Colossians 1:15-20 - Peace in Christ

We tend to take the responsibility for our life that rightfully belongs to Jesus, and that wraps us up in anxiety and selfish hostility as everyone else including God becomes a threat to the little kingdom of our life.

We say we believe in Jesus, and we say that we submit to his rule over our lives.

But when it comes to living in light of that confession, many of us fall short.

I’m not trying to make you feel bad, I’m trying to wake you up to the problem that Jesus can fix if we will let him.

We need a reminder of who Jesus really is, and what he’s done…

So that when we’re tempted to rule our own life in anxiety and selfish hostility…

We can give that authority back to Jesus and live in light of his peace.

Toward the beginning of the book of Colossians, Paul wrote a prayer to the believers in Colossae.

And this prayer is one that’s applicable to all believers everywhere and in every era.

In Colossians 1:9-14 Paul prayed that God would fill us up with the knowledge of his will through his wisdom and understanding…

so that we would walk worthy of him…

so that we would live our lives in light of our perfect peace in Christ.

And in the passage we are going to look at today, in Colossians 1:15-20, Paul explained exactly how Jesus Christ affords us his perfect peace…

so that we can live in light of it.

Jesus affords us his perfect peace because (1) he has authority over everything because he’s God and (2) he made peace with everything because he became a man and died and rose again.

First, we are going to look at how Jesus has authority over everything in verses 15-17

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

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.

Here, Paul explains how we can have peace because…

Jesus Has Authority Over Everything (15-17)

The first thing that Paul says here is that Jesus has authority over everything…

As the Firstborn Image of God (15)

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

Now, when God made everything as Moses recorded in Genesis chapter 1, in verse 27 he said…

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

All of mankind are image bearers of God.

We all make the invisible God visible in a small way.

But what Paul is getting at here with this phrase “the image of the invisible God”…

Is that Jesus makes the invisible God visible more than any other image bearer.

The Apostle John mentions this 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.”

And the author of Hebrews also mentions this in the first couple of phrases of Hebrews 1:3 “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”

All of humanity bears an imprint of God’s nature in a small way as we are rational, moral, and intelligent beings.

But Jesus is the EXACT imprint of God’s nature because he is God made visible.

The rest of us are stamped with God’s nature, but Jesus IS THE STAMP.

So, Paul said that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and then he said that…

Jesus is the firstborn of all creation.

Now, there was a particular heretical situation in Colossae at the time Paul wrote to them.

There was a heresy spreading that Jesus was not actually God.

And this heresy came from a Greco-Roman philosophical assumption that all physical things were evil and all immaterial things were good.

This assumption fueled the heretical idea that God created physical matter indirectly through a lesser emanation that could be tainted by the evil of physical matter.

This heresy is still alive and kicking among Jehovah’s Witnesses.

They actually use this verse, and others that talk about Jesus being the “firstborn,” to jump to the conclusion that for Jesus to be the firstborn means that he was the first created.

But this misses the context and Paul’s intended meaning completely.

The term “firstborn” doesn’t mean first created.

It means the heir, the one in first place, usually given to the one who was born first, but not always.

Let’s look at some examples of the position “firstborn” going to sons who were not the first to be born.

In Genesis chapter 4, Adam and Eve had 3 children, Cain, Abel, and Seth.

Cain sinned against the Lord and then compounded it by killing his brother, Abel.

God’s punishment for Cain included exile from his family,

And in chapter 5 verse 3 we see that Adam gave his third-born son, Seth, the position of “firstborn” because Cain was exiled and Abel was dead.

In Genesis chapter 17, Abram and Hagar had a son named Ishmael, but the Lord told Abram that he and his wife Sarai would have a son named Isaac whom the Lord would bless.

Abram’s second-born son, Isaac, became the “firstborn.”

Then in Genesis chapter 25 Isaac and his wife Rachel, had twins, Esau and Jacob.

Esau was the first to be born, but at the end of the chapter he sells his birthright to his brother, and Jacob, the second-born becomes the “firstborn.”

