The supremacy of Christ: (1:13-23):
The Lord Jesus Christ holds pre-eminence in all His works. Paul lists out 4-preeminances or supremacies in Christ Jesus.
- Supremacy of Cross: (1:13-14): It is His cross that causes Jesus Christ to stand out head and shoulders above any other person in history. Religious leaders have died, but only Christ, God’s Son, died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again on the 3rd day and provided redemption to all humanity. Has anyone or any angel has done like this? It is the cross that lifts Jesus Christ high above all.
- Supremacy in creation (1:15-17): The Gnostic teachers claimed that God made the worlds through a series of “emanations” from Himself and that Christ was one of these emanations. Paul asserts that Christ is not an emanation from God, but God Himself! “Image” means “the exact reproduction.” Christ is not one of God’s creatures, but the highest (firstborn) of all creation. The term “firstborn” does not refer to time (as though Christ were the first thing God created) but to position. All things were created by Him and for Him; He holds all things together! He is not only the creator of the world, but He is also its sustainer. In Him everything held, protected and prevented from disintegrating into chaos. Because Christ is sustainer of all life and none of us is independent from Him. We are all His servants who must daily trust Him for protecting us, caring for us and sustaining us.
- Supremacy in His Church (1:18-23):The church is His body, and He is the Head. The church is the new creation, the Originator of the new creation. His resurrection gives Him title to the throne of pre-eminence, for He is “firstborn” from the dead, that is, first to rise from the dead, never to die again. He made peace through His death and reconciled all things in Heaven and on His reconciliation even extends to Jews and Gentiles too. Paul applies this to the believers personally, reminding them that Christ has completely changed their lives and reconciled them to God. The false teachers might spin spider webs of doctrine about angels and “emanations,” but Christ still has pre-eminence as the Head of the church! He is “the firstborn” of creation and of the dead, signifying His priority and sovereignty.
The way to be free from sin is to trust Jesus Christ. We must remain established and firm in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God and to empower us to live the way He desires. When a judge in a court of law declares the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations or charges. Legally it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From His perspective, it is as though we had never sinned.
- Supremacy in Paul’s ministry: (1:24-29: Paul’s first words when he saw the glorified Saviour were, “Who are You, Lord?” His pre-eminence over all things was the heartbeat of Paul’s life and ministry. He looked upon his personal sufferings as suffering for Christ’s sake. Paul is not saying that he suffered as Jesus did or that his suffering was a part of Christ’s suffering on the cross (1:24). Rather, he is saying that as Christ suffered for others, so he suffers for others, and his suffering is on behalf of the body, the church. The word for “suffering” here can never be compared to the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Paul next described “the mystery”-that truth about Christ and the church that had been hidden in times past but was now it has been revealed. Paul had a balanced ministry. He preached, taught, and warned the believers. He sought to take the truth to all people, not just a few; and his goal was to present each believer mature (perfect) in Christ. Christian perfection is not sinlessness,but maturity, growing up unto Christ in all things (Eph. 4:15). We are made full in Him, and that is all that is needed! How tragic when Christians substitute man-made rules, disciplines, and rituals for the fullness we have in Christ!But Paul did not run his ministry by his own power: God worked in him, and then he worked for God(Phil 1:12-13; Eph. 3:20-21).