Elmhurst CRC

Sunday's Comin' #285 - Colossians 1: 15-20

January 13, 2023 Jeff Klein Season 1 Episode 285
Elmhurst CRC
Sunday's Comin' #285 - Colossians 1: 15-20
Show Notes Transcript

Jeff Klein, Pastor of Outreach

Jeff Klein  0:07 

Welcome Elmhurst CRC's daily dose in the word of God. It's Friday, January the 13th. This is Jeff Klein, the Pastor of Outreach here at the church. This week's Alpha question is, "Who is Jesus?" I'll be reading from Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20.

Jeff Klein  0:23 

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, he existed before anything was created in a 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 overall who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything for God and all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and 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.

Jeff Klein 1:13 

When most people hear the name Jesus in their minds, they see the Jesus who walked the earth as a human for 33 years; the Jesus with the long brown hair and a white robe. But if a person reads their Bible carefully, they quickly find out that the writers of the Bible and the people who experienced the resurrected Jesus (like Paul, the author of Colossians) had a way bigger Jesus in their minds; A way bigger understanding of who Jesus is. It's one thing to understand that Jesus was a historical figure who walked the earth. It's quite another to grasp the fullness of who Jesus really is.

Jeff Klein  1:47 

This passage in Colossians gives us a cosmic picture of a big Jesus. Here's some of the descriptions Paul uses: "The visible image of the invisible God." So, if you want to know what God's like, just look at Jesus. He existed before creation, so he's eternal -  never began, never ended. God created everything through him; things in the visible world and the invisible world, all created through Jesus. All creation holds together in him. He is first in everything supreme, first among those who rise from the dead, and he is the one through whom the world is healed, brought back to God. The One who brings peace to everything in heaven, and on earth.

Jeff Klein  2:31  

When you think about Jesus, or if someone asked you the question, "who is Jesus?" How do you answer? How big is your Jesus? Is your Jesus big enough? Or do you need to do some further reflecting on the one through whom God reconciled everything to himself and appointed as the head of his church?