Who is Jesus Christ? (Col. 1:15-23)

Sunday’s Sermon 7/20/2025

If I asked you to tell me about Jesus, what would you say?

Would you say He’s your Savior? A good teacher? A moral example? The Son of God? All true. I still wonder how clearly we actually see Him? Not just the Jesus of your childhood Sunday School coloring pages. Not just the Jesus of memes and bumper stickers. Not even the Jesus of political agendas or personal inspiration.

I’m asking: Do we see Jesus as He really is: exalted, cosmic, unshakable, radiant in glory? Because one’s answer to that question—Who is Jesus?—will shape every other part of their life.

We live in a world clouded by confusion. People construct their own versions of Jesus to fit their preferences. Some make Him a soft spiritual therapist who only affirms. Others reduce Him to a revolutionary or a mascot for their cause. Still others treat Him like a distant religious figure, relevant only for Christmas and crisis.

Colossians 1 will not let us do any of that. Paul lifts the veil and gives us a staggering vision of Jesus, not a tame Rabbi, but the eternal Lord. Not a background figure in your story, but the One by whom, through whom, and for whom all things exist.

Here’s why that matters: If your view of Jesus is too small, your faith will always be frail. If your vision of Christ is dim, your worship will be shallow. If you only know facts about Jesus but have not been captivated by His glory, you will drift, you will doubt, and you will fall into the traps of lesser lords.

This is why Paul, writing to a small church in Colossae being tempted by false teaching and spiritual confusion, doesn’t give them self-help or moralism. He gives them Christ. He pulls back the curtain and says: “Look at Him! Gaze on Him! Build your life on Him!”

So this morning, I invite you to do the same. To lift your eyes to the Lord of all creation, the head of the church, the reconciler of souls, the risen and reigning King, Jesus Christ.

When you truly see who He is, it will change who you are. This knowledge cannot stay in your head, it must light a fire in your soul.

Let us open Colossians 1:15–23 and ask the Spirit of God to open our eyes.

He Is the Image of the Invisible God (v. 15a)

Let that phrase settle over you: “the image of the invisible God.”

What does Paul mean? The Greek word for “image” is eikōn, which refers not to a replica or imitation, but the exact representation, the visible manifestation of something unseen. This is not like a painting that sort of resembles someone, it is the perfect expression of God in visible form.

Paul is saying something astonishing: In Jesus Christ, the invisible God has made Himself visible.

As John puts it in his Gospel: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known” (John 1:18). Or again, the writer of Hebrews declares, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3).

You want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus.

You want to understand the heart of God? Look at how Jesus touches lepers, how He weeps at a tomb, how He welcomes children, how He rebukes hypocrisy, how He hangs on a cross.

In Christ, God has come near as a man who walked dusty roads, shares meals, suffers, bleeds, and dies. Yet make no mistake: this man is not less than God- He is the full unveiling of the divine.

Many have distorted pictures of God. You picture Him as harsh and cold, waiting for you to mess up. Or distant and indifferent, He’s too big to care about your pain.Or perhaps just vague and unknowable, like some cosmic force.

Regardless, the Bible gives us a bold and beautiful corrective: God has made Himself knowable, personal, visible in Christ.

That means when you doubt God’s love, look to Jesus. When you’re wondering if God is with you in your suffering, look to Jesus. When you feel like you don’t know what to pray or how to draw near to God, look to Jesus.

Jesus is not a window to God, He is God. He is not simply a prophet describing God, He is the embodied revelation of God.

Here’s the crucial takeaway: You will never trust a God you cannot see. So God, in His mercy, gave us His image, not carved in stone or crafted by human hands, but born in Bethlehem, crucified at Calvary, and raised in glory.

Let your faith begin not with your performance, but with your vision. Who do you see when you look at Jesus? This is no small question because the clearer your view of Christ, the deeper your confidence will be in God’s goodness, God’s nearness, and God’s redeeming love.

He Is Supreme Over All Creation (vv. 15b–17)

“…the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” —Colossians 1:15b–17

Paul does not want us to simply admire Jesus, he wants us to be awestruck by Him. These verses are a thundering declaration of Christ’s cosmic supremacy. Let’s break it down.

“The Firstborn of All Creation” (v. 15b)

This phrase has been misunderstood by many cults , who claim it means Jesus was a created being. Biblically, however, firstborn does not mean first created, it means preeminent in rank and rightful heir (see Psalm 89:27).

Jesus is not the first thing created, He is the eternal Creator. Paul makes that clear in the very next verse.

