Jesus is Preeminent Colossians 1:15-23
Notes
Transcript
What do I believe God wants us to know? Jesus is superior
Why? It puts our view of Jesus in the right place and therefore gives us hope in all things
What do I believe God want us to do? Believe Jesus is superior and have faith that He is superior
Why? It gives us hope and Jesus praise
ME/WE
Have you ever purchased something or given a blessing that at first you did not realize how valuable it was?
Maybe it was a gadget or appliance
That you receive what you thought was a toaster, but it was much more. It was an air fryer, dehydrator, oven, and several other things and not only that it can flip up on your counter so you still have counter space. What you thought was basic turned out to be a game-changer. Its true value exceeded your expectations.
The value is greater than I thought
Maybe for you God has blessed you with a new job, but the new job isn’t just a new job it is opening up pathways for the future and set you on a new path of success and inheriting the land.
Why do I bring this up?
I want us to see that that Jesus IS BETTER….better than anything we can think, dream or imagine.
- He is not just better, HE’S the BEST
He is superior
- He is SUPREME.He is utterly above anything and everything else.
He is king
Part of the reason I’m bringing this up is because—if we’re honest—we can often shrink Jesus in our minds. And in our world today, this happens all the time. We unintentionally diminish the greatness, the bestness of Jesus.
A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”Why? Because we naturally move toward the mental image we hold of Him.
- If we see Jesus as He truly is—big, strong, loving, holy, kind, merciful—then we walk in hope, confidence, peace, joy, and strength.
-But if we see Him as less than He is—distant, weak, just another teacher, one option among many—then everything else begins to shrink too: our peace, our joy, our faith, even our purpose.
This was happening in the church of Colossae.
Though the resurrection of Jesus had happened only a few decades earlier, the believers were already being drawn into false ideas. This was a church Paul didn’t plant—his friend Epaphras had—but Paul writes with urgency to protect them from a growing threat: the temptation to believe in Jesus PLUS.
- Jesus plus Jewish law.
-Jesus plus angel worship.
- Jesus plus hidden knowledge (Gnosticism).
-Jesus plus harsh discipline (Asceticism).
- They were being tempted to believe that Jesus wasn’t enough—that He was just one of many spiritual options, one god among the lower-case gods of the day.
We see this today?
We see the same drift happening in our time:
- Jesus plus religious rules.
-Jesus as just a moral teacher.
-Jesus as one of many valid paths to God.
But Paul’s message, and ours today, is this:
JESUS IS GREATER. JESUS IS ENOUGH. JESUS IS SUPREME.
What Paul reminds us is this is HOGWASH.What Paul is saying is this: That kind of thinking is nonsense. It’s spiritual foolishness. It may sound impressive, even religious—but it's completely off base. And if you're not careful, it can derail your faith and rob you of the fullness that’s found in Christ alone.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS IS JESUS IS PREEMINENT
what does that WORD MEAN?
Preeminence means being first in rank, importance, or authority—surpassing all others.
It comes from the Latin prae- (before) and eminere (to stand out), so to be preeminent means to stand out above everything else.
What is Jesus Preeminent over? EVERYTHING
BUT PAUL WANTS TO SHOW US
Paul GIVES A HYMN FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THE PREEMINANCE OF JESUS called the “Christ Hymn”
“I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies.
I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
PAUL IS GOING TO GIVE THEM A SONG FOR THEM TO SING AND US TO SING…AGAINST OUR FLESH, ENEMIES, AND WORLDS DESIRE TO DEMINISH JESUS
PREEMINENT OVER CREATION… He is in Authority over CREATION
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
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.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
FRIST LINE SAYS: IMAGE OF INVISIBLE GOD.
What does it mean that Jesus is the Image of the invisible God?
Image (Greek: eikōn): Jesus perfectly represents and manifests the invisible God. He is not a mere reflection or copy—He IS the full revelation of God’s nature and character (cf. Hebrews 1:3
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,
FROM THE GET GO. THE SONG STARTS OFF WITH JESUS IS GOD… NOT A GOD, THEE GOD
Not only that
HE IS THE FIRSTBORN OF CREATION. THIS DO NOT MEAN JESUS WAS NOT PREXISTANT..that God created Jesus at some point…he has always existed… THIS IS NOT BIRTH ORDER BUT IN TERMS OF RANK
Firstborn: This speaks not of rank and authority.
