Jesus Is First

Jesus Is First
Colossians 1: 15 – 23

I. Introduction.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you a terrible quote from Jim Denison. I heard Jim say this at a pastors’ retreat. He said that a worldwide Christian revival is currently taking place on every continent except Europe and North America. He attributes the worldwide revival to people and churches who proclaim God as king. He attributes the lack of revival to the fact that in Europe and North America we do not live as if God is our king. We proclaim God as our hobby. Here is the terrible quote…In the places where the church proclaims God as King, the Christian faith is growing faster than any other time in history. In the places where the church proclaims God as our hobby, Islam is the fastest growing religion.

If I understand the connection between God as King or God as hobby, then I think we ought to realize that our culture is depending on us right now. The way we live our lives individually actually makes a difference for the world we live in. The way we approach church actually makes a difference in our local community and in the world. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will succeed or fail, depending on how we chose to live in the world and how we approach the work of church.

It seems like an easy choice to make. On one hand, we can live as if God is the King of our lives and our church. On the other hand, we can live as if God is nothing more than our personal hobby—soccer, baseball, golf, deer hunting, one choice among many.

One of my seminary professors helped me to understand what it means to be a Christian. Granted, I became a Christian as a nine year old boy in Vacation Bible School and grew up in church. I majored in Bible in college and studied theology in seminary. However, I had never stopped to think about what separates Christianity from the religions of the world and what separates Christians from people with other faiths or no faith at all. The difference boils down to one belief. Jesus is the only way to God.

If someone believes Jesus is one option among many options for knowing God, then that person is not a Christian. If a person believes Jesus does not lead the way to God, then that person is not a Christian. Jesus is the exclusive way to God, salvation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, Heaven. There is no other way to be a Christian.

One biblical person who demonstrates this both in his life and his writings is the man we know as the Apostle Paul. Paul began his life as a good Jew. Perhaps that is an understatement to refer to Paul as a “good Jew.” It would be more accurate to say he was the “best of the best” of all the Jews. He was born into a religious family. They trained him in godliness. They gave him the very best Jewish education money could buy. He advanced in educational circles and became a Pharisee.

The Jews of the first century were not happy with the way Jesus’ original twelve followers began preaching about Jesus among the other Jews. After the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, these twelve followers grew in number from 12 men to 120 men and women to a movement of over 3,000. The Jews organized a resistance movement to stop the growth of the Christian movement. And Paul was the leader of the resistance.

Just as Paul had excelled in Judaism, he excelled in resisting the Christian church. He excelled until the day Paul met Jesus personally. At that moment, Paul’s life changed. He became a follower of Jesus, and he became an Apostle—an Apostle is someone who has been sent by Jesus to do Jesus’ work in the world.

Paul carried out his God-given mission by preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, establishing Christian churches in foreign countries and by writing letters to instruct and encourage the Christian churches.

Read Colossians 1: 15 – 23.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by 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.(NIV)


If you are reading the New International Version, you will notice a subject heading in boldface type before verse 15. The interpreters tell us that this Scripture describes “The Supremacy of Christ.” That is a helpful notation because of all the pronouns…It begins with the pronoun “he” and never really explains who he is. But, we don’t have to depend on the subject heading to tell us who this Scripture is about. We can look at the context.

If we begin reading at verse 12 instead of verse 15, it is obvious who Paul is writing about. “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1: 12 – 15).”

Paul tells us that God the Father has rescued us from this dark world and provided us with access to the Kingdom of Light. God the Father did this by sending his Son. This seems like an obvious reference to Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God. But, once again, we do not have to assume anything. The context gives us the answer:

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…(Colossians 1: 3)”

Paul’s theology is certainly in the center of what it means to be a Christian. He teaches us that Jesus is the only way out of the darkness and into the light of Heaven. He professes two things about Jesus in his statement Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Christ is Jesus’ title or even his purpose for coming. Christ is the English form of the Greek word Christos. Christos is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Messiah. In Jewish teaching and expectations, the Messiah was God’s Chosen One, who would come to earth and establish God’s Kingdom. This is why Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God. It was his Messianic purpose to establish God’s Kingdom.

In Matthew 16, we read a story about Jesus and his disciples on the banks of the Lake of Galilee. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others say Jeremiah of one of the other prophets.” Jesus then made the question personal by asking, “What about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll say that I am?” Simon Peter was the first to answer the question. He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus accepted this title in the way he agreed with Peter’s answer, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.” To profess Jesus as the Christ is to profess Jesus as the Messiah.
Paul agreed with Peter’s profession of faith. Paul recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah. Paul’s most frequent reference to Jesus is to call him Christ Jesus. And, Paul continued preaching Jesus’ words about the true nature of God’s Kingdom.

Christ is not Jesus’ name. It is his title. Lord is not Jesus name. Lord is Jesus’ role in our lives. The word “Lord” comes from the world of slavery. Every slave has a lord. The slave does not have any freedom of his or her own. The slave is subject to the wishes, the desires and the commands of their lord. The lord is the owner, the ruler, the boss and the king over the slave’s life. In the same way, as followers of Jesus, we are to think of ourselves as slaves to Jesus. Jesus is the one who determines what we do, where we go and how we live our lives.

In a word, Jesus is to be FIRST in our lives. Verse 15 – 20 contain Paul’s argument for why Jesus ought to be FIRST place in your life. There is an interesting thing about FIRST place. There can only be one FIRST place…


II. Jesus Is First in Creation.

Paul begins his argument with a description of Christ’s place in creation. Colossians 1: 15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

There is a false doctrine that developed out of this verse. It teaches that Jesus was the first creation God undertook. This is a false teaching, because it places Jesus on the wrong side of the Creator – creation relationship. Jesus is not a part of God’s creation. Rather, Jesus was with God at the moment of creation.

