Supreme Preeminence
Colossians 1:15-20
Message #2
We have before us today one of the most important passages ever written explaining WHO Jesus Christ is. We’ve made it clear that in the Colossians’ church in 61 AD, there was already a “new teaching” slipping into the Church, and in that teaching was a subtle attempt to remove the preeminence of Jesus Christ. Remember, the devil doesn’t mind if you are religious. But Jesus – that’s his big loss.
This “new” teaching promoted “other ways to God” and special spiritual knowledge and experience. And Paul is addressing the errant teaching of 61 AD in the same way we want to address similar teachings today by clearly holding up the Person of Jesus Christ so we can understand WHO Jesus truly is. We come to know Jesus Christ so well that we can sense the counterfeit. And that is the answer – the only answer – to any errant teaching that would slip into the Church (whether in the 1st Century or today).
Colossians 1:15(a) (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God . . .
Jesus Christ is the “visible image” of the invisible God… He is God EXPRESSED to us.
The word used here for “visible image” means “Jesus is the exact, perfect representation of God.”
Jesus Christ is not only the “exact visible image” of the invisible God. Here’s what the second half of verse 15 says.
Colossians 1:15(b) (NLT)
15 . . . He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
Before there was a “thing,” there was Jesus, the Godhead. Your Bible may say simply, “the firstborn over all creation,” but in our vernacular (language style), we think “firstborn” means “first to be born.” But the Bible definitely does NOT mean that. (I think that may be why Mormons believe Jesus and Lucifer are brothers (Jesus first, Lucifer second). But the word doesn’t mean birth order. The word translated firstborn means comes BEFORE all else and is SUPREME over all else. That’s what the word means, and THAT is WHO Jesus Christ truly is.
And so, the NLT simply writes what the word means:
Colossians 1:15(b) (NLT)
15 . . . He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
It means Jesus Christ is preeminent and supreme. He existed before all creation, and he is supreme over all creation.
Jesus is the Logos from John Chapter 1. He is God Expressed to Mankind (God in Expression), and he is the exact, perfect expression of God. Jesus Christ – The Eternal Logos – he is GOD.
John 1:1–4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word (Logos – God in expression) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to us as GOD because we could not reach God on our own. There was previously a “permanent separation” between us and God – because of our sin, and there was no way we could be reconciled to God on our own. And so, God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ to pay the full penalty for our sin and to offer us HIS righteousness before God.
If there were some other way any other way for that to happen God would not have had to make this ultimate sacrifice for us.
Over in Hebrews 1, verse 3, we see both the supreme preeminence of Jesus Christ and his purpose for coming to earth.
Hebrews 1:3 (NLT)
3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
Jesus Christ:
Radiates God’s own glory
Expresses the very character of God
Sustains everything by the mighty power of his command
And Jesus came to earth to cleanse us from our sins because there was no other way.
Jesus Christ is:
NOT just “a way” to God
NOT just a prophet of God
NOT just a good Teacher
Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. And then,
Colossians 1:16 (NLT)
16 for through him God created everything 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.
THAT is an incredible verse. Jesus just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger in our hearts and in our lives.
We cannot say we believe the Bible and say there is any other being EQUAL to Jesus Christ. The Word of God does not give us that option. The Bible clearly sets Jesus Christ apart over all of creation. To put Jesus lower than God’s Word puts him is to lose the central truth of the entire New Testament.
The word at the beginning of verse 16 translated “THROUGH him” means both “the location of” and “the instrument of.” It’s where we get the phrase IN Christ, and THROUGH Christ, all things were created. All things in heaven and on earth – visible and invisible were created “IN” Christ and “THROUGH” Christ but not just created in Christ and through Christ; they were also created “FOR Christ.” As the end of verse 16 says . . . Everything was created through him and for him.
Guys, Jesus Christ is supreme and preeminent above all creation in every realm – earthly and spiritual. The false teachers in Colossae were saying there was spiritual knowledge higher than Jesus. But that can’t be – because all spiritual things were created through him and for him. So, how can there be anything higher than the One through whom and for whom all things were created?
