Clarity: Colossians 1:13-17

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by 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. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:13-17 ESV)

Lesson Focus: Preeminence (part 2)

• Preeminent in the Cross:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Paul meets the Jewish legalism of Gnosticism head on by using old covenant language in direct connection with Gentiles.
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (Gen. 13:14-15)

we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins
It is the Cross that separates following Christ from any and all other forms of supernatural identity. There are religious leaders buried all over this planet. None of them died for your sin. No angel or “mystical energy” has ever provided for forgiveness of sins.


Dr. Ergun Caner's testimony. "Jesus is Lord!"

Islam: “Every soul will taste of death. And ye will be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which ye have fairly earned. Whoso is removed from the Fire and is also made to enter Paradise, he indeed is triumphant,” (Surah 3, al-i-Imran, the Family of Imran: 185)

Hinduism:  “The self is to be meditated upon for in it all these become one. This self is the foot-trace of all this, for by it one knows all this, just as one can find again by footprints (what was lost)” (Brihadaranyaka Up. 1,4,7).
(Hare Krishna, Transcendental Meditation, Buddhism, Scientology, Wicca, and New Age are either derived from or have strong philosophical ties to Hinduism.)

The next philosophical leap has already been leapt.
“The ultimate truth of who you are is not I am this or I am that, but I Am.” (Ekhart Tolle in A New Earth page 57)

There are really only two forms of religion. Those where you must “DO” something, as in the jailer in Acts 16, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  And true Christianity (sad we have add true to make this accurate) in which Jesus has completed all the “must ‘DO’ somethings” on our behalf and the Triune God is the only “I Am”.

1.    I AM the bread of life.
2.    I AM the light of the world.
3.    I AM the door.
4.    I AM the good shepherd.

John 10:11-14: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me....”

5.    I AM the resurrection and the life.
6.    I AM the way, the truth and the life.
7.    I AM the true vine.

• Preeminent in Creation

The Gnostic teachers claimed that God made the worlds through a series of “emanations” from Himself and that Christ was one of these emanations. Paul asserts that Christ is not an emanation from God, but God Himself!

He is the image of the invisible God
“Image” means “the exact reproduction.” Christ is not one of God’s creatures, but the highest (firstborn) of all creation. The word Paul used for image was εἰκών (eikōn) it is the word from which we get our English word “icon”. The modern definition is still applicable: a sign (as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning  b : a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that usually suggests the type of object represented or the purpose of an available function.

the firstborn of all creation
The term “firstborn” does not refer to time (as though Christ were the first thing God created) but to position. This is a verse that is commonly misinterpreted into heresy.While not directly attributable to this verse. some of the ways this misinterpretation plays out are:

1. Mormons believe Jesus is the spirit child of God the Father and his wife the Heavenly Mother.

2. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is the first thing Jehovah created.

3. Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, but do not believe He is the Son of God. Human attributes like fatherhood cannot be attributed to God. Jesus is one of the best of 124,000 profits.

For by him all things were created
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life,  and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

All the talk of angels, past and present is summed up in verses 16 and 17. Many have rebelled against Him, both men and angels, always justifying themselves by maintaining they are the products of some cosmic evolutionary process instead of creation by the eternal, transcendent God. Remember a  good heresy never dies!

“I’m Glad That’s Cleared Up!”: Jesus Christ is God’s Son. Therefore, in addition to being a prophet, a rabbi, and a “great man among men”, He is preeminent in all things. He is not one of many. He is God.