Sermon Detail

Your heart is beating right now because of sunlight.

At some point in the past, photons left the sun, made the 8 minute journey across our solar system, entered the earth’s atmosphere, and struck a blade of grass. The grass then used the energy of these photons to combine water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air to form glucose - food (not to mention the oxygen we breathe).

Along came a happily grazing cow, who ate the blade of grass, and used the glucose in the plant to build up its own body. Through the miracle of modern gastronomy, the cow became that hamburger you ate a couple of days ago.

Your body then used the nutrients from the meat for energy. Energy to walk, to run, to breath… and to keep your heart beating.

Life on earth starts with the sun.

In fact, almost every ounce of energy we expend in our modern world came from the sun in one form or another. Fighting gravity as you walk up a flight of stairs, releasing light and heat as you burn wood in a campfire, even flipping on a light switch.

“Oh, but Barry,” you might say, “That energy comes from electricity, not from the sun.”

Well, where do we get electricity? In Indiana, most of it is from burning coal. Coal is a fossil fuel. The only reason it has energy to give us when it burns is because at one point, it was a plant, harnessing sunlight to create the building blocks of life. Same goes for the oil in your car and the gas in your stove.

Even energy drinks can be traced back to that luminous sphere of plasma in the sky.

You can’t escape it. The sun is absolutely central to life. In our world, the sun is supreme.

Today we’re going to be looking at the book of Colossians. A letter in our Bibles that deals with this topic of supremacy. Not the supremacy of the sun, but the supremacy of Christ. The source and sustainer of all life.

DEAR CHURCH

Right now we’re in the fifth week of a series we’ve called, “Dear Church.” We’ve spent years with the “Legacy” series looking deeply at the narrative, the story, of God’s people throughout the Bible. This is kind of an add-on, an addendum, to the series.

See, the narrative technically ends with the book of Acts. That’s the last place we read, “so and so went here… this guy said this… etc.” But throughout the rest of the New Testament we have a collection of letters written from person to person, sometimes written by one person to an entire church or even an entire region.

And although these letters aren’t written in a narrative style, they are written for specific purposes. In response to specific events. That’s why we say these letters are occasional. There was an occasion that prompted the writer to send them.

Why does this matter? Because we want you to feel comfortable reading and studying these books on your own. The more you understand about the original purpose of these letters, the more they will come alive for you as you read them.

So far, we’ve looked at the books of Galatians and Romans. In the coming weeks, we’ll dig into Ephesians, Titus, and Philippians. Today we’re going to look at the book of Colossians, a.k.a. Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae.

BACKGROUND

But before we dive into the text, I think it’d be helpful to talk a bit about the background to the book.

So. What do we know about Colossae, this city that received a letter from Paul?

Well, not a lot. It turns out Colossae as a city wasn’t really that big of a deal. In fact, the ruins of the city haven’t even been excavated yet by archaeologists. They just haven’t gotten around to it.

Colossae shared a river valley in what is now southwestern Turkey with two other cities, Laodecia and Heiropolis, both of which were much bigger and more important. The cities were only about 10 miles away from each other, though, so in many ways the churches in each of these cities would have sometimes been treated as one big congregation.

At the time there was a massive Roman highway running from Ephesus in the west all the way to the Euphrates River in the east. These three sister cities were right in the path of this road, so the people living there, even in tiny Colossae, would have been exposed to exotic goods, foreign religions, traveling philosophers… you name it.

As we read Paul’s letter to the Colossian church, it becomes pretty clear that they were beginning to drift off course. That they were becoming, as Paul says, “…captive to hollow and deceptive philosophy.” This is the occasion for the letter.

PHILOSOPHY
So what was this philosophy?

Well, we’re not entirely sure. That’s one of the downsides of reading such occasional letters like this. Sometimes Paul doesn’t feel the need to spell things out, since the people reading the letter would have known exactly what he was referring to.

Nevertheless, by piecing together what we do have in the letter, we can get at least a sense of where they were going astray.

It boils down to this. The Colossians wanted to be extra holy. They followed Jesus, but they also held tightly to many rules and regulations from Jewish life – dietary restrictions, extreme Sabbath guidelines, that sort of thing.

