The Book of Colossians
Complete in Him “Complete through our Saviour�
BibleClass.com.au Teaching Series Series: Complete in Him: Study of the Book of Colossians Part: #2 of 4 Main Scripture: Colossians 1:15 - 2:3 Teacher: Mr Bill Forward Date: 2007
Inline, direct scripture quotes are italicised. Block quotes are indented. The New King James Version is used unless otherwise stated. This transcript has undergone minor editing to ensure readability.
The MP3 audio of the study upon which this transcript is based and a learning guide are available from http://bibleclass.com.au/
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Complete through our Saviour: Jesus The last thing that we covered in the previous study was that we have redemption through what Jesus has done. That brings us to the topic for this study, which we draw from the section beginning in chapter 1 and verse 15: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. [Emphasis added] 15
Note the number of times Paul mentions, “all things” (see bold sections). When it comes to the Lord Jesus, we’re never talking about partial things, little bits or incompleteness. Paul is emphasising that we’re talking about all things: in every single thing Christ should have the preeminence. This is in direct answer to the false teaching that Jesus was a tiny little emanation of God, as introduced in the last study.
Complete because of who Jesus is The image of God The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus is the very image of the invisible God. If someone asks what God is like, the answer is, “Look at Jesus.” The same answer comes to the person who wants to know what God would do. “Look at Jesus.” John tells us that nobody has ever seen God, but the Lord Jesus has made Him known. In Hebrews we read more concerning who Jesus is. We see that the Son is the very radiance of God’s glory and the exact image of His being. Firstborn over all creation Then we read that, in relation to creation, Jesus is the firstborn. That causes some confusion in some people’s minds. Does it mean firstborn as in the firstborn of your family? That is one way to think about it, but it’s wrong in this context. Read this part of Psalm 89 by way of example: I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. /.../ 20
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Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
We all know that David was not the firstborn in his family. Actually, he was the youngest. But God is here saying that He will make David His firstborn because it is a position which he is being placed into as opposed to a historical fact of his actual birth. There are people who say that this means that Jesus was the first created being, but that is not what the Bible says. The Bible teaches us rather that Jesus has been given the very highest place.
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In David’s case, it was the highest place of the kings of the earth. In the Lord’s case, it is the highest place amongst all things, which is the same as saying the firstborn of all creation. He is the firstborn of all creation because He is actually the creator of all things. Note that it includes things in heaven, things on earth, things that are visible and things that are invisible. In other words, in every single realm, Jesus is the creator of the lot. He is in every one of the many realms of creation. The scriptures go on to say that He is eternal: He is before all things, He is the heir of all things, He is the sustainer of all things and He is the head over every single thing. And I refer to John 1 on this point: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. [Emphasis added] 1
And Hebrews 1:
[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. [Emphasis added]
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And the next statement tells us that He sustains every single thing by His powerful word.
That is who Jesus is. He is no tiny little God. In fact, He is absolutely and perfectly God. We are told in Hebrews and in Colossians 2:9 that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells within Him bodily. In no way is He lacking. In every way He is absolutely perfectly, totally God. Head of the church The Bible tells us that the church is like a body and Christ is the head, and everything pertains to Him and is controlled by Him. As we look to Christ, we see in Him all that is perfect in relation to the church. So He also has the first place in the church. Firstborn from the dead Then when we think about Christians, He is the guarantee of the resurrection since He is the firstborn from the dead. He was the first to rise from the dead and Revelation tells us that He is the one who was dead and who is alive forevermore. Conclusion When we look at these things, we understand that the Lord Jesus must have the first place in relation to Christians. The Bible says that in every single thing He must have the first place. Sadly, however, there is one place in the whole of this universe where Jesus might not have the first place: that is the human heart that refuses to acknowledge Christ as king. It is the only place in the entire universe where He may be rejected. The Bible tells us that even God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Jesus. Understand that point: He is perfectly, totally and absolutely God. He is in no way that small emanation of God, or that partial God that the false teachers claimed in Colosse and that false teachers today would seek to say.
