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Colossians 2 – Jesus is Supreme

The Church is Colossae had problems. Their founder Epaphras was taken from them. There was increased persecution. The societal culture was pulling some away from Christ.

Welcome to back to Redemption Church. It is a lovely day in Plano Tx. I am glad to have fellowship with you all!
We do 3 things every time we gather.

1. Everybody Worships
2. Everybody receives the Word of God
3. Everybody talks to God.

We have worshipped. I invite you to stay in that mode of worship as we receive God’s Word. And then soon we will invite you to have a talk with God in prayer.
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Colossians – Jesus is supreme
 
 
Last week we learned about the background of the book of Colossians. We learned that it is a letter, written by the Apostle Paul, and written to the people of Colossae. Although Paul had never traveled to Colossae, he had heard about the Christ Followers LOVE & FAITH from a fellow prisoner.
Paul wrote the Colossian letter while in a Roman jail. While in this jail he came face to face with a Christian man who was instrumental in starting the church in Colossae. This fellow Prisoner’s name was Epaphras.
For the sake of Christ, willing

The background of this letter is WILLINGNESS. For the sake of Christ, Paul & Epaphras were willing. This book was written to stir up the Church to STAY WILLING for the sake of Christ.
Today we are going to be looking at Colossians 1 verses 14-29. I have someone who is going to read these verses to us.
Please follow along with them.
Colossians 1:13 (NIV2011) For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
Colossians 1:14 (NIV2011) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:15 (NIV2011) The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:16 (NIV2011) For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:17 (NIV2011) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:18 (NIV2011) 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.
Colossians 1:19 (NIV2011) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ]
Colossians 1:20 (NIV2011) 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 1:21 (NIV2011) Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Colossians 1:22 (NIV2011) 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—
Colossians 1:23 (NIV2011) if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move 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.
Colossians 1:24 (NIV2011) Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Colossians 1:25 (NIV2011) I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—
Colossians 1:26 (NIV2011) the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.
Colossians 1:27 (NIV2011) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:28 (NIV2011) He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Colossians 1:29 (NIV2011) To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Let’s rejoice in the Word of God. Clap your hands with me.
What a hope filled passage. This passage centers on Christ! That is why we feel such hope. Christ is the hope of the entire world.
Outline

Verses 13-20 is a teaching. Christ is… Paul gives us doctrinal certainty on who Christ is. In short Christ is Supreme..

Colossians 1:18 (NIV2011) 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.
The word Supremacy is translated as “preimenence” in other English translation. It is the Greek word..
Prōteuō (prō-tyü’-ō) meaning TO BE FIRST. To hold the highest, top, first, place. No one higher.
Jesus Christ is Prōteuō. He is First!
Verses 21-23 Paul shifts the focus towards the life of these Colossians IN CHRIST. Paul says these powerful things about Jesus, and then declares that these powerful things are found in them. He declares that the Power of Jesus transforms from an alien outcast to a reconciled, holy, clean, free, individual.
Then in the final verses, 24-29 Pual declares His role as SERVANT TO THE BODY. The Church is the Body of Christ. From a prison, the Apostle proclaims the HOPE OF ALL HOPES…
Colossians 1:27 (NIV2011) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
That is the outline of the chapter. My there is so much we could dive into today. We could spend weeks on the revelation of these verses. We will only spend minutes today, but I encourage you to look over these verses during the week and pray for a revelation of Jesus. Lord let us receive the revelation of Jesus just as Paul preached it.
There is background information that I want to share with you about the Church in Colossae. They were experiencing problems.
PROBLEMS

Churches have problems. The Church in Colossae had problems.
I want to take the opportunity to tell you as a Pastor. Please don’t leave a church because it is not problem free. There is no such thing as a problem free Church.
Churches are set within a world with many problems. Churches have to press against a societal culture that is filled with problems. Churches are filled with people who each bring their problems with them to Church. The Pastor and ministry team have problems that they need to work through.
2 things!

• Do not dismiss God’s church because of “problems.”
• Do not think you are out of place because you have “problems.” No you fit right in. Come into a time of prayer with me today and let’s work through our problems.

Colossae faced a major problem called Gnosticism.
Gnostic

Gnostic comes from the Greek ford Gnosis, meaning KNOWLEDGE.
Here is a simply put gnostic philosophy.

• Knowledge is supreme.
  • Gnostics believed their knowledge was superior to faith.
• Physical, tangible matter is inherently evil and invisible Spirit is inherently divine.
  • Gnostics believed the creator of a physical world could never be the supreme God of the universe.

When we look through the lens of the problem of Gnosticism as we read these verses, it will bring more understanding. Paul encourages the Colossians with the Supremacy of Christ.
Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15 (NIV2011) The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
The son is the image of the invisible God…
Supremacy of Christ
Remember that Gnostics believed the visible physical was lesser than the invisible spiritual?
The Son, Jesus Christ, the one that Thomas saw & touched the wounds in his hands… Jesus is the son. He was physically born of the virgin Mary. Jesus the son is tangible & physical.
Yet Paul declares that this son we see, is the IMAGE of the invisible God. The word IMAGE is the Greek word eikōn (Icon). Jesus is the Icon of God. Everything that the invisible God is, Jesus is the visual revelation.
Gnostics would have thought the physical man Jesus Christ would be of lesser worth than the invisible God. Here the Apostle Paul declares that JESUS IS GOD MADE VISIBLE.

• Jesus is the Love of God made visible.
• Jesus is the Mercy & Grace of God made visible.
• Jesus is the power of God made visible.

