Colossians 1:15-20 New Living Translation… 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.
Objective: To know Christ, to understand truth as opposed to heresy, and to make progress by living transformed lives.
Introduction: To be captivated, requires the arresting of one’s attention.
Paul writes to the believers at Colossae because competing voices are attempting to reduce Jesus to simply one spiritual option among many.
Paul does not merely tell them to think more positively about Jesus. He exalts Jesus above everything, because his supremacy demands it!
Transition: Paul wants the church to understand that Jesus is not simply a part of the Christian message, because Jesus is the message.
Exposition:
-“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” Jesus is the exegesis/explanation of God.
-“He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.” Jesus was begun before the beginning ever began to be.
-“For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.” Everything was created through Jesus and for Jesus.
-“He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” Christ does not simply create. Christ sustains.
-“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.” The church belongs to Jesus Christ alone. The will of Jesus must be our way!
-“The beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.” Because He lives, death does not have the last word.
-“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.” Jesus is the God-man… completely human and completely divine.
-“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.”
Supreme over Creation • Supreme over the Church • Supreme over Death • Supreme in Redemption
Conclusion: Jesus must govern our lives. When you recognize His supremacy, the only appropriate response is surrender. In everything — He is supreme!”
Antonie E. Walker Ministries 