Colossians 1:15–23 · 5 January 2025
Devoted to Jesus
We have been reconciled to God through Jesus and must hold fast to him as Jesus is Preeminent.
Intro
There is a Christian group that exists, that some of you have probably heard of, called Ligonier and every couple of years they run a survey they call the State of Theology. They carry out this survey in America, so it’s primarily examining American society and churches, but it seeks to examine people’s understanding of God and the bible.
Now, while Irish culture and society, when it comes to the church, is not the same as American – the results of the survey are quite worrying. As for many of the questions self-professing evangelical Christians answered completely wrong. These Christians, among many other things, think that God can change, that people are born innocent, that church membership is not important, that God accepts worship from other religions, that Jesus was a being created by God, that Jesus was just a great teacher – but not God, and that sin does not deserve punishment.
These are incredibly worrying results, and while I hope and expect that we’re not as bad in the Irish church due to less nominal-Christianity, it is clear that as the church we need to know and understand the God we claim to love. These things aren’t some super difficult theological doctrines, but are the very basics of the Christian faith.
As we begin our mini “Devoted to…” series this morning, we are beginning with looking at the fact that we are, as Christians, devoted to Jesus. Why is learning who Jesus is, or his nature or attributes or characteristics important?
Because we can’t claim to love Jesus if we don’t know him.
If any of us had a friend who told us of their love for their new boyfriend or girlfriend, and when we asked them questions about their new partner we found out they didn’t know anything about them and got most of their characteristics wrong – we would probably question whether their love was genuine. Not only that, but the truth about God should comfort us as Christians. It should give us hope, it should display God’s glory and power and authority. We need to know these things, not only for ourselves that we can love God rightly, but also so that we can teach others, and see them mature and grow. And finally, we should seek to know God in order to praise God! Knowledge for knowledge’s sake will only puff us up. But knowledge to love God more will result in praise for his love for us.
Paul’s letter to the Colossians is written as they are experiencing pressure from likely a mixture of pagan and Jewish influences to add to the gospel. They are being told that they need Jesus AND these extra things, whether Jewish ceremonial laws, or pagan angel worship or anything else. And so Paul is writing to these Christians, who are a young church of new, but faithful Christians, to encourage them to keep going in the gospel that they heard, standing firm in Christ. In our passage this morning Paul doesn’t tell the Colossians about how worthless the other gods they could be tempted to worship are, and how they don’t have any ability to save, but rather paints a beautiful picture of the supremacy of Jesus, so that they could realise that there was nothing else they needed, but him.
A couple things to note about this passage before we jump in:
First, the ‘hes’ and ‘hims’ in this passage are referring to Jesus, which you can see if you look back to the previous passage in your bibles.
Secondly, the word pre-eminence in verse 18 means something like supremacy. In fact, some translations will translate the word as supremacy. This word is really the key to this whole passage, and we will see in all our points this morning, that they serve to show Christ’s pre-eminence, or supremacy.As we go through the passage, I’ll bounce back and forth between using both words, as I really like pre-eminence, but just so you’re all aware, they’re referring to the same concept.
So now, let’s jump into the passage.
1 - Who is Christ? (1:15-20)
If we are to be devoted to Jesus then we should seek to know him as he has revealed himself in his word to us. And we see Jesus revealed to us in these beautiful words in Colossians. First let’s look at Jesus with relation to Creation, starting from verse 15:
Colossians 1:15–17 · ESV
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For 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. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
1.1 - The Image of God (15a)
The first thing we see about Jesus is that He is the image of the invisible God. We know from scripture that no one has seen the Father, except the one who is from God, only he has seen the Father. But here Paul describes Jesus as being the image of God. This brings to mind , where God created mankind in his own image. God creates the world and everything in it and calls it good. He then creates man in his own image and calls him very good.
However, very shortly after the humans sinned against God, and ever since, this image has been distorted, and we cannot be said to be ‘The image’ of God in the same way.
