Colossians 1:15-20 –
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Introduction
Easter Sunday is the most important holiday on the Church calendar. For centuries, it has been a time set aside by the Church to celebrate and proclaim Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; not as a fairy tale or as a sentimental wish, but as a real, historical fact; one that shook heaven and earth; one that is the highpoint of all human history. It is not an exaggeration to say that the eternal destiny of every person on earth, including every person in this room, hinges on our response to this news.
Of this, the Apostle Paul has some strong words,
1 Corinthians 15:13-20 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
We are here today because we believe Jesus really is risen from the dead, and that He really is the savior of all who believe (1 Timothy 4:10), and that He really is, right now, seated at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf (Colossians 3:1), and that He really will return one day to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1), and that we will join Him in His resurrection (2 Corinthians 4:14), and that all of that is worth celebrating in the highest!
To pour gas on that fire, we’re going to continue making our way through Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In God’s kindness, we’ve come to the second half of 1:18, “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” What a testimony to God’s presence and love it is that this is our passage for Easter Sunday.
As we work our way through these few verses, we’ll see the big idea is that just as Jesus is preeminent over all Creation (over the making and governing of all that has been made), so too is He preeminent over all redemption and recreation (over saving and restoring all that has been broken). Said another way, the combination of Jesus’ work in creating the heavens and the earth and His resurrection from the dead shows that all things are from Him and through Him and for Him; and that is really good news for all who believe. The main takeaway for us, then, is to praise God and trust in the resurrected Jesus for every aspect of our lives and eternal lives.
Christ is risen, Grace Church!
The Power of the Parallels
If you’re just joining us, I’ve been preaching on the various aspects of Colossians 1:15-20 for a number of weeks now. That whole section in Paul’s letter is about the preeminence—the stand-alone superiority, majesty, sovereignty, glory—of Jesus. In a clear and clean way, Paul divides the preeminence of Jesus between His work in the Creation (vs.15-18a) and redemption/recreation (18b-20) of the world.
If we are going to really rejoice in the glory and receive the help contained in these few verses—which, of course, we very much want, right, Grace?—then we need to begin by seeing the four parallels Paul makes between Jesus’ work in Creation and in Recreation.
First, in the beginning of v.15 (in the section on Jesus’ preeminence over Creation), Paul wrote that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God.” The recreation parallel is in v.19, where he wrote that in Jesus “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Can you see that in both, Paul’s point is that Jesus is God incarnate?
Second, in the second half of v.15 (Creation), Paul said of Jesus that He “is the firstborn of all creation.” And then in v.18 (recreation) he wrote that Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead.” There is a parallel between Jesus being firstborn at the making and remaking of heaven and earth.
Third, in v.17a (Creation) Paul wrote that Jesus “is before all things.” We find the parallel in v.18b (recreation), “He is the beginning.”
And finally, fourth, in v.16 (Creation) he wrote that in Jesus “all things were created.” And in v. 20 (recreation) he wrote that in Jesus “all things” will be reconciled.
Why do we need to start there? What’s the point of the parallels? The point is that just as Jesus is preeminent over Creation, so too is He preeminent over redemption and recreation. Just as Jesus is the author of all created things, so too is He the author of the salvation of all things. Just as His life is the source of all life, so too is His resurrection the source of all new life. Just as He ordered all things in the beginning, so too will He reorder all things in the end.
For the Colossian Church (those to whom the letter was originally written), drawing their attention to those awesome parallels served two main purposes. (1) It helped them grow even more firm in their resolve that salvation is in Jesus alone. That fact definitively answered many of the questions put before them by false teachers. (2) At the same time, Paul also meant it to help them grow even more firm in their resolve that Jesus is entirely sufficient to protect them from those persecuting them. And that fact definitively answered their questions concerning how they would be able to endure the persecution they were facing.