When the Bible says Jesus Christ is supreme and preeminent over all things – it means all things! That’s what Ephesians 1, verses 20-22 say,
Ephesians 1:20-22 NLT
20 [God’s power] raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
You and I have the ability to be found “IN CHRIST” by God and to be seated “with him” in the heavenly realms. Why would we want to follow some other way to Heaven or run after some “new spiritual experience?”
How do you get higher than . . . far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come”? When you have Jesus Christ, you have reached the top. There is nothing above him. There is no other way to God.
So, in review, so far:
Verse 15(a) – Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God
Verse 15(b) – He is preeminent over all creation
Verse 16(a) – All things in heaven and on earth, tangible and spiritual, have been created IN Christ and Through Christ
Verse 16(b) and not only IN and THROUGH Christ, but FOR Christ
And we have only read two verses.
Continuing in Colossians 1, verse 17.
Colossians 1:17 (NLT)
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Jesus Christ existed before anything else. He is the “I AM” that existed before all things. Before there was a “before” … Jesus Christ IS the I AM.
In John 8, verses 57-58 we read,
John 8:57–58 (NLT)
57 The people said (to Jesus), “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”
And they immediately tried to stone him because they knew he was saying he was God – The I AM.
Read Colossians 1, verse 17 again.
Colossians 1:17 (NLT)
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Before there was a “thing,” there was the “I AM” and he holds all creation together, which is exactly what we read earlier in Hebrews 1:3; he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.
Not only is Jesus Christ BEFORE – all things
Not only are all things CREATED – through him and for him
But all things ARE HELD TOGETHER – by him
He is supreme above all and preeminent above all. Doesn’t it just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger? Until you’re left with “there’s nothing else like Jesus.” And maybe we’ve lost that a little bit. We need to be in awe of who Jesus is.
Romans 11:36 (NLT)
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory . . .
If you call Jesus Christ your Lord today, then you serve the absolute, supreme, preeminent King of Kings and Lord of Lords – the Creator and Giver of Life.
How in the world are people so easily drawn into man-made ideas of “increased spirituality” when, instead, we can place our lives
In the One – Who created it all
In the One – Who holds it all together
In the One – Who we can be (unbelievably) joint-heirs WITH to all that belongs to him.
To seek any other source for our spiritual life can only come from not knowing WHO Jesus Christ truly IS.
So, we’ve seen clearly WHO Jesus is over all of creation in the heavens and on earth. But, what does that mean to us? Where does that put us?
Colossians 1:18 (NLT)
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.
Are you sensing there’s a pretty narrow theme in these verses? Jesus Christ is the HEAD of the Church, which is his BODY – that’s us!! And then Colossians 1:18 says, He is the beginning, meaning he is the beginning of the Church!!
This word “beginning” means both “originating source” and “first in order.” Jesus Christ is the originating source of the Church. It was his plan and his power that gave birth to the Church.
Then, verse 18 says Jesus Christ is supreme over all who rise from the dead, which is a reference to the Church! And then, finally, verse 18 says, so he is first in everything.
The NKJ says here …that in all things He may have the preeminence.
First in everything – Supreme Preeminence
Over ALL of Creation
Over ALL of His Church
Jesus Christ is preeminent in all things and all the fullness of God lives in him.
Colossians 1:19 (NLT)
19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,
IN Jesus Christ all the fullness of God lives. All of the all that God is – lives in Jesus Christ. The emphasis of the word translated “live” is “permanence.” (Abide, remain, be steadfast.)
The fullness of God lived in Christ before time (before John 1:1). The fullness of God was in Christ. When he was incarnate, the fullness of God was in Christ. Did he set aside some of his (not his Diety) but some of his attributes of deity? Yes, so that he could live like you and I so that he could relate as our High Priest. But the fullness of God never left him. The fullness of God was in him when he was on earth. The fullness of God is in him today in eternity. The “all of the all” of who God is has always been living permanently in Jesus Christ.
