(Colossians 1:15–23)
SERIES REVIEW
Part 1 — Rooted in the Gospel
- • The roots of our faith as believers are only strong when they are founded in Christ.
- • Our faith must be rooted in the gospel, because the same message that saves us is the one that continues to grow and sustain us.
- • We are called to be rooted in God’s Word, allowing Scripture to fill us with wisdom and keep us anchored in truth.
- • We must be rooted in our relationship with God, drawing strength, patience, and joy from His power, not our own.
- • When our roots are deep in Christ, our lives produce the fruit of faith, love, and hope.
- • Ultimately, your roots determine your fruit—so make sure your life is planted firmly in Christ.
PART 2: SUPREMACY OF CHRIST
I was driving to a church once, and my GPS said, “You have arrived at your destination.” The only problem was… I was in the middle of a cow pasture.
I looked around and thought, “Well, this must be the country campus!”
It’s amazing how you can follow directions that sound right, look right, and even feel right but still end up in the wrong place.
That’s exactly what was happening in the church at Colossae. They thought they were following the truth concerning Jesus, but somewhere along the way, they were led them off course. While they weren’t
necessarily rejecting Jesus, but they were allowing other people to redefine who Him.
This is still happening in our world today.
We live in a culture that has redefined and created its own versions of Jesus:
- • Feel-Good Jesus: Wants you to be happy, never confronts sin or challenge your lifestyle, and exists to make you feel better.
- • Political Jesus: This Jesus always votes like we do, He always takes our side and supports our political platform, and people use this Jesus to justify their own agenda.
- • Convenient Jesus: The Jesus people follow when life gets hard but is okay if you never make a commitment. This Jesus is savior on Sunday but is okay with you living how you want during the rest of the week.
If we are not careful, we will allow culture to redefine who Jesus is in our life as well. We too can allow culture to put the wrong address in the GPS of our life, and lead us to the wrong destination: a Jesus that can’t save us.
This is why verses 15-23 in chapter one are so important. It shows us exactly who Jesus truly is: LORD OVER ALL.
So let’s dive into Colossians today and see what it means that Christ is supreme over all.
- 1. Lord over All Creation
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or 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. - • “He is the image of the invisible God…”
- • Jesus is the visible image of God—the exact representation of who God is. All that God is can be found in Jesus.
- • “Firstborn over all creation…”
- • Firstborn over all creation: Jesus is the rightful heir to all things. Meaning, He is the ruler of everything that God made. This means that Jesus is not part of creation or just another spiritual being.
- • He is ruler over all of creation
- • “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth…”
- • By Him = In Him → Everything was created “in Christ”
- • All power and all governing principles that guide the process of creation reside in Christ.
- • Everything that is visible came from Jesus
- • Everything invisible came from Jesus
- • That includes the spiritual realm! They all have their rank, but they all fall under the lordship of Jesus Christ!
- • “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
- • Everything was created through Him and for Him
- • All things are being held together by the sustaining power of Jesus
- 2. Lord over the Church
18 And He is the head of the body, the church… - • The church is described in the Bible as a body; many members working together for one common goal. Every body has a head on it— from the head comes leadership and direction.
- • Paul says that Jesus the head of the church. Meaning that He rules and reigns over the body of Christ; He has full authority!
- • The Body of Christ gets direction from the head, Jesus!
- • We all take are cues from Jesus Himself. He is Lord over the Church!
- 3. Lord over Redemption
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 Jesus, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
- - Everything that makes God who he is — His nature, His character, His power, His presence — lives completely in Jesus.
- - Fullness = Total completeness, nothing lacking
- - So Jesus is not partly God, not just a reflection of God, Jesus is fully God in human form!
- • Through His death and resurrection, He reconciled everything to Himself.
- • We were alienated from God, but through the cross we are now brought near.
- - Jesus beat sin, death, hell, and the grave and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. It will all be said and done!
- • The same One who created all things also will redeem all things.
- 4. Lord over Your Life
“21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…” - • If Jesus is Lord over creation, the church, and redemption—then He has earned the right to be Lord over your life as well.
- • He made you, saved you, and sustains you. That means He owns every part of your life.
- • Lord = Master, Ruler, Owner
- • When we call Jesus “Lord” we are saying, “You are in charge.” It means that you have surrendered control of your life to Him.
- • The question is, have you made Him Lord?
- • It’s one thing to say that Jesus is Lord, it is another thing to live it.
- • Submitting to Jesus as savior as the One who saves you is different from submitting to Him as Lord (the One who leads you).
- • Who makes the final decision in your life? Jesus or You?
- • He has proven that He has earned the right to be Lord in our life!
- • However, making Him Lord involves laying down our pride in order to say “not my will but your will be done…”
- • Make Jesus Lord over your life today and you will NOT be disappointed.
Takeaways:
- I. Make Jesus the Lord of your life
- II. Keep Jesus first in your life
- III. Do not allow culture to redefine who Jesus is in your life
