A sermon idea based on Colossians 1:15-28.
How is it that God is above ALL that is lost to sin and corruption? That’s the question answered by Paul in the first chapter of his letter to the Christians in Colossae.
It seems obvious that Paul is answering some false, cultish teaching. Most scholars believe that Paul is answering the Gnostics, who believed that there were certain people who possessed a special kind of divine knowledge that no one else possessed. And these Gnostics believed that their asceticism would specially position them for heavenly knowledge in a way that no one else would be prepared for.
But Paul uses, repeatedly, the word “ALL” to describe the world that God was saving for himself.
- ALL things were created through Christ.
- ALL things are held together by Christ.
- God is reconciling ALL things to himself through the cross.
And Paul ends the passage with the promise that the gospel has already been proclaimed to ALL creatures under heaven and has, therefore, been the instrument of God saving all that remained lost in this world.
The remaining question is, will we receive the saving work God has done in Christ for all things? For all creatures? For all people?
And to all who do receive his saving work, suffering makes sense. The cross makes sense. The death and resurrection of Christ makes sense.
So the invitation is open to ALL who are created by God to receive ALL that God has done for our redemption so that ALL may receive the blessings of salvation in Christ.