The following blog post will essentially feature some commentary and applications that I personally gleaned from Colossians 1:15-20. I hope you are encouraged by it! Here’s the text:
He is the image of the invisible God, 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. 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. 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.
Colossians 1:15-20 ESV
Now, this passage is chalk-full of unbelievably good stuff. And before we go Megatron-theology mode on the exegesis of this passage, let me lay down a roadmap first so that you guys can clearly follow the direction that I’ll be going over the next 20 minutes or so.
And while there are many different angles that you can take on this passage, I am going to be focusing on 2 main points, which emphasize the fullness of Christ. And throughout the course of the sermon, I will be unpacking those 2 points so that we can see the implications of how the fullness of Christ directly applies to our life.
So, 2 points, here they are:
1. The Gospel is Sufficient for Fullness of Life
2. All of Life and Existence is about Jesus Christ
What we have learned over the past few weeks is that Jesus paid it all for our salvation. The work for our salvation is done. It no longer requires work on our behalf. We can’t add anything else to the work of Christ for us as if it might make it seem better, or if it might give us a better resume before God. Our salvation is all about what He has done for us.
But what does that mean for our spiritual lives now that we are saved? How does it apply to every aspect of life, or does it even?
And see, most of us believe that “Jesus paid it all for my sin” and then we can recite Eph 2: “salvation is a gift from God not by own merit, so that no man may boast”. And that’s great and it’s true. Most of us do believe that Christ’s offer of salvation is sufficient for us. In fact, we can know it’s sufficient before God’s eyes because of what? the resurrection. The resurrection was God’s way of ratifying the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice for us—proving that our sin was in fact paid in full.
But when it comes to our every day life, there seems to be disconnect between what we see as the sufficiency for salvation and what we believe constitutes as sufficiency for life.
Or, the reason why so many of us think that our spiritual lives are in this compartment and the other aspect of life are in these compartments is that we either don’t believe or are not aware that the gospel—when applied to our life—relates to every part of our life.
But it’s when we delve into the implications of the sufficiency of Christ’s work for us that we find the gospel applicable to and sufficient for all areas of life.
Meaning, if Christ fully saved your soul, then he also intends to save every other part of you. Since the gospel fully saves you, it will also fully spill over into every other aspect of your life.
See, in Christ’s offer of salvation—made only available from Him—we see the fullness of God’s heart for us. We see his attitude towards us. We see his promises to us. So that’s going to relate to the first part—about how the Gospel is sufficient for fullness of life.
So this takes care of us vertically. Then this will serve as a launchpad into helping us understanding the second part, about how all of life and existence is about Jesus Christ—helping us live empowered horizontally.
So, in essence, this lesson is about the Fullness of Christ and how its implications apply directly to our life.
Sorry, that was a long intro, but hopefully it will serve as a good roadmap.
1. The Gospel is sufficient for fullness of life.
What do I mean by life?
What I mean by “life” is what you rely on to have fullness; whatever you lean upon to have meaning; whatever you lay your hopes upon for personal validation or significance—where you will be approved or accepted or recognized; what you depend on for happiness and satisfaction. It is where you find your identity; where you find your security or acceptance.
In fact, whatever you answer in these things is what will determine the course of your life.
For instance, if it is being liked by many people, you probably find your acceptance in your social capital, how many people you know, and how many people like you.
Or, it might be through your work—what grades you made, your intelligence, what school you went to: something to give you validation and significance, a sense of self-worth.
Or maybe it’s your job—how much income you make—the dollar amount telling of how valuable you are, giving you personal significance and validation. Or maybe this is what you look to get approval from others. Maybe you depend upon it for your security.
Or maybe it’s what you own—how big your house is, or how many houses you have; what neighborhood you live in, and what private school your kids attend.
Ultimately, almost anything we do is driven by some sort of motivation to fulfill the deep areas in our life that we crave: significance, validation, happiness, acceptance, and love. So, it is those things that we define “fullness of life” by.
But see, this is exactly where the gospel comes in! The gospel is not some one time step, entrance experience, and security deposit for Christianity—that, once you accept it—it is activated once you die and go to heaven.
No, the gospel is relevant now because its implications are all about our everyday longings for acceptance, approval, significance, worth, security, and fullness of satisfaction.
