Colossians

Who Christ is!

This theme gripped me last week in Hebrews and is so prevalent in the epistle to the Colossians that I couldn’t get away from it. In Colossians Paul again portrays Christ as Lord over all things… yet in a different and refreshing way. Paul describes Christ’s greatness with a distinct flavor here in Colossians… making some astounding claims about Christ in the process. Christ is depicted not only as savior… who given redemption and forgiveness of sins for humanity… but also as God himself. Paul puts it this way, “he is the firstborn of all creation… all things were created through him and for him… in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17) He is here seen to be the inheritor of all things under creation including humanity, seen as the one whom God did everything for… and he also is the one holds everything together. The world belongs to Christ… this is who he is. Believers belong to Christ… and what is even more epic is that God is pleased to give them to him. Paul again makes a grand statement, “He is the beginning, that in everything he might be preeminent… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…” (Colossians 1:18,19) Christ is the most important thing to God the Father. This is truth… that in Christ God is pleased. Christ has reconciled those who believe in him to the Father… and this is why God is pleased with him. Christ is hope for mankind. Because of his mighty work that was planned out from the beginning of time God delights. In Christ humanity has been restored to God. He is the mystery of all time for humanity, being alienated from God, was restored by his shed blood and sacrifice. Christ, whom all creation is made for, came to restore it to God. This is the relationship that Christ and God have; a Father pleased with his Son. God is pleased because through Christ’s mercy humanity now has been restored as sons as well. Now, as the firstborn, all things belong to Christ… creation and man, a part of it.

For the Colossians this truth had huge ramifications. Christ is their savior as well. When they would see who Christ is… truly is… in God’s eyes… they would realize that they have nothing to fear as they trust in him. They would see that their hope is not in vain… that the message they had received about Christ’s mercy as the Messiah come to forgive their sins and take them to heaven eternally was not false. This would bring peace and rest to their souls, for amidst all of the religions surrounding them and the different belief systems they would now be assured that their confidence was sound. The one in whom they had placed their trust was indeed faithful and true. Christ is Lord… he indeed is the one with whom God is pleased. As they are bombarded with different belief systems claiming to offer salvation they would see that Christ is their only hope. He is God’s word to them and in him their hope is secure. They have believed wisely… and would realize that they can continue to place their faith in this man… who is God… who is the inheritor of God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. They will inherit it with him for they belong to him through faith… what blessed assurance they have in who Christ is.

For the reader today we are in a similar situation as the Colossians. We too are bombarded with different belief systems for both salvation and for every day living. The world around us says that hope in Christ is in vain and that other things and beliefs and pleasures offer more and better outcomes. In Christ there is a hope… for if these words about Christ are indeed true there is absolutely nothing else that can truly bring life. The question for us then is do we believe that Christ is truly all of the things that Paul claims in this epistle to the Colossians. If Christ is indeed Lord over all, the inheritor of eternity and the sole means of salvation and redemption with God, the true God… then we have nothing to fear in abandoning all to be his. To hope in Christ is in no way foolishness but is the only true wisdom. To be found in him is to be a partaker in his inheritance… in God’s eternal rest and his provision here on earth as well. Christ offers life amidst a world of darkness and death, therefore let us seek him in gratitude and loving response for the glorious gift of life he has given… looking forward to the hope of being given glory with him.

(This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago right before thanksgiving at the first snow fall... a bunch of us went outside to catch snowflakes in our mouths. You can see that I was happy because I got to hold my God-daughter Isabelle... she was so cuddly that day because it was so cold outside... I had the awesome job of keeping her warmed up.)