18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:18-20)
Whereas Colossians 1:15-17 speaks of Jesus as the Lord over creation, Colossians 1:18-20 speaks of Jesus as Lord of the new creation. The new creation is the believer in the Lord Jesus.
These ordinary people, these believers in Jesus make up the church. Each believer has a relationship with the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Himself.
The Colossian church was a group of eager religious people who ran after every new doctrine that came along. They pursued teachings which were not from Jesus. They had, for all practical purposes, lost their Head.
In the Church, each individual is directly related to the Head of the church, Jesus Himself. As we relate directly to the Head, expecting Him to relate to us, He then opens doors to us for pointing others to Him. We are positioned to interact with people for His sake.
As individuals we must remember that our part is to respond to personal direction from the Head: to do as He says and obey His word. All the while, recognizing the application of His word to our lives is unique to each of us. There is one truth, but many applications.
Paul tells us in Colossians 1:18 why Jesus Christ is the Head of the body. First, "He is the beginning of the church! He is the One from whom the church gets its life.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read, "If anyone be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new." We are part of a new humanity that God is positioning to do His bidding in this world.
Second, Paul says, Jesus is "the firstborn from among the dead." Here "firstborn" means the owner, the possessor, of the creation. He alone possesses resurrection life, and, He is giving to His followers His resurrected life. But we do not always live as if we have this life.
In Colossians 1:19 Paul turns from Jesus' position as Head of the body to His work as the reconciler of all things. If Jesus is not God there is no bridge that can span the chasm between God and man. This is why Christianity is often offensive to people of other faiths. Jesus is only One who claims that he is both God and man.
The word "reconcile" means to bring into fellowship those who believe. The amazing thing about this is that it flows out of the death of Jesus on the cross. This is why the cross has been the central symbol of the Christian faith since the very beginning. And out of that death has flowed life to all who would believe.