But this is not true of Jesus.
Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God. He perfectly reflects the life and character of God, as he is God. While Paul describes God the Father as invisible, we can understand his character through Jesus, as he himself is the perfect image of the Father. Jesus has been the image of God eternally and continued to be the perfect image of God when he took on flesh and became human, being born into the world as a baby. So when we look at scripture and we see Jesus, we see God. God, though invisible and unseen, was visible and seen in the person of Jesus, and we can know him.
We can know his character, his will, his glory – not perfectly; we are finite beings and can never fully comprehend God who is infinite; but we can know him as he has revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus. And this means we are not at liberty to create our own versions of God.
This means the Muslim god is not God.
It means the modern Jewish god is not God.
Neither the god of the Mormons nor of the Jehovah’s witnesses are God.
It means the many gods of any pantheistic religion are not God.
It means the secular, new age spirituality where god is whatever you want him to be – is not God.
There is only one way to see and know the invisible God – and that is in Jesus. We must look to him alone.
1.2 - The Firstborn of Creation (15b)
The next thing we see about Jesus in verse 15 is that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation.
This does not mean that Jesus was a created being, no Jesus as the second person of the Trinity is eternal, and is before all things – verse 17. All things were created through him, and therefore Jesus is creator, not creature. No, rather the firstborn of all creation is a title, Jesus holds the title of firstborn with regard to creation. We read in speaking of the Davidic King that God declares:
Psalm 89:27 · ESV
27I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Just as David was not physically the first born of his brothers, he was the youngest, so too is Jesus not physically the first born creature of creation. Rather, Jesus has the title of firstborn. To be the firstborn is to be the father’s heir in the family. The firstborn would inherit the throne if their father was the king, and would in any case receive an inheritance. Even before the firstborn’s father was dead the son would receive honour and dignity as having this title and being the father’s heir.
For Jesus to be the firstborn of all creation is for Jesus to be the Highest King. It means that he is worthy of all glory and honour as he is not merely a firstborn human of some great family, but is the firstborn of all creation as the Son of God the Father. Everything created owes Jesus their allegiance as King.
But on top of that we also have the great news that if we are reconciled and united with Jesus, then we can verse 12 of Colossians chapter 1, give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. When we are united to Jesus, we are his brothers. We are seen by the Father as sons of God with Jesus, and we share in his inheritance, being glorified and being resurrected in communion with God in the New Heavens and Earth.
1.3 - The Creator of All Things (16)
Next we see, verse 16, that Jesus is the creator of all things,
Colossians 1:16 · ESV
16For 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.
Jesus as God being the creator of all things is one of the most important doctrines regarding God. When Paul lists the things that were created through Jesus, he prefaces it with all things. Paul wants the Colossians to understand that Christ is the creator of everything, both the seen and the unseen. The thrones, powers, rulers and authorities likely refer to both human powers and spiritual powers. The other so-called gods that the Colossians could have been tempted to try to merely add Jesus too, as just another in the long list among those that they had already worshipped, were at best ultimately just beings created by Jesus.
Jesus is higher than all other spiritual beings and earthly rulers. He is supreme.
As we read at the end of verse 16, they were created through him and for him. They were created in order that God, Father, Son and Spirit, may be glorified. And just like the Colossians, we too can be tempted to treat Jesus as just another addition to the things we already spend our time on.
We’ll happily spend our Sunday mornings recognising that he’s the king above all creation, but during the week we spend all our time working as hard as we possibly can to make enough money that we can be ‘secure’, not recognising that our security can only be found in Jesus.
We’ll spend our time, money, and energy on material goods, friends, family, hobbies, whatever it is that we think will make us happy, without realising that true joy is only found in relationship with God.
Those things we spend our time, money, and energy on are ultimately what we worship.