Jacob would go on to have 12 sons, the eldest being Reuben.

But in Genesis chapter 49 the position of “firstborn” was taken from Reuben because of his sin, it passed over the next two, Simeon and Levi because of their sin, and it was given to Judah.

The “firstborn” right to rule over the nation of Israel was given to Judah, the fourth one to be born.

This authority as the “firstborn” is a granted authority.

Paul is saying that Jesus has been granted all authority by God the Father in eternity past.

Jesus claimed this authority as the basis for the great commission in Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

He also claimed this authority in his high priestly prayer in John 17:1–2 when he prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.”

The understanding that “firstborn” means first place rather than first created is also found in the context.

In the very next verse Paul explains that Jesus has authority…

As the Creator of Everything (16)

Jesus can’t be the first created being since he’s the creator of everything.

Otherwise he would’ve had to create himself.

That doesn’t make sense.

It makes much more sense that he’s always existed as God who created everything in heaven and on earth.

This authority is not granted, it’s inherent as the creator has inherent authority over his creation.

Jesus created all visible things on earth.

Paul directly confronts the heresy in Colossae by saying that Jesus is fully God, and that he created everything in the physical world.

But the argument Paul is making is much more significant than just refuting a heresy.

Paul’s argument is that as the creator of the whole physical world, Jesus has the authority to do with his creation as he sees fit.

This is the argument Paul made in Romans 9:21 “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”

The right, the authority, to do whatever you want with what you’ve created is an inherent authority that your creation cannot rightly question.

And Jesus didn’t only create everything in the physical world

Jesus also created all invisible things in heaven.

Paul lists some of the other names for these invisible entities.

Thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.

It’s not super clear, but the overwhelming understanding among believers over the centuries is that these names refer to different ranks of angels.

This is the same argument as the first chapter of the book of Hebrews: Jesus is better than the angels.

He has more authority than all spiritual beings because even they were created by him.

And Jesus’ authority over his creation doesn’t stop at him simply being the one by whom everything was created.

He also has authority because everything he created in heaven and on earth was created for him.

Paul says at the end of verse 16 that all things were created by Jesus and for Jesus.

He created everything for himself!

So, as its creator, Jesus has authority to do with his creation as he sees fit.

And as its owner he has authority to do with it as he sees fit.

Not only does Jesus have authority as the creator of everything, but he also has authority…

As the Sustainer of Everything (17)

Paul says that Jesus is before all things.

The word translated “before” is a preposition that can also mean, in front of, ahead, or above.

In this context, Paul is simply reiterating his argument thus far.

Jesus has the highest position of all things because he has been granted that position by the Father, and because he is the creator and owner of everything both in heaven and on earth.

Jesus has a higher authority than anything or anyone else.

He is before all things.

But Paul also says that in Jesus all things hold together.

He’s the creator of everything, the owner of everything, and the sustainer of everything.

Have you guys ever considered how the nucleus of an atom stays together?

Think about it…

The nucleus of an atom is made up of protons that have a positive charge and neutrons that have no charge.

Now consider magnets.

The positively charged side of a magnet attracts the negatively charged side of other magnets, but it repels the positively charged side.

Opposites attract, but like repels like.

Positive repels positive.

So, why don’t the positively charged protons repel each other?

Scientists don’t have an answer for this.

But Paul just told us that it’s Jesus.

Jesus is the one who holds everything together.

And as soon as he stops holding everything together, the entire universe will be destroyed, blown up, melted to make way for the new heaven and the new earth.

Peter mentions this 2 Peter 3:11–13 “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Jesus’ authority as the firstborn, the creator, and the sustainer of all things means that he gets to determine how everything ought to be.

He get’s to decide how life is meant to be.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I’ll mention it again here.

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom which is more broadly translated, “life as it was meant to be.”

We have peace in Christ when we recognize and submit to his authority to determine how life is meant to be.

