Colossians 1:15-20
Barry Unwin. Venue: Hanley Swan 20 Nov 2016
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 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.
I wonder if you’ve heard the story of the Sunday School teacher who asks a question of her class?
She says, “Okay boys and girls, What’s brown, eats nuts and lives in a tree?”
And the class are completely silent. Stumped. And then a boy puts his hand up and says, “Miss, I know the answer is Jesus, but it does sound awfully like a squirrel.”
The answer is Jesus.
Today we’re celebrating the festival of Christ the King.I’m not normally one for festivals – except Christmas and Easter of course – but Christ the King is special –because it focuses our mind on Jesus –the one who is the answer to all of life’s biggest and most profound questions.
So today, I’m going to try to show you how Jesus answers no less than six of life’s biggest questions. All from that marvellous passage we just read from the book of Colossians.
If you don’t know the book of Colossians– it’s a letter Paul wrote in the 50s AD to the church in the city of Colossae to encourage them to live faithfully because of how amazing Jesus is.
So let’s think about our big questions and here’s the first one.
- What does God look like?
That’s a classic child’s question isn’t it? Well the answer is Jesus. How did Colossians 1:15 begin? It said,
“Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15)
But what does that mean? It means that if we want to know what God is like –then we look at Jesus. He’s the one who makes the invisible God, visible.
One of Jesus’ disciples, Philip, once said to him,
“Lord, show us the Father…” and Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:8-9)
But what does that “image” actually mean? If I showed you a photograph of my kids it would be an image of them. Is that all our verse means? No – the next few verses try to explain it by answering a few more big questions for us.
So here’s our second question:
2)Where does the world come from?
The answer is of course Jesus. Here’s v16:
“by Jesus all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Col.1:16)
Just think about that for a moment. It’s telling us that Jesus created the entire universe. You see, Jesus didn’t come into existence in a stable in Bethlehem in the year 0 or whatever the historians think it was. He existed before the world was created. He existed before time began. Which means he’s eternal, just like God the Father.
Before creation began, before anything had been created, before there was anything: there was God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons – Father Son and Holy Spirit. A perfect loving community existing outside of time because they hadn’t decided to invent time yet.
But that’s not the half of it. You see, Jesus wasn’t just there – hanging around until the Father created the world. He was involved. Verse 16 said
“by Jesus all things were created.”
Long before he was born a human being, the Son of God was there as creator. That’s why John’s gospel – which we’ll read at Christmas – tells us –
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3)
So when we talk about the birth of Jesus – it’s vital we remember that Jesus Christ did not begin to exist when Mary fell pregnant. Instead he has been the master and owner of the universe, since he helped make it. You see at Christmas we aren’t celebrating the birth of the founder of Christianity. We’re celebrating the birth of the founder of the universe.
That’s why it’s such a big issue when – for example – your Muslim friend tries to find common ground with you by telling you that they venerate Jesus too. They do – but not properly. They say he’s a prophet, and an inferior one to Mohammed. But the Bible tells us Jesus is the creator of the universe. How can you say the creator of the universe is inferior to one of his creatures?
Let’s look at a third big question.
3)Why does the universe exist?
The answer is of course, for Jesus. But it’s tucked away at the end of v16 and it’s easy to miss.
“All things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)
So why did God make the world? For Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate meaning of creation. Which means he’s also the ultimate meaning of our lives. We were made for Jesus.
That means all those philosophers out there trying to make sense of life – no matter how clever or fanciful or profound their ideas: if they haven’t got Jesus in the centre of their system – they’re missed the point. All of creation is for him. And we are for him too. Because if all of creation exists for Jesus then how can we ever claim to know the purpose of our lives, if we don’t know Jesus for ourselves?
Let’s look at a 4th big question:
4) Why does science work?
The answer is of course, Jesus.
“[Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)
It’s saying that Jesus holds creation together. The fabric of the universe, the stuff of our bodies, this building, the ground on which we stand, its all held together by Jesus, its all sustained by Jesus. If Jesus wasn’t doing that, the universe would disintegrate. It would cease to exist.
Now if you’re a scientist – maybe you’ll respond –
“But the laws of physics holds the universe together”
You know what – I agree with you. But remember what I said before about Jesus the creator? Well the creator of the Universe wrote the laws of physics, And they hold constant because he holds them constant. That’s what “in him all things hold together” means. And because he holds them constant we live in a predictable measurable observable universe. And therefore science works. Because Jesus holds all things together.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard of great generals holding armies together,and of political leaders who manage to hold countries together, but who has ever heard of a man who can hold an entire universe together?
Let’s do a 5th big question.
5)Why does the church exist?
The answer is of course, Jesus.
“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.” (Colossians 1:18)
You know, we often talk about “my church” or “your church”, don’t we? And if not that – we talk about “St Gabriel’s Church” or “St Mary’s” or whatever. But actually, every church is Jesus’ church. Every church should be called Christchurch. Because the church – God’s family here on earth – belongs to Jesus.
He is head over it. The media and the cult of the expert try to suggest to us that Bishops and archbishops and Popes are the head of the church. But they aren’t. Only Jesus is head over the church. Its his spiritual body, his spiritual family.
Anyone’s brain feeling slightly worn out by all these big questions? I know it’s early! Let’s try to recap what this passage is telling us.
- What does God look like? Jesus
- Where does the world come from? Jesus
- Why does the universe exist? Jesus
- Why does science work? Jesus
- Why does the church exist? Squirrel. I’m just kidding. It’s Jesus.
So when our passage calls Jesus the image of the invisible God, He is clearly way way more than just a photograph. But how much more? Who is Jesus?
Well v19 answers the question.
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus].” (Colossians 1:19)
Let’s just think what the statement means. This cup of water represents God,
the water if you like is the fullness of God – its what he is. And God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus. [Pour water into Jesus cup]. So now Jesus is the fullness of God too. What’s he saying? That all of God’s fullness dwells in Jesus. Or to call a spade a spade: that Jesus is God.
Cast your minds back to Easter. Every Easter we tend to read the chapters of John’s gospel that cover the resurrection. Especially chapter 20. And at the very end of it you get all that business with Doubting Thomas. And when Thomas finally realises Jesus has risen from the grave – what does he say to him? He says,
“My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
In other words he calls Jesus “God.” And says it to his face. And what does Jesus say in response? Does he say
“Hold on a minute you’ve missed the point”?
No. He accepts the praise. Because he’s God.
Time for one more question.
6) Who defines good and evil?
Well it’s the BBC isn’t it? No – it’s Jesus.The creator of the universe has spoken plainly to us,In his word, the Bible,About good and evil,And right and wrong,About how we should live.About every area of human life,Money, sex, power, Identity gender, relationships, play, work, charity, Every area of life.
And deep down we know we’ve not lived up to those standards, and that creates a barrier between us and God, that spoils our relationship with him, and with one another.
And that makes what our passage talks about last of all, even more remarkable.
“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.” (Colossians 1:20)
People sometimes ask, don’t they? How can the death of one man do all that? How can the death of one man reconcile our broken bruised rebellious world to God?
Well the answer is that it can only accomplish it, because Jesus was far more than a man. Jesus was a man who was also fully God.
And he allowed himself to be crucified because he loves us. He loves you. And he wants each and every one of us to know that love so that we can know the Father for ourselves, so that we can be forgiven for not living up to God’s love.
I said it before, I’ll say it again. “Jesus is the answer.”
Shall we pray?