Jesus is supreme over all creation, as he is the creator. Therefore we cannot, and should not, worship lesser created things. The all things that Jesus is said to be creator of includes both all the good things that we can and should praise God for, and also the good things that have been tainted by sin. Even our enemy the devil is a creation of God as he is included in all things. Therefore, we should not fear him. We should be watchful and resist him, but we do not need to fear him, rather we should fear God. The creature is not greater than the creator.
God’s works reveal him. The doctrine of God as creator is so important because it is how we know God. God’s word begins with his act of creation, and ends with his act of new creation. All creation declares the glory of God. It makes manifest his eternal power and divine nature. We should be humbled when we think of God as creator. As we consider this amazing truth we should look to him, marvel at him, and praise him.
Because not only is God’s work of creation amazing, but what is even more unfathomable is that the creator would enter his own creation. God becoming man, becoming incarnate in the person of Jesus, is like a painter stepping into his painting or an author entering his book. And God as creator should affect our prayer lives too. As you read through scripture you’ll notice as you read different people’s prayers how often they begin with thanksgiving and adoration for God as creator.
Why not make a change to your prayer habits and begin to start off your prayers by praising God as the creator of all things from now on?
1.4 - Before All Things (17a)
We also see that Jesus is before all things, verse 17.
Jesus is eternal. Before the creation of all things through him, Jesus was. In his gospel account of Jesus, the apostle John clearly displays Jesus’ divine and eternal nature. He begins his gospel account saying:
John 1:1–2 · ESV
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
Jesus later says in John’s gospel, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus takes upon himself the divine name for God of the Old Testament which translates as “I AM WHO I AM” or “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE”. Jesus, as God, does not have his source in anything unlike creation. As all creation must have a creator it therefore must have an origin, but God is the source of all things; He does not have a source. Therefore, we can trust in and have confidence in the God who is the same from age to age. He does not change based on what happens in our world, but as he is before all things, who he is - is found in himself alone.
God will be what he will be based on his own character and attributes, not based on anything in creation. And this again shows the pre-eminence of Jesus. He is before all things in both time and standing. The God who became a man has always been. This God walked among us, and is our King, our Redeemer, and our sustainer.
1.5 - The Sustainer of All Things (17b)
Which brings us back to looking again at verse 17 again. In him all things hold together. Not only is Jesus the creator of all things, but he is also the sustainer of all things. Jesus is the sustainer of the old creation, and the new.
This for the Colossians would have been a very foreign concept. The gods that they were used to would have been gods of specific areas of life such as war, weather, life, death, fertility. They likely would have had a beginning as well. But the gods were not concerned with sustaining life. The creator gods would create, but it would be up to the humans to sustain life, hopefully with the god’s blessings if they could please them enough. This is painfully similar in today’s world, where many people view God as someone who created the world, and merely left it to its own devices, and if he exists, he certainly doesn’t see what’s going on or participate in the world.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth, Jesus holds all things together, without him there is nothing at all. And notice as well that it is the same all things that Jesus sustains as he creates. It isn’t just that Jesus holds all the big things together like physics, or the weather, or the planets or something like that.
But he holds together all things.
He cares about all things.
And we can trust that he is sustaining all things now.
When we have worries or fears or troubles we can bring all things to God in prayer, because he is the creator and sustainer of all things. There is nothing too small for Jesus. He isn’t too busy that he won’t care. Rather he wants us to come to him, and trust in him as he is the trustworthy rock who is sustaining all things by the word of his power.
1.6 - The Head of the Church (18a)
Not only is Jesus preeminent in Creation, but also in the New Creation, which is brought about through redemption. Where in the first couple verses of our passage we have considered Jesus as preeminent with regard to creation, Paul now moves us to think in a parallel manner on Jesus’ supremacy in the new creation. Verse 18: And he is the head of the body, the church.
The head of the church is not you or me. It’s not Duncan. It’s not the Pope. The head of the church is Jesus; and we are the body. And how comforting is it to read that Paul writes this in the present tense. Paul doesn’t write that Christ was the head of the church in the past, perhaps when he carried out his ministry before he was crucified. Nor yet does he say that he will be the head of the church in the future, perhaps when he returns on the last day to rule his people. Paul instead says that he is the head of the church.
