146 Disciple Up
The Supremacy Of The Son, Col. 1: 15-23
By Louie Marsh, 2-12-2020
Intro. To help us understand vs. 15-20 underline the words ALL & EVERYTHING and then underline what they are connected to and you’ll find the following –
1) Firstborn of ALL creation (15)
2) He created ALL things (16)
3) He is before ALL things (17)
4) ALL things hold together in Him 17
5) He is supreme in ALL things (18)
6) ALL of the fulness is in Him (19)
7) He has reconciled ALL things to Him (20).
This passage is a hymn to the Son & shows us just how great He is. Compare this to man-made gods like you find in the Iliad. They are big men – Christ is the eternal God!
- I) WHO HE IS (vs. 15)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15 (ESV)
- A) The Image of God
1, What does God look like? John 14:8-9
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:8-9 (ESV)
2, Christ will make us into this Image Eph. 4:23-24
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:23-24 (ESV)
- B) Firstborn over all creation
1, What this does NOT mean!
a, that God first made Jesus & then Jesus made everything else
b, this is J.W. doctrine which they stole from Arianism.
2, What it DOES mean.
a, Firstborn (15) NOT first created
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 (ESV)
b, Vs. 16 says He created ALL things therefore He can’t be a created being Himself.
c, Vs. 17 He is BEFORE ALL things, therefore He can’t be a thing.
1, A thing = a created object, living or otherwise.
3, Firstborn over all creation!
a, How can Paul write that since we KNOW Jesus wasn’t the first person ever raised from the dead?
b, because the term “firstborn” doesn’t always mean “first one born”
c, The term usually means “preeminent” and is used that way in ancient lit. This is because the firstborn son had right of succession (unless crippled then next son was called “firstborn”).
51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Genesis 41:51-52 (ESV)
9 With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9 (ESV)
4, This passage is telling us that Jesus of Nazareth is the uncreated, eternal, self-sustaining God!
- II) WHAT HIS UNIVERSAL STANDING IS (vs. 16-20)
- Relating to Creation (vs. 16-17)
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 (ESV)
1, He created the EVERYTHING
a, the physical universe, the spiritual universe (angels, seraphim)
b, They were made for Him – He is their Lord by right of creation!
2, He sustains all things (17)
a, “hold together” is in the present tense
b, without His continuous sustaining activity everything would disintegrate.
- B) Relating to Redemption (vs. 18-20)
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:18-20 (ESV)
1, He is Lord of the church.
a, it’s head – director – as our head directs our body
b, it’s beginning – the source of the body’s life
c, it’s pathfinder – the 1st one to be raised to an incorruptible state, He shows us the way to our eternal state in heaven.
2, He contains the Fulness (19)
a, the word “God” or “Father” in vs. 19 isn’t in the Gk. text, it’s placed there by translators to help us understand what Paul is saying.
b, Lit. Trans. = “in Him all the fulness was pleased to dwell”
c, What? OT help. 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24 (ESV) OT teaches that God fills the universe, the word “pleased” is used of God’s pleasure.
d, SO Christ was the place or the one in Whom God, in all His fulness was pleased to dwell. And ALL His attributes are perfectly displayed in Him. This is permanent –
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, Colossians 2:9 (ESV)
3, He has reconciled ALL things to Himself (vs. 20)
a, How? By dying a bloody violent death on the Cross
b, Who was reconciled? US – if we accept the free gift that He bought with His life.
c, Not just people – ALL things!
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Romans 8:19-22 (ESV)
d, Romans 8:19-22, teaches that Christ has drawn all of creation back to God. When He returns all creation will be restored.
e, So now all things are obligated twice over. Once by right of Creation and twice by Redemption.
III) WHAT ALL THIS MEANS TO US (vs. 21-23)
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. Colossians 2:20-23 (ESV)
Avoid the appearance that lacks reality.
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