Life’s biggest questions: Who am I? Why am I here? (Identity and Purpose)
Life’s most essential question: Who is Jesus?
False teachings (two main ones) that Paul is confronting:
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- Jesus is less than God
- A secret knowledge only a few can attain to (Gnosticism)
Supremacy of Jesus, A Hymn
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. 18aAnd he is the head of the body, the church. 18bHe is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 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.
Jesus is Supreme
Colossians 1:18b (ESV)
18bHe is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
“Preeminent” (1:18) — having paramount rank, dignity, or importance; to be first, hold the first place; supreme, have the supremacy
“Supreme” — highest in rank or authority; highest in degree or quality; ultimate, final
Jesus is Supreme means that “Jesus is over Everything”
Supreme Over…
Colossians 1:15 (ESV) 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
“Image” (eikōn) — Jesus must shape our understanding of who God is
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- Representation — To see what God is like, we must look at Jesus. He perfectly represents God to men and women in a form that we can see and know and understand.
- Manifestation — a perfect representation becomes a manifestation — God dwells with us in Jesus (John 1:14, 18; Hebrews 1:3)
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- Humans were made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), but sin distorted and corrupted us, making us unable to fulfill our destiny as God’s image-bearers.
Jesus not only shows us what God is like; Jesus also shows us what we were meant to be. Jesus is the perfect manifestation of God and the perfect manifestation of what it is to be human.
Jesus is Supreme over: Our understanding of God and Humanity
Colossians 1:15 (ESV) 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
“Firstborn” (prōtotokos) — Jesus has primacy in all of creation
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- “first” and “primacy” — place of special honor
Jesus has the highest honor in all of creation (Israel is firstborn – Exodus 4:22, Messiah is firstborn – Psalm 89:27). Jesus has primacy in all of creation.
Jesus is Supreme over: All of Creation
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.
You cannot think of anything in creation and miss Jesus’ role in creating is. Jesus is not just any other human being: He is not just another Teacher, He is not just some being in a large hierarchy of angels. Everything that came into being, came in, by, through, and for Jesus. Yes, the Father is the Creator of all, but the “agency” by which He created is the Son. Jesus has both primacy and agency in Creation.
Colossians 1:17 (ESV) 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Jesus prevents the world from falling into chaos. Jesus is both Creator and Sustainer. All the laws of the universe which govern and sustain order and not chaos are an expression of the mind of Jesus.
Colossians 1:18b (ESV) 18bHe is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
“Beginning” (archē)— Jesus is the start of something new.
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- “Head waters” of a river, “source” from which something comes, the moving power which sets something in operation; beginning, origin, the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader, that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
- “Firstborn” — “prototype”, “first principle”, “creative initiative”
The risen Jesus is the “source” and “prototype” of new creation. He is both the “means” and the model” of new creation. (1 Corinthians 15:47-49; 2 Peter 3:13)
Jesus is Supreme over: Sin and Death (our final, great enemies)
Jesus is victorious over sin and death. Jesus is the first out of the grave and He brings us out with Him (Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:6; Romans 6:4, 8:11). Jesus has primacy in the New Creation. This whole story is moving in a specific direction: New Creation.
The flow of the poem: Creation —to— New Creation
Jesus is Supreme over: New Creation
Colossians 1:19-20 (ESV) 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.
Jesus is the reason (not just the start) that we have New Creation at all. All of God was pleased to dwell — Jesus is not just a rough sketch of God, He is fully divine (yet fully human). The one who created us is the one who was pleased to redeem us. This is what gives Him primacy (Acts 4:12).
It’s because of the death of Jesus that brings broken relationships back together, between us and God, and us with each other — it’s because of Jesus’ blood that was shed on our behalf. Reconciliation does not happen automatically — it must be a mutual relationship; one must be “in Christ” to be reconciled and made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Jesus is Supreme over: Reconciliation
Jesus has not just primacy, but also agency in the New Creation — Jesus is the one doing it. It’s because of this that Jesus has supremacy over all of creation and new creation. This is all about Jesus… Everything.
Our Place
Colossians 1:16c (ESV) 16all things were created through him and for him.
Our Identity and Purpose: who am I? Why am I here? You were created intentionally by Jesus (Psalm 139:13-14). You were created for Jesus — for the purpose of knowing Him and bringing Him glory.
Jesus is Supreme over: Our Identity and Purpose
Colossians 1:17 (ESV) 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Only in Jesus can we have a healthy identity and divine purpose.
Colossians 1:18a (ESV) 18aAnd he is the head of the body, the church.
Our place in all of this is in “the Church” (universal and local). “I like Jesus, but not the church” is not a Christian value or virtue. The organism by which he speaks and acts and which shares all His experiences. The world is the creation of Christ; and the church is the new creation of Christ.
Jesus is Supreme over: The Church
The Body is the servant of the head (1 Corinthians 6:17, 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:15-16). The church exists in the space between creation and new creation. We are still in “creation” — where we are tempted and struggle and have immaturities and make big mistakes and hurt one another. But we are also already in “new creation” — where we have received the down payment of the resurrection, the Holy Spirit.
Warning: The neglect and abuse of our bodies results in them being unfit to be servants of a greater purpose; so, by undisciplined and careless living, the church can make itself unfit to be the instrument of Christ, who is its head.
Conclusion
Colossians 1:18a-20 (MSG) 18bHe 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. 19So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. 20Not 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.