The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians Chapter 1:15-29

The Pre-eminence of Christ 15 - 18 1.15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,

In John 14: 8 Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father and His reply was “He who has seen

me has seen the Father.” This is what Paul is saying here Jesus is the exact likeness of the unseen

God (John 1: 18). Jesus told His disciples in John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would have known

My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." If we know the Lord Jesus

Christ after the spirit and have experienced in our lives what He is like then we know what God is

like. As the first born son in a Jewish household took first place so Jesus Christ has power and

authority over all creation and is more important than creation.

1.16. for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him — all things, whether visible or

invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers — all things were created

through him and for him.

Because Christ is coequal with God (John 5: 18, Phil 2: 6), and was with God in the creation

therefore, He has authority over all both physical and spiritual things for He made them all. The

things that we see and the unseen; rulers, nations and angels and those in authority in the unseen

world. They were not only made by Him but also for Him.

1.17. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

He was before all things because He is the Eternal One (Rev.1:11) and He is the center of all things

and is supreme (the most important) before and above everything else. Everything is held together

by Him (consist).

1.18. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the

dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

He is also the head of the church because He brought it into being and therefore the church exists by

His authority and is under His command. It is He who imparts life to the body which is the church

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(Eph. 1: 22). He was the first one to rise from the dead nevermore to die with a spiritual body (1 Cor.

15: 42 - 45) and because of this those who believe will also be raised. He is to given first place (pre-

eminence) in our hearts and lives and should worship Him alone.

2. Reconciliation through Christ 19 - 23 1.19. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

It pleased, delighted the Father to impart to His Son all the Divine fullness, that is the sum and total

of Divine perfection, powers, attributes should dwell forever in Him.

1.20. and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his

cross — through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

It was through Him that God choose to “reconcile“, to change from enemies to friends (Eph. 2: 14 -

16) all things to Himself. The sinner because sin separated us from God and made us His enemies -

creation because sin caused disorder and brought a curse upon it (Gen. 3: 17 - 18). This He has

achieved by His sacrificial death upon the cross.

1.21 - 22. And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your

evil deeds, but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy,

without blemish, and blameless before him —

We who were once enemies of God and of an hostile mind towards Him by doing wicked things and

opposed to His law are brought back to God by the Lord Jesus Christ making peace for us by paying

the penalty of our sins by His death (the soul that sins, it shall die Ezek. 18: 4). The purpose of this is

to make us holy and faultless and to present us before God without anyone being able to point a

finger because of the work of grace He has done in us.

1.23. if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the

gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul,

have become its servant.

“If”, there is a condition and that is that continue to believe and hold fast to the truth and remain in

the faith steadfast and unmovable and not turn away. If we do not then we will lose the hope that

we received when we heard and accepted the gospel message (John 15: 6). This gosepl message that

is being preached through the whole world and of which Paul had committed his life to proclaim to

all men everywhere.

3. Serving Christ 24 - 29 1.24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body — for the sake of his

body, the church — what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

Paul had suffered a great deal for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor. 11: 23 - 27) but he counted it a

privilege and a joy to do so that he may win souls for Christ. Paul does not mean here that the

suffering's of Christ were not enough and that he had to make up for them but that “Christ's

suffering's provided salvation, Paul's suffering's helped carry the message of salvation” (J. Wesley).

He also suffered for the good of the church because it is the body of Christ.

1.25 - 26. I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God — given to me for

you — in order to complete the word of God, that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from

ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.

His ministry that had been given him by God was to make the Word of God fully known to the

Church. This task had been entrusted to him and therefore he was responsible before God to fulfill.

The mystery that had been hidden which is the Good News of salvation has now been made known

to the saints by Jesus Christ.

1.27. God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles,

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

To those who belong to Christ God has shown the mystery that is Christ living in them. The hope of

glory is that the indwelling of Christ is available for all humanity and the destiny that He has planned

is heaven.

1.28. We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present

every person mature in Christ.

Jesus Christ is the only message to proclaim none other (1 Cor. 2: 2). Paul's ministry was also to

instruct, teach, to give warning so that every believer may mature, grow in grace and in the

knowledge of God that they may be presented before Him as perfect in Christ. Receiving Christ as

our Saviour is only the beginning we are all to go on with Christ. Fully committing ourselves to Him

and ministering to His body, the church, which is in fact ministering to Christ.

1.29. Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.

We are workers together with Christ (2 Cor. 6: 1) just the same as Paul. We are to fight the good

fight of faith (1 Tim. 6: 12) not to give up or faint by the way for He us given us the Holy Spirit who

enables us to complete the task. Remember however, that it is not our works but “His working which

works in us".

© Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2013 Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any

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