MAIN POINT: Because of who Jesus is, the only way to find fulfillment in life is to be rooted in him. ICE BREAKER: Do you remember what you thought about God before you became a Christian? Was God a tyrant, judgmental father, or simply not really there? Do you remember when your view of God began to change? INTRODUCTION: When did God become God in your life? When did God go from a distant being to someone you really connected with and were beginning understand? I think it important to remember the author of Colossians, Paul, also had a moment when God became God in his life. For Paul it was on the road to Damascus, when he was still known as Saul of Tarsus. Saul believed that Jesus of Nazareth was blasphemous when He claimed to be the Messiah. As an ardent Pharisee Saul hated the name of Jesus and persecuted those who followed him. Then came Damascus. There, on the back of a donkey, Paul surrounded by a blinding light of glory heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" In amazement and wonder he cried out, "Who are you, Lord? In the passage we will study this week we find Paul s answer. ENCOUNTERING GOD THROUGH BIBLE STUDY Have someone read Colossians 1:15-20 1. What are the five ways Paul explains Christ s supremacy in creation (v.15-17)? 2. What does it mean that Jesus is the image of the invisible God? What are some of the things Jesus revealed about God s character? What aspect of God s character that Jesus made clear has been most impactful in your life? 3. What does it mean that all things were created for Jesus? What does this mean for the purpose of stars? How about the purpose of roses? What about the purpose of people?
4. How might your life look different if you lived out the reality that you were created to bring Jesus glory? 5. How does the reality that Jesus holds all things together, or sustains them, make you feel when things seem to be falling apart? 6. What are the four ways Paul explains Christ s supremacy in the church (v.18-20)? 7. What does it mean that Jesus is the head of the body? As the body, what role do you play in God s church? 8. What does it mean that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead? Who will follow Christ in being raised from death? 9. How will Jesus reconcile all things to himself? What does this look like? 10. As the body of Christ, what role do we play in reconciling all things to Jesus? How does this play out in your day-to-day life? DIGGING DEEPER 1. Throughout this series, Pastor Chris has talked about the Colossian heresy. Looking at v.1517, what kind of false teachings about Jesus might Paul have been trying to correct? 2. What effects can false teaching have within the body of Christ? 3. Why does what we believe about who Jesus have such a huge impact on how we live?
Leader Notes: Don t feel the need to ask every question. Pick out the questions which will fit your group best and ask those you know your group better than we do! 1. What are the five ways Paul explains Christ s supremacy in creation (v.15-17)? Paul explains that Jesus is (1) the image of the invisible God, (2) the firstborn of all creation, (3) that all things are created by and for him, (4) that he is before all things, and (5) that in him all things hold together. Sometimes people misunderstand what Paul means by the firstborn of all creation. The word firstborn is best understood in the sense of heir, the owner or the possessor of creation. Some argue this means Jesus was the first thing created. However the preceding verse, that Jesus is the image of the invisible God refutes this, along with John 1:1 and a host of other scriptures. This sense of the firstborn as owner or possessor is a concept that is strongly supported in the OT. Take Esau, one of the twin sons of Isaac, who was born first and therefore he had the right of the firstborn to inherit the estate of his father. But through a strange series of events, Jacob, the other twin, tricked his father into conferring that blessing upon him. He stole from Esau, by trickery, the right of firstborn. The right to be firstborn was transferred from Esau to Jacob, and Jacob became the heir of the promises of God to Isaac. Thus, we must understand that the one born first is not necessarily the "firstborn." Jacob himself later had sons, one of whom was Joseph, who in turn had two sons who are named Manasseh and Ephraim. At the end of his life, Jacob went down to Egypt to visit his son Joseph, and Joseph brought his two boys before him, Manasseh, the firstborn, and Ephraim, the younger. 2. What does it mean that Jesus is the image of the invisible God? What are some of the things Jesus revealed about God s character? What aspect of God s character that Jesus made clear has been most impactful in your life? Jesus is the Word become flesh (John 1:14). In that sense, Jesus is God revealed to us through humanity, perfectly demonstrating God s character to us. If you come to Jesus you discover you have come also into the presence of God; you know God personally and intimately. That is a central claim of Christianity. That is what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. God moved from the Holy of Holies to personally speaking to him.
3. What does it mean that all things were created for Jesus? What does this mean for the purpose of stars? How about the purpose of roses? What about the purpose of people? All things were created for Jesus in the sense that they were created to bring him glory. What does it mean to bring God glory? We understand that God is perfect, holy, beautiful, powerful, and so many other things. However as a result of sin, this reality can be difficult to see at times. To bring God glory, then, is to make plain how beautiful God truly is. Much like a telescope reveals how beautiful a far away planet is, all creation is made to magnify how worthy of honor and praise God really is (Romans 1:20). Ultimately this is to our benefit if God truly is worthy of praise, by glorifying him we both get to enjoy who God is and reveal Him to others. As C.S. Lewis put it, In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. 6. What are the four ways Paul explains Christ s supremacy in the church (v.18-20)? Paul explains that Jesus is (1) the head of the body, (2) the firstborn of the dead, (3) that in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and (4) that through him he will reconcile all things to himself. 7. What does it mean that Jesus is the head of the body? As the body, what role do you play in God s church? Christ is the head of the body in the sense that Christ provides leadership and direction for his people, the church. Just as our body goes where our head tells it to go and does what our head tells it to do, so should the church follow the direction of Jesus. Unfortunately far too often we think what can the church do for me, failing to realize we are the church. It is not what the church can do for us, but what we should do under the direction of the head Christ Jesus. 8. What does it mean that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead? Who will follow Christ in being raised from death? Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 that Christ is the first of many who will be raised from the dead. God raised Jesus from the dead in victory of sin and death, and at Jesus return all who belong to Christ will follow in being raised from the dead.
9. How will Jesus reconcile all things to himself? What does this look like? Currently we live in a world that is fallen and broken, full of conflict. However the time is coming when the Prince of Peace will bring peace to all conflict. Romans 8:20-25 explains that even creation, which has been affected by sin, groans as it awaits redemption that comes from the release of bondage to sin. We too await the redemption of our physical bodies. Isaiah 65:17-25 gives us a picture of what this redeemed world will look like. 10. As the body of Christ, what role do we play in reconciling all things to Jesus? How does this play out in your day-to-day life? 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 explains that not only is Christ reconciling the world to himself, but that Christ has made us ministers of reconciliation. That means that we are called to reconcile others to Christ by offering them the same hope Christ has offered us. DIGGING DEEPER 1. Throughout this series, Pastor Chris has talked about the Colossian heresy. Looking at v.1517, what kind of false teachings about Jesus might Paul have been trying to correct? While we can t be sure the exact nature of the false teaching that was happening at Colossae, we can infer from the text what it might have been. Some believe this false teaching was an early form of Gnosticism, which understood all matter in the physical universe to be evil. Because of this, Gnostics believed that Jesus didn t have a physical body nor did God create anything in the physical world. Another view understands the Colossian heresy to be tied to an understanding that Christ wasn t enough for salvation. Under this view, false teachers at Colossae would be telling Christians they must continue to live under the law of the Old Testament and observe Jewish festivals. This teacher likely encouraged believers to practice certain rituals, including the worship of angels (2:16-23). Some of the teachings Paul might have been addressing in v.15-17 could include: that God could not have come to earth in the form of a man, that Christ was not the unique Son of God but instead just one of many intermediaries between God and us, and that God did not create the world, because in the world we find evil.