In other words, in drawing the parallels between Jesus’ preeminence over Creation and redemption, Paul poetically pointed the Colossians to the unmatched glory of Jesus and directly addressed their two main problems. What a gift that was for them (and, as we’re about to see, is for us).
With that in the way of a backdrop, let’s back up a bit and look more closely at the specifics of this passage. Insodoing, we’ll get a fuller sense of Paul’s argument and, Lord willing, it will result in hearts full of resurrection worship and lives full of resurrection obedience!
For the remainder of this sermon, then, we’re going to look a bit closer at each of those parallels as they appear inside the four main recreation claims Paul makes of Jesus in our passage: (1) Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, (2) In the man Jesus, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (3) In Jesus all things are reconciled to God, and (4) In all of this, the preeminence of Jesus is put on spectacular display.
As remarkable as those things are, let me be clear on something: Neither Paul’s aim nor mine is to simply fill your head with Easter facts. For both of us, it is to help you see how those facts are the only sure foundation for a life, even an eternal life, of satisfaction, peace, meaning, and worship. Or, more immediately, it is to help today be filled with the kind of celebration and joy that can only come from genuine hope in the real and resurrected and reigning Jesus’. Let’s make our Easter celebrations centered around these things, Grace. If these things are true, and the certainly are, what could possibly be more worthy of celebrating?!
Jesus Is the Beginning, The Firstborn from the Dead
Once again, the first claim Paul makes in our passage for this morning is that Jesus “is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.”
As I mentioned earlier, in both Creation and recreation, Jesus is the cause. That Jesus is “before” Creation (Genesis 1-2) means Creation was by and through Him. It came after Him and out of Him. That’s awesome. And in the same way, that He is the “beginning” of recreation (according to our passage) means that all new life, all salvation, is by and through Him, after and out of Him as well. That’s even more awesome.
Do you see that, Grace? Do you see how amazing that is? Do you see how essential that is for a true and full celebration of Easter? For just 10 seconds, consider the power and wisdom it must take to call something into existence from nothing (the original work of Creation). Jesus had that, Paul wrote. But not only that, He also had the power and wisdom to save sinners and undo all that our sin has distorted, broken, and killed. Easter is a celebration of Jesus as the beginning, the Maker and Remaker of heaven and earth.
But that’s not all. There’s more power, wisdom, and glory in Jesus that Paul wanted the Colossians (and us) to see and celebrate. He is the “beginning” and the “firstborn”. That He is the “firstborn of all creation” and the “firstborn from the dead” both mean that Jesus is not only the source of creation and recreation, but that He is also supreme, superior, and sovereign over everything that has been made and redeemed. And that means Creation and recreation are not only by and through Him, but that they are also for Him! It’s not just that He is the cause of both, but also that He is the aim of both. By God’s design, Jesus is the firstborn of both so that (as we’ll see more clearly in just a bit) all things might marvel at Him in His glory! Praise God for this, Grace. What hope! What unmatched majesty! What a cause for celebration!
Jesus Is Risen
On this Easter Sunday, out of this same claim, that Jesus “is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,” consider with me two more of the greatest pieces of news of all time.
First, in order for Jesus to be firstborn from the dead, He first had to be dead. That might not sound like good news, but it most certainly is.
As we just saw, by and through Jesus, God created the heavens and the earth, and all things therein very good. And as we also just saw, all things, and especially mankind, were made by God for His glory; that is, God made everything that has been made to be fully and eternally satisfied and in fellowship with Him.
However, instead of looking to God, the One thing that can truly and lastingly satisfy, our first parents quickly looked to other things. Insodoing, they sinned against and fell short of the glory of God, taking upon themselves the God-promised, just penalty for their sin—physical, spiritual, and eternal death. From the time of Adam and Eve, therefore, death reigned. Since their Fall, all mankind has been born into their sin, and into their death.
