Jesus has First Place
Colossians 1:15-23 July 25, 2004
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.
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.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
CCI: The preeminence of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith.
Intro: This passage is so packed with truth about Jesus, that all we can do is scratch the surface.
In the history of technology, the most amazing developments in have always come as a result of the greatest challenges. Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade led to this nations greatest technological advances. The challenge of WW 2 led to the development of jet power and missiles and atomic energy.
In the understanding of the Christian faith, the same thing is true. It was the challenge of the Arian Controversy that led to the formulation of Trinitarian confessions. It was challenge of the abuses in the Roman church that led to the Protestant Revival known as the Reformation. And in the letter to the Colossians it was the challenge of the early Gnostics that provoked this grand declaration of the nature and work of Christ from Paul. These teachers believed that Matter and Spirit were eternal, however, matter was considered wholly evil while spirit was pure goodness.
From this beginning came the belief that God could not have created the world, in fact, the world was created by one of many emanations of God that actually opposed God. While orthodox Christianity says God created the world out of nothing, Gnostics taught the world was formed from eternal matter. Another element of their teaching said Jesus could not have lived in the flesh since flesh is evil, instead Jesus was a spirit who only looked like he had a body.
The centerpiece of Gnostic teaching was secret knowledge that would enable a person to approach God. And only intellectually superior people could receive this knowledge.
Andrew Greeley has said, “Much of the history of Christianity has been devoted to domesticating Jesus—to reducing that elusive, enigmatic, paradoxical person to dimensions we can comprehend, understand, and convert to our own purposes. So far it hasn't worked." [PreachingToday, Jesus Cannot Be Domesticated (http://www.preachingtoday.com/index.taf?_UserReference=F149AD052C2230FD4102A753&_function=illustration&_op=show_norm&IID=14848&sr=1)] And I would add, it will not ever work. As Paul responded to the false teachings of his day, instead of domesticating Jesus, he highlighted the awe of His person and work. This passage reaches heights of wonder and praise found in very few other portions of scripture. If you will take this passage and make it the focus of your meditation for a week, or month, you will find new truths and new questions each time. And each time you will be blessed by it’s content.
Christ and Creation
Paul begins in verses 15-18 by speaking of the relationship of Christ to Creation. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” The word translated firstborn, means “the preeminent position.” Throughout all of creation, Jesus is first! He is the leader, he is the One over all. Jesus is the complete representation of God the Father. As the “image of the invisible God,” Jesus shows us who God is. John’s gospel declares that “No one has seen God,” but later Jesus said, “He who has seen me, has seen the Father.” In Jesus we God and what God expects of us.
But the image of God that Paul writes of here, also reflects the Genesis creation account. When God created Adam and Eve, he created them in God’s own image. So while Jesus reveals God to us, he also reveals what God expects people to be. The crown of creation is the image of God in humanity, in Jesus we discover all God wants us to be.
But not only does Jesus have first place in Creation, Jesus is the creator! And he is the creator not only of what we see, but of powers and authorities and thrones and rulers. Everything that exists finds its source in Christ. The false teachers declared that to reach God, you had to appease angelic forces known as “thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.” The truth of Jesus reveals that all these forces are under the domain of the Christ. In all of creation, there is no other. He is responsible for all we see. However it was done, with whatever methods were employed, He is responsible.
Paul declares that Creation, from beginning to end has it’s source and its being in Christ. That is the first creation and it is His.
Christ and the Church
The second creation is also His.
Verses 15-20 are very poetic in their structure. Some have suggested that they were a hymn of the early church, and that may be. The structure of these verses set up a parallel between Jesus the firstborn of creation and Jesus the firstborn of the New creation, or the church. The image of the invisible God is the Head of the Church. The firstborn of creation is the firstborn from among the dead. As the head of the Church, Jesus wants to direct our way. He wants to guide our paths. He wants to give us vision for our task. In Ephesians, when talking about the relationship between a husband and wife, Paul compares that relationship to the headship of Christ. In this context, he is speaking about the care that Christ has for the church. The head provides nourishment and life giving breath. So, in addition to the direction that Christ provides, there is also care that he as the preeminent one offers.
