4-Crown Him Lord of All
Crown Him
Lord of All!
The false teachers in Colossae, like the false teachers of our own day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would simply dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In their philosophy, Jesus Christ was but one of many “emanations” that proceeded from God and through which men could reach God. It was this claim that Paul refuted in this section.
Probably no paragraph in the New Testament contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus Christ than this one. We can keep ourselves from going on a detour if we remember that Paul wrote to prove the preeminence of Christ, and he did so by using four unanswerable arguments.
1. CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR (1:13–14)
Man’s greatest problem is sin—a problem that can never be solved by a philosopher or a religious teacher. Sinners need a Savior. These two verses present a vivid picture of the four saving actions of Christ on our behalf.
(1) He delivered us (v. 13a). This word means “rescued from danger.” We could not deliver ourselves from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Jesus could and did deliver us. We were in danger of spending eternity apart from God. The sword of God’s judgment was hanging over our heads!
But this deliverance involved something else: We were delivered from the authority of Satan and the powers of darkness. The gnostic false teachers believed in an organization of evil spirits that controlled the world (see Col. 1:16; 2:10, 15); angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, and thrones. John Milton used these titles when describing Satan’s forces in his classic Paradise Lost.
(2) He translated us (v. 13b). This word was used to describe the deportation of a population from one country into another. History records the fact that Antiochus the Great transported at least two thousand Jews from Babylonia to Colossae.
Jesus Christ did not release us from bondage only to have us wander aimlessly. He moved us into His own kingdom of light and made us victors over Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Earthly rulers transported the defeated people, but Jesus Christ transported the winners.
The phrase “His dear Son” can be translated “the Son of His love.” At the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus Christ, the Father declared that Jesus was His “beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). This fact reminds us of the price the Father paid when He gave His Son for us. It also reminds us that His kingdom is a kingdom of love as well as a kingdom of light.
The experience of Israel in the Old Testament is an illustration of this spiritual experience; for God delivered them from the bondage of Egypt and took them into the Promised Land of their inheritance. God brings us out that He might bring us in.
(3) He redeemed us (v. 14a). This word means “to release a prisoner by the payment of a ransom.” Paul did not suggest that Jesus paid a ransom to Satan in order to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness. By His death and resurrection, Jesus met the holy demands of God’s law. Satan seeks to accuse us and imprison us because he knows we are guilty of breaking God’s law. But the ransom has been paid on Calvary, and through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been set free.
(4) He has forgiven us (v. 14b). Redemption and forgiveness go together (Eph. 1:7). The word translated “forgiveness” means “to send away” or “to cancel a debt.” Christ has not only set us free and transferred us to a new kingdom, but He has canceled every debt so that we cannot be enslaved again. Satan cannot find anything in the files that will indict us!
In recent years, the church has rediscovered the freedom of forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sinners is an act of His grace. We did not deserve to be forgiven, nor can we earn forgiveness. Knowing that we are forgiven makes it possible for us to fellowship with God, enjoy His grace, and seek to do His will. Forgiveness is not an excuse for sin; rather, it is an encouragement for obedience. And, because we have been forgiven, we can forgive others (Col. 3:13). The parable of the unforgiving servant makes it clear that an unforgiving spirit always leads to bondage (Matt. 18:21–35).
Jesus Christ is preeminent in salvation. No other person could redeem us, forgive us, transfer us out of Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom, and do it wholly by grace. The phrase “through His blood” reminds us of the cost of our salvation. Moses and the Israelites only had to shed the blood of a lamb to be delivered from Egypt. But Jesus had to shed His blood to deliver us from sin.
2. CHRIST IS THE CREATOR (1:15–17)
The false teachers were very confused about creation. They taught that matter was evil, including the human body. They also taught that Jesus Christ did not have a real body, since this would have put Him in contact with evil matter. The results of these false teachings were tragic, including extreme asceticism on the one hand and unbridled sin on the other. After all, if your body is sinful, you either try to enslave it or you enjoy it.
In this section, Paul explained the fourfold relationship of Jesus Christ to creation.
(1) He existed before creation (v. 15). The term “firstborn” does not refer to time, but to place or status. Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things. “Firstborn” simply means “of first importance, of first rank.” Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons, yet he was named the firstborn (Ps. 89:27). “Firstborn of every creature” means “prior to all Creation.” Jesus Christ is not a created being; He is eternal God.
