Zambia Hunt

The Ultimate Authority

In the year 27 BC, a man named Octavian became the first emperor of Rome. He took the name Augustus Caesar, sometimes referred to as Caesar Augustus. For over 40 years, Augustus reigned supreme over the vast Roman Empire. His word was law across three continents. In fact, it was this very man who was alive when Jesus Christ was born. All of that early drama with Herod was under the reign of Caesar Augustus in Rome.

His word was law across northern Africa, Europe, and Asia. He commanded armies. He built cities and developed architecture that, for the next centuries, would give us the feel and the look of architecture. In fact, in much of Europe, even today, as you move around, you see the influence of ancient Roman architecture. He built cities, and he shaped the course of world history. The Roman Senate gave him the title Principus, meaning first citizen, acknowledging his supreme authority over the entire known world of his day.

But Augustus’ reign, as valid and as influential as it was, pales in comparison to the supremacy of Christ over all things and over His church. While Caesar Augustus ruled over territories, Christ ruled in the hearts of men and ruled throughout all eternity. While Augustus’ empire crumbled, Christ’s kingdom was eternal. While Augustus demanded obedience through force, Christ inspired devotion through love.

In Colossians we see seven life-changing implications of Christ’s supremacy over His church today. As we do so, let us remember that we serve one who is far greater than any earthly kingdom or any earthly ruler – one whose authority extends beyond borders, beyond time, and even beyond death itself.

The Biblical Foundation

John 16:14 says this: “He will glorify me,” Jesus said, speaking of the Holy Spirit, “for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Throughout the New Testament, we are taught that it is the Holy Spirit’s task and delight to exalt Jesus Christ. Passages like 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21 tell us that it was in fact the very work of the Holy Spirit in breathing out the scriptures and giving it to men, holy men, who would pen down the words of this book. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

That’s exactly what the Holy Spirit is doing in Colossians 1:15-20. It is the Holy Spirit’s delight to exalt Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to describe the Lord Jesus Christ in the loftiest terms. These are the very words of God used to describe the glory and the supremacy of Jesus. In other words, He wanted us to understand and to use and to embrace this description of Jesus.

What you believe matters. Doctrine separates belief systems. And in Colossians 1:18-20, these verses, especially verses 19 and 20, serve as a theological cornerstone in the letter to the Colossians. By affirming the deity of Christ and the universal scope of His reconciling work, these verses lay a foundation for Paul to refute the false teachings in this city and in this church. It is the foundation of Paul’s call in the last two chapters to live out their faith in Christ.

The Context of Colossians

The purpose that Paul wrote this letter was to address certain false teachings that had emerged in the Colossian church. These teachings diminished the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ. These teachings included legalism, asceticism (denial of self), and mysticism – angels and demons and mystic experiences.

Satan doesn’t care what you believe as long as you don’t believe the truth. He’s very fine with you being religious, even calling yourself a Christian. He’s totally comfortable with that as long as you do not understand the truth, as long as you believe something that is slightly different than the absolute truth of God’s word.

In this first chapter, after the opening greeting and thanksgiving, Paul launches into a powerful Christological statement in verses 15-23, and our text is right in the middle of that section.

When we come to verses 19 and 20, we come to the climax of Paul’s declaration about Christ’s preeminence. Many commentators believe that this section was a hymn or a poetic statement about the nature and work of Christ, perhaps even sung by the early church. These verses support Paul’s practical exhortations that will come later in the letter.

If Christ is supreme and His work is all-encompassing, then the Colossians should resist false teaching (2:8), put off the old self (3:5-11), and live in a manner worthy of the Lord (3:12-4).

The Central Text

“And He,” speaking of Christ, “is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:18-20)

Here’s the big idea: Because God’s fullness dwells in Christ, He is the head of the church and accomplishes peace and reconciliation through His death.

Seven Life-Changing Implications

1. Recognize Christ’s Authority

“And He is the head of the body, the church.” Christ’s headship over the church is seen as both a position of authority and the source of the church’s life and growth. In Colossians 2:10 we read: “And you have been filled in Him who is the head of all rule and authority.”

Christ is sovereign over His church. Paul would write to the Ephesians in 5:23: “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and Himself its savior.”

To recognize Christ’s authority means we are to submit to Christ’s leadership in all areas of our life. He is the head over all things. It also means that we are to seek Christ’s guidance as a church in all the decisions that we make, and in our own individual lives and personal choices.

2. Embrace New Life in Christ

“He is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead.”

As the beginning, Christ is the origin and initiating cause of the church. In other words, Christ is the founder of the church. Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock – Peter’s declaration that Jesus Christ is the Messiah – I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

As the firstborn from among the dead, this speaks of Christ being the first to rise to eternal life. This emphasizes that Christ is supreme over death and in His role in the new creation.

Jesus was not the first person to rise from the dead. There are a number of illustrations throughout Scripture – the Shunammite woman’s son in 2 Kings 4, and Lazarus in John 11. But what does it mean that Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead? John Piper is correct when he wrote, “Firstborn from the dead means that He is the first to rise from the dead, never to die again.” That’s the difference.

Jesus is the firstborn of the dead, meaning He is the one and only one who died and was resurrected eternally, never to die again. And He is supreme over all who will ever rise from the dead.

We are called to live as new creations in Christ, leaving behind the old ways. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.”

This also gives us hope – the hope and promise of resurrection. Because Jesus rose from the dead never to die again, we have resurrection hope. He is supreme over death. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus told Mary and Martha.

