Colossians 1:15-29

Colossians 1:15-29 … Here, tucked in this small letter to a tiny church in a far away town, is one of the great Christological passages of Scripture. What is Christology? It’s all about knowing Christ … and that ought to be a consuming desire for every believer. It’s what Jesus prayed for us (for every believer of all time) in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His betrayal (John 17:3) … “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Knowing Christ as He is, not as we’d like Him to be, but as He is … will increase our worship, devotion, commitment and desire to follow Him. It’s impossible to adequately cover these verses in a brief paragraph; indeed great sermons have been preached on each individual phrase, so you’ll want to spend much more time on this passage. But here’s a summary of what you’ll want to see here:

1. Jesus is the visible image of God the Father (v.15 … see also John 1:18).
2. Jesus is the Creator of everything … by Him, through Him, for Him (v.16).
3. Jesus holds everything together! Without Him the world would fly (v.17).
4. Jesus is the preeminent Head of the Church of Believers … resurrected and bodily raised to heaven! (v.18).
5. Jesus has within Himself all the fullness of the Father (v.19).
6. Jesus is the Great Reconciler … who ends our strife with God (v.20-23 … see also 2 Corinthians 5:19).

The Apostle ends this great passage with two vital thoughts. The first is the importance of this message: that it be preached, carried and conveyed to every person. The Gospel is not only life changing, it is life itself and mankind is terribly incomplete without it (v.28). Second and even more importantly, a mystery is revealed here: the riches of your salvation are that Christ Himself dwells with you and in you … Christ in you, the hope of glory.