But because of sin, life has not been as Jesus meant it to be.

Now, this is NOT to say that Jesus has lost control or that he intended for life to be different than it is.

This is simply to say that life has not yet reached the goal Jesus has meant for it to reach yet.

In his sovereign plan, Jesus created everything and then allowed it to fall into sin so that he could show his glory by reconciling his creation back to himself, making peace, bringing it to what it was always meant to be.

Next, in verses 18-20, we’re going to see how Jesus made peace with everything he has authority over.

Colossians 1:18–20 ESV

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.

Here, Paul explains how we can have peace because…

Jesus Made Peace With Everything (18-20)

He did this by becoming human, dying on the cross for the sins of the world and then rising from the dead.

This is the gospel.

The gospel brings peace between God and man.

That’s why Paul called it “the gospel of peace” in Ephesians 6:15.

The image of the gospel of peace as shoes for our feet.

Walking through life always ready to do God’s will in promoting peace because of the peace we have with him because of the good news of what Jesus did.

And Paul explains each aspect of what Jesus did here in Colossians 1:18-20.

His incarnation, his death, and his resurrection.

Interestingly, Paul starts his argument in this section with the last piece chronologically, how Jesus made peace…

By Rising from the Dead (18)

He says that Jesus is the head of the the body, the Church.

Then he explains what he means by that in the next bit.

Paul described the church as a body quite a few times in his letters.

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, multiple times in the book of Ephesians, but specifically in chapter 4, and again in Colossians 2.

Every time he explains this metaphor it’s to promote unity in the church and building each other up in love within the church.

And Christ is the head in this metaphor because he is the one in charge, the authority, the one controlling all other parts.

When a body part deviates from the direction of the head it is not functioning properly.

Likewise, whenever anyone in the church deviates from the direction of Christ they are not functioning properly, and Jesus will discipline them or they will prove that they were never a part of his body to begin with.

Paul is going to explain this metaphor later on in his letter.

But here he brings it up as a transition from explaining Jesus’ authority over everything to explaining how he made peace with everything.

Jesus has specific authority over his church because he reconciled us, he made peace with us.

And he did this by rising from the dead as the firstborn of the resurrection.

Paul explained this using a slightly different term in 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Firstborn and firstfruits are the same concept regarding Jesus’ first place, his authority, his perfection.

And because he rose from the dead, he has the authority and the power to grant that same resurrection unto eternal life to his Church.

And the result of his resurrection is that he would be preeminent in all things.

In Ephesians 1:20–23 Paul wrote about the immeasurable power of God “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Jesus’ resurrection is sort of like his badge of authority because it shows not only how he has inherent and granted authority, but he also has earned authority.

He earned his place as the preeminent one in all things because of his resurrection.

Now Jesus being preeminent in all things doesn’t mean that he is the most important thing and all other things are less important.

That’s true, but that’s not what Paul means by saying that he is preeminent in all things.

What Paul is getting at is that Jesus’ importance, his preeminence, affects and permeates all things.

Jesus is not just the best option among all things.

He’s the only option because he’s preeminent in all things.

Remember how he created and sustains everything?

Because of the earned authority of his resurrection, nothing is outside of his authority and preeminence.

Now, in order for Jesus to be raised from the dead, there are a couple of natural prerequisites.

The Son of God had to become human and die in order to be raised from the dead.

So, Paul goes on to explain how Jesus made peace with everything…

By Becoming a Man (19)

He says that in Jesus, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

This is the part that we celebrate at Christmas.

This is the peace the angels proclaimed on the night Jesus was born in Luke 2:14 ““Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!””

Now, mankind did not experience this peace on the night that Jesus was born.

But the angels knew what was happening.

They knew that God had just been born into the world.

God had just put on humanity.

And the whole reason he did that was to bring peace to those with whom he is pleased on the earth by going to the cross and rising from the dead.

We can say that the incarnation of Christ brought peace because it was a major step in the plan of God to progress humanity toward life as it was meant to be.