Since Christ is our head, we have a responsibility to live for Him, and to live a life that is fitting for Christ. When we were in Hiroshima, we went to an aquarium. One of the attractions as a mural of a man and woman feeding the dolphins. They were very young and strong. However, they had no faces. As children and parents, and I will confess, even I, put our faces in the holes and took pictures, they looked like a riot. The photos were funny because the head did not fit the body. It was a total misfit! Paul said Jesus is the head of the body, which is the church. I wonder, if we would picture Christ as the head of our local body of believers, would the world laugh at the misfit? Or would they stand in awe of a human body so closely related to a divine head?
The church can not function unless Jesus Christ is recognized as the head of all. One of the oddest human conditions is called Alien hand syndrome. This is a condition that is caused by brain damage or brain surgery where the sensations and even actions of one’s arm and hand seem to occur without any conscious knowledge. Patients have been surprised to see their own hand waving, and there have even been reports of a hand tearing clothing or interfering with writing. The patient even feels as though their hand belonged to someone else. I wonder, since Christ is the head of the body, how often does he feel like he has alien hand syndrome. How often are our actions completely contrary to Jesus’ desires? If we are to be the new creation God has called us to be, we must be willing to submit to the leading of our Lord.
And then Paul said, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” The Greek, word is “pleroma,” or completeness. Some have tried to explain this expression with theological jargon. However, what it means is all Christ is and all Christ does is an expression of God’s nature. It means that with every fiber of his being, Jesus’ life displayed the saving action of God.
In the OT, the “pleroma” of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. In Jesus it dwelt in the temple of His body, as Jesus said, “Tear this temple down and I will rebuild it in three days,” and today the fulness of God dwells in the temple of His church. Peter calls believers in the church “living stones” who are being built together into the “Temple of God.”
As the dwelling place of the fulness of God, Jesus’ task was to “reconcile to (God) all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Jesus was bringing the first creation into the new creation so that everything might exist in a right relationship with God. And we as His followers, those being built into the temple of God, we are called to join God in that work.
Christ and the Believer
And so we come to the third portion of this passage, Christ and the Believer.
We were created in the Image of God, to have fellowship with God. However, because of sin, that fellowship and open relationship that God desired was destroyed. The result is alienation from God.
Rex Humbard tells the story of a woman who was released from the hospital after extensive rounds of therapy failed to turn back the progress of a deadly disease. Confined to her bed at home, the woman received regular visits from her physician, but she could not work up the courage to explain her illness to her six-year-old daughter. One morning, however, the little girl overheard the doctor speaking gravely with her mother and father.
"I'll be frank with you, Susan," the physician said. "You don't have much time. I don't think you'll survive the autumn." A short while later, the mother glanced out the bedroom window and saw something that nearly broke her heart. She watched as her daughter stooped to pick up the leaves that had begun to fall in the September breeze; and then, as if to foil the force of gravity itself, the little girl worked to scotch-tape each leaf back on a branch.
Without a doubt, to be separated is one of the great fears that we face as Humans. We long to belong and to be a part of something bigger. This is how we were created. We will never be complete as long as we are separated. We try to satisfy our longing through clubs and organizations, through family and friendships, yet they all are incomplete. The alienation that must be overcome is our alienation from God. And that is what Jesus’ work of reconciliation is all about. Because of God’s great love, you and I can know forgiveness from our sins and have the gulf of alienation spanned. In a way that I do not understand, the blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary cleanses us from our sin. In a way that I do not understand the cross of Jesus has made us right with God.
Yes, sin separates us from the Father, but the love of Jesus welcomes us with all our sin and disease. In The Whisper Test, Mary Ann Bird writes: I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. When schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.
There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored--Mrs. Leonard by name. She was short, round, happy--a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test. ... Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back--things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?"
I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were my little girl."
God says to every person deformed by sin, "I wish you were my son" or "I wish you were my daughter." This is the good news, this is the Gospel. Do you hear his whisper today? No matter who you are, young or old, rich or poor, male or female, no matter what you have done, no matter what habits you may be struggling with, no matter what relationships you may have damaged, regardless of the mess you have made of your life, Jesus is saying, “I wish you were my child.” Reach out and accept his embrace today. Because Jesus is the preeminent character of creation and the head of the Church, his love will build a foundation in your life that will give you freedom and peace no matter what you are facing. “I wish you were my child.”