Paul used the word image to make this fact clear. It means “an exact representation and revelation.” The writer to the Hebrews affirms that Jesus Christ is “the express image of his person” (Heb. 1:3). Jesus was able to say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). In His essence, God is invisible, but Jesus Christ has revealed Him to us (John 1:18). Nature reveals the existence, power, and wisdom of God, but nature cannot reveal the very essence of God to us. It is only in Jesus Christ that the invisible God is revealed perfectly. Since no mere creature can perfectly reveal God, Jesus Christ must be God.
(2) He created all things (v. 16a). Since Christ created all things, He Himself is uncreated. The word for that introduces this verse could be translated “because.” Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of all because He created all things. It is no wonder that the winds and waves obeyed Him, and diseases and death fled from Him, for He is Master over all. “All things were made by him” (John 1:3). This includes all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. All things are under His command.
(3) All things exist for Him (v. 16b). Everything exists in Him, for Him, and through Him. Jesus Christ is the Sphere in which they exist, the Agent through which they came into being, and the One for whom they were made.
Paul’s use of three different prepositions is one way of refuting the philosophy of the false teachers. For centuries, the Greek philosophers had taught that everything needed a primary cause, an instrumental cause, and a final cause. The primary cause is the plan, the instrumental cause the power, and the final cause the purpose. When it comes to creation, Jesus Christ is the primary cause (He planned it), the instrumental cause (He produced it), and the final cause (He did it for His own pleasure).
If everything in creation exists for Him, then nothing can be evil of itself (except for Satan and fallen angels, and even those God uses to accomplish His will). Gnostic regulations about using God’s creation are all foolish (Col. 2:20–23). It also means that God’s creation, even though under bondage to sin (Rom. 8:22), can be used for God’s glory and enjoyed by God’s people (1 Tim. 6:17).
(4) He holds all things together (v. 17). “In him all things hold together” (NIV). A guide took a group of people through an atomic laboratory and explained how all matter was composed of rapidly moving electric particles. The tourists studied models of molecules and were amazed to learn that matter is made up primarily of space. During the question period, one visitor asked, “If this is the way matter works, what holds it all together?” For that, the guide had no answer.
But the Christian has an answer: Jesus Christ! Because “He is before all things,” He can hold all things together. Again, this is another affirmation that Jesus Christ is God. Only God exists before all of creation, and only God can make creation cohere. To make Jesus Christ less than God is to dethrone Him.
It used to bother me to sing the familiar song “This Is My Father’s World.” I thought Satan and sin were in control of this world. I have since changed my mind, and now I sing the song with joy and victory. Jesus Christ made all things, He controls all things, and by Him all things hold together. Indeed, this is my Father’s world!
3. CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH (1:18)
There are many images of the church in the New Testament, and the body is one of the most important (Rom. 12:4ff.; 1 Cor. 12:14; Eph. 4:8–16). No denomination or local assembly can claim to be “the body of Christ,” for that body is composed of all true believers. When a person trusts Christ, he is immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into this body (1 Cor. 12:12–13). The baptism of the Spirit is not a postconversion experience—for it occurs the instant a person believes in Jesus Christ.
Each Christian is a member of this spiritual body, and Jesus Christ is the Head. In Greek usage, the word head meant “source” and “origin” as well as “leader, ruler.” Jesus Christ is the Source of the church, His body, and the Leader. Paul called Him “the beginning,” which tells us that Jesus Christ has priority in time as far as His church is concerned. The term beginning can be translated “originator.”
No matter which name you select, it will affirm the preeminence of Jesus Christ in the church. The church had its origin in Him, and today it has its operation in Him. As the Head of the church, Jesus Christ supplies it with life through His Spirit. He gives gifts to men, and then places these gifted people in His church that they might serve Him where they are needed. Through His Word, Jesus Christ nourishes and cleanses the church (Eph. 5:25–30).
No believer on earth is the head of the church. This position is reserved exclusively for Jesus Christ. Various religious leaders may have founded churches or denominations, but only Jesus Christ is the Founder of the church that is His body. This church is composed of all true believers, and it was born at Pentecost. It was then that the Holy Spirit came and baptized the believers into one spiritual body.
The fact that there is “one body” in this world (Eph. 4:4) does not eliminate or minimize the need for local bodies of believers. The fact that I belong to the universal church does not release me from my responsibilities to the local church. I cannot minister to the whole church, but I can strengthen and build the church by ministering to God’s people in a local assembly.
Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, and the Beginning of the church; and He is also the Firstborn from the dead. We saw this word firstborn in Colossians 1:15. Paul did not say that Jesus was the first person to be raised from the dead, for He was not. But He is the most important of all who have been raised from the dead; for without His resurrection, there could be no resurrection for others (1 Cor. 15:20ff.).
It seems odd that Paul used the word born in connection with death, for the two concepts seem opposed to each other. But the tomb was a womb from which Christ came forth in victory, for death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). The Son was begotten in resurrection glory (Ps. 2:7; Acts 13:33).
This brings us to the theme of this entire section: “That in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). This was God’s purpose in making His Son the Savior, Creator, and Head of the church. The word translated “preeminence” is used nowhere else in the New Testament. It is related to the word translated “firstborn,” and it magnifies the unique position of Jesus Christ. “Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11).
In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago, and more than twenty-one million people visited the exhibits. Among the features was a “World Parliament of Religions,” with representatives of the world’s religions meeting to share their “best points” and perhaps come up with a new religion for the world.
Evangelist D. L. Moody saw this as a great opportunity for evangelism. He used churches, rented theaters, and even rented a circus tent (when the show was not on) to present the gospel of Jesus Christ. His friends wanted Moody to attack the “Parliament of Religions,” but he refused. “I am going to make Jesus Christ so attractive,” he said, “that men will turn to Him.” Moody knew that Jesus Christ was the preeminent Savior, not just one of many “religious leaders” of history. The “Chicago Campaign” of 1893 was probably the greatest evangelistic endeavor in D. L. Moody’s life, and thousands came to Christ.
But the false teachers of Colossae could never give Jesus Christ the place of preeminence, for, according to their philosophy, Jesus Christ was only one of many “emanations” from God. He was not the only way to God (John 14:6), rather, He was but one rung on the ladder! It has well been said, “If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, He cannot be Lord at all.”
We have now studied three arguments for the preeminence of Jesus Christ: He is the Savior, He is the Creator, and He is the Head of the church. These arguments reveal His relationship with lost sinners, with the universe, and with believers. But what about His relationship with God the Father?
4. HE IS THE BELOVED OF THE FATHER (1:19–20)
Paul had already called Jesus Christ “his [God’s] dear Son” (Col. 1:13). Those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior are “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6). For this reason, God can call us His beloved (Col. 3:12).
Then Paul took a giant step forward in his argument, for he declared that “all fullness” dwelt in Jesus Christ! The word translated “fullness” is the Greek word pleroma (pronounced “play-ro-ma”). It was a technical term in the vocabulary of the gnostic false teachers. It meant “the sum total of all the divine power and attributes.” We have already noted that Paul used this important word eight times in the Colossian letter, so he was meeting the false teachers on their own ground.
The word dwell is equally important. It means much more than merely “to reside.” The form of the verb means “to be at home permanently.” The late Dr. Kenneth S. Wuest, noted Greek expert, pointed out in his excellent commentary on Colossians that the verb indicates that this fullness was “not something added to His Being that was not natural to Him, but that it was part of His essential Being as part of His very constitution, and that permanently” (Ephesians and Colossians in the Greek New Testament, [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974], 187).
The Father would not permanently give His pleroma to some created being. The fact that it “pleased the Father” to have His fullness in Christ is proof that Jesus Christ is God. “And of his [Christ’s] fulness have all we received” (John 1:16). “For in him [Jesus Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).
Because Jesus Christ is God, He is able to do what no mere man could ever do: reconcile lost sinners to a holy God. When the first man and woman sinned, they declared war on God, but God did not declare war on them. Instead, God sought Adam and Eve, and He provided a covering for their sins.
The natural mind of the unsaved sinner is at war with God (Rom. 8:7). The sinner may be sincere, religious, and even moral; but he is still at war with God.
How can a holy God ever be reconciled with sinful man? Can God lower His standards, close His eyes to sin, and compromise with man? If He did, the universe would fall to pieces! God must be consistent with Himself and maintain His own holy law.
Perhaps man could somehow please God. But by nature, man is separated from God, and by his deeds, he is alienated from God (Col. 1:21). The sinner is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1ff.), and therefore is unable to do anything to save himself or to please God (Rom. 8:8).