The issues that the Colossians were faced included false teachings which could have been especially harmful to a young church. But Paul reminds them that Christ is the head of the church, he is supreme over the church, his new creation, just as he is supreme over all of the rest of creation. The Colossians would not need to add anything else to the gospel, as they already had the best and greatest thing, Jesus Christ himself. Knowing that Jesus is God, supreme over creation, and ruling over the church, they would be able to stand firm in their faith so that they would not be deceived by found sounding arguments.
This was true for the Colossians to whom Paul was writing, and it is true for us too. We are a young church here in Redeemer, and as we grow and mature together we need to stand firm rooted in Christ. Just like the Colossians, and every generation of Christians who have lived since, we too can be tempted to want to add to the Gospel, to think that it alone is not enough.
For us today that may look like false teachers telling you that you need to experience certain spiritual gifts to be a true Christian, or that if you become a Christian you will become wealthy and have good health as long as you give enough money to the church. Or that you need to pray enough, go to church enough, serve enough and then you’ll truly be a Christian. But Christ is supreme, Christ is enough.
Charles Spurgeon wrote on this title of Jesus:
As if to show us that this title of “head of the body” is to be held in highest esteem, it is here placed in connection with the loftiest honours of our Lord Jesus. In the same breath the Son of God is styled “the image of the invisible God,” “the firstborn over all creation,” and then, “the head of the body, the church.” We dare not, therefore, think lightly of this title.
We must not take the title of Jesus as head of the body lightly in how it speaks of Jesus and his pre-eminence. But we also must therefore not devalue or think lightly of the church either. If Jesus is head of the church, then we must take his church seriously.
While the church in question here is the universal church across all time and space, that church does not visibly exist except in local churches. If you’ve been in Redeemer before you’ve probably heard us talk about membership before. Because membership in the local church is vitally important. It is the way in which we formally commit to each other in a local church and make that local church visible.
Sam Waldron has commented on this saying:
One may not credibly profess to be a member of the invisible church while despising membership and fellowship in the visible church.
If Jesus is the head of the church, we can’t claim to be united to him and reconciled to him without being part of his body.
And for Jesus to be our head means that we are to submit to him. While Jesus is King over all creation, he is also particularly King over the church. And in the same way that with earthly kings their subjects must obey them, and follow their commands, just as they receive protection from their king, so too do we follow Jesus. If Jesus is the head of the church, we as members of the church must then follow his commands. Not as a means to become members of his church, but as our duties once we are members.
That means that everything from the calls to evangelism, to discipleship of less mature believers, to church government, to the administration of the sacraments, to the preaching of God’s word – to praying for one another, to right, ordered worship on the Lord’s day to all the one another commands of the new testament, all these things must be obeyed and followed according to the word of God, and not our own imaginations.
We are not the head of the church – Christ is.
1.7 - The Firstborn from the Dead (18b)
The reason that Jesus is head over the church is that he is verse 18: the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is not only the heir and King because of his firstborn rights as the true image of God, but by becoming the firstborn from among the dead, he is heir and King by the act of his exaltation on the cross; by dying and rising again.
Just like Jesus has firstborn rights as the son of God, which we saw in verse 15, so too does he have firstborn rights as the first human to be resurrected in the new creation. Jesus is supreme in his conquering of death, as both the first of the resurrection, and as the conqueror himself. If we are Christians, we are part of the body, the church, over which Christ is the head, and we will share in his resurrection. Christ is the beginning from among the dead, and so we know that we will share in this resurrection. We are part of the new creation, and just as Jesus is supreme over the old creation, so too is he supreme over the new.
