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September 22, 2019
Steven Lee (North Campus) | Colossians 1:15-20
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.—Colossians 1:15–20
Introduction
What is one of the greatest dangers for the church today? It’s not culture or politics, it’s not the sexual revolution, it’s not Islam, it’s not the secularization of society, and it’s not persecution. I believe the greatest danger for the church is for Christians to lose sight of the supremacy and centrality of Jesus. Earlier this week there was attention drawn to a group from a liberal seminary that confessed their sins to houseplants in their chapel service.
This is the perfect illustration of the problem taking place in Colossae that Paul was addressing. Paul writes to the Colossians—a congregation that he had never met—to address false teaching, summarized in Colossians 2:8.
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.
At the heart of this false teaching is that it threatened to draw believers away from the centrality of Jesus Christ. This teaching sought to supplement the “deficiencies” of Jesus with worship of angels, mystical visions, festivals, customs, and traditions. This morning, we’ll look at six verses that are understood to be some of the most important verses on the nature and person of Jesus Christ in all of the Bible.
The main point this morning is that Jesus reigns supreme.
Here we see the limitations of language. When I say “supreme” you think of a pizza with pepperoni, sausage, olives, bell peppers, and onions. Language fails to be able to communicate the glory, splendor, power, preeminence, and majesty of Christ. Another way to say it: Everything exists by and for Jesus, who is God. This Jesus—Creator and Sustainer of all life—has reconciled to himself all things through his blood.
My aim this morning is to awaken in us a fresh awe of our Savior Jesus Christ. Where we would go from “I’ve heard this before, and it’s a good reminder” to having a deep and abiding sense in our souls that Jesus is more glorious than anything else in all the world. That in the face of the threat of death or all the riches that this world can give, we would say, “Jesus is better.”
Outline
Our plan is to walk through the passage in three sections:
Paul begins Colossians with an introduction (1:1–2), thanksgiving (1:3–8), a prayer report (1:9–14), and then he turns to this passage on God’s Son (1:15–23). Before refuting false teaching, he gives them six verses—likely a hymn or poem that Paul either authored or borrowed—that reveal the nature and work of Jesus.
1) Christ Is Supreme Over All Creation (vv. 15–16)
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.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The use of image here could suggest inferiority, like a reflection or photocopy of the original. The use of image is referencing back to Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” Man is created in God’s image—meaning we share in God’s “communicable” attributes (e.g., goodness, justice, knowledge, love, truth, wisdom, mercy, etc.), but we also don’t image God perfectly in his “incommunicable” attributes (e.g., unchangeable, infinite, all powerful, all present, all knowing, self-existent, self-sufficient, etc.).
The point here made by Paul is that Christ reveals God. He makes what is invisible visible. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” Who is that “he?” It’s Jesus. How did Jesus made the invisible God known? John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Hebrews 1:3 says similarly, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Jesus reveals God and makes him known and visible. Not inferiority, but rather Jesus reveals God and allows us to see God in flesh and blood.
Perhaps the best illustration of this is found in John 14 in a conversation between Jesus and Philip, one of the disciples. Jesus had just been teaching all about the Father, and Philip says, “Lord show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John 14:8). Jesus responds, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The Father and I are one. Jesus perfectly, fully, and completely reveals the person and nature of God the Father. If you know Jesus, you know God! What a stunning reality.
If you’ve seen my sons, you’ll likely conclude that they look like me. My sons do resemble me. But I can’t say if you know my son, you know me. But Jesus can, and the Father can. Jesus perfectly reveals the Father because he is God. So the temptation to supplement or undermine Christ is terribly misguided because Jesus is not a messenger for God, but he is God.
Paul goes on to say Jesus is the “firstborn of all creation.” Again, we could mistakenly think that Jesus is a created being—that this is referencing chronology (e.g., first to be created). But the use of “firstborn” here is not remarking on time, but rank.
Psalm 89:27 helps us to understand that firstborn is about rank. God has chosen David to be king, covenanted with him, and will establish his offspring and build his throne (Psalm 89:2–4, 20). Verse 27 says, “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” What does it mean to make David the firstborn? David was the youngest of eight brothers (not firstborn), and he was not the first king of Israel (that would be Saul). “Firstborn” is about rank and supremacy.
Thus, for Jesus to be called the firstborn is to say that Jesus is “first over creation” and that, like a firstborn child, he receives the inheritance of the Father, namely power, authority, and the whole world belongs to him. This is further clarified later in our passage when we read “by him all things were created … all things were created through him and for him.” Jesus is the agent of creation, not a part of creation.
Verse 16 provides the ground for what he has said. “Everything in creation is done by him, through him, and for him.” Jesus made everything, and nothing was made apart from Jesus. Jesus is the agent of creation, the means of creation, and the end of creation.