“By Him All Things Were Created…” (v. 16)

Paul includes everything: Heaven and earth – the physical and the spiritual. Visible and invisible – the material and the unseen. Thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities – even the most powerful systems and beings. All of it, every molecule, mountain, and monarch owes its existence to Jesus. He made it all, He governs it all, and He owns it all.

“He Is Before All Things, and In Him All Things Hold Together” (v. 17)

Not only did He create all things, He actively sustains them. The reason the universe does not collapse, the reason the sun rises each day, the reason your heart beats again this very second is because Christ is holding it all together. He is not a passive observer. He is the active sustainer of reality itself.

If you’re paying attention to the news, or even just to your own life, you know this world feels increasingly unstable. Wars rage. Economies tremble. Moral confusion multiplies. Creation groans. Anxiety rises. In moments like this, you might be tempted to ask: “Where is God in all of this?” Or even, “Is anyone really in control?”

The answer that rises from Colossians 1 is loud and unshakable: Yes, Jesus is.

He is before it all, meaning He is not caught off guard by history. He is above it all, meaning He is not bound by it. Finally, He is holding it all, meaning nothing slips through His hands, not even the pain you can’t explain.

Even when your world feels like it’s unraveling, He is still holding it together. Christian, your peace does not come from having control, it comes from knowing the One who does. You may feel like the chaos is winning, but the One who spoke galaxies into being is not shaken by your storm.

If Christ is supreme over all creation, then He is certainly sovereign over your situation. If everything was created through Him and for Him, then the universe is not centered around you. Your job, your family, your plans, they all exist for His glory. And the sooner you align your life with that reality, the more purpose and peace you will find.

So ask yourself: Are you living like the world is held together by Christ, or like it’s all on your shoulders? Are you building your identity around created things, or the Creator Himself? Is Jesus the gravitational center of your life, or just a distant satellite in your orbit?

Let the supremacy of Christ reshape your priorities, reframe your fears, and reawaken your trust. If He is Lord over creation, then He is Lord over your crisis.

He Is the Head of the Church and the Firstborn from the Dead (v. 18)

“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” —Colossians 1:18

Paul’s flow of thought in Colossians 1 moves seamlessly from Christ’s supremacy over creation to His supremacy over new creation. These are not two separate realms but two interwoven realities. Christ, who is Lord of the cosmos, is also Lord of the Church.

He is not merely the Maker of all things, but the Resurrected Head of a living body, the Church, that now participates in His life and power. Paul, with a deliberate and worshipful cadence, declares that Jesus is the Head of the body, and the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything He might be preeminent.

The language of “head of the body” is not merely symbolic. The church is not a loose association of religious people, it is a living, breathing, Spirit-filled organism, intimately joined to Christ.

Just as a body draws life, coordination, and identity from its head, so too the church draws everything from Christ. He is not a distant figurehead. He is the One who actively leads, animates, and empowers His people by the indwelling of His Spirit. We do not function apart from Him. Our life flows from Him.

The church is not merely for Christ; it is in Christ, His very body on earth.

Yet Paul also identifies Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead.” This, again, speaks not of chronology alone but of primacy. Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead—Lazarus and others were raised—but He is the first to rise never to die again.

He is the beginning of the new creation, the down payment of the resurrection that awaits all those united to Him. He has triumphed over death in such a way that His resurrection becomes the source of resurrection life for His body, the church.

This is where the beauty and mystery of Paul’s phrase takes shape: the One who rose from the grave now gives His resurrection life to His people. The church is not merely a moral community or religious institution, it is a resurrected people.

These two realities (Christ Jesus as Head of the Church and Firstborn from the Dead) are not incidental to each other. They are deeply connected. The church is not simply led by Christ; it lives because of Christ. It is the visible manifestation of the risen Jesus on earth, infused with resurrection power. That means the church is not dead, cannot be defeated, and must never be underestimated.

It is the body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, declaring the victory of Christ. Through its witness, Christ still calls the spiritually dead to life. The gospel goes forth not as information, but as a resurrection call.

This has profound implications for us. First, we must confront the error, common in our time, of claiming to love Jesus while dismissing or despising His church. Scripture does not permit such a division. To love the Head is to love the Body. Yes, the church is messy. Yes, it is imperfect, but it is Christ’s. He shed His blood for her. He sustains her. He walks among her lampstands. If Christ does not give up on His church, neither should we. To neglect the church is to cut ourselves off from the very means by which Christ nourishes and grows His people.

Second, we must remember who we are. We are not cultural critics or passive attenders. We are participants in resurrection. We are the Body of Christ, and we are meant to live, to move, and to minister in His power.

