white, pure, radiant, and truly holy, wonderful, beautiful, and perfect… Jesus Christ is without error…

So Jesus willing gave his life up as a Sacrifice for us, for the sins of the entire world… because his sacrifice was sufficient… it was flawless… it was more than enough to pay for the sins of you, me, and the entire world…

The darkness and death of sin was no match for the perfection and purity of Jesus Christ… our sin is paid in full… no question about it…

Jesus did all of this for the Glory of God the Father to be known to all and for you to be presented as Holy and Blameless...

The second half of verse 22 says, “...in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…”

In verse 22 the Word Holy is being used as an adjective & means “Having the characteristics of moral purity…”

Meaning you stand before God set apart from your sin, set apart from your wickedness, in complete moral purity because of your faith in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice & death on the cross.

BLEMISH = being without defect, blemish, or fault and therefore morally blameless...

Question: Have you been reconciled to God? Have you been made in right standing before God? Would you stand before him Holy and blameless if today was your last day?

The theme of this Winter Retreat is Christmas in Colossians… The greatest gift that you could ever receive is from God himself… and that is Faith in His Son Jesus Christ…