Week Three | "Reconciled" | "All That Matters"
In Week Three of "All That Matters," Donna Gaines teaches on the theme of "Reconciled" out of Colossians 1:15-23. These verses teach us who Christ is and how His life forever changed the trajectory of ours. Find out more by going to www.bellevue.org/women today!
Lesson 3—Reconciled
Colossians 1:15-23
I. The Image of the Invisible God (v. 15)
Hebrews 1:2-4
John 1:1-4, 14 & 18
“What was before said in reference to Israel’s God, Yahweh, is now said in reference to Jesus Christ. He has not displaced the God of Abraham, the God of the exodus. He has made him known” (N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary, Logos).
II. The Agent of Creation (v. 16)
“Created through Him and for Him” (v. 16)
III. The Preeminent Christ (v. 17-19)
Head of the Church
Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-16
Christ is Preeminent: (position of superior status, to rise above or excel)
A. In Essence (John 17:20-23; Hebrews 1:3)
B. In Name (Philippians 2:9-11)
C. Firstborn of Creation (rank not time – Colossians 1:15)
D. First Fruit of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18)
E. As High Priest (Hebrews 7:26-28)
F. As Sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27)
G. As Judge (1 Corinthians 5:10; John 5:22)
H. As Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5)
I. Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 12:27)
J. King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16)
IV. Our Sufficient Savior (v. 20-23)
“Reconciliation is the removal of hostility and the restoring of friendly relations to parties who have been at war. Paul also calls reconciliation making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Max Landers, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, Logos).
We were enemies in our thoughts and our actions – Colossians 1:21
“Thought and act are both tainted, each pushing the other into further corruption, in a mirror image of 1:9–10 (see above). The best comment on 1:21 is perhaps the sequence of thought in Romans 1:21–32. Wrong thinking leads to vice, vice to further mental corruption, so that the mind, still not totally ignorant of God’s standards, finds itself applauding evil” (N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary, Logos).
Discipling the “whole brain” - The Other Half of Church by Jim Wilder and Michael Hendricks
This book gives us insight into the importance of teaching not just to accrue facts but to engage in transformation. It reveals research that shows the importance of connection and relationship for actual life transformation.
Our personal transformation leads to cultural transformation.
“There is a whole range of ethical norms which God built into his world: respect for persons and property, maintenance of family life and of the ecological order of creation, justice between individuals and groups. Christians must be in the forefront of those working to promote such causes. Many opportunities to speak about Jesus will occur in the undertaking of such work, as it becomes clear that the gospel provides a coherent and satisfying underpinning for those standards which uphold and enhance a truly human life” (N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary, Logos).