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Topic: Â Christ is most important.Â
Read Bible: Colossians 1:24-29
Thoughts:
Verses 24–29 speak of Paul's own ministry. He had suffered for the sake of other Christians, including those at Colossae (Colossians 1:24). He had shared God's Word (Colossians 1:25), and served as a missionary among the Gentiles (Colossians 1:27). He proclaimed Christ (Colossians 1:28) with all of his energy (Colossians 1:29). Paul sees this suffering as a service done for the sake of Christ.
Christ is most important
v15 Nobody can see God. But Jesus Christ shows us exactly what God is like. Christ was God’s son before God created anything. And Christ has the place of most honour. v16 By Christ, God created everything that is in heaven and on the earth. He created all that we can see. He also created all the things that we cannot see. This means that he created the spiritual world with its powers and rulers and authorities. God created everything by Christ. And God made everything for Christ. v17 Christ existed before anything existed. And his power holds everything together. v18 He alone is the head of the body. This body is the church. The church’s life comes from Christ. He is the leader of all people who rise from death. Therefore, he has first place in everything. v19 God was pleased because all of himself was in Christ. v20 Christ died on the cross. God brought back everything to himself through Christ. This includes all things that are on earth. And all things that are in heaven. This is how God made peace. v21 You used to be far away from God. You thought and behaved in an evil way. So you were God’s enemies. v22 Because Christ died on a cross, you can now be friends with God. Christ takes you to God because you are now free from sin. God cannot blame you. He cannot say that you are guilty of sin. v23 This happens if you continue to believe and to trust Christ. You must know what you believe. And you must continue to believe it firmly. You heard the good news about the gospel. You expected God to do what he promised. So, do not move away from what you believe. People have preached the message of the gospel to everyone in the world. I, Paul, am *preaching this good news too.
Verses 15-20 centre on Christ. Paul wrote this letter in the *Greek language. He wrote these verses like a poem. But it does not look like a poem when it is in the English language. Many teachers of the Bible think that this was a song of praise. Paul showed the Christians at Colossae that Christ is better and more powerful than anyone or anything else. Paul wanted the Christians to understand more about Christ. This would guard them against the false teachers.
Verse 15 John 1:18 says that nobody has ever seen God the Father. God is spirit. We cannot see him because he does not have a physical body. But Jesus said, ‘If you have seen me you have seen God the Father’ (John 14:9). Jesus meant that he has the same *nature and character as God. So, when we learn more about Jesus Christ, we learn more about God. Christ existed before God created anything. And Christ has the place of honour over all that God created. Paul emphasised this many times in his letter.
Verse 16 Christ existed before he had a physical body. God created all physical things by means of Christ. He also created everything that is not physical. This includes the angels and spirits. In this verse, heaven means the sky rather than the place where God lives. Christians believe that good angels serve God. But evil angels and spirits serve Satan, who is the chief evil spirit. The false teachers worshipped angels (2:18). They also believed that there were many ranks of angels and spirits. Paul lists 4 of these ranks. This does not mean that Paul agreed with the false teachers. But Paul was emphasising that Christ is greater than all the angels and spirits. God in Christ created them. So Christ has power over them. God created everything ‘for’ Christ. Therefore, Christ is the reason why everything exists.
Verse 17 Christ maintains the physical world. This is why it works well. The sun, moon and stars stay in their correct places in the sky. Every day has the same number of hours. People in the world live because Christ keeps them alive. Christ also maintains everything that is not physical. Without Christ, everything would break down. Christ is the ruler of everything that he created.
Verse 18 Paul now showed that Christ created the church. ‘The church’ means all the Christians in the world. ‘Church’ always refers to people. The ‘local church’ means all the Christians who live in a particular town or village. In the Bible, ‘church’ never refers to a building where Christians have meetings. Christ does not live in his physical body on earth any more. Christ lives in all Christians by means of his Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11). Now, Christ lives on this earth in his church (the Christians). So he calls the church his ‘body’. To be ‘head’ means that Christ is the ruler of his church.
Christ died on the cross. He did not stay dead but he became alive again. We read about some people in the Bible who died. Then they became alive (for example 2 Kings 4:32-37; John 11:38-44). But all those people died again. Christ will never die again. He became permanently alive first, before anyone else did. He has a new body. The church began when Christ became alive again. And he has the most important rank in the church. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 35-58, Paul tells us that Christians will become permanently alive because of Christ. Then each Christian will receive a new body that will never die.
Verse 19 Jesus Christ was not just a man. Jesus Christ is God. God lived in Christ’s human body. And God continues to live in Christ for ever. God put everything that he has into Christ. And God put everything that he is into Christ. This includes all God’s character, his *nature and his power. Christ was full of God the Father (John 14:8-10). No part of God was missing from Christ’s life. Paul repeated this in Colossians 2:9.
Verses 20-22 Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) sinned because they did not obey God. They could not be God’s friends any more. They became God’s enemies. So God sent them away. Since then, everyone has sinned. Sin separates men and women from God. Sin also affects the physical world that God created. Genesis 3 tells us about this. However, Christ’s death affects people. It also affects everything that he created. Romans 8:19-21 says that one day the physical world will be free from the effects of sin. 2 Peter 3:13 says that there will be a new heaven and a new earth in the future. There will be no sin there.
God is angry about sin (Ephesians 5:6). The result of sin is death (Romans 6:23). So God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to this world. He lived a perfect life. He never sinned. Christ died on the cross for us. God did not punish us. Instead, God punished Christ because of our sins. Paul reminded the Christians at Colossae that Christ had made them clean from their sins. Christ had made them holy. God was not angry with the Christians. They were not God’s enemies. They were not separate from God. God unites people with himself by Christ. All this is the good news of the *gospel.
These verses do not mean that Christ’s death has actually saved everyone. The Bible makes it clear that many people refuse to become friends with God. So they are still God’s enemies.
Verse 23 The Christians at Colossae had heard the true message of the gospel and they believed it. But they began to listen to what the false teachers taught. So, Paul urged the Christians to continue to believe God’s truth. Paul wrote his letter to them to explain more about the truth. Paul and other Christians preached the genuine message of the *gospel in all areas of the world. Only the true message would cause Christians to ‘spread’ and produce ‘fruit’ (see the notes on verse 6).
Thank you for another great day and week of Zoom Battle Prayer.