Read Colossians 1:15-23.
I. JESUS CHRIST IS LORD (1:15-19).
A. He is Lord over CREATION (vv. 15-17).
1. He is GOD in human flesh.
“He is the image of the invisible God” (v. 15a).
God became a man and His name was Jesus of Nazareth. The birth of Jesus fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah: “‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which menas, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus is God in human flesh.
The Bible says that man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation and is similar to God in some ways. For example, we have a mind, will, and emotions like God does. But man is far from being “the image of the invisible God.” Only Jesus is the perfect image of God. In Him, the invisible (God) becomes visible.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Heb. 1:3a).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:1, 14, 18).
Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If I want to know what God is like, I should look at Jesus.
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).
2. He is the CREATOR of all things.
He is “the firstborn over all creation” (v. 15b).
Jesus is not a creature like us; He is the creator of all things. However, some argue that the phrase “firstborn over all creation” mean that Jesus was the first created being. Is that correct? NO. The Greek word for “firstborn” can mean firstborn chronologically (Luke 2:7), but it refers primarily to status. In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the son who had the right of inheritance. He was not necessarily the first one born (example: Jacob & Esau; “the older will serve the younger”—Gen. 25:23).
“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him” (v. 16).
“…whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:2).
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
3. He is the SUSTAINER of all things.
“He is before all things” (v. 17a).
Before the universe began, Jesus existed. He is eternal—with a beginning and without an end.
‘“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”’ (John 8:58).
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times [NIV note: or “from days of eternity”]” (Micah 5:2).
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 22:13).
“…and in him all things hold together” (v. 17b).
Jesus is the sustainer of all things. Christ is a kind of divine glue or spiritual gravity that holds creation together. God did not simply start things off and then withdraw from His creation; Christ continues to sustain the whole universe. As H. C. G. Moule put it, “He keeps the cosmos from becoming a chaos.”
“…sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3).
That means that this universe is not self-sufficient and neither are individuals, no matter how much people try to deceive themselves into thinking they are. Even those who do not acknowledge Christ’s reign and those who actively oppose Him are entirely dependent on Him.
B. He is Lord over the CHURCH (vv. 18-19).
1. He is the HEAD of the church.
“And he is the head of the body, the church” (v. 18a).
Jesus is the head of the church. He holds the chief position or highest rank in the church. This church doesn’t belong to us; it belongs to Jesus. We shouldn’t operate this ministry as we see fit; we should operate it as Christ wants us to. We are to live in submission and obedience to Him.
2. He is the ORIGINATOR of the church.
“He is the beginning” (v. 18b).
The Greek word for “beginning” contains the idea of source. That means that Jesus is the originator of the church. We are one with Christ and one another because of His death and resurrection.
3. He is the HOPE of the church.
He is “the firstborn from among the dead” (v. 18c).
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power” (1 Cor. 15:22-24).
Jesus is the hope of the church. Titus 2:13 talks about “the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“…so that in everything he might have the supremacy. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (vv. 18d-19).
II. JESUS CHRIST IS LOVE (vv. 20-23).
First Corinthians 13 gives us an explanation of what true love really is. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). These verses describe the love of Jesus.
A. The love of Jesus is not SELF-SEEKING (v. 20).
“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (v. 20).
The death of an obscure Jew on a seemingly God-forsaken hill in a backwater of the Roman Empire attracted no notice from the historians of the era, but it was the event that reconciles heaven and earth. The world may be corrupted, disordered, and ravaged by sin, but God still loves it; and God intends for it to fulfill its destiny in Christ. Sin has defaced Christ’s work in creation, but He came to undo its consequences and to bring concord in a universe out of harmony with God.
In reconciliation, the sinner stands before God as an enemy, but becomes His friend. When the Bible speaks of reconciliation it refers to the restoration of a right relationship between God and man. This was accomplished through the blood of Christ.
B. he love of Jesus keeps no RECORDS OF WRONGS (v. 21).
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (v. 21).
C. The love of Jesus is KIND (v. 22).
“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation….” (v. 22).
Shirley Guthrie wrote, “He is not like the king who preserves his majesty and honor only by shutting himself up in the splendor of his palace, safely isolated from the misery of the poor peasants and the threat of his enemies outside the fortress. His majesty is the majesty of a love so great that he leaves the palace and his royal trappings to live among his subjects as one of them, sharing their condition even at the risk of vulnerability to the attack of his enemies. If we want to find this king, we will find him among the weak and lowly, his genuine majesty both revealed and hidden in his choosing to share their vulnerability, suffering, guilt and powerlessness” (quote by Garland, NIV Application Commentary: Colossians & Philemon, p. 102).
The creator of the universe and the head of the church is the one who was shamefully crucified. These verses affirm that God’s ultimate purpose is not to judge and to destroy, but to reconcile and to renew—to make peace.
1. Jesus died to make sinful people PURE.
2. Jesus died to make guilty people INNOCENT.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 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” (Phil. 2:5-11).
John Stott said, “Only one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive, has ever been performed in the history of the world, namely the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners. That is why, if we are looking for a definition of love, we should look not in a dictionary, but at Calvary” (The Cross of Christ, p. ?).
Colossians 1:25-23 proclaims that Jesus is the Lord of love.
How can we apply all of this to our lives?
• Our attitude toward others should be the same as Jesus attitude toward others.
What was the attitude of Jesus? He put others before Himself. He gave up His life for the sake of others.
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
• Jesus deserves our total commitment.
Augustine said, “He loves each one of us, as if there were only one of us.”
The old hymn says, “Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.”
• Jesus’ suffering can help us deal with our own suffering.
John Stott said, “In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after a while I have had to look away. And in imagination I have turned instead to the lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering” (The Cross of Christ, p. ?).
• Make sure Jesus is your Savior.
(1) ADMIT that you are a sinner.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
(2) BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the grave and that He is able to save you.
“…whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16b).
(3) CALL to God for salvation.
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
Song suggestions: “Above All,” “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
DISCOVER THE NEW YOU
A New Look at Your Savior (Colossians 1:15-23)
I. JESUS CHRIST IS ____________________ (1:15-19).
A. He is Lord over ____________________ (vv. 15-17).
1. He is ____________________ in human flesh.
2. He is the ____________________ of all things.
Does “firstborn over all creation” mean that Jesus was the first created being? NO. The Greek word for “firstborn” can mean firstborn chronologically (Luke 2:7), but it refers primarily to status. In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the son who had the right of inheritance. He was not necessarily the first one born (example: Jacob & Esau; Gen. 25:23).
3. He is the ____________________ of all things.
B. He is Lord over the ____________________ (vv. 18-19).
1. He is the ____________________ of the church.
2. He is the ____________________ of the church.
3. He is the ____________________ of the church.
II. JESUS CHRIST IS ____________________ (vv. 20-23).
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
A. The love of Jesus is not ____________________ (v. 20).
B. The love of Jesus keeps no __________________________ (v. 21).
C. The love of Jesus is ____________________ (v. 22).
1. Jesus died to make sinful people _________________.
2. Jesus died to make guilty people _________________.
Is Jesus your Savior? Have you put your trust in the Lord of love?