The Son of God was always meant to put on humanity.

And when he died and rose again, he kept that humanity for the rest of eternity.

You see, when Jesus was born God became human, he became a man, and walked on the earth.

He experienced hunger, and pain, and exhaustion, and temptation.

He experienced frailty and human limitations.

And then he experienced death.

But he defeated death and rose again.

And the body he rose with… it was still a human body!

A glorified human body that transcended the frailty and limitations of our human bodies that are corrupted by sin.

All of eternity leading up to the incarnation of Christ, God was not human at all.

And for all of eternity after the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God is both God AND man.

This is a MASSIVE pivot point in God’s redemption plan.

A lot of Christians get so focused on the cross, Jesus’ death, that they give little thought to the impact of the manger or the empty tomb.

Sure, his death is very significant because it should have been us up there taking God’s wrath for our own sin, but he took our place.

That’s very significant, but could he have done that if he were not a man?

Could he have died in your place if he were not human like you?

No, he couldn’t have died in your place if he didn’t first put on mortal flesh!

And would his death be sufficient if he didn’t also rise from the dead?

Would he accomplish anything by dying and staying dead?

No, his death in our place is only truly significant because he rose from the dead so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life with him!

This is why we celebrate Christmas and Easter.

We remember Jesus’ death every time we celebrate believer’s baptism and every time we celebrate communion.

And we get to celebrate communion later in our worship service.

But we have to remember that his incarnation and resurrection are just as important.

So, Paul said that the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus.

Jesus is both fully God and fully man at his incarnation and forever after that.

And this was a major step toward God’s plan of peace, life as it was meant to be.

That’s why Paul said that the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus’ human body.

This is what was meant to be.

It’s what God always intended.

So that Jesus could be the head of his Church, the firstborn from the dead, the firstfruits of the resurrection.

But in order to get to the resurrection, Jesus also had to die.

Finally, Paul explains how Jesus made peace with everything…

By Dying for the Sins of the World (20)

Paul ends his explanation of how Jesus made peace with everything by focusing on the cross.

He does this because Jesus’ death was the most instrumental in bringing about this peace.

I mentioned earlier how we tend to focus on the cross and ignore the manger and the empty tomb.

We tend to do this for good reason.

Jesus’ death on the cross is the very thing that affords us peace with God!

His incarnation didn’t make peace with God… but it led to it.

His resurrection didn’t make peace with God… but it gave it eternal significance.

It was his death alone that actually made peace with God.

So, while it is a tendency to downplay Jesus’ incarnation and resurrection in light of how much his death has accomplished.

The answer to that tendency must never be a pendulum swing to downplay his death on our behalf.

This is why we remember his death as often as we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper.

All three aspects are important in their proper place.

Jesus became a man so that he could sympathize with our weaknesses and be our perfect high priest, and so that he could die in our place.

Jesus died in our place to afford us peace with God as our sins are forgiven by his sacrifice on our behalf.

And then he rose from the dead so that our peace and forgiveness would be eternal as death is defeated and we live with him forever.

Paul says here in verse 20 that Jesus reconciled all things to himself whether on earth or in heaven.

This is reminiscent of what Paul said earlier in verse 16.

How Jesus has authority as the creator of all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

Jesus had to reconcile all of his creation because of the fall in Genesis chapter 3.

The fall corrupted all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

All of creation is groaning, longing for reconciliation, for peace because all of it was corrupted as Paul wrote in Romans 8:19-22.

Romans 8:19–22 “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.”

And Jesus’ death on the cross purchased that reconciliation.

But don’t think that the fall was a wrench in God’s plans.

The fall was part of the plan.

That’s why Paul said in Romans 8 :20 that the creation was subjected to futility unwillingly by him who subjected it.

It wasn’t Adam who subjected it to futility… it was God.

In Genesis 3:17 part of the consequences God dealt out included God cursing the ground… subjecting it to futility.

This was all part of God’s plan.

