Rooted in Christ- Part 6-Christ Preeminent

Introduction

Last week we looked at the gratitude that we should have towards God for our eternal inheritance, our miraculous deliverance, and the forgiveness that has been extended to us in Jesus Christ.

Now we move to see the power and the glory of Christ as the image of the invisible God, the creator of the universe, and the head of the church. His power is evident and it is He who deserves to be preeminent in all things.

Paul’s description of the Lord should serve as a valuable reminder of His power and position such that we, along with the believers in Colosse, should be determined to be “Rooted in Christ”.

Jesus Christ is to be preeminent over all things and in this passage of scripture we shall come to understand why this is the case.

This could never be the case so long as the believers in Colosse were caught up on the false teachings of the heretics there who surmised that Christ was but one of many “emanations from God” and that the creation was entirely separated from God and was itself evil.

Paul boldly refutes the false teachings that were circulating there and reestablishes the right emphasis upon Jesus Christ.

Paul first speaks of Christ as:

The Image of the Invisible God (Vs. 15)

This means that Jesus Christ is the perfect and complete representation of God. Hebrews 1:3- describes Jesus Christ in a similar fashion as the brightness of His glory and the express image of his person.

Though man was originally made in the image of God, this image was tainted by sin and shall not be restored until we are ultimately made like unto Christ. Man remains in the likeness of God but can never be the full and complete representation of His power and glory as Jesus Christ is.

Only those who are antichrist will deny the deity of Jesus Christ- I John 2:22-23- deny the deity of Christ

The character and nature of the invisible God is made visible to us in the form of Jesus Christ. All that God is so also is Jesus Christ. He is the perfect embodiment of God revealed to mankind.

Jesus himself claimed on a number of occasions to be God (John 8:58, and John 10:33) Paul confirms this and boldly refutes that Jesus Christ is merely a product of the created order.

Jesus Christ is more than a man and more than a prophet and is truly God in the flesh.

Paul continues his argument by assigning to Jesus the title of “the firstborn of every creature.” This is not to suggest that he is the first of the created beings but that he his above all creation in rank and prominence.

In scripture, especially in the Old Testament, we see the title of firstborn given to those who were to be heir to the greatest part of the inheritance. On some occasion these were literally born first but on others (Jacob and Solomon) those who received the inheritance were not actually first in order but rather first in rank and importance.

Paul is here explaining that Jesus Christ reigns supreme over all creation and exists wholly outside of and prior to creation.

As we continue on Paul further develops this idea as he presents Christ as:

The Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (Vs. 16-17)

The false teachers in Colosse were promoting an ideology that stripped Christ of His deity and made him a very important and supremely significant created being but a created being nonetheless.

These suggested that Jesus was one of many “emanations” from God and that though He may hold a prominent position He was not equal or equivalent to God.

Paul continues to present more evidence that will cement in the minds of the Colossian believers that Jesus Christ is God.

He begins by stating that Jesus Christ is responsible for the creation of all things. In Apologetics this presents Jesus as the uncaused necessary being who is responsible for everything else that exists.

The argument is that everything which comes to exist has a cause and Paul is here stating that Jesus is the one who brought the universe into existence therefore He must have existed prior to creation and the only thing that exists outside of and before creation is God.

It is Jesus Christ who is responsible for the creation of everything that we see and even that which we cannot see. It is Christ who created all things including the created beings that inhabit heaven and all the creatures which inhabit the earth.

Paul states that it is Jesus who created all the various ranks of the angelic beings represented by thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. The power of the created beings from the lowliest to the highest in strength and power, derive their power and authority from Jesus Christ.

The power of the rulers of this world as well as the power of the angels who rule the invisible world are ultimately all subject to the omnipotent power of Jesus Christ.

We must do away with any ideology or system of theology which places Christ somewhere inside the hierarchy of created beings.

Not only were all things created by Him but they were also created for Him. In science one of the greatest questions is “Why is there something instead of nothing?” and you and I know the answer. It is because of Jesus Christ!

Revelation 4:11- all things were created for his pleasure to bring glory and honor to his name- this shall one day be reality as Paul writes in Philippians 2:10-11

Once more Paul reminds the believers that Jesus Christ did not come into existence at some point during creation but that he is “before all things” again pointing to his eternal existence prior to creation.

It is also stated that “by him all things consist” meaning that Christ not only created all things but that it is by His power that everything is sustained and continues to exist.

There are four major forces which are described in science as necessary to the existence of the universe, these are the strong nuclear force, gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force.

Scientists know that these forces exist and have measured at least to some extent their strength but there is no explanation for their existence.

You and I know that these exist because of Jesus Christ!

Strong Nuclear Force- protons which make up the nucleus of atoms naturally repel one another due to electromagnetism- these would actually fly away from one another at a rate of about 8,000 miles per second if there were not other forces acting on them. There is however a much stronger force (100 times stronger) that holds them together when they are in close proximity to one another. This is the strong nuclear force without which the entire universe would quite literally fly apart.

The power of Jesus Christ is responsible for all of these forces which are necessary to the existence of our universe.

Paul also presents Jesus Christ as:

The Head of The Church (Vs. 18)

It is Jesus Christ who is also responsible for the creation of the church. It is He who stands as the head of the church for without him the church would have no direction and no power and in reality without him the church would simply not exist.

On multiple occasions the apostle Paul presents the church as the body of Christ with Christ being the head of the church. All other members of the body are subject to the head and without the head the body has no intelligence or ability.

It is not the pastor, the deacons, or the members who are to have the ultimate authority in the church, rather it is Christ who reigns supreme over the church.

The church owes its origin to Jesus Christ for without his death, burial, and most importantly his resurrection the church would not exist. It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ which was responsible for the birth of the church.

His resurrection from the dead, securing our redemption, is the reason that we can be made spiritually alive today. Without him we would remain dead in our trespasses and sins.

Only by his resurrection was our redemption and restoration to life made possible. We must be certain that we never presume to have power apart from Christ.

The life and vigor of the church is dependent upon Christ’s headship.

Whatever the church may undertake and accomplish, every success is owed to its head, Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The final conclusion that Paul arrives at and that he expects that the Colossian believers and believers throughout the ages will arrive at as well is that Christ must be preeminent!

Christ is to be above all else and it is He who must be exalted, worshipped, and magnified. Christ must have the preeminence in our individual lives, Christ must have preeminence among all creation, let us never be guilty of bringing Christ down to the level of created beings and let us never exalt his creation to be equal with the creator. Romans 1:25- worshipped creature.

Revelation 4:11- Jesus Christ is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. Let’s make sure that he remains preeminent at High Plains Baptist Church in the position of prominence and first priority which He alone deserves.