Sometimes the greatest blessings come from the worst tragedies. The New Testament is like that. Would we have had any of Paul’s letters if the churches had not suffered persecution or false teachers? Paul wrote to help the church deal with the conflicts and difficulties that they faced.
We are forever blessed because Paul cared for the churches and sought to help them with their problems.
The Letter to the Colossians is just such a situation. The false teachers of Colossae and the Lycus Valley taught that Jesus was only one of many. Like some of the false teachers today, the false teachers of Colossae believed that Christ was one of many manifestations of God. He was only one of a series of mediators strung out between the Lord God and the physical world.
Paul’s teaching to correct the error gives us some of the greatest understanding of the person and work of Christ.
These are some of the truths Paul taught about Jesus.
First, Jesus is unique. There has never been nor will be any like Him. He is first in priority and first in significance. “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).
Second, Jesus is God in bodily form. “For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The church has affirmed through the centuries that He is fully human and fully divine.
Third, Jesus perfectly reveals God. We know God because we know Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. . . . No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known (John 1: 14, 19).
Because of who Christ is, we must respond to Him in proper ways.
First, Jesus is God, and He is Lord over all. He is truly our Lord and our Master.
Second, He is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18). The church can never be “ours,” it must be “His.”
Finally, He is the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He reconciles us to Himself, making peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20).
He truly must be worshiped and obeyed.
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One Response
Thank you for continually driving home to our hearts the essentials of getting the context of the message straight. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, did not act alone except to fill the one essential aspect of His Mission which He alone “is” Uniquely qualified in the Fulfillment of His overarching Purpose.
He sharpened the understanding of the blunt instrument that had become the understanding of the relationship of God’s People with Him. They looked/expected for God to set them up in a life of being served by the world; as then they could be the rulers of their own lives and reap where they had not sown for their own pleasure/gratification.
I wonder how different we are now from the perception of “God’s People” then? When they heard the words of Matthew 6:33 do you think they grasped the understanding any better than we do today? Evidently the Disciples did not get it until after the resurrection, as they showed time and again the former perception of being world dominators as heads of an Earthly Kingdom; the world would be their foot stool. To fulfill the role of Priests of the Lord Jesus Christ bringing the relationship within Heaven to earth as later Paul would commission “Churches” was not even under consideration. Yes, God was going to provide: According to His Riches and Glory, in the context of His Purpose. Still all too often His People seek to work the formula, learn the tribal language, as they pursue interests outside of His Purpose “to serve their own interests.”
His Purpose takes a Body/Bride willing to let Him work through them (all the members/talents/gifts/Grace/Faith). Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; as we Seek (all of us) First the Kingdom of Heaven (Psalm 23:3) then we will know Fulfillment, Life Abundantly, Joy, and Shalom which is only weakly translated into our language as Peace. As we “work out our own salvation,” our Place and Purpose as members of the Body. Not an easy thing to do with others who are not “like-minded:” but “like sheep have gone astray…” Thank you Pastor for examples of those in our midst who are not hearers only. The book of James, but here especially 2:14-26.
Thank you Lord for the Cooperative Program, a glimpse. AMEN.