Colossians: Jesus our Supreme Authority 01
October 24, 2021

Colossians: Jesus our Supreme Authority

Colossians: 1:15-23 (NLT)

Colossians: Jesus our Supreme Authority 01 | Mick Veach | lead pastor | first aired on 10.24.2021

Read Scripture

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,

16 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.
Everything was created through him and for him.

17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.

He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.

19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,

20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. —Colossians 1:15-23

Introduction

A. Marks of a church

  1. The church is made up of transformed People in Jesus

    a. Acts 2:38-41
    b. Creating an environment by which non-believers are welcome to engage—I Cor. 14:22-25

  2. The church is organized under qualified leadership (Elders)

    a. Teaching role—Acts 2:42
    b. Receiving of gifts—Acts 4:35-5:2
    c. Decision making—Acts 6:1-6

  3. The church gathers to hear preaching and respond to worship

    • Acts 20:27, Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:24-5

  4. The church administers the sacraments

  5. The church is spiritually unified and practices authentic fellowship

    • John 17 and Acts 2:42

  6. The church exists to complete Jesus’s mission—Acts 2:47, Matthew 28:18-20

B. The message of this letter is clear

  • Stand against the Colossian heresy and the supremacy of Jesus

C. Colossian heresy is Gnosticism, let’s define this philosophy:


  1. Gnostic comes from the Greek word gnosis which means knowledge. It was interwoven in the teaching of the church

    a. Special knowledge of truth and this knowledge is superior to faith
    b. Separation of matter and spirit, matter is intrinsically evil
    c. Denial of the humanity of Christ

D. Gnosticism had a unique way of approaching life

  1. They were dissatisfied with what they considered the rude simplicity of Christianity and wished to turn it into a philosophy and align with other philosophies
  2. Their teaching was in contradiction to Christ:

a. Creator of earth not God and hostile toward Him

  • V.16-Paul insists God created the world

b. Jesus was not unique, like one of the angels
c. A barrier between God and man impassable
d. Salvation=intellectual knowledge
e. Salvation for a few, the intellectual and knowledgeable

E. Background on this letter

  1. Epaphras had been converted in Ephesus and took the gospel to Colosse.
  2. Paul wrote from Rome in 60AD during his first imprisonment

F. Paul begins his letter by teaching the priority of Prayer

  1. Prayer aligns us with the gospel—verses 2-8
  2. Prayer Changes us—verses 9-11
  3. Prayer moves us to being grateful—verses 12-14

G. Finding your identity is one of the most significant quests for everyone and this chapter addresses where our identity should be.

H. Question: What are the things that hijack your identity?

  1. Peer Pressure
  2. Societal demands
  3. Pursuit in the wrong areas
  4. Ignorance
  5. Insecurity

I. The biblical examples of identity crisis

  1. Jacob and Esau fought over a birthright
  2. Job defended his righteousness
  3. Jonah did not want to be a missionary
  4. Peter went back to fishing after Jesus died

J. Our identity crisis is resolved once we embrace the supremacy of Jesus

Three Items about Jesus that make Him Supreme

I. Jesus is the

Reveal Answer
of God

A. V.15—He is the image of God; image is a Greek word eikon and it means he is both the representation and manifestation of God

  • He perfectly represents God to man

B. Question: How does He represent and manifest the invisible God to humanity?

  1. Christ is the wisdom of God

    a. Wisdom an O.T. concept held highly
    b. Proverbs 2 and 8 says it comes from God
    c. Jesus lived out this wisdom before us

  2. Christ is the Logos of God

    a. The word of God with reason that put the universe together
    b. Greeks wrote and dreamed for 600 years about reason and Jesus fulfilled it

  3. Christ the purpose of what man is supposed to be

    a. Gen. 1:26-27—man made in the image of God but was spoiled by the fall
    b. Jesus manifested who God is and what manhood looks like

  4. Christ manifests the portrait of who God is

    • V. 19—the fullness of God in Him

C. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity and it is this truth and enables us to worship and serve Him

  • Example of Muslims and the trinity

D. Jesus was 100% man and 100% God at the same time

Key point: If Jesus is God then it demands my surrender

II. Jesus the

Reveal Answer
of all Things

A. Jesus is connected to creation

  1. V. 15—firstborn of all creation in Hebrew and Greek, it means indirectly a time of significance not the first born to be literally created

  2. Firstborn is a title of honor

    a. Ex. 4:22—Israel as a nation of firstborn sons of God
    b. Title for Messiah

  3. V. 16—Creation all comes from and is for him

    a. Gnostics saw him like an angel as a result one of many who could help with this barrier between God and us
    b. Paul sets Jesus above angels

  4. V. 17—the end goal of creation is to praise Him

    a. Romans 8 says it groans for this
    b. All laws of the universe and world are orchestrated by Him not chaos
    c. Gravity etc., not scientific but are divine

  5. Jesus the connection for the church

a. V. 18 says 4 things about this connection

  1. He is the head of the body

    a. Without a head the body can’t function or know what direction
    b. Privilege and warning arrive

    • Grateful to be connected
    • Warning that neglect your body and you will become unfit

  2. He is the beginning of the church

    • He is the source and the director of the church’s activity

  3. He is the firstborn among the dead

    a. Center—His resurrection
    b. I Cor. 15—no resurrection, no gospel
    c. He lives today and that answers it

  4. He has supremacy in all things

    • Conquered every opposing power and nothing in death and life that can bind him

  5. Question: if this is true then how should I live my life?

    a. Daily connect my life with Him
    b. The results of disconnection not good

    1. Internet disconnected
    2. Bible disconnected
    3. Prayer disconnect

Key Point: Jesus is one who connects all things together


III. Jesus the
Reveal Answer
of Reconciliation

A. V. 19-20—the object of his coming was reconciliation

  1. Man being reconciled to God
  2. God doesn’t need to be change
  • John 3:16—God so loved…

B. The source of reconciliation is His Blood

  • Romans 8:32—He gave him up for us…

C. Reconciliation is free for you

  1. A gift of grace and mercy
  2. John 1:12—Receive this gift

D. 2 Cor5:17—we then begin a ministry of reconciliation for the world

E. V. 20—reconciliation starts and ends with Jesus

F. V. 21—the goal of reconciliation is holiness

  • Luke 9—pick up your cross

G. V. 23—result is faith rooted in hope

  • This will enable us to live our lives to its full

Key Point: Reconciliation with Jesus enables us to reconcile with ourselves and others.

Call to Action

  1. Surrender every area of your life to Jesus

  2. Connect with Jesus in the big and small items of your life

  3. Pray that you have opportunity to show reconciliation for Christ

  4. Read Colossians through this next week

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