Lately I've been camping out in the book of Colossians for my quiet time and it has truly been an awesome experience. My next few posts will be short and about what I've been learning from my time reading this awesome book of the Bible. One of my favorite passages from the book is found right in chapter one verse 15 - 23. Here it is in the New Living Translation: 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see-- such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.f So he is first in everything. 19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. (Bible hub.com) Here Paul gives us a Christological passage. He lays out a lot of truths about Jesus here that are awesome to think about. My favorite thing is that in the New Living Translation they call Christ "Supreme". This is I think an easier word to understand for us as opposed to the words used in other translations such as the ESV which uses preeminence. Supreme carries a thought of being the best and better then everything else. In verse 15 Paul says that Christ was first off the image of the invisible God and the firstborn (ESV) or supreme(NLT). Jesus has a unique position among everything. He is more important and has the highest priority above everything because He is God in the flesh. He has been given all authority over everything and everything was made through Him. It is through Christ that we have been reconciled to God the Father which means we can have a relationship with Him. Praise God that we have been reconciled. I appreciate the way that the ESV puts it - " 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil things." At the deepest and most personal level we were in opposition to God. Even our personal thoughts offend God! But, and this is the best part, Jesus' blood reconciles us to God! It makes it possible for us to have a relationship with our heavenly Father. Paul closes out this section with a great encouragement to all believers at all times, continue to believe this truth, don't drift away from the assurance of the good news. We need to rest in the hope that Jesus' has given us. He was fully God and fully man, which gave Him the authority to forgive sins and reconcile us to God. Praise the Lord.
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