Colossians 1:18-20 – Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church

In verse 18, Paul turned to talk about Christ relationship with the Church as well as His resurrection. And he then rounded up in verses 19-20, to talk about the reconciliatory work of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

Christ is the head of His body, the church. It’s queer to put it this way. But the idea is that Christ is the head of the church which is His body. This simply means Christ is the Supreme Leader of all Christians and together with them, formed one complete and unique entity. And to Christ belongs all the power, rule and authority.  When Paul referred to Christ as the beginning, he was saying that He is the life source of the church. From Him the church derives her life and He is the one Who provides the sustenance that keeps the church vibrant and alive.

Paul went on to show that He is the first to be resurrected from the dead and never to die again. And this historical fact demonstrates that He is truly God’s Son.  God did this so that Christ might take the supreme place above and over everything.

In verse 19, Paul went on to say that it was the plan of God Himself and it pleased Him that all of His fullness, His undiminished, pure, and total divine nature should be completely resident in Christ.  This means that Christ Jesus, His Son, possesses the full and exact nature of God. What Paul is saying is essentially this: Jesus Christ is God.  

In verse 20, we are shown what the Lord Jesus Christ came to do. This verse reveals that the whole of mankind was alienated and estranged from God. And that it was God Himself Who had initiated the process to mend the fractured relationship that the whole mankind had with Him. The way that God did it was through the shed blood of Christ on the cross. The sacrifice of Christ brought about the peace between God and His creation. Through it God had brought the whole universe and everything on earth and heaven back to Himself.  

Gratefully, let us live our lives to honor God. Let’s lovingly and obediently follow our Supreme Leader and Lord. What He had done made it possible for God to accept us. Our mended relationship with our Father God was His initiation. Through the shed blood of Christ His Son, He accepts us with open arms. There is no other way but to love and serve Him willingly and obediently. As He had freely given Himself for and to us, let us also freely give our lives in grateful service to Him.