Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and Invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (18) And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome. This letter was written in response to heresy in the Colossian church – it was a defense of the Christian faith. There was a large Jewish settlement in Colosse but the population was mostly Gentile, manifesting itself in the composition of the church and the heresy that arose contained elements of Jewish legalism and pagan mysticism: God is good but matter is evil; that Jesus Christ is less than God; that there existed a secret higher knowledge than Scripture that was necessary for salvation. There were also aspects of Jewish legalism; circumcision, rituals, dietary laws etc. Our verses address the key areas of theology including and especially the deity of Christ, reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness and the nature of the church

Paul writes that the Lord Jesus was the unique perfect likeness and manifestation of the invisible God. Christ is the firstborn refuting the heresy that there was a time when the Son was not for If all creatures were created by Him, He is not a creature. He is the eternal Son and creator of creatures – indeed of the whole universe. As far as human nature is concerned He did enter into existence at a particular time but is divine. Christ Jesus is sovereign over creation. All things were created for Him in the sense that the universe is designed ultimately to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

The summary of the gospel is a matter of thanksgiving for our salvation by Christ. The faithful were called out of darkness and spiritual death into the light in the Lord. Their/our hearts have been changed. All who are designed for heaven are prepared for heaven now. C.S. Lewis wrote that “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is mildly important.”