Christ is supreme

Here's Paul's statement on the supremacy of Jesus as the Christ.

He wrote it in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Colossae



Colossians 1

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.

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

5 passages

Here's some of the verses that always stand out for me in Philippians 4....


Don’t worry about anything; 

instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, 

and thank him for all he has done. 

Then you will experience God’s peace, 

which exceeds anything we can understand. 

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6-7



And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. 

Fix your thoughts on what is true, 

and honorable, 

and right, 

and pure, 

and lovely, 

and admirable. 

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me;

everything you heard from me 

and saw me doing. 

Then the God of peace will be with you. 

Philippians 4:8-9



...for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 

Philippians 4:11



For I can do everything through Christ, 

who gives me strength. 

Philippians 4:13



And this same God 

who takes care of me 

will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, 

which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

big stuff in Philippians

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, & Colossians are 4 short epistles by Paul - just a few chapters.

They are short letters written to the followers of Jesus in each of those cities.

They are short but are jam packed with important stuff.

I think that's why I'm so fond of them. They pack such a punch in very few words.

Here's what Paul had to say in Philippians 3, after recounting his life as a Pharisee...

Philippians 3

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Pauline advice

Paul has some pretty important things to say here...

Did I mention yesterday that Paul wrote this letter to the followers of Jesus while he was in prison?

Yeah...

Philippians 2

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? 

Any comfort from his love? 

Any fellowship together in the Spirit? 

Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 

2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other,

 loving one another, 

and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; 

don’t try to impress others. 

Be humble, 

thinking of others as better than yourselves. 

4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, 

but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

who Jesus is

John wrote either the best or one of the best, most exquisite, & succinct expressions of who Jesus is, all at the beginning of his extraordinary gospel...


John 1

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

whole armor

These days, we need some "armor of God" to protect us from the chaos & stupidity in which we live...

Ephesians 6

10 A final word: 

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 

12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, 

but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, 

against mighty powers in this dark world, 

and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor 

so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. 

Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 

14 Stand your ground, 

putting on the belt of truth 

and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 

15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News 

so that you will be fully prepared. 

16 In addition to all of these, 

hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 

17 Put on salvation as your helmet, 

and take the sword of the Spirit, 

which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. 

Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

fav

My fav psalm...



Psalm 139

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

one

Paul can lay it out so well & so simply...

Ephesians 4

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, 

for you have been called by God. 

2 Always be humble 

and gentle. 

Be patient with each other, 

making allowance for each other’s faults 

because of your love. 

3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, 

binding yourselves together with peace.

4 For there is one body 

and one Spirit, 

just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

5 There is one Lord, 

one faith, 

one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, 

in all, 

and living through all.