For instance, how many of you have over a 3rd grade level of English grammar? Now I know you State guys are all about your math and sciences; I don’t know if y’all have time for English… haha, totally kidding.
But who remembers superlatives?
Well, to be sure, I’ve referred to ole Webster to give us an adequate definition of superlatives:
“Of the highest order, quality, or degree; surpassing or superior to all others.”
Alright, this is not like better, which is a comparison between two things. Superlatives are when compared to everything else, it comes out on top.
Superlatives are very important in this Colossians passage. In fact, if you read this again, you will notice there are 8 superlatives in 5 verses—it is hyper-saturated with superlatives. Let me just breeze through some parts of this passage once more:
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He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created—all things were created through him and for him. And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 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. // (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)
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Because this passage literally encompasses every dimension there is in life—all centered around Christ—that means that who you are, and where you find your acceptance, approval, significance, validation, security are directly related to the fullness and supremacy of Christ. And of course, this is made possible through the Christ’s full work of salvation for us, which we talked about in the last few weeks.
Because this passage is saturated in the theme of comparison, it is trying to make you aware of everything compared to Christ.
The point of this passage is to call you to see the value of that which is most valuable. Is to marvel at what is truly marvelous. Is to glory in what is most glorious. To fully enjoy that which is of highest joy. To worship that which is truly worthy of your worship. To be satisfied on that which is most satisfying. To find full validation in the One who fully validates, and full approval in the One who fully approves.
Another passage of Scripture that I love is Romans 5:8, which probably many of us know by heart. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. But see, look at the superlatives embedded in this verse: While we were at our very worst, the very best died for us, to redeem us from complete death to fullness of life.
Therefore, it would seem, in all its dimensions, that the highest possible act of love would be one that exudes the most unconditionally eager feeling, to accomplish at any cost the best means of an unmerited giving, of the greatest possible gift, to most undeserving people, from the most unobligated giver: God.
So that’s great and that’s important: now what are the implications of that? How does it directly apply to our lives?
Well, if we were at our absolute worst in sin, and we were given Christ’s absolute righteousness, then that means we have the absolute approval, significance, worth, value, acceptance, and fullness in God!
And that’s incredible—now what does that mean practically?
Because in Christ, I am fully, unconditionally, permanently accepted, approved, forgiven, and loved—that means I don’t need to look elsewhere for these things!
I no longer have to approach relationships as means of extracting approval and acceptance out of people, because I depend on it for life. Because I have full approval in Christ, I am freed to not be approved; and people’s rejections don’t kill me. I’ve heard it said that if you live for people’s acceptance, then you will die by their rejection.
Being approved by Christ, I no longer have to feel the need to exaggerate my accomplishments and minimize my shortcomings—to make people think more highly of me.
I don’t have to tirelessly defend my own social appearance or strenuously try to maintain my reputation, as if I depended on those things to give me fullness. If I am full in Christ, I am freed from that burden of measuring up.
I no longer am bound to the nasty law of reciprocity—tick for tack—I like you, so that you can like. I bless you so that you can bless me. Relationships dominated at the root by self-interest. Relationships that are transactions of approval, respect, recognition, and nothing more—really all about we get, not about what someone else gets. But because we have full unconditional love in Christ, this empowers us to give and not expect anything in return, and to stop obsessing about people’s response to us; to stop obsessing about whether or not they give, or give as much as we did—because how they respond determines how we believe we are validated.
Another example: We no longer have to worry about how much money we make for purposes of security, because we can be assured that God will provide—based on the gospel’s implications. Think of it this way: if God provided for your greatest need of salvation when you were least deserving, then how much more will He provide for your less inferior needs, now that you are his beloved child?
Furthermore, why do you need to keep seeking from the approval from other no-name earthlings whose opinions change like the wind when you have the absolute approval of the One whose opinion really only matters?
Let’s move on forgiveness: If we have been forgiven for the cosmic treason of our sin by the Sovereign of the Universe, then how much more should we forgive others of their wrongs against us, which is incomparably inferior than our sin against God?
Furthermore, because we have been given everything for fullness of life in Christ in a permanent and unconditional manner, we have a reason to rejoice always in all circumstances, we have a reason to be content in all circumstances, and we have a reason to be joyful always!
