Colossians 1:15-23 // The Focus of the Gospel

[Music] well welcome as we're looking at the second passage in Paul's letter to the Colossians and this is a glorious passage that puts the spotlight on our Lord Jesus in the most incredible way if you've ever had a few of Jesus that is too small for whatever reason this passage is medicine for that disease and so as we dig into it pray that it would just throw your heart to be reminded of who Jesus is and what he came to do I'm in a short video like this I can't dig into all the details fully but I do hope to give you some tools to helpfully teach this to others as always read through the passage a few times for yourself markdown repetition things that are important in this passage well that seemed important pray that God would help you to understand it that he would open your eyes that you wouldn't be merely reading this as an academic exercise but that you will be reading because you want to know God more to love him more to stand in awe of his son so I'm gonna highlight just a few things as I said this passage really magnificently puts the spotlight on Jesus the Son and throughout this passage we just see Paul uses these phrases for in him through him for him he is the head in him through him through his blood by Christ's physical body and everything he might have the supremacy he is beginning the firstborn from among the dead now that sort of repetition polishers telling us a whole lot of things about our Lord Jesus and one of the things that's one of Summa nun quickly and this firstborn idea we see in verse 15 Paul says that he is the firstborn over all creation in verse 18 he says he is the firstborn from among the dead now this does not mean that Jesus is the firstborn son of God as in his the first one who came from God first creation that is something that arias introduced very early heresy something that the Jehovah's Witnesses of today hold to where when Paul says that Jesus is the first button he's highlighting that Jesus is the one with all the rights and the privileges of the firstborn son they all belong to Jesus he is first in rank and honor and verse 18 helps us to see that because firstborn among the dead doesn't mean here that Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead and because he wasn't Elijah and Elijah raised people from the dead Jesus himself rose dead people but when it says he's the firstborn from among the dead again he is the most important one to ever have been raised from the dead and because he was raised and the resurrection of others is possible he he secures our hope so as you're digging in and looking at and this idea of being of what it means to be the firstborn and just be very wary of that and if anybody says well this does not mean that Jesus was the first one God created Paul very clearly in this passage shows us and that that isn't the fact so since he's the firstborn over all creation and there's a lot of this all language for all things were created through him all things have been created through him just get that repetition they're all things were created all things were created he's in heaven and on earth through him through him everything that has been made was made so he cannot fall in the category of things that were made which puts him in the category of God because He is God all things were created through him and all things is before all things all things hold together in him so that in everything he might have the supremacy can you see all things and then at the end that this is the message that is proclaimed to every creature and a heavenly there's this picture of completeness he is the firstborn over all creation all things were created by him he's before all things he is eternal in him all things hold together he's sustaining life on this planet as we know it and the breathe every breath you take it only happening because he is holding all things together and coming back to the firstborn from among the dead his resurrection shows that so that in everything he might have the supremacy and this idea of supremacy is a key one in this passage and pull once us to see that Jesus is absolutely supreme he is preeminent he is at the top there is no one like Jesus but as Paul wants us to see that he also wants us to be absolutely clear that Jesus is God he is the image of the invisible God he is God with skin on God with a belly button he is absolutely 100% truly and fully God now that was something that was under attack in the church in kala see people were causing these kailash and christians to doubt these truths about jesus and so in these first few verses paul magnificently highlights jesus supremacy and then i think from there is 19 all the way through so that's our first section i think thats highlighting jesus supremacy these next verses 19 through 22 are highlighting that jesus as the supreme one is absolutely sufficient to save and the word that paul uses twice in this section as this word to reconcile to himself all things but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death and this idea of being reconciled is to be to be made friends with god again and how is this reconciliation made possible 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 so this reconciliation this peace with god is made possible through jesus blood shed on the cross and then again verse 22 but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body that's just something to note down here part of the the heresy that was coming into the church was saying that jesus wasn't actually physically a human is a spiritual only and Paul's making it clear now Jesus was fully a man his physical body and through the death of that body to present you just look at this progression these let us do the contrast first so once you were alienated from God enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior alienated from God enemies of God that's our natural state before we come to know and love Jesus as king but then Jesus came to people who were alienated and enemies and he came to reconcile you through his death and the change from being once alienated and enemies we now become holy set apart we've counted among the Saints without blemish free from accusation it's an absolutely glorious change and Paul wants us to be absolutely clear that this is only possible because of Jesus the son who is supreme is sufficient to reconcile us to God to present us holy in his sight because his death is sufficient to bring us back the progression here from verse 22 and to 23 is important just to note so 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 if you continue in your faith now that's an interesting statement does it now depend on us well no not at all it God's work of saving us and keeping us is all God's work but only in the end will we know for sure who are the ones who are in Christ and it will become very clear in the end those who are because they'll be the ones who continue in their faith continue unmoved so here we've got faith again and we've got hope which we saw in the previous passage and Paul is calling these Colossians 2 an ongoing relationship with Jesus Jesus is supreme he's sufficient we should want to live for him and keep loving him and placing our hope in him and said Paul says continue in your faith established and firm and do not move from the house held out in the gospel so Jesus is sufficient sufficient to save us and we know that because he is supreme he is above all things there's no one like Jesus these truths should thrill our hearts we should be standing amazed at who Jesus is if your view of Jesus have been too small then look at this passage again dig in and to stand amazed at who he is but then continue in him he's worth following don't move from the hope that has been held out in the gospel I pray that as you dig into this that this wouldn't just be is wouldn't be truths that just wash over you as old-hat things that you've known and things that don't really impact you I pray that as you just look at Jesus again and you would see how magnificent he is as you stand back and look as a whole that this passage it is glorious as you zoom in and look at all the details they encourage us and challenge us to keep living for Jesus and so for yourself pray that God would help you strengthen you to continue in your faith to continue and moved in the hope that has held out just in the gospel and so as you teach this to others and I pray it would be praying for them that this passage would act as that medicine for the disease of having a to smaller view of Jesus this passage just gives us a massive view of who Jesus is and what he came to do and it should throw our hearts it should cause us to be bursting forth in thanks and praise in amazement for who years so God blesses you teach this and God blesses you just dig into it further yourself and yeah allow this truth about Jesus to impact you in a massive way in a way that will be seen in the way that you live as you continue in your faith and move from the hope held out in the gospel Oh godless [Music] you [Music]

Channel: David Hill

Views: 1,023

Rating: 4.8518519 out of 5

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Id: OLtgTbvr-8Y

Length: 14min 29sec (869 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2019