COLOSSIANS: The Mega Themes

A. CHRIST IS GOD

 

EXPLANATION - Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He is Lord of all creation, & Lord of the new creation (as in, salvation). Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. As with the other two persons of the Trinity*, Jesus the Christ, is eternal, preexistent, omnipotent, and equal in all ways with the Father. He is supreme & complete in every way.

 

IMPORTANCE - Because Christ is supreme, in other words, no one and nothing is greater than he is, our lives MUST be Christ-centered. To recognize him as God means to regard our relationship with him as the most imperative one in our lives. We need to make his will for us our absolute top priority.

 

B. CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH

 

EXPLANATION - Since Christ is God, he is the head of the church & all true believers. Christ is the highest spiritual authority on earth. Because of that we need to give him first place in our thoughts & activities. We need to be dialed in to the Lord in all areas of our lives. 

 

IMPORTANCE - If Christ is to be our head, then we need to welcome his leadership in all we think, say, and do. Our loyalty must not be divided. Loyalty to God / Christ is most critical, more so than allegiance to any other person or faction. We need to involve the Lord in all that we do so we obtain the right, godly outcome.

 

C. UNION WITH CHRIST

 

EXPLANATION - Because our sin has been forgiven and its memory erased in heaven, we have returned to right standing with our Heavenly Father. Our faith connection allows us to identify with Christ’s death, burial & resurrection. 

 

IMPORTANCE - Our contact & communication with God should be continuous. That’s not to say we should be communicating with God 24/7. It means He should be the first point of contact in every situation we’re confronted with each day. We are to be very discerning as to what God is saying to you.  When we link up with the Triune God we’ll be unified with Christ and one another.

 

D. HERESY

 

EXPLANATION - False teachers were promoting a heresy that put the stress on self-made rules (e.g., legalism). They also sought spiritual growth by discipline of the body (asceticism) and visions (mysticism). This search created an unhealthy pride in their self-centered efforts.

 

IMPORTANCE - We have to let our own personal thoughts go so we don’t end up attempting to blend them into Christianity. Nor should we let our hunger for a more fulfilling experience cause us to trust our teacher, some group, or a certain system of thought more than Christ himself. Christ is our only hope and true source of wisdom.   

            Up next is a comparison of the Colossian heretical teaching that was infiltrating the church and the truth of the scriptures. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His Name & for His Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

* The concept of the Trinity is the belief that God exists as three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—yet is one being. This might sound confusing at first, but it's a beautiful expression of the complexity and depth of God's nature.

                  The idea of the Trinity has been around since the early days of Christianity. It was first formulated by early Church Fathers in response to various heresies and misunderstandings about the nature of God. The term "Trinity" itself was coined by Tertullian, a Latin theologian, in the early 3rd century.

While the word "Trinity" doesn't appear in the Bible, the concept is clearly present. Verses like Matthew 28:19, where Jesus commands to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," reflect the triune nature of God. The interplay between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is seen throughout the New Testament.