Colossians 1:15-22 

^“15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. ¹⁸ Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. ¹⁹ For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, ²⁰ and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. ²¹ This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. ²² Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

• CHURCH – Vs 18 He’s in Charge

The word “head” means that Jesus is the authority of the church. The head gives the body the ability to produce growth, and without it, the body would die. Many churches seem to forget this. If Jesus Christ is not supreme in a church, then there is no church. That was part of the trouble at Colosse, they had lost connection to Christ and as a result they were experimenting with all sorts of false doctrine and sinful behavior. Jesus is the head of the church, not the Pastor, not the elders or Deacons. If the pastor or leader becomes supreme you don’t have a church you have a cult. Because Jesus Christ is supreme over the church we bow before His authority and His divinity not our desires. He is the “beginning,” which means that He is also the source. The word actually has two meanings, “to rule” and “to begin.” In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build my church.” The church is the creation of Christ and as such we must follow His teaching. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle’s combined time of teaching far outweighs Jesus 3 years. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no pictures; yet, some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him. Jesus wrote no poetry; but scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music; still Handel, Beethoven, Bach, reached their highest perfection of melody in the symphonies they composed in His praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth. First Paul reminding us of who is in control and then who is in charge, so who is calling the shots in your life? 

• CROSS – Vs 19-20 He’s the Conqueror

There is a dilemma, God is holy and just and must punish all sin everywhere which means death even though God loves us. How do we deal with this we try to be good enough? But we can’t and the only one that can deal with the dilemma is God. What does God do, He has another die for us. Jesus is not only the start and the sustainer He is our Substitute. As Creator He was crucified on a cross he made, Jesus was the One who spoke the seed into existence that grew into the tree that became the cross that He was hung upon. The one who called the molecules together that made the metal they drove into His hands and feet. The One who gave the breath of life to those that mocked Him. The creator of the cells that made the saliva to spit upon Him. Today I’m afraid that we no longer believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, we believe that Jesus is a means to an end. We have forgotten that Jesus’ prime reason for coming to this earth was to seek and save that which was lost. But He didn’t just surrender to the cross He rose supreme over sin, He is the Conqueror.