It’s a little like the fine print you find on all your clothes, electronics, and housewares. Most of it says, “Made in China.” And likewise, if you pick up anything in heaven or on earth, whether visible or invisible, it has the fine print “Made by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ.” Nothing is exempt, nothing falls outside of it. If it exists, Christ reigns supreme over it.
The next section just clarifies and intensifies what Paul means. When Paul says “all things” he means “all things.” Nothing is excluded in the “all things.” The Greek meaning of “all things” is “all things.” There is nothing that God didn’t have a hand in creating. Heaven and earth encapsulates everything.
Visible and invisible refers to the false teaching that was in view. Jesus is just one good guide, and we need to supplement him with visions, philosophies, traditions, and worship of spirits or angels. This false teaching advanced the idea that there is a higher level of secret knowledge that should be attained. “Come be part of the elite level of Christianity.”
In talking about thrones, dominions, authorities and rulers, the point isn’t what each of these mean, but rather that Christ made them all. Jesus has authority over them all, and Jesus is sovereignly in control of it all. This is why in spiritual warfare I think it’s important not to over-emphasize the power of Satan and of the demonic realm. All spirits—both good and bad—exist by, through, and for Jesus, to accomplish his work. Satan has been ultimately defanged, so if he’s like a roaring lion—a lion that has been de-fanged, de-clawed, and is essentially one really big cat. A nuisance that makes my allergies flare up, but nothing more.
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.—1 John 1:4
Who is the “them” that believers have overcome? It is the spirit of the antichrist. The point here is that Jesus isn’t in some cosmic battle with his equal in Satan. Jesus rules and reigns over all dominions and authorities and rulers according to his infinite wisdom.
Jesus is not one of many wise and good prophets. You cannot line him up next to Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Gandhi, Dalai Lama, or any other religious leader. Jesus is the one who created them, gave them life and breath, and who will judge them. And because Jesus is supreme and sovereign over all creation, we should not, cannot, and ought not fear the powers, authorities, or dominions of Satan or of any other man-made philosophy. Whether man-made or active in the invisible spiritual realm, we can rest knowing that Jesus is over it all.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church.
Jesus is “before all things” refers to both his preexistence (e.g., Christ existed before all things) and his rank as above all. Christ is the goal of all creation, he is before all creation, and the supreme ruler of creation.
The best place this is illustrated is by Jesus himself in John 8. Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees children of the devil because they seek to kill Jesus. Essentially, he says, “You are illegitimate children of Abraham, and in fact, you’re children of Satan your father.” The scribes and Pharisees lash back at Jesus and call him a Samaritan and demon possessed (John 8:48). In the midst of this verbal sparring match, Jesus says how Abraham would have rejoiced to see this day. The leaders are astonished and scandalized that Jesus would dare speak for Abraham as if they were old friends. Here Jesus makes one of the most stunning statements ever recorded, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’” (John 8:58). This is the same “I AM” that God had revealed to Moses when he asks “Who do I say has sent me when the Israelites ask?” God replies in the burning bush, tell them “I AM” has sent you. Let there be no doubt, misunderstanding, or ambiguity, Jesus is saying I am God Almighty, and I am Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, “before all things” is quite a loaded statement here.
All things hold together in Jesus. This means that that the universe itself and all that it contains is sustained by and held together by Christ. Without Christ enacting his sustaining power, gravity would cease, the laws of nature would end, and our world would be filled with chaos and disorder, melting into a mass of atoms and electrons, a world without meaning or coherence.
But Jesus is holding it together. Consider the following:
Jesus Christ holds together all things, and this includes each and every single one of us. When Jesus says, “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7). God knows where every ray of sun will fall, every droplet of water that has ever existed, and he knows, upholds, and sovereignly oversees and ordains all the trillions of cells that comprise your body. Jesus is holding us together by his power. Therefore, fear not what tomorrow brings.
And Christ is the head of the body, the church. The Bible uses many metaphors to describe the church and, most often, the church is not defined as much as it is described. Christ is the head of the body. A body without a head has no life. Christ is the source of life, truth, and meaning for the church. So for the Colossians to supplement Christ, to seek out some higher knowledge beyond Christ or some mystical experience, is to lose sight of what is central.
Christ is supreme over all creation, and Christ sustains all creation. He is not an absentee landlord that started something but never checks in and never follows through. God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son are actively at work in our world, sustaining all life, and watching over his people with intricate care.
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.
We see again that Christ is the “beginning, the firstborn from the dead,” which both echoes the use of “firstborn” in verse 15 but now speaks of being the “firstborn from the dead.” This is clearly speaking of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which began an entirely new age.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”—1 Corinthians 15:20
Jesus’ resurrection is the sign, signal, and guarantee of this new eschatological age that he has ushered in. This is why we speak of death being conquered.
Yet we should notice that Jesus was not the first person to come back to life from the dead. Elijah raised from the dead the son of the widow in 1 Kings 17. (Elisha did similarly in 2 Kings 4.) In Luke 7, Jesus was walking when a funeral procession came by, and Jesus touched the coffin and the young man came alive. Jairus’ daughter (c.f., Mark 5, Luke 8) was raised from the dead, and Lazarus brother of Mary and Martha was raised.
