Supremacy Of Christ Series

Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-1:20

Introduction-

Would you please turn to Colossians 1:15-1:20

We are going to look at God’s Word at the supremacy of Christ.

Colossians is in the NT between the book of Philippians and the book of 1 Thessalonians.

It is Apostle Paul looking at what was going on in the church at Colosse and correcting them for bad teachings that were being circulated.

After offering thanksgiving and prayer- 1:13

“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

That paints a picture for me.

Jesus rescued us from darkness

He brought us into His great light and kingdom

Through Jesus we have redemption and forgiveness of sins

Can you see that?

In the same picture;

• I see without Jesus we cannot be rescued, there is no redemption, and there is no forgiveness of sins.

Let’s read our text starting at 1:15-1:20

This should also paint a picture for us.

A picture of the Jesus we serve, at least the Jesus who offers Himself to us.

We can picture Jesus however we want, but what is the truth about Jesus?

What place does Jesus have in your life?

Illustration-

True story, a Christian college in the US invited a professor to be their speaker at an annual conference. He spoke for 2 ½ hours “proving” that the resurrection of Jesus never happened. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He said that the tradition of church was groundless, it was emotional mumbo-jumbo based upon a relationship of a risen savior who never rose from the dead. That ought to make your spirit jump from falsehood-liar, untrue! After all this time of speaking, the speaker ended by saying “Are there any questions?” an elderly preacher was in the back of the room, stood up and said, I have only one question. He reached into his lunch bag and pulled out an apple and began eating it. I have not read your book. I can’t recite the Scriptures in Greek. I know little about Buddha or Atheism. He finished his apple, just have one question, the apple I just ate was it bitter or sweet? The professor paused a moment, “ I can’t possibly answer that question, for I have not tasted your apple.” He crumbled up the bag and said, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus”

I know for me, He has rescued me from the power of darkness and transformed me into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

I know these verses shed truth about the Jesus that I serve.

That He is the image of God

ruler over all creation

power over all things

Created all things including the church, that God the Father has His approval on Jesus.

“For God was pleased to have His fullness dwell in Him (Jesus) and through Him to reconcile to himself all things, through his bloodshed on the cross.”

That once I was alienated from God and God’s Word says that in that state we were enemies of God because of sin.

That because of Christ, there can be redemption and forgiveness.

Paul in address to the church is clearing up some false teachings.

Some taught that the resurrection never happened.

Some taught that knowledge was salvation.

Some got caught up on the term firstborn like Jesus was just like them.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

He (Jesus) was with God in the beginning.

Firstborn in a family is an honored position.

Jesus is not created, He is the creator! Amen.

NLT Bible

“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.”

The question to ask yourself is this-

Which Jesus are you serving? God, creator of all things, the Jesus who is your sole source of salvation, or a Jesus that you have made up who is convenient, one who fits into your world instead of a God who rocks and changes your world.

We all know people who say that they are going to heaven because their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. Sadly, they are mistaken, such people do not understand that heaven “the promised rest” in Hebrews is gained not by works, but by the grace and mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

From our study on Wednesday nights, we see faith defined as “believing or trusting to the point that you have confidence in God’s character and God’s Word to the point of acting on His promises.