And we could talk about the implications of the gospel for hours and hours, but that’s to show that the implications of this are massive and we could literally go on forever.
But see how the implications of the gospel’s gift of approval, significance, and love are directly related to every aspect of life?
If you are not finding validation and those things in God, you will inevitably keep trying to seek it elsewhere.
Quick tangent: When you stop thinking about your job, your relationships, your money, your pursuits as means towards the end of filling yourself, and when you stop depending on those things to give you life—that’s when you actually start enjoying them! You no longer have to make good grades to impress people or to prove to yourself your own worth or validation. You can enjoy your job for what it is. Being freed from constantly comparing yourselves to others and trying to live up to an appearance, you can enjoy your work for what it is. You are no longer squeezing the life out of those things—rather, you are experiencing their refreshing blessing in your life.
And what happens when you cant? When there’s someone smarter than you? I don’t have to play this sports game because I have to prove myself; I am liberated from that, so I begin to enjoy it! Use extra examples too—that was extra material free of charge!
But back on track: the truth is, we won’t let go of our idols—those things we depend on more than God—until our hearts are convinced something greater: God.
In fact, I’ve heard it said that the two roots causes for sin is 1) not believing the gospel is enough for you or 2) that you simply don’t value it enough.
To not value it enough for the true value that it really is. We are so prone to not value the things that are truly valuable. To not stand in awe in the things that are truly breath-taking.
Think about it this way: It’s kind of a like a kid who goes on a family trip when he’s really young—the family is going to see into the Air Space Museum or is looking at the White House or goes to the Grand Canyon or on a cruise: and he doesn’t really understand the significance of what is going on at that time; he doesn’t realize the uniqueness of those places and why they are so important or awesome. So inevitably—and maybe you have seen this—he resorts to whipping out his gameboy and starts playing away on it. See, it would be a tragedy to miss the wonder, unique, glorious history and significance of the White House or the incredible view of the Grand Canyon because your focus was so zero-ed in on trite, virtual, inferior pleasures. It would be tragic for something inferior to steal your fascination in the midst of the superior. Kind of like my mom. At football games, her focus and joy isn’t in the game itself—which was paid for her—but in observing what the people around her are wearing. Now, to her, that would be the “superior” pleasure, but you get my point.
But see, many of us are like that in terms of how we relate to the gospel—God is offering us infinite, unconditional, permanent, sufficient, and full approval, acceptance, and love—yet, we don’t value it as such, or don’t actively believe it—thinking we need to “add on” in order to have full existential satisfaction.
In fact, CS Lewis talks about this very thing in his book, “Weight of Glory”–he says: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
We are so used to this lifestyle of not knowing the fullness of Christ that we continue to live for the fleetingness of lesser things:
I love what David the Psalmist says in Psalm 16: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore”
And in fact, Scripture screams this idea even more:
Jesus says, “the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have so that they may have life and life to the full”. “I am the resurrection and the life; I am the bread of life; I am the living water such you will never go thirsty again; I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”.
And also, in Acts 17, Paul states that, “In Him, we live and move and have being”
Tim Keller actually has an analogy for this kind of concept in his book “The Art of Self-Forgetfulness”, saying that our hearts are like this infinitely broad, empty, hollow vacuum space that can only be fulfilled by the fullness of God because we were made—back to verse 16—“by him and for him”. But when we try to invest meaning, significance, validation, purpose, and fulfillment, and satisfaction in anything other than God, it will rattle around inside because it’s not big enough to fulfill—many times denting the inside of our being.
And what happens when we try to fill ourselves with something, but it doesn’t seem to satisfy? We feel that empty space inside—and so, of course, our next thought is to keep filling it up with more of the same thing!
In fact, I read an article about Tom Brady the other day that actually confirmed this very idea. If you don’t know Tom Brady, he is one of the best pro football quarterbacks of our time, if not one of the best ever, statistically-speaking. He has been to the Super Bowl 5 times, won 3 titles, set several records, makes 10 million dollars a year, and is married to a model. If there was someone that we could point to who would have “everything”, it Tom Brady would be pretty high on the list. But this is what’s interesting: HE said that after all he has, it is not enough. He says that he is not fulfilled—for some reason those things have left him just as incomplete as before he had those things—if not more.
