What Compares With Jesus?

Last week we started looking at Colossians. Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae because he was concerned. He was concerned that they might be deceived, or taken captive, by the different teachings and ideas and philosophies swirling around that did not focus on Jesus Christ.

You might have noticed that all of the concerns that Paul raised were in chapter 2. He didn’t start by raising the concerns. So how did he start? Today we will look at chapter 1, section by section.

READ Colossians 1:1-8

That is all very positive, isn’t it? The Colossians were doing well. Paul thanked God for them. He describe them as…

• God’s holy people

  • • They belonged to God and they were set apart for God; they had dedicated themselves to God. Fantastic!

• Faithful brothers and sisters

  • • Faithful. They have remained dedicated to God.

    • Having looked at the next chapter, we know that there is a concern that they might wander away from Jesus but Paul starts positively. They have proved faithful.

    • Brothers and sisters. Paul warmly embraced them as members of his own family…

• ·   In Christ

  • • They have been saved; they are in Christ.

    • Notice how Paul is already emphasising the centrality of Christ.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. Again, Paul was not going to miss an opportunity to focus their thoughts on Jesus. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

We always give thanks when we pray. Why did they give thanks? Because they were grateful for the Colossians and for what God had done amongst them. Why do they pray? Because they love them. Even though they hadn’t met, the Colossians were getting the message that Paul cared.

He gave thanks for their faith and love. Faith and love are obviously key aspects of following Jesus and they were getting those things right. Their faith and love sprang from the hope stored up for them in heaven. One thing had led to another.

·       They had heard the gospel from Epaphras.

·       They had believed it. They understood God’s grace (v.6)

o   By the grace of God, Jesus Christ had died paying the price for their sins.

·       They had been forgiven.

·       The gospel had changed them (borne fruit among them).

·       They had hope. They believed they would spend eternity with Jesus.

·       Because of that, they had become people of faith and love.

READ Colossians 1:9-14

Discipleship is not just about a great start but about continuing and growing. Have a quick sneak-peek at vv.28-29. Paul’s whole mission and all his energy were focused on presenting everyone fully mature in Christ. The Colossians had started well but Paul wanted them to go on to full maturity. Consequently, he had not stopped praying for them.

Remember what was in the back of Paul’s mind. Other philosophies said true wisdom lay elsewhere, not in Jesus; true spirituality lay elsewhere, not in Jesus; true maturity lay elsewhere not in Jesus; pleasing God required observance of other practices. Paul had not yet mentioned that, but he was laying the foundation. He was praying for them to be fully mature in Christ. Don’t look elsewhere.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Other philosophies might have been promising other wisdom – maybe even secret knowledge that had been revealed to them – but Paul said he was praying that they would have wisdom and understanding given by the Holy Spirit and thus be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. What could these other teachings offer compared with knowing the will of God Himself revealed by the Spirit of God Himself? Don’t look elsewhere. Jesus is the ultimate.

That God-given wisdom leads to… Look at v.10: May you have this Holy Spirit wisdom and understanding so that… Look at all the things that result from knowing God’s will:

• You may live a life worthy of the Lord

• And please Him in every way

• Bearing fruit in every good work

• Growing in your knowledge of God – your relationship with God.

• Being strengthened with God’s power so as to have endurance and patience

• Giving joyful thanks to the Father

Look at that list. Is that the life followers of Jesus want? All of those things stem from having Holy Spirit-given wisdom and understanding. Those things cannot be found anywhere other than in Jesus.

Having mentioned the Father, Paul reminded them of what this God had done. He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people 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.

That is a stunning passage! I have this image of the giant hand of God coming down, picking me up, lifting me out of the kingdom of darkness and putting me down in a whole new kingdom – Jesus’ kingdom. This is a rescue mission greater than any other rescue mission. That changes everything. Redeemed by Jesus. Sins forgiven by Jesus. The assurance of eternity because of Jesus.

Who is this Jesus? If that passage about being rescued was stunning, this passage about Jesus is even more stunning. I think this passage should be accompanied by trumpets blasting, angels singing, bells pealing and crowds of people praising Jesus. READ Colossians 1:15-20.