ALL the fullness of God “LIVES” permanently in Christ
It was in him before he came to earth
It was in him while he was on earth
It will continue in him for all eternity
Jesus Christ possesses in himself the perfect and complete nature of God in all his being and attributes.
And it is because of the ALL that Jesus IS that his sacrifice was able to reconcile us to God! Because he is the only perfect, righteous One who ever lived because he is God. That’s why he was able to reconcile us by paying for our sins on the Cross and conquering death in our place.
Let’s re-read Colossians 1, verses 19-20.
Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)
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.
What a verse!
It took the ultimate sacrifice of the Supreme Preeminent Creator of all of Creation for us to be reconciled to God, and not only us, but all things in Heaven and on earth.
Jesus Christ made peace with God on our behalf by means of his own blood on the Cross. The sacrifice of the One who was supreme above all was the only sacrifice sufficient to reconcile us to God because it took his sacrifice on the Cross to meet all the righteous, holy demands of a perfectly just God.
And guys, through our faith in him, his payment for our sins becomes our payment, and IN Christ, we are reconciled to God. Through our faith in him, his sacrifice gives us peace with God because he has paid the full penalty for our sin.
Jesus Christ is supremely preeminent over ALL of creation, and through faith in Jesus Christ
We can have peace with God
We can be made a joint-heir with Jesus for eternity
We can become a part of his Body, the Church
And there are some here, and some watching or listening, who have never understood the absolute supreme preeminence of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you’ve never understood just exactly how supremely preeminent Jesus Christ is over all creation, and so maybe you’ve never put your full and complete faith in him alone to make you right before God and reserve a place in Heaven for you – with him. He is the only one who can do that because he is the only one who could pay the full penalty for your sin.
And to begin to grasp how supremely preeminent Jesus is over all of creation, and then to realize how deeply and unconditional his love for you is, that he would take your place – that he would go from supremely preeminent to dying on the Cross to pay the full penalty for your sin. When we begin to put those two things together – how SUPREME he IS – and how LOW he came to save you – we are left in awe!
And all we can say is, “I exalt you.” I exalt you, Lord.
This “new” teaching promoted “other ways to God” and special spiritual knowledge and experience. And Paul is addressing the errant teaching of 61 AD in the same way we want to address similar teachings today by clearly holding up the Person of Jesus Christ so we can understand WHO Jesus truly is. We come to know Jesus Christ so well that we can sense the counterfeit. And that is the answer – the only answer – to any errant teaching that would slip into the Church (whether in the 1st Century or today).
Colossians 1:15(a) (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God . . .
Jesus Christ is the “visible image” of the invisible God… He is God EXPRESSED to us.
The word used here for “visible image” means “Jesus is the exact, perfect representation of God.”
Jesus Christ is not only the “exact visible image” of the invisible God. Here’s what the second half of verse 15 says.
Colossians 1:15(b) (NLT)
15 . . . He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
Before there was a “thing,” there was Jesus, the Godhead. Your Bible may say simply, “the firstborn over all creation,” but in our vernacular (language style), we think “firstborn” means “first to be born.” But the Bible definitely does NOT mean that. (I think that may be why Mormons believe Jesus and Lucifer are brothers (Jesus first, Lucifer second). But the word doesn’t mean birth order. The word translated firstborn means comes BEFORE all else and is SUPREME over all else. That’s what the word means, and THAT is WHO Jesus Christ truly is.
And so, the NLT simply writes what the word means:
Colossians 1:15(b) (NLT)
15 . . . He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
It means Jesus Christ is preeminent and supreme. He existed before all creation, and he is supreme over all creation.
Jesus is the Logos from John Chapter 1. He is God Expressed to Mankind (God in Expression), and he is the exact, perfect expression of God. Jesus Christ – The Eternal Logos – he is GOD.
