Introduction:
A. Some years ago, when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show, he interviewed an eight year old boy.
1. The boy was on the show because he had rescued two friends in a coal mine outside his hometown in West Virginia.
2. As Carson questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was from a Christian home.
3. So, Carson asked him if he attended Sunday school.
4. When the boy said he did, Carson asked: “"What are you learning in Sunday school?”
5. “Last week,” the boy replied, “our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine.”
6. The audience roared with laughter, but Carson tried to keep a straight face.
7. Then Carson asked, “And what did you learn from that story?”
8. The boy squirmed in his chair and it was apparent he hadn’t thought about this.
9. But then the boy broke into a big smile and said, “I learned that if you’re going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!”
B. That is certainly good advice, but I am here to declare that we had better do more with Jesus than just invite him to our wedding.
1. Jesus is way more than a wine maker.
2. Jesus is the supreme One – greater and more important than anyone else who has ever lived.
3. Years ago, Vernon Grounds wrote a book called The Reason for Our Hope and in that book, he attributed this quote to Napoleon: “I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity…Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible comparison. He is truly a being by himself. His ideas and sentiments: the truth which he announces, his manner of convincing, are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things…I search in vain in history to find one similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me anything which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
4. That quote is certainly a glowing and accurate assessment of Jesus.
C. But today, we are going to examine an even clearer and more wonderful assessment of Jesus.
1. Our text for today from Colossians 1:15-20, is one of the greatest passages ever written about Jesus and His role in the universe and in history.
2. No paragraph in the New Testament contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus than this one.
3. Many Bible scholars believe that these words comprised a hymn that was sung in the early church about Jesus and His supremacy.
4. And it may be true that it was an early hymn, and Paul may be the author of that hymn, but either way, Paul did not write these words in this letter in a vacuum or for no reason.
a. Paul didn’t sit down one day and decide to write a beautiful poem about Jesus and send it to the Colossians.
b. Rather, Paul wrote these words about Jesus in this letter in order to address an important situation and need in Colossae.
5. The false teachers in Colossae were questioning Christ’s exclusive role in providing spiritual renewal and spiritual empowerment.
a. The false teachers were arguing from cosmology to spirituality, suggesting that since the universe is filled with spiritual powers, then ultimate spiritual fullness can only be found by taking all of them into consideration.
6. What Paul wrote to counter that declares the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus.
D. Let’s look again at this amazing passage about Jesus: 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. (Col. 1:15-20)
1. Let’s organize what Paul said about Jesus into what and who He is in relation with four things or persons.
I. What and Who Jesus is in Relation to God
A. The false teachers were teaching that Jesus was by no means unique.
1. They insisted that He was only one of many emanations between us and God.
2. They considered Him one of the highest ones, yet only one of many.
B. Paul countered those ideas by insisting that Jesus Christ is truly unique, in at least two ways.
1. First, Paul declared that Jesus is the image of the invisible God (vs. 15).
2. Second, Paul declared that Jesus is the fulness of God (vs. 19).
C. God is Spirit and God dwells in the spiritual realm and yet God has made Himself known and knowable.
1. God has revealed Himself through His creation, which shows the magnitude of His power and genius (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20).
a. This is called the general revelation of God.
b. And if all we had was the creation, we would know there is a God and would know some things about God’s abilities, but we would not know about God’s character nor God’s plans and promises.
2. Jesus is God’s special and specific revelation of God.
a. Jesus, the Son of God, entered our world and took on flesh and blood so that we could better know what God is like and what God’s plans and promises entail.
3. When Paul said that Jesus is the image of God, he was using the Greek word “eikon” which means representation, manifestation, and reproduction with precise likeness.
4. Additionally, by containing the “fullness” of God, Jesus is also God in His completeness.
5. That’s why Isaiah wrote about the coming of the Savior and the angel told the shepherds that the child born of the virgin will be called “Immanuel’ which means “God with us.” (Isa. 7:14; Mt. 1:23)
6. That’s why Jesus could say, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” (Jn. 14:9)
7. That’s why the Hebrew writer declared that “Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.” (Heb. 1:3)
8. Therefore, Jesus is our microscope and telescope for seeing God, in the smallest thins and in the biggest things – Jesus is everything God is in character, power, and authority.
9. Jesus is supreme, sufficient and sovereign.
D. After explaining what and who Jesus is in relation to God, Paul moved on to…
II. What and Who Jesus is in Relation to Creation
A. The false teachers taught that the creator was not God Himself, but someone emanating from God and maybe even hostile to God.