I can only explain it as much as I understand it, and I don’t understand it well. God has always been Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God did not begin as One and then create his Son and later create his Holy Spirit. No, God has always been One God, expressed in the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the Gospel of John gives us our best expression of this in John 1: 1. John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. In John 1: 1 the Gospel tells us that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus was not created by God. Jesus was present and united with God in the moment and the act of creation.

Instead of saying that Jesus was first in the birth order of creation, perhaps we should say Jesus is first in priority of creation. All of creation testifies of Jesus. All of creation points us toward Jesus.

Both John’s Gospel and Paul’s words in Colossians tell us that Jesus had an active role in creation. Jesus created all things—animal, plant, mineral and even human life. Jesus created the things we see and the things we cannot see—microscopic life forms and even nuclear design. Jesus created the power structures of our world—political powers of kings, queens and presidents as well as institutional powers.

All of these things were created by Jesus. But we also know that all things were created for Jesus. All of creation—life on earth, inanimate objects and institutional power—was created to bring glory to Jesus the Christ. He is the FIRST priority of everything that is.

Paul wants us to read these words about the supremacy of Jesus the Christ and to feel something. He wants us to feel that we are missing out on something when Jesus is not FIRST in our lives. If everything was created by Jesus…If everything was created for Jesus…If Jesus is the reason that everything continues to exist…Then, we are missing out on something when we place anything else FIRST in our lives.

Remember, there can only be one FIRST. What is your FIRST love? What is your FIRST priority? What is your FIRST purpose for living?

When it comes to setting priorities in life, most of us make very poor choices. We substitute created things for the Creator. If your FIRST priority is anything other than Jesus, you are living for the creation and not the Creator. Money…Work…Politics…Family…Self


III. Jesus Is First in the Church.

Now look at Colossians 1: 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.”

In this verse, Paul makes a theological point about Jesus and then makes a practical application to the church.

The theological point is the fact that Jesus was “the firstborn from among the dead.” This is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus—the central point of the Christian faith and the development of the Christian church. It is central to our faith, because if Jesus had not been raised from the dead we could not believe anything Jesus told us about himself.

For example, Jesus is the Christ—the promised Jewish Messiah. His purpose for coming into the world was to establish God’s Kingdom. This Kingdom was not to be a political kingdom defined by the political boundaries of a nation or the racial boundaries of a particular people. This Kingdom is something new and different. It transcends all human boundaries of politics, nationality, gender and race. It is God’s people, of which Christ Jesus himself is the King, the head, the FIRST.

On one hand, the resurrection proves that Jesus really is who he claimed to be—the FIRST. On the other hand, Jesus is the FIRST one to rise from the grave to enjoy eternal life. There is a connection between Jesus’ resurrection and our resurrection. Because he lives, we too will live an eternal life that goes beyond the grave.

Jesus is the FIRST in creation, and Jesus is FIRST in God’s new creation. God’s new creation will be fully realized when we are united with God and Jesus in Heaven. Until that day, God’s new creation is something we experience on earth through the church.


IV. Conclusion: What the Church Should Look Like.

There are a lot of churches in many different neighborhoods, cities, states and even different countries around the world. Some churches do a better job than others in reflecting what God intends the church to look like. So, who has it right? Is our expression of church what God wants the church to look like?

There is only one way to answer that question. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about our church or a church in a remote village of Africa. The church God wants is the church where Jesus is FIRST. All decisions in the church are made with Jesus in mind. All programming and ministry takes place with Jesus as the Lord, the King, the FIRST priority.

Sadly, a lot of churches have lost sight of this. There are a lot of churches who think their FIRST priority is to make all the members happy. They make decisions with the goal of keeping the members happy. They plan ministries and programs in an attempt to satisfy as many people as possible. They plan worship services to please people and not Jesus.

According to Colossians 1, this is the way church is supposed to work…

We begin by looking at Jesus. Colossians 1: 15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the only way to get a true picture of God.

Since God revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ, when we look at Jesus we not only see who God is…But, we also see what God wants us to do. God gave us our mission when he gave us Jesus as our example. Jesus spent his earthly life and ministry reaching out to people who were far from God. Some of those people were unclean and undesirable sinners. They spent their time doing things that were in direct opposition to God’s will and God’s word. Yet, Jesus went to them and invited them to enter into a relationship with God. Other people Jesus went to were people who were held captive by demonic forces, physical disease and even poverty. Jesus went to them and met their needs. Then, Jesus invited them to enter into a relationship with God. Sometimes we see Jesus’ going to church…But that was rare and was not where Jesus spent most of his time.

When we look at Jesus, we see God. When we see God, we also see God’s mission for us as individuals and as a community of God’s people. Then, we develop our concept of church around God’s mission for God’s people.

Here is the sad reality. There are too many churches who reverse the order. We develop a concept of church around what I like to do…The songs I like to sing…The programs and ministries that make me happy…The decisions to do things the way I like them. Then, we think our mission is to get more people to like church the way we like church. Then, we take the next step and develop a theology about God and Jesus that proves to the world Jesus likes the same things about church that I like about church.

There can only be one FIRST in the church. Stop competing with Jesus. Jesus is FIRST in the church. Jesus is Lord of the church. Jesus is the head of the church.

When we discover that Jesus is FIRST in creation, we are suppose to realize that we are missing out on God’s purpose for our lives when Jesus is not our FIRST priority.

When we discover that Jesus is FIRST in God’s new creation, we are supposed to realize that we are missing out on God’s purpose for our church when Jesus is not our FIRST priority.