Read Colossians 1:15-29
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.
Reflect
- In these verses, the Apostle Paul glories in the supremacy of Christ. How do you see the supremacy of Christ in your life? In your work? In your family? In our church?
- After the greetings of verses 1 thru 14, the first thing Paul wants to make clear is the preeminence of Christ. Why do you think he start with this? What implications might the supremacy of Christ have for our lives.
Prayer
- The greatest burden on your heart.
- One person who does not know Jesus Christ.
- God’s continued favor on our church as we move forward in 2019 and beyond.
- That you would know and love God more at the end of 2019 than ever before.