Col 1: 15-20 - Still Sufficient and Supreme (full text)
In our survey of Col 1:15-20 we are now up to course five of this amazing Christological feast of the person and work of Christ.
Course Five: Christ the Pope v.18a
In 1376 John Wycliffe, a lecturer at Oxford University, wrote a controversial work entitled ’Of Civil Dominion’. In it he audaciously asserted that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and not the Pope. Wycliffe’s views were condemned and he was sent into exile. But Wycliffe continued propagating his ideas through a group called the Lollards, who proclaimed this view even to the point of death. It is a point worth dying for: that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and no-one else. Not the elders, not the deacons, not the Prime Minister and not the WCC. The reason it is important is because headship of the Church determines who we obey.
Are we to obey Christ or are we to obey men claiming to hold the office of Christ? We hold unswervingly to the headship of Christ for 2 reasons: 1. its his body; 2. he created it.
Church as the Body of Christ
The reason Christ is the head is because the Church itself is the body of Christ. When the Lord Jesus spoke to Saul he said to him, “Why are you persecuting ME”. Paul’s campaign against Christian believes was a war against Christ himself who is with his people. The idea of the ‘body of Christ’ is a metaphor for the unity believers have w. each other and with Christ
For Christ stands over all believers as their authority. Despite all its diversity the one thing that all Churches share is the headship of Christ. The Headship of Christ means we can truly be called the ‘Churches of Christ’ regardless of our other tags. Reformed, Pentecostal, Baptist, Anglican and so forth. Those who believe in one Lord, one gospel, and one head of the Church, regardless of denomination may call themselves members of the ‘Church of Christ’ – under his authority. The headship of Christ transcends national boundaries, cultures and languages.
It makes church politics of minuscule significance, its bigger than theological debates, the one thing of church government we can all agree on is the headship of Christ. Despite our immense diversity and loving disagreements what we may all proudly confess with one mouth and in one heart is that Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. Ecumenism begins with the recognition of the soul Headship of Christ. The early Church Father Cyprian writes:
As there are many rays of the sun and one light, many branches of a tree and one trunk, and as very many streams flow from one fountain, and though numbers seem diffused by the largeness of the overflowing supply, yet unity is preserved entire in the source, so the Church, pervaded with the light of the Lord, sends her rays over the whole globe, and yet it is one light, which is everywhere diffused without separating the unity of the body and extends her branches over the whole globe and sends forth flowing streams; still the head is one, and the source is one.
Christ the Creator of the Church
The second reason for the headship of Christ is because he created the church. In Mt 16.18 – “I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not overcome it.” Christ is the one source of its life – it is his death which inaugurates it.
[Illustration] It is interesting how a pearl is made. A pearl, you know, starts out as an irritated oyster! A grain of sand gets under the oyster’s shell. To the oyster that feels like crackers in bed do to us. It is very uncomfortable, and the oyster sets about getting rid of it. What it does is to cover the irritating grain of sand with a beautiful nacre that hardens into a lustrous and gorgeous pearl. That is how the church was born. It emerges from the wounded side of Jesus. It was the irritation that we represent by our sinful lives that put him to death, and he covers it over and heals it, making it into a beautiful pearl of great value. That is the church. That is what Paul is describing here: Jesus himself is the beginning and source of the church, and therefore He is also its Head.
Can you imagine a job advertisement looking for someone to be head of the Church. Sounds like a cushy job and the only requirements are: a) be both divine and human; b) be sinless; c) die a wretched death for the sins of humanity; d) rise from the dead. As you might imagine its a job with few applicants, for the only one suitable is Christ. Christ alone is the head of the universal church. His reign is sufficient for us. The sufficiency of Christ means: No system however proven; No building however immense; No organisation however powerful; and No person however talented is the head of the Church but Christ alone. For just as he is Head over creation so to is Christ the Head over the new creation of the Church
Course Six: Christ the New Humanity v.18b
Jesus is both the beginning and the first born from among the dead – synonymous terms implying one thing: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ marks the beginning of theNew Humanity. God is once more creating a new people for himself, a new Israel. In Jesus the New Age has dawned. The Age to Come, the Age of deliverance that Jews hoped for is manifested in Christ. Jesus is the both the ‘firstborn’ of creation and the ‘firstborn’ of the New Humanity. His resurrection is the proto-type, provision and promise of our own Resurrection.
