This is Part 6 of a 15 part Bible Study on the book of Colossians.
Compiled and written by Norma Becker – a true woman of God and God’s word.
FREE – Printable e-book version
Part 6 – Direction and Guidance
Just as man’s physical body needs direction and guidance from the head, so does the church.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:18-20).
The Church
What would you say the church is? The church is a people and not a place, a body of believers and not a building. It is the invisible or universal church into which all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit the moment they believe in Christ.
“Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit” (l Corinthians 12:12-13).
“And God has put all things under his feet and made him supreme Head of the church, which is his body…” (Ephesians 1:22-23).
The church wasn’t known in the Old Testament. It didn’t start until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the believers. Pentecost was a feast celebrated by the Jews 50 days after the Passover feast. If you have read Acts, you might remember that from chapter 1:
“During the forty days after his crucifixion he appeared to the apostles from time to time. In one of these meetings he told them not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them in fulfillment of the Father’s promise…. John baptized you with water, he reminded them, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit in just a few days.”
Then in Acts 2:1, seven weeks (50 days) had gone by since Jesus’ death and resurrection and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived.
“As the believers met together that day, suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Colossians 1:18 goes on to say:
“He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
Christ was in the beginning and was also the first one to rise in an immortal body. It marked His triumph over death.
First Place
This is the place that Christ has in heaven now and will have in eternity and that is the place He should have here on earth. This is a question you can ask others if you are talking about spiritual things: “Do you think you are going to heaven or do you want to go to heaven?” Then in a kind way, explain to them that in heaven Christ will have first place in everything and if He does not have first place in their life for the 90 or so years here on earth, why would they want to go to heaven where he would have first place for eternity.
Colossians 1:19:
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”
Another verse that stresses the deity of Christ, that he is God is verse 20:
“…and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth of things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Reconciliation
Reconciliation means making friends with an enemy. God is not man’s enemy so he is not reconciled to man. People are reconciled to God; man is the one who is hostile and needs to accept the free gift that is offered.
Even the earth needs reconciling.
“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the . We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:20-22).
There are some you might talk to that have a problem with Romans 3:23:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
They will say, “I don’t see why I’m a sinner. I’m as good as anybody else.” We can agree and say, “Yes, you probably are, but everybody else is a sinner too.”
There ARE Absolutes
For God there are absolutes. It is like you can’t be just a little bit pregnant. For God there is no “just a little bit of sin/wrongdoing.” If you have ever done anything that you are sorry about or feel guilty about, you have sinned. God is holy and can’t abide sin so that would bar you from heaven.
Let’s look at it this way:
God looked out and saw a bunch of rebellious people. His holiness and justice had to say, “Punish the sinner.” But then his love said, “Pardon the sinner.” These two opposing ideas had only one solution. God passed the maximum sentence that was consistent with his righteous character – death and eternal separation from Him. Then, to satisfy the demands of His love, God said, “I’ll die in their place and they can go free.” Then, all people will have to do is come to me and say, “Thank you, I’ll let you take my punishment.” Then God says to the person, “From now on, I look at you through that blood that was shed and I will see you as holy. Now you are worthy to enter my kingdom forever.”
Then you have to tell that person you are talking to that God doesn’t keep anyone out of heaven – which means spending eternity separated from God and that is what the Bible calls hell – people choose not to go to heaven. The peace that is made through his blood shed on the cross is salvation.
This verse is again what we have talked about before. As the Old Testament says,
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.”
When we accept the fact that Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for OUR sin and our desire to run our own lives, then we have peace with God and eternal life.
……….
Part 7: Why did God send his son for us? click here
In verse 13, who is responsible for rescuing people from one kingdom to another? Can we make the change ourselves? Why or why not? Proof that God has qualified us is that he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. The use of the metaphor of darkness and light could be Paul hitting at the Colossian heresy because in Ephesians 6:12 the principalities and powers to which the false teachers urged Christians to pay homage are designated by him “the powers of this dark world.”
