Jesus Exalted in Colossians
Paul continually exalts Jesus Christ in his letter to the Colossians. As I think back on my life, Christ is constantly being exalted higher and higher. But, is He being exalted correctly? Do I have a correct view of Jesus Christ? Is He a wise teacher or God? If He’s God, do I attribute the correct characteristics to Him? Do I respond to Him as if He were God? It’s important that I understand Jesus Christ correctly as He is the object of my affection. So, what does Paul say about Jesus Christ?
Paul’s Thoughts on Jesus
I’m just going to look at five of the many descriptions of Jesus throughout the letter of Colossians. I highly encourage you to look through the book of Colossians and find more!
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“He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God…” (Col. 1:15a).
Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father. As the second person of the trinity, Jesus is God and an exact representation of the nature of the first person, God the Father. In fact, Hebrews 1:3 tells us, “…He is the radiance of His [God the Father] glory and the exact representation of His nature…”. In fact, in John 14, Jesus is comforting the disciples after He tells them about the betrayal He will be experiencing in the near future. Jesus tells them in verse 7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father…”. Philip responds infamously with, “Lord, show us the Father…”. This next part is big. Jesus responds stating that He is God––more specifically, “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”. Just like Colossians tells us, Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father.
Just a little food for thought…Jesus wasn’t just a man who died for our sins. But Jesus is Yahweh who humbled Himself to take on flesh and then die for our sins. Let’s continue.
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He is the “firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15b).
Now, this passage is a very debated verse in regard to the eternality of Jesus Christ. However, that’s not what this section of the discussion is about. But I will say, firstborn is not pointing to the creation of Jesus but the unique sovereignty over creation. Jesus is uniquely sovereign over everything that is created. Verse 16 points to this, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth…”. Jesus created all things and is therefore sovereign over all things. This is the reason He can do things like heal the blind with mud (John 9:1-12), calm the seas by the word of His power (Matt. 8:23-27) and raise the dead (John 11:38-44). Does the Jesus you serve have authority over all things? Cause if He doesn’t, you’re serving the wrong Jesus. Be encouraged, Jesus can literally move mountains.
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“He is also head of the body, the church…” (Col. 1:18a).
Often times, we see churches fail whenever the pastor leaves the congregation. Why is that? I believe it’sbecause the congregation places the pastor as the head of the church. But the truth is, the pastor is simply another member of the church, given gifts to teach and equip the saints. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. The beauty of this is that Jesus will never leave the church to its own. In fact, Jesus will physically return to take the church from this earth (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Jesus is the leader of the church. Follow Jesus before you follow your pastor (don’t all attack me at once…think about it).
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“He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead…” (Col. 1:18b).
Again, another controversial passage here because of the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus wasn’t the first to be resurrected per say. I won’t throw out arguments for my position in this discussion, but what I will say is that Jesus is sovereign over death. He was the first to be resurrected into a resurrected body, the only to resurrect Himself, and the only needed resurrection for the resurrection of all. It is through Jesus Christ that all who have faith in Him will be reconciled to the Father. It is through this resurrection that Jesus is declared the Son of God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is vital to life…so know this, Jesus, the Son of God came to earth in flesh, died and rose from the grave, reconciling all those who would have faith in Him, taking their sin and giving His life so that they could have eternal life for the glory of God.
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Jesus Christ is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
What do you place your hope in? Is it the lottery? What about your talents? Your wisdom? Jesus Christ is the object of our affections and our hope. Through Jesus Christ we should hope. For Jesus is an anchor by which we will receive glory. Hope in the regenerating work of Jesus Christ for as Romans 8 tells us, “…these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified”. It is through Jesus that this happens.
Be Encouraged!
Be encouraged today, for Jesus Christ is the one whom died for you. The God explained above is who is for you and not against you––therefore, nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).