The Holy God who no one could ever see or touch has put on flesh! NOW WE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE.
And this Jesus is FIRST BORN. This was not a phrase the first century reader would misunderstand. The first born son was the one who would receive the highest place of blessing in the ancient world family. The lineage of the Father would place its greatest hope on the first born.
Jesus is first born over all creation. Jesus is the hope of lineage.
In John 3, this first born son looked at Nicodemus and said “YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”
The first time I was born, I was born after the lineage of my father Clyde and my mother Lisabeth. BUT THE 2^ND BIRTH, when I was born again it was after the lineage of the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus Christ.
The Gnostic was dismissive of the physical Christ. Paul declares that Jesus is both physical & spiritual. He is Son of God & Son of Man. This was not lesser than position on the part of Jesus.
Colossians 1:16 (NIV2011) For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:17 (NIV2011) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Who? Are you talking about God? YES.
I thought you were talking about the man, Mary’s baby. YES I AM. THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME!
We could never love a God we could not embrace. So this God was born, put on flesh, and reached out and embraced us!
He is the Image! He is the ICON! The man Christ Jesus holds ALL THINGS TOGETHER.
Listen up Colossians that are pulled by Gnostic culture… DO NOT TURN AWAY FROM JESUS.
Listen up Christ follower in the year 2018 that is being pulled humanistic culture, that puts more trust in learning knowledge than faith… DO NOT TURN AWAY FROM THIS JESUS!
Colossians 1:18 (NIV2011) 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.
IT DID NOT SAY “He was AT the beginning…” It says HE IS THE BEGINNING!
Everywhere Jesus is… Is the beginning!

 
He is the Genesis 1 beginning. He spoke “Let there be” and the world was.
He is the John 1:1 beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God…
He is the beginning when he says “come follow me” to a bunch of fisher men.
He is the beginning when he looks at the woman caught in the act and says “woman, where are all your accusers?”
He is the beginning when he looked out from the cross and says “Father forgive them, they do not know what they do.”
He is the beginning when He rises on the 3^rd day.
He is the beginning when His Spirit shows up on the day of Pentecost.
Some of you have been looking for a fresh start. Is the beginning of all things fresh enough for you?
HE IS THE BEGINNING. The beginning is in the house today.
And in everything Jesus Christ is Supreme. He is prōteuō!
Colossians 1:19 (NIV2011) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
Colossians 1:20 (NIV2011) 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.
The invisible God, his fullness dwelt in the man Christ Jesus. And through the physical he reconciled, he redeemed, he saved, He will restore ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF!
…By making peace through what? His blood. That physical blood. That tangible blood. Gnostics, God took that blood that you see. You had to be careful with it because if it got on your clothes it would stain them.
Colossians 1:22 (NIV2011) 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—
It is that physical sacrifice on the cross that reconciles us, makes us holy, without blemish, and free from accusation.
Are you thankful for a God who is SPIRIT & FLESH. One day I am going to hug the invisible God through the body of His son.
Problems
The Church in Colossae was experiencing problems. We talked about Gnosticism that was prevalent in the world culture. The founder & leader of their church, Epaphras, was in prison. There was growing persecution. Paul was hundreds of miles away in chains. The only thing He could do was to pray in the Spirit and to write this letter.
When Paul took his quill to write this fragile church, his game plan was simple. Paul told them Christ is Prōteuō. Christ is Supreme.
Supremacy of Christ
That is how we need to approach our problems today.
I don’t know what problems you are facing, but I do know that Christ is supreme.
We think so highly of our problems.

• Fear worships your problem. Fear makes sure that the problem is all you can see or think about.
• Anxiety magnifies the problem and stirs your emotions as you place the problem on the throne of your life.
• When we can’t find an answer for our problem, we then lift high the name of our problem. Our debt, divorce, cancer, whatever the problem… the names of these problems are then said with solemn reverence. We hold the name of the problem higher and higher, as we see all alternatives fall short of an answer.

I have come to tell you today that Christ is Supreme!

• Faith worships your God. Faith makes sure that God’s power is all you can see or think about.
• Peace magnifies the Truth and calms your emotions as you place Jesus on the throne of your life.
• We found someone bigger than our problem and we lift high His name. The name of Jesus is bigger than your problem. We hold His name higher & higher and see our problems as lower & lower.

 
Paul told Colossae that Christ is Supreme! Then he finishes by telling them…
Colossians 1:23 (NIV2011) if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move 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.
IF… you continue in your faith. IF…
They had access to the Supreme Lord, but it was not enough. They needed to CONTINUE.
Don’t give up. Continue!
Don’t miss this point!
I have seen many people receive miracles from God only to fall away later.
I have seen people healed, who today no longer reverence the name of their healer.
I have seen people have a revelation & encounter with God that made us all aware of God’s majesty & presence, but today they retain none of that knowledge.
I have seen preachers used by God in the supernatural gifts and lead countless souls into a relationship with Jesus, but today they no longer are found within the body of Christ.
IF YOU CONTINUE IN YOUR FAITH!!
It is not enough that you are feeling goose-bumps right now. Don’t just walk away happy that you felt God’s presence. Press into this anointing. Continue in your faith.
It is not enough that you heard a passionate sermon that got you excited. You have to DO SOMETHING to CONTINUE.
It is not enough that you feel like God spoke to you today. You have to obey Him and CONTINUE…
It is time to talk to God today. Come right now.
I invite those who need a Jesus that is supreme… bigger than every problem.
I invite those who have never received this Jesus.
I invite those who want to continue in the faith.