Jesus is head of the church because his church is those who have died and have been raised with him. Paul will continue a little later in Colossians to say that Christians are those who have been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. This is part of what baptism symbolises – those who have died with Christ are plunged down under the water into the grave, and then are raised back up into new life with him in his resurrection. And this is why it is inappropriate to administer the sacrament to infants for whom this reality is not true. The members of the church are those who have died and have been raised with him, those who are verse 22: reconciled in his body of flesh.
And this is the great hope that we have to look forward to. Jesus is the first to rise from the dead, never to die again. If we are reconciled to him, part of his body, then we will also rise with him in the new creation. In a world in which death is inevitable, despite the attempts of the world to stall it for as long as possible, we can look to, and be comforted by Jesus in anticipation of our resurrection hope.
1.8 - Preeminent (18c)
I’ve included this next point as a separate point, but as we have seen so far, this point is really encapsulated by all the others, but we see it spelled out clearly at the end of verse 18:
Colossians 1:18 · ESV
18That in everything he might be pre-eminent
Jesus is pre-eminent over all things. He is in everything supreme. When we are tempted to say that we need Jesus and… Or to say we need … instead of Jesus, We need to remember that Jesus is enough. He is perfect, above all, before all, creator and sustainer of all.
He is supreme.
1.9 - Fully Man (19a)
Jesus we see in verse 19 is fully man.
Colossians 1:19 · ESV
19In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
We’ll look shortly at the fact that Jesus was also fully God, as signified by the second half of the verse, but the fact that God’s divine nature was pleased to be in the person of Jesus, shows by contrast Jesus’ human nature. We also see this further in verse 22 where Paul describes Jesus’ body of flesh.
Jesus is one person, with two natures. A human nature, and a divine nature. Which means he is both fully man, and fully God. This isn’t something which we can fully understand, as we are all persons with one nature, a human one, and so we can’t really comprehend what it would be like to have two natures. Jesus was a human like us in every way, except without sin. And because Jesus was like us in every way, he knows what it is to be human. He knows what it is like to experience temptation, and suffering, and life in this fallen world. And he can sympathise with us.
When we pray to him, when we bring our struggles, our petitions, our weariness to him, he doesn’t ignore us or look down on us, but he bends down to us and lifts off our burdens. But even more importantly than this is that Jesus had to become a human in order to die for us.
God cannot die, and yet, on the cross Jesus died. In order to be our representative, to take our sins in our place, he had to become human. And not only did Jesus have to be a human to pay the penalty of our sins and die in our place, but through his life, death, and resurrection he glorifies and exalts humans to the position they were supposed to have as God’s image bearers if they are united to him. And ultimately, all this serves to glorify God, to display his supremacy over even sin and death, and to cause his name to be honoured by all.
1.10 - Fully God (19a)
And as we have seen verse 19:
Colossians 1:19 · ESV
19In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Jesus is fully God. All that God is, Jesus is, as Jesus is God. Jesus was not just some super charged human, but God himself. And it is because Jesus is God that he is able to save.
Sin against a perfect, holy, and eternal God requires a perfect sacrifice. And only God himself could bear that punishment. No human begotten from Adam could pay the penalty of sin, but the eternally begotten Son of God could.
Let me read a passage from the great Church Father Athanasius in his book, On the Incarnation which beautifully illustrates why it was necessary for Jesus to become incarnate for our salvation.
How much more will God allow his own creatures to not be led astray from him and serve things that do not exist? In particular, since such error is the cause of their destruction and disappearance, it was not right that those who had once partaken of the image of God should be destroyed. What then was God to do? Or what should be done, except to renew again the “in the image”, so that through it human beings would be able once again to know him? But how could this have occurred except by the coming of the very image of God, our Saviour Jesus Christ? For neither by human beings was it possible, since they were created “in the image”; but neither by angels, for they were not even images. So the Word of God came himself, in order that he being the image of the Father, the human being “in the image” might be recreated. It could not, again, have been done in any other way, without death and corruption being utterly destroyed. So he rightly took a mortal body, that in it death might henceforth be destroyed utterly and human beings be renewed again according to the image. For this purpose, then, there was need of none other than the Image of the Father.