And yet, it is an inescapable fact that even in our sin, we bear God’s image. And it is an inescapable fact that all divine image bearers know two things: There is a God and we are guilty before Him. Consequently, in a very real way, all human history has been one long and entirely unsuccessful attempt by man to either unshackle or save himself from this judgment. Through innumerable man-made philosophies (unshackle) and religions (save), through unimaginable hours and effort, through incalculable cost and consternation, not a single person has moved a single step closer to escaping the death sentence issued to us by God. Indeed, no mere man ever could.
But what was impossible for us, was not impossible for God. Because He is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus was without sin and able to absorb the full wrath of the Father for it. Because He became man, Jesus was able to die and do so as an acceptable sacrifice for mankind.
And in love, that’s exactly what He did. That’s what happened on Good Friday—He handed Himself over to be crucified for the sins of the world. On the cross, the Father poured out the full measure of His wrath upon Jesus and then Jesus died the death of a sinner. But Jesus didn’t stay dead and the Father didn’t stay angry. On the third day, by the power and in the pleasure of God, with atonement having been fully made, Jesus rose from the dead and therein became the “beginning, the firstborn from the dead.”
Jesus Rose So Many Would Rise with Him
And that leads to the second piece of greatest news. Grace, for Jesus to be firstborn, there must be a secondborn. For Him to be the first to be resurrected from the dead, there must be others after Him. Indeed, there are! Paul’s main point is that Jesus accomplished for us what we were unable to accomplish for ourselves. He died, so we would live. He rose, so we would follow.
2 Corinthians 4:14-15 He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Easter, then, is not just the chance to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, it is the chance to join Him in it, to become the secondborn from the dead!
And the ever-growing good news is that we can, not by doing enough good things to earn His favor or by somehow making ourselves acceptable to Him, but by simply placing our trust in Him; by acknowledging that He alone is sufficient, that we have sinned and deserve the death that Jesus didn’t, but died, and that He alone could raise us from the dead and reconcile us to God.
That’s a different kind of Easter celebration, isn’t it Grace?
In Jesus All the Fullness of God Was Pleased to Dwell
I mentioned earlier that Paul makes four main claims in vs.18b-20. We just spent a good deal of time on the first—that Jesus rose from the dead so that we would too. The second is like it. It too is a description of Jesus’ unfathomable glory and grace. It too is great help for celebrating Easter as we ought.
Paul’s second main claim is that in Jesus…
19 … all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…
Paul wrote that in relation to Jesus’ work in recreation. And again, that parallels his statement in relation to the Creation, that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (v.15). The point for both is that Jesus was only able to Create and recreate because He is truly man and truly God. Only God can create something out of nothing—physical and spiritual things in the beginning or physical and spiritual life in the new beginning.
Grace Church, that in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, is a truth so glorious that it is impossible to overstate it. If your hope is in Jesus, you will spend all of eternity enthusiastically, though unsuccessfully attempting to plumb the depths of this.
Jesus is truly and eternally God. In Him is all the fullness of God’s nature; His glory and power and holiness and love and mercy and grace and justice and wisdom and majesty. Praise Him for this. Trust Him in this. Make this the heart of your celebration today.
That leads us nicely and neatly to Paul’s third main point.
In Jesus All Things Are Reconciled to God
(1) Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead so that many would join Him, (2) He was able to do so only because He is truly God, and the ultimate and final result will be that (3)…
20 … through [Jesus, God will] reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
That sounds awesome, doesn’t it? All things reconciled in heaven and earth!? But what does it really mean?
Jesus Reconciles All Things
On the surface, it kind of sounds like some form of universalism, like everything and everyone will be saved in Jesus, doesn’t it? Although it might sound like that, the clear teaching of the NT, especially in Paul’s writings, is that only those who place their faith in Jesus will be rescued from their sin.
Ephesians 2:8 by grace you have been saved through faith.
Romans 10:9-13 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. … 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” … 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But if Paul didn’t mean that everyone will be saved, what did he mean that God will “reconcile to Himself all things…on earth or in heaven, making peace…” through Jesus?