But, isn’t it a great thought that it doesn’t stop with the deliverance from the authority of darkness but he has brought us into the kingdom of the Son? It is like removing us from one country, where there is a lot of corruption and bad leadership, and resettling or re-establishing us in another country where Christ is the sovereign ruler. It is a believer’s position and possession now. Our Canaan, or promised land, is now.
Redemption and the Forgiveness of Sins
Verse l4 goes on, “…in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Isn’t it a great thought that we are delivered from the authority of darkness – which is the authority of sin – and have been brought into the kingdom of the Son.
Okay, this is a great thought but how do we know this is true? Why is Christ the one that can do this? What gives Him the authority? After all, don’t we hear people say:
“All roads lead to God.”
“Everyone is trying to get to the same place.”
“That belief is fine for you, but I don’t buy it for myself.”
“The Muslims and the Buddhists also believe in God and think they know how to get to heaven.”
“Only narrow minded people and bigots label belief true or false and think they have the only way to God.”
How would you answer people who say these things?
As we learned in the beginning of our study, the Colossians were also hearing, “You can worship Jesus, but not exclusively. Jesus is just one spirit among many to be worshipped.” Let’s see how Paul handles these assertions….
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).
He is the image of the invisible God. Invisible means something can’t be seen with the natural eye. In the New Testament, God revealed Himself through Christ. Christ isn’t a substitute but a visible likeness of God in order to reveal what God is like and how we can know Him.
The Bible is talking of the character and “person image” of God – the identical mirror image of the attributes and identity of God – for Christ is Himself God.
His Thoughts are MUCH Higher
We might as well be honest and admit that our finite minds can’t explain of comprehend the doctrine of the Trinity any more than we can understand eternity or infinity or the sovereignty of God. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways.
Here are a few other verses that might help. There are also others – explore the Scriptures on your own.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).
John says in different places,
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
“For no one has ever seen God, but God the only Son has made Him known” (John l:18).
“The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).
The result of the incarnation is that the invisible God has become visible in the God-man, Jesus Christ.
Christ Created First or Above All Created Things?
Verse 15 goes on, “…the firstborn over all creation.”
This is taken by some to mean that Christ was the first one to be created and because of this, belongs to the created order. Apparently the false teachers at Colossae thought of Christ as a created being and this teaching also popped up again in the 4th century. It is also prevalent today in the teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Jewish culture would have understood that it meant more than born first but it rather signified position and Christ’s position was superior to all created things.
He was not a created being, for he existed from the beginning as verse l6 says:
“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”
Here are more Scripture references to back that up:
“Yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live” (l Corinthians 8:6).
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:2).
In what realms are the “thrones, powers, rulers or authorities in verse 16 heavenly? He also created spiritual powers so can we ask, “Why did the Lord create Satan when He knew he would be such a problem?” Maybe we should also ask, “Why did He create me, when He knew I would be such a problem?” When we get to heaven, we’ll understand.
“He is before all things and in him all things hold together” (1 Colossians 1:17).
What does this mean to you? What would the universe be like without Jesus’ power? What about the physical laws of nature: gravity, light, ice (perhaps the only substance that when frozen becomes lighter – if it didn’t what would happen to the world?)
How do discoveries through microscopes and telescopes add to your appreciation of Jesus’ supremacy over nature?
Let’s look at verses 15-17 again and then find the reasons why Christ is supreme:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Why is He supreme?
- He is the image of the Creator – likeness of God.
- Firstborn over all creation – superior to all creation.
- Agent of creation of visible world of invisible world.
- Existed before all things.
- He is the means of cohesion/unity – all things have their proper place because of Him.
Remember, we are answering the question of why Christ is the only way to salvation. Back in the first part of the chapter it talked of the gospel they had heard. Paul has established Christ’s lordship over the world in His pre-incarnate past – before his birth – now he goes on to the incarnate Son and establishes Christ’s lordship over the church – his mission on earth.
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