1.11 - The Reconciler of All Things (20)
Finally as we look at who Christ is, we see that he is the reconciler of all things. Look with me at verse 20:
Colossians 1:20 · ESV
20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
We should first note that the all things in verse 20 does not mean that all people will be reconciled to God. Paul says later on in verse 23 that only those who continue in faith (that is faith in God) and don’t move from the hope held out in the gospel will be presented holy in God’s sight. Rather, the all things in verse 20 is all of creation, things on earth or things in heaven, just like in verse 16.
Just as sin and the corruption of all creation came through the fall of a human, so too does God reconcile and restore creation through the death of a human which pays the price for sin. Christ’s death, though he was sinless and did not deserve death as we do, takes away the barrier between us and God and allows for reconciliation.
We should also note that this reconciliation is not a normal reconciliation. While forgiveness in humans can be done by only one party, for reconciliation between humans to take place, both parties must make an effort to restore the broken relationship. Not so with God. No, with God the reconciliation is all one sided. It is God who reconciles us to himself. He is the one who does the reconciling, and it is Jesus through whom he does the reconciling.
This shows the exclusivity of Christianity. There is no other way to God. It is only by the crucifixion of Jesus, by his blood shed on the cross that we can have reconciliation. No one else has been crucified for us. No one else has made peace with God for us. To turn to anything else, or to try to add to this finished work is foolishness. If Christ is pre-eminent in all things, if he is above all, before all, creator of all, fully man and fully God then he alone can be our reconciler. How could we turn to anything or anyone who is not like this?
2 - Who Are You? (1:21-23)
But Paul doesn’t end his train of thought there.
We’ve considered different applications for these truths about who Jesus is as we’ve looked at them, but as Paul continues on in the rest of our passage he shows how the overarching theme of Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency in both the old creation and the new affects us.
It is here that we get a fuller understanding of the gospel – as we look at who we are.
2.1 - Who You Were (21)
First let us look at who we were, look with me from verse 21:
Colossians 1:21 · ESV
21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.
All humans are born sinful. The representative of all mankind, Adam, sinned in the garden, and when he sinned, all mankind sinned with him. As such we are no longer very good in the eyes of God. We are corrupted. We no longer image God correctly, but are sinful. And because we are born with this original sin nature, we are ourselves slaves to sin. We are unable to do what is good and right. We are unable to please God.
Chapter 6, paragraph 4 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession explains it as such:
From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.1689 London Baptist Confession · 6.4
We are totally depraved. This corruption affects every aspect of us, our minds, our desires, our wills, our bodies, our thoughts, and our actions. Paul describes us as alienated from God, the source of life, and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. Elsewhere in the bible, in both the old and new testaments, we get vivid, graphic descriptions of the disgusting nature of fallen humanity, and how abhorrent our thoughts and actions towards God are. But Paul doesn’t feel the need to do that here; because he has just described the awesomeness, superiority, and transcendent magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Colossians, as no doubt you and I also, could not help but see how far the gap between us and God is.
And God could have left us in this state.
He could have left us alienated from him.
He could have justly punished us for our sins against him.
2.2 - Who You Are (22)
But praise God that this is who we once were!
But, verse 22,
If you are a Christian, if you are a follower of Jesus who has placed your trust in him, if you have been united with him in his death, you are no longer alienated from God. No, you are now reconciled to God. You are in restored relationship with him, and will be glorified at the return on Jesus in the new heavens and earth.Colossians 1:22 · ESV
22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
This is who you are!
The reason why we have been reconciled is revealed as we continue in verse 22: to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. We have seen that we have been reconciled to God – our sin which keeps us away has been paid for by the blood of the cross. But God also wants to sanctify us, that is, to transform us into a holy people and conform us to be his image, more and more, by making us more like Christ.