What happened to Jesus will happen to us, that’s why its the proto-type. Its a foretaste of our own destiny. What was experienced by Jesus will also be experienced by us.
We are also saved through the Resurrected Christ – that’s the provision. If Jesus died and remained dead he could not save us. Only the risen Christ can send his Spirit; only the risen Christ can be a mediator. It is the presence of Jesus in the court room of heaven that proves that there is no basis for the condemnation of the believer. We are united with Jesus in his death and also in his resurrection. By being united with him in his resurrection we share in his vindication before the Father and Conquest over death. Rom 4.25: He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. The Resurrection also marks out Christ’s triumph over the forces of evil and power brokers of the world. It demonstrates once for all the victory of God over death, sin and evil. That’s why in Phil 3.10-11 Paul says: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
It is through Jesus’ Resurrection that we are saved – its the very provision of salvation
Jesus’ Resurrection is also the promise of our own Resurrection. The Resurrection proves that Jesus was who he said he was. It is a loud declaration that His death was no ordinary death, but an atonement for sins. John Stott Writes:
“What the resurrection did was to vindicate the Jesus whom men had rejected, to declare with power that he is the Son of God, and publicly to confirm that his sin-bearing death had been effective for the forgiveness of sins.”
How do we know that we’ll be Resurrected, because Jesus is the proof. He himself is the promise and guarantee.
Supremacy of the New Human
But like Creation the Resurrection is not an end it self. Just as the purpose of Creation is to glorify Christ; the purpose of the Resurrection is so Jesus might have the Supremacy. The purpose of the Resurrection is that Jesus would be by right what he already was by fact. In the Resurrection Jesus receives the status He deserves from His work on the Cross. Phil 2.8-11: And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. During the Gulf War the Air force Generals declared that they had achieved Air Supremacy. That they controlled the air and could shoot down anything they wanted: planes or pigeons. It is not true. Jesus had air supremacy as well as land and ocean supremacy. It is Jesus and not the Armies of all the world who has supremacy at this very hour. You might retort that, “Jesus doesn’t have supremacy over me!” Well you living in a playful delusion of autonomy. No-one can diminish the Supremacy of Christ any more than a lunatic in an Asylum can diminish the brightness of the sun by writing ‘darkness’ all over his cell. The question is not therefore, is he supreme, but do you recognise him as supreme. Will you acknowledge by act what Jesus is by fact.
Course Seven: Christ The Reconciler
vv. 19-20
In this passage we find the height of Paul’s polemic against those who devalue Christ. The word ‘fullness’ in Greek is Pleroma which in Pagan language was a technical term for the totality of spiritual forces. Some believed that there were angelic beings called Pleromata who would carry them away at death to a spiritual world. Perhaps some at Colossae are saying that these spiritual beings are superior to Christ. Paul’s response is that the Pleroma or fullness is not over Christ but it is in Christ. Jesus is the fullness of God and therefore he is the only mediator.
1 Tim 2.5-6: For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.
He is the fullness of saving grace and power manifested in one saviour. And what Jesus does as saviour is to effect the reconciliation of all things. However this leaves open an important question: How does Jesus’ death provide reconciliation?
Well, Jesus overcame the barrier between God and Man: Sin. What sin can do is kill and on the cross Jesus exhausted its power. The result is that by his blood shed on the cross we are restored to peace with God. Rom 5.1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Mediterranean world the Roman Emperors proclaimed themselves as peace makers bringing what they called the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. But it was a peace by pacification. Peace achieved by force and sustained by threat. So to has Jesus achieved a peace not by force by being the victim to a ruthless display of power.
Crucifixion was an evocative symbol of Roman power that declared the sovereignty of Caesar over the world and yet Jesus submits to it with a view to establishing once for all the Lordship of God. The crucifixion that expresses the zenith of disempowerment, degradation and death becomes the vehicle for the expression of the Kingdom’s salvific power. It is by renouncing power to save oneself that the power to save others is unleashed with formidable force.
