WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

Colossians 1:15-18  "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.....all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in him all things  hold together.  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."

Introduction:   Can you believe that the Holy Spirit would chose to reveal these truths about Jesus Christ to a little "house church" which Paul had never been to and which was located in a dying city. Today we would call that poor marketing on the part of the Holy Spirit.  Before we begin this study, I think it would be in order to repeat something that I read about the several opinions people have of Jesus Christ....short but interesting and true. 

To many people Jesus is nothing at all

To some people Jesus is something

But to how few people is Jesus everything? 

1.Ten Things About Jesus Christ: 

A. He is the IMAGE of God the Father   1:15a ( His Relation to the Father)

1. the word "image" is the Greek word EIKON and means "a likeness derived from the original." I suppose the best illustration would be that of a photostatic copy of a document.  Jesus Christ is a "photostat" of God.  Colossians 1:19 stresses this further by saying, "For God was pleased to have ALL HIS FULLNESS to dwell in Him."  Christ also claims to be God in passages such as John 14:8,9 "he who hath seen me, hath seen the Father."

2. The word " image" also carries the idea of REPRESENTATION.   Colossians 2:9  "for in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form."

3. The word image also has the idea of MANIFESTATION.   He is Deity and He has revealed Himself as such.  I think we should stop right here and repeat John 14:8,9, "Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen ME hath seen the FATHER." How about John 1:18..".No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him."  (folks, this is MANIFESTATION..)

B. He is the SOVEREIGN of all creation   1:15b-16 (His relationship to Creation)

1. The word can mean first in TIME or first in RANK.  The word here means first in RANK.  Christ is the Sovereign over all creation.  Notice Mark 4:35-39 as  an illustration of His sovereignty  over creation.  Psalm 89:27...."the highest of the kings of earth."  (here it is firstborn in rank, not time....He is the Sovereign over all creation.  

C. He is the ORIGINATOR of all things: (v.16)  "by Him were all things created."  The expression "by Him" is literally "in Him."  The eternal plans for creation resided in Christ. Please remember that should Christ cease to be, creation would cease to be...for creation does NOT exist apart from Christ. 

D. He is the BUILDER of all things: (16b)  "all things were created "through"  not by Him. Please remember it was "through Him."

E. He is the OWNER of all things:   "and for Him."  v. 16b

F. He is the PREDECESSOR of all things: (v.17) "HE IS before all things."

G. He is the SUSTAINER of all things: (v.17)  "by Him all things consist."  ( This is the idea of holding together or coherence.) I think the very least we can do as believers, who claim to love and adore Him is to read over these qualities about Christ and even put them to some kind of memory.  When the Jehovah Witness people come to your door or you encounter Agnostics  or people who deny the deity of Christ, be ready with Colossians 1:15-16.  I have written these 10 things down in my Bible.

H. He is the HEAD of the church:   1:18 (His Relationship to the Church)

1. The term HEAD implies source of intelligence, source of direction and control. Head and Body is the number One illustration of Christ and the Church.  He is THE HEAD. If He is the HEAD and the Church is the Body, then this tells us something about the Church.  The church is an ORGANISM, not  an ORGANIZATION.  Our Body is a organism, a living thing.  I want to also note here that ONLY in Colossians is the HEAD BEING CHRIST emphasized.  Notice Rom. 12:4...where there is plenty of content on the Body, but nothing about the head...Where is the teaching that Christ is the Head? IT IS  NOT FOUND UNTIL COLOSSIANS. Read I Cor 12:12,13...Again, no stress on the Head, but just on the Body. 

                2. What are the ideas when you think of Christ as the Head of the Body?  First, it denotes AUTHORITY.  (In the Bible,  there are four different head ships)

1. Christ is the Head of the Male;

2. God the Father is the Head of Christ;

3. The Husband is the Head of the Wife;

4. Christ is the Head of the Church.

THERE ARE NO  OTHER HEAD SHIPS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE....there is leadership, but not head- ships.  I Cor. 11:3 mentions three of these head ships and then Colossians 1:18 gives us the 4th head ship.  I would close this part by mentioning that the ONLY HUMAN HEAD SHIP ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE IS THE HEAD SHIP OF THE HUSBAND IN THE HOME.  The Church has NO OTHER EARTHLY HEAD.  Our head is in heaven, who is Christ.  The Church has leaders, but every authority as the church is concerned is appointed by THE HEAD AND THE HEAD ALONE. 

Notice Eph. 4:11  "He gave apostles." (The local body of believers never got together and voted on "Bill Smith" to be an apostle.") Thus, Head ship implies AUTHORITY, SOURCE OF INTELLIGENCE, INSEPARABILITY. When you sever the head from the body, there is immediate death.  MY AUTHORITY IS CHRIST;  MY SOURCE OF INTELLIGENCE IS CHRIST;  I AM INSEPARABLY CONNECTED TO HIM....  

I. He is the BEGINNING:  v. 18  If He made the church, then He ought to be able to run the church.  In  Matt. 16: 18, He said "He would build His church".  He made it, He should run it.  

J. He is the FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD.  v. 18

1. "from the dead" means, "from all the dead."  (dead is plural).  He is the ONLY ONE to come out from among the dead ones. He is the first to break the power of death.  No man has ever overcome the power of death....no man.

2. NO MAN HAS EVER YET BROKEN THE POWER OF DEATH.Let us stop here and note the difference in RECUSISTATION and RESURRECTION.  (Lazarus died and was raised and then died again.  He had to die twice.  Resurrection is One who has died to be resurrected and NEVER TO DIE AGAIN. 

This is Jesus Christ.     

Who is Jesus to you?  Is He nothing at all?  Is He something? or Is He everything to you?   My prayer is that He will become everything to you.