January 22 – The Supremacy of Christ

January 22 – The Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-20

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.

Two days ago, I wrote about how theologians have split the attributes / characteristics of God into two categories … those of Creator and Redeemer.  In this passage you see those two categories come to life in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the image of God. Yesterday I wrote about how Paul used the Greek word ‘morphe’ to describe Jesus taking the form, or the nature of God.  Jesus’ life on earth gave humanity the opportunity to have something tangible with which to identify a physically intangible God.  J

Creation.  By Jesus all things were created.  He was before all things and it is in Him that all things hold together.

John says, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3, NIV).  Jesus was at Creation with God and when God spoke, it was Jesus who caused creation to come into being.  He was the Word that God spoke.

Sometimes it is so difficult to wrap our heads around concepts that have no place except in our heads … which is why sometimes math infuriates me!  But, I have been able to accept that there are great mysteries which surround a God who can create a universe as vast as ours and bodies which work with such intricacy … all with the same voice.

Redemption. It was through Jesus Christ that redemption was brought to humanity.  We have made a caricature of the choices Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden.  We like to blame one or the other, but in truth, we make choices every day which separate us from God.  Our choices are as devastating to history as those made on that fateful day at the beginning of time.  We choose to ignore those in pain or actively hurt someone with our words or actions, we choose to ignore God or deny that He exists. We choose to live self-centered lives and raise our children to do the same. We make choices that separate us from God.

John goes on to say, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:4-5, 12-13, NIV).

Because Jesus came to earth, he redeemed humanity.  He offered a new choice to us, he gave us the right to become children of God by believing in His name.  This song found in Colossians reminds us that God is Creator and Redeemer and has done his great work on earth through His Son, Jesus Christ.