1. But let’s notice how Paul stressed that God did create the world and that His agent in creation wasn’t a hostile emanation, but Jesus, His own Son.
2. Paul described Jesus’ relation to creation in three phrases.
B. First, Jesus is “the firstborn over all creation” (vs.15).
1. We must be careful to properly understand this phrase and the meaning of “firstborn.”
2. Being the “firstborn” doesn’t mean that Jesus was the first of all created beings, like Arius thought in the 4th century and like modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses believe.
3. In the Bible, the word “firstborn” is often used in a metaphorical sense and therefore means not firstborn in time, but first in place and status.
a. For instance, God says of the nation of Israel, “Israel is my firstborn son.” (Ex. 4:22)
b. And God says of King David, “I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” (Ps. 89:27)
4. Therefore, Jesus being the firstborn over all creation means that Jesus has the place of special honor and rank over the creation that belongs to Him.
C. Second, in relation to the creation, Jesus is the cause of creation as verse 16 says: “for everything was created by him…all things have been created through him and for him.”
1. Jesus is the creator of all things, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
2. It is no wonder that the winds and waves obeyed Him and that disease and death fled from Him, because He is the creator and master of all things.
3. The maker of something is always greater than the thing that is made.
4. Jesus is not only the agent of creation, but He is also the goal of creation.
a. All things were created to be His and to give Him glory and honor.
D. The final phrase I want to draw our attention to is: “by him all things hold together” (vs. 17).
1. Jesus is not only the cause of creation, He is the cohesion of creation.
2. Years ago, a group of people were touring the atomic laboratory and the guide explained how all matter was composed of moving electronic particles.
a. One visitor asked the guide, “If this is the way matter works, then what holds it all together?”
b. The guide had no answer. Science has no answer.
3. Jesus is the answer. Who is holding all things together? Jesus is.
a. The chaos of this universe is brought under control by the power of the Son of God.
4. Jesus is holding all things together in every realm.
a. He is holding things together on the micro level – the sub-atomic level.
b. He is holding things together on the macro level – He is sustaining the universe, including our solar system, our planet.
c. He is holding things together on the spiritual level – there are all kinds of principalities and powers in the spiritual realm, but all of them are under the control of Jesus and in submission to Him.
E. How amazing and wonderful is it to know that Jesus is God, the creator and sustainer of all things!
1. Jesus is the beginning and end of creation and the power that holds it all together.
F. Next, after explaining what and who Jesus is in relation to creation, Paul moved on to…
III. What and Who Jesus is in Relation to the Church
A. Paul used four phrases to describe what and who Jesus is to the church.
B. First of all, Jesus is “the head of the body, the church” (vs. 18).
1. There are many images of the church in the New Testament, but the body concept is one of the most helpful.
2. The church is made up of all people who have become disciples of Jesus and this group is the body of the church.
3. When it comes to our physical bodies, we all understand the relationship between the body and the body’s head.
a. We understand that the head directs the body and that the body cannot continue to live without the head.
4. In the same way, the spiritual body, the church, cannot live without the head.
a. Some churches have died or gone astray because they have severed themselves from the true head, who is Jesus.
b. Some have made an earthly person the head of the church, but that position is reserved exclusively for Jesus.
5. The Greek word for “head” can mean several things, including source and origin as well as leader and ruler.
a. Jesus is certainly all these things for the church – He is the source, leader and ruler.
C. The second phrase, “He is the beginning” (vs. 18), points to Jesus’ role of source and origin.
1. The church is His church and it came about because of His sacrifice.
D. The third phrase, He is “the firstborn from the dead” (vs. 18), points again not to being firstborn in time, but first in place and status.
1. Jesus isn’t the first person who has ever been raised from the dead – other people in the Old Testament and the New Testament were raised from the dead before Jesus was.
2. Rather, this phrase means that Jesus is the most important of all who have been raised from the dead.
3. The resurrection of others from the dead didn’t carry the promise that all would be raised, but that is the promise that comes with the resurrection of Jesus.
4. Jesus died and was raised in order to conquer death, the grave, and hell.
5. Praise God that He is the firstborn from the dead!
E. The final phrase that describes Jesus’ relation to the church is “that he might come to have first place in everything” (vs. 18)
1. The word here that is translated “first place” is used nowhere else in the NT and it means “supremacy” or “preeminence.”
2. This points to the uniqueness of Jesus’ position and person – Jesus is supreme!
F. Finally, after explaining what and who Jesus is in relation to the church, Paul concluded with what and who Jesus is in relation to all things.
