Sermon Tone Analysis
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Christ Above All
Colossians 1:15-20
Just Who Is Jesus?
There are many ideas of who Jesus is.
Some say He was a good moral teacher, or perhaps a he was a prophet that pointed people towards God.
Some say He was a leader of social change - elevating women and those who had been discarded by society.
Some say he was just a man and others believe Him to be the Son of God.
Who is Jesus to your friends?
To the people you come in contact with?
Who would they say Jesus is?
More importantly, who do you claim Jesus is?
How you answer this question will impact how you view the circumstances that come against your life, how you view church and how you believe you can be in a right relationship with God.
When Paul writes to the church in Colassae, there were false teachers who were not totally trying to discard Jesus but teaching that he was just one of many.
Not understanding who Jesus was they taught that Jesus was just one of the many expressions that could lead towards God.
He was good, but He was surely not God.
To counter this, Paul writes to share with those in Colassae and with us, just who this Jesus really is!
This is a tremendous passage of scripture that removes any doubt about or confusion about just who Jesus is.
First, Paul declares . . .
He is the image of the invisible God!
In the Greek, the word used for image is used to describe something that is a representation of something.
The object represented what is pictured.
It is often used in the context of an image on a coin, a portrait, or a statue.
The idea was that the image corresponded with the original.
But Jesus was more than just a representation.
The Bible tells us that we too are created in the image of God.
We have attributes of God - intellect, emotion, and will - but we are not a perfect representation.
We are flawed in our representation of God.
He is Holy, and we are sinful.
We are not morally like God because He is holy and we are sinful.
Jesus is the perfect representation of God.
He is God in the flesh.
Johns 1: 28 tells us . . .
Jesus is the perfect representation of God.
He is God in the flesh.
It is like our photograph.
It is like our photograph.
The Bible tells us that God is not visible - J. B. Phillips translates this passage this way, “Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God.”
In Jesus, God - who is otherwise invisible is made visible to us.
Christ has shown us God - His righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power - His entire self.
Jesus is the perfect representation of God.
It is like our photograph.
It also is used to describe a manifestation.
When used this way, it was more than a symbol.
It was the actual presence of the object.
It also is used to describe a manifestation.
When used this way, it was more than a symbol.
It was the actual presence of the object.
Look at Hebrews 1:3
Lets take a look at Jesus’ conversation with Phillip in
where Paul states that Jesus is the “exact representation” of God. and
Jesus not only claims to be the Son of God, he claims to be God in the flesh and the Bible supports his claims!
C. S. Lewis popularized the logic that If Jesus’ claims of being God are not true, He has to be a madman or a lunatic.
If He is neither God nor a lunatic, he has to be a liar, deceiving others by his lie.
But if he is not a lunatic, nor a liar His claims must be true - He is God.
Second, if he is neither God nor a lunatic, he has to be a liar, deceiving others by his lie.
Third, if he is neither of these, he must be God.
Not only is Jesus the image of the invisible God.
Paul declares that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and . . .
which states that Jesus “has made him known.”
He is the firstborn over all creation!
which states that Jesus “has made him known.”
He is the firstborn over all creation!
which states that Jesus “has made him known.”
This is a term that is not talking about time - Paul is not talking about the first one born, instead the focus of the word in on position or rank.
You see, there were and are those who believe that Jesus was just another created being.
But Paul declares that Jesus is the firstborn - the highest rank - in all of creation and in verse sixteen, Paul expands on this thought.
In verse sixteen, Paul expands on this thought.
He is the creator of all things!
He is over all of creation and He is not a part of creation.
He is the creator.
In fact declares . . .
Because He is the creator, He is supreme over all of creation.
The false teachers of Paul’s day were happy to say that He was just one of many things that could lead us to God.
We have friend who would say that Jesus was just like us, but would not agree that He is God.
But Paul declares him to be the creator, and as such Jesus is divine, He is God.
Everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus.
Sometimes we are tempted to see the things that take place in our lives as so big and Jesus being so small in comparison when the reality is the opposite.
There is nothing that we face that is bigger than Jesus.
There is no problem or issue that we face that has control over Jesus!
He is over anything in creation, and if we His, there is nothing we face that He is not able to handle.
In verse seventeen, Paul reminds us that
In verse seventeen, Paul reminds us that
He is before all things!
Jesus is eternally existent (an attribute that can only be true of God).
He is before all things - true of creation and Thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.
Nothing of creation, nothing of a created being or authority can rise above Jesus.
And . . .
In Him all things consist!
Because of Jesus, all things hold together.
He is the glue that keeps everything from unraveling.
Then Paul tells us . . .
Becasue
He is the head of the church!
Jesus is also the head of the church.
Jesus established the church.
He is the church’s source of life and vitality.
The church takes its direction and is under the authority of Jesus.
The church is a body of believers who owe our allegiance to Jesus. he is the head of all things.
He must be the center of who we are and what we do.
The church must be about the business of Jesus.
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