“The Supreme Life”
A Sermon Series in Colossians
“Christ is Supreme”
Colossians 1:1-23
Introduction
In the opening verses of the book we discover several things. It is Paul, identifying himself as an apostle (a person of authority) is writing to a new church in Colossae, and he has not met them. The church was established by Epaphras that Paul calls “a fellow servant,” and “a faithful minister of Christ.” And we see as we get into the text that Epaphras is concerned about something in the life of the church; there is a problem. So he traveled from Colossae to Rome (where Paul is in prison) to seek Paul’s help on the issue. In response Paul (as an apostle) responds with this letter.
In these opening verses we see a love for a church – the pastor who established the church (named Epaphras) and an apostle (Paul) who is seeking to help this pastor keep the church healthy. Both show love for this young church. Do you love your church (every Christian should be apart of one), and are you loyal to one congregation?
Prayer
Paul’s Greeting of and Thanksgiving for the Colossians (Col. 1:1–8)[1]
Paul Greets the Colossian Church (Col. 1:1–2)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Paul Thanks God for the Colossians’ Faith and Love (Col. 1:3–8)
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith[2] in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up[3] for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing — as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
Paul often begins his letters to churches by saying that he is thankful for them, and here he is thankful to God for their faith (which is a gift from God), and how they love other believers – and he mentions their (v. 5) “hope laid up for you in heaven.” Faith and hope are linked together; we believe, and so we hope. But there is also an expectation of heaven, where we forsake this world and what it offers for the promise of eternity and to the hope of heaven.
Hebrews 11:24-27 (the hall of faith), describes Moses’ faith, “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” Because of Moses’ faith in God he rejected the power and the “treasures of Egypt” with the pharaoh’s household, and escaped to the desert. Christians have faith in an eternal future, that requires a rejection of the power and treasures of this world.
(v. 6) “it is bearing fruit and increasing,” – Paul references the gospel like a fruit tree that is growing and it is bearing fruit at the same time. Some plants when they have bloomed and given fruit die off – the gospel keeps on growing and giving fruit. “The knowledge of God is not an end in itself but the means to the growth into the likeness of God.”[4] We grow as we learn and bear fruit.
Paul Prays for the Colossians (Col. 1:9–14)
So That God May Fill the Colossians with Knowledge of His Will (Col. 1:9)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Paul is praying that this church would know the will of God – and that it would be a full knowledge, complete. There is a problem coming to the church at Colossae, and the church’s ability to fight against it is a full knowledge of God, His complete will. In Christianity there is no hidden knowledge (as in when you get to a higher level, then new information is given to you, no secret handshakes, etc.). “All spiritual wisdom and understanding” is capable for all believers through His Word. If you want to know God’s will, then read His Word – it’s all there.
Ephesians 1:7-10 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” This mystery of his will has been made know, there are no secrets in Christianity.
(v. 7) Paul affirms Epaphras’ teaching of the true gospel by referring to him as “a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,” (v. 5) “in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you,” by Epaphras. He is about to warn them not to allow that truth to become corrupted.
The Goal of Paul’s Prayer: Lives Fully Pleasing to God (Col. 1:10a)
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him:[5]
As a result of right understanding, having been given the knowledge of God’s will – to understand His grand design – we then are able to walk in this path, this way of life resulting from our being given “all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” “The end result of all knowledge is conduct.”[6] You read God’s Word, His wisdom is revealed to you, you then act upon what you know to be true. This is what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Paul’s prayer is for right understanding, which then leads to right behavior.
But there is also this issue that alerted Epaphras and drove him over many miles to ask Paul for help – there seems to be a lacking of understanding God’s will that then leads to walking (or living their lives) in such a way that was not worthy of the Lord, or is not pleasing to Him. Or those teaching something different than the true gospel, was Epaphras’ concern, for what Acts 19:26 calls “fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;”
“Things to be believed (credenda) do matter. But things to be done (agenda) matter also. Paul insists often that we should know the will of God (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 5:10, 17). . . Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” . . .We need precise and correct knowledge, but that will come to little unless we recognize the moral aspect of God’s will in the content of our own lives.”[7]
Attainment of the Goal: Ways to a Life Fully Pleasing to God (Col. 1:10b–12a)
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father,
So the Christian is growing in their knowledge of God, which leads to a life characteristic of what Jesus taught – doing the good work of the gospel. Jesus even said that a tree is judged by its’ fruit. Matthew 7:16 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Then God supplies them with the strength they need to live this way. How is it that Christian can just keep on walking forward – when everything in their lives seems to falling down around them?
They are “strengthened with all power,” God in His grace gives the believer strength that is connected with the same word for dynamite – explosive power. God gives the believer “all endurance” when they are tempted to quit, “patience” when they grow frustrated with the pains of this life, and “joy” when they are tempted to despair and to be overcome with sadness. When the believer sees and understands how God has given him all these things, it leads them to “giving thanks to the Father.”
Acts 16:23-25 tells of when Paul and Silas were arrested, “And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, . . .” How were Paul and Silas after being beaten, thrown into prison, placed in stocks, able to sing and pray? Paul is speaking of a power that he has personally experienced that is available for all who seek to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.”