In essence, those are resuscitations. They suffered a second death, they did not live forever. But Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is unlike any other resurrection. He died and in so doing, conquered death so as to never die again. And now Jesus inaugurates resurrection power for all those in Christ who will rise from the dead to everlasting life with God forever. This is the beginning of new creation. Jesus opens up new uncharted territory that had not existed previously. Jesus ushers in new creation marked by resurrection.
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” This very simply means that God in all his fullness is pleased or has chosen to dwell in Christ. Jesus is God, and God is Jesus. This is likely written to combat the false teaching of adding to Christ. By trying to supplement Jesus, they diminished and undermined his power, authority, and divinity.
This would be equivalent if we said you can be saved if you trust in Jesus plus never eat pork, plus visit Jerusalem once a year, plus if you pray five times a day, plus if you confess your sins to a priest, or plus any ritual, tradition, or custom. Beware adding to the person and work of Jesus. There is no fullness apart from the fullness of God in Christ Jesus.
And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.—Colossians 1:20
Paul is not making a case for universal salvation which suggests that everyone will be saved. We know this because just a few verses later, Paul writes that the Colossians were reconciled in order to be holy and blameless “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard” (1:23). That wouldn’t be needed if everyone is automatically reconciled to God. Later he writes, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” (2:6). Salvation is for those who receive the gospel, and continue in it, walking in truth.
What Paul is teaching is that there is a renewal or restoration for all creation such that it is under the rule and reign of Christ, and his peace begins to take root and is now already experienced by believers. So when Romans 8:19–22 speaks of “creation waits with eager longing,” that “creation was subjected to futility,” and that “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption,” and that “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth,” now, in Christ, renewal has begun. Disease, earthquakes, hurricanes, and natural disasters illustrate that creation is subjected to futility. The ground is cursed and it brings forth thorns and thistles (Genesis 3). But Christ has begun his work of reconciliation, bringing peace, that begins with the church, and spreads throughout the church to the world.
So Jesus has defeated the enemy, and is now exalted to his rightful place as Lord over all. Jesus “reconciling all things” includes overcoming his enemies. In Colossians 2:15, we see that Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame.” All that is wrong will be made right—some will be judged and others will be redeemed by his blood. Every injustice will be addressed, at the cross of Christ covered in his blood, or on Judgment Day.
The way Jesus does this—bringing about this reconciliation—is through the “blood of his cross.” This is a curious phrase because the Bible often talks about the blood of Christ and the cross of Christ, but here we have the blood of his cross. The cross of Christ is at the center of our faith. We cannot add to it, we cannot subtract from it, and we cannot deviate from it. We shouldn’t minimize it, ignore it, or take it for granted. Instead, we should celebrate it. Never outgrow the awe that comes from knowing that salvation and peace is purchased by Jesus through the blood of his cross.
Closing
Christ is supreme over all creation, sustains all creation, and reconciles all things, and he does it through his blood. Our God has written himself into the story of creation in order to suffer and die for his creation, in order to rescue them for himself, bringing about a new creation. We are what we worship, and we increasingly become more of what we worship. Oh, that we would be worshipers of Jesus. Not calloused and indifferent to Jesus but overcome with awe afresh.
Because of Christ’s supremacy, we must not fear. We don’t fear our neighbors, the future, the powers of the dark spiritual realm, we don’t fear tomorrow, we don’t fear financial collapse, and we don’t even fear the power of indwelling sin. Why? Because Jesus reigns supreme over all as Creator and Sustainer, and has reconciled us to himself through his blood. Jesus blood is better and stronger than your sin, suffering, and fears.
And finally, Colossians 1:23 says, “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 one aspect of the Christian life is not looking backward, but rather forward by continuing, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that we have received.
And the reason we can look forward is because these things are true, Christ has inaugurated new creation, and he’s guaranteed it by his blood. If you don’t know Jesus, we want you to know him. All you have to do is believe. And if you know him, we are commissioned to spread a passion for the supremacy of Jesus Christ in the lives of all those around us. What a privilege we have.
Outline
Main Point: Jesus reigns supreme, and everything exists by and for Jesus, who is God.
Opening Question
If you asked an unbelieving family member or coworker “who do you think Jesus is?” how would they respond?
Discussion Questions
Application Questions:
Prayer Focus
Praise God for the supremacy of Christ over all things as Creator, Sustainer, and agent of reconciliation. Confess any sins of trying to add to or supplement Jesus (e.g., traditions, rules, experiences, etc.), or confess the ways you have grown calloused to or indifferent to Jesus. Spend time thanking God for reconciling you to himself through the blood of the cross so that you have forgiveness, new life, and the fullness of God dwelling in you through the Spirit. Ask God for steadfastness to continue in your faith, not shifting away from the hope of the gospel and the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ.