Let me be plain. You will not change until you get straight who Jesus is, particularly with regard to his surprising tenderness. And then spend your whole life long going deeper into the gentleness of Jesus. The only other alternative to the real Jesus is to get back on the treadmill—the treadmill of doing your best to follow and honor Jesus but believe his mercy and grace to be a stockpile gradually depleted by your failures, and hoping to make it to death before the mountain of mercy runs out. Here is the teaching of the Bible: “If you are in Christ, your sins cause that stockpile to grow all the more. Where sins abound, his grace superabounds.” It is in your pockets of deepest shame and regret that his heart dwells and won’t leave.
Dane C. Ortlund
THE PREEMINENCE OF JESUS
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers[a] in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[b] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[c] behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks[d] to the Father, who has qualified you[e] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[g] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Colossians 1:1-29
A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.
Charles Spurgeon
Paul wrote this letter to counter the “Colossian heresy” that he considered contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The false teaching is identified as “philosophy”, presumably drawn from some Hellenistic traditions as indicated by the references to the “fullness”, the “elements of the world”, “wisdom”, and “self-made religion.” This false gospel contained several Jewish elements, from circumcision and “human tradition”, to Sabbath observance, food regulations, festival participation and more. Paul addressed this combination of philosophies by teaching a proper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its appropriate implications for Christian salvation and conduct.
1. A LOW UNDERSTANDING OF THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS
2. A HIGH VIEW OF PHILOSOPHY
3. A HIGH VIEW OF TRADITION
16 For by[f] him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Colossians 1:19
"The most dangerous heresies the church is called on to combat from time to time are not those which openly and blatantly assail the person of our Lord but rather those which subtly detract from His dignity while giving the appearance of honoring Him."
Everette F. Harrison
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
Colossians 2:1-4
"In my pastoral ministry, I have met people who have become intoxicated with 'studying the deeper truths of the Bible.' Usually they have been given a book or introduced to some teacher's tapes. Before long, they get so smart they become dumb! The 'deeper truths' they discover only detour them from practical Christian living. Instead of getting burning hearts of devotion to Christ, they get big heads and start creating problems in their homes and churches. All Bible truths are practical, not theoretical. If we are growing in knowledge, we should also be growing in grace."
Wiersbe
THE MYTH: JESUS PLUS ME.
On the one hand there is always the danger of Christianity freezing into a form , into a ritual. On the other hand is the danger that Christianity will evaporate into a philosophy. We find people talking about theories of inspiration and theories of atonement—that. Is the evaporation of Christianity into philosophy. You will remember that Jesus said that He was the Water of Life. He didn’t say, “I am the ice of life”; neither did he say, “I am the steam of life.” He is water of life. Christ is to live in you. He is to walk down the street where you live. Christianity is Christ down where we live, Christ in the nitty-gritty of life, down where the rubber meets the road.
J. Vernon McGee
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
Colossians 2:13-19
Not only must Christ occupy the central place in our lives, but our understanding of Christ must be accurate.
Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians
What Do Americans Believe About Jesus? (Barna Research)
- The vast majority of Americans believe Jesus was a real person. (92%)
- Younger generations are increasingly less likely to believe Jesus is God. (44%)
- Americans are divided on whether Jesus was sinless (52%)
- Most Americans say they have made a commitment to Jesus Christ (55-70%)
- People are conflicted between “Jesus” and “Good deeds” as The Way to heaven (60%)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:9-10
UNDERSTANDING DETERMINES LIVING
PAUL IS CORRECTING LOW-VIEWS OF JESUS BY REPLACING THEM WITH THE SUPREME VIEW OF JESUS
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:15-20
JESUS IS:
JESUS IS GOD “The image of the invisible God”
JESUS IS ON THE THRONE “The first-born of creation”
JESUS IS NOT CREATED “Before all things”
JESUS IS INVESTED IN CREATION “By him all things were”
JESUS IS THE REASON “All things for him”
JESUS IS HOLDING CREATION TOGETHER “In him all things hold together”
JESUS IS LEADING THE CHURCH “head of the body”
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE “firstborn from the dead”
JESUS IS THE MAIN FOCUS “in everything he might be preeminent”
JESUS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”
JESUS IS NEAR “through him to reconcile to himself”
JESUS IS SATISFIED “making peace by the blood of his cross”
Determine today, before God, through the Bible and good books explaining it, that you will spend the rest of your life wading into the unsearchable riches of the real Christ.
Dane C. Ortlund