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Complete because of what Jesus has done A great plan of redemption, reconciliation & peace When I think about the death of Jesus, really I think about myself; I think about my sins and the fact that Christ died for my sins. That is true, but we really need to have the bigger picture of why Jesus died. We need to understand that God was fulfilling His great plan of redemption. God’s great plan of redemption was also a great plan of reconciliation that is far greater than just you and me. You see, this is God’s world that Satan came and usurped. That is why we witness the brokenness, the wickedness and the evil in our world today. It is as a result of Satan’s power and influence, primarily through wicked people. But God’s great plan was that through the cross He might do something and Paul says it as follows: For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and 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. 19
So the reason that Jesus came was not just to save us from our sins. His purpose in coming was to reconcile all things by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We have a new covenant because it has been sealed with the blood of Jesus. We have an eternal redemption. We have a home in Heaven. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. But don’t forget that God’s plan is even bigger than that. It is bigger than just you. His plan was to reconcile every single thing in Heaven and on earth and to bring it back under His authority, making peace. What is peace? A lot of us think of peace in terms of tranquility and stillness. That’s not quite what is meant here. Peace is when everything is as God intended it to be. After making everything, God said it was “very good.” There was peace on earth in that moment. Now Jesus has come as the Prince of Peace1 to bring peace on earth, and the only way that could happen was to make peace through the blood of the cross. So when we are thinking about Jesus and understanding that God has done this, we must see that He has done it through the cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight... 21
We have been reconciled by the very blood and body of Christ. The very things that the false teachers were saying were tangible, material things that were evil. No! Says Paul. These were the very means whereby God has completed the work of reconciliation. Firstly the reconciliation of all things by making peace, but secondly by making me able to come back to God through what He suffered in His physical body. That is the means by which we will be presented Holy in His sight without blemish and free from accusation. That is an incredible thing. Who of us is innocent, without sin? Of course we know that none of us fit that criteria, but here is what God has done despite that. And it has been done through what Jesus did on the cross through His blood and through His body. He is now in a position to be able 1
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Title given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6.
to present us Holy in His sight without blemish and free from any accusation. Satan loves to accuse us and point out our weaknesses and failures. He loves to bring doubt and fear and despair to us time and again. But Paul tells us here that what God has done is absolutely perfect. We have an absolutely perfect Saviour. We have an absolutely perfect salvation. And it is all because of Jesus and what He has done. Not only has He reconciled everything in Heaven and on earth by the blood of His cross, but He has reconciled us also even whilst we were alienated and estranged from God, even hostile and actively doing evil. The cross can become a nice little ornament that people wear, but the fact is that it was an awful thing. It was the most horrific means of execution. To behead somebody was easy by comparison - they were dead in a few moments. The cross entailed hours and hours of savage suffering. Spiritually it was worse. It was the place where a person was made to be a curse according to God’s law: Galatians 3 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)2
Jesus had not merely died. That would have been achieved by beheading or some other means and it would not have quite fulfilled what God intended. He had to be made a curse for us so that we might receive the blessing. As Christians, we have to understand the significance of the death of Christ. Paul is at pains to make us understand that.
Complete because Jesus dwells in us Recall that the false teachers were encouraging the Christians to join their group because they had secret knowledge and extra mysteries. I was a missionary in India for some years. The Hindus there have five methods through which they can become one with God by self-control and they are all essentially searches for mysteries: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Yoga; Knowledge; Religion; Doing good works; and Asceticism (self-punishment).
All of these things are their pathways. They say that it is like creeks and tributaries that are running into a river which ultimately runs into an ocean where it gets lost. You are said to be on one of these creeks - is it knowledge or religion or yoga? One of these things will be the creek that you follow until you become one with God. The idea with these false teachers was the same. They were claiming to have a secret that would be each person’s very own. A secret between them and God. And that secret would connect 2
cf Deuteronomy 21:23.
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them with God in a new, fuller way. Paul says that’s rubbish. In fact, he says we have got a secret! Our secret is something that is a mystery that was hidden from ages past, but it is something that is now broadcast to the entire world. This is it: To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 27
That is our secret! Christ is in us and He is the hope of glory! That is the great thing that makes us complete. John wrote: John 1 12 ...as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God...
He is the key! The only key. And it is for those who receive Him - that is to say, those in whom He lives. Paul also wrote to the Corinthians and he said that He was concerned for them. He didn’t know whether they were true Christians. So he gave them a little test - he effectively asked them: “Is Christ in you?” Think about that. Paul’s own testimony was as follows: Galatians 2 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. [Emphasis added]
Therefore this is a real test of a true Christian. Believers in Christ are complete because they have this mystery: Christ is in us. It is also the secret that is no longer a secret, but we can shout it aloud, as Paul says in the verses that follow.
Complete in Him because of His treasures Colossians 2 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
None of us need to be without the full assurance and understanding that it is in Him that are hidden every treasure of the wisdom and knowledge of God.
Having Christ, we have it all. Really, in light of the issues which Paul is dealing with, nothing more needs to be said. See you in the next study.
Continues in part #3, available from http://bibleclass.com.au/
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