Not just over creation….Jesus created creation
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.
Jesus is the agent of creation.
What does JESUS CREATE “all good things”
JESUS CREATE
- Stars? He breathed them out.
- Mountains? He spoke them up.
- DNA strands, OXYGEN, oceans, sound waves, colors? His fingerprints are on it all.
All of it—created by Jesus.
All of it—created for Jesus.
All of it created for the glory of God
All of it created for our joy
He’s not a piece of the story—He’s the AUTHOR of the story.
You have to see who Jesus is….HE IS PREEMINANT
And not only did he create it, HE holds it all together
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He is the sustainer of creation—actively holding the universe together.
Without Him, everything would collapse into chaos.
Think about this this whole world is moving 1,000 miles an hour and we are stable.
This reminds me of the hymn from 1901
This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
What’s the big deal that Jesus is over all, preeminent over creation?
Application
If Jesus can hold the universe, He can hold your life together too.
If He sustains the stars, He can sustain your marriage.
If He commands the oceans to be at peace, He can command peace into your anxious heart.
Paul is showing us he is preeminant over creatoin!
BIG VIEW OF GOD
2. HE IS PREEMINENT OVER THE CHRUCH…He is the head of the church.
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.
Paul moves from the creation to —the Church.
Jesus isn't just the Lord of creation; He’s the head of the Church.
- Not pastors.
- Not denominations.
- Not pope
They might all be really good people. BUT THEY ARE NOT JESUS
I have been put in authority under HIS AUTHORITY
I am not perfect
And if I say one thing and Jesus another. Jesus TRUMPS me
Why is this so important?
When we follow JESUS as the HEAD of the church and not JESUS plus SPRITITUALLITY or PERSONALITY or WORKS OR OTHER THINGS
- TRUTH
- DIRECTION
- LIFE
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
when the body tries to move without the head—what happens? JESUS PLUS…OR I WANT TO BE INCONTROL
- Chaos …no direction
- Confusion….no truth
- Collapse….not life
Some of our testimonies are I TRIED BEING JESUS and I THOUGHT I WAS GOOD BUT IT LED TO
chaos
confusion
collaspe
The Church is His body—completely dependent on Him for direction, truth, and life.
We want to be INDEPENDANT BUT WE ARE CREATED TO BE DEPENDANT, DEPENDANAT TO GOD and OTHERS
Don’t have time for this today but it also means the church needs to be the body
God commands us to not because he is MEAN, but there is life in the Gathering of the body.
3. PREEMMENANT OVER DEAD DEATH
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.
FIRSTBORN OVER THE DEATH…HE IS IN AUTHORITY OVER DEATH.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
THIS WHAT WE CAN SAY and I can say with my brother-in-law TIM…death has lost it sting
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
4. PREEMINTENT OF THE NEW CREATION THROUGH HIS DEATH and RESSURECTION HE IS RECONCILING ALL THINGS
Jesus is the "beginning" of the new creation through His resurrection.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Sin broke everything.
- Our broke our relationship with God
- Our broke our relationship with each other
- Sin fractured Creation is not what it once was
BY JESUS DEATH and RESSURECTION we are reconciled to God.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
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,
WE ARE NEW CREATION
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
JESUS IS NOT JUST RECONCILING US, HE RECONCILING THE WORLD….
I don’t know if you know this…JESUS IS COMING BACK for the second time and not to take us to heaven but to create a new heaven and new earth.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
The cross isn’t just personal salvation—it’s cosmic redemption.
.
Jesus is reconciling it all.
HE IS COMING BACK TO SET UP A NEW KINGDOM HEAR
JESUS is the GREAT RECONCILER
FRIENDS JESUS IS PREEMINENT ABOVE EVERYTHING!
Why is this important?
That Jesus is preeminent…believing it, knowing it, worshipping it.
Orders our worship
Anchors our lives
Directs our path
Explodes our joy
FOLLOW THE KING