Christianity is not about self-help or sin management, it is about life from the dead. Are we living as those who have been raised with Christ? Are we walking in the Spirit, bearing witness to the One who conquered the grave? Do we believe that through our preaching, our praying, our loving, and our serving, Christ still calls Lazaruses from the tomb?

We must never settle for a domesticated, deflated view of the church. She is not a dying institution. She is a living temple, a risen body, a Spirit-filled people, who carry the life of Christ into the world. And she will endure, not because of our strength, but because of His resurrection.

The same Christ who holds the universe together is the same Christ who leads His church in triumph. The same Christ who shattered death is the One who now breathes life into His people. Let us then honor the Head by honoring the Body, and live not as spiritual corpses, but as those filled with the very life of the risen Lord.

He Is the Guarantee of Our Peace with God (vv. 19–22)

“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.” —Colossians 1:19–22

After lifting our eyes to see Christ as the image of God, the Creator of all things, and the Head of the new creation, Paul now brings us to the very heart of the gospel: peace with God. But this peace is not vague or sentimental. It is not the soft peace of therapeutic comfort or spiritual niceness. It is blood-bought, cross-wrought, and eternally anchored in the divine person of Christ.

Paul begins with one of the most staggering statements in all of Scripture: “In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Not partially. Not symbolically. Fully. The eternal, unchanging, infinite God dwells in Christ without remainder. There is no divine power, presence, or prerogative that Jesus lacks. He is not a lesser emanation or second-tier deity.

He is, as Paul says elsewhere, “God over all, blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5). This divine fullness is not reluctantly contained in Him, it is pleased to dwell in Him. The language evokes the pleasure of the Father resting upon the Son, the eternal delight of the triune God overflowing into the mission of redemption.

This is precisely why Jesus can guarantee our peace with God. Because only One who is fully God can reconcile sinners to God. Only One who shares in the divine nature can bridge the chasm of our alienation. And how does He do it? Paul says, “through Him to reconcile to Himself all things… making peace by the blood of His cross.”

There is no true peace apart from atonement. The cross was not optional, it was essential. Sin is not a small problem, and our estrangement from God is not a mild inconvenience. We were, as Paul says, “alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” That is the diagnosis: not spiritually sick, but spiritually dead and defiant. Our hearts, by nature, push God away. We want His gifts without His presence, His blessings without His authority.

Remarkably, Jesus comes into that hostility, not with the sword of judgment but with the wood of the cross. He absorbs the wrath we deserve. He takes the hostility upon Himself. And by His blood—not our works, not our penance, not our religious striving—He makes peace. A peace that is not just the end of hostility but the beginning of wholeness, restoration, and belonging.

Then do not miss what Paul says next: “He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh by His death.” Christ’s work is not abstract. It is intimate, physical, personal. He really died in His body so that we, once enemies, might be presented to God as holy, blameless, and above reproach.

That is your new identity in Christ, not because you earned it, but because He guaranteed it.

Since He is fully God, His sacrifice is of infinite worth. Because He is fully man, His sacrifice is fully ours. This peace is transformational.

Do you live as one who is reconciled to God, or do you still carry the weight of guilt He already bore? Do you strive for peace through performance, or do you rest in the peace Christ has made?

Too many believers live as though peace with God is a fragile thing, as though one bad day could undo the cross. But listen again: He has now reconciled you… to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach. That is not just your future, it is your standing now.

So stop living like you are still on spiritual probation. Stop trying to earn what Jesus already finished.top looking inward to your performance when you should be looking upward to your perfect Redeemer.

Some of you hear “peace with God” and doubt it applies to you. You see your sins. You know your past. You feel unworthy. However, look at the text: “You who were once alienated… He has now reconciled.” That’s the gospel: Christ doesn’t wait for the cleaned-up version of you. He meets you in your worst and brings you home.

So if you’re still running, stop. If you’re still doubting, look at the cross. Peace is not a feeling you earn, it is a status Christ secured.

Christ Demands Persevering Faith (v. 23)

“If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” —Colossians 1:23

After unfolding the cosmic majesty of Jesus and the blood-bought peace He has secured, Paul closes this section with a necessary and sobering call: continue. The gospel is not merely a message to be heard once; it is a life to be rooted in, a hope to be held fast, and a truth to be lived out daily.

Paul does not question the sufficiency of Christ, he questions the stability of our grip on that hope. “If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast…” This is not a warning to unsettle the believer, but a wake-up call to prevent drift. The danger is not that Christ will fail, but that we will shift our trust to lesser things. We must remain grounded in the gospel. Not the gospel as a one-time decision, but the gospel as the daily foundation, filter, and fuel of the Christian life.