If there is to be reconciliation between man and God, the initiative and action must come from God. It is in Christ that God was reconciled to man (2 Cor. 5:19). But it was not the incarnation of Christ that accomplished this reconciliation, nor was it His example as He lived among men. It was through His death that peace was made between God and man. He “made peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20).
Of course, the false teachers offered a kind of reconciliation between man and God. However, the reconciliation they offered was not complete or final. The angels and the “emanations” could in some way bring men closer to God, according to the gnostic teachers. But the reconciliation we have in Jesus Christ is perfect, complete, and final. More than that, the reconciliation in Christ involves the whole universe! He reconciles “all things unto himself … things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20).
However, we must not conclude wrongly that universal reconciliation is the same as universal salvation. “Universalism” is the teaching that all beings, including those who have rejected Jesus Christ, will one day be saved. This was not what Paul believed. “Universal restorationism” was not a part of Paul’s theology, for he definitely taught that sinners needed to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved (2 Thess. 1).
Paul wrote that Christ solved the sin problem on the cross once and for all. This means that one day God can bring together in Christ all who belong to Him (Eph. 1:9–10). He will be able to glorify believers and punish unbelievers, and do it justly, because of Christ’s death on the cross. No one—not even Satan—can accuse God of doing wrong, because sin has been effectively dealt with on the cross.
If Jesus Christ is only a man, or only an emanation from God, He cannot reconcile God and man. The only arbitrator who can bring God and man together is One who is both God and Man Himself. Contrary to what the gnostics taught, Jesus Christ was a true human being with a real body. He was God in human flesh (John 1:14). When He died on the cross, He met the just demands of the law because He paid the penalty for man’s sins (1 Peter 2:24). Reconciliation was completed on the cross (Rom. 5:11).
A man once came to see me because he had difficulties at home. He was not a very well-educated man and sometimes got his words confused. He told me that he and his wife were having “martial problems” when he meant to say “marital problems.” (Later I found out that they really were “at war” with each other, so maybe he was right after all!) But the word that caught my attention was in this sentence: “Pastor, me and my wife need a re-cancellation.”
He meant to say reconciliation, but the word re-cancellation was not a bad choice. There can be peace and a reunion of those who are at war only when sin has been cancelled. As sinners before a righteous God, we need a “re-cancellation.” Our sins were cancelled on the cross.
As we review this profound section (and this study has only scratched the surface), we notice several important truths.
First, Jesus Christ has taken care of all things. All things were created by Him and for Him. He existed before all things, and today He holds all things together. He has reconciled all things through the cross. No wonder Paul declared that “in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).
Second, all we need is Jesus Christ. We have all of God’s fullness in Him, and we are “filled full” (complete) in Him (Col. 2:10). There is no need to add anything to the person or work of Jesus Christ. To add anything is to take away from His glory. To give Him prominence instead of preeminence is to dethrone Him.
Third, God is pleased when His Son, Jesus Christ, is honored and given preeminence. There are people who tell us they are Christians, but they ignore or deny Jesus Christ. “We worship the Father,” they tell us, “and that is all that is necessary.”
But Jesus made it clear that the Son is to be worshipped as well as the Father “that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (John 5:23–24 NIV).
The late Dr. M. R. DeHaan, noted radio Bible teacher, told about a preacher who was confronted by a cultist who rejected the deity of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus cannot be the eternal Son of God, for a father is always older than his son,” the man argued. “If the Father is not eternal, then He is not God. If Jesus is His Son, then He is not eternal.”
The preacher was ready with an answer. “The thing that makes a person a father is having a son. But if God is the eternal Father, then He must have an eternal Son! This means that Jesus Christ is eternal—and that He is God!”
Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Creator, the Head of the church, and the Beloved of the Father. He is eternal God … and in our lives He deserves to have the preeminence.
Is Jesus Christ preeminent in your life?
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. How would you describe Christ in one word or phrase?
2. Read Colossians 1:13–20. How did Paul describe Christ?
3. As Savior, what did Christ do for us? Why is this important?
4. How is Christ the “firstborn of every creature”?
5. What does the fact that Christ is the Creator tell us about Him?
6. What is the significance of Christ as the “head of the body, the church”?
7. How does God’s fullness dwell in Christ? What does this mean for us?
8. How does God reconcile rebellious people to Himself?
9. How did Paul explain Christ’s deity and refute gnosticism in this passage?
10. Knowing these facts about Christ, what difference can it make in the way you live? How can you make Christ preeminent in your life this week?