The Supremacy of Christ

This week I have been blessed by the study of the book of Colossians. I personally do not know of any book of the bible that elevates Christ the way Colossians does. To think that much of this knowledge about Christ came to us through a man, the apostle Paul is beyond incredible. God in His infinite wisdom made it so. When I read and follow Paul’s writing, I find that he often made it a habit to thank God for the lives of those he ministered to. Whether these were his “children in the faith”, or churches that he planted. Everything with Paul was meant to give glory and honour back to God. That was important. I believe that is why we have books like Colossians that were written to shift our focus away from ourselves and towards God. In this post, I will discuss a few points that blessed me as I was studying the book. First, everything I do must give God the glory. Second, Christ is supreme and third, change begins in the heart and mind and flows to our actions.

The first point that jumped out to me as I began reading the first few verses of Colossians 1 is that everything I do must reveal God and give Him the glory. What does that look like? Well, it starts in the simple things. As we see from Paul, thanking God for the lives of other brothers or sisters as well as for their work is one way to give God the glory. Paul does not focus on thanking the people for being good but he thanks God for their life and work. We live in a society that is engrossed with taking the glory, and making sure everyone sees what they are capable of doing, recognizes it and applauds them. Now, I don’t think there is anything wrong in recognition and getting what you deserve but what I am talking about is wanting the centre stage and demanding it as though it were a right. Indeed, this society is very much aligned with the words of Jesus to his disciples when he was teaching them about giving: “Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:2). Our society seeks her reward now and has received it. Through his letters to the Colossians church, Paul shows us that there is a better way. We do not need to demand recognition for the things we do, we do not need to take the centre stage. The person that should get the glory is God. The fact of the matter is that Paul, as soon as he hears a good report about a church plant, people that he has ministered to, people he has impacted, he thanks God for them. Can you remember the last time you truly thanked God for the work a brother or sister has done or how their growth in the Lord has been encouraging to you? Is this a habit to you or do you resent the success and greatness of your brethren? I know for myself I often thank the brother or sister for being a blessing but I fail to give to God what is His. Paul gives us the pattern, first exalt God because He is the author of the success and the fruits you see in others and of which you are a benefactor and then second, pray that their growth will increase so that the people might please the Lord in every way (Colossians 1:10). Even his prayer for the church is to the extent that she would grow for the glory of God not to be celebrities or superhumans. Again, Paul brings everything back to God. It is all about Him. Therefore, if you are wondering how you can give God the glory through your life, how about learning to return the thanks to Him for everything good that you experience, whether done by you or by others? This simple act helps us remind ourselves that it is not about us, we are not the centre of the stage but God is.

The second point that jumped out to me was the supremacy of Christ. You might have heard this term a lot in the church but I hope you don’t just read it like another jargon. You see, Paul tells us that Christ is the head of the church, that he is the image of the invisible God, that in him “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell” (Colossians 1:19), that in him we are reconciled to God and not just us but “all things” are reconciled in Christ, “whether things on earth or things in heaven”. It does not stop, it continues. Paul tells us that there is a visible and an invisible world with powers, authorities, rulers, and thrones. In fact, Paul goes on to explain that what Jesus did on the cross was not just reconciling us to God the Father, he made sure no accusation could stand in our place, he made sure we were presented holy in God’s sight, he made sure we could have faith. Moreover, Paul adds that because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been given “fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority” (Colossians 2:10). “We were circumcised in Christ in the putting off of our sinful nature”, “we were made alive with Christ”. Paul continues by stating that there is no more written code and regulation standing against us because Christ nailed it to the cross. Paul made sure we understood that what Jesus did on the cross was beyond powerful. In fact, the way he rescued us left the worlds speechless. From Paul’s writing, it is evident that this was a violent battle and force was used. We also understand that there were powers and authorities that were against us and wanted our souls. The fact that Jesus rescued us from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light leaves me to think that darkness was not willing to hand us over so if it weren’t for Christ’s power we would not be children of God. No wonder everything has to be given back to God! Who can boast such a pedigree in one act? Who is like Him indeed? I know we often repeat such truths in Christian circles without much understanding but I pray you stop to ponder and marvel at who Christ is and what he has done for you.

The third point that jumped out to me is that Paul understood that we ought to be changed from the hearts and minds and then our actions would follow. In the first two chapters, he bombards his readers with how powerful Christ’s death on the cross was and what that means for the believer, namely the new status the believer gets with all privileges. In chapter three he says “set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated..” and again “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3: 1-2). Then Paul goes into specific day to day life issues about how you ought to act as a new creature. Clearly, in order to “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature” you must have a Christlike mindset. In chapter two he says that with what Christ did on the cross, we “do not need to let anyone judge us by what we eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day”. Paul is shifting the mindset of the Colossians away from religiosity to Christ. It almost seems like according to Paul, it is inconceivable that after having all your accusations cancelled by Christ, you now let yourself be condemned by fellow men’s accusations. Paul wants the Colossians to know their identity in Christ and not take on additional identities given to them by others. Paul is not saying to not obey the Law or observe the Sabbath but what he is saying is that we must test the spirit behind people talking and accusing. We must scrutinize our habits to find out whether Christ is found and exalted in them or not. According to Paul, what we do, even though it might appear spiritual might not be rooted in Christ at all. Some of the laws we follow in our Christian circles might not even be Christ-centered but here we are following them and judging others who do not. Paul helps us discern some of these false laws by stating that they are based on human traditions and the basic principles of this word rather than on Christ (Colossians 1:8; Colossians 2:22). The moment we accept Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, we become a new creature and our life is no longer ours. We now live by the rules and principles of our new kingdom which means we will behave differently. Therefore, anything we do must glorify Him that is why Paul would have us remember, meditate and preach to ourselves all that Christ has done and who we are as new creatures.

In all honesty, this post does not do justice to the first three chapters of the book of Colossians, nor does it do justice to the marvelous and mighty work of Christ on the cross. Therefore, I would encourage you to go and read this book on your own. Study it, meditate on it, and preach it to yourself until you start living it out. That is what Paul would want of us; that is what Christ is expecting of us. This is a challenge to myself as well. May the Holy Spirit help us to look to heavenly things and not earthly things. Amen.