15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 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. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him, 20 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.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 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— 23 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.”
Verses 15-17 are a re-introduction of who Christ is to the Colossians. Notice the words in verse 15. Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the essence and the exact expression of God. When the Bible talks about God being invisible, it means more than just the fact that we cannot see Him. It carries the idea that God is not only invisible but He is inaccessible. He is unapproachable and unknowable. When the Bible speaks of God being invisible, it means we cannot know God period! We cannot approach Him, not access to Him, no knowing of Him, no seeing of Him; He is totally inaccessible to us. Jesus has come into the world and made the invisible God visible. He has made the inaccessible God accessible.
Verse 16 – Paul goes on to tell us that Jesus is not only preeminent in revelation but He is also preeminent in creation. “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.”
Verse 17 – Notice that Jesus is also the preserver of all things. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” He is the glue that holds this whole world and universe together. Every law of the universe is nothing more than an expression of the mind of Jesus. He holds it all together. We may ask why that is important? Where Christ is not acknowledged and He is not front and center, things have a tendency to fall apart. The reason our world is coming apart is that Jesus is not acknowledged and worshiped as Lord as preeminent. How about our own personal lives? If Jesus can hold this universe together, He can hold our lives together.
Verse 18 is a key verse. “And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, (now here comes the purpose clause) so that in everything He (Christ) might have the supremacy.”
What Paul is saying is that everything that God has ever done, and everything that God will ever do, and everything that God is doing today in our lives, as well as the world, all comes down to this one purpose: so that in all things Jesus Christ might have first place, that He might be preeminent (Front and Center), that He might be supreme. That is the ultimate purpose.
Often times we cannot define the immediate purpose of what may be happening in our lives. Why does God allow this or that to happen? Why doesn’t God stop it? Why does God not move in here and change things? The ultimate purpose behind it all: so that in all things in our lives that Jesus might stand first preeminent and supreme.
Let’s talk about the scope of His preeminence. In what areas is Jesus preeminent? Are there some boundaries that we can cross over, and beyond that Jesus has no rightful place? Is there someplace where we can stick up a “no trespassing “ sign in our lives, and that is as far as Jesus can go? What is the reach of His preeminence? Paul makes it very clear; he says that in all things, he might have preeminence. In other words, there is no boundary line. There is no point at which we can go beyond the jurisdiction of the Lord.
One could conclude that God is not going to be satisfied with the progress in our Christian walk until He sees that Jesus is front and center in all areas of our lives.
Verse 19 – There is a reason why Jesus has the right to be Lord. He has a right because of who He is. “Because “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him,”
Verses 20 -23 – Finally, He deserves the preeminence not only because of who He is but because of His death. “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.” He is not asking for anything He has not bought and paid for. He is not asking us to give as a free gift our life to Him. It is something He has already paid for, something that is due Him, something that is owed Him. We are not doing Jesus a favor when we trust Him as Savior.
Concluding Remarks and Application
The words of a song come to mind that somewhat captures these verses.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
The bottom line is that Jesus deserves to be front and center in every area of our lives. And guess what, our lives are better with Him at the helm.