It is in that display of sacrifice and human weakness that we learn what true power is. For on that the cross Jesus defeated the Principalities and Powers. Jesus pacified every false dominion, every power broker and Potentate. It is at the cross that every dictator who subjects others to his tyranny must learn that Jesus is Lord. Like C.S. Lewis’ Aslan it was in Jesus’ willingness to embrace death on behalf of others that he emerges as the glorious King. That is his triumph, his conquest and his victory.
Conclusion
I hope you have been thoroughly gorged on this feast on Christ. I pray it has has been nutritional and wholesome. A Final concluding remarks about this whole passage are in order.
Jesus is the image of God. It is in him we see most lucid display of God and humanity.
Jesus as the firstborn is Israel and the World’s Appointed Ruler
Jesus is the Creator: All things were by him, through him and for Him.
Jesus is the Sustainer: It he that holds the universe together.
Jesus is the head of the Church. He owns it and rules it without human aid.
Jesus embodies the New Humanity: In his resurrection we participate in that humanity.
Jesus is the reconciler: of sinners and the whole creation.
Application
Two things to put into practice are: The sufficiency and supremacy of Christ.
Sufficiency
As Christians we don’t wear rabbits foots, we walk under ladders freely and break mirrors without fear. We believe Christ is sufficient for our salvation, our life and even our death. Have you actually faithed your belief that Jesus is sufficient for you. Or do you still rely on yourself, money, parents, work or whatever. Billy Sunday, in a sermon he preached called, "Wonderful," communicated with his congregation the sufficiency of Jesus Christ by saying,
Christ for sickness, Christ for health,
Christ for poverty, Christ for wealth,
Christ for joy, Christ for sorrow,
Christ today and Christ tomorrow;
Christ my Life, and Christ my Light,
Christ for morning, noon and night,
Christ when all around gives way
Christ my everlasting Stay;
Christ my Rest, and Christ my Food
Christ above my highest good,
Christ my Well-beloved Friend
Christ my Pleasure without end;
Christ my Saviour, Christ my Lord
Christ my Portion, Christ my God,
Christ my Shepherd, I His sheep
Christ Himself my soul to keep;
Christ my Leader, Christ my Peace
Christ has bought my soul’s release,
Christ my Righteousness divine
Christ for me, for He is mine;
Christ my Wisdom, Christ my Meat,
Christ restores my wandering feet,
Christ my Advocate and Priest
Christ who ne’er forgets the least;
Christ my Teacher, Christ my Guide,
Christ my Rock, in Christ I hide,
Christ the Ever-living Bread,
Christ His precious Blood has shed;
Christ has brought me nigh to God,
Christ the everlasting Word
Christ my Master, Christ my Head,
Christ who for my sins has bled;
Christ my Glory, Christ my Crown,
Christ the Plant of great renown,
Christ my Comforter on high,
Christ my Hope, draws ever nigh.
Supremacy
Tradition has it that in 1743, at the premiere performance in London of Handel’s Messiah, King George II rose to his feet during the performance of the majestic "Hallelujah" chorus. To this day it is customary for audiences to stand during this chorus, even though the "Hallelujah" chorus is not the last movement. Do you know why? Because even King George, king of England, knew there was a power higher than his and he stood to pay homage to his King, the King of Kings.
Jesus is not one God among many. He reigns over all. C.S. Lewis: “There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch and every split second is claimed by Christ and counter-claimed by Satan.” Have you acknowledged the supremacy of Jesus in your life.
Notice that I didn’t ask you to make him supreme, he already is. You can’t make Jesus supreme any more than you can make him a saviour, make him God or make him loving. He simply is supreme. The question remains will you live out that supremacy in your own life – at work, at home, in Church, in your relationships or wherever God leads you. A friend of mine gave her testimony and in the midst of her tears as she recounted her terrors and tribulations she said that the purpose of her testimony is that we would know that Christ is pre-eminent. And by the way she said it, we knew her life he certainly was. Do you live a life where people look at you and say, In him or her Christ has the Supremacy. For nothing less is worthy of our saviour.
Sources
N.T. Wright, Colossians an Philemon (TNTC)
J.B. Lightfoot, Colossians and Philemon (1879)
Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians and Philemon (WBC)
Ralph Martin, Colossians (NCB)
