Colossians 1:15-20 MSG We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. 18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the cross.
Observation
In the NKJV, the “supreme” here is translated as “preeminence”. Christ Preeminent is the theme of the first 2 chapters of Colossians. Paul was reminding this church that Jesus Christ was the Lord God, only Savior/Redeemer, God made Human while remaining fully God. He was combatting teaching by gnostics (who denied the divinity of Christ and offered secret mysteries not yet revealed) and Jewish traditionalists (who taught that the works/rituals were an added requirement). Paul was reconfirming that Jesus, and Jesus alone, was sufficient – “everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him”.
Here is the mystery. All of God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) was in Christ Jesus. “So spacious is He, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding.” So, from my study Bible, I wanted to share some of the points about Jesus’ supremacy, the fullness of God in Jesus, that Paul made just in Colossians:
- In Universal Government
The visible image of God (1:15)
The agent of creation (1:16)
The Sustainer (1:17)
The Head of the church (1:18) - In Reconciliation
Pleases the Father (1:19-20)
Reconciles us through His death (1:21-22)
Lives in us as our hope of glory (1:27) - In Wisdom and Knowledge|
The source of all the treasures (2:2-3)
Worldly philosophy does not conform to Him (2:8) - In Personal Observance
We are alive in Him (2:11-13)
No need for legalism and ritualism (2:16-23)
Impact on Me
The world on its own is broken and dislocated, full of pain, suffering, famine and war – all caused by human pride, selfishness, lust for power, and all the other roots of evil. But, here I am reminded that, in Christ, “all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the cross.” One Man, one Cross, one tomb, one resurrection – Jesus Christ, my hope of glory, supreme over all.
So, Colossians reminds me that, because I am human, adulteration of my Christian world view is possible. If I don’t stay in the Word, pay attention to what it teaches me and keep in fellowship with other Christians, I am in danger of drifting from the one and only truth to construct some other version of truth to fit in with my culture and avoid conflict and confrontation, allowing myself to start hitting the sour notes of compromise, selfishness, pride in my life. No! I have one King, one Savior, one Lord, and it is Jesus. I want to be singing the song of the redeemed, one who allows others to be drawn also into His “vibrant harmonies”.
Prayer
Lord God, You are supreme in holiness, glory, majesty and power. It is Your heart’s desire to see all creation fit together again as it was in the Garden of Eden. May the desire of Your heart be the desire of mine. Help me to stay on Your truth track, whatever the path may bring. I want to live a life that sings Your praises in a way that others are drawn to join in the song, those vibrant harmonies in Christ. Lord, forgive me for any sour notes in my life and help me to be Your encouragement those who have lost the melody. Make it so, in Jesus’ name.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 