Reasons to Live a Life Fully Pleasing to God (Col. 1:12b–14)
who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus also says that believers, “share in the inheritance of the saints in light,” – Those that place their faith in Jesus, are moved from a domain of darkness to the kingdom of light. Christians share in the inheritance of light. The believer already possesses his inheritance; it awaits you in eternity. And God has given you a guarantee of this inheritance by having the holy Spirit live within you.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
(v. 13) “transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,” – to be apart of a kingdom means there is a king (Jesus), and those who are in His kingdom. Part of our responsibility as citizens of this kingdom is to represent the king, and to live a life that is pleasing to Him. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 Paul encourages believers “to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
This next section seems to originally have been a hymn.
The Christ-Hymn and Its Application to the Colossians (Col. 1:15–23)
The Christ-Hymn: The Son’s Preeminence over all Creation (Col. 1:15–17)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible[8], whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Paul now shifts from being focused on believers, to the Savior and what he is like. First, Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” – “Jesus is the idea of God and the expression of God. So he has interpreted God to men. God is invisible to man, as even Moses learned when he asked to see the glory of God pass by. God dwells in light unapproachable, whom no one has ever seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:16). But we see God in Christ. “He that has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9).” In the face of Jesus Christ has given the light of the knowledge if his glory (2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus is the Shekinah glory of God for those who have eyes to see.”[9] In the person of Jesus the unknowable God becomes knowable.
“the firstborn of all creation,” – this is a reference to rank not chronology. The firstborn in the family was the rightful heir to be the head of the family. Psalm 89:27 is an example of where the coming Messiah is described, “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” These are references to rank and authority.
Paul goes on to say that everything exists was created by Jesus – therefore He must be eternal. He existed as an eternal God before anything was created. Jesus was not born nor was He created; He is eternal. John 1:1-3 says it this ways, “In the beginning was the Word (that’s Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
The Christ-Hymn: The Son’s Preeminence over the New Creation (Col. 1:18–20)
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
The church are those people who have placed their faith in Christ. Of all those people, the church (that Paul refers to as a body), Jesus is the head. Jesus in the fullness of God, took on human flesh, made peace with God for humanity by dying on the cross, therefore He was given the title “firstborn from the dead,” so that in all things he is preeminent – “Superiority in excellence, power, authority, or status.”[10]
The Creator, who is above all things, died and rose from the dead for the creation, thereby establishing a second new creation (the church), where He also reigns supreme. The only one capable of doing this had to have “the fullness of God” to accomplish it and He was given the title “firstborn from the dead” – to hold the authority to do it.
“Sin has put the universe out of joint. Christ will set it right.”[11]
God the Son (Jesus) made peace with God the Father for humanity, “by the blood of his cross,” – Jesus was a human being, Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, . . .” God the Son, took on human flesh and really died as a real man on a real Roman cross.
The Christ-Hymn Applied: God Has Reconciled the Colossians to Christ (Col. 1:21–23)
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul then reminds the church of how they used to be, “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,” There was a time when you were separated from God because of your defiant decisions and when you considered the things of God, you mind was hostile to what is the gospel and the things of God. There was a previous non-Christian condition that you were in.
Remember the old hymn, “I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, Now safe am I. Love lifted me! Love lifted me!” Remember when you once were lost and without hope.
(v. 22) But then we see “he has now reconciled” – this is a picture of a sinner as he stands before God as an enemy, but becomes His friend. Reconciliation deals with a relationship, and it refers to the restoring of a right relationship between God and man. How did we go from being God’s enemy, to being his friend?
“his body of flesh by his death” – Jesus as fully God, took on human flesh and became fully man, then this flesh was crucified on the cross, and this act is what reconciled them from their sin. In this gospel they are to be . . .
“stable and steadfast” – in the original language, the picture of sitting in a chair. Stay seated in the truth of the gospel. The Colossian church had heard the gospel from Epaphras, so it is Jesus that saved you, now keep on with Jesus.
Conclusion
Remember putting your face above a headless frame painted to represent a muscle man, a clown, or even a bathing beauty? Many of us have had our pictures taken this way, and the photos are humorous because the head doesn’t fit the body. If we could 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?
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[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-bible-colossians-philemon/#week-1-overview
[2] 1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
[3] Same word, laid up, is used in Luke 19:20, “Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;” See also 1 Timothy 6:19; Matthew 6:20; and 1 Pet. 1:4.
[4] Robertson, Paul and the Intellectuals, 35.
[5] See also 1 Thessalonians 2:12; Philippians 1:27; & Ephesians 4:1.
[6] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume IV (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 475.
[7] A.T. Robertson, Paul and the Intellectuals, The Epistle to the Colossians (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1959) 34.
[8] “visible and invisible” – some commentators believe this to be a reference to the Platonic view of an essence or ideal in heaven and the copy on earth. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence#:~:text=In%20his%20dialogues%20Plato%20suggests,sensible%20things%20are%20%22copies%22.
[9] Robertson, 41.
[10] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, General Editor, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Eerdmans Publishing, 1986) 951.
[11] Robinson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 481.