Glorious affirmation after glorious affirmation. This Jesus is God made visible. All of the fullness of God dwelt in Him. Every created thing was created in Him and through Him and for Him. It is as if the Father said, “Son, be creative. Created everything that will ever exist. What You create will all be for you.”

v.17 says that all things hold together in Jesus. I do not understand that but it is as if Jesus is the fundamental reality that holds the whole universe together. If it were not for Jesus the universe would fly apart. Or, maybe it means that it is Jesus who gives the universe meaning. Without Jesus, meaningless!

This Jesus whom we read about in the Bible, this Jesus whom we know and we talk to, is God exalted over everything. He is creator of everything and everything was created for Him. We were created for Jesus. We were created to honour and serve Jesus. The Colossians were created to honour and serve Jesus.

It is impossible to overstate who Jesus is because He is greater than anything we could ever say. He is supreme over everything, including the church. He is Number One.

But there is even more to say about Jesus. He is the world’s only hope. Paul reminded the Colossians that it was through Jesus that God reconciled all things to Himself, making peace through His blood shed on the Cross. We have gone from seeing Jesus supreme over all things to hanging on the Cross, His blood being shed. But even the cross is His glory. Through Jesus’ obedience, God’s rescue plan was activated. The Cross was God’s victory.

The Colossians’ standing before God and their eternity had been radically changed by Christ’s death on the Cross. Easter. The Cross. READ Colossians 1:21-23.

Enemies of God now reconciled to God. Evil sinners now holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. But notice that Paul said, “If you continue in your faith” (v.23). Remember the concern in the background. Would they be seduced by these other teachings and turn away from Jesus? Paul said their salvation was in Jesus. It would be foolish to now look elsewhere. This is the gospel… of which Paul was now a servant.

READ Colossians 1:24-29

Paul was passionate about this gospel; about proclaiming it to every creature under heaven. He would suffer for the sake of the church. When he talked about filling up in his flesh what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions, he clearly was not saying that Jesus’ death was not enough. On the contrary, he had emphasised that their salvation was possible only through Jesus’ death.

I think he was saying that Jesus suffered but now there is more suffering required to spread the good news of Jesus’ suffering. Paul will suffer for their sake – that they might continue in their faith and receive their inheritance – that they might remain focused on Jesus and grow to maturity in Him.

If some of these other groups were claiming to understand some hidden mysteries, Paul said, “You know what? There is a mystery but it is not the mystery they claim. The mystery which God kept hidden for ages and generations, is the mystery is the gospel. The mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. The mystery these people seek is not something other than Christ; the mystery is Christ. The mystery is Christ in you. You can have a relationship with the Messiah. And that relationship is the hope of glory.

I often talk about verses 28 and 29 because Paul said his mission was to make disciples. All of his energy and focus was on presenting everyone fully mature in Christ. It is all about making disciples.

But today I am not going to mention that. Let’s notice something else about those verses. He is the one we proclaim. Disciple-making is all about Jesus – all about knowing Jesus. We proclaim Him. We teach about Him. We admonish when people are forgetting Him. True maturity is maturity in Christ. We need to know Him. We need to be transformed by Him. It is all about Jesus. Everything is all about Jesus. The story of the universe is about Jesus. Salvation depends on Jesus. We have an eternal hope only because of Jesus. And so we talk about Jesus and we will suffer to talk about Jesus. He is the one we proclaim.

There has been no mention of any concern yet. But what has been mentioned?

• Salvation through Jesus’ shed blood on the Cross.

• Transformation and growth to maturity through Jesus.

• Eternal hope through Jesus

• The importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Paul’s willingness to suffer for the gospel.

Who is this Jesus?

• He is God made visible.

• He is the Creator, and He is the ruler of all creation.

• He is the head of the church.

In the next chapter, Paul is going to raise His concern. He is implicitly saying, “OK, but how do all these other philosophies compare with this Jesus and what He has done for you and what He will do for you?”

We might be asked the same question: What else compares with Jesus? You have options. What else compares with Jesus? Have you become a servant of the gospel? Will you suffer for the gospel?

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