The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. (Colossians 1:15-23 NIV)
We’re going through the book of Colossians this month, week by week. Here’s your quiz: Colossians was written by _______ (Paul) to people living in _____________ (Colossae). Paul wrote this letter because a terrible thing was happening in Colossae. Do you know what it was? Gnosticism. Ahhh! You have no idea what that is, do you? But it sure sounds bad. Gnosticism! It was a dangerous false teaching. Gnosticism comes from the Greek work for “knowledge.” Its teachers taught that to be saved, you needed special knowledge from them. They taught that spiritual things are good, but physical things are bad, so Jesus wasn’t really a human being. To them, there were lots of spiritual powers, not just Jesus. Got all that? Special knowledge. Lots of spiritual powers. Flesh = bad. Spirit = good. Jesus wasn’t really God and Man at the same time.
Are you still awake? If you’re rolling your eyes and wondering why we’re even talking about this, it’s because those ideas are still alive and well today. Maybe you’ve never heard of Gnosticism, but the idea that you need knowledge that only a few special people have… Come on. That’s all around us! Here’s one example: Some Mormon missionaries came up to me at a park a couple weeks ago. They said, “We’re glad you’ve heard of the Bible, but did you know there’s another book that makes the Bible complete? It’s the Book of Mormon. You need it to know the whole story of Jesus.” See what I mean? “You need our special knowledge.” Do we?
How about the idea of lots of spiritual powers? Did you know that while less and less people are attending Christian churches, spirituality in America is growing? While less and less people say they are “religious,” more and more people say they are “spiritual.” Everyone’s connecting with their spiritual side. For example, I’ve met people who love angels, but who aren’t interested in the message of Jesus. See what I mean? Lots of spiritual powers. “Sure, Jesus is one of them. But he’s not that special. He’s not God or anything!” Spiritual, but not Christian. Is that okay?
It fits right into the last Gnostic idea: Spiritual things are good, physical things don’t matter. We have absolutely bought into that idea today. “You can do whatever you want with your body. It’s just sex, right? You’re free to do it whenever you want. A few drugs aren’t a big deal. Do what you want. It’s just flesh. It’s just a piece of meat. It doesn’t matter what you do with your body. What counts is being a decent human being.” Is that true? See what I mean? You’ve never heard of Gnosticism, but those ideas are challenging people’s faith today. Challenging our faith today.
This is a big deal. So the apostle Paul responded to those ideas with one of the most powerful sections of the Bible talking about Christ. He writes, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” We need to unpack that. There is one God, right? Is God visible or invisible? Invisible. We can’t see him. Now listen to this again: “The Son is the image of the invisible God.” What’s that saying? Jesus is the One who makes God visible to us. There’s a verse in John that states it so clearly: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God… has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus is God. He makes God known to us.
And Jesus didn’t start at Christmas. Listen: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” When did Jesus start? “He is before all things.” He’s been around forever. We confess that in the Nicene Creed. Do you pay attention? Finish this sentence: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God…” Jesus has been around with God the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. In fact, he was there at creation and created all things. “All things have been created through him and for him.” Including you!
Including every other power too. Remember how Gnosticism talked about lots of different spiritual powers? So Paul made sure to say, “whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Whatever power there is, who created it? Jesus! Whatever power there is, who has power over it? Jesus! In Romans, Paul wrote: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). What would we say today? “Neither karma nor Covid, neither Putin nor Kim Jong-un, neither black cats or Friday the 13th can separate us from the love of Christ.” Agree? Christ is above all!
For us. “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus does everything we’ve talked about for you and me—his church. He created everything for us. He rules everything for us. He saves us. “So that in everything he might have the supremacy.” I don’t like using big words, but we have to talk big about Jesus. Like “supremacy.” The supremacy of Christ is at the heart of the Bible. No one compares to Jesus. Christ is above all. Are you convinced of that yet?
With all the false teachings about Jesus swirling around, Paul wanted to preach the supremacy of Christ into people’s hearts. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” All the fullness of God is in Jesus. If I were to tell you that I have all the fullness of an ice cream Sunday in my hand, what do I have in my hand? An ice cream Sunday! If all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus, what is Jesus? God! Not part God. God! You need this knowledge to be a Christian. You need to know who Jesus is. It’s really no secret at all. Jesus is the fullness of the true God!
But it’s not all about knowledge. If it were, what would we be? Gnostics! Christianity isn’t about just knowing stuff. Listen: “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Jesus is God, and Jesus shed his blood on the cross. Wait a minute. Those two statements shouldn’t go together. This is why false teachings deny that Jesus was God or Man. Either Jesus is God, or Jesus is a Man who died. Which is it? Yes. Both. Jesus is 100% God, and yet Jesus also became a human being to shed his blood on the cross.
Why? Because “once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” You can’t fully understand Jesus unless you understand you and me. What are we? “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” This idea that deep down we’re all pretty decent people… is that true? No. This idea that the mind is good while the body is bad… is that true? No. God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). Is your mind good? Are all your thoughts pure? No. We’re sinful. It starts in our minds and in our hearts. Alienated. Enemies of God. Do you feel that way?
But it’s not just the mind that matters. “You were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Which are sinful—our minds or our actions? Both. They both matter to God. Evil behaviors are evil. You don’t need any special knowledge to realize that. Doing sinful things is sinful. There’s no excuse for it. This is one of the biggest reasons people look for “special knowledge” apart from the Bible. We don’t want to think about our sins. We want someone to tell us that it’s really all okay. But it’s not! “Once you were alienated from God…” You!
But do you notice how Paul used the word “once,” like in the past? Something happened. “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” What happened? Jesus reconciled you to God. How? With his physical body on the cross. “Take that, Gnostics!” Spirit is good, body is bad? No. Jesus used his physical body to pay the penalty for our sins. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gives us his body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is God, and Jesus died for us. What other religion has a god who died for them? Christ is supreme! In power and in grace.
Listen again to the result: “He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Three times in this first chapter of Colossians, Paul calls Christians “holy.” How? Because of Christ. Jesus reconciled you to God. “Without blemish.” Not when you look in the mirror. You see wrinkles. Blemishes. But not in God’s eyes. You’re forgiven. Perfect. “Without blemish.” How? Because of Christ. “Free from accusation.” I bet right now there are people accusing you of things. Some true. Some not. Not God. In his courtroom, you’re not guilty. Justified. How? Because of Christ.
So here’s Paul’s encouragement: “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” Continue in the faith! The false attacks are only going to increase. If Gnosticism’s ideas have survived the last 2,000 years, they will last 2,000 more. How do you continue, established and firm, when everything seems to be falling apart around you and in you? Only through the gospel. Through the good news of Jesus. Over and over again. Filling your heart. Filling your life.
Jesus is so much better! What power makes you afraid? The government? A boss? A spiritual force of evil? Jesus is greater. He has the supremacy. What hero does your heart adore? An Olympian? An actress? An entrepreneur? Jesus is greater. He’s better than the biggest superhero. He has the supremacy. What message are you craving? It’s here in the Bible. It’s Jesus.
The supremacy of Christ. Simeon got that. He actually saw it. Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Simeon saw this little Baby in Mary’s arms at the temple, and he knew. “This is God. This is my Savior. This is everything I need.” As he held Jesus in his arms, he said some famous words: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations” (Luke 2:29-31). Christ is enough. Christ is sufficient. Christ is supreme. I hope you leave today with that same confidence. “You may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.” This is who Jesus is: The God who created you and has power over everything. The God who died for you to save and forgive you. Both. That’s the supremacy of Christ!
Upside-Down Savior 