IV. What and Who Jesus is in Relation to All Things – He is the Reconciler.
A. In verse 20, Paul wrote: 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. (vs. 20)
1. Consider the paradox presented in these words about Jesus: Jesus is sovereign over all creation as the One in whom and for whom all things were created, and yet Jesus exercised His sovereignty by reconciling the world through shedding His blood on the cross.
2. Do you remember playing the childhood game of “king of the hill” on top of a snow bank?
a. One child stands on top of the snow bank and declares: “I am king of the hill!”
b. Then the other children attempt to dethrone the king through shoving and pushing and wrestling the position away from them.
3. That childhood game depicts the typical human approach to power and greatness – a battle for the top position.
a. But God turns all that on its head when Jesus shows that the way up is down and the way to victory is surrender.
4. The divine plan of redemption and reconciliation is so vast and counterintuitive that we can barely fathom it.
a. It seems so scandalous and foolish to the human mind.
b. The agent of creation and creations’ sustainer took on the role of humble servant, who was afflicted with the suffering and death on the cross.
c. The victory was won by giving life not by taking it.
5. Through His sacrifice, Jesus became the reconciler of all things, on earth and in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
B. This is a mystery that must be believed – it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory.
1. The false teachers in Colossae offered a reconciliation with God based on human knowledge and legalistic and ascetic practices.
2. But Paul countered with the truth about Jesus and His role as Creator and Savior, Leader and Reconciler.
Conclusion:
A. I hope you have been blessed by our examination of this profound section of Scripture that declares that Jesus is supreme and sufficient.
1. The wonderful thing about all this information about who and what Jesus is, is the fact that it isn’t just good theological, Christological information, rather it is practical and helpful information.
B. Based on all that we have looked at about who and what Jesus is, I want us to know that we don’t have to be afraid.
1. Because of who and what Jesus is, we can feel safe and secure.
2. The supremacy of Christ means that we are safe.
a. The universe is not about to change hands and receive a new owner.
b. God is on the throne and that will never change.
c. We are living safely under the rule of Christ and that will never change.
d. Here’s how one person put it: “In the face of disappointed world betrayal, a world in which all fixed points have proven illusory, a world in which we are anchorless and adrift. Christ is the foundation, the origin, the way, the truth, the life. In the face of a culture of death, a world of killing fields, a world of the walking dead, Christ is the head of the resurrection parade, transforming our tears of betrayal into tears of joy. Giving us dancing shoes for the resurrection party.
And this glittering (sparkling) joker who has danced in the dragon’s jaws of death, now dances with a dance that is full of nothing less than the fullness of God. This is the dance of the new creation, this is the dance of life out of death. And in this dance all that was broken, all that was estranged, all that was alienated, all that was dislocated and disconnected—what was once hurt, what was once friction is reconciled, comes home, is healed and is made whole, because Grace makes beauty out of ugly things’ (Walsh, Colossians Remixed, 88)
3. Secondly, the supremacy of Christ means that we are secure – We can know that Jesus will meet all of our needs again and again.
a. Paul asked this comforting question in Romans 8:32: He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
b. Jesus is not only able to meet all our needs, He is also willing to – we are His beloved family.
4. So, we don’t have to be afraid, because we are safe and secure in Jesus – both in this world, and certainly in the next.
C. But that safety and security that I am talking about is only found in Jesus.
1. Jesus is the Savior and the Lord; And He is the reconciler.
2. Only those who put their faith in Jesus and live by faith in Jesus are made right with God and have the promise and assurance of abundant and eternal life.
3. If you have not yet been born again and become a follower of Jesus, then we would love to help you do that today.
a. If you believe in Jesus and are willing to repent, confess your faith and be baptized, then you will be saved and added to the church, the body, the family of God.
4. If you already are born again and are the follower of Jesus, then don’t let anyone or anything cause you to give up your faith and commitment to Jesus.
5. Continue to do what Paul told the Colossians to do in chapter 2: So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. (Col. 2:6-7)
6. I hope and pray that everyone listening to my voice today will get into Christ and then stay with Christ.
7. Jesus is supreme and sufficient and we will never be disappointed that we put our faith in Him.
Resources:
Colossians, by Warren Wiersbe, in The Bible Exposition Commentary, Victory Books, 1989
Colossians, by David E. Garland, in the NIV Application Commentary, Zondervan, 1998
Colossians, by Owen D. Olbricht, in the Truth for Today Commentary, Resource Publications, 2005
The Lord, My King, Sermon by Mark Armstrong, SermonCentral.com
The Exclusive Christ, Sermon by Keith Walker, SermonCentral.com