They also seemed to believe that to be really holy and spiritual, you had to have these mystical visions and to commune with angelic beings… and to do that, you had practice extreme asceticism - harsh treatment of the body, crazy diets, dangerously long fasts, etc.

Wandering teachers and mystics and philosophers were coming through tiny Colossae, each with their own claim to a special form of spiritual enlightenment… and the Colossian church was buying it. They were drifting into a religion of “Jesus AND.”

-Salvation comes from Jesus AND following Jewish regulations to the letter
-We worship Jesus AND a bunch of angelic beings
-We’ll become holy through the work of Jesus AND by asceticism and self-imposed suffering

Eventually, word reached Paul that the Colossian church was drifting into this religion of “Jesus AND.” And while others might have disregarded it as an innocent, well-intentioned misunderstanding, Paul saw it as the seedlings of a dangerous heresy that would one day derail the Colossian church and put the eternal destiny of its congregation in jeopardy.

So he wanted to head it off at the pass.

Paul’s response to this theological drift in the Colossian church is the foundation of this letter we have in our Bibles. And his message is simple:

It’s not “Jesus AND.” It’s “Jesus PERIOD.”

Christ is supreme.

That statement right there - those three words - that is the message of Colossians. It’s what Paul wanted them to hear, and it’s the message I want you to walk away today.

Now we’re going to dive in and look at what that actually means here in a second, but first I want to make a quick comment about the word “supreme.” I tried to find a different word to use. Because, for most of us, what comes to mind when we say “supreme?” The Supreme Court? Maybe “The Supremes,” The 1960’s Motown group? The Taco Bell Chalupa Supreme?

The fact is, “supreme” doesn’t really carry much weight anymore. It’s just, “best.” Or, “the preferable option among many.”

But when Paul is talking about the supremacy of Christ, it’s like talking about sunlight as the source of energy on the earth. He’s not saying, “Jesus is pretty great.” He’s not saying, “Christ is the best option.”

He’s saying, “Jesus is everything. He’s paramount. The utmost. The extreme. He’s the source of everything there is, and the reason it exists in the first place. He’s not just a rough facsimile of the Creator. He is the fullness of God in human form. Look into the past and Jesus was there. Look into the future and Jesus will be.

His sacrifice is the only way we can experience salvation, and he is God’s agent for the restoration of all there is, has been, or ever will be. Christ is all, and is in all. Christ is supreme.”

So that’s what I hope you hear when I use the word supreme. It’s a whole lot more significant than just adding sour cream to a taco.

COLOSSIANS
Grab your Bibles. Let’s take a closer look at how Paul explains the supremacy of Christ. How he responds to the “Jesus AND” religion he’d been hearing about in Colossae.

We’ll start in Colossians Chapter 1, Page 833 in the house Bibles.

Paul starts the letter, as he does with most of his letters, with some general greetings followed by his initial thoughts and emotions about the state of the church he’s writing to. In Philippians, Paul is just gushing praise. In Galatians, as Tim shared last week, Paul is ticked.

Here in Colossians, though, Paul seems to be full of gratitude. He’d never been to Colossae himself, but he’d heard great things about their growing faith. But parchment is expensive, so it doesn’t take long for Paul to get right down to brass tacks.

He wanted to address this drift into a “Jesus AND” religion head on.

In chapter 1, verse 15, Paul kicks off his message with a hymn. Now, we don’t see it in English as distinct from the rest of the letter, but most scholars seem to agree that these few verses would have been a song, a hymn that was possibly sung across the early Church.

So let me read the hymn, then we’ll talk about it.

Colossians 1:15-20
He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Now, I realize that’s pretty dense. There’s a lot of theology jammed into those few verses. So let’s see if we can unpack it a little bit.

There are two major sections to this hymn. Verses 15-17 are part one, verses 18-20 are part two.

HYMN PART I
So let’s start with part 1. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. What does that mean?

Well, it’s important to remember that in those days, Jewish spiritual leaders taught that God was completely invisible. Entirely unapproachable. You weren’t even allowed to speak his name.

All the other religions in the area had idols or statues or “images” of the gods they worshipped, but Commandment #2 in the Old Testament was pretty clear: No. Graven. Images. No idols. Even idols of the one true God. God is invisible.