At the very least he meant that one day everything will be put in its proper place. One day every crooked line will be made straight and every injustice will be righted. One day every created thing will properly acknowledge God as God and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord of all.
It is an unmistakable and unimaginably glorious promise—especially as we consider the difficulties the Colossians faced and the vast amounts of pain and suffering and disorder and rebellion in the world today—that one day it will all be made right; that every evil and rebellious thing will be driven away forever, never to return again; that every rock and plant and animal and star and cell will be brought into perfect conformity with God’s good design; that one day all who are hoping in Jesus will be fully and forever rid of every ounce of pain and sadness and difficulty and inefficiency and bentness and brokenness and lesser appetite; that everyone who joins Jesus in His resurrection will know only perfect rightness and peace and all in the presence of the all-satisfying God who made us for Himself.
In the end, it’s remarkable Easter news indeed, that even as all things in heaven and on earth were made by, through, and for Jesus, so too will all things be reconciled to Jesus (which is the fourth and final parallel).
But how did Jesus do that reconciling and peace-making work?
Jesus Reconciles All Things by His Blood
Although I mentioned this earlier, Paul says it explicitly here. All things, one way or another, will be reconciled and at peace,
20 … by the blood of [Jesus’] cross.”
From the very beginning, God declared that blood is required for sin. Not one iota of sin will be unpaid for or paid for by anything other than blood. Right at the heart of the gospel is the reality that there are only two possible sources of sin-paying blood. We will either pay for it with our own, eternally, or we will accept the blood-sacrifice that Jesus offered on our behalf on the cross. We learn from the insufficiency of the millions of gallons of animal blood offered in the OT and the countless offerings made to pagan “gods” that there are no other options.
While there is a future component to the reconciliation and peace-making purchased by Jesus’ cross-blood, the grammar of Paul’s promise makes it clear that it is certain. Jesus’ death and resurrection definitively accomplished it. Because of the blood of His cross, it can’t not be that all things will be reconciled to God. It’s not 99.9999999%, it’s 100% certain. He did it. It’s done.
Again, what awesome news that is, Grace Church. What hope it is for all our trials. What a reason to celebrate!
All of that to Demonstrate Jesus’ Preeminence
The fourth and final point Paul makes is actually closer to the beginning of this passage than the end. However, it is the point of the whole passage and so I wanted to save it for last.
It’s found at the very end of v.18. There, Paul tells us the ultimate reason for everything else. Why did God Create all things by, through, and for Jesus? Why is it in Jesus that all created things hold together? Why is Jesus the head of the Church? Why is He the firstborn from the dead? Why is God pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus and for Jesus to be the very image of the invisible God? Why is it through Jesus that all things are reconciled to God? Why did Jesus die on a cross and rise from the dead?
18 … that in everything he might be preeminent.
The divine aim in all of that is that Jesus would be exalted above all. God’s plan in creation, redemption, and recreation is that the name of Jesus would be lifted above every name, that all would see Him as supreme, first, and highest. All of our worship, then, is to be directed at the godhead through Jesus. That’s what Easter is really about. That’s what we’re meant to celebrate above all. Our salvation is an amazing expression of God’s grace for sure, but the best part of it is that we are saved into fellowship with the Preeminent One. Our salvation is, Easter is, above all, the opportunity to have the Greatest Treasure, Jesus, as our greatest treasure.
Let us make this greatest news the center and sufficient heart of our celebration today, Grace. And let us continually God and trust in the resurrected Jesus for every aspect of our lives and eternal lives.
Christ is risen!
Conclusion
In His kind providence, God brought us to this particular passage on Easter Sunday and He put Easter Sunday on the first Sunday of the month this year. That means, as Pastor Colin mentioned at the beginning of our service, that we get to take part in the meal that Jesus instituted for us on the night before He was crucified for us.