“…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Col. 1:18b)

Col. 1:15-20

 “Who’s

on FIRST ?”

 Who

holds FIRST PLACE in your life?

Is

it JESUS ?

 “He

is the image of the invisible God…”

 The

word for “image” is the Greek word “eikon.”

 In

His essential nature, Jesus is equal to the Father and the H.S.

 He

 He

has always existed.

just cannot be relegated to the role of a “messenger boy.”

 “In

the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  *All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

 “He

is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have (there is it again) = first place in everything.”

 According

to Paul- Jesus was/is the co-creator of the universe.

 More

than that, the Universe was created by Him and for Him…

 The

GOD said; “Let us make man in our own image…”

 The

word for God is the plural word, Elohim. It expresses the fact that *ALL THREE- [The Father/The Son/ & The H.S.] were involved in the creation of mankind.

 *Reason

/ Personality / Spirit

 “I

will give you (that’s all of the Apostles) the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have FIRST been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been FIRST loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:19)

 The

church is not subject to man’s will …it is subject only to God’s Will, or Christ’s Will.

 The

church, then, is like unto a single body with a single head or authority. You & I have One Head. The church has one head and he is NOT in Rome.

 18 I

pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…

 These

are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named...

 not

only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

 The

word “born” has been taken literally by certain religious writers, particularly of the cultic nature, and caused them to MISTAKENLY assume that Jesus was CREATED BY GOD (like an angel or man). They say; “He is not GOD. He is only the first created being” of GOD in His order of creation.”

 “For

by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

 15

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist… (New World Translation)

 The

Greek word translated “firstborn” is prototokos, which basically means – “first in time”, or “first in rank.”

 What

Paul has in mind is Christ’s Absolute Sovereignty in the universe and as the One Head of the One church.



26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 27 “I will make him My firstborn; (prototokon) higher than the kings of the earth. 28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for Him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to Him.…”

 By

using the metaphor “firstborn” Paul proclaims Christ’s Eternal Pre-existence, His Absolute Divinity, and His present Sovereignty in all things.

 The

word “firstborn” has nothing to do with the origin of Christ.

 “But

you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth unto Me, He that is to be Lord in Israel; and his goings forth are from the beginning, from everlasting.”

A

third point of Paul’s estimation of Jesus is that ALL creation is designed FOR Him, IN Him, and is preserved BY Him.

 In

context- Christ not only created all things, but all things continue to exist because of Him.

 When

men say that they can “take or leave Jesus,” [like it’s up to them to decide], they do not know what they are saying.

 The

phrase “all things” occurs six times in Col 1:15-20, it literally means: “all ” or “the totality of ” referring to the ALL of Creation. It’s an absolute term.

 You

are under His Authority whether you obey Him or not.

 Jesus

isn’t an angel. He is above the angels. He is GOD.

 He

is described as the very “ instrument

” of creation; the “agent ” whereby the universe was created. He is the Creator.  Creation

is designed “For Him.”

 Creation

is designed for the glory of

Christ.  Christ is, or should be, glorified by creation.  Because, He is the purpose of creation; the reason why creation was created.  Moffat; “All

comes from Him, all live by Him, all ends in Him”.

 “In

Him all things consist” (“cohere”)

 He

holds them (us) together.

 The

Greek tense means that they were held together at one point in the past, and they remain held together.

 The

nucleus of every atom is held together by what physicists call “weak” and “strong” forces.

 The

nucleus of the atom contains positively charged particles and neutral particles - Mutual electrostatic repulsion between the like-positive protons would drive the nucleus apart if it were not for the “strong force” which binds the nucleus together.

 There

is necessarily then, an active force imposed on the universe, which actively holds the very atoms of the material world together – moment by moment, day by day, century by century.

 Similarly, accelerated

electrons circling the nucleus should quickly radiate all their energy away and fall into the nucleus unless there “exists” an invisible energy source to counteract this.



Which there is. Jesus Christ.

 Heb. 1:3

-“Christ holds the universe together by the power of His Word.”

 “The

Greek word translated elements (in Col. and 2 Pet.) is stoicheion which means “the ordered arrangement of things” or basically means the building blocks of the universe.

 In

today's language it could mean atomic elements.”

 …This

passage strongly suggests that the active power of God holds every atomic nucleus together.”

 …“Upholding

all things by the word of His power.” The word “upholding” is the Greek word phero, which means: “to bear or to support.”

 Paul

is saying, is that everything in the universe is being held-up by Jesus Christ.

 Can

you imagine what would happen if Christ let go?

 If

Jesus is holding the universe together.

 If

He is pre-eminent in the universe.

  If

He is GOD… can you really just “take Him or leave Him?”

 Can

you really ignore His Authority or disregard His commands?

 Matt. 28:18-20

- “All Authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

 This

was no brag- but a fact that should never be forgotten…

 Matt. 28:18-20

- “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 If

we live forever one day in Heaven, it will not be because of we were so “together.”

 It

will be because He created us for a purpose, He clearly taught us what to do to be saved, and because He held us “together,” just as He promised.