We are not yet in this holy and perfect state. It has begun in us, but it will only reach its conclusion when Jesus returns. But because we are no longer alienated from God, because we are no longer hostile to him, we no longer do only evil deeds. We are able to do that which is good and pleasing to him, in fact God has prepared for us good works to do. But we must remember that these good works that we do will not make God want to reconcile us to him, that has already been achieved by the blood of Christ! Rather, they are what we do in response to the great love he has lavished on us.
2.2 - How You Continue (23)
If we have seen who we once were, and who we now are, then how are we to continue in the future?
Finally, verse 23:
Colossians 1:23 · ESV
23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
It is by faith that we begin our walks as followers of Jesus, and it is by faith that we continue.
By faith we look again to Jesus and trust in him, seeing his supremacy in all things.
By faith we are able to be steadfast and secure, rooted in the gospel – not turning away to the things of this world, not being swayed by false teachings, not thinking Jesus isn’t enough.
And it is by faith in the gospel. The gospel that God became man and reconciled us to himself, though we were his enemies, through the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross.
Paul says that we are reconciled to God, and will be presented before him as holy and blameless verse 23 – If you continue in your faith. This does not mean that this is something that we can fall away from, and that we must hold onto this ourselves in our own power or we will be alienated from God again. No, the Greek word that Paul uses for the ‘if’ here is something that Paul fully expects that those who are Christians will do.
God has promised in Philippians that He [God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. It is through the work of Jesus, and his offices of prophet, priest, and king, that Jesus both calls us and preserves us. Again we see helpfully in the Second London Baptist Confession, chapter 8, paragraph 10:
This number and order of offices is necessary; for in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services, we need his priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable unto God; and in respect to our averseness and utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need his kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom.Second London Baptist Confession · 8.10
The gospel hope that we have heard has been proclaimed in all creation. This is not Paul saying that in every single place on earth the gospel has been proclaimed, but rather that it is the same gospel that is proclaimed everywhere. There is no other gospel. There is no other good news. There is nothing to add.
The pre-eminence of Christ, who is worthy of all glory and honour and praise, who has himself reconciled us to the Father, and who is holding us fast until his return is the gospel.
It is enough.
Conclusion
Paul has written this passage in Colossians to encourage the Christians there to continue in their faith, established and firm, and not to move from their hope held out in the gospel. The Colossians were surrounded by different teachings which all sought to pull them away from Jesus, by diminishing his supremacy and adding things to the gospel. And there are still false teachers today, both within, and outside the church.
If you bring a painting to be evaluated, the art dealer will examine the painting to see if the piece you have brought is real or fake. The reason that art dealers are able to discern whether something is the real deal or a forgery isn’t because they spend all their time looking at fakes. No, they can tell what is fake, because they have studied what is real so much they know when something doesn’t match up.
We can easily recognise the truth from lies when we know the truth so well that it is evident what is not. This is why Paul tells us to continue, established and firm in the gospel, as this is the truth, the foundation of our faith. We must continue to look to Jesus. To see him as supreme, to see him as sufficient. If we are to be devoted to Jesus, we must know Jesus.
Colossians 1:15–20 · ESV
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For 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. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Nicene Creed
As we finish looking at God’s word this morning, we’re going to recite together the words of the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was formed at the council of Nicaea in 325, and later refined at the councils of Constantinople and Chalcedon. It was written to affirm what orthodox Christians believe about God, and to refute the errors of different heresies that had arisen in the church. The Nicene Creed is one of the creeds that is affirmed by all Christians across space and time, and by affirming it as something which we believe, it shows our unity with them as the body of Christ.
You’ll notice as we recite the creed together how much of the substance of the creed we have discussed this morning, and that it is thoroughly biblical. If you’re not familiar with the ancient creeds, you might be confused by the phrase towards the end of the creed: And we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. Don’t worry! This is not referring to the Roman Catholic church. The word catholic just means universal, and is referring to the universal church with Christ as its head that we considered this morning!
So please join with me in affirming the Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.Nicene Creed
AMEN