Colossians 1:15–23 (ESV)

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. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

We are studying the Book of Colossians. But, I want to remind you that this was not a book, but a letter. When people write a letter, they usually have a reason for writing.

If you have ever had children away at college, you have probably received a letter or most likely an email. Your child may have told you how much they loved you and what a great parent you were, but soon, you found the real reason of the letter was to say, “I need some money!”

Paul had a very important reason for writing this letter. Dangerous heresy had made an appearance in the Lycus Valley, and at the time of this letter was a serious threat to the well-being of the Colossian church. The letter does not give a direct account of the tenets of the Colossian heresy, but when we study the letter with the awareness that there is a heresy going on many of the false teachings will reveal themselves.

Our text today reveals that at the heart of the heresy was a doctrine of God and salvation, which cast a cloud over the glory of Jesus Christ.

It is widely believed that at the heart of the heresy was a beginning form of Gnosticism. As its name would indicate, Gnosticism asserted that knowledge was the supreme way to get to God – salvation was a matter of gaining knowledge.

The knowledge of which the gnostics spoke, however, was not knowledge acquired by study of the normal processes of learning. It was an occult knowledge, pervaded by the superstitions of astrology and magic.

Moreover, it was a secret/unrevealed knowledge, open only to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of the gnostic system. This salvation was available then, only to those who were the intellectual ones.

These men were dissatisfied with what they considered the unsophisticated simplicity of Christianity, and they wished to turn Christianity into a philosophy.

They would teach that knowledge is supreme.

Paul wrote to say that Christ is supreme.

We will be examining the Supremacy of Christ for the next two weeks.

I can think of no better topic for us to study as we enter the Christmas season.

This week, we will examine…

I.  THE SCOPE OF CHRIST’S SUPREMACY (Colossians 1:15-18)

A.   CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO DEITY (15)

B.   CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO CREATION (15-17)

C.  CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH (18)

Next week, we will see…

II.   THE BASIS FOR CHRIST’S SUPREMACY (Colossians 1:19-23)

A. The fullness of God in Christ (19)

B.  The reconciling work of Christ  (19-23)