By Larry Curl
(Part 2)
The Magnificence of Christ in Creation, as Head of the Church and in Reconciliation:
Colossians 1:15-20
“15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 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. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 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.”
His Magnificence in Creation: Continued…
REVIEW:
Colossians 1:15-16 “…. the firstborn over all creation. 16 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.”
This passage also makes it clear that Jesus is much more than an exalted human being. No human has the power to create something from nothing as Jesus did. And the Gospel of John reinforces that Jesus (the Word) was there at the beginning, with God the Father, making all things, speaking the universe into existence (Genesis 1, and God said “Let there be light”)
John 1:1-3” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Hebrews 11:3 in the ESV, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
The power that Jesus displayed in creating every single thing that exists is beyond our ability to comprehend! It should truly lead us to worship Him!
At the end of verse 15 it declares “all things were created through him and for him. “
John Piper made these comments about this passage:
“All that came into being exists for Christ — that is, it exists to display the greatness of Christ. Nothing — nothing! — in the universe exists for its own sake. Everything from the bottom of the oceans to the top of the mountains, from the smallest particle to the biggest star, from the most boring school subject to the most fascinating science, from the ugliest cockroach to the most beautiful human, from the greatest saint to the most wicked genocidal dictator — everything that exists, exists to make the greatness of Christ more fully known — including you, and the person you have the hardest time liking.”
This concept, that not only was everything created by Christ, but everything exists for Christ, just adds to his magnificence!
NEW MATERIAL:
Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things and in him all things hold together.”
He is before all things…
Jesus is first or preeminent over all others. He is first in authority, first in power, first or preeminent in everything!
“God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him “(Matthew 28:18).
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand” (John 3:35).
“God has put all things in subjection” to him (1 Corinthians 15:27) — “angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
Not only is Christ “before all things”, “…in Him all things hold together.”
All things continue to exist only because He holds them together by his power!
“He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3)
Absolutely everything is totally reliant on Christ. If He didn’t actively sustain the universe by His power it would cease to exist.
Also, John Piper says this about Colossians 1:17….
‘Not only is his involvement in creation exhaustive, but also in every moment of every day. He doesn’t make the watch and walk away. He holds the world, all history, and our lives in his hands, and actively keeps them ticking by the millisecond.”
Again, for anyone who claims to believe the Bible and yet denies that Jesus Christ is God, I don’t know what they do with these verses. No human, no matter how intelligent or powerful, comes even remotely close to being able to do the things being described here that Jesus does.
His Magnificence as Head of the Body (the Church)
Colossians 1:18
I came across some commentary from David Mathis on this verse that I think is worded well and most importantly Biblically sound. David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org that John Piper founded and he is also a pastor at Cities Church.
“As impressive as it is for Christ to be Lord of all that exists in such utterly exhaustive and unrestricted terms, it is even more impressive that he is Lord of all in the world to come. He is firstborn, preeminent, not only in the first creation (verse 15), but also in the ultimate creation (verse 18), the new heavens and new earth, as head of the body of the redeemed people for which the new world is designed. The first world was designed for his entrance. The new world is designed for his endless reign as supreme over all and head of this body called the church.
As great a glory as it is for Christ to be the very image of God in whom, through whom, and for whom all things exist, his role in relation to the church is even more significant. (I will pause here to say that I am not certain that Jesus’ role in relation to the church is even more significant than his role as the very image of God and his role in creation. I would say in my opinion they are equally important or significant. But I might be wrong. David Mathis has some good points as follows.) “As Paul says in his companion letter, Ephesians, it is “through the church [that] the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).
And the church is the people among whom God’s glory and praise reach their pinnacle. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:20–21).”
Again, I would have to study this some more to take a firm stand on saying that Jesus’ role in relation to the church is even more significant than his role as the very image of God and his role in creation. My current opinion is that at each stage of Gods’ revelation of His Son these roles are equally significant. In other words, all of these roles bring equal glory to Christ. But when Mr. Mathis refers to (Ephesians 3:10) “through the church [that] the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” I can see that when the church came into being Gods’ glory was now made known to an even greater audience. So maybe what he means is that Jesus’ role in relation to the church is more significant because God’s glory is reaching further than ever before through the church.
His Magnificence in Reconciliation
Colossians 1:19-20
19“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 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.”
Now we begin to see Jesus as the Lamb sacrificed on the cross to reconcile to Himself all things. In this role we see an even greater picture of his magnificence. The previous verses we looked at in Colossians 1:15-20 proclaimed the amazing power and authority of Christ as the image of God and in His role as Creator of all things. But, at the cross where Jesus became our Savior and reconciled us and all things to Himself, we see His submissiveness, His meekness as the Lamb of God. We begin to see a deeper picture of our Lord Jesus.
I really like how John Piper describes this deeper picture of Christ.
“A lion is admirable for its ferocious strength and imperial appearance. A lamb is admirable for its meekness and servant-like provision of wool for our clothing. But even more admirable is a lionlike lamb and a lamblike lion. What makes Christ glorious, as Jonathan Edwards observed over 250 years ago, is “an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies.”
For example, we admire Christ for his transcendence, but even more because the transcendence of his greatness is mixed with submission to God. We marvel at him because his uncompromising justice is tempered with mercy. His majesty is sweetened by meekness. In his equality with God, he has a deep reverence for God. Though he is worthy of all good, he was patient to suffer evil. His sovereign dominion over the world was clothed with a spirit of obedience and submission. He baffled the proud scribes with his wisdom, but was simple enough to be loved by children. He could still the storm with a word, but would not strike the Samaritans with lightning or take himself down from the cross.
The glory of Christ is not a simple thing. It is a coming together in one person of extremely diverse qualities. “
And these diverse qualities were demonstrated by Christ in a way that was never seen before. Some people were attracted to Jesus because of these qualities, but others were offended.
John 7:12 “And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.”
John 9:16 “Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So, they were divided.”
Bennett Life 
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