Colossians: Alive In Christ Sample

Yesterday we thought about the supremacy of Christ from these verses. We were reminded that the Christian life is Christ. 

Today we will see that everything in heaven and on earth is related to Christ and can only be understood through him. He is like the hub of a wheel, and everything else is like the spokes of the wheel, finding their end in him. This is why Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles all things to God (v. 20). Everything has been made for him and he holds everything together. Therefore, when the world goes wrong, only he can fix everything and reconcile everything to God. The world belongs to Jesus Christ and is for him alone, and so he is the only one who can make peace between God and the world. Only Jesus could die on the cross to make us right with God (v. 20). There can be no other mediator for the world because the world doesn’t belong to anyone else. Jesus is Supreme, and therefore he alone is the Saviour. 

Jesus Christ’s supremacy in all things, and his death on the cross, mean that only he can be the supreme head of the church (v. 18). That’s why no monarch, pope nor pastor can claim authority over God’s church. Christ alone is the head, the beginning and the firstborn Son over God’s church. He alone is pre- eminent. It’s surprising how this simple and obvious truth can be marginalised or forgotten by both churches and their leaders. When this happens, churches inevitably move towards authoritarian leadership, false teaching and spiritual chaos. Let’s not just give lip service to Christ’s supremacy, but let’s uphold it in our practice and attitudes. Christ is always supreme over God’s people. 

 Reflection

1. Why can only Jesus alone be the Saviour of the world?

2. If we forget that Jesus is the head over God's church, what kind of things start to happen?

3. How does it change Christianity if we say that Jesus was only a prophet who taught us God's word?