Paul was once a Pharisee, a Jewish religious leader. This would have been his school of thought. Until he had a massive, life-altering conversion moment where he came face to face with the risen Jesus. He had met the “image of the invisible God.” Seen him with his own two eyes.

Later on, in verse 26, Paul calls this, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.” Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God. If you want to see God, look at his Son.

So back to the letter. If Jesus is the image of the invisible God, if he is God with skin on, then what on earth were the Christians in Colossae doing trying to discover God through angels or other spiritual beings?

For by [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

In other words, Colossian church, stop wasting your time pursuing angelic visions and start seeking the face of the one who created it all. It’s not, “Jesus AND.” It’s “Jesus PERIOD.” You’ll never find a better image of God than Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Now I want to step back for a minute and ask a question - does this have any relevance to us today?

I mean, we don’t have idol worship in our day to day lives. We don’t pass people praying to statues of local deities when we head to Kroger.

We don’t sacrifice animals anymore, but we do make sacrifices.

⁃ Some of us spend the very best hours of our day answering emails or going to yoga or playing video games
⁃ Some of us give up significant amounts of money to buy new outfits or gadgets
⁃ Many of us place our health, well-being, and sanity on the alter of our children’s success

Why do we do that? Why do we sacrifice the very best of our lives for the sake of productivity or health or success or self-image or the future of our kids?

We do it because we think these things will give us life.

When I sacrifice huge swaths of time to binge-watch TV shows on Netflix, I do it because I like laughing at well-crafted punchlines. I like the rush of endorphins that comes from a perfectly tuned cliff-hanger ending. I watch those shows to feel alive.

And yet, life doesn’t come from Netflix. That’s as ridiculous as saying life on earth starts with an energy drink.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing inherently evil about physical fitness, or entertainment, or productivity, or cool new technology, or fashion. Those are all great things. But there is a very fine line between enjoying created things, and worshipping them - between, “Alright Netflix, you’re all mine” and “Alright Netflix, I’m all yours.”

It’s easy to scoff at the ancient Colossians who sought life in God through angels and idols and rituals - who supplemented their faith with something easier to grasp and control. But their gradual slide into a “Jesus AND” religion, sure looks an awful lot like where we go wrong today.

-I find my significance in Jesus AND that new promotion at work
-My joy comes from Jesus AND the number of likes I got on that selfie yesterday
-My satisfaction is in Jesus AND my daughter’s report card

In our well-meaning attempts to add life and joy to what God has already given us, we drift.

It doesn’t help that our world is constantly bombarding us with, “You’re not complete until you have this accessory.” “How can you possibly be happy without this shampoo?” “You mean you’re not going to Hawaii for vacation this year?”

We have Christ, and yet we give power and authority to consumerism, social media, sports, work, the American dream – the gods of our modern world.

In Colossians 2:8, Paul says this:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

“Every power and authority” - In other words, the created things we so often worship instead of Jesus. He’s the boss of all of them. Jesus is the only source of life.

Seeking joy or satisfaction or fulfillment in anything else is nothing but a waste of time.

HYMN PART II

So part 1 of the hymn is all about Jesus as the perfect image of the invisible God. He’s the only source of life worth pursuing.

Part 2, then, shifts from Jesus as the source of life to Jesus as the source of salvation and redemption.

Take a look. In verse 18, it says, “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead.” What does that mean?

The word “head” here has caused a lot of debate among biblical scholars. Some say it means “authority,” like the head of an organization. Some say it means “source,” like the headwaters of a river. Some say it’s a combination of the two.

Regardless of how you interpret that word, though, I think the big idea here is pretty clear. Jesus is the head of the “Big C” Church - the covenant community of believers throughout history tasked with expanding God’s kingdom in this world - the chosen people - God’s plan A for the restoration of this world. Jesus is the head of that movement.

Look at verses 19 and 20,

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus, by sacrificing himself on the cross, has opened the door of salvation and given each of us an opportunity to be reconciled to God. And not just us, but every ounce of this broken creation.

God is restoring this world through the Church and Jesus is at the helm.