The corruption of all of creation because of the spiritual death of the first Adam, and the reconciliation of all of creation through the death of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And back in our passage, at the end of verse 20, another way to frame the concept of reconciliation is making peace.

Jesus reconciled everything, he made peace with everything through the blood of his cross.

All of creation was corrupted and in need of reconciliation because of Adam’s sin.

And his sinfulness was passed down to every single person except Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus’ divine nature as holy God counteracted that sinfulness, and he resisted the temptation to sin while he was on the earth.

In order for our sinfulness to be reconciled, we need to be granted forgiveness for our sin.

But God is just, he can’t be giving out pardons willy-nilly, that would go against his nature as God.

The answer is for God to justly punish a willing substitute in our place.

Jesus is our willing substitute.

He willingly took our place so we wouldn’t have to bear the punishment for our own sin.

So that we could be justified, declared righteous before God…

And in doing so, God remains just instead of unjustly ignoring the consequences of sin.

This is what Paul said in Romans 3:26 “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Jesus, as our willing substitute, had to die by shedding his blood on our behalf because as Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

The forgiveness of sins.

This is what the death of Christ accomplished.

This is what afforded the reconciliation of all creation.

This is what made peace with everything.

The blood of Christ on the cross purchased our forgiveness and the reconciliation of all things, thus making peace with everything.

Life as it was meant to be.

Conclusion

So, how are we to respond to these truths about Jesus’ authority over everything and how he made peace with everything?

How did Paul intend his original audience to respond in their context?

How does God intend us to respond in our context?

It’s helpful to remember the context of our passage.

Remember, Paul wrote down how he was praying for the Colossian church.

And this passage we just looked at is really the motivation for them to do what he had prayed God would enable them to do.

Our application is found in this prayer, so I’m going to read it.

Colossians 1:9–14 ESV

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every gotod work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul prayed that God would fill us up with the knowledge of his will through his wisdom and understanding…

so that we would walk worthy of him…

so that we would live our lives in light of our perfect peace in Christ.

So, as you go back out into the world…

to do your Christmas shopping,

to plan your parties,

to navigate your difficult relatives,

or to survive another season of painful memories…

Live in light of Jesus’ peace, walk worthy of his peace.

How do we do that?

Remind each other of his peace in the gospel as often as you can!

Live out his peace in pursuing good works, loving service to each other!

Increase in your knowledge of his peace, dig into God’s Word as much as you can to see his peace permeating its pages.

And as you increase your knowledge of his peace and remind each other of his peace in the gospel…

Let his peace strengthen you to endure the hostility of the world and resist the temptation to return hostility right back.

Let it strengthen you with patience, joy, and thankfulness.

And as one more application that isn’t in Paul’s prayer, but is important nonetheless…

Let his peace motivate you to pursue peace and reconciliation with each other.

I know there are those among us who are at odds right now.

Please, don’t wait.

Be reconciled with your brother or sister in Christ.

And let Jesus’ peace motivate you to be reconciled.

If you need help reconciling, please reach out to me, I am more than willing to help.

Now if you are not a Christian yet, then the application of this passage is to believe in Jesus.

Because you can’t really have peace without him.

Any attempt at pursuing peace without Jesus will not actually result in peace.

It may look a bit like peace as hostility is ignored for a time.

But true and lasting peace… life as it was meant to be…

That can only happen when the one who created your life returns it to what he created it to be…

A life of love for God and love for others,

A life of holiness and righteousness,

A life of reverence and obedience to the almighty creator of everything.

And all you have to do to have Jesus’ peace is believe in him.

Believe in who he is, the Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh.

Believe in what he’s done, he became a man, he died for your sins so that you could be forgiven, and then he rose from the dead so that you could live with him forever.

And submit to his authority, he’s the one who has been given all authority by God the Father, and he’s the one who has inherent authority as the creator and sustainer of everything.

He get’s to decide how life is meant to be.

And he’s the one who reconciled all things as they were meant to be.

Peace in Christ.

Pray

Communion

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