3. Prioritize Christ in Everything

“That in everything He might be preeminent.”

This speaks of Christ’s supreme position. The entire plan for creation and then redemption of creation was for Christ to be exalted as preeminent. Preeminent simply means supreme, foremost in rank, with the most dignity, the one of most importance.

Christ is the head of the church. There is one supreme in His church, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the head. He is the firstborn, that in everything He might be preeminent.

Are you putting Christ first in your daily decisions and in your long-term plans? We must evaluate our activities and relationships in the light of Christ’s supremacy.

4. Appreciate Christ’s Deity

“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him.”

This declares that God, in His sovereign pleasure, chose for the totality of His divine nature and attributes to reside fully and permanently in Christ. The deity of Christ affirms that Jesus Christ possesses the complete nature and attributes of God.

Jesus, the Word, is explicitly called God and is described as the Creator in John 1. Colossians 2:9 states: “For in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.” In Philippians 2:5-6, Jesus existed in the form of God and was equal with God.

Jesus himself claimed unity with the Father in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Thomas directly addressed Jesus as God in John 20:28, saying “My Lord and my God.” Jesus is directly referred to as our great God and Savior in Titus 2:13.

The phrase “was pleased to dwell” suggests that God took the initiative in this incarnation. This dwelling refers to the incarnation where the divine nature is fully united with human nature in Christ.

If you understand that Jesus is God, you will worship Him as God. This truth moves us to trust in the sufficiency of Christ for all your spiritual needs. If Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, He has the power, ability, and wisdom to meet your needs.

We are to reject every doctrine that subordinates Jesus Christ. The Arian heresy taught that the Father created the Son and thus the Son is not co-eternal or fully divine. This heresy is alive today in groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

5. Participate in Christ’s Reconciling Work

“And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things.”

First Timothy 2 tells us that Christ is the mediator between God and man, between God and all of creation. Everything was affected by the fall. The curse pronounced in Genesis 3 fell upon everything – plants, animals, the planet.

God is moving us toward a future restoration in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21:1) that will restore all of the fallenness of the universe. We began in perfection in a garden. We will end in perfection in a garden. Between these gardens is the reconciliation work of Jesus Christ.

This reconciliation to God the Father is carried out by Jesus Christ the Son, and it’s exclusive. There is no other medium by which you can be reconciled to God. The false teachers of Colossae were suggesting other ways of being right with God, as though you could do something in your own power or through legalistic keeping of the law.

God is the one who is reconciling all things to Himself. This is an exclusive work of God carried out through the person of Jesus Christ, and no other. There is no salvation in any other name, for there is only one name under heaven by which you must be saved.

6. Embrace the Peace of Christ

“Whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood that was shed upon the cross.”

Notice the universal scope of this reconciliation – “all things, whether on earth or heaven” – reminding us of the all-encompassing scope of Christ’s reconciling work. This suggests that the effects of sin and the need for redemption extend beyond humanity to the entire created order.

As Paul writes in Romans 8:19-21: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

The centrality of the cross is emphasized: “by making peace by the blood of his cross.” This highlights the crucial role of Christ’s sacrificial death in accomplishing this reconciliation. It supports the doctrine of atonement – the idea that Christ’s death was necessary to bring peace between fallen creation and a holy God.

If Christ is your mediator, if the blood of His sacrifice has been placed upon your account, you can rest in the peace that Christ provides. You have peace with God, and you can pursue peace with others, grounded in Christ’s work upon the cross.

7. Live with a Future Perspective

“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

The nature of salvation is reconciliation. The term “reconcile” implies that sin caused a rift or alienation between God and His creation, and Christ’s work on the cross heals that rift. This presents salvation not just as forgiveness, but as the restoration of a broken relationship.

Notice it says that He would “reconcile to Himself.” This is God’s self-reconciliation. It’s not just that Christ reconciles creation to God, but that God in Christ is active in reconciling all things to Himself. This reminds us of the unity of the Godhead and the personal nature of salvation.

The comprehensive language used in this text – “all the fullness,” “all things,” “whether on earth or in heaven” – underscores the complete sufficiency of Christ’s person and work, countering any notion that something more than Christ is needed for salvation or spiritual fullness.

Those who would tell you that you need Jesus plus something else are teaching falsely. This demotes the sufficiency and the supremacy of Jesus. We do not need Jesus plus something; Jesus is supreme and sufficient.

The world is broken because of sin. Because of sin, we have suffering, disease, and death. But remember, we are not living for this world. Live with a future perspective. Christ is supreme over the universe. Christ is redeeming all things unto Himself. And Christ will return to complete that work.

Practical Application

What do we do with this glorious truth? Three words to consider:

1. Surrender – Surrender to His Lordship over your life. If you have never accepted Christ as your personal Savior and been reconciled with God, humble yourself, believe, and receive Him today. Every knee will bow, either in this life (leading to eternal salvation) or in the next (leading to judgment).
2. Submit – Submit to His headship. Don’t handicap the body of Christ by refusing to submit to the head. Function in your reconciled state in submission to the head of the church, Jesus Christ.
3. Speak – Speak to others about the reconciliation and peace that can be theirs through Jesus Christ. The world is in turmoil. People are hurting and looking in every direction for answers. Jesus is the answer. Let’s tell them about the reconciliation and peace that can be theirs through Jesus Christ.