John 1:1–4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word (Logos – God in expression) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to us as GOD because we could not reach God on our own. There was previously a “permanent separation” between us and God – because of our sin, and there was no way we could be reconciled to God on our own. And so, God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ to pay the full penalty for our sin and to offer us HIS righteousness before God.
If there were some other way any other way for that to happen God would not have had to make this ultimate sacrifice for us.
Over in Hebrews 1, verse 3, we see both the supreme preeminence of Jesus Christ and his purpose for coming to earth.
Hebrews 1:3 (NLT)
3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
Jesus Christ:
Radiates God’s own glory
Expresses the very character of God
Sustains everything by the mighty power of his command
And Jesus came to earth to cleanse us from our sins because there was no other way.
Jesus Christ is:
NOT just “a way” to God
NOT just a prophet of God
NOT just a good Teacher
Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. And then,
Colossians 1:16 (NLT)
16 for through him God created everything 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.
THAT is an incredible verse. Jesus just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger in our hearts and in our lives.
We cannot say we believe the Bible and say there is any other being EQUAL to Jesus Christ. The Word of God does not give us that option. The Bible clearly sets Jesus Christ apart over all of creation. To put Jesus lower than God’s Word puts him is to lose the central truth of the entire New Testament.
The word at the beginning of verse 16 translated “THROUGH him” means both “the location of” and “the instrument of.” It’s where we get the phrase IN Christ, and THROUGH Christ, all things were created. All things in heaven and on earth – visible and invisible were created “IN” Christ and “THROUGH” Christ but not just created in Christ and through Christ; they were also created “FOR Christ.” As the end of verse 16 says . . . Everything was created through him and for him.
Guys, Jesus Christ is supreme and preeminent above all creation in every realm – earthly and spiritual. The false teachers in Colossae were saying there was spiritual knowledge higher than Jesus. But that can’t be – because all spiritual things were created through him and for him. So, how can there be anything higher than the One through whom and for whom all things were created?
When the Bible says Jesus Christ is supreme and preeminent over all things – it means all things! That’s what Ephesians 1, verses 20-22 say,
Ephesians 1:20-22 NLT
20 [God’s power] raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
You and I have the ability to be found “IN CHRIST” by God and to be seated “with him” in the heavenly realms. Why would we want to follow some other way to Heaven or run after some “new spiritual experience?”
How do you get higher than . . . far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come”? When you have Jesus Christ, you have reached the top. There is nothing above him. There is no other way to God.
So, in review, so far:
Verse 15(a) – Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God
Verse 15(b) – He is preeminent over all creation
Verse 16(a) – All things in heaven and on earth, tangible and spiritual, have been created IN Christ and Through Christ
Verse 16(b) and not only IN and THROUGH Christ, but FOR Christ
And we have only read two verses.
Continuing in Colossians 1, verse 17.
Colossians 1:17 (NLT)
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Jesus Christ existed before anything else. He is the “I AM” that existed before all things. Before there was a “before” … Jesus Christ IS the I AM.
In John 8, verses 57-58 we read,
John 8:57–58 (NLT)
57 The people said (to Jesus), “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”
And they immediately tried to stone him because they knew he was saying he was God – The I AM.
Read Colossians 1, verse 17 again.
Colossians 1:17 (NLT)
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Before there was a “thing,” there was the “I AM” and he holds all creation together, which is exactly what we read earlier in Hebrews 1:3; he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.
Not only is Jesus Christ BEFORE – all things
Not only are all things CREATED – through him and for him
But all things ARE HELD TOGETHER – by him
He is supreme above all and preeminent above all. Doesn’t it just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger? Until you’re left with “there’s nothing else like Jesus.” And maybe we’ve lost that a little bit. We need to be in awe of who Jesus is.
Romans 11:36 (NLT)
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory . . .
If you call Jesus Christ your Lord today, then you serve the absolute, supreme, preeminent King of Kings and Lord of Lords – the Creator and Giver of Life.
