Colossians 1: 15 - 23 (continued)
Reread these amazing verses today - slowly!
Let's consider today the supremacy of Christ. Paul wants there to be no doubt in our minds about that! Paul confronts any notion that Jesus was merely a fine, spiritual man and guide. He is supreme ... He is the visible image of The invisible God.
First, Christ is supreme over creation. Notice Paul's arguments ... 1) Christ was the firstborn over all creation. Our English use of the word firstborn does not apply here. Jesus was not the first being created! The Greek word is prototokos and was very commonly a title of honor. That is the use of the word here. 2) Creation was accomplished by Christ. (v 16) The Jews of the time had a very elaborate system of angels. The Gnostics had their own system of intermediaries between God and man. So Paul hammers home ... all these things: thrones, powers, rulers, authorities were created by Him. 3) Creation was accomplished for Christ. (16) Barclay says that Christ was not only the agent of creation but the goal as well. 4) Lastly, Paul says that Christ "holds it all together." Next time you are in your favorite place in nature - perhaps the beach this summer, or the mountains, or our East Texas pine forests - think about these things. Christ is the center, the creator, and the sustainer ...
Secondly, Christ is supreme over the church. Notice in verse 18 He is the head of the church. Imagine a body without a head ... that's the stuff of horror movies ... a body careening around without the direction, the guidance, the wisdom of a head! Do we, as Christ's church, sometimes function that way? Or, without a head, a body becomes lifeless and powerless. Christ is the head of His church. Also, Christ is the beginning of the church. The Greek word used here for beginning is arche. It includes both the sense of first but also the sense of originating power, the source from which something came. It is Christ. And Christ is the firstborn from the dead - the resurrection - the center of our faith - there can be life! There will be life! And you and I can participate!!
Third, Paul places an umbrella that sweeps over all the specifics ... he says that in everything Christ has supremacy. Worship your Christ in His supremacy - not only over these things that Paul lists - but also over you and your life and even your day today. Stop fighting for the supremacy over your own life.
Why did Christ come? Why did He leave the splendor of heaven to take on flesh and mortality? The answer to that monumental question is also revealed in these verses. His purpose was reconciliation for the whole universe. It was God's idea ... not man's. The initiative began with God ... not man. And the medium for that reconciliation was the blood of Christ on the cross. (verse 20) What is the goal of this reconciliation? Verse 22 tells us that the goal is holiness. Through Christ we can truly be free from accusation. I love that!! Have you ever been accused of anything? Remember how it feels - even when the accusation is true? In Revelation 12:10 we learn "Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." Satan is the accuser. I hate to admit that often his accusations against me are correct. Praise be to God through His Christ, for I (and you) can be free from accusation because of the reconciling work of this supreme Lord!
One of the definitions of the word reconcile is: to bring into harmony. That is what Christ's work has allowed ... you and I, back in harmony with Jehovah God. My heart bursts with the joy of it ... and my mind cannot find words to describe it. So ... bow in adoration and submission to this supreme Christ.
When Paul says in v 21 that once the Colossians were alienated from God because of their evil thoughts and behavior, I assume he is referring to the past when they were pagans. But surely they continued to sin? Because they now have faith in Jesus and God, they are holy in God's sight, through the forgiveness of sin that came from Jesus' blood on the cross.
ReplyDeleteJesus has been supreme since creation, and now as then can give us peace through his blood.
Yes - they did continue to sin as you and I continue to sin. But the miracle is that they no longer "lived" in sin ... but in communion with the living God. The "peace" that you mention ... Praise God!
ReplyDeleteI love the image of being free from accusation!
ReplyDeleteHow many times have we seen media reports of some (usually high-profile figure) being indicted for ethical, legal or moral misbehavior in some aspect of their life? For weeks on end it is debated and discussed until the name of the accused becomes semi-permanently associated in our minds with the behavior of which they are accused. Even in cases where they are found innocent and all charges are dropped, their lives are never the same; their reputation is irreparably tainted. And in the ears of the one trying to make a new start in the wake of such an accusation, the words "not guilty" must ring very hollow. Small consolation, that -- if only the accusation itself could be erased!
As a small child I used to wonder how God could forgive sins so completely as to "remember them no more." And it is only possible because Jesus has erased the accusation lock, stock, and barrel, permanently, for us. Wow...