The Supremacy of Christ in All Things
Introduction
Open your Bibles to Colossians 1. The church in Colossae was being told that Jesus was something — an important step, a helpful teacher — but not everything. Paul’s answer is not a program or a technique. His answer is a Person. Before he corrects a single error, he lifts their eyes to the sheer glory of Christ.
I. Christ Supreme in Creation (vv. 15–16)
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
“Firstborn” here is not a statement of origin but of rank — the heir, the one with the rights of preeminence. How do we know? Because verse 16 grounds it: “For by him all things were created.” He is not part of creation; He is its Author.
Notice the sweep of it: in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and — do not miss this — for him. You were made for Christ. Your life is not the story; it is a sentence in His story.
II. Christ Supreme in Sustaining (v. 17)
“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
The universe is not held together by physics alone; physics is held together by Christ. The same Lord who keeps the galaxies in their courses is keeping you. If He sustains all things, He can sustain your marriage, your grief, your unanswered prayer.
III. Christ Supreme in the Church (v. 18)
“And he is the head of the body, the church.”
The church does not exist to make much of us. It exists because its risen Head lives. He is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” There is the key word of the whole passage. Not prominent — preeminent. Jesus is not to have a place in your life. He is to have the place.
IV. Christ Supreme in Reconciliation (vv. 19–20)
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.”
All the fullness of God — pleased to dwell in Christ. And what did that fullness do? It bled. The hands that hold the universe together were nailed to a cross, to make peace for rebels like us.
Conclusion
If Christ made all things, sustains all things, heads the church, and reconciles sinners by His blood — then He deserves nothing less than everything. Come to Him. Trust Him. And for those who already know Him: is He preeminent, or merely present, in your life this week?
Let us pray.