But see, we actually see a very similar character in the New Testament—Paul, who wrote this book. Paul was the Tom Brady of that culture. In our culture, money, status, athleticism, and a hot wife are the coveted things—that if you have any of those, or ALL of them, then you have made it. That is what will give you security, approval, acceptance, significance, and validation.
See, in Paul’s culture, it was also about finding approval, security, validation, etc—because those are universal longings in the heart of man—but it was just other means of acquiring them. Paul lived in a very religious culture, where religious stature and education was exalted above all—those were the benchmarks for significance, acceptance, and approval in that day.
In fact, in Phil. 3, Paul explains that he had everything according to the standards of that culture! He says, “if anyone else things he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more”—meaning, you think you have everything, check me out: and then he lists all the things that, by the standards of that day, made him an impeccable stud. He was educated at the Harvard of Jerusalem, by the top teacher, and finished first in his class.
But see, at the end of this chapter, Paul confesses that now in Christ, he counts all these things as loss, as trash—not trash in and of themselves—but trash compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus.
What led Paul to let go of his earthly treasures that he thought would give him fullness of life was finding greater treasure in what God had given to him in Christ—one that thieves could not steal and moth cannot destroy. Something that wouldn’t be threatened by danger, or persecution, or sword, or famine, or nakedness, or death, or angels or demons, nor height nor depth, nor anything in all creation.
It would be a tragedy to strenuously and sacrificially climb the rungs of social ladder your entire life only to realize that once you got to the top, the ladder you were climbing up was leaned against wrong building. That you had actually been leaning the weight of your security, significance, validation, joy, meaning, and fulfillment in something that wasn’t meant to support that weight all along. Only God was meant to carry that weight because you were made “by him and for him”.
Also. Let’s be logical real quick: you want ultimate joy, you want ultimate peace, ultimate security—but where else are you going to find that except in the Ultimate of the Universe? You want sufficient fullness in life? Why not look for it in the sufficiency of the most sufficient being in the whole universe? Just saying.
See, we sing “the riches of your love will always be enough” // great song, great tune, but do we really mean it? Always ‘be enough’? Enough for what? Enough for who? And why? Enough ‘of what’? Do we even know what we are talking about it in this case? Does the way we live and think and worship reflect that anthem we cry on Sunday mornings??
The full work of Christ for us makes the fullness of God’s love and approval fully available to us to fully experience in all areas of life.
And, indeed, it is dwelling on the legitimacy and sufficiency of His love for us that begins to produce real love in us for Him.
The idea that God is all-sufficient implies the notion that we don’t need anything else!
And this, in a way, segues into the second part of this message:
2. All of life and existence is about Jesus and His kingdom’s legacy. Which means, conversely, that life is not about us, our legacy, and our kingdom.
The gospel frees me to living selflessly for another kingdom under another King—why? because through faith, it connects me to a kingdom that is greater.
So what does this mean practically?
I no longer have to feel the need and burden to leave a legacy, because the gospel has saved me to being a part of a kingdom and Name that is more important than mine, and whose impact will last forever, and will not fade in time.
By the way, someone did a study about the fleetingness of human legacy and summed it up by asking a simple question: “do you remember the name of your great grandfather?” 90% people cannot even remember the name of their own great grandfather—someone who is their own kin! In a 100 years, people’s names are forgotten, and even if their names are remembered, even their own relatives can barely give an account of life much less.
Why do you feel the need to leave a legacy? Because if you finally do, then you will finally find satisfaction in how you have validated your significance? Is it about being accepted and approved by others—or proving to yourself how good you are so that finally feel say to yourself “I am ok”?
You’re not believing the gospel—at least not actively, or practically, or applicably—that you have already been fully unconditionally, permanently loved, accepted, approved by the One whose opinion only really matters—if you have the unconditional, permanent, and full approval by the God of the Universe, then you don’t need approval from anywhere else! You don’t to validated any more than you already are!
So, being freed from the burden of trying to measure up or to build your own castles of sand that will be taken out by the waves of time, the gospel frees you to serve and give and sacrifice because it gives you all you need in Christ.
