Colossians
Sunday, June 20, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I thank You this day for sending Jesus to the world to show us clearly who You are and how great Your love is for us! I praise You on this Lord’s day that I may gather with other brothers and sisters through Jesus to worship You, the one, true and living God, who has shown Yourself to us in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I pray that You will fill me, and every Christian every where with Your Holy Spirit today that we may worship You in Spirit and in truth, that we may glorify Your holy name, and that we may be empowered to share Your great truth and love to the very ends of the earth. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 1:15-23
15Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
18Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What does it mean to you that Jesus is the “visible image” of the “invisible God”?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What does today’s focus scripture teach us about Jesus?
Understanding God’s Word
Why do you suppose that Paul made such an issue of Jesus being the “visible image” of the “invisible God”?
What is the significance of Colossians 1:15 for our understanding of God?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What does today’s focus Scripture call you to do right now?
Thoughts...The Visible Image of the Invisible God...
Throughout the Apostle Paul’s letters, he makes it clear that God is Jesus and Jesus is God! This is a profound and vital truth, since our whole faith as Christians hinges upon it. Many have contended that Jesus was a great man, a great prophet, a “god” even, but not THE God. The bible teaches clearly that Jesus IS God. No clearer statement comes to us in the Bible concerning Jesus’ divinity that today’s focus Scripture, Colossians 1:15, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.” Jesus is co-existent with God, and is “supreme” over all creation. The ancient creed of the church, known as the Apostles Creed opens by stating, “We believe in God the Father almighty, maker (or creator) of heaven and earth. Here in Colossians 1:15, Paul tells us that Jesus existed before creation, and is supreme over all creation. He will go on to tell us that Jesus created everything. These statements make it clear that Jesus and God are one. The difference that makes in our daily lives is that we live KNOWING that Jesus our Savior and Lord – IS our God, that our God loves us so much that He came here to earth and revealed Himself to us in human form, so we could be in relationship with Him forever. How incredibly awesome that the Creator God humbled Himself and became one of us for our sakes!