Colossians 1:15-23
Intro Questions
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Other Resources:
Seven Christian Virtues Colossians 1 https://virtualbiblestudy.com/lessons/colossians/1/
Prison Epistles
Jesus: Magnify Him
Colossians 1:15-23
A DIFFICULT WORD -- I heard about an office whose
answering machine was set up to instruct callers to leave their name and
address, and to spell any difficult words.
Early one Monday, when the secretary was reviewing the
weekend messages, she heard an enthusiastic young woman recite her name and
address, and then confidently offer, "My difficult word is reconciliation.
R-E-C-O-N-C-I-L-I-A-T-I-O-N."
Reconciliation can be a difficult word. It's not that
it's difficult to understand. Webster defines the word "reconcile" as
"to restore to friendship or harmony, to settle or resolve." The word
can be used in a variety of ways, but when it's applied to people it basically
means to get two separated people back together again. So we talk about a
husband who wants to be reconciled to a wife who has left him. A father who
wants to be reconciled to a wayward son. And a lost sinner who needs to be
reconciled to God.
While not difficult to understand, reconciliation can
be a difficult word to put into practice. It can be very difficult to get two
family members who are at odds to be reconciled. And it can sometimes seem very
difficult for us (or for others we know) to be made right with God.
A man once went
to a preacher because he was having some family problems. He wasn't a very
well-educated man and sometimes got his words confused. He said, "Me and
my wife need a re-cancellation." What he meant to say was reconciliation,
but the word re-cancellation wasn't a bad choice. Because there can be peace
for those who have been separated only when sin has been canceled. As sinners
before a righteous God, we need a "re-cancellation". And that's
exactly what Jesus made available when he died on the cross.
"....by Him to reconcile all things to Himself,
by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through
the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His
sight." (Colossians 1:20-22)
Thanks be to God for making this difficult word a
reality in our lives.
Opening
Questions — Get Us Thinking:
· What animal do you consider
the “king of the jungle.”
The Supremacy of the Son of God — Colossians 1:15-23
15The Son is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For 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. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And 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. 19For God was pleased to have all his
fullness dwell in him, 20and 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.
21Once you were alienated from God and were
enemies in your minds because ofg your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s
physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish
and free from accusation— 23if you continue in your faith,
established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every
creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Research
Questions — “Dig Deeper” to find
God’s Will
1. God is ... What do we
learn about God?
2. We are ... What do we
learn about people?
3. What did Paul want his Colossian readers to focus on? What
about Christ causes us to look at Him as supreme?
4. This sounds strange. How can something invisible have an
image? What does the term "image" (v. 15) mean?
5. At first glance the word "firstborn" (v. 15) is
confusing. Was Jesus the first person created? How can we explain it in
context?
6. The “firstborn” has the rights of an heir. What rights does
Jesus have (vv. 15-18)? What is his relationship to “all things” and why say it
twice? Why emphasize this? (See note below)
7. What is meant by this list: thrones, powers, rulers, and
authorities (v. 16)?
8. How is Jesus the "head of the body" in verse 18?
9. What is his relationship to God and the church? What does
“fullness” imply (v. 19)? What should we note about God's pleasure in this
verse?
10. Why did all things need to be reconciled to God and the
“cross” indicate to us (v. 20)? How was this achieved by Jesus?
11. How much do you identify with verse 21, even now? Do you
still sense “evil” in your mind? How does verses 22-23 make you feel?
12. Can a Christian lose their salvation or their faith as the
word “continue” (v. 23) seems to indicate?
Reflective
Questions — Live it today.
1. At times, what people (or forces) seem to be more powerful
than Jesus? Why? How do you respond to the fact that even these are under
Christ’s authority?
2. How would you describe Jesus to someone who has never become
a disciple of Christ? To what would you compare him?
3. I will ... What has the
Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage? How will you apply it to your life
this week?
4. You can ... Who do you
know who needs to hear this?
5. How does this equip us be a better disciple and help empower
us to “make disciples”?
"Anything
that one imagines of God apart from Christ is only useless thinking and vain
idolatry."
Harding Lectures, 1975, Problem passages— by Ed Sanders
Colossians 1:15 — Christ the firstborn of all creation.
a. The theory that
Christ is a created god: the first of all things or persons made by God in
Creation.
b. Indications of
the eternity of Christ.
c. Discussion of becor
and prototokos = "firstborn".
d. Significance of
Revelation 3:14—the beginning of the creation of God.
e. Solution from
these evidences and context.
Materialists -
particularly Jehovah's witnesses - Like to cite Colossians 1:15 as evidence
that Christ is a created God. The idea is that God created Christ, then
everything else. This, it is said, makes Christ the firstborn of all creation.
Of course, John 1:1-3 indicates that Christ is eternal. He
is God. He made everything that has been made. Isaiah 9:6 speaks of the
promised child born of a virgin as "Eternal Father." Christ is
eternal, divine, and self-generating. He is not a created God.
The word, "firstborn" does not indicate order of
existence in time. In the O.T., it is the Hebrew word, becor and is used
with reference to Jacob (Ex 4:22). Jacob was a twin, but he was born after
Esau. Still, he is called God's firstborn. Why? Because the word means
"highest honored." It has to do with preeminence. Esau, who was born
first, was banished to barren Edom, the rocky desert south of the Dead Sea,
while the Christ came from Jacob, God's firstborn--highest honored--
preeminent.
It is also used of David, Psalms 89:27, though David was
born last of all of Jesse's Sons, God calls him God's own firstborn--highest
honored—preeminent.
The Greek equivalent of becor = "firstborn"
is prototokos and this is the word. Paul uses in Colossians 1:15. Christ
is God's highest honored—God's preeminent one and that is exactly what verse.
18 says.
Sometimes the "Created God" idea is buttressed
with Revelation 3:14. Where Christ is said to be the beginning of the creation
of God. What is willingly ignored is that the word "beginning” arche, can
mean source. The beginning of the Mississippi River is the outlet of Lake
Itasca in Minnesota. This is the source
of the great "Father of Waters." Christ, the preeminent one, is the
source of God's creation. Read again the first 3 verses of John's gospel and
the first 3 verses of Hebrews.
Colossians 1:18-23
Colossians 1:18-23
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