Thank you for joining us. It is good to have you here for another look at the Preeminent Christ. Last time was the first part of the lesson, and today we will finish looking at the three relationships that prove His preeminence. Paul packs a lot in a very short space, and this powerful paragraph is crucial to the rest of the book of Colossians. Your life cannot stay the same after understanding Christ for who He is, like Paul describes Him. Paul goes on to show how our understanding of Christ will impact many practical areas of life.
However, before we go on to those areas, let’s spend some more time thinking about Christ and building our doctrine on Him. Last time, we looked at two proofs of His preeminence, His relationship to Deity and His relationship to creation. Today, we finish His relationship to creation and look at the last one, His relationship to the church. Let’s go now with Pastor J Mark to Colossians 1:15-19.
Last week, we began exploring Paul’s teaching in Colossians 1:15 to 20, “The Preeminent Christ.” As we resume our study, here is the Scripture text.
15 He [Jesus]is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that He may have the preeminence in all things.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
In this text, the apostle Paul produces several PROOFS confirming Christ’s preeminence.
In verse 16, Paul ascribes the creation of ALL THINGS to Christ. In Him resides both the creative will (authority) and the creative energy (power). He is the initial creative force that brings the worlds into existence and the sustaining force that balances the whole universe.
What keeps our earth in its proper orbit? What keeps Earth at the appropriate distance from the sun to sustain life? These and many other things are impossible by chance. Jesus created everything and sustains everything, including earthly rulers and heavenly powers.
In the New World Translation of the Bible of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you will find added words in verses 16 and 17. Their translation reads like this. “For by Him all otherthings were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All otherthings were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all otherthings, and in Him, all other things consist.” They add the word, other, (in 4 different places) because they claim Jesus is a created being. That robs Him of His deity and preeminence. The addition is entirely unwarranted; it appears nowhere in our many manuscripts.
Paul proclaims Jesus as Lord over the invisible spirit world and the visible created world. He rejects the idea of separating the spiritual and the material. Too many professing Christ-followers fall into this trap. For the genuine Believer, all of life is sacred.
As a Christ-...