Notice the language Paul uses: “stable,” “steadfast,” “not shifting.” These are architectural words, implying a house built to withstand pressure. In other words, your spiritual life must be constructed on the solid rock of Christ, especially when the winds of hardship, temptation, or cultural confusion come…And they will come.

This is especially relevant in our world today, where the gospel is not just ignored, but often ridiculed, redefined, or replaced with counterfeits.

Some drift toward moralism, thinking Christianity is about trying harder to be good. Others slide into emotionalism, chasing feelings instead of truth. Still others fall for syncretism, blending Christianity with self-help, nationalism, or spiritual vagueness.

Despite this, Paul says: do not shift. Do not budge. The gospel you first believed is the gospel you must still stand on. There is no graduation from grace. There is no promotion past the cross.

So ask yourself: Am I clinging to the gospel now as I did at first, or have I grown cold, distracted, or spiritually indifferent? Am I daily coming back to Christ, not as a concept, but as my living Savior, my source of hope, my anchor in the storm?

Let us be clear: continuing in the faith is not about earning your salvation, it is about evidencing it. The true believer perseveres not by strength, but by dependence, by returning again and again to the One who died and rose for us.

Paul ends this majestic section not on abstract theology but on mission. This gospel, he says, has been proclaimed in all creation, and he has given his life to its spread. The One who reconciled us now sends us, and we continue not just for ourselves, but for the sake of others who have not yet heard the good news of peace through Christ.

All Things Become Clear When We See Who He Is

We live in an age of profound confusion about identity. People spend their lives trying to discover who they are, be it through careers, relationships, achievements, social causes, or curated online images. Even as Christians, we often wrestle with the same question: Who am I? Am I enough? Do I matter? What defines me?

But let me offer a deeper and more liberating truth: You will never fully understand who you are until you see clearly who Christ is.

That’s the power of Colossians 1. Paul doesn’t begin with human potential, he begins with divine glory. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and everything else begins to fall into place.

So who is Christ Jesus?

He is, as Paul says, the image of the invisible God, the exact radiance of the Father’s glory. He is the Creator of all things, and the One who holds every atom together by the word of His power. He is before all things, above all kings, beyond all time. He is the Head of the Church, the firstborn from the dead, and the life of His people. He is the fullness of God in human flesh, the Lamb slain, the Peacemaker by the blood of His cross, and the Reconciler of the rebel heart.

Yet, even that is not the whole story.

The Christ of Colossians 1 is also the Christ of Genesis who is present at creation, speaking light into darkness. He is the Passover Lamb and the pillar of fire leading His people home in Exodus. He is the Rock in the wilderness, the true and better David, the final High Priest, the Promised One of the Prophets.

He is the suffering servant of Isaiah, pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He is the Son of Man in Daniel, riding on the clouds in everlasting dominion. He is the Wisdom of Proverbs, the Bridegroom of the Song of Songs, and the weeping Redeemer of Lamentations.

He is the baby in the manger and the King on the cross. He is the crucified One who broke death’s grip, walked out of the grave, and ascended in glory. He is the Lord of Pentecost, who fills His people with power, and the Alpha and Omega, who will return with trumpet sound and eyes like fire to make all things new.

He is the Lamb upon the throne: worshiped by angels, feared by demons, adored by the redeemed. He is Jesus Christ—Son of God, Savior, King, Lord of All.

This is who He is. And when you know who He is truly, deeply, biblically, personally, then and only then, will you begin to understand who you are.

You are not defined by your failures, but by His forgiveness. You are not secured by your striving, but by His sufficiency. You are not held together by your strength, but by His sustaining grace. You are not alive because of your worth, but because of His mercy.

So stop trying to find your identity in the mirror, in the metrics, or in the opinions of others. Look to Christ. Let Him tell you who you are.

Let your life be rooted in the unshakable truth of the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. For when Christ is your center, your anchor, your everything, you will never be moved.

Beloved, lift your eyes. In a world of shifting sand, build on the rock. In a life of unsteady seasons, stand in the stability of Christ. In a culture full of confusion, declare with clarity and joy: I know who He is and that changes everything.

Let your worship rise, your witness grow bold, your hope burn bright, and your faith stand firm. Because in the end, the question that matters most is not “Who am I?” but “Who is Jesus?” And when you can answer that rightly, everything else becomes clear.

“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, making peace by the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20)

This is who Jesus is…To Him be the glory, now and forever. Amen.