Ok, that’s great, but why does Paul bring this up? The Colossians weren’t struggling with disbelief. Paul opens his letter thanking them for their faith. They were Christ followers. So is Paul just waxing poetic here?

I don’t think so. Take a look at some of the key words he uses.

-“So that in everything he might have the supremacy…”
-“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…”
-“…To reconcile to himself all things…”

There is a sense of exclusivity and completeness here. Paul’s not just saying that “Jesus saves.” He’s saying that “Jesus alone saves.”

Remember, the Colossians were supplementing their faith with Jewish rules and regulations. Hedging their bets by following Jesus AND some local rabbis.

Look what Paul says in Chapter 2, verse 16

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

The Colossians thought they could become extra holy if they ate the right things or performed the right rituals or kept the Old Testament law to the letter. They thought they could earn more of God’s favor.

Paul wanted none of it. He knew how dangerous it would be if they drifted off course in this way. It starts with not eating shellfish. It ends with requiring circumcision to be saved, something Paul fought against his entire ministry career.

So he says, “The sacrifice of Jesus is enough, guys. You’re covered!

You could pray for five hours straight, then solve world hunger while adopting a litter of orphaned puppies and you won’t add a single ounce to the work already done through Christ’s death and resurrection.

It’s not “Jesus AND,” it’s “Jesus PERIOD.””

So. Jesus is the only source of salvation… Following the law won’t change the way God sees us.

Once again, we’re left with a simple question. “So what?” Does this matter for our lives?

We don’t struggle with whether or not to keep every command of the Old Testament law. Nobody checks to see if their clothing was made from mixed fabrics. Nobody follows the proper protocol when your neighbor’s donkey falls into a hole you dug in your yard.

So this is just something for the history books, right?

Well, I wonder.

I understand the concept of God’s grace, but I’d be lying if I said I never kept track of how my good deeds and sins were balancing out.

In college I often casually brought it up in conversation when I had done my devotions that day. “Well, when I was doing my quiet time this morning…”

And there have been many times over the years I have acted a certain way or made certain decisions (even good ones) because of the expectations of others, not because of my faith in Christ.

In those moments, I act as if Jesus isn’t enough… As if I should hedge my bets to make myself extra holy.

-My salvation comes from Jesus AND doing good deeds
-My redemption starts with Jesus AND doing all the stuff spiritual people are supposed to do
-My sanctification happens through Jesus AND my reputation with others

Can any of you relate to that?

My guess is that many of us drift into a “Jesus AND” religion more than we want to admit.

We use spiritual sounding language to bolster our holiness credentials. We pray before meals, not because we’re grateful, but because we want everyone to know how godly we are. We talk about grace and forgiveness, but then live as if there’s still a cosmic balance sheet.

But all our posturing and hand-wringing and good deeds are like dust in the wind next to the all-consuming redemption that is already ours if we surrender our lives to Jesus.

CONCLUSION

So, does Paul’s letter to the Colossians still matter today? I think it kind of does. I’d say it practically hums with relevance to our lives. Just like the Colossian church 2000 years ago, it’s easy for us to drift into a “Jesus AND” religion.

Sometimes we bow at the alter of productivity or entertainment or pleasure or fame, forgetting that Jesus is the only, the supreme, source of life.

Sometimes we get lost, supplementing our faith with good deeds or rituals, forgetting that Jesus is the only, the supreme, source of salvation.

We forget, as the Colossians did many years ago, that it’s not “Jesus AND,” it’s “Jesus PERIOD.”

But friends, this isn’t a scolding. The purpose of this sermon - the purpose of the book of Colossians - is not to make you feel guilty. It’s to make you feel free!

Think about it. If you have surrendered your life to Christ, you already have access to the source of all life and salvation. You don’t have to work hard to supplement your faith, because it’s already done.

Look at one last verse with me in Colossians. Verse 1:21

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

Our savior is supreme. He’s the creator of life, the king of kings, the master of angels. Time cannot hold him. He’s the commander of God’s army of redemption and the innocent lamb who gave his life for all.

He is holy. He is mighty. He is God.

And he is ours.

Surrender our lives to Jesus and this cosmic power will live within us. Why would we look anywhere else?

Jesus Christ, our Lord, is supreme.