The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christنموونە
The threats to the pure faith of the believers in Colassae were serious, and the Apostle Paul treated them as such. What we’ll find as we dive into our teaching today is a response from the spiritual heavyweight detailing the deity of Jesus. That alone is worth our study, but in case you are wondering what all of this has to do with you today, here are two questions that every human being on earth has asked and that we will answer TODAY:
Who Am I?
Why Am I Here?
Let’s get started.
Did you wake up today with purpose? Did you imagine that you would be able to answer these two questions today? Two existentially massive questions, ones which will define the next moment, the moment after that, and every single moment of your life moving forward? Or maybe you have been a believer in Christ for a decade and you needed a reminder of the answer to these questions today. Either way, take a minute right now, maybe close your eyes and just pray the simple prayer, “Thank you.”
To the threat facing the pure faith of the believers in Colossae, Paul put his foot down. Look at verses 15-16 again:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For 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.
Many of us may know, or even believe, that God created everything. We look around at the awe-inspiring peaks of mountains, or we close our eyes and listen to the sound of a heavy rainstorm, and somewhere in our minds we realize that there are bigger forces at play than we can imagine. But here in Colossians, Paul is laying down a heavy theological truth that when the triune God created all things, all things were created through the person of Christ.
All. Things.
You.
You were created through Jesus and for Jesus.
So to anyone who has ever told you that you were a mistake, to anyone who has ever tried to measure you on the scale of accomplishment or accolade, to any person who has stapled a definition to your heart and reduced who you are to a spiteful comment, even to your own inner monologue who has never let you live down a single mistake, here’s what you can remind them.
You were created through Jesus and for Jesus. That is who you are, and it’s WHY you are.
Your purpose is not your job.
Your purpose in existing is to know God.
Your purpose is not your significant other.
Your purpose is to be in a relationship with God.
Your purpose is not in how much money you have.
Your purpose is to worship God.
Your purpose is not to fix everyone’s problems.
Your purpose is to give praise back to God.
To honor God and reflect back to him all the greatness he has put inside of you; that is your purpose.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:17-20
Why is everything all about Jesus? Because everything was created by and for Jesus, everything and everyone belongs to him. This is why challenging the deity of Jesus was such a threat to the Church at Colossae, and it’s why Paul responded with such fierce vigor. Read those verses again; you’ll find no quibbling as to his meaning.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once again, all things.
Jesus created you.
Jesus shed his blood to redeem you.
Therefore, Jesus gets supremacy over every breath of your entire life.
Have you given it to him?
Scripture
About this Plan
Written with the single purpose of displaying the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus, the book of Colossians answers the two questions every person asks: Who am I? Why am I here? Louie Giglio takes us through the book of Colossians to find the answers to these questions, answers that will determine the direction and quality of all of our lives.
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