It's All About Jesus (Colossians 1) Series

It’s all about Jesus: Colossians 1

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 10/23/2016

Jesus. There is no other name in heaven or on earth that is more loved, more revered or more controversial than Jesus. At first glance, Jesus’ résumé is rather simple. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his hometown. He never wrote a book, never held a political office, never married, never went to college, never visited a big city, and never even attended a comic-book convention. Despite all that, Jesus stands alone in all of history—the single most significant person who ever lived. But who is Jesus really?

There are a lot of different interpretations of Jesus out there. A cartoon version of Jesus has made several appearances on long-running TV shows like The Simpsons and South Park. Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Ben Affleck, and Brad Pitt have all been spotted wearing “Jesus is my homeboy” t-shirts. In the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, comedian Will Ferrell leads his family in prayer to an “8-pound, 6-ounce, newborn infant Jesus” wearing “golden fleece diapers” and watching developmental video about shapes and colors. Apparently, he liked the Christmas Jesus best. There was even a bizarre Canadian kung-fu/comedy/horror/musical about the second coming, called Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, which pairs Jesus with Mexican Wrestling hero El Santos to battle an army of vampires! Bumper stickers all over the country proclaim, “Jesus is my co-pilot!” You can even buy a “Buddy Christ” Bobblehead figure, winking and shooting you a thumbs up!

Jesus, it seems, is everywhere. And everyone seems to have an opinion about him. Jesus once asked his disciples, “Who are the people saying I am?” (Matthew 16:13 TLB). They gave a variety of answers and they still do today. In fact, BluefishTV took to the streets asking bystanders the question “Who is Jesus?” Listen to some of their answers.

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There are so many conflicting opinions about Jesus and the truth is—how we see Jesus affects everything. In his book, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, John MacArthur writes, “What you think of Jesus will thoroughly color how you think about everything else… Our view of Jesus affects our view of God, the world, ourselves, and every one of our decisions.” So who is Jesus really? How should we see him?

The church in Colossae wrestled with those very questions when Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians. Some very sketchy beliefs penetrated the church in Colossae and threatened to cripple it from within. This false teaching was a deceptive combination of Jewish legalism, Eastern philosophy, pagan astrology, mysticism, and asceticism. There was something for everybody and that’s what made it so dangerous. By mixing their Christianity with all of these various religious and philosophical worldviews, the Colossians had lost sight of Jesus. They forgot whom it’s really all about!

So Paul writes this letter to set them straight, and he begins by setting the record straight about Jesus! If you have a Bible in your hand or an app on your phone open up to Colossians 1:15-23.

Most scholars believe that this section of Scripture, because of its poetic structure, is likely an ancient creed or perhaps the lyrics of an early Christian hymn. Whatever its source, it’s all about Jesus. And this is what it says:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 NLT)

Now, Paul could have started off by attacking the Colossians’ incorrect beliefs or immoral behaviors, but instead he starts by saying let’s talk about Jesus! It’s all about Jesus! And if you get Jesus right in your life and in your church, then everything else will fall into place. So let me highlight three characteristics of Christ as Paul describes him here. First, Jesus is our Creator.

• OUR CREATOR

Paul asserts that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh—the visible image of the invisible God. He writes again, “Through his power all things were made—things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen… All things were made through Christ and for Christ” (Colossians 1:16 NCV). Have you ever thought about that? That Christ created everything that can be seen?