The Supreme Christ
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This section in the book of Colossians is something that we could call the Christ hymn. It is a concise yet dense section on Christ, who he is and what he has done. It then transitions into what we are called to do as a response. This section on scripture is one of my favorites for just how rich and dense it is. In the previous verses Paul has offered his thanksgiving and prayer for the church in Colossae and now launches into what we could even call a doxology. His passions are bursting forth already and this is only the first chapter.
It is possible that this is actually one of the hymns or creeds of the early church that was used to recite in church, and that Paul was referencing it here as a way of affirming the truth that is found within it. His use of it can be compared to someone reciting poetry or singing a song out of the joy found within them. This is why I often recommend it for a section to memorize. It exalts Christ as central and supreme in all creation and in all redemption.
In fact that is the theme of this passage, the supremacy of Christ. My prayer is that through this passage today our affections for Christ would grow as we increase in our understanding of who he is. My prayer also is that in seeing his supremacy we would see what our response should be to such a supreme call.
Let us now turn to the passage and see what it has for us this morning.
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. 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. 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.
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, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
So we see in this text just how great our savior is! We also see what we are called to do as followers of him.
The big point in this text is the supremacy of Christ. If we were to summarize this text it could go something like this: Christ is the supreme and sufficient Lord of creation and redemption, and through his death and resurrection he reconciles believers to God and calls them to remain steadfast in the faith.
This text tells us that God is supremely revealed in Christ and does all things through Christ. Because of this we can be reconciled to God and we should continue in the faith.
So this morning we are going to look at three parts of this text. In the first we are going to see how Christ is supreme in creation, then we will see how he is supreme in redemption, and then we will finish with seeing how he has given us a supreme call.
So let’s pray and then begin in point 1.
Supreme in Creation
Supreme in 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. 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.
We start off this passage with seeing that Jesus is supreme in creation. The first thing that it says about him is that he is the image of the invisible God. This means that he is the physical and visible representation of God on earth. We know that it says in John 1.18
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Christ has made God known to us. He makes the unknown God known to us. It says in 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,
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. How wonderful is it that we get this picture of God through Jesus! We also see through this that Jesus is fully God, he is fully divine! This is something that is built on throughout the remainder of this passage, Paul is teaching that Jesus is God.
This is an important point to make even though it is something that we are accustomed to hearing. If Jesus is not fully God then he could not be the perfect mediator between us and God, if Jesus is not God then he could not be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We must celebrate the fact that Jesus is God because our entire system of belief depends on it.
The passage takes an interesting turn after it tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, it tells us that he is the eternal God in the flesh and then it says that he is the firstborn of all creation. This is peculiar until you get the the heart of what that means. When if says that he is the firstborn of creation it is pointing towards him being supreme over creation. The word firstborn here is referring to rank and privilege, not to his origin.
This can be seen in action in Psalm 89.27
And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
In this Psalm it is calling David the firstborn, possibly with some christological implications. We know David was not the firstborn, it is pointing towards the rank of the highest of the kings of the earth.
Throughout the history of the church this verse has been used by heretical groups such as the Arians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. They use this to say that Jesus was created which takes away his eternality and thus takes away his deity. When we look at the context of scripture though their arguments collapse under the weight of it. I just referenced one of many text that can defend it.
The early church was not moved by these claims and they saw this passage within it’s context. They addressed these claims by establishing belief statements, similar to how we have the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. They addressed these beliefs with the Nicene Creed which declared that Christ is “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”
Just within the first verse of this section we see that Jesus is everything that God is and that he is supreme over everything. What an amazing start! It is just that though a start to the declaration that Paul is making here.
Verse 16 begins with the proposition stating that by Jesus all things were created. Now this is not what we typically think about when we think of creation. We think of God the Father basically solo creating everything, when you really dig into the account you may see the Spirit. Here we are seeing that creation was a fully trinitarian effort and Jesus played a significant part.
By Jesus everything was created and all things were created through him and for him. Jesus had an active role in creation. Other parts of scripture affirm this as well to build a even stronger view of the role of Jesus in creation, it says in John 1.3
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
And then in Hebrews 1.2
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Colossians here gives some detail to further explain what he is talking about. He created all things in heaven and on earth, the planet we walk on and outer space above. Things visible and invisible, the physical realm as well as the spiritual. Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, every position that man can hold that has sway over the world. Jesus created it all and it was all created for him.
The text goes on to say that Christ is before all things. This can be taken two different ways. The first way we can understand this is temporally, meaning that he existed prior to all things. This is true as we have seen in the previous verses already. It could also be taken hierarchically meaning that he is superior to all things. This is also true and attested to in the context of the passage. I believe that the best understanding of this is that Paul intends it both ways. Once again revealing the eternality and supremacy of Christ!
Because he is before all things and all things were created by him, through him, and for him it must also be him who holds all things together. Christ is not only the creator, he did not create everything and leave it be, letting nature take its course. Christ holds all things together, he is the creator and sustainer. The ongoing existence and coherence of the universe depends on Jesus.
Paul then moves to the next realm that Christ has power in. Christ is the leader of the church, the head of the body which is the illustration often used in the Bible to describe the church. This is in reference to the universal church, the entire group of believers across all time and space.
This gives the complete list of domains in which Christ has authority; spiritual, physical, governmental, and ecclesial.
As we near the end of this first section of our text we see the final area that Christ is and must be supreme in and this is the resurrection. It says that he is the firstborn from the dead, now we have already talked about what is meant here by firstborn. Christ was the first to take part in the resurrection and his resurrection guarantees ours. It says in 1 Corinthians 15.20-23
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
All of this text accumulates to the final phrase in this section. That in everything he might be preeminent. Christ is preeminent in all things. That is the breakdown that we have seen in this section. This word means that he holds the highest rank or is first like having first place. It carries the idea of supreme prominence and authority.
The entire passage leads us to this conclusion: Jesus holds the highest rank in all spheres—creation, the church, resurrection, and the new creation. He is utterly supreme and sovereign over all things.
What should we get from all of that? We should get a big God mentality. It is easy to forget certain things and put things of this world first and slowly God becomes something small for you. Christ can become something small both in how we honor him and in how we think of him and his power. This can lead us to think that God can’t do something or that he can’t use you. It can lessen your dependence on him and your trust in him. If any of these things are struggles that you have it is because your God is not big enough. That is your understanding of Jesus and who he is is lacking.
Look at this passage and see how big God is, how great and mighty Jesus Christ is. He is supreme in all things! We can trust that he has all things under control because he does. We can trust that he can use us because he can.
Church behold your God!
Supreme in Redemption
Supreme in Redemption
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.
The second point of this morning is that Jesus is supreme in redemption. It starts off with the fullness of God being pleased to dwell in him. This calls the mind to imagery of God filling the temple. We see this in places like 1 Kings 8.10-11
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
and then later in Ezekiel 43.5
the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
Just as Gods fullness filled the temple it filled Jesus and it pleased God to do it. This fullness in Jesus made him exclusively able to bring reconciliation between us and God. Jesus made this peace by his blood on the cross. Jesus is supreme in redemption!
We sometimes forget just how significant our salvation is. I remember as a kid wondering why they couldn’t just pick out a really good kid and work really hard to keep that kid from sinning and then tell him we need him to die for everyone and maybe he would do it. When I got older I thought that soldiers die for us all the time throughout history, why doesn’t that count. The problem is sin! From my first thought the problem is that there was nobody good, there is nobody nor will there ever be anybody that can be kept from sin because our problem is the sin inherited from Adam.
It had to be then one who had the fullness of God in them and that God was fully pleased to put his fullness within. There could be nobody but Christ who could accomplish this, that is why he is supreme in redemption.
Sin is still our big problem, and that is why we so desperately needed Jesus to come and make a way for forgiveness. Through his death on the cross and his resurrection, forgiveness is possible. This is the solution to our problem. To be forgiven and redeemed, to be at peace with God, all that is required is faith in Jesus. This is the beauty of redemption and what we need to be brought back into right relationship with God.
If you have never put your faith in Jesus, then let today be that day. Christ is supreme so that you can be forgiven. When you are forgiven that allows you so start living in response to our supreme call.
Our Supreme Call
Our Supreme Call
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, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Thus far we have seen that Christ is supreme in creation and that he is supreme in redemption. The passage then turns and we see that there is a supreme call for us in this.
Paul calls out the Colossians and this call out is so very fitting for us as well. Us who were separated from God, us who were hostile to him, us who were committing evil deeds, he has now brought reconciliation. He has redeemed us! He is seeking to present us holy, and blameless, and above reproach! What wonderful news! Christ has saved us and wants to present us fully sanctified. I can’t think of anything better.
There is a very big little word there though and it is “if”. Jesus wants to do this for us, it is his pleasure. It is contingent upon our faith.
We are saved by faith and true saving faith is as described in this passage; stable, steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. It is not always perfect but it is always there. There are times where my faith has felt weak but I did not shift from it. There has been times of struggle but I remained stable and steadfast. This is what true saving faith looks like.
All to often we look at things that are not faith for personal assurance about ourselves and others. This is a dangerous thing. We say that a person who is old now came to church and was baptized when they were a kid so they are good. That is simply not true if there has been no sign of faith since that point!
Working with youth whenever I council them about salvation the vast majority of the time it starts out with this statement “well I went down and got baptized when I was a kid” only for them to realize that their only intentions with being baptized were it looked like fun and everyone else was doing it. Can I tell you that children can give you the right answers to things, they can tell you exactly what they think you want to hear. That is why I am always careful when talking to younger people about salvation because I want to see that this is a true decision from their heart and not them just telling me what they think I want hear or what will get them in the water.
Paul says that the ones he was talking were once like this and now they are like this. They were once alienated but now are reconciled. Those who came to church and were baptized as a kid or youth long ago and have not come to church in years that we say they are good, aren’t. The very best case scenario is that they severely misunderstand what the Christian life is to look like. Let me say that again, the best case scenario is that they completely misunderstood the Christian life. The most likely scenario though it that they do not really know Christ. They have not truly been changed by the gospel.
On the other side of the spectrum you here today may have been coming to church for years, you know your Bible, you may even serve, but there is no genuine faith within you. There is not even the hope of the gospel within you to shift from. You may have even been baptized at one time, but your faith has not been in Jesus. This is just as deadly as the person we were just talking about.
Sometimes we are born into a family that goes to church and that is such a blessing but in that we can think that we are good. We may go to church just because that is what you have always done on Sunday. There needs to be genuine faith in Jesus.
This faith is based on the gospel that Paul says they have heard and that has been proclaimed in all creation, the gospel in which Paul became a minister and the gospel in which I became a minister.
This is the gospel that we are sinners and have been from the beginning where Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. This has created a separation between us and God. It can’t be put any more simply than this, because of our sin we can’t be with God. God is a loving God though and in his love he sent Jesus to appease the wrath that we deserve for our sin. He sent Jesus to make a way to be forgiven because forgiveness is the only thing that can make a way for us to be brought back into right relationship with God and to bridge the separation that we face between us and him. Jesus did this through his sacrificial death and his resurrection. He tells us to lay hold of this salvation and be forgiven we must put our faith in him.
That is the gospel that Paul is talking about and that is the gospel that can save you today. People who truly have their faith in this gospel have a faith that is stable and steadfast and does not shift.
This is a supreme call, it is a call to genuine faith. Sometimes faith takes the back-burner in our minds but Paul is reminding us that our faith is set on the supreme creator and redeemer and that makes it of the upmost importance. True unwavering faith is a supreme call that we must all heed.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Church when we see Christ for who he truly is as supreme over all creation, supreme over redemption, and calling us in a supreme way then we are left with only one response to him. That is to worship Jesus. This is not just theology, this is our savior. Let your heart be awe struck by how great and mighty he is. Behold your God!
Something else that you may need to reflect on this morning though is this question, have I truly responded to a supreme God in genuine faith? If your answer to this is no then you need to turn to him today. The supreme Christ calls you to real lasting trust in him.
There is no greater message than the supremacy of Christ and there is no greater invitation that salvation.
By Him, through Him, for Him all things were made,
He is before all things, the Ancient of Days,
In Him, all creation is held in His hand,
On Christ, the preeminent One, we stand.
The fullness of God in You does dwell,
You conquered the grave, You’ve broken death’s spell,
Risen in power, exalted on high,
Oh Christ, our Savior, You reign in the sky.
From every nation, they gather and sing,
Praising the Lamb, the eternal King,
All knees will bow, and tongues proclaim,
Oh Christ, forever we'll honor Your name.
Forever enthroned, in glory You shine,
Alpha, Omega, Redeemer divine,
Your kingdom will stand, no end to Your reign,
Oh Christ, the Lamb who was slain.