How in the world are people so easily drawn into man-made ideas of “increased spirituality” when, instead, we can place our lives
In the One – Who created it all
In the One – Who holds it all together
In the One – Who we can be (unbelievably) joint-heirs WITH to all that belongs to him.
To seek any other source for our spiritual life can only come from not knowing WHO Jesus Christ truly IS.
So, we’ve seen clearly WHO Jesus is over all of creation in the heavens and on earth. But, what does that mean to us? Where does that put us?
Colossians 1:18 (NLT)
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.
Are you sensing there’s a pretty narrow theme in these verses? Jesus Christ is the HEAD of the Church, which is his BODY – that’s us!! And then Colossians 1:18 says, He is the beginning, meaning he is the beginning of the Church!!
This word “beginning” means both “originating source” and “first in order.” Jesus Christ is the originating source of the Church. It was his plan and his power that gave birth to the Church.
Then, verse 18 says Jesus Christ is supreme over all who rise from the dead, which is a reference to the Church! And then, finally, verse 18 says, so he is first in everything.
The NKJ says here …that in all things He may have the preeminence.
First in everything – Supreme Preeminence
Over ALL of Creation
Over ALL of His Church
Jesus Christ is preeminent in all things and all the fullness of God lives in him.
Colossians 1:19 (NLT)
19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,
IN Jesus Christ all the fullness of God lives. All of the all that God is – lives in Jesus Christ. The emphasis of the word translated “live” is “permanence.” (Abide, remain, be steadfast.)
The fullness of God lived in Christ before time (before John 1:1). The fullness of God was in Christ. When he was incarnate, the fullness of God was in Christ. Did he set aside some of his (not his Diety) but some of his attributes of deity? Yes, so that he could live like you and I so that he could relate as our High Priest. But the fullness of God never left him. The fullness of God was in him when he was on earth. The fullness of God is in him today in eternity. The “all of the all” of who God is has always been living permanently in Jesus Christ.
ALL the fullness of God “LIVES” permanently in Christ
It was in him before he came to earth
It was in him while he was on earth
It will continue in him for all eternity
Jesus Christ possesses in himself the perfect and complete nature of God in all his being and attributes.
And it is because of the ALL that Jesus IS that his sacrifice was able to reconcile us to God! Because he is the only perfect, righteous One who ever lived because he is God. That’s why he was able to reconcile us by paying for our sins on the Cross and conquering death in our place.
Let’s re-read Colossians 1, verses 19-20.
Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)
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.
What a verse!
It took the ultimate sacrifice of the Supreme Preeminent Creator of all of Creation for us to be reconciled to God, and not only us, but all things in Heaven and on earth.
Jesus Christ made peace with God on our behalf by means of his own blood on the Cross. The sacrifice of the One who was supreme above all was the only sacrifice sufficient to reconcile us to God because it took his sacrifice on the Cross to meet all the righteous, holy demands of a perfectly just God.
And guys, through our faith in him, his payment for our sins becomes our payment, and IN Christ, we are reconciled to God. Through our faith in him, his sacrifice gives us peace with God because he has paid the full penalty for our sin.
Jesus Christ is supremely preeminent over ALL of creation, and through faith in Jesus Christ
We can have peace with God
We can be made a joint-heir with Jesus for eternity
We can become a part of his Body, the Church
And there are some here, and some watching or listening, who have never understood the absolute supreme preeminence of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you’ve never understood just exactly how supremely preeminent Jesus Christ is over all creation, and so maybe you’ve never put your full and complete faith in him alone to make you right before God and reserve a place in Heaven for you – with him. He is the only one who can do that because he is the only one who could pay the full penalty for your sin.
And to begin to grasp how supremely preeminent Jesus is over all of creation, and then to realize how deeply and unconditional his love for you is, that he would take your place – that he would go from supremely preeminent to dying on the Cross to pay the full penalty for your sin. When we begin to put those two things together – how SUPREME he IS – and how LOW he came to save you – we are left in awe!
And all we can say is, “I exalt you.” I exalt you, Lord.