The gospel compels Christians to do things that they wouldn’t typically do because it gives them something they wouldn’t have otherwise gained: God.
What helps me to give up all I have and all I am for the mission of God is the realization that God used those very means to save me.
And until we are gripped by that truth, we won’t loosen our grip to the things of this world.
We will never loosen our grip to the things of this world for the sake of His mission until we are gripped by the fact that God gave all He had to save us.
Romans 8:32 –He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Check out Romans 12:1—I love what it says about how the fullness of the gospel produces full motivation for full generosity and full commissioning.
Here’s what it says:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship”
What is it in this verse that compels us to lay down our lives as living sacrifices? The mercies of God! What are these mercies? The fact that He gave himself up for us!
So what compels us to radical sacrifice with what we have? The realization that Christ laid down his life for us and gave us all he had before God.
Because the fullness of Christ is ours through the full work of Christ for our eternal salvation and existential salvation, we can begin to fully lay down all we have without claim or condition.
CT Studd has a killer quote, “If Christ be God and died for me, then there is no sacrifice that is too great for me to make for Him”.
Meaning, focusing our eyes on what Christ has done in outreach for us is the only fuel that will prime the mechanics of our hands and feet for outreach to others.
The gospel will not reach the four corners of this world until it first reaches the four corners of our hearts.
Until we are convinced, we will not go. And we will go all-in to the mission of God when we are swept away with the knowledge that God went all-in to save us and to give us all he has.
See, the weight of this good news for us puts things into perspective: we’re completely made right with God, we are completely loved, approved, fulfilled, accepted, and secured—unconditionally and permanently. We are promised a new life and a better kingdom, one with a new heaven a new earth. So it frees me from the need to live up to people’s expectations, it frees me from depending on the appearances of having the latest stuff, it frees me from depending on earthly comforts, it frees me to not be obsessed with my name, my appearance, and my legacy. And because I’m full and never lacking, it compels me to acts of generosity, vulnerability, sacrifice, and mission for His kingdom.
In the fullness of Christ, we have a better reason to not pursue the fleeting, unfulfilling means of acceptance, approval, and significance in the world, such as building our own kingdoms, name, and identity.
In fact, to quote a brilliant friend Mr. Schwartz from Twitter: “the best use of our time is to wholeheartedly invest in the world not bounded by time”. And see, it’s the fullness of Christ that empowers us to invest, and gives us a reason to invest in God’s mission—instead of depending on the world for those things that we can only truly find in Christ.
Jim Elliot has an excellent quote concerning just this: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose”.
To wrap things up:
In fact, in Luke 22:35, a few days before Jesus’ crucifixion, he reminded his disciples of a mission trip he had sent them on. Jesus says, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? He answered, “Nothing”
Perhaps somewhere in the course of eternity, Jesus will ask us the same question about our experience here on earth, “Did you lack anything?”
And we’ll be able to fully answer, “No, nothing was lacking! You gave us everything we needed for our hope, for our identity, for acceptance, for validation, for approval, for security, for motivation. You gave us all love and joy in your Son, all because the fullness of your grace!”
Then, we might be able to say for all days, with much praise and gratitude, that “Lord, you were our good shepherd. You anointed me with oil; my cup overflowed. Surelygoodness and mercyfollowed me all the days of my life, and I shall dwellin the house of the Lord forever”
“For whom have I have in heaven but You, and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You; my heart and flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”
So in conclusion, I encourage you—those who have been in the church forever and those who are just checking out Christianity for the first time and all those in between—to reevaluate what you are living for. What are you looking to, to satisfy the depths of your soul? You were made for someone greater—Jesus—his fullness and his kingdom.
Jesus, who gave His everything, gives you everything you need for life. So if you have been running away for so long, know that you don’t have to run back to Him or work your way back—the gospel doesn’t say that—the gospel says “It is finished”. Jesus paid it all.
Jesus drank the full penalty of your sin so that you could experience the fullness of the love of God for you. You don’t need anything else. And nothing else will suffice.
Jesus is everything. You don’t need anything else. Nothing more for your eternal salvation. Nothing more for your existential salvation.
Charles Spurgeon once said: “I have a great need for Christ; but I have a great Christ for my need.”
Let’s pray.
