Colossians 1:1-23 "Christ's Preeminence"

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                Today we are beginning a journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae.  This journey, this study will take about six or seven weeks in total, and what we’re going to be looking at is Jesus.  You see, Colossians is known for its Christology or its Christ-centeredness.  It’s a letter in which Paul had to remind a bunch of Christians who Jesus really was and what he really did.  Paul had to write this letter because of a report that he had gotten about this once faithful congregation who was beginning to slip away and follow a school of thought that was more about what the people did than what Christ had already done.  I fear that many times we modern Christians fall into a similar trap, but we’ll discuss that as we work our way through this letter.  For now, I want to focus on our getting the background information covered.  There was this system of belief that combined mysticism, Jewish legalism, and some Greek patterns of worship that was starting to penetrate its way into this Christian church, into this body of believers.  Paul knew that he needed to help these Christians put an end to this so that they could get back on track, or in this case not get off track.  However, Paul can’t be there with them because he’s in prison.  So, what does he do?  He writes them a letter and has Tychicus, the same one who delivered Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, deliver it to them.  And in this letter, as we will see, Paul simply tells them about Jesus; purely and plainly about Jesus.  First, he tells them who Jesus is, and then about what that means for them.

                We see that Paul opens this letter by giving his usual greeting, establishing his apostolic authority.  He then goes on to give thanks for the congregation’s faithfulness, as well as telling them how he and the other apostles and church leaders have been praying for them.  Now, this portion of Paul’s letter is a common occurrence in Paul’s epistles, but here in Colossians it is a bit longer than we usually find.  Part of the reason for that is that while Paul is writing this standard introduction, he’s also beginning to teach the Christians in Colossae by reminding them of things that they already knew.  Just look at some of the language that Paul uses here.  “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.  Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you.”  Paul is giving this congregation a reminder of the facts that they’ve already heard the gospel and that they have experienced this threefold wonder that is faith, hope, and love; which are central to Paul’s understanding of the Christian life.  He continues to bounce back and forth between thanksgiving, encouragement, and reminding them of what they already know all throughout this introduction.  So, while it is an introduction, it’s an introduction with some meat to it.  He’s not just writing empty words or going through the formality of things, he’s giving them substance.  There’s no fluff to the Apostle Paul’s words, especially not here in this introduction to the church in Colossae.

Then, in verse 13, we see Paul start steering the conversation in a particular direction, and that direction is towards Jesus.  “He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  In other words, we are the recipients of this faith, hope, and love not because of what we’re doing or have done or will do, but because God has delivered us and granted these things to us, and he’s done so through His Son, Jesus.  And after telling his audience that God has done this mighty work through Christ, Paul goes on to talk about the preeminence or the supremacy of Christ; which is where we’re going to spend the rest of our time together this morning.  And in this opening section of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we see the supremacy of Christ spoken about in two very distinct ways:  the supremacy of Christ with regards to creation and the supremacy of Christ with regards to redemption.

First, Christ’s preeminence or supremacy in creation.  The Son, the second person of the Trinity, was there, He was present and active at the time of creation.  Creation was a work of the Triune God.  All three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, had a hand in creating this world.  No text makes that clearer than the prologue of John’s gospel.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  Well, Paul’s reminding the Colossians of this fact with his words to them about Christ’s role in creation.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  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.”  Now, a few things need to be said here.  There are some that will point to the language of Christ being “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” and say that those words make it seem like Christ is less than God the Father.  Well, that’s simply not true, and really, it’s a pretty uneducated interpretation of these words from a biblical perspective.  In saying that Christ is “the image of the invisible God”, Paul is simply saying that Christ is the physical revelation of God.  We can’t physically see God himself, but we could see Jesus.  Since Christ is by nature God, he reveals to us the God who is otherwise invisible.  That’s what we read in our call to worship as we heard the ending of John’s prologue to his gospel account.  And as far as the word “firstborn” goes, it doesn’t mean created by something older or greater than himself.  In the Old Testament, a firstborn son would be the principal heir of an estate.  When the term is used here of Christ, it means that he is of such great honor and dignity, not that he was the oldest child or creation.  So, don’t get the impression that Christ was created by God, He is God.  I know that’s confusing, but that’s because our fallen, fallible, and feeble minds simply don’t possess the capacity to fully understand something as complex and mysterious as the Trinity.

