Colossians 1:15-20

15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 "For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. 17 "He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 "He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 "and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” ()

I believe the year was 1893 and millions of people came to Chicago for some type of an event.

One of the features of this event was called the “World Parliament of Religions.” in which representatives of the world’s religions met to share their best points and perhaps come up with a new world religion.

D. L. Moody saw this as a great chance for evangelism.

Moody commissioned evangelists and assigned them to “preaching posts” throughout the city.

He used churches and rented theaters. He even rented a circus tent to preach the Word.

Moody’s friends wanted him to attack the “Parliament of Religions,” but he refused, saying,

“I am going to make Jesus Christ so attractive that men will turn to him.”

D. L. Moody knew that preaching Christ preeminent—

the peerless,

supreme,

all-sufficient Christ,

clearly presented—would do the job.

And indeed it did.

The “Chicago Campaign” of 1893 is considered to be the greatest evangelistic work

of Moody’s celebrated life,

and thousands came to Christ.

This is what we find Paul doing in the his letter to the Colossians.

Remember these believers are being influenced by a groups of “spiritual” people

that are seeking to lead them to stay away from

certain foods and drink and

to honor certain days prescribed in the OT ceremonial law.

to honor certain days prescribed in the OT ceremonial law.

This letter is crafted to help Christians understand that in order for them to gain acceptance before God, they need Christ only.

MAIN IDEA

Christ’s reconciling work affects every part of the created universe- “whether things on earth or things in heaven” (v1v,20).

The Church (v18a) is where one sees and experiences the reconciliation of all things on earth.

In Christ, the Colossians have recieved all the benefits of Christ’s death, and their salvation in complete.

DIGGING IN

Look up the following verses and let’s come to see what this teaches us about Jesus...

(NOTE: in each OT verse LORD is YHWH {Yahweh})

Psalm 96:5

....

...

...

1. In these verse who is the Creator? Compare with . What must we conclude about Jesus?

Christ’s supreme role in creation is now cited as evidence that He is, indeed, the firstborn over all creation.

The very first line in v15 says that “He is the image of the invisible God”.

This is the same word in the Greek that Jesus asks the religious people about not paying their taxes.

“Who’s image and inscription is this?” as He holds up the coin.

2. CHILDREN, if you want to know what George Washington looks like, what coin do you look at? (quarter)

So if we want to see how God would treat sinners who need to be saved, where would we find God interacting with sinners? (The gospels cf. John 14:9)

If we want to see how God feels towards religious people, we’d turn to the same place.

Christ is the image of God. Who are we following? (Jesus)

3. Look up and see the connection between “our image” and “God created” (v26,27).

Compare that for our purposes in Colossians in 3:10. What’s happening to us? (being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator cf Rom. 8:28).

17 "He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

18 He is also the head of the body, the church...” ()

Stopping right there, we see a transition. The first line (v17) looks back to vv15-16 whith their focuse on Christ’s relationship to creation.

he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” ()

While the first part of v18 introduces the focus on Christ’s redemptive work.

18 "He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 "and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” ()

In creation and redemption, “by Him all things hold together.” (v17).

What holds the universe together is not an idea or virtue, but a person: the resurrected Christ.

Without Him gravity wouldn’t work. The planets would not stay in their orbits.

To the followers of Christ at Colosse (and by extension us) you’re not going to find agreement or connection by pursuing other religious option in our culture.

God is telling us and wants us to understand that things make sense only when Christ is kept at the center.

18 "He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” ()

Amen, who’s head of the church? (Jesus).

Yes, it’s Christ who is the Lord of His people.

It’s the head, which is the controlling member of the body.

Christ is the place, or where the church finds her unity and where the church is connected,

He’s the source of the church’s sustenance and direction.

Against people who were arguing that ultimate spiritual experience had to be found in places in addition to Christ,

Paul holds up Christ as the one who is the true and only source of life for the body.

Just as Christ is preeminent in the universe, so He is preeminent within the new creation, the assembly of new covenant believers.

2nd line in v18, “He is the beginning, the firstborn form the dead.”

This clearly echoes v. 15a, The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Christ stands at the head of the new creation as the firstborn from the dead, the one who initiates the eschatological resurrection

20 "But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” ()

The word “beginning” denotes ‘founder’ or ‘initiator’.

14 "“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:” ()

The resurrection of Christ initiates this end-time resurrection;

His resurrection guarantees and, indeed, stimulates the resurrection of all who follow (; cf. ; ).

In this sense, He is not only the first one to experience resurrection;

He is the “founder” of the new order of resurrection.

He is the “firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

e is the “firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

19 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” ()

Think of the titles of Christ thus far.

“image of God” and “firstborn over all creation” in v. 15;

“beginning” and “firstborn from the dead” in v. 18b—

are followed by an explanation introduced with “for”

19 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” ()

We might surmise, then, that the false teachers in Colossae were inviting the Christians there to experience true “fullness” by

following their philosophy (2:8) and

rules (cf. 2:16–23);

to which Paul responds: the “fullness” that you are seeking is to be found in Christ.

Christ replaces the temple as the “place” where God now dwells.

It’s in Christ where all that can be known and experience of God is to be found.

20 "and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” ()

Reconciling all things to Christ infers that the Lordship of Christ over all things (vv15-18) has somehow been disrupted.

Though created through him and for him, “all things” no longer bear the relationship to their creator that they were intended to have.

They are therefore in need of reconciliation.

And here we see the nature of this reconciliation.

“by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”

You see, all created people in general, suffers from the effects of human beings’ fall into sin and is in need of restoration.

Peace is established on in Christ. When we respond in faith to the gospel we experience this reconciliation (read vv21-22).

They are therefore enabled, as God’s new covenant people, to live in a still dangerous and hostile world in peace.

CONCLUSION

Whether speaking to Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Muslims, they will all tell you that Jesus is great, but that he’s just a prophet, or he’s an arch angel etc.

Jesus is great, but you need something more.

Paul’s response to this line of reasoning is to elaborate on the greatness and splendor of Christ.

This leaves us with an inescapable conclusion.

The Lord of glory is himself so wonderful that to insist that people need more than Christ is absurd.

He cannot be excelled or surpassed.

Do we realize how much we have in him?

Every true Christian has been linked, with chains that cannot be broken, to the most wonderful person of them all, someone who represents God to mankind to the fullest and most complete degree, someone who not only existed prior to the creation of all things, but who participated in their creation.

He is the head of the church, the first of a new humanity and the one in whom God is present to the utmost extent.

All true Christians long to know the Christ they have with greater intensity and consistency, but he cannot be improved upon.

To inform people that they need to move on from what they have in Christ is to insult him.

This passage closes by touching on our greatest need as human beings.

For those who have failed to meet the standard that God has set, reconciliation is an urgent necessity.

Is God willing to be at peace with us? No reader of this book need spend a day longer in uncertainty.

Blood has been shed; a penalty has been paid and, for all who come in faith to Jesus Christ, our moral and spiritual debts have been cancelled.

But, in view of all that we have learned about the identity of the great reconciler, the position of the merest beginner in Christian things is breathtaking.

Who was it that bled for first-century believers in Colosse and twenty-first century Christians throughout the world?

The Creator bled and suffered; the Lord of all things was bruised; the King of angels was spat upon; the one who controls the surging tides and the march of the seasons was nailed to a cross.

Can such a sacrifice, from such a person, ever be improved upon?

We don’t know how the Colossians received this letter, but we can gauge our own reaction.

Presented with such a Christ, the pearl of great price, should we hanker for more than we have in him, or be amazed at what we have?