Christ Is Supreme
Great Christmas passage.
Who did the shepherds see lying in a manger in Bethlehem?
Answers from scripture:
Luke 2:11 ESV
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Matthew 1:23 NLT
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
Isaiah 9:6 NLT
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Paul says more about this baby in a manger in Colossians 1:15-20 when he writes about characteristics of Christ and His deity.
Don’t try to understand everything in this lesson. Just believe and be thankful for this passage of scripture.
Colossians 1:15-20 NLT
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Examine the Scriptures:
Colossians 1:15-20 NLT
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
- Christ is the image of the invisible God.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being… (Hebrews 1:3 NIV)
The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God … (Hebrews 1:3 NLT)
- Christ perfectly reveals God’s nature and character.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! John 14:9
- Anyone who has seen Christ has seen the Father!
John 10:30 NLT
30 The Father and I are one.”
John 1:1 NLT
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
- Jesus is God
Jesus reveals God to humanity.
He existed before anything was created
- Christ existed before anything was created.
John 1:1 NLT
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
Deuteronomy 33:27 NLT
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.
Revelation 1:4-8 NLT
4 …
Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;
…
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
and is supreme over all creation,
- Christ is supreme over all creation.
Jesus Christ holds ultimate authority and power over all creation, both spiritual and physical.
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
- Christ is the creator of the universe.
John 1:3 & 10NLT
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
- Everything was created through him (Christ) and for him.
Hebrews 1:2 NLT
… through the Son he (God) created the universe.
17 He existed before anything else,
John 1:2 NLT
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
See notes for verse 15.
and he holds all creation together.
He not only created all things but actively upholds and preserves their order and coherence.
Christ keeps the sun, moon, and stars in their orbits.
Christ keeps the atoms, protons, and neutrons in place.
- Christ sustains the universe. Without His sustaining power, creation would collapse into chaos.
The work of Christ is ongoing.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
- Christ is the head of the Church.
Ephesians 5:23 NLT
23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.
- Christ is the leader and sustainer of His people.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
- Christ is the firstborn from the dead.
- His resurrection guarantees the future resurrection of believers.
1 Corinthians 15:20 & 23 NLT
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
- Christ is the fullness of God.
This emphasizes the deity of Christ. Jesus Christ is God.
- This indicates that the totality of God’s nature and attributes reside in Christ
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
- Christ is the reconciler of all things.
- Christ’s death makes reconciliation between God and man possible.
Restoring broken relationships,
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Example:
Ephesians 2:14-17 NLT
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.
The shepherds saw far more than a little baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem.