Paul, as we noted, is conveying the notion that John stated already in his prologue, that nothing has come to be without Christ’s directly having a hand in it.  He even goes on to add, “And [Christ] is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”  Paul’s just going rapid-fire here with his teachings on Jesus.  He’s reminding them that Jesus himself is the head of the Church; hence why the Church is referred to as the bride of Christ.  Jesus is the Lord of the body of believers.  There’s no authority greater than Christ’s authority; a concept that we dealt with heavily during our look at Ephesians, which was written about the same time as this epistle.  Then, Paul has this moment of transition where we see the shift from creation to redemption, but it’s still about creation of sorts.  When he writes that Jesus is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead” our minds go back to the resurrection.  Well, what does the resurrection signify, mark, or inaugurate?  A new creation; Christ inaugurates the new age that is foretold about in the prophets of the Old Testament.  Remember when we talked about the old self vs. the new self during our look at the book of Ephesians?  Well, Paul is going to bring that up later on in this epistle when he deals with the application of this doctrine, but for now he’s making sure that the Colossians understand that the entire concept of being reborn, being a new creation, or taking off the old and putting on the new is because of Jesus Christ.   Christ is preeminent or supreme in both creation and recreation.

And all of this leads to the supremacy of Christ in redemption.  Now, there is a certain sense in which we might want to say that calling Christ supreme in recreation and redemption is redundant, but that’s not entirely true.  Yes, there is a great deal of overlap, but there is little more to redemption than just recreation.  You see, while teaching these Christians about the glory of Christ even before the foundations of the earth, Paul is also pointing out to them that Christ’s resurrection leads to the exaltation of Christ to an new place.  R.C. Sproul says of this that “by virtue of His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ is Lord of the universe that was created by Him, that He has always sustained, and which now He has redeemed.”  Now, the question that we so often want to ask is what does the exaltation or the glorification of Christ mean for us, and Paul’s going to get to that.  But first, he has to explain what the exaltation of Christ really means.  He says, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”  In other words, Jesus was fully God and fully man, completely of his own will.  And in his descending to earth, his life of perfect obedience to the will of the Father, and his sacrifice upon the cross, God has in essence repaid God for a debt that was owed to Himself.  That’s the summation that Paul gives here as to what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection means.

It’s what we find next that shows what Christ’s supremacy in redemption means to us.  “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present YOU holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”  So, putting all of what we’ve seen just in the last few verses together we’re left with this equation.  There is a debt that is owed to God, a debt that is a result of our sin.  As such, God, being just, requires that that debt be paid and paid in full.  God cannot just dismiss this debt, it must be paid.  Mankind, having no ability to pay that debt, is left hopeless and condemned.  However, God, in His love for us, sent His Son into the world.  His Son, upon entering into this world, lived a life in such a manner that he alone was worthy of paying that debt that was owed to God.  The Son, God Himself, made restitution for this debt on our behalf, reconciling or settling our debt to God.  Thus, at such time as we are called to be judged, it is not our own righteousness that is in view, but the righteousness of Christ.  Christ is the only means by which we may come to God the Father.  That is his preeminence, his supremacy in redemption.  John 14:6:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  There’s no other way to be redeemed, to be reconciled to God, than through Jesus Christ.

That’s the whole issue that Paul is trying to deal with amongst the Christians in Colossae.  That’s the issue that faces so many Christians today.  Many think that they can earn their way to salvation.  They think that by keeping certain rules and rituals and doing certain things that they are gaining favor with God.  Yes, those things may please God and bring joy and glory to God, but they are not the means by which we are saved.  We are saved by Christ alone.  You have been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Can you imagine walking into a bank and applying for a loan?  Most of you have probably done that, and I would guess that at some point you’ve been approved.  Now, imagine that you’ve got terrible credit.  I’m not talking about subpar, I mean bad.  The mortgage lender or loan officer sits down and talks to you and then when you have every reason to think that a denial is coming, they approve you for the loan.  Your credit wasn’t the reason, but because you’re in a relationship with someone and they have perfect credit you are approved.  Now, this is a crude analogy, but you get the picture.  Of our own merit, our credit score as it were, we are deserving of denial, desertion, punishment, and condemnation.  However, because of the righteousness of Christ, his perfect credit score, and the imputing of that righteousness into us by the Holy Spirit, we are rewarded.  We are made heirs with Christ as Paul says in Romans 8. 

That’s what Paul is trying to remind this group of Christians about.  Guys, it’s not about what you do, but about what was done for you.  Yes, what you do is important because it brings joy and glory to God’s name.  Your good works and your keeping of God’s commands are the ways in which we show our gratitude, our love, and our reverence for God.  However, from a salvation standpoint, all of the work has been done.  Christ’s death was sufficient for your salvation.  You don’t need to do anything else to make it enough.  When you do, you’re essentially saying that Jesus, that God himself, didn’t do enough.  As we journey through this letter, we’re going to see how freeing that news really is.  But for now, as we prepare ourselves to go out into this world, I want all of us to live with the assurance that Christ’s death was enough.  I want all of us to know that God himself loves His children so much that He paid the price that was ours to pay.  And let us use every breath that we have sharing that great and wonderful news.