LORD OF ALL THINGS!!!

COLOSSIANS 1:15-16

15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For 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.

1: 15-23   Some people in the Colossian church held several misconceptions about Christ that Paul directly refuted: (1)   They said that God would not have come to earth as Jesus, a true human being in bodily form, because they believed that only what is spiritual is good and all matter, including the body, is evil. But Paul stated that Christ is the image— the exact likeness— of God and is himself God, and yet he died on the cross as a human being. (2)   They believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil. Paul proclaimed that Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, is the creator of both heaven and earth. (3)   They said that Christ was not the unique Son of God but rather one of many intermediaries between God and people. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those resurrected. (4)   They refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. In contrast, Paul openly proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. When we share the gospel, we, too, must keep the focus on the person and work of Christ.

1: 15-16   This is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Christ found anywhere in the Bible. Jesus is not only equal with God (Philippians 2: 6), he is God (John 10: 30, 38; 12: 45; 14: 1-11); as the visible image of the invisible God, he is the exact representation of God. He not only reflects God, but he reveals God to us (John 1: 18; 14: 9); as the firstborn over all creation, he has all the priority and authority of the firstborn prince in a king’s household. He came from heaven, not from the dust of the earth like Adam (1   Corinthians 15: 47), and he rules as Lord of all (Romans 9: 5; 10: 11-13; Revelation 1: 5; 17: 14). He is completely holy (Hebrews 7: 26-28; 1   Peter 1: 19; 2: 22; 1   John 3: 5), and he has authority to judge the world (Romans 2: 16; 2   Corinthians 5: 10; 2   Timothy 4: 1). Because Christ created all and rules all creation, including the spirit world, we must believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (that Jesus is God). Without this core belief, our Christian faith becomes hollow, misdirected, and meaningless. We must oppose the belief that Jesus was merely a prophet, a good teacher, or one of many ways to a relationship with God.

1: 16   Because the false teachers believed that the physical world was evil, they thought that God himself could not have created it. If Christ were God, they reasoned, he would be in charge only of the spiritual world. But Paul explained that all the thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities of both the spiritual and physical worlds were created by and are under the authority of Christ himself. This includes not only the government but also the spiritual world that the heretics were so concerned about. Christ has no equal and no rival. He is the Lord of all.Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible

ON THE WAY HOME WALK WITH JESUS knowing he is LORD of ALL!!!

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